**Three and a Half Years Later – Dawn Island**
The sun rose over Foosha Village, painting the sky in hues of gold and crimson. The sea breeze carried the scent of salt and freedom, a promise of adventures yet to come.
At the edge of the docks, two figures stood side by side—one tall and lean with a straw hat casting a shadow over his grinning face, the other broader, a sheathed sword resting against his shoulder, a familiar red-beaded necklace around his neck and a orange hat.
Luffy and Ace.
No longer children, but young men hardened by years of relentless training.
"Finally," Ace said, stretching his arms. The muscles in his shoulders flexed beneath his black sleeveless shirt—a body forged through years of brutal conditioning. "Took long enough."
Luffy adjusted his hat, his grin widening. "Shishishi! It's time!" His fingers unconsciously traced the scar under his left eye—a habit he'd developed whenever excitement thrummed through him.
Behind them, Makino wiped her eyes with her sleeve, a bittersweet smile on her lips. "You two… I still remember when you were just little troublemakers." Her voice wavered slightly as she recalled the countless meals she'd served them, the scrapes she'd patched up, the nights she'd spent worrying when they didn't return from the mountains.
Dadan, arms crossed, scowled—but there was no real heat in it. The bandit leader's usual gruff demeanor couldn't quite hide the way her eyes lingered on them, memorizing their faces. "Tch. About damn time you brats left. My food bills will finally go down."
"Ace and I brought most of the food by killing Wild animals."Luffy responded
"Whatever I just wants you brats to leave(A bit of tear formed in her eyes)"
"Haha, Goodbye Makino and Dadan I will miss you and others of this village and the mountain bandits eventhough they are dumber than luffy. Take care of yourself"
Ace said with a small smile.
With that both of them sat on the boat which was bigger than the orginal one as it was made by both of them to withstand anything until they get the Going Merry.
**Flashback – Two Years Prior**
The forest echoed with the sound of clashing steel.
Ace's sword met Luffy's hardened fist in a shower of sparks, the impact sending tremors through the ground. Sweat poured down their faces as they circled each other, breathing heavily but grinning.
"Your Armament's getting better," Ace panted, rolling his wrist to ease the sting in his palm.
Luffy wiped blood from his split lip. "Yours too. But I can still—"
He vanished.
Ace's eyes widened. Observation Haki flared—he barely managed to twist away as Luffy's foot whipped through the space his head had been a second before. The kick sheared through a tree trunk behind him, sending it crashing to the forest floor.
"Damn it, warn me before you use Soru!" Ace snapped, but his lips twitched upward.
Luffy landed lightly, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Shishishi! No way! Enemies won't warn you!"
Ace snorted. "Cheeky bastard."
They'd discovered the Six Powers by accident six months into their training. After a particularly brutal sparring session, Ace had blurted out, "I wish we could just teleport like those CP9 freaks."
Luffy had blinked. Then grinned.
Three months later, they'd mastered Soru.
**Present Day**
Ace flexed his fingers, remembering those grueling sessions. His body was a weapon now—honed to a razor's edge.
Without the Mera Mera no Mi, he'd focused entirely on his physical prowess and Haki. His Armament was solid—his blade, a simple but well-forged katana, could cut through steel when infused with his hardening. His Observation was sharp enough to predict attacks seconds before they came, though not yet at the level of true masters like Katakuri.
But his greatest strength? **Conqueror's Haki.**
It had manifested a year prior, during a brutal fight against a pack of monstrous beasts in the mountains. The moment his will surged outward, the creatures had collapsed. Since then, he'd trained it in secret, knowing the implications of revealing such power too soon. He knew Ace had Conqueror's haki when he was a child but he finally got to feel it himself.
Luffy, meanwhile, hadn't unlocked the Conqueror's haki as he hadn't been to the condition to awaken it unlike Ace.
His Observation Haki was his strongest suit, allowing him to dodge attacks with near-perfect precision. He also had very decent Armament his basic hardening was solid, letting him deliver devastating punches.
