Ultimate Fruit

DISCORD LINK: https://discord.gg/nTGxMXW

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 61: Thoughts of the Past

“Boy, you’re finally awake. Hold on a bit, it seems we walked right into Marine ambush. Just wait there for a while and not show yourself.”

Still confused over what was happening, Lucas did as he was told and remained hidden.

Roger looked back to the front and grinned.

“Men! Onward! Let’s break through their encirclement!”

“Ouuuu!”

What followed next was a series of battles. Lucas continued to watch on with a dumbfounded expression as he watched the Pirate King wave his sword and sink many marine battleships. He was still unable to believe what he was seeing!

Shanks appeared next to him and saw his look. Grinning, he placed both his hands to the back of his head with a laidback expression as he spoke.

“Captain’s pretty amazing huh? Oh yeah, Lucas, are you a pirate as well?”

“Err...yeah...I guess…”

Lucas answered while still absent-minded. He was trying to figure out how he ended up here...in the past!

Still, despite thinking so hard for a while, he still couldn’t come up with any good explanation.

Come to think of it, the first time he appeared in this world was also quite weird. Lucas remembered reading around after the Reverie arc and that Luffy and the rest were about to head to Wano but for some reason, when he was sent to this world, he appeared in the Alabasta arc.

So to say, he had already gone back in time once…

Is dying the way to go back in time? No, I still have my injuries...which means that I didn’t die, rather, I nearly died.

Lucas continued to think.

Is this also a part of his power? To go back in time? If so...can he also go forward in time?

Lucas tried to feel his power but found that his abilities are in some sort of weakened state. As if jumping through time had exhausted his powers...

Lucas didn’t really know why he thought of that, but that was the only explanation that made a bit of sense to him.

If he can’t use his ability to go back...is there something else?

Lucas could vaguely remember some kind of fog in the anime that can let you travel through time but that was a filler arc, it wasn’t reliable to be taken as a lead.

Time...time...ah!

That was it! Wasn’t it that Momonosuke was sent forward in time by their mother? If so, she could also send me forward in time! I need to go to Wano somehow…

Lucas once again looked at Roger who is currently still battling the marines. An idea hit him in the head.

This man will one day be known as the Pirate King...it was impossible that he didn’t get to visit Wano at some point. Following him should let him reach it.

After deciding this, Lucas turned back to Shanks and asked.

“Do you guys have a mask that I can borrow?”

“Hm? I don’t have one but Buggy might.”

“...As long as it isn’t a clown mask…”

Lucas went to find Buggy again and asked for a mask. When he didn’t listen, Lucas raised his hand again with a threatening smile.

Remembering what had just happened, Buggy swallowed his saliva and showed him his stash of...stuff.

Lucas sighed seeing the various odd things in his room and picked up an ordinary knight’s helmet instead.

After donning the helmet, Lucas ran back to the deck and jumped in the ocean which shocked both Buggy and Shanks.

“Ah!? Isn’t that guy a devil fruit user!? Does he want to die!?”

“Doesn’t seem like it…”

Sure enough, they soon saw Lucas swimming nimbly in the ocean as he controlled the water around him to propel himself. His speed was like that of a fishman if not better!

Lucas targeted one of the marine’s battleships and sent a huge blade of water which sliced it in half! From afar, the blade of water could be seen as a huge shark’s fin that plowed through the battleship!

Roger naturally noticed this as well and couldn’t help but turn over to look.

At this moment, Lucas stopped in front of the Oro Jackson and swung both hands to the side. Suddenly, two huge waves surged from the sides and crashed on the battleships attacking on both sides!

“W-what is this!?”

“Retreat!”

“No time! Grab onto something!”

The marines were just as surprised at the huge waves as the pirates along with Roger.

With a simple push by the waves, an opening was formed in the encirclement. Roger snapped out of it and laughed out loud.

“Men! This is our chance! Let’s go!”

Seeing that no one was able to follow them anymore, Lucas shot up and landed back on Oro Jackson’s deck.

