The stars above blurred like distant lanterns swaying in the night.
Monkey D. Luffy lay sprawled on the cold earth, his body too heavy to move, his breaths shallow as though every inhale scraped against broken glass. The sky should have been beautiful—gold fading into violet, and then into the endless sea of stars. He should have smiled, thinking of the horizon, the ocean, and the promise of freedom waiting beyond it.
But tonight, the stars felt foreign. They were unreachable, mocking him with their distance.
His wrists were bound by shackles forged from seastone. The cuffs were ice-cold, biting into his skin, and worse—draining him. The invisible pull of the sea locked away his power, robbing his body of the strength the Gomu Gomu no Mi had gifted him. For someone who had grown up leaping and stretching, fighting and laughing with his rubber body, the sensation of weakness was unbearable.
Every part of him was battered. Bruises spread like maps of pain across his skin. Whip scars burned raw, some already scabbing, others bleeding anew. His stomach churned and growled—weeks without proper food had left him skeletal. But none of those were the worst.
The poison.
Days ago, they had forced him to swallow a bitter, burning liquid. It was no blade, no fist, no whip he could strike back against. The venom crawled through his veins like icy fire, numbing his limbs, clouding his mind. Sometimes his heart skipped beats. Sometimes his vision swam with black spots. Every hour, it whispered that he was closer to death.
Luffy could fight fists, fire, bullets, even monsters. But poison? He couldn't punch poison.
And yet, even as his body gave up, his eyes remained fixed on the sky. A fragile ember flickered within. I can't stop here… I still… I still want to… become Pirate King.
The words never left his lips. They burned silently inside him, a stubborn heartbeat against the darkness.
He forced his head to turn. The effort alone felt like lifting a mountain. His gaze swept the pit where he'd been dumped. Grass and dirt were stained a permanent crimson. Corpses sprawled everywhere, limbs twisted, faces hollow. The ones who breathed were no different—empty eyes, staring at nothing.
It reminded him of Gray Terminal.
No… this was worse. Gray Terminal had been cruel, yes, but there had been scraps of hope, children who still laughed, a sky they could still dream beneath. Here, there was nothing. This was hell, raw and unending.
Far beyond the pit, torchlight flickered against a grand silhouette—a castle of stone and gold, towers rising into the night sky. Music drifted faintly from within, laughter echoing like a cruel song. A party. A feast. Where nobles gorged themselves on wine and roasted meat, while down here… men, women, and children starved and died.
Luffy's stomach growled violently. For an instant, he imagined tearing through the walls of that castle, scarfing down plates piled high with meat. He almost smiled. But the illusion vanished, devoured by weakness. His limbs were stone. His fists wouldn't clench.
Meat… I just want… meat…
His eyes closed halfway. He thought it might be easier just to drift into sleep. To let go.
But his hand twitched. His fingers brushed against something soft. His eyes widened faintly. The straw hat—his treasure, his promise. It had been thrown into the pit with him like worthless trash, but it was still here. Trembling, he dragged it closer, pressing it against his head. The brim shadowed his eyes, offering a sliver of comfort.
Memories flickered like lanterns in the fog of pain.
Training with Grandpa Garp. Shanks' smile. Uta's laughter, her songs. The moment Shanks lost his arm to save him. Ace's stubborn grin, Sabo's fiery dreams. Makino's warmth when she scolded him after stealing food.
And his last memory…
Makino had walked to Dadan's hideout, holding a newspaper in her hands, the ink still fresh. Ace's first bounty smiled from the page. Everyone had cheered, proud and loud. They celebrated with a small feast, drinking and laughing until night swallowed the sky.
But Luffy… he was still hungry.
When the house quieted, he slipped away, mumbling something about catching a giant fish. He had waved to Makino as he left.
That wave… was the last time he saw them.
The sea had betrayed him. He had dozed off while fishing, his little boat drifting away from Dawn Island. When he awoke, home was gone, swallowed by the horizon. Two days lost at sea, starving, desperate, until finally… salvation appeared.
A ship. A crew who smiled and welcomed him. They fed him bread and soup, and for a moment he thought they were kind. He explained about his powers, his dream, his home. They nodded and promised to return him.
He had trusted them.
Until the food knocked him unconscious.
Until he awoke in darkness, wrists shackled with seastone.
Until he realized the ship was not salvation—but a slaver's vessel.
For the world, a child who had eaten a Devil Fruit was a rare commodity. A treasure to be sold.
And Monkey D. Luffy was just another product in their cages.
The underground slave trade was a world of its own. Beneath gilded halls and marble cities, nobles gathered to shop for flesh. Men with muscles were bought as gladiators. Women with beauty were sold as concubines. Children fetched high prices for amusement or labor.
And Devil Fruit users? They were beyond price.
Pets for Celestial Dragons. Weapons for kings. Collections for emperors.
