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Chosen Path: Chapter Two

Chapter 2: The Underworld

Seventeen years had passed since the Pirate King's execution and in those years, chaos and all its friends ruled the world. It has been said that the Pirate King's death was their undoing, because what followed afterwards was disaster. But as it was, history tended to repeat itself; humans tended to never learn, especially the nobles. The more gangs rose up, the more the nobles wanted them gone, even going so far as to burn the people alive. The most dangerous place to be was Edge Town in Goa Kingdom; there the nobles had plotted many times to eliminate the dirty scum that lived there. Everyone in that town was considered a criminal, a gangster. Even children were looked upon with disgust. Truly, Goa Kingdom was the one kingdom that was leading the extermination of non nobility. Those living in Edge Town who weren't strong enough or smart enough were eliminated quickly. But still, even then gangs kept coming and coming to this kingdom to find the legendary treasure left by the Pirate King.

Out of those gangs, it was said that three of the four strongest lived in Goa Kingdom, while the fourth was the ruler of their own country. The most powerful gang was the Whitebeard Gang, their leader being Whitebeard himself. They were said to be the closest to reaching the One Piece. The second and third of the four were said to be tied. Was that true? No one actually knew, but no one would ever rise up to challenge these two powerhouses. The Red Haired Gang and the Beast Gang, just one look from them had even the bravest people running. The Red Haired Gang were lead by Red Haired Shanks, a one armed man who was said to be a monster even with one arm. The Beast Gang were lead by Kaido of the Beasts, this man was said to be immortal. Nevertheless, almost no one had ever challenged them. The last strongest gang was the Big Mom gang, lead by Big Mom, Charlotte Linlin. Their base was on Whole Cake Island, a country that Big Mom had taken over.

These four monsters were called the Yonko. Each of these Yonko have territories all over the world, including in the town of Edge Town. Edge Town is a mostly lawless area, though in the recent decade that has changed; the Yonko have become the protectors of their areas. However, Edge Town had been split into five parts, not four; the last area was known as a completely lawless area, which was where all of the other gangs had their bases. Edge Town was set up like that so that the Yonko wouldn’t be pissed off by the activities of the lesser gangs; in reality almost no gang wanted to fight these beasts. Even the government feared them greatly and would surely think twice about going against them. Though, the question still remained whether the government and marines were willing to stand by and let one of these Yonko become the Pirate King. If not, then would they even have a slim chance of beating them or would destruction be their path?

x~Chosen Path~x

Luffy licked his lips as the delicious aroma flowed into his nostrils and bolted up in bed with drool going down his chin. "Meat!" He cried out as he looked around his room searching for the delicious food that he was sure was there, only to pause in confusion when he saw that he didn’t actually wake up in his own room. "Where am I?" He didn’t remember going out last night, but then again he didn’t really remember a lot of things that he did. Something caught the boy's eye, making him tilt his head and study the object. "Oh, I know!" He remembered as he stared at the photograph of Ace and himself when they little. "This must be Ace's room." He had a nightmare last night and crawled into his big brothers bed out of fear; said big brother of course let him in without a problem. His big brother was such a great guy!

Sitting up, he threw his legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. He was ready to face the day! Well, almost. He looked down and sighed when he saw that he was still in his pajamas. There was no way he could go to Edge Town looking like that! He would probably get mugged or at least threatened there. Shaking his head, he headed off to his own room across the hallway and went straight into his closet. On the left side, there were all these stuffy noble suits and clothes that made him wrinkle his nose in disgust. Those were the clothes that Shanks bought him and made him wear them on occasion. On the other side were the clothes that both Ace and he picked out for their casual wear. Going straight for the right side, he took out a pair of blue shorts with cuffs on them, a white tank top, and a red hoodie. Put the clothes on himself, he nodded in approval as he looked over, before going to his desk and picking up the Straw Hat on it. There's no way he would go out without it, it was his treasure after all. The treasure that Shanks had given to him the first time they met. He put the hat onto his neck like a necklace and tucked it into his hoodie. And lastly, he put on his sandals.

