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Chapter Text

Under the morning light, Shanks saw as the tripulation of the warship succumbed to his Will. A straw hat shadowed his scarred face, hiding the savage glint in his eyes. His heartbeat was too tranquil, and his breath not too fast.

He raised his head, hearing the distant screams of his crew for orders to follow, and smiled unkindly as the Marine’s ship sinked under the ocean’s waves. Red Hair was glad it was over, that he had broken his chain to his captain, the sweet taste of true freedom soaked his dry mouth. Roger’s last wish had been granted by the Wandering Emperor of the Five Seas.

Shanks voiced an order but something weak had stolen his voice, tears ran down his face, and he fell to his knees. The grief was too painful to bear.

It was over. Finally, it was over.

His grip tightened on the wooden box under his arm. It was a pretty unassuming thing, except for the treasure that was stored inside.

Gomu Gomu no Mi.

Peculiar name, as strange as the devil fruit it belonged to.

Swallowing, Shanks gave his bemused crew an order, powered by his Will, “To the East Blue, men. We don’t want the entire force of the Marines after us.”

With shouts of “Yes, sir” his men, his newfound family, set course to the weakest sea.

Unknown to the Emperor, the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika laughed to itself.

This was going to be so much fun!

☠

“Oi, Luffy!” Shouted a flustered Shanks, holding the stubborn brat by his arm before he did something idiotic, like following after the bandits.

But something unexpected happened.

Luffy’s arm stretched beyond what was humanly possible.

“Damn it!”

☠

Contrary to what one would expect, the fruit had not originally chosen Luffy as its possessor.

It was destined to one Portgas D. Ace, whom Roger had deposited all his hopes on, even if it was unjust to place such weight on his child’s shoulders. Still, desperation is a powerful motivator.

The fruit had not been against the King’s decision, for who is more free than someone who denies Davy Jones’ Will?

Nevertheless, life is a funny thing.

Monkey D. Luffy had a name as mysterious as the depths of the sea itself. He also appeared to be a bit of an airhead and a very happy child. Oh, how appearances deceive.

He was observant, and could decipher people's intentions with only a glance. His gaze was too knowing, too emphatic, it was like being under the gaze of an all knowing god and being left bare, being uncovered by his scrutiny until he found the person behind and became bored of them. Once they were found lacking, said gaze became empty, detached, as if they were judged unworthy. Yet still, it didn’t know whether it was from a place of pity or simple curiosity, he watched the ignorant inhabitants of the village, to the point that he often knew their habits and most coveted secrets.

The villagers shuddered and whispered warnings between them, of the uncanny the grandchild of their hero was, of the malice hidden in the marrow of young bones.

Raw instinct made the other children fear him, and often belittled the poor boy to conceal their dread.

Luffy smiled to hide his pain.

For all of his dreams of conquering the Grand Line and becoming a King, his desires were simple. So alone and miserable, he only wanted friends, people to call his nakama, his family. People that were his.

Powerful curiosity ate away at its insides. It wanted to know more.

“Huh?” The child blinked at the chest that contained it. “Who are you?”

A curious child indeed.

It laughed to itself, then it answered with a smile in its Voice, “Hêllð, llê ðñê.”

Luffy grinned, baring his teeth like the predator he was, even if he didn’t mean anything by it. “Shishishi, you are funny.”

Charmed, it said, “Ì åm †hê ßêårêr 𣠆hê §µñ, 𣠆hê Låµghïñg GðÐ, åñÐ ¥ðµ, m¥ Ðêår ¢hïlÐ, ¢åñ ßê¢ðmê †hå† åñÐ mðrê. ¥ðµ årê wðr†h¥ ð£ mê.”

There was a saying concerning Mythical Zoans: we don’t know what came first, the human or the creature.

The chicken or the egg dilemma.

As it was consumed, the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika smiled to itself.

And Nika woke up.

☠

As the story goes, we can say that Ace was the chosen one, the one who saw Davy Jones in the face and his Will said no.

Yet Luffy.

Well, Luffy had the luck of the Devil.

And all of his charm.

Or so a sailor once told.

Chapter Text

Today, Luffy was dressed in black formal clothes, courtesy of a frowning Makino.

It had been two years since mama died.

Her tombstone stared at him with disappointment, he stared back with a strange nothing, a void in his heart.

Loneliness, it was.

He didn’t remember much of her, be it looks, or the time when she used to smile, if she ever did that to begin with. What he knew was that mama was always sad, and she couldn’t look at him some days. She gave him the required necessities to survive, nothing more nor less. Her Voice told Luffy that she had been abandoned, something Luffy would never do to those he loves.

̆-He-They knew ßïr†hêr-mama-mother had not been kind to ̆-him-them but—

Huh, this is weird.

He suddenly got the urge to laugh.

And so he did, leaving the tomb of his mother behind.

~ Shishishi, Makino’s weird face was so funny ~

(Her Voice was screaming inside, she was worried Luffy was sick, so he smiled more because he was happy.

He needed to be happy.)

Wow, his heart felt weird. It sounded like a drum, and he felt comforted by it.

“What came first?” The lost sailor would ask, a teasing edge in his tone. “Who knows?” He would laugh.

☠

Gramps reminded Luffy of a tale long past. One of those made to scare children.

“Gramps?” Luffy said, scared out his mind while many balloons were tied around his waist.

His Voice was similar to a smiling beast, it was all but reassuring. “This will make my cute little grandson a strong marine. Be safe Luffy.” Garp took a deep breath, “There you go.”

And finding out it was true after all.

“AAAAAAHHHHH!”

☠

The first time he saw Ace, he knew he was going to be his.

Ace was like the Sea, confined to his very heart by the whispers of the damned. A strong combination of spite, sadness, and anger was his only motivation to survive. Roger’s blood brought to his knees thanks to the very thing his father detested more than the World Government, chains cold as iron, crueler than the most heartless pirate, tight like a rope to the neck. It was the antithesis of all he stood for, of true everlasting freedom.

Nevertheless, Ace always listened to their venomous whispers, seeking the constricting embrace of the red-eyed snake of his perdition. So lost, he was, to the song of their rum-breaths and putrid teeth, the child didn’t feel the fangs sinking on his flesh and passing the rot to his blood. To be forever trapped by the World.

Their faces white as bones, their voices as harsh as their lives, they would sing over and over again.

~ Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum! ~

For fifteen men had died. Wasn’t it a cause to celebrate?

Luffy grinned, the Sun’s Shadow at his beck and call. His limbs stretching to hug his now brother, the aftertaste of sake in his mouth.

Ace’s Voice sounded so warm, even if his Shadow will soon be hot as hellfire.

But let’s not talk about things that have yet to pass.

☠

Sabo’s freedom was restricted too. It was different from Ace’s since his Voice screamed for his liberation, and Luffy was a very good listener.

(He could hear people’s cries for freedom from leagues away.

It was one of the many things that never failed to confuse him.

As if his senses had expanded far beyond his own imagination.)

Glittering blues glanced up at him and he extended a hand.

“Ace, Sabo isn’t dead.”

“How do you know?”

“The Sea told me so.” He inclined his head, black unfamiliar hair falling into equally unfamiliar eyes. “Want to dance with the waves too?”

Instead of tears, they savored the victory of their brother’s escape from his gold prison.

A few miles away, Sabo, without memory yet strangely calm, observed the tattooed face of his savior.

And the coast was bathed by the Sea.

☠

“That child is weird,” Said Dadan, a cigarette in her mouth.

Luffy was doing what could only be called dancing, stretching his limbs back and forth in the most graceful display they had ever seen of his strange power. Brown eyes far away as if he was looking at an old friend, the Sun’s Shadow at his back.

The ocean’s waves could be heard far below the mountain.

~ Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum! ~

“Really, really weird.”

Chapter Text

Zoro understood Luffy.

It was something deeper than blood, and stronger than iron. It was a fact of life.

Luffy got Zoro’s back, and he his captain’s. As simple as that.

He had earned his loyalty between his sunny smiles and his fiery eyes that whitened in the right light, making a strange feeling of dread and elation travel down his spine. Often, Zoro had to shrug it off in order to function and not to stare like some kind of god fearing douchebag at Luffy.

Sure, there was something weird about his captain, but it didn’t change a thing.

☠

On her way towards the Gecko Islands, she couldn’t help but curse her luck, and the crimson tone that took over the blues of the morning heavens. The sun shined through it all, breathtaking and so beautifully bright, liberating in its own way.

And laughing, as always, at her plight.

It was a weird feeling she always got when she looked at it, an intimate part of her that dreamed of drawing a world map and to discover the realms untouched by man.

“Nishishishi,” She heard the idiotic boy she had decided to ally herself with sniker. “Nami’s so frowny. She should smile more.”

“Shut up, you moron! Can’t you see the skies?”

“Huh?” Said the half-asleep swordsman.

“Oh my… Haven’t you heard the song?” She asked instead of losing her mind.

“No” “Nope!” Were her answers. Nami sincerely was reconsidering this whole temporary allies thing.

“You know… Red sky at night, sailors' delight. Red sky at morning, sailors take warning. It means that we may have extreme winds any moment, maybe even a storm.” She sighted. “That’s why we need to prepare, our em… ship is going to fall over under this weather.”

“Have heard the song,” Stated Zoro, completely uninterested in something that had the probability of killing him.

“Oh! Oh! I know it! I know it!” The other fearless idiot exclaimed. “But I know another version.”

She had had enough . “Shorten the sails, idiots!”

After she punched them, they complied like kicked puppies.

Nami liked them for sure, yet sometimes she regretted ever meeting them.

☠

No matter how great of a captain he was, Usopp had many a fear in his heart. He was not a coward per se… okay, he definitely was a coward. Yet he was ready to lay down his life to save his friends, his family, his nakama . Even if his stomach jumped to his mouth and he shivered in that all dreadful terror that overtook his nobby knees, he was ready to sacrifice it all for his pride and his crew.

