Dawn

Inside the ruins of 'Arlong Park'

*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*

Luffy and Arlong were exchanging countless punches in under a second. Arlong lunged forward, trying to stab the rubber man with his haki-clad pointed nose. Luffy jumped back onto the roof of 'Arlong Park'.

Luffy swung his right hand out and as he did so, the skin coiled up at his wrist before extending back to normal. Luffy had a light red tint to his skin along with steam coming off of his body.

"Gear 2nd"

Luffy smirked down at the scowling Fishman as he pointed his left arm forward with his palm out and his right arm curled inwards, hand in a fist.

Arlong was confused as to what the human was doing. Why would he show him what attack he was going to do?

"Gomu-Gomu no…"

His thoughts were answered when Luffy disappeared, even from his 'Observation Haki' for a split second. He felt him appear behind him, but he simply wasn't fast enough to react.

"JET PISTOL!!!"

*BOOM!!!*

'He showed me his attack because it was too fast for me to dodge, even if I knew what was coming.' Arlong thought to himself as he was shot back towards 'Arlong Park'.

"Gomu-Gomu no…"

He hastily grabbed his giant serrated blade, the 'Kiribachi', but before he could even cover it in his 'Armament Haki', he felt the infuriating human appear behind him. He glanced over his shoulder to see a wound-up fist heading straight for his face.

"JET RIFLE!!!"

*BOOOOOM!!!* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*

The punch sent Arlong flying through the walls of his base, only stopping after hitting the last outer wall.

He slid down the wall, leaving a bloody streak. He slowly looked up to see that damn kid walking towards him, skin still light red and smoking. He was feeling more angry than he ever had.

Luffy saw as the wounded Fishman's eyes turned red with a slit in the middle, just like Levi's eyes. He could also feel Arlong's 'Haki' growing every second the fight went on.

Well, he was the same so he wasn't gonna catch up.

He could also feel something 'different' the more he used 'Gear 2nd' more. His hands felt more rubbery and they felt hot.

He shook his head, it's not time for thinking, it's time for punching.

"SHARK ON TOOTH!!!"

*BOOOM!!!*

Arlong shot up faster than he had the entire fight, surprising Luffy. He dodged the attack and watched as Arlong bit right through a tree.

"Fishman Karate…"

Luffy was unprepared for Arlong to immediately charge again, much faster than before even with his boost, aiming a fierce kick at his head. This forced Luffy to try and block the attack by covering his head in 'Armament Haki'.

"SEVEN THOUSAND TILE ROUNDHOUSE KICK!!!"

*BOOOOM!!!* *BOOM* *BOOM*

The haki-clad kick to the head sent Luffy flying through a couple of trees before he righted himself in the air and landed, sliding back as he slowed himself down.

'Damn it! I let my guard down!!' He shouted at himself in his head. Luffy saw Arlong appear again to his right, seemingly gaining more speed and strength as the fight went on.

Luffy could tell his attacks were getting less and less effective as Arlong's 'Armament Haki' kept growing stronger.

"You're annoying, you damn fish!!" Luffy shouted in frustration, making Arlong smirk.

"What's wrong? Where did all of that courage go?" Arlong mocked, hoping to get Luffy to make a mistake. He was let down when his opponent started laughing, which confused him.

"Did you already go insane?! Shahahaha!!! I'll admit you're stronger than most humans, but that's it. In front of the superior species, you're all like ants." Arlong went on and on with his ' Fishman good Human bad' speech, not that Luffy was listening.

'If my punches aren't working and his 'Haki' is making mine useless, then what do I do?' Luffy thought to himself. He randomly remembered a scene from Zoro's fight against Hawky.

The main part of the transformation that caught Mihawk's attention, was the light-green coating around the blades already covered in 'Armament Haki'.

'So, I just gotta do that with my 'Haki', right? Just gotta let it flow.' Luffy thought to himself with a grin as he stared at his fist. He looked up to see Arlong looking at him with contempt.

Good. Luffy doesn't want this shitty fish to like him.

Arlong scoffed when his opponent did not answer except for a grinning and holding up his fist. He went into a familiar stance with one arm out and the other pulled back.