When he was finished, he went straight for the kitchen with a big grin on his face. "Ace, meat!" He yelled at the other make as he sat down at the kitchen table and pounded on it. "I'm so hungry!" He declared as he over at his older sibling. Said sibling just chuckled and shook his head as he continued to cook. The older boy had always taken care of him, especially when Shanks was away; he figured it was probably because of their late mother. But then again, Ace was weird sometimes. He chuckled at that thought as he continued to watch the older man. "Ne, when do you think Shanks is going to be back? He's been gone for a whole month now!" He complained as thoughts of his godfather flew into his mind. Ever since they met, the redhead had always gone on his "business" trips, though he would be gone for more than one month. He was the main caretaker for the two brothers, though Garp did stop by once in a while, especially when Shanks was away. But still, Luffy missed him a great deal.

Ace listened to his brother as he continued to make Luffy his omelet, it had everything the boy had wanted inside it. It was filled with different meats that both Shanks and their grandpa brought home after they went to the market. He didn’t know when it started exactly, but Luffy… he was his most important person in the world and seeing that bright smile on his face was worth everything. And even though he wasn’t his parent, he was hell bent on taking care of the boy no matter what challenges come their way. Luffy was the only real family he had left, besides Pops and his crew. "Here you go, Luffy. A meat omelet, enjoy!" He told his baby brother as he served both plates with their breakfast and sat down across the other boy with a smile on his face.

In reality, they had different dads, not connected by blood of course. Luffy had Shanks, the man who he considered his dad as he didn’t know his true father, and if he had anything to do with it, he never would. Ace on the other hand, he had Edward Newgate, the only man he considered his father. The man was the leader of his gang and the only person who was there when he was questioning even his entire existence. As he ate his omelet, he watched the other boy with furrowed eyebrows, hoping that the other boy wouldn’t catch on. He wondered how Luffy would feel if he found out that Ace was part of a gang, or even Shanks? He truly hoped that he wouldn’t have to find out soon. "Don’t know, but my guess is that he'll be here within a couple days. He'd never leave you alone for too long." Red Haired Shanks, he was a noble by blood, and a leader of a gang by choice. He had made the choice to become a gang leader long ago, even before they were even born and because of that, he had to travel a lot. It was a miracle that the red haired man even stayed for as long as he had. But he loved Luffy, even loved him as a son even if they weren't as close as his brother was to him. Still, Luffy loved him dearly and that’s all that really mattered.

"I hope he comes back soon!" The other boy whined as he continued to eat his food with a pout on his face. He didn’t really understand what was so important that he had to keep leaving them. He loved staying with his brother, but Shanks was important to him, as well. He was his only father figure, the only man that stayed constantly in his life since he was seven, besides his grandpa and Ace. He hoped the older man was alright wherever he was and that he came back as soon as possible. "This food is good!" He licked his lips as he ate the last piece of omelet on his plate, before he looked at his brother's plate and saw that the older boy had also finished his breakfast. He stood up from his chair and grinned as he put his hand on his hips. "Ne, Ace, I'm going to go to Edge Town, are you going to hang out with Sabo today?" Their childhood friend Sabo was like them, he hated the nobles even though he was one himself. He had always loved hanging out with the other man just as much as he loved hanging out with Ace. The three of them had many adventures together when they were young, and even now they hung out together when they weren't busy. It was too bad though, today he already made plans with his crew.

Ace smirked at the younger boy before he stood up and picked up the dishes and forks after them, moving to the sink to wash them after themselves. God knew that Luffy would never do it; he had to clean up after the kid constantly, not that it mattered much really. When he was finished he came over to the other boy and smiled as he patted the other boy's hair. "Don’t worry, when I see him, I'll make sure to let him know that you'll hang out with him next time." Truthfully, they were just going to get some lunch together and talk about things, but other than that he also had to go into Edge Town to meet up with his crew. Ace knew that Luffy had a crew of his own, when they were younger all that kid could ever talk about was becoming King of the Pirates. And even though he planned on making Whitebeard king, he wished the best for the other boy. But still… "Hey, Lu, make sure to stay away from the docks today, alright? I heard that some dangerous gangs were coming in today." These were dangerous times, especially for rookies. He didn’t want the boy getting hurt and causing trouble. There was also his identity he had to worry about; if he was ever discovered to be Monkey D. Luffy, a noble of the Monkey Family and Straw Hat Luffy, the gang leader of the Straw Hat Gang, he didn’t think that even his status as a noble would save him from the same fate that befell their uncle.