There was something weird about his reluctant captain, since Usopp was a better option, it made his legs tremble and his palms sweat rivers.

He couldn’t recall exactly when he had noticed, perhaps since Luffy declared he didn’t like Klahadore, or when he had smiled at the Black Cat captain in that frankly creepy way. A d-shaped smile, a baring of teeth, made not from a place of happiness but from something horrid hidden inside a non-human soul. It had made the former-butler hesitate in his attacks, not sure what he had angered but knowing it would come after his very soul.

It haunted Usopp’s nightmares.

“You are afraid of me,” Luffy declared beside him, making him jump in fright.

His eyes whitened under the moonlight, and he got the sudden urge to laugh against all the instincts that were screaming to him to get the hell out of dodge.

“Ha! As if Captain Usopp is scared of something! Hahaha!”

He closed his eyes, and the sharpshooter relaxed a bit at no longer being under their scrutiny. “It’s okay, you’ll get over it eventually.”

Now he felt even more exposed, and weirded out. “What?”

“Nishishishi. Good night, Usopp!”

To his surprise, he eventually got used to it.

☠

Sanji quite liked his captain.

He was a bit of an idiot, sure… okay that was kind of putting it lightly.

Anyways, he was very fond of him, of his childish nature and pure heart. He was a rare diamond, and thus he had to be protected from the harms and darkness oh so present in this cruel world.

(Sanji, for the first time in his life, was an older brother. How cool was that?)

Let’s not forget about Nami-swan, with her beauty and wonderful personality. Her bright eyes, her attractive body, her exquisite taste in food, and Sanji was an expert in all things delicious. Oh, he hoped she was alright.

Usopp was funny, even if he was a coward at times, but his genius, charm and easy laugh made the days brighter so he was not complaining.

They could do without the marimo thought.

As they defeated Arlong, Sanji noticed something weird.

His captain’s eyes were white.

He was still getting used to his big smiles, stretching far above human limits, and his strange obsession with the sea.

(“Have you ever danced, Sanji?” Luffy asked seriously, Sanji perplexed at the tone.

It was deeper than the seas, searching for places Sanji kept hidden to the world. In a moment of clarity, the chef put a hand on his chest, the hurt child in him screaming for comfort, for a family that didn’t hurt his bleeding heart.

“Em… yes. I know ballroom dances, and some folkish ones too. I’m not good at it, but I know enough for it to be decent.” His face changed into one that he refused to admit was foolish. “Maybe one day Nami-swan will give me the honor of holding her between my arms, and dance together under the moonlight.”

Luffy’s gaze turned towards the sea, his pensive mode not over yet. His all-white eyes glowing under the Sun, his barely there smile brighter than a million stars. His body so lean, his hair unusually gray, snowy at the tips.

Sanji’s heart beated like a drum.

“I dance with the Sea.” His smile widened, “I want you to learn too.”

He suddenly got the urge to laugh his problems away.)

Luffy’s eyes were angry, insanely so. It was the kind of anger that made you smirk like a feral best. That made you taunt your enemies, and dance over their tombs.

Sanji felt like Arlong had angered something not quite human, not quite mortal.

Arlong had angered something far beyond Sanji’s understanding.

And he was his captain, the one who would set him free time and time again.

☠

Chopper was an animal before he was human, it came with both advantages and problems. His instincts were too present, and his heart was too bright. He believed in second chances and in the goodness of the ones around him, even if he had suffered the consequences of their ignorance and scorn.

He knew there was something different with Luffy.

His captain didn’t feel human like his other nakama, he felt like something more . Maybe that was how he got his plight, for the Sun’s Shadow bathed Luffy’s back, his all-seeing snowy eyes knew of the malice in people’s hearts and still laughed and smiled with a certainty Chopper wished he had. It didn’t matter how his smirk reminded Chopper of a predator, one from old legends told between his kind of the Sun incarnate, free from mortal pains.

Luffy was a different monster than Chopper, since he transcended his earthly companions.

He came from outside, he came not from the Six Moons, nor the Five Seas. He came from the stars above, he came from the Sun.

But, in the end, it didn’t matter anyways.

Luffy had accepted him, looked at Chopper monstrosity and made him his nakama.

So he would maintain his suspicions and secrets to himself.

☠

Under the desert’s sun, Vivi could finally contemplate all that was Luffy, and she wanted to jump from the jubilation that came with his existence.

She had never met someone so close to the ancients her ancestors worshiped. The ones who simply perceived the wonders of the world, and the essence of the people around them.

The ones so free, you could taste freedom yourself.

She smiled at him and he smiled back.

Everything was going to be alright.

Even if later her father’s face reflected a horror she had never seen before when he gazed at Luffy, and told her to be cautious of his joy.

☠

Waiting for his Luffy was a pain, and not because of the desert sun.

It was because Sabo was being a total pain in the ass.

“Come on, Ace. Why can’t you just let go of your anger.” The blond made that face full of concern that made him feel like a total asshole, “There’s something extremely wrong with Blackbeard and you know it.” He sighed. “Or at least be more cautious and take someone else from your crew.”

Ace frowned, totally against what his brother said. “I’m being cautious by not involving anyone from the crew.”

Sabo facepalmed. “Your anger is gonna kill you someday.”

“Whatever,” He said instead of insulting him. “By the way, aren’t you hot?”

His younger brother had not let go of the black cape common along the revolutionaries.

“Nope,” Sabo denied, despite the beads of sweat on his forehead.

It didn’t get easier once Luffy arrived, who didn’t try to reason with him and simply tried to punch him in the face, to Sabo’s delight.

… he was gonna hunt down Teach anyways.

“Nishishishi. Ace is being an ïÐïð†”

He ignored the sensation of the Sun trying to burn his back.

Luffy would get over it.

☠

Her archaeologist self couldn’t help but consider the mystery of her new captain as a challenge. He was both an open book and secretive of his past to the point that she had no clue about him, and somehow he had gained her trust.

As he danced on the bonfire, she felt her chest give consecutive heartbeats, in perfect synchrony with the rumble of the drums. Her very self felt euphoric, and the rhythm penetrated her soul, a roar of freedom overtaking her mind.

It brought a flush of joy to her face.

And now, as her tears dried, she watched Luffy challenge the world for her, and later rescue not only her body, but her mind and drive and soul too. Finally allowed to dream, she smiled at her captain, and he smiled back with pale eyes, and laughter, the sun shining teasingly over him like a halo.

Frantic as she was after Enies Lobby, she couldn’t help but wonder at the boy who had saved her life. His brightness and his willingness to give his everything for his nakama.

And the D on his name.

(He brought a storm to save her.

And under his never ending smile, she had extended her hand towards his savior.)

Robin was finally free of her chains, and had a family to rely on.

She couldn’t be happier.

☠

Enel had been a liar his whole life. His godly status was only because of pure luck and a powerful devil fruit. Lying was his everything, his wall, his self.

One day, he had begun to believe his own falsehoods, the power of the gods flowing through his veins.

Then, he had found the Sun.

It was bright and human looking, and oh so terrible, it send shivers down his spine.

For the first time, God was staring at him.

(It smiled, the smile of a predator, of a hunter, of the divine.

His hair was white as the clouds, and his eyes were hot snow, a storm was brought by his laughter.)

Enel screamed.

Chapter Text

Closed eyelids fluttering, Sabo's lips stretched from ear to ear below the shimmering radiance of the sun. Unconscious was his state, trapped in a place between dreamland and awareness, for a sneering dragon of the skies had ripped his memories from under seawater skin and left him in a plight of almost there but not quite.

When he opened sapphire eyes, he was met with a dragon from earth. A monster in the eyes of so-called justice, a liberator in the eyes of the people.

His name, thus, was Monkey D. Dragon.

Some would say fate put Sabo in the right hands, a home where he could finally feel the warmth of the familial love he so craved.

That wasn’t correct.

Sabo was a fierce creature, full of vigor and defiance, who wanted to break the lock of his gilded cage and for freedom to no longer be a dream. He was smart though, and he knew his liberation would not be upon him until he dismantled the system that had put many in his position, that wanted to see his brothers dead, and him trapped inside a cold home in which no dreams were allowed and love was a distant need.

As he took to his training and studies with all of his heart, even if he couldn't recall why he felt a special kind of duty reverberate in his bones, Sabo rapidly grew in strength and wisdom. He came to love his mission, and his resilience promptly made him gain a spot as chief of staff, second to Dragon himself.

But it all changed once he turned seventeen.

He was aware there was a part of him who wanted to remember something, or someone, important. His want to remember a past long gone often made him spend many sleepless nights, when his heart beated like a drum, and he had a sudden urge to laugh his problems away.

Sabo wasn't religious per se, but those nights made him feel abandoned by God, and once the sun rose and its light bathed the earth, he clothed his eyes and smiled at the morning.

Yet when he turned seventeen, things changed.

Bright sun rays penetrated his soul and brought forth a new person. It illuminated him with its laughter, it brought down the walls in his mind and he found new found freedom.

The Sun had smiled down at him, and Sabo remembered.

☠

“It looks like you're enjoying the food. Right, Straw Hat-kun?” Guffawed a chubby man with rosy cheeks and green hair, nicknamed Strawberry.

It made Franky stare in disbelief.

“Yep! I do!” Exclaimed the little rascal.

He couldn’t even begin to comprehend what had just happened.

You see, Strawberry, contrary to his outward appearance, was very closeted. It had taken Franky literal months of friendly banter to accomplish something resembling friendship with the man.

A super friendship, but still.

The green-haired man wasn’t in any way cold, you could strike pleasant conversation at any time without trouble, yet he was the type to never become familiar with people immediately after meeting them .

And now that he was looking more closely at the phenomenon, all of the Family was attracted to the boy, like he had pulled at their strings and made them dance at his Will.

There was a quality in Monkey D. Luffy, one that made him befriend unlikely people and to make his enemies into allies.

It was strange, it was mysterious, it was exhilarating.

Either Straw Hat had the charm of the Devil, or there was something else at play.