"Fish-Man Karate: Secret Art…"

Luffy's grin got wider when he sensed his opponent's attack. It was the strongest attack Arlong had used so far.

Luffy jumped high while biting into his thumb, making Arlong look up at him.

"Gear 3rd"

Luffy blew air into his fist, making it grow to the size of a giant, while he was still in his 'Gear 2nd'. He covered the enlarged limb with as much 'Armament Haki' as he could manage as he started his descent.

Luffy felt like something was trying to leave his hand, so he let it. As soon as he did, his massive fist burst into flames, making it appear like there was a sun at the end of Luffy's outstretched arm.

"DEMON BRICK FIST!!!!"

"RED ROC!!!!"

*BOOOOM!!!!*

"AHHHHH!!!!"

The two attacks collided and immediately, unlike what the Fishman expected, Luffy's punch easily overpowered him, making Arlong release a guttural scream and forcing him to the ground.

Arlong felt like that punch not only got past his 'Armament Haki' and broke his hand, but it felt like the INSIDE of his hand was broken too.

Luffy landed softly back on the ground, his enlarged arm already shrunk down but still had a few lingering flames on his hand before he shook them off.

As Arlong slowly forced himself back up, Luffy looked at the new bright red coating surrounding his fists.

'Cool. Mine is red and Zoro's is green. I wonder if Sanji's will be yellow?' He smiled wide as he jumped up as high as he could, making the Fishman look up at him.

From Arlong's perspective, Luffy's form was perfectly surrounded by the sun, forcing him to squint his eyes while covering them with his unbroken hand.

"You better protect yourself if you don't want to die!!!" Luffy shouted out at Arlong as his ascent came to a stop. Arlong scowled in response, unable to accept how he could be beaten by a human, one who he doubted was using his full strength against him. 

Arlong could sense that his subordinates had lost their fights, don't even get him started on Hatchan, but he had no idea WHY this straw-hatted freak wanted to fight him so much.

"Stop!! I can give you anything! Money, Power, anything you want!!" Arlong shouted out in desperation, knowing if he took another hit like the last one, he'd be out like a light.

The words went into one ear and flew right out the other, completely disregarded by Luffy.

'Now I can finally do that move!!' Luffy thought to himself excitedly as he stopped in the air and slowly pulled his fist back as he began his descent.

*Flashback One Year Ago*

A sixteen-year-old Luffy could be seen with countless bumps and bruises on him from sparing with his Grandpa. Garp grinned down at him.

"Alright, Luffy. You learned how to use 'Armament Haki' pretty well by now, so I'm gonna teach you one of my moves. If you wanna learn anymore you'll have to join the Marines!!" He told his grandson with a grin, knowing damn well Luffy wasn't going to join the Marines.

Luffy stuck his tongue out at him very maturely and Garp mirrored the action. Garp's face turned serious making Luffy realize he was gonna learn something cool. Or get beat up again.

"Luffy, if I teach you this move, you have to promise me to only use it against other pirates and not Marines. If you beat up Marines with my moves, that old goat will take away my rice crackers." Garp explained to Luffy who nodded seriously.

He already learned that Grandpa becomes super cranky when he doesn't have rice crackers. If he was the reason he didn't get any anymore….

Luffy felt his entire body shiver uncontrollably. He had to take a deep breath to forget about it.

Garp saw as Luffy shivered(shivered?) and took a deep breath before nodding at him. He nodded back with a grin as he ignored the first part.

"Alright, Luffy, I'm going to be teaching you one of my strongest attacks. You can't do it that well now, but once you figure out 'Advanced Armament Haki' and eventually 'Advanced Conqueror's Haki', it'll pack a real punch." He explained, making Luffy grin at him.

"Can you show it to me?" Luffy asked making Garp laugh.

"Bwahaha!!! If I did, I'd mess up the whole island!!!" Garp answered making Luffy pout at him. Garp grinned at his grandson before grabbing him by the collar of his shirt.

Luffy felt the wind smack his face fast, but not so fast that he couldn't tell where we were going. Definitely couldn't do that himself though.

Luffy looked at his Grandpa with a confused gaze as he was put back on his feet at the docks which made Garp smile at him and point out towards the water.

"Just make sure you watch out on the water, I'll do it pretty far away but you'll get the idea," Garp said making Luffy nod at him.