### **A Carefully Crafted Facade**
**Flashback – One Year Prior**
Makino paused while wiping down the bar, watching as Luffy—usually so quick to shovel food into his mouth—actually set his fork down to ask, "Hey, Makino? How do you know when someone's lying?"
She blinked. That was… unusually thoughtful for Luffy.
Over the years, they'd subtly altered perceptions of themselves.
Luffy was still loud, still reckless—but he wasn't *stupid.* He asked questions. He remembered things. He wasn't the same oblivious idiot from the original timeline.
Makino had noticed first. "Luffy… you've grown up so much."
Dadan had grumbled, "About damn time."
Ace, meanwhile, played the role of the protective older brother—but with a sharper edge. He was still hotheaded, but his words carried more weight, his actions more calculated.
No one suspected a thing.
Flashback End.
"We need a real crew," Ace said, leaning against the mast.
Luffy nodded. "Zoro first."
"Obviously. Then Nami. Then Usopp."
Luffy grinned. "And then—"
"Don't say it."
"**WAIFUS!**"
"Nami is a waifu"
"More waifus like Robin. Who needs food when you have waifus"
"This isn't the Luffy we know bro. Luffy doesn't say no to meat."
Ace groaned, rubbing his temples. "You're hopeless."
Luffy cackled. "Shishishi! You're just jealous Boa's gonna fall for me!"
Ace rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Keep dreaming."
But despite the banter, there was a fire in their eyes—a shared understanding.
They weren't just reenacting the original story.
They were going to **surpass it.**
---
### **The First Challenge**
As their boat cleared the harbor, the sea stretched endlessly before them. Then—
**SPLASH.**
A massive sea king erupted from the waves, its maw wide enough to swallow their boat whole.
Ace didn't even blink.
Luffy cracked his knuckles.
The beast lunged—
**BAM.**
A single punch sent it crashing back into the water, unconscious.
Ace whistled. "Not bad."
Luffy grinned. "Told you we're strong."
"That thing ate the hand of a Yonko and you just one-shotted it." Does that mean?
"No no no Shaks just gave that hand away."
"Yeah i mean he wanted to make sure you became a Pirate"
"So in the original story. Luffy got into a whirlpool and got into Alvida's boat where he met coby. Are we saving Coby or no? I am fine with letting him go."said Ace
"We should save him and we can turn Alvida into bounty as we aren't offical Pirates yet and we can hunt her." said Luffy
"Yeah and i guess Nami will also be there but we won't take her to the crew then. We will take her in Organe Town as Zoro has to be the First Mate."said Ace
"He has to be the Vice Captain while we are the Captains. Speaking of which how is our flag gonna be like?"said Luffy
"It can be the same as the orginal. I frankly don't care with me as the Captain it can still be called the Straw Hat Pirate."
"I see. What you don't want any part in this? Why is everything the original."asked Luffy
"I am a part of it i am the Captain also. The name it doesn't matter weather it's the same or the different. What matters is how strong I am not the name of the Crew nor the Jolly Roger."
"That means we are gonna be recognised as the Straw Hat Pirates only. You ok with that" said Luffy
"Yes I am okay with that. All i want is just Fun so else doesn't matter."gloomy said Ace with emotionless eyes.
"Okay then, Let's go to Alvida's Ship. Do you know where it is? asked Luffy
"How would i know. I am not a navigetor but what i do know is that Luffy left on his Birthday and Today is that Day and when he got on the Barrell. He couldn't have travelled far. So let's stop on a nearby island and look around for Alvida's Crew.
"Sounds like a plan" replied Luffy
With that both of them sailed to the nearby island that they saw. This began the mark of the journey to be King Of The Pirates.
**(End of Chapter 3)**
Author note:
(Luffy is better at Observation haki while Ace is better at Armament haki and Luffy knows how to use Gear 2nd and 3rd but hasn't unlocked 4th. They are as strong as Vice-Admirals or almost. They know the Marine Six Styles as they know how to train it from the Anime they watched and Ace is stronger than luffy due to better haki)