Because Franky could feel a drum beat in his chest, a laugh on his lips, and a warmth in his heart.

Luffy smiled down at him, the mountain of food he was sitting on acting like a throne. His eyes and hair pailer under the light.

And those eyes said, “You shall be mine.”

☠

“He has no shadow!” Screeched Usopp at the top of his lungs, scurrying behind a giggling Robin for protection.

Their new… nakama — and damned be Luffy for attracting all manner of bizarre to their ship and recruiting them into the crew— sighed, putting his cup of tea on the table. What he lacked in facial expression, he more than made up with the tone of voice as he explained his situation to the crew, about having no shadow and how he couldn’t leave the Triangle or he would turn into nothing.

“But you’ve a Shadow.” Said Luffy, a peculiar tilt to his Voice. His eyes wide, and his smile stretched from ear to ear, no feeling whatsoever behind it.

The air thickened, a shudder ran down the group’s spines.

“Em… Luffy,” Adventured Nami, knowing not to overstep her boundaries when her captain was like this. “He doesn’t have a shadow, can’t you see?”

“You’re weird,” Said the boy, turning towards their company, disregarding Nami’s words with the ease of experience, a frown on his face as if personally offended. “You’ve a Shadow, but you’re not free.” He inclined his head to the side, “How’s that?”

A crushing silence overtook the crew.

(His new nakama was shadowless, yet he had a Shadow. A Shadow that was attached to his bones. His Voice was warped, obstructed by a flesh that was no longer there.

No wonder he couldn’t stand his laughter.

Brook was, after all, no longer a free man under his eyes.

It was confusing, and Luffy hated, hated, it.

Someone had ripped the shadow of his nakama from him.

Luffy was gonna kick that Warlord’s ass.)

Brook’s skin erupted into goosebumps— but he has no skin Yohohoho — under the teen’s scrutiny. He had the urge to hide away, as he stood before the boy’s visage.

(As he stood before the Sun’s Shadow)

After they had fought Moria and were celebrating. Brook heard Luffy sing an old song to himself. It said:

~Beware the red sky at morning,

For a great storm is coming.

Beware the red sky at morning, sailor;

For Will will bring a new dawn.~

Huh, when was the last time he had heard it? ~Yohohoho~

☠

In Sabaody a legend is often told. Of the Celestial Dragon who yearned, with an inconceivable force in his being, a young boy with sunny eyes, lanky as all adolescents are. Said boy wore a beaten down Straw Hat, his head pushed down by a pink arm to hide the bearing of his teeth.

The kneeling figure smirked to himself, face full of defiance.

“I want him,” He demanded, sure of his power. Greedy hands extended towards the child.

(His hands reached towards the Sun, wanting its glory for himself.)

As the cursed collar came nearer and nearer, the teen grew angrier and angrier. His scared friend beside him could not do anything other than watch, powerless to do anything about it.

But fate had something else planned, or maybe it wasn’t her doing but a miracle from a benevolent higher entity.

The people in the boy’s vicinity witnessed a phenomenon they could not quite explain to themselves fully. Some blamed it on luck, some blamed the Devil in his name, some went home afterwards and prayed.

(What they had not heard was the child’s whisper, lips pulled in a snarl. “I am Shadow, human and GðÐ. And I am free.”

A mere mortal had reached towards the Sun, and it had burned his hand.)

The story told that the Sky Dragon did not get what he wanted, as his being was nauseous, his mind was pathetic, and his Will was weak.

His pitiable body touched the ground, foam in his mouth. Promptly getting tended to by his followers.

The bystanders, and the boy himself, took that as their cue to flee.

☠

Once he punched the jerkass who shot his friend, Luffy finally snapped out of his righteous anger and told his crew to forgive him. He had, after all, just brought an admiral on their collective asses.

The fight that ensued was so funny, it made him cackled.

~Nishishishi~

A deep voice cleared the battle-fog in his mind. It belonged to a man with, well, spots all over him.

Spots-guy was sitting on top of the stairs, smirking to himself lazily, and hiding the predator inside. It took one to recognize one.

Luffy glanced at him, searching.

The man glanced back, gold eyes rich as was his tanned, and spotty, skin. His Voice spoke of tragedy, and a wounded mind. His heart screamed for liberation.

It brought a blush to hï§ face.

☠

Inside of Impel Down, one Monkey D. Luffy had endured the human definition of hell to save his brother. Again and again he had tried to reach for his brother but he continued to evade his grasp. Yet he couldn’t give up!

His brother needed him.

Oh, and he needed Sabo too. But his blond brother was way more sneakier than him, and he liked to knock good sense into both Ace’s and his heads, and Ace needed that because Ace had been so stupid.

Moving on.

Now, after going through too many hardships to count, after suffering from Magellan’s poison, to magma under his feet, to the animals, the Sphinx, the hurt, the pain, the hundreds of screams for freedom.

(To the Sea crying out to him, wishing to whisk his curse away, and have Luffy for themself.)

Then.

Blackbeard.

Without doubt, he lunged for the bastard that had hurt his brother.

Then, something was pulled from him. Something important, a part of himself. It felt like they had as if someone had cut him open and exposed his entrails. Someone who slowly and meticulously tweaked at each nerve ending to make him scream.

The Yami Yami no Mi absorbed everything , its power impeded for other Shadows other than itself to exist. Under it nothing flourished. It screeched its glee, a sound that was not quite sound just as its color was not quite color.

And it had ripped Luffy’s Shadow away.

(Who are you? Asked the Shadow within Teach.

It said, “I am—

—thesunthesunthesunthesunthesunthesunthesunthesunthesunYOUthesunthesunthesunthesunthesunthesunthesunthesunTHESUNTHESUNTHESUNTHESUNWORTHLESSTHESUNTHESUNTHESUNTHESUNTHESUNSCUMTHESUNTHESUNTHESUNTHESUNTHESUNTHESUNTHE—

The

Laughing

Ｇ̷̡̧̂͆͛̓͗͛͛́̚͜͏̗̤̭̠̗͉̹̭̕͢Ｏ͆̅̃̇̓̋̐̑҉̵̸̢͘͜͡҉̩̞̤̝̣̲̤ͅＤ̸̢͖̘̤̻̺̝͍̥̈́ͥ̍̇ͦ̑̐̍̀͢͜͠͡͞    )

Luffy was furious. His face was blank as he growled, “You have stolen me, you have stolen my Will.”

Blackbeard was laughing so hard— a desperate edge to it for he was contaminated with something and it was squirming in his insides, and it was wrong— he didn’t feel the almost fatal punch in his gut.

(As his Shadow and himself were conjoined again, Luffy covered his mouth so his allies didn’t see his grin, stretched too wide to be human, and how his eyes reflected all the light.)

“Luffy, we need to go!” Shouted Jinbe over the commotion.

He, rare as it was and against his nature, did as he was told.

☠

In Skypiea, a Mother and her daughter gave offerings to the fire, celebrating the ascension of the Sun God.

Their offerings turned into ash, burning until there was nothing left. And one by one, the other Shandians’ offerings perished under the unforgiving fire, rage licked at the palms of the priests and priestesses who were enchanting the Sun’s name.

The woman’s face paled, a knowing darkness reflecting in her eyes as she gazed at the fire. She gulped, all-consuming terror in her veins.

Her child asked, “Mama, why is the Sun angry?”

Her lips pulled into a smirk, and the Mother voiced the fears of everyone in the ceremony.

“Because we have challenged its Will.”

☠

Luffy watched the stronghold of Justice itself, Marineford, draw closer.

There was not a smile on his face.

Chapter Text

There once was a flower.

It was a beautiful one in the shape of a lily, with a laughing face and huge smile.

(It was a horrible one in the shape of a monster, without a face and its only objective to devour.

Its Voice scratched the insides of his skull).

The Sun had illuminated it, gave it strength through the darkness, and embraced it as one would their own. As was their Shadow nature, Nika was known for being unconcerned for the going-ons of the world to the point of carelessness. They were powerful, and there barely existed a being capable of challenging their Will.

The flower devoured Luffy’s family, one by one, leaving only despair in its wake. All after torturing their bonds until they had collapsed under its mocking face. The nature of a flower made to predate on the weak and strong, a parasite disguised as a miracle to the anguished man. A man whose grief had turned him into a demon.

Luffy’s Shadow had dimmed, feeling only an emptiness inside, the loneliness he long ago coming back to haunt him once more. He narrowly avoided losing hope thanks to the little girl who could hear them when he had been too despondent to search for their Voices. Now, he tried to find them… and they responded back to their captain’s call.

Eyes open wide, and a grin stretching his lips, the boy turned towards Brief, something inhuman in his white eyes. A shudder ran down the former captain’s back as he relegated the plan to the monster in front of him.

(Brief wanted to avoid the gleeful smirk that was tugging his lips upward.

He wanted to throw this boy at the demon of his nightmares, for he knew this creature in front of him was no mere monster, and its presence sent shivers down his spine. It reminded him a little of the otherworldliness of the flower itself, with something underneath it that laughed louder than the lily, and smiled a D-shaped smile that brought elation to his drumming heart.)

The Sun’s Shadow at his back, Luffy faced the million arrows at his back, a cheshire smile on his lips and snow eyes open wide as he brought a hand forth and threw his fire at them, the suffering of a man turning into dust underneath the Will of a God.

(Baron Omatsuri saw the creature throw its head down and laugh to the winds, hands covered in white fire.

It twisted its head backwards to trap him under its devilish grin.)

…

There once was a flower, a master of a despicable man.

Both wanted to prey on those who were free.

Then, they dared to gaze at the Sun, mad in their power.

Lily Carnation had made what other creatures were smart enough to never do.

It had challenged its Will.

And the plant burned under its warmth.

…

“Luffy, are you okay? Why are you laughing?”

“Nishishishi, I just saw a silly flower.”