"Watch closely, Luffy!! I'm not gonna do it again!!" He shouted before completely disappearing from the docks.

Luffy saw only a little dot in the distance that he knew was his Grandpa and he saw that little dot move a bit. He was startled when sensed an absurd amount of 'Haki' coming from the sea, probably more than he had used in his entire life.

Then, he saw it. 

The real reason why his Grandpa was known as the 'Hero of The Marines'.

The attack his Grandpa used to fight toe-to-toe with the Pirate King.

.

.

"GALAXY IMPACT!!!!"

*BOOOOOOOM!!!!!!*

Luffy's fist shot down in Arlong's direction, delivering a massively powerful shockwave punch that surrounded the entirety of 'Arlong Park', devastating everything in its range as it advanced toward the Fishman.

Arlong, who was barely holding on to his consciousness, couldn't do anything but watch as the punch was thrown in his direction.

'Oh wait. He said I made his navigator cry at the start. So, it's Nami then.' Arlong let out a rage-filled scream as the attack hit him and he realized the reason for his defeat. 

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!*

It was like a nuclear missile was dropped on 'Arlong Park'. The entire building and its surroundings were practically evaporated by the attack. Zoro and Sanji, who were close to the remains of 'Arlong Park', had to brace themselves with their full strength to not get sent flying. 

*COUGH* *COUGH*

"What the hell was that?!" Zoro and Sanji looked behind them to see a hoard of villagers, armed with pitchforks, knives, and any other makeshift weapon they could manage. They made eye contact with each other before walking towards them.

The people flinched when they started walking towards them, but they seemed to steel themselves. This made the two of them deadpan before they looked behind the crowd and saw Nami, Nojiko, Johnny, and Yosaku running towards them.

The crowd noticed where they were looking and glanced back, only to be completely shocked when they saw Nami with the most radiant smile they had seen on her face since the day her mother died.

They all fake scowled at her after a moment, remembering that they were supposed to hate her for joining the pirates that ruined their lives. Nojiko saw this and laughed.

"Hahahaha!!! Don't worry, guys! I already told her about you guys knowing." She said, making them snap to look at her, before snapping towards Nami, who was smiling softly at them.

"Thank you for worrying about me. Don't worry though, all of this is about to come to an end." She said, confusing the crowd. She then glared at Johnny and Yosaku, who cowered from her intense gaze.

"I thought Luffy told you two to make sure the villagers don't get involved." She said with an ice-cold smile on her face, making the two start shivering.

"We did that, I swear!!!" Johnny said franticly getting Yosaku to rapidly nod his head. When they saw Nami's glare sharpen, they hurriedly continued.

"We told these guys not to get involved no matter what they hear or see, but that made them gather as many weapons as they could and they started marching here. The only way to stop them at that point would be to knock them out, which we obviously wouldn't do." Yosaku explained and hurriedly finished as he saw Nami's glare sharpen more when he said, "Knock them out". 

Nami glared at them for a few more seconds before sighing and rubbing her temples.

"Whatever, no one got hurt so it doesn't matter." She said to herself as she turned to Zoro and Sanji, seeing them a little beat up but nothing too bad. She then looked towards the massive dust cloud covering what used to be 'Arlong Park'.

The dust finally started to clear, showing one silhouette standing and the other lying on the ground. The dust completely settled and they saw the sight they had been waiting for way too long. 

They could see a black-haired teenager with his back turned to them, but that wasn't what caught their attention.

They could see the vicious 'Arlong The Saw' beaten, bloodied, and unconscious at the teenager's feet. It took a few seconds to process the sight they were seeing before they all broke into cheers.

"HOORAY!!!" "WE'RE FREE!!!!" "TELL THE OTHER ISLANDS!!"

The loud cheers made Luffy look over to see a massive crowd of people with a bunch of weapons, shouting out exclamations of joy and happiness. Luffy saw Zoro and Sanji walking towards him. He saw that they didn't get hurt in their fights that much, which made him smirk. The two returned it.

Luffy turned towards Nami just as she put his straw hat back on his head. His face lit up in a beaming smile, making her smile back. Luffy's eyes softened when he sensed the mix of overwhelming happiness, relief, and joy.

