"Huh? That smells amazing!!!"
Luffy lay sprawled across a patch of grass, his Straw Hat tilted over his eyes. Even in his sleep, his nose twitched instinctively as the rich aroma drifted toward him.
"Something tasty…"
Still half-asleep, Luffy sat up groggily, eyes shut tight, and began walking straight toward the source of the smell.
Thud!
In the next instant, he plunged headfirst into a trap that had clearly been prepared in advance, letting out a loud yelp as he smacked painfully into the bottom.
"Pfft!"
Not far away, a gap-toothed boy wearing a black top hat could not hold back his laughter.
"Ah ah hahaha! That was perfect! Luffy!"
"Damn it, you idiot Luffy! You really never disappoint, Sabo!"
Ace, who was crouched by the campfire grilling fish, slapped a hand against his forehead and sighed deeply.
He lost the bet again.
Why did Luffy always follow the exact script Sabo set up?
Was it really possible for someone to be this predictable without doing it on purpose?
"Huh…?"
Luffy slowly crawled out of the pit, sitting there in a daze. He stared blankly at the two figures near the campfire, his mouth hanging open.
"Where am I… Sabo…?"
In the flickering firelight, a boy with short blond hair, goggles resting on his top hat, and a bright, carefree grin waved enthusiastically.
"Hey! Luffy! What are you spacing out for? Hurry up and eat! You have been asleep almost a whole day!"
"This…"
Luffy rubbed his eyes, disbelief written all over his face.
"Is this really not a dream? Is this what Shirogai called transmigration…?"
Once, during one of the Straw Hat Pirates' late-night chaos sessions, when Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper could not sleep after napping all day, Shirogai had ended up acting like a caretaker.
He told them stories to calm them down.
Stories about transmigration.
One of them involved traveling through time.
"Is this… time transmigration?"
Luffy stared at Sabo, his sworn second brother, then suddenly his eyes widened with realization.
He jumped to his feet, waving his arms wildly.
"I transmigrated?! Hehehe! Did I come back to when Ace, Sabo, and I lived together?!"
The moment the thought fully formed, Luffy burst into tears and sprinted toward Sabo, sobbing loudly.
"Wuwuwu! Sabo! I missed you so much!!! Listen to me, you absolutely must not—"
Thud!
Luffy stepped into another pre-dug trap and fell straight in with a painful cry.
"Pfft! Hahahahaha!"
Sabo collapsed backward laughing, rolling around on the ground.
"Damn it!"
Ace slapped his forehead again, utterly defeated.
"That idiot really fell into the same trap twice. What is he going to do when he grows up…?"
"Hehe, it's fine! With us around, nothing bad will happen to him!"
Sabo grinned, walked over, and tossed a rope into the pit.
"Hahaha, Luffy! Your trap test today is a complete failure!"
"Wuwuwu, Sabo!!!"
The moment Luffy climbed out, he lunged forward and hugged Sabo tightly, crying with genuine sorrow.
"I missed you so much! Sabo, wuwuwu…"
"Huh?"
Sabo froze, confused. He looked toward Ace, who was calmly turning fish over the fire.
"Ace, what's wrong with him? Didn't he just see me this morning? Why does he look like he lost me forever?"
"How should I know?"
Ace shrugged lazily.
"His brain is simple. He probably had a nightmare and dreamed you died."
"Ptooey! Ptooey! Ptooey!"
Sabo spat angrily.
"You're the one who died!"
Ace rolled his eyes and casually replied, "Oh right, right. I died."
…
Whoosh… whoosh…
A magma-coated fist punched straight through a human chest.
…
Blood evaporated instantly into white steam.
"Cough… cough…"
The battlefield fell unnaturally silent.
Time itself seemed to slow, granting false hope to those clinging to dying illusions.
…
Under the warm glow of the campfire.
A startled shout rang out.
"Ah?! I died?!"
Sabo paused mid-bite, staring helplessly at Luffy.
"Luffy, even if you are angry about the prank, you do not need to curse me like that. Is apologizing not enough?"
"No! In my memory, you really died!"
Luffy gnawed aggressively on the grilled fish, crumbs flying everywhere as he spoke with complete seriousness.
"You wanted to go out to sea and become a pirate. A World Government ship destroyed your boat, and you fell into the sea and drowned…"
"Tsk."
Ace smirked, glancing at Sabo with open amusement.
"So? Any last words, Mr. Pirate who died before even becoming famous?"
"Get lost!"
Sabo snapped, punching Luffy lightly.
"You slept too much and scrambled your brain. You want to be a pirate so badly that you imagined all this nonsense!"
"Huh? No way!"
Luffy shook his head confidently.
"It is not a dream! My crewmates are real!"
He leaned forward excitedly.
"Sabo! Ace! I went out to sea! I met amazing people! Shirogai, Zoro, Nami, Sanji…"
Luffy went on and on, recounting every adventure, every battle, every feast.
"…A Fruit that lets you copy other abilities?"
Sabo and Ace exchanged glances.
"…" "…" Shock was clearly written in both their eyes.
"With Luffy's brain, there is no way he could imagine something that detailed…"
"It is real!"
Luffy continued until he reached the end.
"Ace was captured. The Whitebeard Pirates came to save him. Their captain is scary-looking but kind. He became Ace's father…"
"Father?"
Ace's eyes widened.
"I would call someone else my father? That is ridiculous!"
"It's true!"
Luffy pouted.
"You even said you wanted Whitebeard to become Pirate King instead of helping me!"
(If bro really had a Transmigration, this is def how things would be, what a blabbermouth, lol)
"…Huh."
Ace scratched his head.
"Whatever. I am going to grab more firewood."
Ace walked toward the forest, leaving Luffy and Sabo by the dimming fire.
"…Later, I awakened my ability. I fought five monsters, but they could not be killed."
Luffy sighed.
"Then I passed out from exhaustion…"
"So that is why you came here," Sabo murmured.
"Yeah. Huh? What is burning?"
Luffy sniffed.
The fish was burnt.
But the burning smell did not fade.
"Sabo… do you smell that?"
…
Sabo lowered his head.
Drip.
Water slid down his hair.
"Sabo? Why are you sweating?"
"Luffy… did I really die?"
"Yeah."
"If I died…"
Sabo lifted his head.
"…Then why are you here too?"
The fire went out.
"I… died?"
…
A magma fist tore through flesh.
Blocked by a human body.
Ace stared in horror.
Blood sprayed.
"A… Ace…"
Luffy smiled weakly.
"I… dreamed… of Sabo…"
===
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