Overcoming an Era by Beyond_Kailani

*Different story, previous one was a repost. My bad*

Latest update: January 15, 2024

Summary:Sabo is on a personal mission for Dragon when a Whitebeard Pirate crashes into him. Ace is on the hunt for the traitor Blackbeard when a Revolutionary bearing a remarkable resemblance to his dead brother steps into his path. Luffy is just trying to survive the Grand Line.

Link:https://archiveofourown.org/works/45894436/chapters/115509766

Word count:193k

Chapters:35

Chapter 1: The Dawn of the Adventure

Chapter Text

It was a wonderful day for sailing. The skies were clear, the waters calm, and the gulls cried overhead while they circled the small vessel proved to be good company. All in all, it couldn't be a more perfect day.

Purupurupuru. Purupurupuru.

Well, the young man laying on the deck mused, his mind still clouded with the remnants of his nap had been so rudely interrupted by the shrill cries of a den den mushi, it was almost perfect. Taking off the top hat covering his face, he squinted in the bright mid-afternoon sun. He blinked rapidly to clear his vision and was about to make the effort to heave himself up when the noise finally quietened. Sighing with relief, he let his head fall back against his crossed arms, stretching like a contented cat in the warm sun.

Purupurupuru. Purupurupuru. Purupurupuru.

"Seriously?" he groaned. The thought of moving was unappealing, but since the small snail showed no signs of shutting up and it was ruining the soothing sounds of the small waves lapping against the bow, the man pushed himself to his feet. A quick glance at the wheel and then the horizon showed exactly what he expected. His rope contraption had worked to hold him on course while he napped, something he desperately longed to return to. There was no chance of that happening though, he sighed and scrubbed at his face with one gloved hand. The other reached out and lightly tapped the snail's shell where it sat atop the wheel. He tried and failed to suppress a yawn as the call connected.

"-completely selfish! He knows he needs to pick up when we call! It's unbelievable. Oh, don't tell me to calm down! What if we were under attack or something?"

"Then I hope you'd be busy defending the place rather than calling me," the man interrupted, leaning his weight against the railing, the wind whipping gently at his blond hair.

"Sabo!"

"Good morning, Koala," Sabo greeted amicably, ignoring his friend and comrade's annoyance with practiced ease.

"It's two o'clock in the afternoon," she hissed in reply.

"Is it? I hadn't noticed," he returned pleasantly.

"Seriously, why don't you answer your damn calls? I've been trying to get hold of you for the last half an hour! Didn't you hear it ringing?"

"Then I really hope Baltigo isn't under attack because I think your skills could be better used elsewhere than in the call room," he teased softly. There was a splutter of indignation from the other end of the line that made Sabo chuckle. "I'm on my way back from Tequila Wolf. If the plan to raid it is still on, we're going to have to re-think our strategy I'm afraid," he said.

"I'm not calling about your report – wait. Why? What did you find?" Sabo heard Koala hissing at Hack to hand her a quill and some parchment.

Sabo sighed heavily, frustration causing a frown to mar his face. "Because they've only gone and moved the slave village, haven't they? They've made a lot of progress since our last scouts reported back. After seven hundred years you've gotta wonder what the sudden rush is," he huffed.

Koala cursed quietly. "Bunny Joe is not going to like this," she said. "We don't have the time or resources to do another full reconnaissance. We'll just have to hope his team will still be able to pull off the raid with what we already know."

"We've dealt with worse odds before," Sabo shrugged. He trusted his fellow Revolutionaries would be more than capable of executing the plan to release the slaves. They had succeeded before on much less information. It would certainly make the mission more dangerous but every person working under the banner of the Revolutionary Army knew the risks from the moment they signed up. "I do have some good news, too," the blond offered with a grin.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I found the most amazing restaurant while I was in East Blue. It's called the Baratie and I think I can safely say it has some of the best food I've eaten in years!" he exclaimed, feeling his mouth begin to water at the memory of all the delicious plates of food the chefs had whipped up.

Koala snorted and Sabo could almost hear her rolling her eyes. "Of course you'd think with your stomach," she said, although her voice lacked any heat. "But I hadn't actually called you to discuss restaurants or collect your report, which, I might add, is late again."