"From now on, you're free." He said, making her tear up and hug him as hard as she could.

"Thank you, Luffy!! Thank you so much!!!" Luffy just smiled softly at the girl as he rubbed her shaking back and let her tears fall on his shoulder. Sanji bit his lip hard enough to draw blood, getting a chuckle from Zoro. Sanji felt his eyebrow twitch.

"You got something to say, Mosshead?" Sanji said with a smirk, getting Zoro to glare at him and grab the hilt of his katana.

"What was that, Swirly-Brow?" 

"We can figure this out right now, I'm still ready to go." Sanji said as his leg started smoking, making Zoro slightly unsheathe his 'Wado' covering the small exposed part of the blade in 'Haki', Sanji followed with his leg soon after.

Their fight was cut off when they heard Luffy's laughing. They looked at him to see Nami still hugging him, but both of them were watching them in amusement, making both of their cheeks burn with embarrassment.

They were about to respond, but they saw Luffy suddenly look around. Nami looked up at him confused.

"What's wrong, Luffy?" Getting a nervous laugh in return. Luffy cleared his throat before he explained.

"Umm, where is Usopp?"

.

.

"I can't believe you forgot about me!!!" Usopp shouted as he shook Luffy by the collar, getting a laugh in return.

"It's fine, isn't it? You won your fight and the guy you beat up was still knocked out, so it's fine, right?" Luffy asked making Usopp sigh and shake his head as he dropped him.

"Whatever. I'm going to get some food." Usopp said before disappearing into the crowd.

There was a massive banquet being held for the liberation of the 'Conomi Islands' with countless people smiling and having fun. Children were running around and playing games, something they had never gotten to experience.

Zoro was getting yelled at by a doctor Nami found for him to patch up the wound he got from Hawkeye. Sanji was talking to four girls at once, telling them how he beat one of Arlong's officers with ease. Nami... Luffy had no idea where she went. 

He shrugged to himself. If he wanted to find her, He'd just use his 'Observation Haki'. Plus, she might be doing something she didn't want anyone else to bother with, so he figured he'd just let her be wherever she was.

He also wanted to find some of the ham-melon Sanji told him about.

They also had some annoying rat-faced Marines show up and try to take credit or whatever. Luffy just punched the hell out of him.

.

.

Nami could be seen kneeling in front of a gravestone with the name Bell-mère and a message reading "A Mother, A Friend, A Protector, An Inspiration".

Nami was kneeling there for what could've been minutes or hours, she had no idea. Eventually, she stood up and smiled. She turned around the see her sister and the closest thing she has to a father. Her smile turned mischievous.

"Do you guys think Bell-mère would be mad at me if I became a pirate?" Making Genzo scoff and Nojiko laugh.

"Of course, she would! She was always a proud mar-" "You wouldn't listen if she told you off anyway." Nojiko cut Genzo off, getting a laugh in return.

"Hahahaha!!! You're right!!" Making Nojiko laugh harder and Genzo stares at her in disbelief. He sighed and shook his head before he laughed too, making the two girls look at him funny, never hearing the man laugh before.

"Hahahaha!!! Ah, it's like she's still right here with us. Go follow your dreams Nami!! That's exactly what your mother did!!" He shouted out before taking a big swig of the bottle in his hand before turning around and walking back to the banquet.

The two sisters stared at the man's back in disbelief before bursting out laughing again. After the two had calmed down a bit, Nojiko looked at her sister seriously, getting Nami to follow suit.

"So, you're finally getting to live for yourself, huh? Are you sure that kid with the straw hat is the one you want to trust your dream and safety with?" She asked, getting Nami to genuinely think about what she was asked. She was silent for a minute before looking up at Nojiko with a massive smile.

"It's not that he is the one I want to rust my dream with. It's that he is the ONLY one I trust my dream with. He can be pretty stupid at times, but I know that when we need it, He'll be there for all of us no matter what." Nami said with a conviction that startled Nojiko before her face turned into a soft smile.

"As long as you're sure."

.

.

Luffy was pretty confused at the moment. He ran around looking for that ham-melon but didn't have any luck. He tried to sense it with his 'Observation Haki', but what the hell does a ham-melon feel like? 

