Chapter Text
They say the flapping of a butterfly's wings can cause a disaster on the other side of the world. They say even our smallest decisions are capable of causing immense change in the future. Perhaps staying home on that sunny day will save you from the terrible future accident that would kill several. Our decisions have an effect, no matter how small.
Monkey D. Luffy was that butterfly. He was that small decision, that existence, whose every step was capable of shaping the world and the people around him, causing great changes. His mere birth stirred the winds and caused the Sea Kings to chant. His first cry made the sun shine with terrible intensity, as if they could already see the destiny Luffy had laid upon him.
His mere presence and decisions would change the entire world, placing him as the protagonist of a fun but mysterious play that was coming to an end. Whether or not it was his intention, his actions were slowly leading the world to liberation and the discovery of the terrible secrets hidden by the government. His mere birth had created a butterfly effect that wouldn't just cause a tornado, but would turn the world itself upside down, unlike anything seen since the days of the famous Pirate King, Gold Roger, or for those in the know, since the days of Joy Boy.
Monkey D. Luffy was the light. He was the sun. He was that necessary ingredient to free the world from the terrible chains that bound every being, even if many believed themselves free. Monkey D. Luffy was necessary to fulfill a role that no one else could, because he was him. He was the only one with the determination, the personality, and the heart to free it. Luffy would free the world; only he could, so it was written in the tapestry of destiny.
But unfortunately for mere mortals, no matter how powerful some might be, they were nothing more than entertainment for the divine forces watching all. The divines didn't even have to do anything; they just had to let humans be, and they would naturally bring worthy entertainment. Although sometimes they would move a tiny thing just to see that butterfly effect, just to kill that boredom.
And it was that tiny movement that condemned a world to never see that light. A world doomed to remain stuck in a loop of fear and cruelty, where the masters would not release the chains. It was a world filled with anguish and violence, where tears were the order of the day. A world where the darkness was so enveloping that even those who were fighting alongside that darkness were slowly beginning to see the terror in it. That was no life, that was no future.
And it was all because there was no Luffy in that world.
In that world, without Monkey D. Luffy to serve as light and guide, there was only slavery, war, hunger, and sorrow. The people needed for the great journey to the end didn't have their light, and therefore, they didn't have their anchor. They didn't have Luffy. And the world paid for it.
There was no Luffy, so no one set sail to Shells Town and attacked the corrupt marines to free a man, taking him as his first crew member. Instead, Roronoa Zoro was secretly freed that day by a civilian, but years have passed, and he still hasn't left the East Blue, still weak and unable to even stand up to Mihawk, stagnant. His frustration and weakness have driven him to become a cruel and cold man, easily capable of shedding enemy blood.
There was no Luffy who later traveled to Cocoyashi Village to free his future navigator from Arlong. Instead, Nami was left there, in an endless cycle of pain and frustration. She has collected the money more times than she can remember, only to have it taken again and again by Arlong, chaining her to her home, from which she cannot leave or he will sign the death warrant for her people. She knows she will never be free, but she must still shed blood and fight to live.
There was no Luffy who arrived in Syrup Village, fighting the Black Cat Pirates, and giving a liar the opportunity to sail the seas as a member of his growing crew. Instead, Usopp lives his day-to-day life defending his home, having to leave behind the dreams of a proud child of his pirate father to make way for a defender willing to kill if he had to defend his home in an unforgiving world.
There was no Luffy who set foot on Baratie, taking a great chef with him to sea. Instead, Krieg was soundly defeated by Dracule Mihawk, but a few years later, Vinsmoke Sanji was taken as a political husband to marry Charlotte Pudding, or Zeff and his home would be destroyed. He now lives on Whole Cake Island under the watchful eye of Big Mom and her crew. He lives desperately, wanting to get out and be free from a past that still chains him.
There was no Luffy who climbed the great mountains of Drum Island, taking a small reindeer with him. Tony Tony Chopper, on the other hand, lives in hiding, trying to hide from the looks of disgust and fear, even though all he wants is to be able to cure every disease in the world and be a doctor.
There was no savior, so Alabasta was now controlled by King Crocodile, with its royal family imprisoned and its new monarch without the plans to the coveted Ancient Weapon Pluton.
There was no Luffy who accepted Franky, so Franky lives in secret protecting Water 7, acting as a simple carpenter to avoid being used or killed by the government agents who were after the Pluton plans, which he destroyed.
There was no Luffy who arrived in Alabasta, so there was no Luffy who interrupted in Enies Lobby and ordered the World Government flag to be burned, defying them. Instead, Nico Robin continues to work under King Crocodile's command at Baroque Works, trying to remain unnoticed by the World Government or risk being killed and, in doing so, end Ohara's Will.