"Don't worry, Ace!" The smaller boy smiled brightly, before he turned to go towards their foyer and out the door. He pulled up his hood over his head and hid his noble insignia inside his pockets, knowing full well that this was the only way he would be able to return to his home. The guards would never let him in without it, since all of the residents of Edge Town were prohibited from entering their "paradise". He didn’t understand any of that, though. It was all just so bizarre! Why did it matter if they were nobles or not, it just didn’t make sense to him at all. Shaking his head, he got rid of his thoughts as he raced through the front door and went straight out, almost crashing into Garp who was about to come inside. "Bye, Gramps!" He yelled back at the older man as he continued to run through the town.

"Luffy?!" The old man asked in surprise as he watched his grandson leave and in those clothes, no less. It could only mean one thing. He sighed and shook his head as he went inside to find his other grandson sitting on the couch while lighting a cigarette. He walked over to the boy and sat right next to him as he eyed the two bottles of sake on the table in front of them. He really needed a drink that was for sure. "I wish that you two would have become great marines instead of becoming criminals and endangering yourselves." When that red haired gangster took the boys in, Ace was ten and Luffy was seven, he had sincerely hoped that the man wouldn’t let them become gangsters themselves. He cared about them, just as much as he cared about his son, maybe even more. But what was he to do now, he couldn’t fix the situation no matter how hard he tried. They were both members of notorious gangs, there was no way either of them would be able to become marines. Not unless they died and somehow came back to life. "Did you see Luffy's latest escapades?" He asked as he looked down on the floor.

The black haired male took a deep drag of his cigarette and closed his eyes in thought. "Look, old man, there's no way that either Luffy or I would ever be able to becomes marines. We have the blood of two demons running through our veins, the two biggest criminals in the world." Even if they did want to become marines, they would be executed just like their uncle was. Even their mother was almost put to the death, because they didn’t want Gol D. Roger's bloodline to continue. But it was all for naught, their mother died anyways after giving birth to his brother and all because of those bastards. He blamed them all for her death, especially his father. The man wasn’t even there to see their beautiful, sweet, kind mother die. No, he didn’t care enough to be there, he didn’t even care about them. When he was just a toddler, he had seen the man maybe three times? After Luffy was born, he never saw the man again. He didn’t understand how their mother could love that man at all. Speaking of his precious little brother… "Of course, that boy is something else. He has already earned a bounty of three hundred million beri, I think that calls for a celebration." He smiled at that and eyed the sake sitting on the coffee table in front of him, before picking it up and taking a swig.

Celebration, huh? He guessed that to his grandsons, a bounty was something of a reward. It was too bad that he just didn’t think that way. He was really getting too old for all of this, first his son, now these two. What Ace said about his father and uncle was true, as much as he loathed admitting it. The world had feared another pirate king from emerging, if they ever found out that someone with Roger's blood survived… well, let's just say that Dragon had the right idea of moving Rouge to Foosha Village, he just wished the woman survived the entire ordeal. Child birth was a nasty business for those living in Edge Town or other poverty stricken areas. He didn’t pity her, though. No, he pitied the sons that she left behind. After everything that happened with their family, it was these two boys that have suffered the worst for their family's sins. It was exactly why even though he severely disliked that red haired bastard that he let the man take care of the two. He had seen it with his own eyes, Shanks loved the two boys as if they were his own. He couldn’t have hoped for better and that was something that he would never admit out loud. Shanks was a great father; now if only his own son was, as well. "Ace, I've been meaning to talk to you about your father-" He started, but sighed when he was cut off.

