Uta was seen staring ahead with a bead of sweat running down her cheek. She let out a small, nervous laugh as she saw a bunch of smoke and dust in front of her as the dark rainy skies made it even harder to see.
Right next to her was Luffy, who was laying down on the grass and sleeping, uncaring of the rain that had started to pour. His eyes were covered by his straw hat and he appeared to be relaxed, but then his sleeping body twitched, getting Uta's attention.
"Uta." His voice was enough to remove her from her thoughts.
"They're here."
Uta exhaled and stared forward with a serious expression, though one could tell she was still a little nervous. On the other hand, Luffy's reaction was albeit different from the singer's. His mouth just widened into a smile and sparks of haki began to flow through his body.
In the distance, the smoke cleared up and revealed thousands of pirates. Thousands. Walking proudly through the grassy land, they all stared at the two teenagers with serious expressions while others laughed and grinned. It was...
....Big Mom's Army.
As the army continued its approach, Luffy's grin grew wider. He then began to laugh a little and started thrashing around. Suddenly, a powerful black lightning strike erupted out of Luffy's body and the rainy skies split apart. The Big Mom Pirates stared at the sky in awe as the clear light began to embrace them all before their downfall.
Jumping up to his feet, Luffy grinned and stared at the approaching army. "This will be so fun!"
Spreading his arms out, he released a powerful haki wave all over the place. Luffy then grabbed Uta and jumped above the Big Mom Pirates. While floating above them, Uta began to sing. Luffy's arms stretched out and turned massive. Giant sized, even.
His arms dug into the earth and literally picked it up, making all the pirates fall to their butts as the ground stretched out. The now rubber-like ground folded a little, making all the pirates fall towards the centre. Uta then made her move.
Uta then began to sing a beautiful melody. Her voice boomed through the battlefield and all the trapped pirates listened to her voice.
"Have fun, Uta!" Luffy smiled and pushed the ground back in, making the entire place bounce around and sending all the pirates into the air.
They all then fell back down in an unconscious state as their consciousness was transferred to Uta's world.
***
Years had gone by.
Several years.
Sailing in the Grand Line under the careful leadership of Shanks, Luffy took in every sight and experience to heart. Every battle, he got stronger.
His haki developed. His skills and instincts sharpened. Luffy was in every way, a powerhouse by now. He had unlocked Advanced Armament, Observation and Conquerors Haki. He had mastered his zoan transformation and he had already made a big name in the pirate world, especially in the New World, which is where he spent most of his time.
Luffy wasn't by any means large like his father and grandfather, but he had a well-developed physique and trained muscles. He wore an old straw hat, and dressed in an open red shirt, shorts, and slippers, as well as some stolen berries in his pockets. On his open chest, put on display for all to see, was a scar. A ginormous scar that covered his pectorals and upper torso, shaped like a large cross.
It was caused by a burn. A burn that was formed during a fight with a very powerful man, back when he was a little younger. Luckily, Shanks helped save him.
There was also another person next to Luffy. A young woman.
The girl was more elegant and less rough-looking than Luffy was. She was wearing a short yellow dress, with a frilly neckline and a black bow and buttons down the middle of her dress. Her left arm was entirely covered by a light blue sleeve, with an interesting drawing covering the part of the fabric on her upper arm. She also had a set of golden cone-shaped headphones with light-blue bands over her ears.
It was Uta.
"Honestly, how did you even get this ? I'm still shocked whenever I remember how you got your powers." Said Uta, who was sitting on the edge of a ship with a teenage Luffy sitting right next to her.
"What's there to be surprised about ? You were there when I ate it." Luffy half-heartedly commented, not really seeing the significance in what she's trying to convey.
"I know that, idiot! It's just... Even though it's been years since that day, I still can't help but look back at it. It still feels so surreal." It couldn't help but ponder, letting her mind wander.
"It is real, though ?" Luffy questioned, which made Uta deadpan at him.
Uta chose not to say anything and just looked ahead, staring into the horizon as the beautiful blue sea surrounded their ship from all sides.
"I can't believe it's been so long since that day... When you are your devil fruit. You were such a brat back then–"
"Hey!" Luffy protested.
"—But who would've thought you'd become this strong ?"
"Shishishishishishi! I already told you long ago Uta! My punches hurt like pistols!" Luffy proudly stated, patting his chest as he spoke. Soft thump sounds were made, as if his chest was hollow or made of plastic.
"Pfft—!"
"Hm ?"
"Hahahahaha—!"
Uta started laughing. Uncontrollably.
"What ? What's wrong ?" Luffy asked, tilting his head in confusion because he has no idea what he said that made her laugh like that.