There wasn't one Luffy who defeated Enel, but someone else did, and while Skypiea was saved, there was no bell rang.
There was no Luffy who, guided by the seas, was able to reach the Florian Triangle, so Brook is still wandering in the darkness, wondering when he can finally die and leave his skeletal body behind to reunite with his former crew and end his torment.
There was no Luffy who once again dared to defy the government by striking a Celestial Dragon, so the mermaid he broke the rules to defend was taken as a slave.
There was no Luffy who further marked his name in history by breaking into Impel Down to save his brother, freeing hundreds of prisoners. The prisoners simply stayed there until the Revolutionaries broke in to save Emporio Ivankov, although they were only able to free a few prisoners.
There was no Luffy who fell from the skies into Marineford, once again defying the government. Instead, Shanks arrived much earlier and stopped the war, saving the Whitebeard Pirates.
There was no death at Marineford, so there was no danger on Fisherman Island with Whitebeard's flag there. Therefore, Jinbe travels with Whitebeard, even though he knows that nothing more can be done for his people and that they will never escape this vicious fate of slavery.
There was no Luffy driven by an alliance and the love of his brother to set foot on Dressrosa, so the kingdom remains under the cruel control of Donquixote Doflamingo. The kingdom is extremely wealthy, but it's thanks to the slavery suffered by the dwarves. Everyone lives with rose-colored glasses, unaware of the cruel king who rules them.
There was no Luffy who met an innocent boy with dreams of liberating his country, so Kozuki Momonosuke is barely twelve years old, but he has lost hope and has become a child with a deep darkness within himself. More than twenty years have passed, and the person his father prophesied has never arrived. Now Wano is New Onigashima, a mere shadow of its former self. And he lives in the shadows alongside the Akazayas, all trying to keep hope alive when it was already dead.
Monkey D. Dragon is slowly losing hope that the world will ever be free. His fight against the World Government increasingly seems like a distant dream. Unbeknownst to him, he's fighting against government entities he can't see and of which he has no knowledge of, while the government is five steps ahead.
Akagami Shanks travels with the straw hat perched on his red hair, feeling it heavier than ever. He has tried to follow in his former Captain's footsteps and claim the throne, but it's as if the waters themselves are preventing him from reaching the throne. However, someone must take the throne and change the terrible world they found themselves in before it is completely destroyed.
Whitebeard grows older and older, and increasingly he tries to cling to Roger's words. However, he is unable to see among all the pirates the one who will fight against the world. All he sees is darkness, gloom, and a world already completely lost.
Monkey D. Garp has seen so much evil that he long ago lost faith in the Marines and their justice when he sees so much corruption. He wonders why Dragon hasn't revolutionized the world, turning it upside down and perhaps creating a change within it. He wonders what's missing for a ray of light to filter through so much darkness.
Even Fleet Admiral Akainu, known for his blind and cruel justice, now commanded his subordinates with regret and a desire to change things. What was happening, what he was seeing, was not the justice he wanted. This was not the future he had longed for when he preached the need to wipe out criminals. Now, in his eyes, there is no worse criminal than the very nobles he protects.
And while the people suffered, Imu, like the cruel and indifferent leader of the world that he was, simply watched from his throne, happy to know that there was no other Joy Boy dressed as Nika who could ruin his plans. The Celestial Dragons grew more cruel, their number of slaves grew more numerous, and Imu held the world in the palm of his hand, unchallenged. There was no noble, marine, civilian, revolutionary, or pirate who could now change the fate of the world.
The world had fallen into total chaos and a terrible corruption that began with the world's secret monarch, Imu. This lost world was already ruined; nothing and no one could save it, not even those who boasted of being powerful rulers of the seas. No one was a Joy Boy with Nika's powers, so no one was his opponent.
There was no hope anymore; it was dead. And that was what Imu wanted: for hope to die forever.
And so it should have been. However, those who watched from above grew bored.
As if the Transmission Den Den Mushi had rebelled against the entire world, projectors appeared in every corner of the world, in the center of every city or in private locations, from the sky to the sea, without warning. The Navy's high command didn't understand where they had come from or why. Not even the Gorosei, already putting contingency plans in place, understood what was happening, and even worse, how to stop it.
"A transmission?" asked a Skypeia civilian.
"Another one? But it's only been a few days since the last one!" asked another Zou civilian, equally puzzled and fearful.
"Hey, come out! It looks like there's going to be another one!" announced a Dressrosa civilian, seeing the fearful faces of civilians emerging from their homes with uncertainty.
The entire world entered a state of great fear even though they knew what was coming, so each of them walked and approached the Den Den Mushi until they reached the broadcast, which only showed a black screen.
But on the other hand, the Marines were confused.
