Monkey D. Dragon — leader of the Revolutionary Army, and user of the Mythical Zoan "Thunderbird" Fruit.
He never expected he would be defeated so utterly. Against those monsters, he couldn't even fight back.
In a daze, he felt like his entire body had been shattered. Forcing his eyes open, he realized he was lying on a massive stone slab, surrounded by strange, talking animals.
The moment he opened his eyes, their expressions lit up in relief. Then a large lion, puffing on a tobacco pouch with complete nonchalance, spoke:
"Ha… you're finally awake."
Hearing an animal speak human words startled Dragon at first. But as someone with access to intelligence rivaling the Navy, he quickly pieced it together. His eyes widened in realization as he looked at the lion.
"This… this is Zou?"
In all the seas, there was only one place where numerous animals spoke the human tongue — the legendary nation on the back of the great elephant, Zou.
During his time flying over the New World, he had once tried to find Zunesha, but perhaps fate wasn't with him. He never succeeded. And now, somehow, after collapsing into unconsciousness, he had been brought here.
"So, you know of Zou, huh?"
"Yeah. This is Zou. Yesterday, a giant bird dropped you down here. Your son didn't catch you. Later, they patched you up, so for now, you've been entrusted to our tribe."
The lion puffed at his pouch again, speaking as though it were no big deal.
—Luffy… you really are a filial son, aren't you?
Hearing that, Dragon's face twitched. He didn't need to think twice to know that bastard Rodan (the Sky Lord) had been the one to drop him. And the one who failed to catch him… was none other than his own son, Luffy.
Truly… a father's curse.
"—Tss!"
Dragon tried to sit up, but pain shot through him. His body wouldn't move at all.
"Don't bother trying. You've got nine broken ribs, a fracture in your left leg, a broken right arm, dislocated right shoulder…"
Tch! Why is it all bones?
As the lion listed his injuries, Dragon's face darkened. Sure, he'd taken damage fighting those giants, but it shouldn't have left him this broken. Now he was practically a cripple.
Luffy, you really screwed your father over this time…
"Ah! So you're awake?"
That carefree, thoughtless voice—Dragon didn't even need to look. He knew immediately it was his unfilial son.
Sure enough, a moment later, that smiling face under a straw hat appeared before him.
The two locked eyes in silence for a long beat…
And then Luffy, with all seriousness, spoke words that nearly made Dragon explode with rage:
"…Doesn't really look like him."
"Oi, Zoro, does he look like my dad to you?"
BASTARD!!
Furious, Dragon's face flushed red, his eyes blazing.
"You brat! What kind of way is that to speak to your father? What the hell did that old man teach you?!"
"Uh…"
Luffy tilted his head, thinking hard, before replying casually:
"Actually, Gramps never raised me. I grew up with Dadan."
"Arghhh! That damned old man!"
Dragon clenched his teeth, exasperated. But then he thought of his own upbringing—barely weaned before Garp dragged him onto a warship, tossing him straight into battlefields. If not for sheer luck, his grave would've been covered in grass long ago.
The others, overhearing this father-son exchange, could only stare, dumbfounded. Their imaginations filled in the blanks of such… "unique" family education.
What kind of household produces these three?
One a Navy "Hero."
One the most dangerous revolutionary alive.
And one who loudly declares he'll be Pirate King.
Seriously—if the Pirate King wasn't a man, what then?
Would you call yourself Pirate Queen?
…No, wait. That mental image makes me shiver.
"Hey, so who's my mom?" Luffy asked suddenly, as if it were the most casual question in the world. Despite standing before his father, he felt nothing—he didn't even know what having a father was supposed to feel like. But still, he was curious. If his dad was such a big deal, surely his mom must be important too.
"…!"
Dragon froze. He clearly hadn't expected that question. His expression twisted like someone suffering constipation. After a long, painful silence, he finally muttered:
"Your mother… Forget it. For you, it's too soon to know."
What the hell kind of answer was that?!
It wasn't just Luffy who was disappointed. Everyone around, ears perked and waiting, groaned at the letdown.
"I bet your mom's a woman," Enel suddenly piped up with a thoughtful nod.
The sheer idiocy of the statement nearly made Dragon spring to his feet despite his injuries. He had to force himself to calm down, reminding himself not to let it get to him.
But deep down, the mention of Luffy's mother cut deep. That was a wound in his heart that would never fully heal.
"…Where are you all headed?" Dragon asked abruptly, eager to change the subject.
"The elephant's taking us to Wano," Luffy answered cheerfully.
"…What?!"
"Pfft!"
Dragon jerked upright in shock, only to cough blood and collapse back down again.
"That country is no place for you."
"Nope. I've got my reasons. Even if you're my dad, you can't stop me."
…So the kid doesn't listen anymore, huh. Dragon sighed inwardly. His son was grown now.
But Wano… he knew all too well what awaited there. Even he had barely escaped with his life after his own venture into that land.
Suddenly, his mind flashed back to something Ghidorah had once told him:
"Dragon, your son is the child of destiny in this world. And the fruit he carries… is far more terrifying than you realize."
Back then, Dragon had scoffed. A Gum-Gum Fruit? What could be so special about that?
But Ghidorah's words lingered.
"A mere joke of a fruit? Just wait until it awakens. When it does, the world itself will shine with brilliance…"
Dragon hadn't understood it then. But if even that monster respected the fruit, then clearly it wasn't ordinary.
So he began quietly collecting information about Luffy's Devil Fruit.
And the deeper he dug, the stranger it became. Records were inconsistent, altered, or missing entirely. In fact… it seemed as though the "Gum-Gum Fruit" had never even existed. No records of anyone awakening it. No evidence it had ever appeared in history at all.
Instead, what he found was that this so-called "ordinary fruit" had once been the subject of intense surveillance by CP agents. They had even guarded and transported it with unusual caution.
A mere Paramecia like Gum-Gum… treated like a national secret?
No. There was something hidden here. Something big.
Dragon clenched his fists.
There was no way this was just coincidence.
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