It was Sabo's turn to roll his eyes. "At least I actually gave you one this time! Take what you're given already."

"Yes, I suppose we should be thankful for small mercies. Speaking of which, Sabo, Dragon-san is headed to Logue Town. He left early this morning."

Sabo blinked in surprise. Dragon was the leader of the Revolutionary Army and possibly one of - if not the most - wanted man in the world. He hadn't left their base in Baltigo since Ivankov was imprisoned in Impel Down and Kuma had left them to join the Shichibukai. If the Revolutionary Army were to lose another important figurehead, its continued existence would be jeopardised, so Dragon had remained sequestered away.

Sabo had been a member of the Revolutionaries since he was about ten years old. He had recently been promoted to Chief of Staff and could assume command in the absence of Dragon as his second, but there was still a lot Dragon had yet to share with him surrounding the founding and causes that prompted Dragon to start the revolution in the first place. Dragon was naturally cautious - although he did have his moments of spontaneity -and rarely shared everything with a single person, purely for their own safety should his confidant be captured or defect.

The wind suddenly rose up, sending a spray of seawater across the bow and shaking Sabo out of his surprise. Realising Koala was waiting for his response, he gave himself a mental shake. "Did he say why?" he asked curiously.

"No. He just announced this morning he needed to see something and he was going to Logue Town and left. Karasu-san gave him a lift." Sabo could hear the frustration in his friend's voice. He did sympathise somewhat with her plight. It was bad enough the Chief of Staff had a bad habit of wandering off; she really didn't need their leader to start doing the same. "Dragon-san said he'd come back to Baltigo with you, since you're going to have to pass by on your way back."

"Okay," Sabo replied, checking the log pose sat by the wheel and doing a quick calculation in his head. "I'll be there by tomorrow morning. I have a suitable vessel so there's no need to send Crow-san back out to collect us."

"You know Karasu-san hates it when you call him that," she said, but the snail in the palm of his hand was grinning with amusement. "Oh, and Sabo? Try not to cause any trouble! Remember you're going to have Dragon-san with you and the last thing we need is -"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. See you when we get back!" he called cheerfully.

"Hey, wait! Don't you hang u-"

Sabo quickly disconnected the call. He would definitely pay for that when he got back to Baltigo, but right then he had more important things to concern himself with. He dropped the snail into the pocket of his black coat hung casually over one of the wheel handles and deftly untied the rope locking it in place. Double checking the log pose, he made a quick adjustment, setting his boat on a straighter course to Logue Town. Raising his head to the clear blue sky, Sabo grinned.

xxx

As always when he was lucky enough to pass through one of the most famous islands in the world, Sabo made a beeline for the execution platform. From the moment he had first laid eyes on it, his body still recovering from the explosion that had claimed his memories, and so nearly his life, Sabo had been inexplicably drawn to the platform. He hadn't been able to understand the connection he felt to the name Gold Roger, although Dragon had been quick to correct him to the proper pronunciation of Gol. D Roger. The offhand mention of the initial had been Sabo's first spark of familiarity since he'd awoken on Dragon's ship. But he hadn't been able to remember anything to go with it. He could only guess he'd heard it before, but the lack of any memory had driven him to tears as he stared up at the towering platform, sending the few Revolutionaries who'd accompanied Dragon and Sabo ashore into a small panic. He had allowed them to usher him away from the square, his eyes burning and tender skin itching from his salty tears while he grieved for something he couldn't remember.

There had been other moments over the years that caused him to pause and try to force his brain to cooperate and unlock his memories, but none had been as strong as that first time at the steps of the execution platform in Logue Town.

A gust of wind whipped through the street, forcing Sabo to make a grab for his hat before it flew from his head. Turning into the wind, Sabo saw the clouds above beginning to group together. A storm was approaching. Frowning thoughtfully, Sabo turned back towards his destination, picking up the pace. He had time for a quick look before he had to find his leader.

He had expected the square to be mostly deserted. Twenty years after the execution of the Pirate King, it held appeal to the general tourist mass but the marine base stationed nearby did its job of keeping away pirates who would happily turn the execution platform into a shrine, so he was more than a little surprised to see a large assembly amassed in the square. He paused on the edge of the crowd, pulling his hat down securely to obscure his face. Although unlikely, he didn't want to take the risk of someone recognising him.