☠

Trafalgar Law saw the Moby Dick come nearer, his crewmates’ distant screams for him to please stop barely processing in his brain. His hand clutched the newspaper with Portgas D. Ace’s coming execution tighter, displeased to recede under the D instincts he often denied. Just as he had tried to ignore Straw Hat’s charming grin.

A grin that had brought forth an exhilaration he had never felt before, a joy so pure and freeing he almost went to hug the boy, stranger or not.

It still haunted him. How the man had taken a place in his soul so quickly, so deeply. He had heard the rumors, of course, of the charming devil that he was. But another thing was experiencing it in the flesh.

And then he had checked that cursed newspaper with Fire Fist upcoming execution printed gleefully for all to see, and the surgeon knew, he knew, he had to save him. The excuses his mind came up with to justify this particular whim, of having one of the Emperors in his favor, were of no consequence. The call of the Will he had hidden his whole life had finally brought down his defenses. For a storm was a phenomenon all could see and recognize, especially for Joker.

Law shouted for his crew to shut up as they surfaced.

“Why have you decided to come here?” Asked Whitebeard, his Will made a few of his nakama stagger and others pass out.

He raised a brow. “Whitebeard-ya, I’ve come to make an alliance with you,” He evoked lazily.

The man stood up against his nurses’ wishes. “I’ve no time for foolish brats.”

Edward Newgate’s frown disappeared as he saw that familiar D-shaped smile on the brat’s face. It made the boy’s face look manic.

“I’m a doctor, and there’s no sickness I’ve encountered that I couldn’t cure. So come forth, Emperor, and let me take a look. Would you?” He laughed, “I will also participate in this war as both a surgeon and fighter, if so you wish.”

Whitebeard raised his hand to stop his children from attacking the newcomer.

“May I know your full name, D-child.”

The brats' smile widened, “Huh, you found out? How unfortunate.” He raised his head to stare fearlessly into his eyes. “It’s Trafalgar D. Water Law.”

☠

On the Island of White Soil, Baltigo, Sabo lazily reached for morning paper, and then he froze. His grip loosened enough for his cut of tee to fall to the ground.

He stared blankly at it for all of five minutes, and in the most deadpan voice he said, “When I told him his anger was going to kill him one day, I didn’t mean for him to take it as a fucking challenge.”

He stood up, picking his pipe on the way, and Haki promptly darkened it. With a challenging smile on his face, he turned towards the door, his jacket fluttering behind him.

Sabo had an execution to stop.

…

Law panted as he finished Whitebeard’s operation, the man not having screamed nor grunted his agony once in the extremely painful procedure. Anesthesia was nothing when the rot had invaded the Emperor’s nervous system, and circulatory, and urinary… and the doctor sincerely asked himself how could the man laugh and drink and smile despite the pain he was apparently always in.

He shrugged, and gave the man what could barely count as curtsy. The pirate in him was gleeful for a chance to fight, to rebel against the authoritarian government that hunted his kind down.

The D in himself could wait no more.

…

Pirates had chants for all aspects of life, be it work, camaraderie, love… It was a fundamental part of themselves.

That included war.

Whitebeard intoned an old war cry, made by sailors of old. “Because what’re we if we die?”

And his men responded. “Bones, and bones, and nothing more!”

“Ahoy, ahoy! And where will we be?”

Marco shouted, fist raised in the air, his First Commander. “Merry and free in Fiddler's Green.”

“Ahoy, ahoy. And where’s our place?”

Vista tapped his feet to the rhythm of the chant with the rest of his family and allies. “Free at Sea! Free at Sea!”

“Yo-ho to War we go!”

They thumped their own chests as they sang. “Yo-ho to War we go!”

“To be the brethrens of hell below!"

Now their swords were up in the air in preparation for the incoming war. “To be the brethrens of hell below!”

“Skulls ‘n crossbones’re our banner!”

Their newly acquired ally, Trafalgar Law, was further to the right, and his heart was a steady drum in his chest. He opened his mouth, and shouted. “A pirate’s Will will never wane!”

Edward Newgate smiled gravely as he bellowed, “Aye, my men, let’s go and face the fools who challenged us!”

☠

Deep in the dungeons of Impel Down, Portgas D. Ace couldn’t do much more than remember those blissful times with his crew, their adventures and sweet dreams. Indeed, he had ruined his family with his selfishness and anger, his lack of control. The fire in him had seduced his Will; like the world’s poisonous lies, his fury had buried itself in his heart.

Far be from a lie the thoughts that told him, point-blank, of his many faults and failings, and something like regret gnawed at him. The candor of his Voice had been reduced to mere ashes.

Ace had fallen, and thus, he raised his forehead and met Davy Jones in the eye.

He wished he could say no.

The rot in his blood, the whispers of the damned, laughed in delight.

And brought his Will down.

☠

“I’m Gold Roger’s son!” Ace shouted, tears in his eyes. “Do you want me now! Now that you know I’m that monster’s son?”

Whitebeard did not move, prefering to stare at the rich blues that embraced his ship, for they brought peace to his aging self. The sun was warm on his back, painting it playfully in little delights.

“Gurarara! We are all Children of the Sea, son,” Whitebeard explained. “For them, there is no difference in blood ties nor riches nor origin, for their children are free sailors under the Sun, and those who dare try to go against that premise are challenging their Will.”

His big hand stroked raven strands, a knowing glint in his glaze. “So dance with the waves, Ace, they are our calling.”

The fireman frowned, if that was the nature of the Sea… then why did the World Government exist? Why were people’s freedom denied and taken from them?

Seeing his son’s confused expression, Edward Newgate sighed. “The Sea is mysterious and as old as time itself. It is a long and tragic tale, so know only that the Sun favors them, yet they are not free.”

Ace swallowed harshly, and remembered Luffy’s sad smile as he danced and laughed with the waves.

☠

The battlefield was full of the howling voices of the fighters, a cacophony that was beginning to tick Law off. He wasn’t much for noisy battles. Or anything noisy in general.

Then a moron had turned back and was running towards Whitebeard, screaming something about Akainu and betrayal and general bullshit.

Well, now he was plenty angry.

"Room." The sphere materialized in the field, his operating room enveloped the man. “Shambles.”

Once the man was in front of him, he unsheathed Kikoku and pressed it against the man’s neck. Not caring enough to make its cut real, he deactivated his Room, and smirked as a line of blood ran down the blade.

“You idiot, believing the lies of the marines, and you call yourself a pirate?” Growled Law, if not for the huge hand that had come to rest upon his shoulder, he would have cut the fool into a million bits, to hell with the alliance. That, and he could not help but feel indignation.

No one messed with his work. It had taken him hours to cure the man. Damn it!

“Stop, child,” Said the man calmly, and Law’s shoulders raised like a feral cat. Whitebeard faced his son then. “Son, listen to me, I’ve not betrayed any of you. What was told to you were lies to cause unrest. Can you not see that I love you all equally with all of my heart?”

His son looked at the ground, finally thinking over his anger, and considered his actions. Shame promptly overtook his being, and he again turned to face his enemies with newfound fury.

“Thank you,” Sighed Whitebeard. “My Haki would not have pinpointed an attack from people I trust. I owe you my life.”

“The only thing I want is for Fire Fist-ya to survive, and for you to stop messing with my work.”

Whitebeard laughed.

…

Haruta blocked a sword aimed at his throat casually, staring at the miracle that was Monkey D. Luffy, who had gained Oyaji’s respect. “Is that Ace’s little brother?”

Vista cut down ten marine swordsmen at once with a single move. “Aye.”

The brown haired man laughed as he jumped in to clear the path for Straw Hat to pass. “Kid’s gutsy. I'd bet berry on him making it.”

His fellow swordsman huffed a laugh before asking, “Wagering already?”

“What can I say?” Haruta shrugged. “We’re pirates after all.”

…

“Fucking rascal did it!” Cheered Rakuyo.

“Wait, isn’t that Akainu?” Shouted Marco as blue flames hugged his arms and feet, and he flew towards the Admiral that was following his brothers.

Ace widened his eyes as a Volcano’s Shadow came to snatch his little brother away. Luffy was frozen on the ground, he couldn’t move, and there was something strange in his eyes as he faced the fist of his end.

A smile began to tug at Luffy’s lips. The Sun’s Shadow at his back.

Many were witness to when the Surgeon of Death gave what could only be described as a snarl. “Oh no, you don’t, moron. ” He conjured a new transparent blue dome to include the duo. “Shambles.”

One moment Ace was feeling an intense heat coming closer to his back, ready to accept his death if it meant his little brother would live. The next, he was behind Oyaji and a tall man in a yellow shirt, who looked pissed off beyond belief and about to abandon the waking world.

He was probably the one who saved them, and he had also seen Ace make a fool of himself. Shit. “Oi, You alright?”

“I will be when your family develops some common sense .” The man snapped with enough anger in his Voice to rival a user of Conqueror’s Haki.

…

“Retreat.” Bellowed Whitebeard, Will in his voice.

The Blackbeard crew took that as their cue to make themselves known, cackling like the devils they were. Pale and with an odd shadow marked on his forehead, Teach walked slowly towards his ex-captain, a cruel and crazed smile on his haggard features.

His manner was reminiscent of the undead.

Hands shaking, the man made a bow, “See, father, something unusual transpired during my trip in Impel Down.” He raised his head… and his eyes were black pools, reflecting no light at all. They bore no sentiment, only faking the motions of a human thanks to his face.

On his forehead, there was a sun glowing in bright oranges and golds.

An uneasiness engulfed Marineford itself, as the Sun itself glared down at the no longer man. As it glared at the Shadow.

A shiver ran down the spines of all that were witness to the wicked mortal who had betrayed those of higher standing, and his own pirate blood. Whitebeard swallowed the lump in his throat, for he did not wish this fate on anyone, not even his worst enemy.

“Takt.” Shaking himself out of his stupor, whispered Law as he held the thing in place. “Injection sho— argh.”

(The sound as his being was ripped in two was vomit inducing, and Law hugged himself as his Shadow escaped in between his clenched fingers. His mind screeched that something was wrong, and he laughed in such a way it made even Doflamingo shudder.