He finally found the treasure he'd been looking for when he saw a massive food cart with hundreds of ham-melons. His mouth started watering immediately as he grabbed as many as he could fit in his arms. 

This led to the food cart owner yelling at him and him running away. No way was he gonna pay, just put it on the treasure fund. He ran into the woods so he could eat his precious ham-melons in peace. Too bad some guy with a pinwheel on his head just showed up out of nowhere.

*MUNCH* *MUNCH* 

"Who the hell are you?" Luffy asked as he chewed, making the guy's eyebrow twitch.

'Is this really the brat that Nami was just talking about? Oh, she did say he can be stupid at times...' Genzo thought to himself before shaking his head and looking at the kid who was responsible for setting them free.

"Before anything, thank you for beating Arlong when no of us could." He said as he started to bow, only to feel a hand on his shoulder. He looked back up to see the kid grinning at him.

"I didn't do it for you, I did it for Nami. If you want to thank someone, go thank Nami for bringing my crew and me here." Luffy said, making Genzo scoff playfully. When Luffy lowered his hand, Genzo looked at him in seriousness, getting Luffy to understand this wasn't just like all the people who'd been stopping him at the banquet to thank him.

"If you ever let Nami's smile get taken away, I will kill you myself," Genzo said looking Luffy dead in the eyes. Luffy grinned at the man's courage. He knew that the guy had seen his 'Galaxy Impact' or at least what happened after it, and he still threatened his life to make sure Nami was happy. When he saw the man's glare sharpen, his face turned into a soft smile.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure she smiles every day." Luffy said before turning around and walking back to the banquet, he was out of his precious ham-melon after all.

Genzo stared at Luffy's back while he walked away and when he was out of sight, he looked back toward Bell-mère's grave.

"You can rest easy, they'll be in good hands."

.

.

At Marineford, the Island where the headquarters for the Marines resides, a man was sitting at his desk with a long, braided goatee and a mustache, sitting alongside his pet goat, could be seen looking at a piece of paper with a confused expression.

'What the hell? The Arlong Pirates were taken down? How is that possible? I know they had at least three Fishmen in their crew that could use both types of 'Haki', How the hell could they be beaten in the 'East Blue' of all places?' The fleet Admiral and leader of the Marines, 'Sengoku The Buddha', thought to himself. Once he finished reading the piece of paper, his face morphed into a rage.

"Of course, that bastard had to be involved in something like this!! I swear, if he wasn't the 'Hero of The Marines' I would demote him to chore boy as soon as I could!!" Sengoku screamed out before punching the hell out of his desk, leaving a massive crack in it. He grabbed the microphone to the den-den mushi on his desk.

"Get Garp to my office as soon as possible!!!" He screamed out, not even giving whoever was on the other side of the line a chance to answer before hanging up in a rage.

*BOOM*

That rage only got worse when he saw his old friend walking straight threw the wall, right next to the door. Sengoku could swear someone was playing some cruel joke on him.

*MUNCH* *MUNCH*

"What's got you so wound up, Sengoku?" Garp asked without a care in the world except for the rice crackers in his hand. Sengoku glared at Garp, who put his hands out in a placating manner, not wanting his preciousness to get taken again. Sengoku sighed before telling Garp why he called him here.

"You know someone named 'Monkey D. Luffy', don't you?" Though it was posed as a question, Garp could tell it was a statement, so after spitting out the rick crackers in his mouth in surprise at hearing Luffy's name in the damn Fleet Admiral's office, he nodded and answered.

"Of course I do, that's the name of my grandson," Garp answered simply before stuffing his face again. Sengoko's eyebrow twitched before he handed over the piece of paper to Garp, who started reading it out loud.

"Arlong Pirates beaten. Blah blah blah, Luffy beats up Arlong, his Vice-Captain beats the swordsman Hatchan but the Fishman escapes, and his chef beats the unofficial Vice-Captain of the Arlong pirates. Blah blah blah, transfer to 'Impel Down' with an escort with at least three Vice-Admirals or soldiers of similar strength." Garp read out as he dug for gold with his pinkie. When he finished reading, or more accurately roughly skimming, he threw the paper over his shoulder.

"So, how is this my problem?" Garp asked without a care in the world. Sengoku's limit had been reached with that comment. 