"What the hell is going on?" Akainu asked suspiciously as he watched broadcasts begin to appear without having received orders from the higher-ups and without any executions in the works.
"Bah, now who will those old suckers in the government execute?" Monkey D. Garp growled, eating his cookies alongside his friend and longtime companion, Sengoku. The World Government, to instill fear and prevent more rebels from appearing, held their executions publicly, where the entire world could see them with the Den Den Mushi.
Therefore, the civilians and pirates watched, already knowing what would happen. But only those pirates with knowledge that not everyone possessed narrowed their eyes, doubtful of what might be revealed. There had been no news of anyone notorious being caught, so who would be executed?
"Hm, who messed with those government people for them to pull on an execution like this out of nowhere?" Akagami Shanks contemplated, clearly not at all pleased about having to pay attention to something that had to do with the hated World Government, especially an execution. Several of those executed were guilty, yes, but there were also many innocent people executed.
And yet, the Gorosei themselves looked at each other in fear, having received Imu-sama's call. The Gorosei had nothing to do with those Den Den Mushi, and neither did Imu-sama. Something external was capable of causing that transmission, and worse still, none of them had been able to stop it, not even Imu-sama, and that was what caused them the most uncertainty.
What kind of power was capable of overcoming the powers of Imu-sama, the King of the World?
Transmission beginning in
3...
2...
...1
“I welcome you all to this broadcast.”
The people in the same locations looked at each other, now even more confused and fearful at the unfamiliar voice that began to speak. The strange voice seemed like a mix between a woman and a man, making it impossible to know exactly who or what was speaking. Still, it didn't take away their fear of the unknown, even more so when several were beginning to suspect that perhaps it wasn't the World Government speaking. No broadcast of executions had ever been like this. It was always the one executed along with several Marines.
On the Moby Dick, Whitebeard narrowed his eyes, his gaze wandering over his sons' with concern. After the war at Marineford, which had left him even weaker, he was beginning to fear the World Government's plans even more than he had since Roger's execution. Since the King's death, the world seemed to have taken a very different course than Roger had expected.
Luckily for them, this didn't seem to be the work of the government, so it might be beneficial to them. Perhaps something that would help them, because Whitebeard knew very well that the world was in a terrible state.
"What will they show? Another execution?" Pirate Empress Boa Hancock of Amazon Lily spat, her eyes taking on a gleam of disgust and anger.
"There's been no news of a renowned 'criminal' being caught," his sister Marigold replied suspiciously. "Besides, this isn't how executions by those damned government officials start. I'm afraid there's something else going on here."
From his mansion, Figarland Shamrock narrowed his eyes, an action his father did as well. As part of the God’s Knights order, they would know better than anyone if there had been an execution by the orders of the Gorosei or Imu-sama, but this clearly didn't seem to be the case.
The two Figarlands' thoughts toward Imu-sama had been twisted in a way that would surely lead to their deaths if anyone knew, and although they admitted to being less than happy with Imu-sama's way of ruling, they wouldn't do anything either. The King of the World was too powerful for them to even think they would be able to stand up to him.
"I wonder who dares to challenge the King of the World," Shamrock said.
"I know you all must be confused by what's happening and who I am, but I'm not here to engage in conversation, and my identity isn't important to you. I'm simply here to show you the future that should have been, but is now beyond your reach."
Kizaru tilted his head as he heard a certain tone of mockery emanate from the being as it spoke that last sentence. Was it mocking them? And what future was it talking about? What future has been stolen from them? A better one? Kizaru thought that seemed to be the case, given the way the being said those words. But how? How was that future so far beyond their reach now? And if it was impossible to have, why was the being showing it to them then? Kizaru narrowed his eyes, suspicious and furious that an unknown being was mocking the pain of thousands of people, clearly punishing them for some reason.
Kizaru gritted his teeth and felt like showing the being that it shouldn't have played with them. But first, he had to see what that future, now beyond their reach, was like. What if it was a future even worse than the one they were experiencing? But... what if it was better?
"How?" asked a man from New Onigashima, his body almost skeletal from hunger and the slavery of laborious work under Kaido's command.
"The future that should have been?" Robin asked silently, her mind reeling at what those words could mean. "What does this mean for us? Why are they showing us this? And... who are you?"
"This doesn't seem to be part of the government's plans," Shanks adjusted himself, now more interested. Who had been able to outwit the government and make a broadcast of such magnitude, capable of showing a future that doesn't exist? Could that future be about the words of his former Captain? Had the person he'd spoken about... appeared in that future that should have been?
"Show the future? Could it be a Devil Fruit?" a pirate asked his crew, all equally confused.
