**Chapter 2: Plans and Power**
The morning sun filtered through the cracks of the wooden shack, casting golden streaks across the floor. Daniel—now Luffy—blinked awake, his body still adjusting to the unfamiliar weight of his younger form. He turned his head to see Jason—Ace—already sitting up, staring at his hands with a focused intensity.
"You awake?" Ace muttered, his voice low.
"Yeah," Luffy replied, rubbing his eyes. "Still feels weird."
Ace exhaled sharply. "Weird doesn't even cover it. I keep expected myself to wake up back home only to realise that this is my new life now."
Luffy sat up, stretching his arms. "But we're here. And we've got work to do."
Ace nodded, his expression hardening. "First things first—we need to figure out how strong we are right now."
Luffy frowned. "We're kids. Ace is 16, Luffy is 13. In the original story, Ace was already strong enough to survive in Grey Terminal, but we don't have his instincts or experience."
"Exactly," Ace said, standing up and rolling his shoulders. "Our bodies might be Ace and Luffy's, but our minds are still ours. We don't know how to fight like them yet."
Luffy grinned. "Yes,we need to train our body and fighting ability in the 4 years till i turn 17."
Ace smirked. "That's the plan. But first, we need to talk about our Devil Fruits."
Luffy's grin faltered slightly. "Right. I have eaten the Gomo Gomu no mi or in actuality the Hito Hito no mi : Model Nika. So i am god. Bow before me."
Ace crossed his arms. "You so for you to become god i have to kill you. Stand still i will get the sword."
Luffy blinked. "Ayo,Ayo chill chill let's not get hasty. I am your little brother for cryingout loud."
"You wanted to become god didn't you anf in the orginal Luffy got Gear 5 after dying to Kaifo so if i kill you right now. You will be OP seems like a plan to me."Ace replied with emotionless eyes.
"I thought Luffy was supposed to be the dumb one and you are proving me wrong" replied panicking
"I was obviously jokingly"Ace said as he put down the knife he was holding.
"Didn't seem like it your eyes were too serious."
"Nah i won't kill my brother and yes we Exactly don't know how gear 5 got awakened we just know that your body has to be strong enough. I believe you will awaken it without dying and if you don't my blade is free."
"Chill with the joke or is it a joke it is hard to tell with you always has been hard with you."
"Anyway i am not eating the Mera Mera no mi."Ace replied
"You literally can't for that you have to be with the Spade Pirates."
"I mean even if i find it in the future then i won't eat it. There are many better devil fruits that i can consume and i like zoan the best as you know. A mythical zoan would be perfect."said Ace with determination in his eyes.
"A Mythical Zoan, guess we have to get lucky and my luck is trash. I never rolled the Dragon Fruit in Bloc Fruit."
A tick mark appeared in Ace's forehead"You and Dragon fruit?????? That's too much even getting the Buddha is lucky. Ignore this let's get to the matter at hand."
Luffy's eyes widened. "So… that means there will be no Fire Fist Ace?"
Ace shook his head. "Nope. And honestly, that's fine. The Mera Mera no Mi is strong, but it's not the only way to get power. We know Haki exists. We know how to train it. And most importantly—we know Devil Fruits have weaknesses. If we rely too much on them, we'll just end up like Crocodile or Enel—strong until someone figures us out."
Luffy rubbed his chin. "Hmm… So you're saying we go full Haki monsters?"
Ace nodded. "Exactly. Look at Shanks. No Devil Fruit, just pure Haki, and he's one of the strongest in the world. If we master Armament, Observation, and even Conqueror's early, we won't need to depend on Devil Fruits."
Luffy hummed. "But… I have to use the Gomu Gomu no Mi."
Ace rolled his eyes. "Yeah, because that's non-negotiable. Without it, you're not 'Straw Hat Luffy.' Plus, Gear 5 is busted. But the difference is—you'll train Haki alongside it. No more relying just on your rubber body."
Luffy grinned. "Sounds good to me!"
Ace smirked. "Good. Now, here's the other thing—we can't let anyone know we're different."
Luffy tilted his head. "Huh?"
Ace gestured between them. "Think about it. If we suddenly start acting way smarter or stronger than we should be, people will notice. Dadan, Garp, Makino—they'll realize something's off. So we have to play our roles until we set sail."
Luffy pouted. "So I have to act like an idiot?"
Ace snorted. "You *are* an idiot."
"Hey!"
"But i guess if we slowly show them that we are different if you slowly start to become smarter then i guess that won't cause too much of an issue." Ace said calmly
"But yeah," Ace continued, "we keep up the act. We train in secret. We don't reveal our full strength until we have to. That way, when we finally go out to sea, nobody will see us coming."
Luffy nodded slowly. "Alright. So we train like crazy, but we don't show off until it's time."
"Exactly," Ace said. "And when we do set sail, we stick to the original plan—mostly."
Luffy raised an eyebrow. "Mostly?"
Ace smirked. "We still recruit Zoro, Nami, Usopp—the whole crew. But we do it smarter. No unnecessary risks. No letting enemies escape to cause trouble later. And no letting our friends die because we weren't strong enough like the Arlong incident and with Vivi also much things could have gone smoothly."
Luffy's expression darkened for a moment, images of Marineford flashing in his mind. "Right. No mistakes."
Ace clapped him on the shoulder. "We've got the knowledge. We've got the bodies. Now we just need the power."
Luffy grinned, determination burning in his eyes. "Then let's get started."
---
The next few months were grueling.
Every morning before dawn, the two brothers snuck out into the forest, far from prying eyes. They ran until their legs burned, lifted boulders until their muscles screamed, and sparred until their bodies were littered with bruises.
Ace, despite not having his Devil Fruit, focused on mastering his natural strength. He practiced his fire punches anyway, using his knowledge of Haki to simulate flames with sheer force or trying to.
Luffy, meanwhile, worked on his flexibility and endurance also his devil fruit. But more importantly, he trained his Observation Haki, sharpening his reflexes beyond what a normal human could achieve.
One evening, as they rested by a river, Ace wiped sweat from his brow. "You're getting faster."
Luffy smirked. "And you're hitting harder."
Ace scoffed. "Keep dreaming."
Luffy nodded, then hesitated. "Ace… what about Sabo?"
Ace replied "Sabo gas joined the revolutionary as we know and his future there is good. He becomes stronger there. So let's wait until we meet him in the future after that 3 brothers will be united and yes your father Dragon, we can work with him in the future."
"Says the son of the Pirate king".
"You mean an Orphan???"
"Still the son of the pirate King."
"Speaking of which we don't know about your mother. Imagine it's actually croco-mom."
"Ewww, i hope not. I hope my dad doesn't have that bad of a taste in women and that's a man now eww."Luffy replied
"We will see, we will see" Ace replied
The sun dipped below the horizon, casting long shadows over the forest. Two brothers, bound by fate and memory, prepared to rewrite history.
And the world had no idea what was coming.
**(End of Chapter 2)**