"-ing on?"

"-marines should do something!"

"-platform-"

"Pirates!"

Sabo followed the excited gazes of the townsfolk. "What the hell?" he exclaimed, shock causing the words to slip out. The Revolutionary could hardly believe what he was seeing. If it wasn't for the fact it was currently being witnessed by the majority of Logue Town, he seriously would have thought he was imagining things. But no, atop the platform, as clear as day, two figures stood. Or rather, one stood, his coat billowing about him like a pair of giant wings. The second person, smaller and leaner was on his knees, clapped in the pillory. The youth looked remarkably calm considering the predicament he was in, Sabo noted, somewhat bemused.

Sabo turned his attention back to the man gallivanting around the platform like he owned it. There was no mistaking that clown and his cohorts prancing around at the bottom of the wooden structure. They cackled gleefully and Sabo scowled when several cracks of gunfire erupted. The crowd around him began to shift, a low murmur of displeasure running through them. Sabo hoped for the sake of the Buggy Pirates they could control themselves enough to not send any shots directly into the throng of people. The pirates had managed to bring the crowd to an almost dead silence though and while he watched the scene play out before them, Sabo was finally able to hear Buggy and his prisoner.

"Now," Buggy stomped heavily on the young man's head, grinning as he twirled his cutlass above the man's unguarded neck. "Any last words? You have a big audience." The younger man scowled. Buggy laughed heartily. "Ah well, never mind that. No one wants to hear it."

The teenager wrenched his head out from under Buggy's boot, causing the pirate to spiral and struggle to regain his balance. He drew in a deep breath.

"I AM…"

Sabo didn't dare blink, unable to tear his gaze away from the young man staring down at them, a look of utmost seriousness on his face.

"-GOING TO BE THE PIRATE KING!"

"Are you gonna become pirates?! I'm gonna become one too!"

Sabo staggered back, like the words had physically struck him, his ears ringing. His temples throbbed painfully. Desperately, he tried to ignore the declaration echoed in his head, he looked around wildly. He could have sworn he had heard a child – a young boy, possibly – but there were none around him. Instead, the only thing that could be heard was the crowd's stunned murmurs.

Falling back against a wall in an effort to regain some equilibrium, Sabo almost missed the blurs of green and yellow that flew straight past him.

"LUFFY!"

"Luffy, is it?" Sabo muttered. Unable to kill his curiosity, he glanced back at the teenager still stuck in the pillory who was yelling loudly at the pair of older boys who had launched themselves at the Buggy Pirates. He took a single, unconscious step forward before another presence registered with him. He froze, distracted, a fleeting thought vanishing from his mind as quickly as it appeared. Frustrated, Sabo almost growled but he forced himself to block out the commotion unfolding around him.

He turned slowly towards one of the buildings on the other side of the plaza. Concentrating hard, Sabo zeroed in on where the presence felt strongest. It wasn't Dragon, he quickly concluded. Dragon liked high places he could use as an outlook but he rarely ventured inside if he could help it. Sensing the underlying hostility, Sabo could only think it was Captain Smoker, the marine in charge of the local outpost. And judging by the formidable aura that bounced off Sabo's own observation haki, he more than lived up to his reputation.

A flash of white in a first-floor window drew his attention. He spied a marine, his gun trained on the pirates arguing down below him. Sabo cursed, inwardly furious he had let himself get distracted enough to not even notice the square had been surrounded. In nearly every window with a prominent view down onto the platform there stood a marine, poised to attack. He guessed by the fact they hadn't made a move yet, their plan was to let the pirates destroy each other before rounding up the stragglers.

It was a smart move, Sabo admitted grudgingly. He supposed Smoker had the docks on lockdown too. Sabo turned to the execution platform, strangely filled with regret at the thought of leaving, but he needed to find Dragon. He should find Dragon. They had to leave before their presence was noted and it would be easier to do if everyone was still preoccupied. He stared at the kneeling dark-haired teenager thoughtfully. His declaration he was going to be Pirate King was ambitious. He might have caused a lot of people to snicker at his boldness and write it off as a joke, but Sabo strangely couldn't help but think the kid had been deadly serious.

