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brainfuzzz · 1 year

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Old Truth's Ch. 12 "Moving Forward"

Hello! I'm back! I'm sorry for such a long wait!!! I did not think it would take this long to update. But unfortunately, after moving, my household goods are still in storage so… no computer lol I just got a laptop for work so now I can start writing again!

Sorry this chapter is a little shorter and I honestly didn't do as much edits as I usually would for a chapter. I was originally thinking to post this and the next chapter because of how short it is but… the next chapter is going to be rather long I think. So instead of making you wait longer I decided to go ahead and post this lol

Just a heads up, now that we are finally growing closer to the Crocodile and Dragon reunion I will be using the next few chapters to play with different points of view and to delve deeper into Crocodile's past relationships. Both with Dragon and with others. I'm super excited to be back and writing again and hope you enjoy it!

At first, the only response Garp gives is a “Hm.” As they continue to stare, completely unable to read the other. Garp is the first to break contact to turn his face and stare at the graves. Finally, he says, “Unfortunately he doesn’t disclose his location with me.”

Crocodile nods and tilts his head towards the sky to watch two seagulls fly overhead before saying, “I thought as much.”

When the birds are out of sight, Crocodile looks back as his father’s grave. With his great sword stuck into the gravestone, it nearly towers as tall as the man himself. A knot forms in Crocodile’s throat. For a moment, a part of him wishes they could have known each other better. He has no idea what that would have looked like. Crocodile has never been the kind to open up so easily to anyone. He supposes that he’s lucky that they knew each other at all. He prays silently that one day maybe Luffy can look at him the same way. He doubts that they will ever have a relationship beyond the one they have now. When he feels himself getting close to tears again, he clears his throat before taking the sake cup in front of himself and downing it.

Bye pops.

He stands, taking in the sight of the tombstone one last time before turning and starting down the hill. Except he doesn’t make if five feet before he comes to an abrupt halt. Staring down at the grass, he grits his teeth, trying to will himself to take another step. It doesn’t happen. He presses his lips together as he slowly turns so he’s half facing Garp and the graves.

Grinding his teeth, he wishes he could just walk away and leave the old man to mourn… but some unseeable force keeps him glued to his spot. Before he can stop himself, he blurts, “He…”

His voice cracks making his face burn as he clears his throat again in an attempt to hide his embarrassment. Garp glances over his shoulder but doesn’t turn his body. Crocodile swallows and goes on, “He probably didn’t hate you in the end… Ace I mean.”

Garp returns his head so that he’s facing the graves again. Crocodile continues, “I never knew the kid, but if Whitebeard thought that he was worth fighting for then… he was someone who wouldn’t blame you for how it ended. In the end, he chose to fight Sakazuki.”

A strong gust of wind knocks Crocodile’s back almost making him stumble towards Garp. He manages to steady himself and brushes a strand of hair behind his ear. When he’s standing straight, he closes his eyes as the image of Luffy holding Fire Fist in his las moments flashes across his eyes.

“We’ll never know if it mattered in the end. If our actions changed anything. If he ran… maybe, he would have gotten away. Maybe not.” He opens his eyes and finds the two seagulls have returned and are circling overhead. Crocodile blinks and lets out a calming breath. “We can’t keep killing ourselves with ‘what ifs’ and asking ourselves what we could have done different. Nothing can change the past. All we can do now is move forward.”

Garp stays silent as he continues to stare at Ace’s tombstone. Crocodile isn’t surprised when he doesn’t respond. Saying anything else might be pushing things and Crocodile already feels like he’s embarrassed himself in front of the Vice Admiral enough for a lifetime. He gives a small respectful nod despite Garp not being able to see it and turns to finally start down the hill.

“Crocodile,” Garp’s voice cuts through the wind and rustling trees. Crocodile stops once again and turns back to the graves. He watches Garp slowly get to his feet, bow to the graves, and turn to walk down the hill. He stops in front of Crocodile. “I don’t know where Dragon is but… I might have something that could help you find him.”

Garp doesn’t elaborate and Crocodile doesn’t ask any further questions. They walk side by side as they descend the hill towards their ships.