*BOOOOM!!!*

Sengoku punched straight through his desk as he glared at Garp, who was completely flabbergasted.

"It's your goddamn problem because your grandson became a pirate! Not only that, our information suggests that he has mastered all three forms of 'Haki', including 'Conqueror's Haki'!!! We can't let a threat like this run wild, especially in the first half of the 'Grand Line'!!!" Sengoku shouted his lungs out at his idiot friend, who was stock-still, mouth gaping at his friend and boss. Garp cleared his throat when Sengoku was done screaming.

"Ahem..." Sengoku glared at him as he panted from screaming so much. Garp flinched at the look but continued.

"My bad?" Garp said, or more so asked, getting Sengoku's body to start glowing gold. Garp froze at that sight. After the Fleet Admiral took a few deep breaths and went back to normal, he glared at Garp again.

"Get out." He said simply. Garp didn't need to be told twice as he walked out, breaking another hole in the wall as he walked out. Sengoku just stared at the sight before sighing and grabbing the microphone to the den-den mushi again.

"Tell Vice-Admiral Dalmatian and Rear-Admiral Hina to come to my office." He said into the mic. A couple of minutes later, a muscular, bipedal Dalmatian-human hybrid walked into his office, thankfully through the actual door. The Vice-Admiral immediately saluted.

"Vice-Admiral Dalmatian reporting!!" The now-named Dalmatian shouted out, making Sengoku sigh. A few seconds later, a tall, slim woman with dark brown eyes and straight, waist-length pink hair worn in a middle part walked into his office and saluted.

"Rear-Admiral Hina reporting!!" The woman said before snapping her hand back to her side

'It's not even eight in the morning and he's already shouting?' Sengoku questioned in his mind, not realizing he was shouting a couple of minutes prior. He looked over at the Rear-Admiral.

'I'll need Hina to help keep him on track.'

He shook off the unnecessary thoughts and looked at the passionate Marine.

"I need you two to go to 'Loguetown' to help Smoker and Tashigi." The Fleet Admiral ordered, making the two look at him in surprise, which he understood very well.

"There is a new pirate crew that has just emerged with three known users of 'Haki' in the 'East Blue'. I don't know if Smoker and Tashigi will be enough, even with their strength." He explained getting understanding nods before Hina spoke up.

"A rookie pirate crew that knows 'Haki'? Hina is confused." The woman said with a tilted head, with Dalmatian nodding along, prompting Sengoku to explain a bit more.

"From intelligence collected on them. There is a chef named 'Sanji' that can use both forms of 'Haki' as well as the ability to set his feet on fire." He said as he handed over an unpublished wanted poster with a man with blonde hair in a suit, lighting a cigarette in his mouth. The two Marines saw that the poster said 'Only Alive' but didn't ask any questions.

"The Vice-Captain is a swordsman named 'Zoro' who also can use both forms of 'Haki', but we don't know anything else about him. There are rumors about him fighting with 'Dracule Mihawk', but since none of that information can be confirmed, we will disregard it." Sengoku said as he handed over another wanted poster with a man holding three swords and a green bandana wrapped on his head. 

The two were startled when they heard the name 'Dracule Mihawk' but when they heard it was just rumors of the two fighting, they breathed a sigh of relief. They don't want any part with someone who can fight against that monster.

"Finally and most importantly, The Captain of The Straw Hat Pirates, Monkey D. Luffy. He can use all three forms of 'Haki', is the current user of the 'Gomu-Gomu no mi', and it's suspected he knows at least some of the 'Six-Powers'." He explained as he handed over a wanted poster with the face of a smiling teenager wearing a straw hat, not looking like a vicious pirate at all.

"Don't underestimate them. This crew was able to take out the 'Arlong Pirates' which had at least three users of 'Haki' if not more. If we continue to let them grow, there's no telling what might happen." Sengoku warned as the two Marines nodded seriously. 

"Set off as soon as possible. You need to make it to 'Loguetown' before they do or else..." He trailed off as the two nodded at him and immediately used 'Shave' to get to their battleship assigned to them for the mission as fast as possible. Sengoku stared at the spot they were in for a few seconds before letting out a long sigh.

'I have a bad feeling about this.'