The seawaves were rising and falling with his breath.)

Before Law could finish his technique, his room disappeared, and he was left defenseless in the midst of battle. He barely parried the blade aimed at his back.

(The sea salt in the air smelled putrid. Both marines and pirates tasted acrimony blues on their tongues and saw corruption rain in their hearts, and it breathed.

In and out, in and out it went.

Similar to the rise and fall of a human chest.)

The Surgeon did not notice when the attacks had stopped coming, for the blue waters of the Sea drew him closer with their shimmering indigos and blacks.

“Thank you for saving my brothers,” Said the blond in front of him, voice strained. “Now, let me rescue both you and Ace’s father over there… What!?”

Sabo, like many if not all of the warriors, separated to contemplate the tsunami in front of them.

(Law was hypnotized by the drumming heartbeats ringing in his ears, the favor of freedom overwhelming his senses. The seas were breathing with him.

He raised an arm to the skies and they followed his command.)

Teach guffawed at what he was seeing, it was so damn funny. It was a comedy and the outrage of the gods just made it all the sweeter. He took this opportunity to turn tail and run with his crew towards safety.

It was not time to take his former father’s power.

…

Law walked slowly towards the Sea’s Shadow.

The Sun was bathing his back.

He brought his sword down.

….

It would be told later that all the pirates escaped without a single scratch on them, and the propagandists of the World Government would do anything to hide the truth.

The truth, that the ocean had risen towards the skies following the commands of a cursed sword in a surgeon’s hand, a man whom Davy Jones blessed with his name.

The truth, that the waves had fallen and only took the lives of the marines, and not a single one of the pirates. Instead, it healed them.

The truth, that the Sun and Sea were in the pirate’s favor.

☠

Rayleigh’s heart soared, a joy he had not felt in such a long time it left him breathless. Nostalgic he was, seeing the wishes his captain had come true not in the way they had expected, but in a better way, in an unexpected way. Like an adventure all over again.

The Fruit and the boy were so similar it felt almost like destiny that they had found each other, an unified Will that challenged the very world.

It brought a tired smile to his face, the image of Joy Boy happily dancing with the waves making his heart soar.

Whitebeard and he shared another cup of sake, and both Ace and Sabo went to tackle their brother to the ground, laughing in delight.

☠

Ceasar’s log notes on Devil Fruits:

On the psych of Devil Fruit Users, many theories have been developed. One of my personal favorites, the one that I made, suggests that if you connect the shadow principle of the Kage Kage no Mi, the mysterious nature of the sun, and the effects faulty Smiles have on their users, you already have the answer to your questions.

I theorize that the sun’s merry nature is only stopped by both the physical shadow and the Shadow of the soul (the part of the human that they negate or are not conscious of — in inanimate things, the soul and Shadow are both former once they consume the fruit). The fruit then integrates itself with the Shadow of the user, thus becoming their user . This is also why Smile takes their ability to express negative emotions, since it steals their Shadow — their protection against the Sun — and they are exposed to the sun’s nature.

The Sun identifies which creatures are free by seeing both their shadows, in the case of the physical one, it destroys the body incapable of being free, and in the case of the soul, it consumes and integrates what it can.

And the sun is always laughing, always smiling, and ever watchful.

On Despertar, it’s a state of the illuminated being, of accepting one’s Shadow and becoming one.

…

“Let’s form an alliance,” Crooned Law, a devilish smirk on his face, azure strands shadowed gold eyes, their fathomless visage making his rival’s heart drum.

“Of course,” Laughed Luffy.

Destiny was a funny thing!

…

“Fufufu. I am no longer the strings, Straw Hat. Now I am the Puppeteer. My fruit and I have become one.”

Luffy understood once the world began to turn into threads.

And, somehow, his heart began to beat at the rhythm of the Shadian’s drums.

☠

Trapped in a jail with none other than Eustass Kid, Luffy felt his Shadow and himself becoming closer as they trained to take on Kaido. Each day, it was becoming more difficult to ignore the calls of freedom from the world itself.

Luffy was aware of his calling, of who he was, even if he had no words for it. He knew how separated he from concepts like mortality, how the meat he was given was more an offering to a divine being rather than some hero.

And he was fine with it. It had saved his friends, it had satisfied his hunger, it had let him know the Sea, and he had tasted the sweetness of all encompassing freedom.

They laughed, because there was no day now in which they were not having fun!

And for those who prayed to them, they did not have to wait any longer.

Dawn soon would be upon the Seas.

Chapter Text

Jinbe had been born in the sea, a connection that he shared with his kind. His ties were not of blood, but of friendship and brotherhood. Those ties had been weakened by time and hate, his long brother Arlong leaving him mournful and bitter, his heart had no cadence in its beat.

He had the Sun on his chest.

He had long since abandoned laughter.

Yet his conviction never weakened.

He fought for them, fought for those he considered honorable and just. Jinbe confronted a Will made of shackles and fire for ten days in the name of the man who had saved his land. And he later accepted incarceration and death instead of giving into the song of war.

He was a Fishman, and he belonged to the Sea. He was their Child and their Knight.

Not many people understood that connection, one so deeply ingrained in how his people lived and behaved. No human could hear their cries, their rejoice, their chants. For mankind, the Sea had no Will of their own.

The Sea danced, his kind joined hands and danced in tune. The Sea was bounded, his people were slaves. Their tears shared the salt of all living creatures, the water in their bodies swayed to give life and meaning. Fishman Karate was no more than applying this instinctive knowledge to combat.

His thoughts were interrupted by his cellmate. “Huh? My ears are buzzing,” Whispered Ace, blinking too tired eyes. “It’s so loud,” He said wistfully.

Jinbe frowned, then his eyes widened. “This is…”

As a child, he had been taught to always listen, to give his trust to the dancing blues themselves, for they will never abandon their Children. No, they would instead carry them to the afterlife. Reach their dear seafarers from heaven to hell, in as many forms and ways as were necessary, to take them to their merry rest in Fiddler’s Green.

For the most part, the sound of the beloved Parent was a combination of murmur and silence, with slight traces of ground sapphire. Not exactly calm — in fact they were a great lover of chaos — rather, they were constant; so it was not common for them to lose their composure. And they had lost it, because their murmuring voice was buzzing, and they were not greeting the Sun.

They were not rejoicing with the Sun.

The Sea and the Sun were still.

They were never still.

Full of dreams of sailors past and present, the Sea’s sways often meet the laughing sunset with playful humor, an enriching experience that only the passengers of water were privy to, no matter if they were pirate, marine or civilian. But the Sun was still in the skies, it had not moved in hours, and the Sea was not dancing, their waves only moved by the wind and other outside forces.

It was too calm.

It sent shivers down Jinbe’s spine.

“It doesn’t matter,” Continued Ace, unaware of the fishman’s inner turmoil, “I’ll die soon, with no regrets.”

The man smiled, Jinbe sighed.

It was not buzzing, nor murmuring. It was a wailing Voice sharing its laments to the world.

“It will be over soon.”

…

Jinbe had long ago resigned to his fate. He was a fishman and a pirate, his death would come sooner rather than later. A death that meant nothing in the grand scheme of things.

That was, until he met one Monkey D. Luffy.

A child who’s heart was a treasure and, apparently, the one the waves held so dear they were willing to voice their laments for. It brought a tired smile to his face, and invigorated the fire in his heart.

On their way to Marineford, Luffy was staring down at the unmoving seas, his trademark smile absent from his face, and had hummed, ~ Fifteen men on a dead man’s chest ~

A pause, and then.

~ Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum! ~

And the seas moved.

…

The fishmen felt the odd silence before any of the other fighters, the Surgeon of Death’s cackles resounding in the battlefield like mirthful daggers to the chest.

Soon after, the man’s golden eyes saw the ocean. And both began to breathe together.

In and out, in and out. The seas were rising until they finally met the unsmiling Sun.

Body swept to do the Sea’s bidding, a tattooed arm raised a cursed sword.

And brought damnation in its way.

…

Jinbe waited for Luffy in his homeland for two years, sometimes drinking a cup of sake with Whitebeard, who had to reclaim the territory and persuade Big Mom to leave, since the world somehow got the idea that the giant man had died. It had been a rough time for the legend, even if his sickness was cured and he was somehow closer to his peak than in recent years.

Fishman Island owed Trafalgar Law a great deal. They had made sure to compensate him and his crew a year ago when they decided to cross the Red Line once their brief training with the Whitebeard pirates was over, and they were strong enough to be considered allies of the strongest man in the world.

Poor kids sure had needed that spa if the crying bear was anything to go by. It was also a tale of pride for the cooks of the castle when a red faced Surgeon of Death had stuffed himself sick of onigiri and grilled fish. For someone so intimidating, it was funny to see him get flustered from the smallest of gestures.

“Wait. You meant son literally? ” The pirate choked, almost flipping the table he was sitting on with how quickly he had stood up and pointed in horror at a laughing Whitebeard.

“Of course,” The man guffawed, “You have been my child since you decided to form an alliance with us.”

“That’s not what a pirate alliance means!”

“Gurarara. Sit down son, it’s not polite to talk with food in your mouth.”

“I-you-I-son… what?”

It took the doctor a good week or two to get used to the idea.

Now, one year after the Heart Pirates’ visit, there was news of the return of the Strawhat Pirates, and Jinbe was ready to be with his nakama. He had a poneglyph to give to Nico Robin, and a party in the palace to celebrate with his newfound family. Ties so much stronger than the blood he gave Luffy once his last duty to his people was over and done with.

They would later encounter Trafalgar Law again, fight against Doflamingo, and re-kidnap their cook from Big Mom’s clutches, all before going to Wano.

And life couldn’t be better.

…

Finally faced with Who’s-Who, and without more nasty interruptions, he fought against the surprisingly chatty Beast Pirate, dodging his Fang Pistol , and using Fishman Karate to flip him on his back. The man barely escaped his Water Pistols before deciding it was a good time to narrate the story of Sun God “Nika” and asking him about the Sun Pirates and their connection to all of this.

