One Piece- Memories After All

Prologue

In the chaos of war, the smoke was filled with the vapors of blood and tears. In the midst of clashing swords and grenades, screams of anguish echoed. The men of all colors were divided into two groups fighting for absolutely one goal- Victory.  The carefully plotted war was taking the lives of too many to save one. The one who holds the legacy of the late Pirate King, who has no choice to choose his birth, who have been accumulating hatred since he was born, and who is still finding the answer to his existence. Portgas. D. Ace.

The marine has everything well-planned in their territory Marine ford. They have top-notched equipment and resources as well as the powerhouses of the marines; Admirals and vice admirals. They have thousands of men against the strongest man alive- the Whitebeard. The ailing Whitebeard is in the warzone to save his son. His crew though strong is falling behind against the marine power show. The 10 commanders no matter how strong cannot fight the whole war themselves. The perfect plan of marines appears to be impenetrable, and triumph is about to be celebrated.

The falling Whitebeards and the victorious marines are not expecting a crack in the meticulously planned future. The unpredictable little pirate who is the torch bearer of the future, who ate the devil's fruit the sea doesn’t hate him. The rookie pirate who started his journey just a few months back and is in the way of creating history by making miracles where ever he goes. The ever-grinning, round-eyed naïve pirate Monkey.D. Luffy who dreamed big to be the freest on the seas, whose goal is still unknown crashed into the war and broke the well-planned cocoon of marines. He changed the direction of the war; the reversal gave a gimmick of hope to the Whitebeards. The falling whitebeards are now running to save their second commander with new vigor.

The chained second commander who was sitting with his grandfather- Garp the fist and feeling helpless as his fellow crewmates fall one after another is now scared when his younger brother crashed the war. He bites his lips hard as memories bombarded him. In this whole fiasco, for the first time, Ace wanted to unchain himself and hide his younger brother behind him as he always did. He hissed and shouted every time a punch landed on his little kid and a sword slashed his rubbery arms. Ace wished he could protect his brother in his embrace as he did when he was still a child, he wished he could stop time and wrap his sunshine, he wished he could turn back time and hold his Luffy close so that no one can hurt him.

Ace promised to live his life without regrets but he is regretting right now when his brother is bleeding and looking like a living dead. His eyes never left him. He shouts at him to leave but when has Luffy ever listened to him. The stubborn little idiot would follow him even if the destination is death. Ace at this moment gets the tangible proof that he is loved, he is wanted and his existence is cherished. And now when he realizes that, he wants to hold his brother, cry and tell him how sorry he is that even when Luffy showered him with love and care he still wanted an answer. He suddenly realizes that he is even more stupid than his baby brother.

While he is contemplating, Luffy achieved another miracle when he snatched Ace right under the nose of the Fleet Admiral and makes a dash toward the whitebeards. The hoots and shouts made Ace realize that he is unchained, his eyes met his brother’s and a thin mist of tears formed when he saw Luffy’s eyes filled with tears and a smile that rivaled the sun. As practiced, they fought and fought with determination to leave the hellhole and breath the waves without the vapors of blood, tears and death. They want to lay on the sand and busk the sun, they want to eat their ever-favorite crocodiles, and they want to hold each other to tell how scared and sorry they were. But things didn’t go as planned, the hot-headed Ace never thought that he would selfishly stand in front of the lava admiral to fight him because he provoked him against Whitebeard. All the sacrifices have been pushed at the back of his head as he wants to defend the whitebeard because he gave him a family. In his desperation, he even left his vulnerable brother who God knows for how long has been fighting to get him freedom.

But when reason came back it was already too late. The cunning admiral wanted to give Ace the worst torture he wanted him to see the person he lived for die in front of him. He wanted him to feel the anguish of dread and despair. The Admiral moved to take Luffy out and Ace felt sudden adrenaline rush as he hides Luffy in his embrace like always. The scorching lave fist made a contact with his straight back and time stopped; literally.