After removing the helmet, Lucas was greeted by Shanks and Buggy who looked at him with stars in their eyes. Roger and the rest also laughed and greeted him.

“Boy, that was an amazing power! Are you a devil fruit user? Ah, but how could you be fine in the water?”

Lucas smiled wryly and shrugged.

“I guess I’m an exception. Umm, we haven’t formally met. My name is Lucas. Thank you for saving my life.”

“Hahaha! It’s nothing, all we did was pick you up in the sea! You were healing fine by yourself already!”

Roger shook Lucas’ arm with a grin.

“My name is Gol D. Roger. Welcome aboard my ship!”

“It’s a pleasure to be here.”

After talking around and being introduced to everyone, Shanks couldn’t take it anymore and asked.

“Lucas, where exactly are you from?”

Being asked such a question, Lucas can’t help but feel a sense of deja vu. Back then, he was also picked up from the sea and the Strawhats also asked him this question.

Now, he was picked up from the sea by the future Pirate King and Shanks, still wearing the straw hat, is now asking him this question.

Looking at Roger who was listening intently, Lucas was a bit dazed and spoke.

“That...I’m from the future…”

“...Huh?”

...Huh?

Lucas blinked in confusion. Somehow, he just blurted the truth like that...it was the same with Luffy too back then. Like him and Roger have this...aura that makes you trust them completely...it’s weird.

Is this the will of the D that they keep mentioning?...Nah, maybe it’s just that these guys are protagonists. Yup, we’ll leave it at that.

As expected, as soon as he said that, the crew burst into laughter.

“Ahahaha! From the future!?”

“You sure know how to make a joke, Lucas! Ahahaha!”

“Hahaha! Well, it’s fine if you don’t want to tell us where you’re from. You're more than welcome to stay here on my ship in the meantime!”

I guess this is the normal reaction for saying such a thing…

Still, looking at Rayleigh here as well reminded him of how he had reacted when he first met him before...Whitebeard too and his crew…

Does this mean that I’m in some kind of loop? I was already living in the timeline that I went back from the future?

But then how come Buggy didn’t have any reaction when he saw him in Impel Down?

“Speaking of which...where is Buggy?”

Lucas asked Shanks who just shrugged.

“Probably in his room with his ‘treasures’.”

“...”

Ok, Buggy’s an idiot. He probably forgot about me which was why he didn’t react before…

Lucas no longer bothered to think about it. It was simply a waste of time. Instead, he needed to focus on how to get back.

As such, he turned to Roger once again and asked.

“Have you been to Wano before?”

“Wano? I’ve heard about that closed country but I’ve never been there yet. Why?”

“I need to find someone there. She can help me go back...err, forward to my time…”

Roger raised a brow and scratched his mustache as he looked at Lucas.

“You weren’t kidding? You say you really are from the future?”

“Well...I think so...are you going to ask me what happened to you all?”

Lucas asked warily. He didn’t know if telling them about the future will make things better or worse.

As he hesitated, Roger simply laughed.

“Hahaha! Where’s the fun in that!? Listen up you lot! I forbid anyone to ask about their future to Lucas! I will throw anyone off my ship if they do!”

Everyone looked at each other in confusion, not knowing what to say. Roger continued and raised his sword high.

“We make our own future! Written or not, we forge our futures ourselves!”

“OUUUU!!!”

Seeing this scene, Lucas smiled wryly. It seems there was nothing for him to worry about.

In fact, Lucas doesn’t really know if him being here will change the timeline that he had lived. But it was better to be safe than sorry. This was why he wore the helmet earlier when facing the marines. As for the water ability...since they could see me swimming in the water without any problems, they will probably think of it as some kind of Fishman Karate move rather than the use of devil fruit.

To the marines, Lucas will be labeled as an ‘Unknown Fishman wearing a Knight helmet’.

In the future, he can just be careful and not get too involved in everything. That should be fine.

“Oh yeah, about bringing you to Wano. I can’t do that yet.”

“Huh?”