And the fishman just froze in the middle of the fight.

Not a good idea, but he somehow managed to dodge the onslaught directed at his person.

Of course, after all this time, the answer to his captain’s strange nature had been glaring down at him. A laughter so profound it renewed the soul’s vigor, a drum in the beating of the heart, a warrior that liberated all who encountered him.

And one day, Jinbe would make that man King.

☠

Sabo sneezed something awful, rubbing at his nose. He sheepishly smirked at the marines in front of him, raising one of his hands to appease the atmosphere. It itched to not have his gloves on, and his head felt empty without his hat. An awful odor made its way to his poor nose, it came from the uniform he was wearing.

What was it with Marines and bad smelling clothing?

Okay, maybe that wasn’t fair, since he had infiltrated the Marines before and none of them had ever stinked as much.

So it had to do with the executioner thing. Stenched in the odor of dead bodies and all that.

The things he does for his brothers. Seriously, he deserved a damn medal.

A little bit of sneaking around with Observational Haki and knocking out and disrobing one executioner or two had made him end up where he was. A barely disguised pipe at his back, trying not to walk like someone with a severe case of constipation.

It didn’t take that long to be by his idiotic big brother on the execution platform. He made sure to keep an eye on Sengoku the Buddha as he announced to the world Ace’s heritage… and Luffy and him were going to deal with that all right.

Sabo was so going to make the Whitebeards deal with it too.

He grinned as he felt the wave of his baby brother’s Conqueror’s Haki and acted like it affected him too, falling conveniently close to Ace’s back and obstructing the marine’s gaze from noticing him beginning to fiddle with Ace’s chains. The position was less than ideal, but Sabo was not anything but stubborn.

His senses detected a bright and warm presence, like the first rays of the awakening sun. That meant —

Luffy was almost here, hell yeah! Time to use the commotion to finally free Ace from the Seastone chains, ones which were so easy to open it was not funny. And perhaps he secretly wanted to strangle Ace because Sabo had tried to teach him how to picklock and the idiot had just picked at his nose and not listened .

Huffing silently, he opened the chains and saw wisps of fire begin to heal some of Ace’s injuries, and no doubt Ace felt that too. He touched his arm and made a shushing motion, showing him his scarred face and winking.

Holy shit! Sengoku had transformed, he and Ace looked each other in the eye, turning to find Luffy in the path of the massive gold fist.

Then, a candle dome.

Thank the Gods that the other — disguised? he had a three on his head, too weird to be a low level marine — executioner was a friend of Luffy’s!

Sabo patted Ace on the shoulder, his way to say Sabo would see him later. He used the techniques Dragon taught him, and enough Observational Haki to look into the goddamn future, to escape the platform unnoticed.

He ran behind them but was not quick enough to reach them before Akainu used his brother’s lack of confidence in his own dick’s size, — okay, maybe the insult was unjustified but it was not the time to go and defend his father’s honor! They kind of were in the middle of a war — and Luffy was on the ground and the Heart Stealer just saved Sabo from a heart attack, funnily enough.

Dodging left and right was how he got to where Luffy, Ace, Whitebeard and the Surgeon of Death were at. Teach then decided it was a good idea to pull a stunt on the poor doctor, and Sabo now had to save the man that saved his brothers.

Sabo was running on adrenaline at this point. He had trained for quick attacks and fast battles, not a long drawn fight.

He got a nasty cut in his arm when he blocked a strike that went to the unmoving surgeon’s neck.

“Thank you for saving my brothers,” He said, ignoring the pain from his bleeding arm. “My family can be a handful and we sure have inconvenienced you a lot, so just let me help you… What!? ”

Was that a tsunami? No it was bigger than that, it looked like it could easily cover half the island and it kept growing!

He saw from the corner of his eye Whitebeard’s equally awed and terrified expression. So it was probably not the Emperor’s doing then.

And then.

The waters engulfed all the place, yet Sabo was somehow breathing while his adversaries were drowning. He felt a funny sensation on his arm and watched with awe as the nasty wound began to stitch itself closed.

As cool as all this was, Sabo was too tired to dance with the Sea like the other pirates. No matter how much the being made him want to.

…

Davy Jones smiled at the sacrifice his dear Surgeon had given to him, a hundred marine bodies in exchange for pardoning the lives of one hundred pirates. A good deal indeed. He sensed the cursed men’s pained screams all the way to the bottom of the sea which he inhabited. Mirth at an all time high, he took their damned souls and placed them deep within his chest.

Law chuckled, eyes pure gold gazed at his extended arm. In and out, in and out, the water went with his breathing. Buoyant as he was, the soft murmur-like Voice of the water healing his allies' wounds felt like a dream away. Here, the doctor was at peace. He wanted to dance and dance like a doomed man, like a laughing devil, like the waves in the sea. Butterflies fluttering away by his ears, bubbles rising from his cobalt lips, an old chant gently swimming oh so delicately from his passion, from his drumming heart. It was a song of past merriment, a song of forever more and adventure.

Here Law felt free, even when the waters left his exhausted lungs.

His body was picked up by Sabo who ran with his brothers towards the surgeon’s submarine to get the hell out of there. The sounds of Akainu fighting with both Marco and Whitebeard at their backs.

That was, until Shanks arrived.

Sengoku, being a wise man, but more from what he had witnessed, called a ceasefire.

…

Fire was falling from his hair, moving with the breeze like leaves in an endless autumn. Ace’s mind was hazy, its sickness dripping to his forehead, in a show of his weak heart. Hands clenching and relaxing, mouth dry, he blinked tears away. He wiped them and frowned.

He was fire, fire didn’t cower.

Ace stood proud in front of his pirate family, his insides twisting and turning, he tasted sickness in his mouth.

He was Fire First, his Will was Fire. He never ran away from a fight.

And this was eerily similar to one, a war with the hate he had held on since the moment he was called a monster. It had taken more from him than he had wanted to allow, and it had swallowed and rejected all the love his most important people had for him.

“Ace, we need to talk.” Said Marco, the man standing on the ship’s railing.

It was time to fight war with peace. It was time to face the one thing he had always run away from. None of them had cared for his bloodline. Rayleigh had smiled wistfully at his father’s name. He had seen Luffy and Sabo laugh and tease each other, sand on their clothes, looking up at him with happiness in their faces.

Ace took a deep breath, and replied, “Yes, we do.”

…

“I’m not expecting you to like or be similar to your father.” The Dark King suddenly whispered, Ace jumping from the rock he was sleeping in, confused.

His brothers kicked him, his Fire deforming his dead to protect it, and continued to sleep like logs. Charming.

“He would be proud of you, were he alive.” The older pirate directed his gaze to the now rising Moon (the only one that could reflect the Sun’s greatness back to the world), his expression changing to disgust. “They tarnished the reputation of a good sailor.”

Ace stared dumbly, a wisp of fire reforming the other half of his face.

Rayleigh laughed, and a hand infused in haki patted his head. “Sleep well.”

…

“Gurarara, you are doing well son!”

Law glared daggers at the Emperor, his body shaking from where he stood out of pure stubbornness and Will. It was a miracle he was able to raise his arm and block Haruta one last time, before the sword slipped from his grip and he stumbled.

The other man had the decency to not pick him up. Law would have died of shame otherwise.

Ikkaku — from the ground where his crew were either crying, moaning in pain, both or too tired to do any — scowled at her captain.“What, exactly, were you thinking when you decided to ally yourself with these… these… lunatics! ”

The surgeon wished he could reply to her with more than the Will of D in my blood decided it was time to make an appearance because she, his crew really, deserved better.

Whitebeard's chest heaved with his deep laugh. “I can not let that old dog outwit me. He came to care for some newbie brats, and will make them strong enough to face the New World.” He stood from the trunk he had created with a single blow, his steps left earthquakes that were felt through the whole jungle island. All this without using his Devil Fruit.

The Strongest Man in the World’s giant hand lifted a struggling Surgeon of Death and laid him on his shoulder, no one commented on the cursing and snarling, or the way the man relaxed. Gold eyes looked away from both his crew and the old pirate, arms crossed and shoulders raised to his ears.

“I shall do the same for you and your crew, son.”

Trafalgar D. Water Law’s expression couldn’t be better described than a constipated one. Yet his men affirmed that, were he a normal person, there would be tears, lots of them.

….

Sabo, one known for his fearlessness, evaded Luffy’s eyes, white as the fire his shoulders were emitting. Slippery snow ash fell on the acrid ground, bitterness was present in his younger brother’s sunny Voice. It was not directed at him, nor anyone in their family really, specially Ace, yet it felt like judgment and the blond wished to be the type of man who simply let their soul crumble under the onslaught. He wanted to cry, he wanted to despair, he wanted to beg for forgiveness.

He just swallowed and hugged himself. It would be unfair to both Ace and Luffy to succumb.

His body was trembling, and his mind was both never quite there and then would latch onto any clear moment it could under it all. He became aware he had covered his very mind in haki when the world became a myriad of monochrome visages. A grayscale made of Will so as not to succumb under the Sun’s ever present Shadow.

Luffy gave his brother his back without any care. Was he aware of what state this had put Sabo in?

He didn’t know he wanted the answer.

“Ace, go with Sabo.” The being uttered, gazing at Ace’s defeated body and expecting his Will to be made so.

What Ace did could barely be called moving, all he did was crawl pathetically towards his brother, whose Dragon Will did nothing under the Sun. “Luffy, this- this is too much. ”

“̆’§ ñð† êñðµGh! ” And the atmosphere disappeared, the teen falling to his knees and gripping the sand in between bloodied knuckles. Choking on his sobs.

For a while it was silent.

Luffy hiccup-ed, humming to himself as he stared at the waves. It had been a few days since they had arrived here with Rayleigh and the rest of their allies. Things had been tense until this moment, where Luffy’s sheer distressed otherness had reached a limit where it was making the pirates' recovery time worse.

