Intersecting Fates

Minato stared intently at the Gum-Gum Fruit, making sure nothing unexpected happened.

The moment he'd taken the fruit, he'd noticed something strange: it seemed to have a will of its own and resisted him.

If he hadn't been fast enough and had several sealing techniques at his disposal, the fruit might have run off on its own.

But now that he'd brought it out, the Devil Fruit seemed like an ordinary piece of fruit. It didn't move at all.

Why was that? The only difference between its reactions was the presence of another person. Could it be because of Luffy? Minato wondered to himself.

"Uncle, is that the mysterious grand prize?" Luffy couldn't help drooling at the sight of food.

"Yes. It's a Devil Fruit. If you eat it, you'll gain the ability to transform into a Rubber Man, but the downside is that you won't be able to swim."

Minato recalled the information about Devil Fruits he'd found in the Main God Space. "Think it over before you decide whether to accept this reward."

"Devil Fruit? I don't get it. Does it taste good?" Luffy tilted his head.

"Uh, I've never eaten one, so I'm not sure." Minato hesitated. "But Devil Fruits are very rare, so it should be pretty good." His tone held a hint of uncertainty.

"Ah, then I'll eat it!"

Hearing that it might taste good, Luffy grabbed it and took a bite.

"Ugh! It tastes awful!"

Luffy cried out at once. But how could a foodie waste food? He forced himself to finish the Devil Fruit.

As Luffy ate, Minato watched him tensely, keeping an eye on the mission panel in his mind.

[Main Mission Two: "Legacy of the Pirate King"
Mission Progress: 50%

Time Remaining: 79 days]

The mission progress was stuck at 50%! Minato's heart sank. The mission wasn't complete. He hurriedly asked the Reincarnator Assistant System and got this answer:

[Missing key item: "Pirate King's Straw Hat"]

Of course, the answer wasn't free. The system deducted 500 points from him. It was expensive, but the considerate system had included a video:

In the midst of a raging sea, a red-haired man with one arm held a child in his other arm. With a mighty shout, he drove off a ferocious sea beast, while the young child wept bitterly...

"Shanks, your arm..." The distraught child was Luffy.

"Don't worry, Luffy!"

"I'm giving you this straw hat..."

After watching the video, Minato pondered. It looks like the Pirate King's Straw Hat is in the hands of Shanks, the man I fought earlier. If I want to get it, I'll have to deal with him. This is going to be tricky.

"Uncle, my hand feels weird..." Luffy said as his right hand turned into something like melting rubber.

"That's the Devil Fruit's ability." Minato smiled. He touched Luffy's cheek and gave it a gentle tug. The boy's face stretched out longer and longer...

"Ow, ow!" Little Luffy cried out at once.

"Hahaha, sorry. I was just curious." Minato laughed apologetically.

Minato watched as little Luffy experimented with his new ability, observing and taking notes. But Luffy was young and didn't have much stamina, so he was exhausted before long. The two agreed to meet again the next day and went their separate ways.

Somewhere in the East Blue, the Red Force, ship of the Red Hair Pirates, sailed across the calm sea.

"Shanks, is this the Pirate King's hometown? It seems pretty peaceful." Beckman took a puff of his cigar.

Shanks suppressed his unease over having the Gum-Gum Fruit stolen. "Yeah. Not only did Captain Roger set sail from here, but so did the Red Hair Pirates. Isn't that right, Yasopp?"

Yasopp, the long-nosed man, was a companion Shanks had found in the East Blue. After finding him, Shanks had formed the Red Hair Pirates. The East Blue held special meaning for him.

"Yeah, Captain. Who would've thought that the rookie pirate who sailed alone back then would become such a famous pirate in the New World?" Yasopp polished his rifle barrel. "But, Captain, did you come back to visit your old stomping grounds because you're looking for something?"

At his words, Shanks's Haki trembled, cracking the railing at the bow. "Because something I lost last time is in the East Blue."

"Oh? That Devil Fruit?" Beckman's eyes immediately sharpened.

"Yeah. I have to find it."