Roger suddenly said which made Lucas curious. Come to think of it, he hasn’t asked where they are at the moment…

Suddenly, another person arrived from the cabin with bandages on her head.

“Captain, Are we close yet?”

“Olvia, I see you woke up as well. We should be near the calm belt soon. Then we’ll be in West Blue.”

...Olvia? West Blue?

Thinking of these two things made Lucas freeze in shock. And seeing the woman who appeared made his jaw drop even further!

That white hair and those looks...She really does look like her daughter.

Right, the woman in front of Lucas at the moment...was none other than Nico Olvia!

But...why is she onboard the future Pirate King’s ship?

Perhaps Roger saw the confusion in Lucas’ eyes, he explained.

“This is Olvia. We met her when we were touring the first half of the Grand Line while she was looking for some stones.”

““Poneglyphs””

Lucas and Olvia both spoke to correct Roger which surprised him a bit. Olvia was also surprised that Lucas knew about it but before she could ask, Roger continued.

“Right, right. That Poneglyphs thing. Anyway, it seems she got separated from her crew after some accident where we found her. Since then, she’s been staying with us till the second half. Right now, we’re just escorting her back to West Blue.”

“...”

What to say...the future Pirate King seems so...laidback…

“You’re that free?”

“Hahaha! That’s what being a pirate is for! Freedom!”

That’s not really what I meant…

Lucas smiled wryly and thought about how similar Roger and Luffy are in some aspects. Right, they’re both idiots.

He could see Rayleigh sighing and shaking his head. It seems he was already used to these antics of his captain.

After introducing Olvia, Roger introduced Lucas next.

“Olvia, this is Lucas. We picked him up from the sea and said he’s from the future...hahaha!”

“...”

Roger still felt it was pretty funny introducing a guy from the future that he started laughing again which made even Lucas feel embarrassed.

Olvia raised a brow at that and held her arm out with a teasing smirk on her face.

“Nico Olvia. I’ve never met someone from the future before.”

Seeing the annoying smirk, Lucas’ mouth twitched as he shook her hand and reintroduced himself.

Anyway, none of them seemed to fully believe that he was from the future, maybe this was for the best?

Looking at Olvia still alive and well, Lucas sighed as he thought of all those people who had died too early in the story.

What if he prevented the Ohara bombing? Would he still be able to meet Robin? Is meeting her really more important than letting her find true happiness with her parents?

There’s also Bellemere, Nami and Nojiko’s foster mother...what if he can save her as well?

Even Usopp’s mother...or Ace’s mother...or Sabo’s unfortunate accident…

There are so many people he can save in the past that Lucas felt guilty not doing anything. Even if he did go back to his time...can he face the Strawhat crew with a clear conscience?

Or does he need to keep lying about where he was…?

Lucas continued to think about the past he knew and what to do with it while staying on board the Oro Jackson.

There wasn’t much to do here as there were plenty of people already helping out with maintaining the ship. Roger also said that he was a guest and didn’t need to help out. Still, not doing anything had made him feel stressed over what to do.

Ultimately, he went and asked if he could help with anything, just to keep his mind focused on something else.

Roger seemed to feel that Lucas is carrying this heavy burden. He doesn’t know what it is, but he knows that if he keeps carrying this all by himself, he will break.

One day, he found Lucas staring at the sea on the deck, seemingly lost in his thoughts again.

Roger scratched his chin while thinking. After a while, he decided to pick up a wooden stick and walked behind Lucas.

While Lucas was staring absentmindedly at the vast sea, he felt his spine shiver and quickly dodged to the side.

*Boom*

The railings exploded from Roger’s stick which was clad in Armament Haki!

“W-what are you doing, Roger!?”

“Hahaha! Boy, I just remembered you didn’t go through the initiation of my crew! Fight me!”

Hearing this, Lucas broke into a cold sweat.

“What initiation!? I’m not joining your crew!”

“After seeing what you did back then, I’d be an idiot if I didn’t rope you in!”

Without waiting for Lucas’ reply, Roger attacked again!

Lucas quickly dodged and stepped away.