It had been Ace’s idea to confront him, and Sabo followed. They did not understand what had affected their little brother this much. It was without precedent.

Even now, feeling like each one of them was gasping, Sabo did not understand what was happening, what this awful feeling in his heart was.

“Ace, is this how you have been feeling all this time?” Whispered Luffy.

Ace said nothing as he got up on unstable legs.

Said nothing as he gathered his brothers in his arms.

Said nothing as he decided in his heart to forgive himself.

“It’s okay, Luffy. It’s okay.”

…

Zoro was the first to arrive, and thus the first to be taken to the little dock near Shakky's Rip-off Bar, each one of the strawhats being secretly guided there by other sailors or revolutionaries. When all had arrived, Rayleigh had sat down with them and explained that neither Bartolomew nor the bounty hunters could take the burden, so they had told him to take Sunny somewhere else.

Shakuyaku smiled at her lover, and stroked his shoulder. “We took him to Monkey-chan.” She hummed, finishing her cigarette and staring fondly at her old bar. “I’m going to miss my retirement, dear.”

Rayleigh chuckled, taking her hand in his, still rough and strong as in their younger days. “Indeed, we shall take it one step at a time,” He blinke, “Or several, that Akainu brat may not have that strong a presence in the New World, the Marines are still too weak and divided to face another Emperor, yet he has increased his power over both Paradise and the Blues. East Blue especially.”

“Fufufu, Garp is no wet dog like Akainu. He will not take such an insult lying down.”

The crew of the next Pirate King was dropped off at Rusukaina, while the Dark King and the Former Empress of the Kuja Pirates took course towards Amazon Lily.

☠

Punk Hazard was no vacation home. At least, Smoker thought, it was a better excuse than what your normal idiot pirate could make.

“That is Trafalgar Law, the Surgeon of Death! ” Tashigi shouted. “Don’t go near him!”

One of their men trembled in fear. “He is known to collect the hearts of his enemies.”

Another swallowed, aiming his rifle, a pathetic attempt at protection.

Trafalgar Law flashed his teeth under the shine of his golden eyes, his characteristic azure hair hidden under his white spotted hat. Even the pirate did not believe his own lie, and it just showed how much in control he was of the situation.

Not without reason, Trafalgar was a deadly being. More so when his alliance with the Whitebeard pirates was announced to the world.

Smoker met those eyes, ones glorified with the shine of the sun, with his own.

The Surgeon of Death’s smile was both deadly and wild. A true lover of chaos, more than sailors of old.

Miles away, the Sea gave a hum in interest.

…

It was fate, their alliance.

Trafalgar D. Water Law did not smile, no matter how much his lips twitched. It felt right, finally giving into his impulses, his want to be free of Doflamingo.

“We also have the support of Whitebeard, if you consider it too risky.” He mentioned casually, even if he felt ill at the idea of the other captain being afraid of anything, for some reason. “So, either way, both of us should be equally favored.”

“Nishishishi. I accept it, but on one condition.”

The world itself held its breath. All sunflowers from the Blues to the unknown ends gazed towards this one moment, the water in their cores stirred. In places unexplored by both humans and fishmen, ruins of ancient constructions glowed a green hue, tall and imposing, twisted beyond recognition. With fangs bared, sirens took on a preaching stance, a canticulum rising from their venomous mouths, wings flared, arms raised, Will and Voice extolling the Ancient Gods. 

“You will also help me achieve my dream.”

They were quickly distracted.

Law felt his heart constrict in his chest.

…

“... this isn’t your heart,” The surprise in Vergo’s voice was palpable.

“I’m not as desperate as before,” The surgeon stated, unsheathing his sword.

He sliced this horrible place in half.

…

“Children are dear to us, their parents.” Whitebeard observed him shiver, having woken up from another nightmare. Good way to give his traumatic past to practically a stranger.

The Emperor was confusing to him, he gave and gave and Law had nothing to give in return. The man had since compensated his end of the deal with his training and temporal alliance. 

“He gave his life not from revenge, but for love. Do not soil his love with mere revenge. This Cora-san wished for your freedom.”

The blue-haired doctor wanted to protest, an argument at the end of his tongue. He stopped, swallowed saliva, and remembered his savior’s last words.

It made sense.

Law couldn’t understand how someone could ever come to love him. Yet he understood what the other meant, and reconsidered his ultimate goal not with the desperation he felt before but with calm acceptance.

He would make sure to live a life worth living for.

…

“Torao. I want an answer!”

“Yes, I will help you with your goal.”

“Then I’ll kick Mingo’s ass. Nishishishi.”

…

They were hidden under the famous Corrida Colosseum, a dressrosan attraction for the fool, the weary, and the rich. It was a cover, a glamorous one, for illegal dealings.

A wooden box creaked as it was opened by a narrow hand, all petite and pretty yet strong as iron. Inside it had money and a letter from a noble expressing gratitude towards Joker, for the unrest he had caused among his subjects.

It was crude, horrible, and so common to find this corruption in the world. Koala sighed, it wasn’t amongst the worst she had seen, but it still caused unrest in her heart.

“I think we hit the jackpot with this one,” Noted her companion.

She hummed her assent, taking another photograph. “Think we have enough evidence for Dragon-san?”

Sabo chuckled, “You can say the Sun is free and he would ask for more proof. We need to get every detail accounted for.”

With that they continued searching, until they heard a scream and saw both a man with an incredibly large nose and a little girl fall on the ground, with one of Doflamingo’s men screaming.

They both blinked.

“Isn’t that your little brother’s crewmate?”

“Yes, he is.”

A giant took the fallen Usopp by his arms and elevated him up in the air, and said something about god.

“I think we may have missed something.”

…

Run. Run. Run.

He couldn’t look back, couldn’t think of his stamina slowly depleting, of his objective so near.

There was only one goal in his mind. Reach Monkey D. Luffy and fight the Heavenly Demon together.

Caesar, or Usopp in disguise, was just a failsafe after all.

(He was glad Doflamingo was either too enraged or too arrogant to go after Nico-ya and Long Nose-ya, still he made sure to teleport them underground just in case.)

Law’s plans had changed since his encounter with one Whitebeard. Now he was less restricted, he was stronger, he had grown from a bitter man to one who dreamt again.

The Surgeon of Death smirked, coming to a stop at the end of the bridge, took a small blade from his coat and threw it in Doflamingo’s direction. The raucous laughter at his back was his signal to call onto his power silently, and switch inside the ROOM he had created that was big enough to conceal itself. Concentrating on Doflamingo’s presence, the madness of his Will, he waited for the moment in which the man either caught the blade or let it pass his defenses.

Always arrogant, the blond man let the blade bypass him.

In one breath, Law was on the other end of his operation theater.

Three giant columns directed themselves towards the Warlord, who graciously cut them down with his strings, surprised to find they could not at the last moment. It had taken a lot of planning and maneuver but Law had been capable of touching all three and used them as transmitters for both his haki and Countershock. Using the momentum brought by the columns as they crashed with Doflamingo, Law released them and impaled the pirate in his right hand.

It seemed that the hellish training with Whitebeard had brought many advantages in this battle, and the surgeon was not done with his tricks.

Before his adversary could recuperate, he teleported to the end of the bridge and slipped in between the dressrosan people.

…

Doflamingo had always known something was wrong with the child.

It was not his disease.

Eternal gold eyes would stare coldly at a cruel world, shining proudly into the darkness, snatching all the light to themselves. Astoundingly, hauntingly beautiful, but not rare. Those who suffered had that quality to them, each second an overcoming of past tragedy. No, what made them different were the moments in which tranquility resurfaced, the whole person coming into display without the opulence of braveness nor false vulnerability.

Sometimes, when the child came to stare at the sun, he would not blink, would not squint. He could glance directly at it with no consequence, his eyes becoming a perfect canvas into which the sun made its portrait. Then, the strange creature by the name of Law would smile. A tiny thing, overflowing with peace. His azure hair would become indistinguishable from the ocean’s blues, from whence sweet little sounds emerged, as if made by a siren.

Somehow, the former Celestial Dragon knew Law would not die of something as simple as sickness.

The lad didn’t dance, too tired and shackled by painful circumstances to participate in something so freeing. Instead, Law would hum to a rhythm that came from the waves. Sweet, like a lullaby for a babe.

Doflamingo, as evil as he was, was still a sailor, a pirate. And his black heart sang things to his mind that made him elated, made him afraid, made him contemplate. He respected the Sea.

And he came to understand that the Sea sang for the boy.

…

Ace had come to Dressrosa with only one objective in mind, to participate in the fight at the Colosseum while his nakama went on yet another confrontation with Blackbeard’s forces. It had been taking a toll on them. If it was not their former crewmate, it was their father’s self-proclaimed biological son, or the Marines, or defending Fishman Island, or allies being targeted by Kaido or Big Mom sympathizers, or criminals randomly challenging Oyaji by attacking his territories. Over the last year the Whitebeard Pirates had been stretched thin.

So maybe they had dropped Ace off because he had taken a liking to setting anyone who thought Teach was a great guy to follow on fire. That, and he wanted to watch what kind of havoc his little brother was going to bring on with his new alliance. And now Luffy was also his ally too by consequence and how awesome was that!

If only this weird Chinjao-guy and Rebeca would stop following him around, it would be great.

Oi, wasn’t that Burgess?

Oh, right. The prize was supposed to be a Devil Fruit.

This trip just got more fun.

…

Destroying factories was so boring.

Luffy pouted as he smashed another wall, the motion had long ago become repetitive and he was getting tired of it.

Don’t get him wrong, his nakama had become so cool and strong! Franky’s manly fight was so awesome and MANLY, he and Chopper had cried, and Brook had made a song!

He was sad that neither Nami, nor Jinbe, nor Sanji were with them. They stayed behind on the ship with Momo and Caesar while Robin and Torao went with a disguised, and struggling, Usopp to confront Mingo.