Shanks focused on the virtual image in his mind. It showed a map of the East Blue, with a red dot flashing at Foosha Village in the Goa Kingdom. Shanks concentrated, and the display switched in an instant. A text interface slowly appeared:

[Reincarnation World: One Piece World, Sea Circle Calendar 1510

Background: The man who possessed all the wealth, fame, and power in the world—the "Pirate King," Gol D. Roger—said these words before being executed: "You want my treasure? If you want it, go find it on the sea. I left everything there." Countless people set out to sea in search of the Pirate King's legendary treasure, "One Piece."

Main Mission One: "Pirate King's Straw Hat." Deliver the mission item to a member of the D. family in Foosha Village, Goa Kingdom, East Blue.

Main Mission Two: Not yet unlocked

Mission Completion Reward: 1 D-rank side-story, 500 points, one random skill reward

Mission Failure Penalty: Permanently erase all memories related to this mission and revoke "Reincarnator" beginner privileges

Mission Countdown: 78 days]

For the Nth time, Shanks carefully studied the mysterious scene in his mind. But no matter what he asked, the answer was always, "Insufficient clearance." It seemed he could only give it a try...

After sailing through the East Blue for another day, the Red Force reached the port at Foosha Village in the Goa Kingdom.

On the coast outside Foosha Village, Minato leisurely fished with a rod while little Luffy diligently practiced his Devil Fruit ability.

"Gum-Gum!"

Little Luffy swung his arm in a wide arc. His right hand shot out toward the Shadow Clone of Minato in front of him, but before it could reach Minato, his arm went limp and fell to the ground.

Seeing this, Minato's Shadow Clone said, "Luffy, you've only just eaten the fruit. You'll need to practice your ability more."

"But Uncle Minato, I'm so hungry. Every time I turn to rubber, I get hungry." Little Luffy rubbed his stomach miserably.

"I'm guessing using your Devil Fruit ability takes stamina. You're still young and growing, so you need plenty of nourishment. As it happens, I just caught a big fish."

Minato's Shadow Clone sensed that a large fish had taken the bait near his real body. Minato gave the rod a strong tug, lifting a fish over a meter long out of the sea. "Luffy, haha! Let's take a break and have some grilled fish."

As a Konoha Ninja with plenty of wilderness survival experience, Minato had no trouble grilling fish.

After lighting a fire, Minato neatly prepared the fish, skewered it, and roasted it over the campfire until it smelled delicious. Then he handed it to Luffy, who wolfed it down, blowing on it between bites because it was so hot.

Minato took a small bite of his fish and asked Luffy, "Luffy, what's your dream?"

Little Luffy tilted his head. "Huh? What's a dream?"

"It's the thing you want to do most." Minato smiled.

"The thing I want most is to get really strong so I can eat meat whenever I want. And I want to be able to beat Grandpa, because he hits really hard!" Little Luffy's eyes shone with hope.

"Hahaha, so you want to get stronger?"

"Maybe. Anyway, I want to eat whenever I want, do whatever I like, and go wherever I want."

"That's freedom, Luffy! Doing what your heart tells you to do—that's the freedom so many people pursue." Minato sighed.

Little Luffy's eyes lit up. "That's right! I want to do what I like! Freedom! Shishishishi!" He flashed his trademark big front teeth. "I'm going to be the freest person on this sea!"

Minato ruffled Luffy's hair until it was a mess. "Then you'd better work hard! There are plenty of powerful people on this sea."

"Uncle Minato, who's the freest person on this sea?" Little Luffy asked, his eyes sparkling.

Who is the freest person on this sea? Minato wondered. If he followed the mission, he could guide Luffy down the path of the Pirate King, but he wasn't sure if that was the right path. Judging by the mission description, it seemed well suited to Luffy...

"There are the Celestial Dragons, who seem to hold supreme power, and powerful Marine officers. But the former are nothing more than a strange people kept in captivity by their own privilege, while the latter are bound by powerful shackles. Every word and action of theirs must fall within the World Government's system."

Minato gave a simple account of what he knew about this world. "By contrast, there are the pirates. They follow no laws, and some are good while others are bad. They usually do whatever they please, existing somewhere between chaos and order. Powerful pirates can gain a measure of freedom, while the weak are either killed by other pirates or eventually captured by the Marines."