“So,” Garp says, breaking their silence, “Was Whitebeard really your old man?”

Crocodile gives a sigh, “Who knows. He never gave me any definite proof that I was his biological son. But in the end I guess it didn’t matter. Once Whitebeard got it in his head about something, there was no changing it. And I suppose I never really mind it either.”

Garp gives a grunt in response before arching a brow at him making Crocodile frown.

“So, Whitebeard took your left hand, gave you that scar, and you’re still visiting his grave to show your respects? Sorry if I’m a little confused by that.” Garp doesn’t look away.

Crocodile lets out a short laugh, “I doubt its something most would understand. Our relationship was complicated. I didn’t meet him until I was older and by then had no intention of playing out a father and son relationship. All I ever wanted for him was to be treated as an equal and to fight him. He did in the end, and it cost me my left hand and left me permanently scarred. I vowed to return the favor one day but… I never hated him.”

Garp gives another grunt in response. Truthfully, Crocodile loved that old fool. Maybe it’s just him being sentimental after everything that’s happened from learning about Luffy, but he really did. Crocodile lifts his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. He’s growing soft and it’s really starting to piss him off. He lets out an aggravated breath and reaches into his coat to pull out a cigar. He lifts it to his lips before digging around his pockets in search of a light. He pauses when Garp pulls out a matchbook and lights the end of his cigar. Crocodile stares at him for a moment before taking a drag and letting out a steady stream of smoke.

“So,” Crocodile says as their ships come into view. “Do you plan on arresting me when we reach the ships?”

“Oh, didn’t you hear? I’m semi-retired now!” he gives a laugh and wide grin that reminds Crocodile to much of both Luffy and Dragon. He looks away to hide his own smile. When they approach the ships, Daz is standing on the deck with his arms turned into blades. On the naval vessel, a slew of marines points their guns at Crocodile’s ship. Both Crocodile and Garp let out tired sighs as the get closer.

“Vice Admiral! I’m glad that you’re back. We need your orders before we ca—Ca—Crocodile! What is he doing here?!” a pink haired boy shouts when he recognizes the former warlord. Crocodile takes a drag while keeping eye contact with the brat. A blonde haired brat stands next to him looking just as surprised and horrified as the first one.

“Calm down Koby, Helmeppo, he’s just leaving. Tell the men to put away their weapons before they hurt themselves.” Garp sticks his hands in his pockets before saying to Crocodile, “Wait here.”

Crocodile does as he asks and waits while the pink haired boy, Koby, refuses to take his eyes off him. Crocodile glances towards Daz and shouts, “Stand down Daz. We won’t be returning to Impel Down today.”

Daz’s arms return to normal but even from here, Crocodile can see him sweating.

“Excuse me, Crocodile sir?” Koby says as he stares at the ground with his bandaged hands in fists. He’s covered in wounds. He must have been there. The boy lifts his head to meet Crocodile’s eyes, “You… you helped Monkey D. Luffy escape… right? I know you two were enemies in the past but…”

“Koby, should you really…” The one named Helmeppo reaches out for his friend but Koby shakes him away.

“Please, if you can, please tell me if he’s okay!” Koby stands tall after asking this. Crocodile lets out a breath of smoke and watches the sudden surge of confidence fade almost as quickly as it came. He steps back and begins shaking his head while moving his hands and saying, “I—I mean… if you can! You don’t have to I was just…”

“You a friend of his, boy?” Crocodile takes his cigar from his mouth, inspects it before sliding it back between his teeth. Koby lifts his head again and nods. “Then you should know not to worry about such things. The brat will be fine.”

Koby’s shoulders relax with relief as he smiles. He gives a quick short bow. “Thank you, Crocodile.”

“Koby!” Garp snaps from the boardwalk of his ship. Both Helmeppo and Koby stiffen at the Vice Admiral’s voice. “Quit fraternizing with the enemy and get back on the ship.”

The two hurry back to the ship as Garp reaches Crocodile. He reaches into his pocket and pulls something out before handing it to Crocodile. Crocodile takes it and turns the small wooden object in his hand.

“An eternal pose?” He glances at Garp.

