Raphael: <>
System: []
******
'What the hell is going on!? Why am I in Luffy's body!?' Luffy shouted as he stared at his reflection in the mirror. 'Wasn't I told I'm not some chosen one? That I don't have to save the world or anything! So why, of all people, am I in Luffy's body?'
As the former Grey, now Luffy, grappled with his existential crisis, there was another knock at the door. Letting out a sigh, Luffy walked toward the door, thinking, 'It must be Dadan or Makino.' But when he opened it, he froze, stunned at the sight of the slender woman with long, wavy pink-blonde hair standing before him.
'What the hell!' he shouted in his mind. 'Why is Portgas D. Rouge here? No, more importantly, how is she here? Wasn't she supposed to die giving birth to Ace!?'
Rouge, noticing Luffy standing there looking a bit dazed, frowned and placed her hand on his forehead. "What's wrong, Luffy? Are you sick?"
"Just give him some meat! That'll cure whatever he's got!" came another voice, startling Luffy once again. He turned toward the sound and saw a young girl of medium height with bright purple eyes and long hair—white on the left side and red on the right.
'Uta? Okay, now I'm completely lost...' he thought, but then he noticed both Rouge and Uta frowning at him. "Sorry, I'm not feeling well, so I'm going to rest in my room for a bit," Luffy said quickly before retreating back to his room.
Meanwhile, the two women outside his room stood there, stunned by what they'd just witnessed.
"When did that guy get so polite!?" Uta exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air.
Rouge just smiled and shook her head. "Maybe our Luffy is starting to grow up," she said, flashing a teasing smile at Uta. "Maybe you should think about doing the same."
"Nah, too much work," Uta scoffed, flipping her hair. "Since Luffy's sick, I'm heading to the village to see if I can finesse some money out of the visiting merchants."
"Fine, but be careful and don't get into trouble," Rouge called as Uta left the house. Then she turned toward Luffy's door, whispering, "I hope he gets well soon."
Meanwhile, inside the room, Luffy sat on his bed, clutching his head. 'Where the hell am I?' he thought, trying to make sense of why two people—one of whom should have been dead—were here.
"Huh? Who said that?" Luffy asked, looking around, trying to figure out where the voice had come from.
"Oh right, sorry, I forgot about you," Luffy said, rubbing the back of his head. "So, what are the possibilities you're suggesting?"
"Hmm, that could be the case," Luffy mused, rubbing his chin. "And the second?"
"Oh right, I got something like that too, didn't I?" Luffy sighed, wondering if this system was going to cause more trouble than it was worth. "So, do I have a stat page or anything similar to see what else I have?"
"Yes," Luffy replied, and immediately, a transparent window appeared before him.
******
Name: Monkey D. Luffy (Grey)
Age: 19
Boons:
Lord of Wisdom: Raphael
Inventory
Perfect Healthy Body
Powers/ Abilities:
N/A
System:
Gacha Roll
Points: 1000
Titles:
The Boy Who Inherited Will.
The Charismatic Prince.
******
"Well, everything looks normal except for the age. From what I know, Luffy set sail at 17, but it seems that's not the case here," Luffy thought to himself. "Now, what exactly are these titles?" he said, clicking on the first one.
The Boy Who Inherited Will: This title is given to the person destined for a great adventure and fated to meet great people.
As Luffy read the description of his first title, he couldn't help but glance at the Straw Hat resting on the table near his bed.
Shaking his head, Luffy decided not to dwell on that for now and clicked on his second title.
The Charismatic Prince: This title is given to a person with unbelievably high charisma. The titleholder often makes a strong first impression and finds it easier to befriend others. Additionally, the holder of this title can more easily gain the trust of those they befriend.
"No wonder Mihawk said that Luffy has the ability to make allies out of everyone around him," Luffy mused aloud.
Just then, another thought crossed his mind. "Hey, Raphael, why don't I have any memories of Luffy before I woke up in his body?"
"Well, you might as well do it now," Luffy said. "There's no point in dragging this out any longer."
Luffy heard these words in his mind, and in the next moment, an unbearable pain assaulted his brain, giving him a head-splitting migraine. "Ugh... my head..." Luffy groaned, clutching his head. "I'm going to lie down for a bit," he said, and a few moments later, he passed out.
******
Two hours later, when Luffy opened his eyes, he immediately noticed two things. The first was the influx of new memories now swirling in his mind, which he desperately needed to sort through before leaving the room. The second was the dampness on his cheeks—a result of reliving the painful memories during the integration process.
Shaking his head, Luffy wiped his face and closed his eyes again, settling into a meditative position. He focused on organizing the newly acquired memories, ensuring they wouldn't overwhelm him.