Sabo tried to shake himself out of his stupor. He couldn't hang around all day watching pirates – for Luffy could only be a pirate if he was walking around making such statements – no matter how much he felt like he should stay, he had to find Dragon and he owed the kid nothing. His own discovery wasn't worth lending his assistance to a pirate who was clearly so reckless he'd been caught before he could even enter the Grand Line. But he also found he couldn't ignore the feeling he should be doing something. Anything.

Torn, Sabo remained where he was until a rumble of thunder echoed overhead. He felt the first splatters of rain hit the rim of his hat and freezing cold wind blew into the square from the side streets. A piercing crack followed by the sharp and distinct smell of sulphur rang out above the square. Sabo raised his face skywards, eyes widening in disbelief, and watched a ripple of lightning roll overhead. The thunder growled ominously and the rain began to pound the pavements. The crowd began to disperse, scattering in all directions as people ran for shelter from both the weather and the battling pirates.

"Zoro! Sanji!"

Sabo turned towards the platform, Luffy's voice carrying surprisingly well considering the commotion going on around the square and he felt compelled to listen.

"Sorry. I'm dead!"

To the Revolutionary's surprise, the pirate was grinning in spite of Buggy's sword poised to swing down to meet his neck. How could he smile, Sabo wondered, baffled beyond comprehension. No one smiled in the face of death. No one except one man.

Sabo had read several eyewitness reports of the Pirate King's own execution. He had smiled. He didn't have time to ponder the oddity, for in the next moment, Sabo, along with everyone else in the square, was forced to shield their eyes and cover their ears as a bolt of lightning struck the execution platform. Sabo ducked to avoid the dust and debris flying from the site of the impact.

A stunned stillness settled over the square, with no one daring to move.

"Shishishi! That surprised me!"

"You and the rest of the world," Sabo muttered, before the voice ripping through the silence registered. His head snapped up. To his utter amazement, Luffy was now stood against the backdrop of the destroyed platform. He patted at a straw hat with surprising care before slapping it onto his head, grin still fixed firmly in place.

"Do you believe in a higher power?" the blond in a black suit asked nonchalantly of his green-haired companion from not too far away.

"Don't be ridiculous! We need to get out of here, Luffy."

"Ah! Here they come!" Luffy shouted, bounding past the pair and towards the furthest exit of the square. Marines had started to flood out of the nearby buildings, shouting orders left and right and fighting their way through the still stunned crowd.

Sabo couldn't help but smile as he watched the trio make their bid for freedom. Making a quick decision, the blond disappeared down the closest side alley, following the small group's route to the docks on a parallel street.

Luffy was far too interesting, Sabo thought. He had better things to do than track the progress of a runaway pirate, but much like he hadn't been able to leave the square, he felt obliged to see the pirate to the docks. He had no idea why. Sabo was pretty sure he had never heard of Luffy before that afternoon but the insistent tug of something pushed Sabo onwards.

Twin shouts of surprise and dismay from the other street had Sabo springing to the roof to investigate.

"Seriously?" he muttered to himself, incredulous at the scene laid out below him.

Luffy, who only minutes before had miraculously managed to escape his own execution, was now sat pinned underneath none other than Captain Smoker himself. His thrashing limbs stretched far beyond all normal human proportions before snapping back like a rubber band, and must've been stronger than they looked as cracks appeared in the pavement beneath him, but they were utterly useless against Smoker. Luffy was clearly inexperienced fighting against logia type devil fruit users, despite obviously being a devil fruit user himself. It at least explained how the pirate had emerged unscathed from the lightning strike but Sabo still had to forcefully quash the worry that bizarrely bubbled up in his chest when he imagined the trouble Luffy could get into as a new rookie in the Grand Line.

Sabo couldn't take his eyes away from the jitte in the marine's hand, glistening in the pouring rain. If he squinted, he could almost picture another man standing over Luffy, who he imagined to be smaller and weaker, nothing like the pirate currently flailing about on the ground like a wild animal, and threatening him with a similar weapon. But that didn't make any sense, Sabo thought, his mind racing a mile a minute. He had never met Luffy before. Sabo had barely left Baltigo those first few years and Luffy didn't look that much younger than him. He couldn't understand why he was imagining Luffy as a child.