“Dammit! Geezer, you best not force me on this! I already have a captain! One day, he’ll be the Pirate King!”

“Pirate King eh? What a good title! I shall take it instead!”

Seeing Roger attack him again, Lucas swore in his mind.

THIS DAMN *&^%@$#@$&%^!!!

Though Roger is only using a stick, the sheer power he held was still enough to heavily injure him!

Lucas grimaced and expanded his wings behind him.

Roger saw the wings and was a bit surprised and also amazed.

“Ohh, what a nice trick you got there. Now I really want to get you in my crew!”

“Dream on!”

Lucas flapped his wings and shot himself forward with both arms crossed in front of him.

Roger grinned and waved his Armament Haki clad stick towards Lucas.

Lucas tried to maintain his Observation Hakit to judge their time of contact so he could activate his own Armament Haki since he still can’t maintain it for too long without pushing himself too much.

What he didn’t expect was, before they could even get in contact, Lucas was hit by something in midair and was thrown to the ground!

Lucas spat out blood as he tried to get up and look at Roger in confusion.

“Haha! I can tell you're not very good with Armament Haki so you try to activate it only when in contact. Interesting.”

Roger laughed.

“But...that won’t work on me!”

“Tch!”

Lucas didn’t have time to speak when he saw Roger already lunging to attack him. He quickly split himself as he turned to water and attacked Roger from both sides.

Still, Roger’s grin didn’t disappear.

“Water clone eh?”

He tossed the stick to the air and held both arms to the side, seemingly waiting to take on Lucas’ attack.

Lucas felt a bad premonition and tried to dodge but he was too late. Both his heads were already grabbed by Roger with his arm clad in haki as he slammed the two Lucas on the ground!

Lucas didn’t waste more time. He reformed himself in the middle beneath Roger and became a huge geyser that shot Roger to the sky!

This time, while in the sky, Lucas thinks that he will have the upper hand.

Lucas formed various water droplets from the vapor in the air and closed in on Roger who was unable to dodge.

*BOOM*

Before Lucas could even breathe a moment of rest, Roger who appeared to be clad in Armament Haki from head to toe appeared and shot in front of him!

What’s more, the stick that he tossed to the sky earlier now fell and was caught in his arms.

With a grin, he smashed the stick down hard on Lucas’ head!

“Shi-!”

*BOOM*

Back on the deck, Lucas gritted his teeth and glared at Roger who had just dropped.

“Well? Still don’t want to join my crew?”

“...Don’t think you won just yet!”

Lucas continued fighting Roger and even activated his Boilingman mode. When that was useless, he tried to use his new Frostnip mode which was the 1st Degree of his new Freezing mode.

Still, despite pulling every single trick he had, Roger seemed to be one step ahead of him each time and it would always end with him down on the ground.

Meanwhile, the others watched the two fighting and didn’t know what to do.

Olvia asked Rayleigh when he saw Lucas getting beat up.

“Why haven’t I heard of any initiation for joining the crew?”

“Ah? That’s cause there’s no such thing. I don’t know why Roger’s doing this, but at least it seems that boy’s no longer have that heavy atmosphere around him.”

“...You’re saying, the Captain’s beating him up because he wanted to lighten him up?”

Rayleigh shrugged.

“Maybe.”

“...”

Olvia sighed and shook her head.

Men...why are they all such idiots!?

She looked back at Lucas who still refused to admit defeat despite being beaten up numerous times.

After giving him one last look, she turned around and no longer paid any attention.

---

For your reference, this is the timeline that I made myself as a guide...

TIMELINE:

Present: Marineforc arc.

37 years ago: Wano flashback arc.

30 years ago: Lucas goes back in time to this point. (Current present)

28 years ago: Nico Robin was born.

26 years ago: Rogers finds he has contracted a deadly disease.

         Also the year Nico Olvia leaves Robin.

         Also the year Roger meets Kozuki Oden.

24 years ago: Rogers finds One Piece.

22 years ago: Rogers was executed.

20 years ago: Ohara bombing.