Age of the Sea Circle, 1603
Grand Line, New World
The sound of waves filled the air
In the waters near Wano, a giant golden turtle drifted slowly across the ocean. Its colossal size surpassed even Zunesha, stretching nearly ten kilometers across, with a shell that rose one kilometer thick.
Upon its back stood a magnificent palace, surrounded by lakes, fertile fields, gardens, mountains, and flowing rivers.
The Golden Turtle had lived deep beneath the sea for thousands of years, its veins carrying the blood of Sea Kings.
The island resting upon this moving sanctuary was known as Maiden Island, named in honor of the fallen land that once bore the same title.
Though the turtle's pace was calm and unhurried, no ship ever dared to block its path, nor did anyone risk staring at it for long.
The reason was simple. A legendary pirate had made his home there.
To some, he was remembered as the Love Saint. To others, the right hand of the Pirate King. In ancient tales, he was spoken of as the Chief God.
Yet across every sea, there was no dispute. He was the strongest man in the world.
A legendary, immortal existence that even the World Government could not face head on.
Inside the palace, Sanji stood on the balcony, a herbal cigarette resting between his fingers as he gazed out at the endless horizon.
Each exhale left him with a quiet sigh, heavy with memories that never faded.
It had been seventy-nine years since Luffy awakened his Devil Fruit and claimed the title of Yonko.
The great war that followed their return from Laugh Tale had torn the world apart, reshaping not only Sanji and the crew's lives, but the course of history itself.
During the great war, Sanji had been on his way to rescue Koala of the Revolutionary Army, but fate shifted his path.
Instead, he stumbled upon Stussy, who was only moments away from being killed by Marcus Mars.
Without a second thought, Sanji threw himself into the battle. He managed to defeat Marcus Mars, but the victory came at a terrible price.
He was not yet at the level of a Yonko, and the fight left him gravely wounded, his body pushed to its very limits.
Even so, carrying those heavy injuries, he forced himself onward and arrived just in time to save Robin and Bonney, who were locked in a desperate struggle against two of the God's Knights.
He fought with everything he had left, but the toll was too much.
The moment that battle ended, Sanji finally collapsed, slipping into a deep coma.
After the war, Stussy wept and begged Vegapunk to save him. She remained by his side through the two long years he spent in a coma, just as his sister Reiju and Bonney did.
At first, Vegapunk struggled to find a way to heal Sanji without stripping away his combat strength.
His legs were beyond repair, and every method he considered threatened to take away the very core of Sanji's fighting power.
Eventually, he chose a different path, creating a Devil Fruit designed specifically for him.
The project was outrageously expensive. Reiju stole the entire Germa treasury, while Stussy sacrificed everything she had built through her former businesses. All of it went to funding the creation of that fruit.
Two years later, Vegapunk finally succeeded.
What he produced was a Paramecia with the properties of a mythical Zoan. He infused it with Lineage Factors drawn from countless powers: Marco's Phoenix fruit, Burgess's Strong-Strong fruit, Bonney's Age-Age fruit, Mansherry's Heal-Heal fruit, the bloodlines of both Big Mom and Kaido that he had preserved long ago, and even a forgotten Bind-Bind fruit once wielded by a nameless pirate.
He named it the Immortal Fruit.
It was Vegapunk's proudest work, the most powerful fruit he had ever made. It granted not only immortality to its user, but also to those closest to him.
Had it not been for the tearful pleas of Stussy, Bonney, and of Robin, Vegapunk would never have gone so far to create an immortal.
Yet there was selfishness in his decision as well, for he deliberately included the Bind-Bind lineage factor.
The Bind-Bind fruit's power allowed its user to share three abilities with the opposite sex, so long as they remained within one square kilometer of him. If they strayed too far, one of the gifts would vanish, the strongest among the three.
Sadly, the previous user had been an Okama, and the power was wasted on him.
He wanted Stussy and Bonney to share Sanji gifts.