"It's nothing! It's just— PISTOL'S?! Luffy! You can flatten mountains with your fists now! I think that's waaaay more than the force of a pistol."
"Huh ? Oh, yeah! I can do that, I guess. But still, I can't win in a fist fight with my grandpa."
This made Uta look at him with a sly smile, clearly amused with what he chose to say.
"A fist fight ? With Monkey D. Garp himself. Hah! As if!" Uta scoffed haughtily, unable to accept such a fact even crossed his brain at all.
"You've got a lot more growing up to do before you can start throwing hands with your grandpa, Luffy! I mean, I will admit. You have become strong enough to fight him, but even I don't think you can beat him in a fist fight. That's his speciality!"
"You sure ? I beat Katakuri already. And I punched Big Mom for you."
That last bit made Uta cringe. She looked away, sweat forming on her temple as she nervously stiffled her own breath.
"Ah... that..." Uta blinked nervously.
Then she snapped her head in hsi direction, staring him right in the eye and raising her voice. "Why the hell did you do that?!"
"Eh ? Do what ?" Luffy asked with a puzzled look on his face.
"You know what I mean! Punching Big Mom! You infiltrated Whole Cake Island and dragged me with you, just to punch Big Mom in the face!" Uta yelled at him, her voice raising several octaves as she conveyed the frustration in her voice.
"You told me to do it!" Luffy retorted.
"How was I supposed to know you'd actually go punch Big Mom herself?! I was joking!"
"You said I had to do it! I lost that challenge, and I'm not a sore loser like you."
"HUH?!!" Uta stared back at him in disbelief, shocked by his audacity for calling her out on her tendency to whine whenever she loses.
"I am not a sore loser!"
"Yes, you are!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
The sound of the two young pirates arguing was drowned in the background as Shanks watched the spectacle from a distance. The head haired pirate also has his trusty companions, his crewmates, with him. Lucky Roux, Ben Beckman, even Yassop. They were all there, looking at the two teenagers arguing like they always did. Their usual lovey-dovey, couples banter because of their habit of challenging each other.
"It really has been a while, huh Beck ?" Said Shanks, staring at what's basically a daily occurrence.
"Big Mom was interested in you, Uta! There's no way I was going to let her touch a hair on your body!"
"Don't say it like that!"
"Still can't believe how far Luffy has come. When I first met him, I didn't expect him to be such a huge player." Ben responded.
"Uta and Luffy are very close. Ever since he joined, they've always had each other's backs and I trust that their bond will never waver. Uta always looks out for Luffy, and Luffy always looks out for her."
"I wonder if he'll take Ussop in his crew when he starts his own journey." Yassop spoke, wondering if he'll be able to see his son with a wanted poster as a member of Luffy's crew.
That'll be the day.
***
Luffy never stopped training.
Even in his years with Garp and Rayleigh, his training was vigorous. Ace and Sabo were trained the same way, but Luffy had extra lessons and his training was harsher and stricter than theirs.
Sabo didn't stick around for long, but Ace did fairly well in his training. Granted, Luffy long since surpassed his big brother and soon started winning every fight.
From the beginning, Garp and Rayleigh prioritised their haki training. All three types of haki, for Ace and Luffy. Both of them had awakened Conquerors Haki, and both received rigorous training to get it under control. Garp made sure to limit Luffy's training with his devil fruit to merely trying to transform and back, at will.
Over and over again, Luffy was instructed to use his zoan transformation, then come out of it, then transform again, and again. The time interval changed every time and it was tricky for Luffy to master since his Nika form seemed to drain so much of his energy, leaving him an exhausted husk after each training session. But they had a whole six years to help Luffy master his powers because letting him set sail. Garp was not willing to take the risk of him travelling to the Grand Line as the crew member of a former Roger Pirate, without mastering his devil fruit and all three forms of haki.
But that didn't stop him. Luffy would continue to train and train until he couldn't anymore. It was not a fun experience, but Luffy never complained.
Other than constant transformation, Rayleigh also instructed him to try and stay in his transformed state for as much as possible. Instructing Luffy to stay as Nika, even when he's on the verge of collapse. And each time, they tried to extend the time limit. Since Luffy was a kid with no former training, mastering his devil fruit was especially difficult. After all, his biggest concern was his malleable rubber body.
Luffy, when in his transformed state, was easily able to dish out devastating moves even without Haki. But outside of it, he found it very hard to even properly throw a punch because the stretching of his hand was hard to control. His devil fruit training not only aimed at helping him control his transformation, but also his rubber body. Because of its paramecia-like traits, Luffy's body was now made of rubber by default. So they had to train him in properly using his devil fruit and have him get used to his rubber body.