"Looks like my run of bad luck is over," Smoker smirked, raising his sword above his head. Sabo tensed, poised to jump down into the street when someone beat him to it.

"Well, I wouldn't say that exactly."

Sabo jolted in surprise when he ecognized the reassuringly familiar figure who'd caught the swinging blow. He wasn't ashamed to admit his first thought upon seeing his commander standing over the marine captain, his favourite hooded cloak shielding him from the downpour, was Koala was going to kill him. Painfully and slowly. They were definitely not laying low and were definitely drawing attention to themselves.

Sabo was completely perplexed by this new turn of events. Dragon had done many things over the years that had stunned him, but this had to be one of the most astonishing. The Revolutionaries very rarely involved themselves in the affairs of pirates. Sabo was known to be one of the worst culprits for involving himself in things that shouldn't concern him or the Revolutionaries, but he couldn't think of a single incident where Dragon had revealed himself to a marine to save a pirate.

"What's going on?! Who's there?" Luffy continued to struggle fruitlessly underneath Smoker, who scowled up at Dragon, his face a picture of pure rage.

"You!" Smoker snarled, tensing like he was readying himself to pull his arm from Dragon's grip.

"Us," Dragon corrected idly, his gaze never leaving the marine but his words were clearly directed to Sabo.

Sabo grimaced and jumped down into the street, absently thinking of a thousand excuses to give to Koala. He walked slowly and steadily, arms loose at his side and pipe still hanging at his back. Dragon was making no move to outwardly attack Smoker, and Sabo would gladly follow his lead since he really had no idea what in the world Dragon was thinking.

Sabo walked confidently past the blond and green-haired teenagers, both of them stood tense and unsure while the scene before them unfolded. They eyed him warily, but he ignored them, stopping only when Smoker sensed his approach and jerked his head towards him. Sabo nodded his greeting to Dragon.

Smoker huffed, his gaze darting between the two Revolutionaries he was now caught between. He rose to his feet slowly, reluctantly releasing Luffy in the process. The young pirate heaved himself to his feet, but seconds later he was nearly knocked clean over again when a huge gust of wind rattled down the street. He grasped protectively at his straw hat.

"Hey, Luffy! Let's go!" the green-haired swordsman shouted, voice barely carrying over the wind, but clearly wanting to take advantage of their new opportunity for freedom. "Quit dragging your feet! There's a storm coming! We're going to get trapped here!"

"Right!" Luffy agreed. He carefully sidestepped Smoker, who ignored him in favour of keeping Dragon in his line of sight. His crewmates' urgent cries for him to hurry were ignored and instead he cast one final glance at the pair facing off with one another, seemingly unconcerned about the storm gathering pace in the skies above them before he jogged away slowly.

Sabo waited until the pirate was almost level with him before speaking quietly. "You might want to get a move on," he encouraged. "The other marines won't be far behind."

Luffy's head snapped to him and Sabo found himself pinned under one of the most inquisitive gazes he'd ever found himself. Their eyes met briefly. Luffy faltered and missed a step, his eyes wide and bright. He muttered something under his breath Sabo didn't catch before he quickly regained his momentum and barreled passed. Sabo frowned, confused by the reaction but still turned to track the pirate's progress down the street out the corner of his eye. He only returned his attention to the two men left in the street once he was sure they had left, an odd compulsion to make sure they did actually get to safety filling him.

Sabo turned just in time to catch Dragon smirking ominously. Sabo groaned and ducked quickly into a doorway, bracing himself against the force he knew was coming. He reached up to keep a tight grip on his hat when the strongest gust of wind yet swept down the street, sending small debris and litter swirling. Nearby doors and windows rattled in their frames. Sabo's coat whipped at his knees for what seemed like hours but was actually no more than a minute before calm descended upon the town again.

When Sabo lifted his head, he was unsurprised to find he was alone in the street. Taking the opportunity to disappear before Smoker returned to track them both down, Sabo emerged from his meagre shelter and took to the roofs once more.