After half an hour of intense concentration, he finally managed to make sense of the memories. He now had a clearer understanding of his current situation.
First, he found that this Luffy's background was similar to what he knew from the manga, as Garp was his grandfather and Dragon was his father, a detail he picked up from Garp's absentminded remarks during their conversations.
The differences began to emerge from Luffy's encounter with Shanks. While many events unfolded as they did in the manga, such as Luffy stabbing himself under the eye and Shanks losing his arm to save Luffy, this Luffy hadn't eaten the Gomu Gomu no Mi, or as it was recently revealed, the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika. As a result, he was slightly taller and more muscular than his manga counterpart.
Uta, who also came along with Shanks's crew, had a different fate in this world. She didn't eat the Uta Uta no Mi, nor was she left on Elegia. Instead, Shanks encountered Rouge, who was somehow living on the mountain with Ace. Deciding it was safer for Uta to stay with Rouge, Shanks left her there. Later, Garp discovered Uta's identity and, in an attempt to annoy Shanks, kept trying to recruit her, Luffy, and Ace as Marine officers. All three children strongly disagreed with his plans and made their objections quite clear.
Another significant change was Luffy's relationship with Ace, which started positively from the beginning, thanks to Rouge's presence. Once Luffy began living with them, Rouge quickly adopted him as her second child and Uta as her third.
From there, events followed the canon: Sabo's arrival, their becoming sworn brothers, the Grey Terminal fire, Sabo's "death," and everything else that had happened in the canon up to that point.
However, there was a key difference in their ages. In this timeline, Ace decided to set sail at 20, so Luffy and Uta chose to follow in his footsteps, planning to embark on their own journey the following year when they reached that age.
After sorting through all this information, Luffy reached a conclusion: nothing in this timeline made sense, and he would have to adapt as circumstances unfolded.
With a sigh, Luffy opened his Inventory and retrieved his smartphone. "I wonder how useful this will be now that things are turning out differently from how Oda-sensei is writing them," he said, staring at the device in his hand.
"Hey, Raphael, can you sync yourself with the Voice of the World?" Luffy asked.
Hearing Raphael's response, Luffy frowned. "Looks like Raphael is restricted in more ways than one," he muttered. "Can you sync with the Randomizer System and this smartphone?"
"How long will that take?" Luffy inquired.
"Then get started on that," Luffy said, returning the smartphone to his Inventory. "I'll do my first roll once you're synced with the system, to avoid any unexpected surprises."
"Now, I should really show my face outside before they start worrying about me," Luffy said, placing his Straw Hat on his head and stepping out of his room.
******
"This is the first time Luffy has stayed in his room for so long," Rouge frowned, glancing out the window at the setting sun on the horizon. "I really hope whatever sickness he's feeling isn't anything serious," she said, anxiously fidgeting with her fingers.
Rouge's worry deepened as memories of her late husband, Roger, resurfaced. The pain of losing him to an illness that no one could cure still lingered in her heart, and the thought of Luffy, her son in everything but blood, being similarly afflicted made her chest tighten with fear.
She was lost in these thoughts when the door to Luffy's room creaked open. Rouge turned, relief flooding her at the sight of Luffy stepping out with his usual grin. There was a calmness in his demeanor, though something about him seemed subtly different, a faint maturity she hadn't noticed before.
"Sorry to worry you, Rouge," Luffy said, scratching the back of his head. "I'm feeling a lot better now."
Rouge's eyes softened, but her concern didn't completely fade. "Are you sure, Luffy? You've never been sick before, and now you suddenly have a fever?"
"Yeah, it was just a headache. I think I needed some rest. But I'm all good now!" Luffy assured her, giving her a thumbs-up.
Rouge studied him for a moment, her motherly instincts still on high alert, but she nodded. "If you're sure… But if you feel anything strange, promise me you'll tell me right away."
"Promise," Luffy said, smiling warmly. He appreciated her concern, something he hadn't felt this deeply in his previous life as Grey. But in this world, it was clear that he aka Luffy was surrounded by people who genuinely cared for him, and he didn't want to cause them unnecessary worry.
"Good," Rouge replied, her expression softening further. "Dinner will be ready soon. Why don't you wash up? And check on Uta if you see her; she mentioned something about heading to the village earlier."
Luffy nodded, giving her a quick wave as he made his way out. As he left the house, he let out a small sigh of relief. His encounter with Rouge had gone smoother than he'd anticipated. However, he couldn't shake the feeling that something about his interaction with her seemed a little odd.