“I found it a while back. Never had much use for it over the past few years but I figured it was safe to have. If you need to get a hold of Dragon, then this is your best bet.” Garp says. Crocodile slips the log pose into his pocket. They stand by the shore, listening to the water crash into the sand.

“Thank you.” Crocodile meets his eyes. Garp looks away with a smirk.

“Just do something about his gloomy attitude. That’s all I ask.”

They say nothing else to each other as they both board their own ships and begin sailing in different directions. Daz walks up to Crocodile as he takes the helm.

“Where to now?” Daz watches Crocodile pull out the eternal log pose and hold it up to get his heading.

“How do you feel about meeting back up with some of the inmates we broke out with?” Crocodile chuckles as he turns the ship. Daz lets out a tired sigh but doesn’t argue. Crocodile turns the ship until its pointing straight ahead to the Kamabakka kingdom.

Read full story HERE on AO3!!!

@douma-me

#Old Truth's #one piece #sir crocodile #crocodile #crocomom #one piece fanfiction #Garp #Monkey d garp #Ch. 12 Moving Forward #koby one piece #koby #captain koby #helmeppo #daz bones #whitebeard #portgas d. ace #its been so long since i updated that i forgot all my tags

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beaulesbian · 2 months

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🌘☀️ Some thoughts on Zoro & Luffy and their connection to gods and demons☀️🌒

This post started at first with just a few points about Zoro in the context to Asura/ King of Hell but since then it somehow evolved into connecting bits and pieces between Zoro & Luffy parallels again, I just can't help it, sooo...long post ahead.

Wano + Egghead spoilers

I always love remembering this one of the very first scenes where we (and Luffy) first hear about Zoro, and in the context of Zoro being a Pirate Hunter, even described as a demonic beast or as Koby says "demon in human form." None of this discouraged Luffy upon hearing this, on the contrary - he thought that if he sees for himself if Zoro was a good guy, he would be a great addition to his crew, and then went out of his way to seek him out! And only later we got the explanation that Zoro just couldn't find his way back home. "Roaming the seas" meant surviving for him, bounty hunter meant getting by in life with the skills he knew the best - swords, which is kind of sad when you think about it, but all the more interesting that it was Luffy who found him in Shells town,

where Zoro, a nonbeliever of any gods of higher power, was bound to a cross, and the first thing Luffy pointed out was "he's smiling".

I like to think that the smile might have been one of the first signs important enough for Luffy to choose someone for his crew - not only the kindness that followed when Luffy saw Zoro eating the dirty rice ball, but the smile that's by itself also very connected to Luffy himself:

After that first fight they won together, already reading each other so well, Zoro was the first one to call Luffy his captain (and later at Baratie also the first one to call him the future Pirate King!). He was someone who already fully believed in Luffy's future of reaching his dream without questioning it, perphaps because their drive towards their goals and dreams was very similar. And Luffy was the one who freed Zoro and let him have his swords - his biggest treasures - and gave him back the possibility to go into the world to actually follow his dream!

"One day, he'll show up and take you out under the sun, to the freedom of the sea!" - ch. 1095, Buccaneers about Sun God Nika (flashback with Kuma)

Fast forward to Wano - it's incredible how entangled their stories are with belief in always striving to do better/be stronger/try again next time for Luffy, someone who doesn't care what others think - he just needs to do what he wants and to be free - only for him to awaken his Devil Fruit and his God Nika powers; and for Zoro (a non-believer/apatheist) with how determined he was to successfully wield Enma so he could defeat King the Wildfire even to the lengths of becoming the King of Hell if that was what needed to be done to get Luffy one more step towards being the Pirate King.

Which brings me back to Demon Asura Zoro and where we saw this form throughout the manga:

This whole post started at first as a parallel to my other post about Zoro not really being shown to react to Luffy's Gear 5 (yet, as of chapter 1109), and I kept thinking about Zoro's Asura technique and how he used it so far only three (!!!) times, and there weren't many reactions from the strawhat crew either.