Many didn't know if what they were seeing was real or a government hoax intended to punish them. The fear of doing something wrong that would lead to slavery or a horrible fate caused many to remain silent, without asking questions. If it was a government plan, they hoped their silence would save them from some kind of punishment.
"In this world, in its past, present, and future, the long-awaited ruler was never born nor will he be born here, and now the world has fallen into chaos. But that's no longer... entertaining. So I'll show you a glimpse of the future of another world with him present, a future of how things would have happened in this world if he had been born. Please react well so we can be entertained.”
The screen, which had been black, suddenly showed the white-fanged grin of an unknown being. It was a grim and cruel smile. Clearly, this was just entertainment for that being at the expense of the suffering of an entire world.
"Ruler?" Whitebeard muttered. "Is he who Roger had expected? Does he really exist in that world? But why not in this one?"
The Captain pursed his lips in fury. He didn't want to believe that the ruler simply wasn't born here and would never be born. He wanted to believe he would appear at any moment, yet no liberator had arrived, and the world was under the yoke of the World Government. There were more and more slaves and deaths, and no one had claimed the empty throne. But he wanted to believe, he wanted to believe in the truth Roger had told him and that this liberating soul would return to finish what he had started hundreds of years ago.
And now they were telling him he would never be born here. They were telling him this world was practically doomed while another enjoyed that being. No. Whitebeard didn't want to and couldn't accept it because it simply wasn't fair. Why this world? What was the difference? Why should they suffer?
In Zou, twelve-year-old Kozuki Momonosuke, in the body of a man over twenty, watched the broadcast with a coldness and calmness unusual for a child his age, even if he was physically a full-grown man. Momonosuke was more focused on the words of the being on the screen. He himself had been waiting for that person, the one who would liberate Wano, the one his father had prophesied. And now they were telling him that he simply hadn't been born and that another world enjoyed his presence while his own died? Were they really telling him that he would never be born, therefore his country would never be liberated?
Momonosuke narrowed his eyes as he clenched his fists, furious at the implication that they were indeed doomed from the start to be nothing more than slaves fighting ghosts. That couldn't be true. Why were they being punished? They needed a savior! They had done everything possible to free themselves, but each time they had been defeated.
Beside him, his fury was visible to the Akazaya, who understood their young leader's anger all too well. They were growing older and still unable to defeat Kaido. And day by day, hope was fading away.
"Wow, a ruler, huh?" Kizaru grinned, his fake smile ignored by his fellow Admirals and Fleet Admiral Akainu. It was clear that despite his smile, the Admiral was furious.
As Marines, and especially as Admirals, they knew a few secrets that others didn't, they understood very well that Roger was wanted not for having been a pirate per se, but for the secrets he discovered on his travels until he reached the last island. So they wondered if that ruler had something to do with Roger and the many mysteries he solved on his journey.
"How annoying that they are clearly making fun of us," Dracule Mihawk commented from his home in his typical indifferent voice, although his eyes shone with something that wasn't indifference.
But Dragon focused on his last words. That being had spoken in the plural. There were more people behind this. Who were they? What did they want? Were they really doing this just for cruel entertainment at the expense of the suffering and hopes of a desperate world? Why were they giving them this drop of hope when they knew full well that this ruler wouldn't be born here? Was it also part of the entertainment, giving hope and a bit of light only to have it be destroyed before their eyes?
The fearful civilians from the different islands looked at each other, fearful and confused, but with a strange feeling within themselves. Was it hope, or just excitement? Why were their bodies trembling in anticipation, as if their souls knew something they didn't?
But from his throne, Imu narrowed his red eyes, feeling both curiosity and fury. For the secretive monarch of the world, the world was clearly his playground, and he moved every grain of sand as he pleased. Nothing and no one was a contender for his throne, much less a threat to his plans. Even the D Clan ceased to be a nuisance. However, that didn't stop him from being curious about who this... ruler was.
Imu clenched his fists; only one person came to mind when faced with that title. A person he hated. Was it really Joy Boy?
No. It couldn't be him. That cursed fruit hasn't appeared in eight hundred years, and it can't appear now that the world is completely under his yoke. No pirate was a threat, not even the Yonkou. Besides, he wouldn't be born. The being said that that ruler wouldn't be born, and no matter how much hope the insects he ruled over gained from seeing that cursed future, no one would be able to defeat him. He was invincible.
Imu smiled; he didn't have to worry. After all, his world was in the palm of his hand; it wasn't his problem what the other Imu was suffering. That only showed him that he was indeed superior, even against his counterpart from another world.
Everything was fine.
However, although the butterfly effect hit this world and prevented the birth of Monkey D. Luffy, that same effect would now hit this world in the way of them watching a future of another world where Luffy was born. And this fluttering of wings would bring consequences that neither those beings, nor Imu, could have seen coming.