Gripping his straw hat and putting it on his head, he let out a huff. Luffy felt the repulsive fruits of the trees inside the factory, the soil contaminated with something similar to the Sea (with its chains ) to give it the necessary heat to feed the intense hunger of those who refuse to follow the Sun.

It was up to every being to accept the free energy given by the rays coming from the sun’s core, he respected that. All wills could flourish as long as they didn’t dare defy…

The fruits didn’t have Shadows.

They were empty.

(It reminded him of that flower, a creature who could only devour to fill the void the sun, life itself, left behind. Purposeless and ever reaching, it envied the warmth and went out of its way to consume it.)

He disliked boredom, it went against all things fun and joyful. He did not understand hate, an emotion so strange and treacherous, it painted black friends that were meant to shine against the darkness of the night sky.

Hate took all of his beloved Sea’s colors away, and left behind only bitterness, and pain, and a craving for freedom that escaped from between a grasp long gone weak and powerless.

Yet the music had come to an end, his vessel was constricting instead of comforting, no longer in tune with the Drums of Liberation. No sound, no dancing, no nothing. Ashes raised up his throat as the thieves multiplied and deprived all of euphoria and life because they were so hungry for warmth, for purpose, for him.

The original Devil Fruits were an invention that came from a place of happiness and longing, this ones came from avarice and want for power. They stole Shadows, and they stole freedom.

Those things had dared defy his Will.

He hated them.

…

Marshall D. Teach was steadily losing his sanity.

The Sun wouldn’t let him eat, anything it had helped grow burned in his hands. Cakes, fruits, rice, meat disappeared into white fire, wispy like smoke in the wind. All that came to his stomach tried to claw free, and he had lost count of how many times he had vomited red.

The punishment didn’t end there. The Sea that loved each sailor repudiated him, the waves wouldn’t carry any ship under his brand, it was like they were in the Calm Belt, and the only way to move was the ever slippering wind.

But he was ready to challenge any and all, and feeding SMILE fruits to animals and plants had given him a reprieve from underground mushrooms, they did not taste as alive as regular food.

His mark burned his forehead any time he added another sin to his collection.

Teach couldn’t care less. He had a Sea to conquer , and a title to obtain.

He was going to be the Pirate King.

…

Law finally made it to the factory.

How did he make it? How did he even find it?

Well, by following the trail of enraged Conqueror’s haki Strawhat left in his wake.

And how the fuck did he even know the captain was going to get that enraged in the first place?

The doctor wasn’t exactly sure, he just thought about what could possibly make himself go so mad with rage the seawaves responded to his call. D’s responded very predictably to anger.

Getting exposed to a SMILE once was life changing for sure.

Ha! And Ace said that it was impossible to plan for Luffy. Look who's laughing now!

(His crewmates had the theory that the training with the Whitebeards, specially with a fellow D, had released something in Law. Something new and terrifying, and incredibly weird. It made him unpredictable, and both his Will and Voice stronger, more selfish and insane than before.

Law had suppressed the urge to laugh merrily as he sliced his enemies down. Things had become so amusing lately, from his books, to his equipment, to the insides of his yellow submarine in the depths of saltwater that were so soothing to his corrupted mind.

He had never danced, and he was sure he never would. Don’t matter, things were so much better than before)

Law smirked at the man that had landed in front of him. “Doflamingo,” He said, panting.

Joker had visible veins in his forehead. “Law, you have become very daring.” He got a pistol from inside his coat. “Brats should know when not to interfere.”

A rubber arm intercepted the bullet. Doflamingo took a step back.

It wasn’t because of the waves emitting from the furious Monkey D. Luffy in front of him, but because of the D-shaped smile on Law’s manic face.

“Time for payback, Doflamingo.”

“Mingo! How DARE YOU!”

…

Chained and on his way to Impel Down, Doflamingo could not help but laugh, that moment in which he had seen that infamous D smile he had finally understood. Or maybe, he had understood since the War of the Best.

“It wasn’t Whitebeard, was it? Back then… ” He cackled. “Us pirates understand things better.” As much as it pained him, humbled him, to admit it, he was a Child of the Sea. “It was them. Why they choose Law as their messenger I don’t understand. But the currents are moving, and the times are changing. The Gods themselves are involved in this change of era.”

Sengoku sighed and spoke, “Do not speak Doflamingo. Of things you don’t understand.”

The fallen Warlord hummed, his mind conjuring the image of one Surgeon of Death, from his eyes pure as gold, to his sapphire hair. And a name mysterious as the depths of the Blues themselves.

☠

For all his efforts, Luffy had been defeated, dishonorable and utterly useless in the end. The prison, the hunger, the sacrifices, it had served for null.

(the Sun was obscured by shadows)

Yet, he was not dead.

(A D could not move on until they smile their farewell to Davy Jones)

Around and around all went, heavy bubbles floating in his mind, in his soul, each containing all of his failures, centuries deep. Promises broken, dreams unfulfilled, freedom chained. A warrior without their spear.

“Joy Boy”

Something was calling him. No, not something. Someone. An old friend. An old traitor.

(The Voices of the World became clearer, and he was reminded of his promise.

It brought a smile to his- their face.)

From his chest, a smoke-like substance began to emerge. From his heart, the merriment was all consuming, and it had a rhythm.

Doom Dut Da Da.

…

Law was dying.

He coughed more blood, his battered lungs taking in air he needed. Kidd was trying to face off against Big Mom on his own, trying to plunge her into the entrance to the underworld the doctor had created.

Awakening his fruit had come with a terrible cost, it shortened his life, it took his energy. He had reached the pinnacle of control over his fruit, yet he felt something was missing.

Just as he was preparing to give Big Mom a last blow, he felt Luffy’s Voice dim, and he would have broken apart if not for —

“Deus Volt!” Declared Zunesha. “Free be you from the chains of Moonlight!”

And Ninsirsir Awakened.

…

Under their eyes the world and the stars and all that was a were laughed in tune with the beat of his heart, taking their glee and happiness and using them to fuel their lives. Driven, and free, they danced with the waves. Those before chained raising their Voices in harmony as they were liberated from their bindings by white fire and rhythmic music.

Doom Dut Da Da.

Five Moons bowed to the Sun incarnate, bigger and more puissant than the stars, but the traitorous One refused to, for it was a jailer of the Divine, and had challenged Nika’s Will for centuries, taking their precious beloved for itself. For Twenty Kings had come to know the unknown, and had declared themselves gods of the Celestial sky.

Doom Dut Da Da.

Nika didn’t pay it any mind since they were having so much fun , no longer Shadow nor human, they were the laughing GðÐ . And they were free . Jumping and bouncing since they were rubber, and now being able to fly again.

Doom Dut Da Da.

Kaido looked so funny under their giant arms. The man had squealed like a pig and maybe they should have canceled their ability to see the cool and manly red. Nika had seen many warriors dance while carrying on with injuries that should have killed them but the joy of the Sun made them whirl and spin until they could no more. Shandora fell because they had not had the Sun with them.

No, those were sad memories and they were not done playing.

Doom Dut Da Da.

(The clouds, acrid with methane from lightning fire, twisted and twirled in depraved exuberance. From deep in their cores, electricity sculpted a spear for their God.)

Now, they were a giant! Lightning came to their hands and white fire to their feet as the creature with the strawhat flew at Kaido and played with him, and hahaha Nika was having so much fun.

(“Hahaha! What is this?” Breathed desperately the Emperor, Nika’s sheer presence overwhelming his sanity, overtaking his mind. His hollering laughter reached the point of hysterics. He could no longer mourn Big Mom, he could no longer feel anything but joy.

And his soul yearned for terror, for tears, for please forgive me, I want to feel, I need to feel, I am nothing.

Grave was his sin, for those wretched SMILE’s should not have existed.

GðÐ did not give him mercy.)

Nika somersaulted, painting a hole in a random rock formation with their essence, entering and exiting from one of Kaido’s eyes which exploded. Yoo-hoo!

… why wasn’t Kaido moving? Why wasn’t he resisting Nika’s brightness? Why was the Emperor becoming boring?

Their obvious pout and very obvious anger seemed to get Kaido back on his right mind, Nishishishi , and he was using his weird dragon breath again.

(Zany things, crazy things, peculiar things, all the things were Nika’s to conjure. Imagination was the only limit, and it was so awesome!)

Well, time to wrap things up.

And Nika did just that, wrapped the dragon like an accordion, then stretched his arms and legs till ups! they teared and it was not a pretty sight. Blood, bones, and tendons and all that stuff.

Their presence didn’t give Kaido the privilege to scream.

Doom Dut Da Da.

Torao, or Ninsirsir , was laughing, little breaths filled with mirth that made their heart beat louder and even more joyful if that was possible.

As they punched what was left of Kaido underground, Nika continued to laugh all night long, their luminescence reviving all life in Wano. Putrid soil growing plants and delicious fruits.

The Warrior of Liberation’s friends needed to eat after all.

…

The Heart Pirate’s captain raised to his feet, new found energy flowing through his being, the tiredness disappearing. He felt like celebrating, like dancing, like he could do anything.

He had finally understood his power.

“R-Room!” Law (or Ninsirsir? What a conundrum) whispered, facing Big Mom and smiling. “Reality Operation: Silence!”

They could now control reality to fit their whims.

(Big Mom shuddered under that turn of lips, sharp teeth glinting, eyes golden sun, and hair a deeper blue than the Five Seas. She knew it was her end, for how could you win against something that could operate on anything imaginable.)

As her Voice gave out (as they silenced it with Will alone), and she was dragged to the bowels of the world, Big Mom cursed the Supernovas, cursed the Gods, cursed the name of the one who had put an end to her power, who had made her feel fear for the first time since she had become an Emperor.

Because, she knew, oh Gods she knew , that the D in Trafalgar D. Water Law was not the only name the World would come to fear.

Beware the red sky at morning, sailor, for a storm is coming.

The Gods had Awakened.

The lost sailor chuckled, taking a sip of his drink.