The market sprawled beneath the capital like a hidden labyrinth. Iron cages lined the walls, each crammed with the forgotten. The stench of blood and filth choked the air. The cries of children mixed with the laughter of guards.
It was here Luffy's days of torture began.
"Stand when I say stand!"
The whip cracked across his back, tearing skin. Blood splattered the stones.
"Sit when I say sit!"
The whip came again.
"Lie down when I command it!"
Again. Again.
Luffy laughed bitterly through the blood. "If you say sit, I'll stand! If you say stand, I'll lie down! I don't take orders from you bastards!"
The guards snarled. They whipped him harder, burned him with heated irons, starved him. But he didn't break.
"I'll never be your slave!" he roared. "Because I'll be… Pirate King!"
They laughed at him. They called him insane. But their laughter was tinged with frustration. This boy refused to submit.
Day after day, they tried new punishments. Chains. Thirst. Sleepless nights. His body weakened, but his spirit never bent.
And then he arrived.
The footsteps came first—measured, arrogant, echoing in the stone corridors. Guards snapped to attention, their eyes filled with fear.
A noble entered. Fat, clothed in silk, a transparent bubble helmet sealing his head. His lips curled in disgust as he looked down at the boy chained before him.
"So this is the Devil Fruit brat who refuses to obey?" the noble drawled. His voice was slow, dripping with boredom. "How amusing. A toy that doesn't break. Perhaps I shall keep him."
The guards bowed deeply. "Yes, Saint-sama!"
The Celestial Dragon grinned. "Entertain me. Let's see how long he can last."
And thus, Luffy's suffering became a game.
They unleashed hounds upon him, beat him until bones cracked, burned his skin with brands. The noble laughed at his screams, clapped at his defiance.
But even as blood filled his mouth, Luffy spat the same words:
"I will be King of the Pirates! And kings don't bow to trash like you!"
When his body nearly broke for good, they tossed him into the infirmary—not out of kindness, but because their entertainment couldn't end too quickly.
It was there he met her.
A young woman, no older than her twenties, with long chestnut hair tied behind her neck. Her hands trembled as she cleaned his wounds, but her eyes were soft, warm.
"My God… you're only a child," she whispered.
Luffy blinked blearily. "Am… I alive?"
She forced a small smile. "For now."
He coughed, weak but grinning. "Can't… die yet. I still… gotta be King of the Pirates."
Her eyes widened. Then, for the first time in years, she laughed.
And so began their conversations. When she treated him, he told stories—of Foosha Village, of Ace and Sabo, of Shanks and his hat. He cracked dumb jokes that made her giggle despite herself. He spoke of meat, of freedom, of dreams.
Her name was Sarah. A caretaker, a slave herself, forced to tend to the injured so others could fight longer. She had long given up hope. But listening to Luffy, her heart began to remember what hope felt like.
Hope that maybe even chains could be broken.
But hope was dangerous.
The guards noticed their closeness. They whispered to their master. And the Celestial Dragon, ever bored, saw opportunity.
"If the brat cannot be broken with pain," he sneered, "then let us break his heart."
The next day, when Luffy was dragged once more into the chamber of torment, his breath caught.
Sarah stood there. Chains bound her wrists. Her eyes shimmered with fear.
"No…" Luffy whispered. His voice cracked. "Don't… don't touch her."
The noble laughed, his bubble helmet fogging with his breath. "Oh? So the brat does care for something. How delightful. Then obey me… or watch her be branded as a slave."
The iron hissed from the forge, glowing red, raised high.
Luffy thrashed wildly, chains biting into his flesh. "STOP! Leave her alone! If you want to hurt someone—hurt me!"
His scream tore through the chamber as the iron descended—
The hiss of iron filled the chamber. The red brand glowed, smoke curling off its surface like the breath of a demon.
Sarah trembled as the guards forced her to her knees. The chain around her neck rattled, her eyes filled with terror.
"Stop! Stop it!" Luffy's voice was raw, his throat hoarse from endless screams, yet he roared louder than ever. He struggled until blood welled from his wrists where the seastone dug deeper.
The Celestial Dragon chuckled behind his bubble. "Beg louder, brat. Entertain me. Perhaps if I am amused enough, I'll spare her."
The iron was raised. Sarah's face crumpled.
And then—chaos.
The guard holding the brand suddenly convulsed. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed forward. The searing iron missed Sarah entirely—falling instead against Luffy's back.
The smell of burning flesh filled the air.
Luffy screamed, his body jerking violently as the mark seared into him. The pain was indescribable, a fire carving through his very soul. But through his screams, he forced his body forward—shielding Sarah from the iron's touch.
The chamber fell silent in shock. Guards stumbled, collapsing as though struck by unseen force. Even the noble staggered, clutching his head with confusion.