With a fascinating body like that, Luffy could dish out very creative moves, but offensive and defensive. His creativity fueled his versatility, especially so in his Nika form.
They also had to help with his pain tolerance, for which they used haki infused attacks on him to hurt him. Anytime he failed something, his punishment was a 'Fist of Love', courtesy of his grandfather.
Sometimes, Garp had Luffy thrown into the forest to fend for himself, telling him to try and fight the animals of the forest without his devil fruit transformation. In his Nika form, Luffy was arguably the strongest thing on the island, barring Garp and Rayleigh. It would have been too easy for him to face off against massive animals and beasts in his transformed state. They wanted him to get strong enough to not have to rely on his zoan transformation.
After all, the less he transforms, the more time he gets before the World Government finds out he actually awakened his fruit.
He needs to become strong enough to not have to rely on his Nika form, unless he absolutely needs it.
Although Haki training was going well, the hardest part for Luffy was training his rubber body and coming up with creative moves without messing them up, due to the complexity of his physiology. But eventually, he managed to learn how to properly fight without transforming.
And then, came the haki training.
Observation Haki training was simple. Sometimes he was deprived of his sight and hearing and had to try to dodge attacks from his teachers. Other times, he had to follow and predict Rayleigh's moves or use his haki to predict puzzles. Rayleigh even pulled a Shanks and played around with a coin, telling Luffy to use his haki to try and predict where the coin would be.
Sometimes, they would tell him to navigate through the forest and find his way back home at the dead of night. Usually, they left him blindfolded, and with his ears plugged. But the training paid off. This one is done not only to improve his haki, but also to make him stop relying on sight and hearing alone.
Many enemies would try and trick him with illusions. Since some people have developed skills or have devil fruits that can create illusions. So the only way to fight through them would be using observation haki.
And then there was Garp's go-to training method. Deprive Luffy of his sight and sound, before yeeting cannonballs at him. Luffy was made to try and dodge those cannonballs by sensing them. Although most of them were regular cannonballs, Garp occasionally had thrown in a couple haki-coated ones as well.
For Armament Haki and Conquerors Haki, the best way to train them is to clash them against stronger users.
His basic Conquerors Haki training involved him clashing his haki with Rayleigh's and Garp's advanced haki. It didn't take too long for them to realise that he had a much easier time with this than with the other two types of haki.
Garp and Rayleigh could hear his 'voice'. His will. The will of a conqueror, within Luffy. They could feel his haki develop, and it wasn't that long until Luffy himself also started hearing their 'voice' as well. His observation haki had developed enough to sense them.
When it came to training in general, most of the time went into training Luffy to be strong without relying on his transformation. His rubber body made it especially hard to do this, but he never gave in.
For Armament Haki, he was advised to try and cost his arms and legs in haki and hit things with it. He had long since known how to coat himself with haki, but Garp had him move on from punching ships to punching moutains and cliff-sides. He was also instructed to use it to harden his skin and block attacks from them.
Luffy had to spar against them. The two monsters took turns whenever they were available. Garp was usually harsher than Rayleigh when it came to sparring. Luffy usually could never land a proper hit unless he used his Nika form. He still lost to their overwhelming power, but at least he wasn't just a punching bag.
They were forced to hop across islands as well, since Luffy already had a wanted poster. The Marines saw Luffy with Rayleigh and immediately backed off. They didn't want to take any chances. The former right-hand of the Pirate King, ensured Luffy would never be caught. He even met Rayleigh's wife, Shakky.
Surprisingly, he and Ace both left to see around the same time. With Ace being 17, he chose left to spread his own name across the world as an infamous and powerful pirate. Since he also received formal training from Garp and Rayleigh — the former being ecstatic at the thought of training Roger's son — he was not weak in any way.
Before long, Luffy learned and mastered advanced haki. He learned how to imbue haki into inanimate objects, how to use haki to damage a person from the inside-out, how to see a few seconds into the future, how to cost himself in conquerors haki, etc.
Luffy was 14 when Shanks came back. And supposedly, Uta became an idol. Luff heard her songs being played and he already knew she was world famous.
Uta became an idol shortly before she turned fourteen. Right now, she's 16 years old and despite her connections to pirates, she's still beloved by her fans.
So when Shanks came back to the East Blue, Uta jumped onto Luffy and hugged him like a Koala. Shanks had never seen Uta as happy as she was when Luffy showed up. Their bond had grown even deeper since then.
Despite being an official pirate and even having a wanted poster, her fame never wavered. She used this as an excuse to open up concerts across the islands that she travelled to, which boosted her fame even further. After all, it was Uta's dream to sing across the world.