'Hey Raphael,' Luffy called out internally, 'do you know why I was feeling so bad for making Rouge worry? And what was that protective love I was feeling towards her? Shouldn't I be... you know, more distanced and detached from her since this is the first time I'm meeting her?'
Luffy frowned, processing this information. 'So, you're saying that I'm feeling this way because Luffy's feelings have been mixed with mine?'
Luffy sighed, running a hand through his hair as he mulled it over. It made sense, in a way. He had access to Luffy's memories and experiences, so it wasn't too surprising that his emotions would bleed over as well. But it still felt odd to suddenly be so protective of someone he had technically just met.
'So, I'm basically stuck with these feelings, huh?' Luffy asked, his tone resigned.
Luffy nodded to himself, accepting the explanation. 'I guess that's not the worst thing in the world. It just caught me off guard, that's all.'
Luffy couldn't help but chuckle at that. 'Yeah, I guess you're right. It's just one more thing to get used to in this crazy situation.'
"Hey, Luffy!" Just then, his train of thought was interrupted by a loud, cheerful shout. He turned towards the voice and saw Uta lazily walking toward him. "Good to see you finally out of your room."
"Yeah, I'm feeling good too," Luffy replied with a smile.
"Are you sure you're all right?" Uta asked. "Maybe you should rest a little longer."
"Thanks for worrying, but I'm really fine," Luffy grinned at her and ruffled her hair, which worked like a charm as she slapped his hand away with a sharp glare.
"Who's worrying about you? I just don't want you spreading your sickness to me," Uta scoffed. "By the way, what are you doing here?"
"I was actually looking for you," Luffy replied. "Rouge told me to find you and call you for dinner."
"Oh, why didn't you say so earlier? Let's go then," Uta smiled, and the two of them started walking toward the house.
"So… how was your day?" Luffy asked while walking beside her. "Anything exciting happen?"
"No, not really," Uta said, but then she suddenly stopped and turned around, scrutinizing Luffy with a critical eye. "Luffy, what's going on? Why are you acting so different all of a sudden?"
"What do you mean by 'weird'?" Luffy asked, trying to keep his tone light and casual while masking his anxiety at her question.
"I don't know… You've just been acting different ever since you got sick," Uta's frown deepened as she stared at him sharply. "You're talking more, asking questions you usually wouldn't, and you're way more… polite?" She said the last word as if it were something alien to her when associated with Luffy.
Luffy laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head in a familiar gesture. "Ah, maybe I'm just a little off because of the headache earlier. It was pretty bad, but I'm feeling a lot better now. Maybe I just needed to rest, and it's made me think a bit more, you know?"
Uta eyed him suspiciously, clearly not entirely convinced. "You've never been one to overthink things, though," she pointed out. "Luffy, please, what's going on? You know you can tell me if something's troubling you."
Luffy sighed inwardly, realizing that Uta wasn't going to let this go easily. He needed to come up with a reason that wouldn't raise more red flags.
"Well, maybe I've just been thinking about how lucky I am," he said, deciding to lean into the emotional aspect Raphael had mentioned. "I mean, I've got you, Rouge, and everyone else looking out for me. It made me realize I should probably do a better job of showing my appreciation."
"On top of that, since we've decided to set sail next year, I've been thinking about what kind of captain I want to be," he added. "And although I don't have all the answers yet, I think being a little more sensible will be better for us and our future crew members than my usual reckless behavior," he ended with a chuckle.
Uta blinked, her tough exterior softening just a little. "That's… actually kind of sweet and thoughtful, Luffy," she said, sounding surprised by her own words. "But it's still weird hearing you say stuff like that."
"Guess I'm just full of surprises," Luffy said with his signature grin, trying to deflect the conversation with a joke.
Uta stared at him for a moment longer before sighing and shaking her head. "Fine, whatever. Just don't get all mushy on me, okay? It's weird enough having you act all polite."
Luffy chuckled, feeling a sense of relief as the tension eased. "No promises," he teased, draping his arm over her shoulder and earning a half-hearted glare from Uta.
"Come on, let's get back before Rouge starts worrying," she said, pushing him away before turning on her heel and continuing down the path.
Luffy followed, feeling like he had just dodged a bullet. It was clear he needed to be more careful about how he acted. 'Then again, if I try too hard to act like the old Luffy, it'll just make everyone more suspicious,' Luffy thought to himself. Despite this, he couldn't help but feel good seeing Uta care about him.
'Luffy, you're really one lucky son of a bitch, to have so many people who love and care about you,' Grey thought to himself, smiling as he thought about the person whose body he was inhabiting and made a resolve to make sure that he got 110% from his second chance at life.
To be continued...