Sarah blinked, stunned. The branding iron had missed her. She was untouched.
But Luffy bore the mark. The scar of slavery, forever etched into his flesh.
Through the haze of agony, he forced his eyes open, teeth grit. "See…? Told ya… I'd take the hit… not her…"
And then he collapsed.
He awoke later in his cell. The chains were still there. The seastone still burned against his wrists. But Sarah was gone.
For a long time, he thought she hated him now. That she blamed him for dragging her into this nightmare. Every time he called out to her, there was no answer.
The guards laughed when he asked. "The girl? She's one of us now. Maybe she learned that resisting is useless, unlike you."
But Luffy didn't believe them. He couldn't.
Even if Sarah hated him… he didn't regret protecting her.
He'd protect anyone, again and again, no matter the pain. Because that was who he was.
The new master of the slave market arrived soon after. A man colder, crueller, hungrier for power than the last. To prove his rule, he punished brutally. Starvation. Beatings. Forced fights.
And Luffy was his favorite target.
"Break him!" the man commanded. "If this brat refuses to kneel, then we will make an example of him!"
So the tortures grew worse. No food, no water. Days without sleep. His body was stretched to the brink, beaten until he could barely stand.
But still, he laughed.
Even chained, even starving, even poisoned—Monkey D. Luffy laughed.
"You can hurt me all you want," he spat blood at their feet, "but I'll never be your slave. 'Cause I'll be Pirate King! The freest man alive!"
At first, the other slaves had stared at him like he was insane. Broken people with hollow eyes, too beaten to hope.
But something changed.
One day, when the guards struck him again, Luffy shouted the words he always did:
"I'm not a slave!"
And this time… a voice answered.
"…I'm not a slave either."
The guards froze. Another prisoner, a man who hadn't spoken in months, lifted his chin. His eyes burned faintly.
Then another voice joined.
And another.
Until the chamber shook with the sound.
"I'm not a slave! I'm not a slave!"
The guards snarled, whipping them, beating them—but the laughter of the slaves only grew louder.
For the first time in years, hope had returned. And it was because of the boy who refused to bow.
Their rage boiled over during the next torment. When a guard raised his whip, Luffy lunged forward—snatching the keys from his belt with a sudden burst of reckless strength.
"Now!" he shouted.
The cells burst open. Chains hit the floor. The chamber erupted with chaos.
The slaves swarmed their captors, fists fueled by desperation. Blood sprayed. Guards screamed.
Luffy moved through the chaos, fumbling with the keys, unlocking shackles, dragging the weak to their feet. His own chains fell at last, and for the first time in weeks, his wrists were free.
"Run!" he yelled. "Everyone, run!"
They surged through the corridors, overpowering guards, scattering into the night.
For a moment, it felt real. Freedom.
Sarah was among them, eyes wide with disbelief as she ran at Luffy's side. He grabbed her hand, grinning despite his wounds. "Told ya we'd get out!"
Her lips trembled. For the first time, she smiled without fear.
But freedom is cruel.
The alarm bells rang. Reinforcements flooded the corridors. Armed men, trained killers. The slaves fought, but many fell.
Luffy fought too, but weeks without food had drained him. His fists were weak. His punches lacked power. He collapsed again and again, dragging himself up only by sheer will.
"Go!" he shouted at Sarah. "Don't stop running!"
Tears streamed down her face, but she obeyed. Along with dozens of others, she vanished into the forest beyond the city walls.
Half escaped. Half were recaptured.
And Luffy… was chained once more.
The punishments this time were beyond cruel. His body was burned, beaten, broken. But even so, when the new master demanded obedience, Luffy spat in his face.
"Do what you want. I'll never be your slave."
The man's face twisted with fury. "Then you will die."
And so they brought out the poison again. A cruel concoction, designed not to kill quickly, but to burn slowly, tearing the body from the inside.
They forced it down his throat. He coughed violently, gagging, but the liquid burned all the way down. His veins lit with fire.
Then they dragged him to the "Pit of Despair."
A place for broken things. A graveyard for the unwanted. Where the dying were tossed like garbage, left to rot.
They threw him down like refuse. The ground was cold, damp, stinking of decay. Corpses lay piled around him. His body trembled as the poison spread.
His hat slipped from his head, landing on the ground beside him. With trembling fingers, he reached for it, pulling it close.
The stars shimmered faintly above.
For the first time, death didn't feel so far away.
Is this it? he wondered. Am I really… gonna die here? Without ever… setting sail?
His eyes closed halfway. His body grew lighter. Like drifting on the waves.
And then—
A voice.
"...Luffy?"
It was faint. Soft. Impossible.
"Luffy… is that you!?"
His eyes widened slowly. In the endless void of stars, in the silence between heartbeats… someone was calling his name.
A spark flickered in his chest.
The ember refused to die.