"Don’t ever talk about him again, not in front of me or Luffy." He bit out angrily as he clutched the alcoholic drink in hand. The old man knew how he felt about that man. He was a deadbeat father and a shitty lover to boot. Nothing, but a nuisance with demon blood in his mind. He knew what he was, a revolutionary, someone who was trying to change this world. He called bullshit on that excuse, it was nothing but an excuse that he kept telling himself and others. He wasn’t even there for them, how could he expect to be there for the entire world?! Just the thought was ridiculous! And his grandfather was sitting there, trying to make up whatever excuses that he had out of his ass. Well, that wasn’t going to work. "My only father is Whitebeard and Luffy's is Shanks. And you know that, don’t play around, Old Man." He stood up and grabbed the black hoodie on the couch, before going straight for the door. "That man will never be our father!" He declared as he left, slamming the door shut on his way out.

Garp sighed as he looked up at the ceiling with a troubled and sad look on his face. "What am I going to do with them, ne, Rouge?"

x~Chosen Path~x

Walking through the gates of High Town which lead right into Edge Town, it was as though he was walking through a portal. High Town held such a beautiful outward appearance, flowers everywhere. It was truly a paradise that the nobles got to enjoy. On the other side, just as he walked through the gate with his hoodie pulled, it was the complete opposite. The buildings were torn, the ground was littered with trash everywhere, and people were sitting outside, in their torn and old, dirty clothes. Most of them were homeless and hadn't had anything to eat in days, much less hours. He could see their bones sticking out of their skin, the hollowness of their cheeks, and most frighteningly of all, the dead look in their eyes. They knew, all of them knew, that they were going to die and no one was going to help them. It was times like these that he really hated being a noble, because while he got all the luxuries and as much food as he wanted without a worry in the world, these people had absolutely nothing.

Shaking his head to get rid of his thoughts, he pulled down his hood and slipped his straw hat onto his head. There was no need to get upset; he had seen this almost every day, so it was nothing new. Though that didn’t make it right, he couldn’t do anything about it. He couldn’t exactly give these people money or food, because then he'd be found out as a noble; and if that were to happen, it would be all over. His life as Straw Hat Luffy would be finished and he wasn’t ready for that. He made a promise that he would become Pirate King and he intended to keep that promise.

Finally, seeing their hideout, his grin widened as he opened the door and entered inside. "Oi! Nami! Sanji!" He was sure that out of all of his gang members, these two would be there; it was almost guaranteed in fact. Nami lived with her sister Nojiko on Cocoyasi St. which was of course in the lawless area and had seen their own share of problems, because of that. Sanji on the other hand, had lived in the Whitebeard Gang's territory so they fared much better. His adoptive father had even owned The Baratie, a restaurant that had a reputation of being one of the best, even if it was in Edge Town. However, his adoptive father Zeff had always encouraged Sanji to follow his dreams. Licking his lips, he tilted his head when he finally spotted all eight of his gang members sitting around on the couch. "Ne, did you hear? Something exciting is happening at the docks!" His brother confirmed it, some gang was coming there and it wasn’t a small time gang either. It made him so excited to find out which gang was coming!

"Luffy!" The orange haired girl scowled at him and crossed her arms; he could practically feel the anger coming off of her. When he turned to look at the other Straw Hat members, all of them were frowning, not one person was excited as him. It made him pause and tilt his head in confusion at that. Normally, they would get annoyed, but nonetheless would go along with his plans. So, the question still remained, why not? He knew that Ace told him not to go there, but as much as he loved his big brother, the other boy was too overprotective of him sometimes. His crew members weren't supposed to be like that, they were supposed to go along with his ideas as he's the leader of his gang; and besides, what was so bad in going to check out the new gangs that were coming? "You didn’t hear? The marines are stationed at the docks and are ordered to capture any gangs they see."