First one was during the Enies Lobby against Kaku, who even calls that vision 'demon-god' (ch. 417). If I remember Zoro was there by himself with Kaku, his crew each fighting other opponents elswhere:

The second time was during their first visit to Sabaody Archipelago, ch. 510, where it was the whole crew against the Pacifistas. The only bigger reactions were Brook and Chopper ("So many Zoros!!" - how cute!)

Luffy went right after Zoro with his last attack against the Pacifistas, so he's either seen Zoro's attack or it just wasn't the time or place to react, which, fair.

and then, third and last time so far Zoro went into his Asura form, it was up against Kaido, ch. 1010, when Luffy was out of it and Kaido was threatening how he would end Luffy in various ways.. which only angered Zoro more ("That's my captain!" - yeah, tell him, Zoro!)

All of these three times we've seen Asura, it was against few of the most dangerous opponents and all three times Zoro had his bandana on, being serious about it. All three of these times he knew his whole crew was fighting for their lives too and were in very real danger. Enies Lobby really changed the tone of the next few arcs with how serious things were about to go; Sabaody was just after Thriller Bark with Zoro being still injured and he knew what Kuma/Pacifistas were capable of - there was real fear and despair. And of course, on Wano against Kaido,. he saw how much damage Luffy took, Zoro could only hope to put more wounds on Kaido to count in their favor.

Zoro knew he had one last attack to try and make some difference in this fight - and this was before his fight with King, so he wasn't fully in sync with Enma yet, but it was good enough to unlock Asura technique - with something more to it.

Apparently along with his haki - not just the armament or observation haki, but the supreme king haki, as Kaido himself is shocked to find out. Zoro wasn't even consciously aware of having/using this haki.

Even the wiki mentions this as Zoro adding the supreme king haki to his Asura attack to strenghten it, or possibly was only able to unlock this technique because of having supreme king haki - meaning he was possibly using it even in both of those pre-time skip situations mentioned above.

The supreme king haki is something people can't learn, but are born with, meaning Zoro probably didn't know until Wano (and still wasn't sure what he did), but possibly learnt to use it instinctively - very much like Luffy on Amazon Lily.)

I already made a post that touched a bit on King of hell Zoro, and other parts around Asura (clearly, i'm never done thinking about that), with a very big possibility/hints that he could come from lineage of people of the D. (asura - enemies of gods - people of D.) - especially if it's connected to supreme king haki as inherited ability (although that isn't confirmed in the manga, as far as I understood).

This brings me to Zoro's family, and specifically Ryuma.

Wano was a great arc that connected things from Thriller Bark -with Zoro returning the legendary sword Shusui back to Ryuma's grave where it belonged.

There was an interesting panel at the end of Wano, where people were celebrating Luffy's victory over Kaido, but were given the name Joyboy as their savior - possibly Momonosuke's doing as Luffy told him not to mention him by name because Luffy didn't want to be a hero.

And in this panel, the peple are comparing this feat of victory to the legendary "God of the Blade" - which is another title for Ryuma.

It's so curious how Zoro is connected to Ryuma, even through span of many centuries and countries across, but still there is that connection, on top of actually fighting Ryuma's zombie on Thriller Bark, and Zoro isn't even aware of it. We only know about it from the SBS corner of Oda mentioning Zoro's family. (SBS corner in vol. 105. Ryuma wasn't mentioned there precisely, but the name Shimotsuki being of Zoro's grandmother and others from Wano, it makes sense they're Ryuma's descendants):

Side note: There's also something really beautiful of how the Shimotsuki line was passed down on Zoro from his grandmother - and his promise he cherishes since childhood being tied to Kuina, someone who wanted to be the greatest swords(wo)man - and therefore Zoro carrying Wado and that dream and promise for her.

Zoro & Luffy

Now to tie it all back to parallels with Zoro and Luffy - I love that there are always these small moment in how similar these two are - in their honest words and actions, in them believing in one another and believing even more in reaching their dreams, their crew and their strengths. In both being so directionally clueless and sometimes outright stupid, yet in certain situations (more so in battles and fights), they are the ones sometimes smartest and most strategic.

Then there's these other similarities between them: how much they don't care about what's told about them or -be it by luck or fate- how things work out in their favor in the end, usually. How both of them don't wish to be heroes, because heroes had to share (food and sake).