It was easy to follow Dragon's presence. He had been following in the man's footsteps since he was ten years old and it took him no time at all to locate his leader atop an old warehouse roof at the harbour.

Sabo didn't bother to mask his approach and he drew to a halt beside the man. Dragon didn't acknowledge him, his gaze fixed on something in the distance, bobbing up and down on the rough waves but making good progress away from the town despite the bad weather. Sabo squinted in the dim light and he was just able to make out the small vessel – a caravel, if Sabo wasn't mistaken – that was captivating his leader. In the ferocious winds, Sabo could just make out a black flag snapping around.

"So, us Revolutionaries are saving pirates now, are we?" Sabo enquired, voice bordering on teasing and conveniently ignoring the fact he had almost stepped in to assist the same pirates himself before Dragon had saved him the trouble.

Dragon's only response was to grin. Sabo felt his own grin falter and his brow knit in confusion. He had seen that grin once before today already and it hadn't been from Dragon; it had been on the face of the young pirate caught atop the execution platform.

All at once, Sabo felt a bolt of understanding hit him. Familiarity, he thought, turning back to watch the ship heading towards the horizon and the Grand Line beyond. Familiarity is what he'd felt as he'd watched Luffy. He supposed he could be forgiven for not recognising the feeling before; very rarely did Sabo find anything outside of his tight knit life in the Revolutionaries familiar. He thought back to Luffy's faltering steps when he had laid eyes on Sabo. He shook his head and smiled ruefully.

It was a shame, Sabo noted, drawing in a deep breath, that he and Luffy hadn't been able to speak; that the circumstances had conspired against them. He had the feeling Luffy could be a pretty interesting person to know.

xxx

"That was a close one!"

"You don't say, Shitty Cook."

"Shut up, Marimo!"

"Then don't state the obvious."

"That reminded me of the time I had to escape a tornado! I was all alone when - Ow! Nami, why are you hitting me?!"

"We don't need any of your wild tales right now."

"Well there's no need to hit me!"

Luffy wandered away from his squabbling crewmates and towards the railing, his eyes fixed firmly on the island they had barely managed to escape from. It had been fun, Luffy thought with a grin. Despite the almost execution and the disgusting smell of sulphur lingering on his clothes the storm hadn't managed to dampen, Luffy had enjoyed himself. He had only wanted to see the platform where the Pirate King – his brother's father – had met his end. And where the legend of the One Piece had begun. He'd had no idea Buggy would've held such a grudge against him that he'd actually followed them. And his anger towards Shanks was funny; he'd have to ask the next time he saw the red-haired pirate if Buggy was actually telling the truth, because if was how he'd eaten his devil fruit, it was funnier than Luffy's own story. He was almost looking forward to the next time he could meet the clown.

And there had been that smoking marine, Luffy thought. He was drawing a blank on how he could possibly fight the guy when he couldn't even touch him. Although, the man in the cloak who'd helped him had managed to grab him. That was certainly a mystery. And then there was the blond guy, too…

"Hey, Luffy, who was that guy?"

"Huh?" Luffy turned to Sanji who had somehow managed to light his cigarette in spite of the lashing rain still falling around them. "Which guy?"

"The one in the top hat, with the goggles," Sanji clarified, taking a drag. "You looked like you knew him."

Luffy shook his head quickly. "No, I didn't know any of those guys. The blond one just looked like someone I used to know. That's all."

"You sure it wasn't him?" Zoro asked quietly.

"That's impossible," he said simply. From the sympathetic nod his first mate gave him, Luffy knew he hadn't quite been quick enough to hide the flash of pain in his eyes. He cast a quick glance over his shoulder, but he couldn't see any more of Logue Town. He mentally shook himself, wondering what in the world Ace would say if he could see Luffy getting all mopey just because he'd seen someone who looked like their brother. He would probably get Ace's best imitation of Gramp's fist of love.

Luffy snapped his attention back to his crew, who were all watching him curiously. He flashed them his widest smile.

"Let's head to the Grand Line!"

His words were greeted with a chorus of cheers.

Link:https://archiveofourown.org/works/45894436/chapters/115509766