Vegapunk asked Stussy if she wanted to wait until he could craft a second fruit for her, but she refused.
During that battle with Sanji, she had promised, half in jest, that if they survived, she would marry him. It had been a joke at the time, yet a promise she intended to keep, because she had watched how Sanji fought for her survival. She had seen him take countless attacks that were meant for her.
At that moment, she understood how much he had paid for her to live.
Besides, such a fruit would have cost hundreds of billions of berries to produce. Vegapunk was poor, and Stussy had already given up everything she had to help create Sanji's.
When Sanji finally opened his eyes, it felt as if he had been reborn.
Months of recovery followed, spent with Stussy, Bonney, Robin, and Reiju at his side. It took him five full years from coma to recovery.
Since Vegapunk was busy helping Dragon plan the new era, it was Lilith who supervised Sanji's condition and carefully recorded his changes.
During that time, Sanji discovered that in his battle with Marcus Mars he had awakened Conqueror's Haki.
The Strong-Strong Fruit, combined with Kaido's lineage factor and Big Mom's lineage factor, had shaped a new body. Lilith called it the Overlord Physique.
This physique granted monstrous defense, immense endurance and stamina, and overwhelming strength.
Even without using Haki, Lilith was certain that with the Overlord Physique alone Sanji could fight an admiral like Kuzan on equal footing.
The Immortal Fruit transformed his body, appearance and mentality.
*
During Sanji's long coma, Reiju discovered the golden turtle that had surfaced because of the Ancient Weapons.
Together with Stussy and Robin, they asked Shirahoshi for help. Since the golden turtle was a sea creature, Shirahoshi spoke with it, and the turtle allowed them to live on its back.
Using their connections, they built a home upon its massive shell.
When Sanji finally awoke, the women had moved to this drifting island, which he named Maiden Island, his eyes filling with tears in memory of the one that had been lost.
Lilith needed to monitor Sanji's fruit for a few years, and Bonney asked her father for permission before moving, while Stussy and Reiju had already relocated their belongings.
The Straw Hat crew visited him often, but in time many of them chose to retire.
They had achieved their dreams, and the weight of the years pressed heavily upon them.
Some longed to return to their families, while others simply wanted rest.
Robin was among them. After speaking with Stussy and Reiju, she surprised everyone by deciding to remain on Maiden Island.
She transferred a vast collection of books into the island palace's library, expanding it greatly.
Franky returned to Water 7, reuniting with Iceburg and his old Franky Family.
Usopp left eagerly, ready to share tales of his adventures with Kaya. Nami joined him, since they were traveling the same route back to the East Blue, where her sister waited.
She politely declined Stussy and Reiju's offer to remain, even when they tempted her with immortality.
Nami did not want to outlive her loved ones or watch her village fade while she remained unchanged.
Brook stayed behind at Sabaody, determined to rekindle his career as an idol. Even Gunko, who had defected, encouraged him to pursue it.
Jinbe returned to Fish-Man Island. Luffy had once promised to relocate it to the surface, but time had slipped away, and by the time it finally became possible, the crew had already gone their separate ways.
Chopper had thought of returning to Zou to see his crush, but seeing his crewmates reunite with their families, he instead chose to go back to his teacher, Dr. Kureha.
In the end, only Luffy and Zoro remained aboard the Thousand Sunny, their ship now carrying only the captain and his first mate as it sailed onward.
A few years later, Zoro achieved his lifelong dream. He defeated Dracule Mihawk and claimed the title of the strongest swordsman in the world.
The world had changed as well. The Navy crowned Koby as fleet admiral, a rise that owed much to his connections with Garp.
The Revolutionary Army had succeeded in dismantling the old World Government.
Dragon became the president of the new order, placing his followers in every key position and rank, leaving the world little time to react.
Although the Navy continued to monitor the remnants of the Yonko crews, Koby did not take action against the retired Straw Hats, allowing them to live in peace.
And just like that, ten years had passed since the great war.