How there's that fact that Zoro doesn't know the full context of his powers, especially with his supreme king haki- or that he doesn't want to know the truth or put a name to that ability, because he fights with his swords and doesn't need to put belief of any other powers beside his own strength. (Or maybe he will soon learn how to use it to his (and his crew's) benefit.)

and Luffy, who doesn't know probably anything about Nika- and most likely wouldn't care much about them beside the scope of his new powers. The whole meaning of being something like "sun god" for others didn't register with him yet, and it might never be that important to him personally. Time after time, people around him mention luck or fate, or how people of the D. are the enemies of the Gods - enemies of the celestial dragons, but those don't really matter to Luffy because it doesn't change why he fights and why he needs himself and others to be free and achieve his dream.

How Zoro and Ryuma could be parallels to Luffy and Joyboy - one living in the present, reminiscent of those that lived centuries ago - something about the history always repeating.

When Zoro got to fight Ryuma on Thriller Bark, or even Hyogoro compares him to Shimotsuki Ushimaru (Zoro's great uncle),

and how Zunesha was waiting for Joyboy, how Roger and Oden found messages from Joyboy of his promises to return.

The parallels between sun god Nika and demon god/king Asura are so interesting in their opposites yet similarities. There's still so much we don't know about Nika or Joyboy, but Luffy himself isn't just the perfect picture of responsibility or justice. He's free, and that's the most important for him. He now has the power to do what he really wants to do with his powers, he unlocked that new potential to make it even more fun and even more dangerous against his enemies.

Even if Zoro's saying he doesn't believe in higher powers he embraces the powers that unlocked with Enma and getting him the title of King of Hell, he knows it would be the things that would keep him fighting for another minute, hour, day when it becomes necessary to protect Luffy and their crew.

Zoro may not believe in any gods but he believes in Luffy with all his being.

And in the similar vein, Luffy is the one who always believed in Zoro's strength and capability to protect the rest of their crew when it was necessary, times after time.

It's feels like it's not at all a coincidence that Luffy's whole crew is full of otherness and beings connected to hell/monsters/demons more than anything divine - because lot of the gods in One Piece are mentioned in context of standing above others and above common people - it's a bit flipped of what's good or not, or even more it's never clear because that's life, and those people are just claiming some titles. Eneru being the first example of a "god" the Straw Hats encountered, celestial dragons being called Gods, the Gorosei having each titles of "Godhead" - it's no wonder that Luffy's crew all fights for freedom and reaching whatever each of them needs to achive as their dream,

and includes: a dead man but living skeleton Brook; a demon child Nico Robin; Chopper "I don't mind being a monster for Luffy.'"; Sanji with all his hell fire and "diable" kicks and attacks, along with his non human strength and other abilities; Nami wielding the powers similar to Eneru without the need of both Devil Fruit or being called a goddess, and bringing down lightning on anyone who threatens her crew; Usopp and his powers of nature and plants sprouting new life and strengths from long distance; Jimbei - fishman and former Sun Pirate and also "First son of the Sea"; Franky the more cyborg than a man; and of course, Roronoa "I might as well become the King of Hell" Zoro.

It's not all so black and white, good or bad. Luffy is still everything that makes him Luffy - he's honest and selfish in his selflesness, kind and brave and stubborn, and always knows that Zoro (and his whole crew) has his back so he doesn't have to hold back.

And Zoro is still Zoro despite being able to wield some newer haki powers he's slowly discovering now. He's still getting lost and still is his stubborn self that puts the crew and Luffy above himself, and would follow Luffy into hell if that was needed.

Luffy and Zoro are "just" captain and his first mate, always throughout the story since the beginning. Orphans with such interestingly woven past and relationships around them, who grew up with a big dream they had to go and achieve it no matter what, and found someone just as honest, kind, powerful and trustworthy as they were. But there's that deep and fierce devotion that always borderlines on something beyond just good. They're pirates - because that means being free.

They can be chaotic and powerful, and find something divine in the loyalty of the demonic powers, and something hellish in the god-like entity bringing freedom.

It feels like something Roger said to Rayleigh when they first met - That it was a fated meeting.

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