Before leaving, Chiga asked Makino with a bit of reluctance, "Has Shanks or Luffy been here?"
"Yes. A group of mountain bandits came that day and beat up Luffy."
"Uh—I mean, what happened to those mountain bandits in the end?"
"Of course, they were caught by Mr. Garp!"
Garp?! No way—was that when he was supposed to appear? Chiga felt a bit disoriented and continued, "Why did Vice Admiral Garp come back that day?"
"He said he was coming to pick up a new recruit for Marine Headquarters, so he stopped by to see Luffy first… Huh?"
At this point, Makino lightly tapped her palm with a small fist and realized, "That new recruit must be Mr. Chiga! What a coincidence! Luffy and I both owe you thanks. Without you, Mr. Garp wouldn't have come back!"
It really had something to do with me?!
Chiga felt his brain go numb. Didn't Garp usually just go wherever he liked?
Wasn't it that Sengoku didn't give him leave in the original story?
Pressing a hand to his forehead, Chiga muttered powerlessly, "And then? Vice Admiral Garp couldn't have done nothing when he met Shanks, right?"
"Mr. Garp and Shanks fought. They broke a lot of things here!"
Just broke things? It seemed like those two held back. Otherwise, the village might not even be standing.
"What happened afterward? Did Shanks still get away?"
"Yes, but Vice Admiral Garp said he had to pick you up, so he left in a hurry. Not long after he left, Shanks came back and spent some time with Luffy. After he left, Luffy kept shouting about becoming Pirate King. Oh—and Luffy's body turned really weird, like rubber!"
After hearing the full story, Chiga nodded thoughtfully. He had thought Shanks becoming a Yonko around this time was a bit early. It seemed like another ripple caused by his arrival.
Thinking that, he looked up and smiled at Makino. "Alright. Got it. I'll go see Luffy now."
"Mmm, make sure to come back for a drink when you're done. It's on me!"
"Heh, then I won't be polite. See you."
With that, Chiga gulped down the last of his orange juice, narrowed his eyes, and activated ROOM.
Sensing the direction of the forest east of the village, Chiga vanished from his seat in a flash.
Makino stared blankly at the spot where he'd just been sitting, completely confused by his sudden disappearance.
Then, noticing the Berry he'd left on the counter, she frowned and grabbed it before rushing out of the store, shouting, "Mr. Chiga! I told you not to pay!"
Standing at the door with her hands on her hips, she pouted for a moment before breaking into a chuckle. "What a strange person."
In the Forest East of Windmill Village
Little Ace glared at Luffy, who was lying on the ground, and scoffed. "That's all you've got? You should just stay in the village like a good kid."
Provoked, Luffy yelled back, "I'll definitely become stronger! For Sabo's sake too—I'll be the Pirate King!"
Hearing Sabo's name, Ace fell silent. His "death" still haunted them.
For days now, he and Luffy had been sparring like crazy, trying to vent their grief, but it always came back to this. Damn Luffy, always bringing it up!
Ace clenched his fists, about to say something when a deep voice interrupted:
"Kid, what kind of King did you say you wanted to be?"
Ace's eyes widened. He hadn't even noticed a shadow had fallen over him.
Breaking into a cold sweat, he slowly turned around—only to find Chiga standing there, his Rinnegan glowing faintly purple in the shadows.
A powerful, oppressive aura radiated from him. Ace froze, unable to speak, but Luffy, ever oblivious, shouted:
"I said I'll be the Pirate King!"
Ace immediately sensed danger and tried to strike first, but the moment his fist got close—
Bang! A wave of invisible force exploded out.
Ace was sent flying into a tree, then crumpled to the ground, groaning.
Even so, he gritted his teeth and shouted, "I can't move! Luffy, run!"
Chiga raised an eyebrow. "Still conscious? Not bad. Roger's bloodline, after all."
That Shinra Tensei was mild, but even an adult would've been bedridden for weeks. Yet this kid could still shout.
He showed no emotion on his face, just warned flatly, "Try to attack me again, and you won't even get to speak next time."
"Damn it… Who the hell are you!?"
The moment he heard that, Ace froze.
Everyone knew—pirates and Marines were natural enemies.
Luffy got up, looked at Ace who couldn't move, and his face twisted in anger. He began swinging his arms, muttering, "Gum-Gum…"
Ace saw what was coming. Panic flooded his face.
"STOP, LUFFY! HE'LL KILL YOU!"
Luffy blinked, confused, but kept winding up his attack.
Seeing that, Ace got desperate. A surge of unknown energy welled up inside him, and he roared:
"I SAID STOP! ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME!?"
Buzz! A shockwave burst from Ace's small frame—Conqueror's Haki.
Wind howled. Chiga's black robe fluttered. Luffy's rubber face morphed into a weird, stretched-out blob.
The pressure faded after a moment. Ace passed out. Luffy blinked in confusion.
"Huh? Something crazy just happened… What was that?"
Only Chiga remained standing, arms crossed, expression flat—but with the corner of his mouth twitching.
He knew exactly what it was.
Ace had just awakened Conqueror's Haki—unintentionally.
But with both Luffy and Chiga being natural-born Conquerors too, the effect had been null.
So from their perspective, nothing really happened.
Still, Chiga thought with amusement, Wasn't I supposed to attack Luffy, and then Ace would unleash Haki in desperation?
Instead, it happened just because he got too emotional scolding Luffy?
Everything really is off-script.
Man, Even though the time line is fucked... The Fanfic is still good
So just think of it as an alternate universe.