Greetings, everyone. For those unaware, this story was originally published by the author Blueh. He had difficulties writing the story, and a couple of months ago, I submitted ideas to him in the hopes that it would give him the inspiration he needed. After a couple of months, I followed up, and he said that he was unlikely to be writing anymore, and offered the story to me. I accepted, and have begun editing the story for my liking while remaining faithful to the original concept that he set: some time after Luffy becomes the Pirate King and the rest of the crew have fulfilled their own dreams, they're afforded a chance to return in time to save someone from their pasts. The prologue and first chapters are revisions of his versions, taking into account developments in canon that have come about since he published the story. All that follows are my ideas, fine-tuned and edited by beta readers.
For those who ARE aware…let me just say that I'm rather blown away by the results. Within three hours of Blueh announcing that I would be taking over this story, 14 users began following me. I sincerely hope that what comes after the first two chapters will be worthy of such attention. For now, here is the revised prologue. Spoilers ahead up to the Dressrosa arc.
"You all have a chance to regain something you've lost."
The old man's gray hair flopped over his head, covering his eyes and the many wrinkles across his forehead. Every breath he took seemed to be an exertion, and he spoke in a hushed voice; despite being right next to them, the ten members of the most famous pirate crew in the world, the Straw Hat Pirates, had trouble hearing him. Then again, perhaps that was to be expected after just having survived an encounter with the monsters of Rusukaina.
"A chance to regain something we've lost?" Nami asked quietly. Still, her voice quavered as she wondered if he meant what she thought he did, images of Bell-mère coming to her mind.
"Yes. As gratitude for saving me, I will grant you use of my abilities, allowing you to travel back in time," the old man replied; quiet though his words were, they were clear.
"A Devil Fruit power?" Robin asked him, a trace of skepticism in her tone, and her face showing her typical enigmatic smile. But beneath, she hoped immensely that the old man was telling the truth; if he were, it would mean she could save her island. She could meet her mother!
"I thought that traveling to the past was impossible," Zoro said, skepticism much more prominent in his tone.
The old man chuckled, but the Straw Hats sweatdropped in unison as he began coughing partway through.
"It is, in a sense," he admitted as he recovered. "Even if you save what you want to save, it won't affect you. But it will affect you."
Most of those present sweatdropped again.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Sanji asked.
"I think I understand. Even if we change the past, it won't affect us as we are now, but it will affect our past selves," Robin concluded. "Our timeline will remain as it is, but doing this will create other timelines where our loved ones survived."
"Exactly," the old man said. "I don't completely understand how it works myself, but whenever I change something from the past, the world where the change happens seems to break off from this world's fate. It's confusing, but it's useful. But, you can only save the people you want to save from one time period."
Robin frowned. "Is there a limit to how many people we can save in the time period we're sent to?"
"If they're close enough together, you can save as many as you wish. But to send so many of you back at once, I won't be able to keep you in each period for long, no more than one hour in each."
"Oh! Can we reveal ourselves to our other selves? I want to see my reaction to me from the future!" Luffy said.
The man chuckled again, more briefly. "That's your choice entirely; whether or not you reveal yourselves won't affect your future."
Luffy grinned even as he munched on a ham bone that he took from his pocket.
"Also, you can't save anyone who died of sickness," the old man added.
"W-what?" Chopper asked, tearing up a little.
"You can't save anyone—actually, hmm," the old man trailed off, a hand on his chin in thought, "forget I said that. You can save someone who died of a disease if you have the necessary medical skills to cure them."
"No need to worry, then; we've got the best doctor in the world on our crew," Usopp said, grinning at Chopper.
"Sh-shut up! Complimenting me doesn't make me happy, you jerk!" Chopper said, not fooling anyone with his big grin and happy dance.
"You sure are a strange group of pirates," the old man laughed. "I haven't seen anyone like you in decades. So, then, who are you going to save?" he asked, a strange glow coming from where his eyes were.
"Bell-mère!" Nami practically shouted. "I can't believe I get to see her again."
"My old crew," Brook said happily. "Though of course, I'd still come back to be with you all in my second life. Yohohohoho!"
"Tom!" Franky said, posing. "I can't wait to tell him what I've done!"
"You think he'll recognize you with how super you've become?" Usopp asked jokingly.
"Kuina. I can face her as the greatest swordsman in the world," Zoro said softly.
"Big bro Ti. I can prevent a lot if I manage to save him and set the rest of the crew on the right path," Jinbe said.
"I can save my island," Robin said, a dreamy smile on her face that the rest of the Straw Hats had seen only once before: when she completed the Rio Poneglyph. "If you all don't mind fighting off a Buster Call, that is."
"That's too easy, sweet Robin!" Sanji cooed, before frowning in thought. "But who should I save? Stopping that storm and shipwreck wouldn't do me any favors…and the old geezer doesn't need saving…"
"I can save Doctor! I can't wait to tell him how much I've learned," Chopper squealed.
"And I can save Ace. Then the three of us can stand together again," Luffy said, a sad smile on his face as he thought of his brothers. There was a brief silence.
"I have the destinations set for all of you, aside from the long-nosed man and the well-dressed blond man," the old man said.
Usopp sighed.
"This is too hard of a choice for me. With Chopper's skills, I could save my mother from dying when I was a kid. But I'd also love to be able to save Merry…"
The Straw Hats looked away in unison. Sanji was about to speak up, but the old man did first, his glowing eyes widened.
"Goodness me. This Merry you speak of…it is exceedingly rare for any crew to care so dearly for their ship that she develops a life of her own, let alone a pirate crew."
He blinked slowly and nodded.
"So be it. If all of you share the desire, I will allow you to return to save her as well."
"YES!" Usopp cheered, along with Luffy, Chopper, and Nami. The others' reactions were more subdued, but those who had sailed on the Merry were making no attempts to hide their smiles.
When the joy died down, all eyes turned to Sanji, who shrugged.
"Honestly, I was going to give up my turn for Merry; everything I went through with the Vinsmokes and the old geezer led to me gaining the respect I have for food. I'd sooner die than risk letting myself lose that gift."
"Hmm…what about something that happened on our journey? Like…Skypiea! We could go back and prevent Enel from destroying Angel Island," Nami said.
"I don't mean to be selfish, but you could also try going back to Queen Otohime's assassination and stopping it from happening," Jinbe volunteered.
"Or we could help Tra-guy. Mingo killed his own brother; what would have happened if Corazon got away?" Luffy asked quietly.
Sanji frowned. "Well, now I've gone from having nobody to save to having too many options to choose from."
"I will monitor you until you have made your choice; you have as long as the other journeys take," the old man said softly.
Sanji considered this, and then nodded.
"All right, then! Let's do it, old man! But, uh, how is this going to work?" Luffy asked.
The old man raised a withered hand, and a bright light surrounded all ten of them.
"You will be transported to the first time period. When it's time for you to go, this light will appear again about thirty seconds before you move to the next period. When you've finished your travels, you'll come back here. I'll probably be gone by the time you get back, but there will be a surprise waiting for you. So, good luck."
Everyone grinned as they considered what they would be able to do. Then the light winked out, and neither the pirates nor the old man were anywhere to be seen.
I hope that that was done well enough. Comments, critiques, etc., let me know. The next chapter will be published within a week, I think, but after that, it may be slow, depending on how long it takes me to elaborate on my ideas. One word of warning, though: Brook's story will not be published until after more information has been revealed in canon about just how his crew was decimated.
One final note: I am still looking for beta readers for the next chapters.