Luffy, at some point, received a chest wound from Akainu, whose magma burnt his skin and left a large scar behind.
Then he picked a fight with Big Mom for some reason.
Uta set up a concert in Komugi Island, which was a part of the Totto Land — Big Mom's territory. For some reason, Big Mom herself showed up.
Nothing bad really happened until Big Mom met Luffy and the two, somehow, got in an argument. One thing led to another and before they knew it, Uta and Luffy were bolting out of the island and had to be bailed out by the Red-Hair Pirates.
Shanks did not know the exact reason. It was either because of a bet he lost with Uta, or something to do with what Big Mom said about Uta. Either way, not only did he get into a fight with Charlotte Katakuri, but he even punched Big Mom in the face.
Uta punished Luffy for getting in a fight with a Yonko so casually. But she was embarrassed and flattered that he'd be willing to butt heads with an Emperor of the Sea for her sake.
In the final year, Shanks made a detour and changed the ship to move back to the start of the Grand Line. They had to leave Uta and Luffy behind in the East Blue, due to Luffy's insistence of wanting to start a fresh crew from scratch instead of just grabbing some talented players from the New World.
And Shanks respected his wishes.
Luffy wanted a strong crew, but it had to be one that he made himself. It was about the journey, after all. And he wanted it to be as eventful as possible!
***
Today's the day, isn't it ?
That is the only thing Makino could think about.
Luffy was officially seventeen, Uta being nineteen. That means, it was time for Luffy to set sail and make his own crew. To start his real journey.
Everyone in the village was at the harbor, looking at the couple, who were loading their boat with necessities.
Luffy was finishing putting the supplies in the fishing boat while Uta checked everything twice, making sure they were not missing anything.
Luffy already went ahead and met with Dadan and the mountain bandits again. Just like the last time he left four years ago, she started crying uncontrollably.
This time though, Luffy actually hugged her and thanked her for everything, before leaving.
Everyone was cheering for them, all except the mayor, who grumbled in annoyance and slight fondness. Makino walked up to the front so she could get a good look at the two children that made her days so much livelier.
Luffy already had a wanted poster... With a very big bounty. Big even by New World standards, so it's borderline insanity in the East Blue.
"Bye guys! The next time you see me, I'll be King of the Pirates! Shishishi."
"Wish us luck, everyone!"
Except for the mayor, everyone laughed.
"Uta, don't forget to take care of your boyfriend!"
"I will!" Uta promised, whilst hugging luffy from the side.
"Have a safe trip, Luffy! Uta!" Makino screamed, hoping her voice would reach the boat and its sole occupant.
She breathed in relief as one of the most beloved denizens of Foosha rose to his feet and waved back at her, his smile visible despite the distance. Uta also waved back at her.
As the young man turned his back to it, the water in front of his boat bubbled violently.
The lord of the coast suddenly broke through the waters. The massive beast glared at the small boat in front of it with raw animal hunger.
Most of the crowd screamed in horror at the sight of the serpent, but Luffy's laughter overpowered their fear.
Makino smiled knowingly.
"Why's everyone freakin' out?! It's just one Sea King against Monkey D. Luffy!" Woop Slap rolled his eyes in annoyance.
This made everyone stop screaming. 'Oh, yeah!"
"Well, look who it is~! I haven't seen you in a while!"
Uta leaned back over the edge of the boat and stared up, grinning while staring at the Sea King without worry.
Luffy had already appeared above it's head.
With devastating force, his first found its mark right on top of the beasts' head. It's entire body convulsed, it's head caves inwards and it's entire body slammed into the water and bounced! As if the water was a trampoline!
Luffy starting falling towards the water. But he didn't panic. Instead, he grinned and slammed his feet into the surface of the ocean.
Instead of sinking and drowning, the surface of the ocean also bent like a trampoline, which he used to launch himself back on the boat. His legs stretched as he jumped and soared through the air.
Makino laughed, the village soon joined in, cheering and clapping as the future pirate king landed back on his boat, one hand on his trusty hat.
"I'm Monkey D. Luffy!" He roared, as if announcing his arrival to the heavens above. "And I'm going to be the King of the Pirates!"
Seeing her boyfriend's enthusiasm, Uta giggled.
Makino smiled as she watched the young man she used to watch over speed through the night in a dinghy barely big enough to hold him, his girlfriend and his supplies.
She's heard about Luffy's adventures as a Red-Hair Pirate. She could only wonder what stories he would tell once he returns, after becoming the King of the Pirates.
After all.. this was the beginning of the official journey of Monkey D. Luffy, the man who would become the Pirate King.