The long explanation left little Luffy a bit confused, but he put on a look of sudden understanding.

"Oh! Then all I have to do is become the strongest pirate, right? But Grandpa wants me to join the Marines too. I don't want to! It's no fun at all. Uncle Minato, are you a Marine?"

"Of course I'm not a Marine. In this world, I'm just an ordinary person." Minato thought of Kizaru. Since he'd fought him, the Marines might consider him a pirate. But those affiliations had nothing to do with him. He was just a passerby in this world.

"Huh? I thought you were a really powerful pirate, Uncle Minato."

Minato tidied Luffy's messy hair. "Hahaha, I'm just an ordinary ninja!"

"A ninja? What's that?"

"A ninja is someone who can endure hardship to achieve their goal..." Minato's words trailed off. His expression turned grave. A large ship had appeared in the distance, bearing a presence that was both unfamiliar and familiar.

"Uncle Minato, why did you stop?"

"Luffy," Minato said seriously, "someone powerful is coming. Go with my Shadow Clone and wait somewhere farther away. I'm going to meet him."

"Huh? Is he your friend? Then he must be really strong!" Little Luffy looked curious.

Minato smiled without explaining. He created a Shadow Clone to take Luffy to a nearby grove, where they could watch from a distance. Then he waited for the Red Force—which he'd seen only a short time ago—to come ashore.

The Red Force's massive hull bore down on the coast, bringing with it a sense of immense pressure. Red-Haired Shanks and several senior officers came down from the ship.

Shanks had thought that seeing the "thief" who'd stolen the captain's treasure would fill him with rage. But after meeting him, he found that he was more curious about the man's motives.

Shanks rested one hand on the brim of his hat. Tall and imposing, he looked down at Minato and asked calmly, "What? After stealing the fruit, you won't even let me meet the person who gained its power?"

"You never earned the Nika Fruit's recognition, so how can you call it theft?" Minato replied noncommittally.

When Shanks heard him mention the Nika Fruit, his eyes immediately sharpened. "Who are you?"

"Just a passing ninja." Minato allowed himself a little joke.

"There have never been ninjas like you in Wano Country." Shanks thought for a moment. "Let me meet that child."

Shanks didn't beat around the bush. He'd easily sensed Luffy with his Observation Haki, but if the man in front of him wanted to leave, Shanks couldn't stop the ninja with his speed.

Minato's thoughts raced. Why does he want to meet Luffy?

The video in the Main God Space's records showed Shanks as Luffy's mentor in life. But it was obvious that, because of Minato, the two still hadn't met... So what was Shanks after? Did he want to know who had eaten the Devil Fruit? But there was no changing that now. Would he hurt Luffy? Minato considered many possibilities before finally saying, "I need to know what you're planning."

"That fruit isn't ordinary. I want to meet the person it chose. You can tell I mean no harm."

Minato considered that, under his protection, he couldn't defeat Shanks, but he had no fear as long as he could escape. "All right, but I have one condition. You have to leave that straw hat behind."

A fierce burst of Haki erupted from Shanks, then vanished in an instant. His expression turned serious. "You know what it means?"

"To be precise, I don't. But I know it means a lot to Luffy!" Minato said firmly.

"So the child's name is Luffy." Shanks ran a hand over the straw hat on his head. The mysterious mission flashed through his mind, and, as if possessed, he nodded. "This hat is no ordinary hat. It can only be given to someone it recognizes."

Minato thought of the child. "You don't need to worry about that. Luffy has the very best potential."

"I need to meet him myself and see. I'm not asking for your permission; I'm just telling you. And if you want that hat for the child, you'll have to earn my approval with your own strength." Haki radiated from Shanks.

"It seems we don't actually have any fundamental conflict." Minato smiled faintly. "Do we still have to fight?"

"Hahaha, enough talk. You made me lose face in front of my crew last time. I have to win it back!" Shanks's laughter rang all around them.

"Fine. If you want to fight, I'll see it through to the end!"