He blinked in confusion as he looked around at his whole crew. "The marines?!" He couldn’t understand why the marines were even stationed at the docks, it was all so strange! Usually, the marines stayed away from both Edge Town and the docks, it was even more so particular for them to actually get orders to capture any gangs they see. The fact of the matter was that everyone knew, unless you were notorious you were left to die on the streets like a rat. Only the most notorious gangs and gang leaders got the privilege of being captured, then of course being sent to Impel Down, the underwater prison. However, this was a really unusual situation and he could tell that something else was going on; something was wrong, really wrong. And with Ace so worried before, it made him really wonder what was going on exactly? "What's going on, guys?"

Sanji cleared his throat as he sighed and pulled out his cigarette, before looking up and straight into Luffy's eyes. "From what we heard, there are eight gangs coming here, each of them has a leader that's worth more than a one hundred million beri bounty." The other man grimaced as he took a drag of his cigarette and blew out some smoke as he looked back at his leader thoughtfully. "With you and the mosshead over there, that's going to make eleven Supernovas, that's what they're calling you all, you know." Supernovas? Luffy never heard of something like that before and nine other individuals with more than one hundred million beri, not counting Zoro? That was so exciting! He really wanted to meet them! It made him wonder just how strong they were; after all having more than one hundred million beri was a big deal, at least for him. And to have them all on in Goa Kingdom? That was like a dream come true! "Luffy, before you get any ideas, there's more to it than that."

He opened his mouth to completely dismiss the notion of there being something more to it and went to sit down on the couch right next to Usopp. "Don't worry about that! Don't you get it? There are eight more gangs who are just like us!" He grinned happily as he looked at his gang with excitement in his eyes. It made him so happy to know that he's going to have more rivals to find the legendary treasure! Though, in the end he's the one who was going to find it and become the Pirate King! His dream, his complete freedom, he would definitely achieve those things, even if he died trying he would still become Pirate King! His friends worrying about the details of the other Supernovas coming here was just plain annoying. What did it matter if they came here to find the One Piece?! They should have more faith in him that he was going to find it. Giving them an annoyed look, he reached for the chicken leg sitting on the coffee table along with mashed potatoes and some vegetables he didn't care to know about. "So good!" He cried out as he bit into the leg and licked his lips at the blissful taste that came from eating it. Sanji was such a good cook! He even always knew when he would show up so he was always prepared a meal for him. He had such a good crew!

Nami growled at him and gave him a mean glare as she stood up, though before she could start yelling at him, Robin intervened between them. She cleared her throat and turned to look at her captain with a grave expression on her face. "Captain, I'm afraid that what Mr. Cook and Ms. Navigator actually mean is that there's a reason that these crews are coming to Goa Kingdom." The young captain looked up at her with a questioning look on his face and furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to listen to what she was saying. Judging by the look on her face, though it wasn’t good; not in the least. Something was going on and while he wanted to have fun, something told him that this was going to be very bad. And in this kingdom, the bad was always horrific. Taking the meat out of his mouth, he gave frowned and gave her his full attention. "In two weeks time, it will be the twenty fourth anniversary of the Pirate King's death, from what I've heard, Saint Jalmack ordered all of the marines to burn down Edge Town and all of the scum in it." His entire crew looked away from him, all of their expressions were serious and dark, even his own expression had turned serious as he looked at his friends. "The Yonko…they won't take this sitting down. It means there will be war."

Luffy's eyes bulged as he let out a heavy breath and dropped his meat on the ground in shock. "W-what did you just say?!"

x~Chosen Path~x

Footsteps echoed on the ground as a figure walked down the dreary hallway, voices could be heard discussing a new development in the making. Even the figure had a dark look on his face as he finally reached the room and crossed his arms. "Oh, good you've already started the meeting."

The leader in the room turned to look at him and gave him a dark smile. "It's so good of you to finally make it. Tell me…what did you find out about Whitebeards plans, Sabo?" The leader turned to look at the figure very carefully, watching him for clues of deceit. "Surely, Whitebeard won't take this new…development lightly. There will be war, I can almost guarantee it."

#fanfiction #chosen path #my fic #one piece #lawlu #dark #angst

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