Everyone was gathered at the grave of the strongest man. All the Whitebeard Pirates commanders were there, along with a few others. In other words, his family, the people who lived in his homeland, and some other guests, including Shanks, Jimbei, Luffy, and Law—the latter here for me.
I was with a devastated Celestia, seeing her father dead and three children heartbroken, knowing they would never see their grandfather again.
Only two people were as affected as Celestia: Marco and Ace. For Marco, the old man had always been a true father, while Ace was deeply hurt, as he felt responsible for his death. No one blamed him, but that didn't lessen the weight of his feelings.
As the ceremony ended, Law was already waiting to give me his analysis.
...
Dante: "In other words, you can make Isis walk again, but with Sulli it's more complicated."
Law: "Well, my ability is, after all, similar to magic; I could connect another arm to her body, but if it's not compatible and within her dimensions, it'll be more of a hindrance than a help; they'd have to find an arm that fits her, something that wasn't necessary with Arthur's Devil Fruit, since it could transmute to fit the user's body, something I can't do."
Sulli: "Another thing is that nobody just gives away arms willy-nilly, so if we find someone with my dimensions, we might not be able to remove them, for whatever reason."
We stayed in Trini and Sulli's living room, wondering what to do.
Trini: "But among the criminal pirates, there must be someone who fits the bill: same dimensions as Sulli and evil, so there's no problem taking off his arm or just killing him."
The three of us looked at her in silence, then back at ourselves.
Law: "Why didn't we think of that?"
Sulli: "No idea," she said, shrugging her shoulders to show she had no idea either.
Law: "Alright, let's go to Isis then. Marco should have everything ready for the surgery," he said to Sulli, who got in the chair, and they left the house, leaving me alone with Trini.
Trini: "So, what are you going to do now?" she asked me.
Dante: "Luffy asked me to train him, and I think I'll accept. I don't know if anyone else will be there, but I'm going to take advantage of this to do something else."
Trini: "What do you mean?"
Dante: "There's another guy who also wants to train him, and since Luffy became friends with the Kuja Pirates—something I need to figure out how that happened—he told me to go with the kid to Amazon Lily."
Trini: "Who is that?"
Dante: "The right-hand man of the Pirate King, Rayleigh."
There was a brief silence.
Trini: "How did you manage to contact him?"
Dante: "I didn't; after the old man's burial ceremony, Shanks approached me. We were talking about World Nobles, since he, like me, is one. In the middle of our grievances about that world and talking nonsense, he mentioned this, delivering Rayleigh's message."
Trini: "And when are you leaving?"
Dante: "In about a week, since Celestia is still unwell and I have to be there for her," I said, standing up. "So I'll be there when Isis finishes her surgery, and if all goes well, I'll see her walk again."
Trini: "You didn't have to do all that for us," she said with a smile.
Dante: "I did, or else I would have been left with this bitterness and wouldn't have been able to be okay if I hadn't been able to help my family. What would become of a hero who can help strangers but not his own family?" I said, feeling a weight lifted from my shoulders.
...
Dante: "I see," I said to Hancock, who was sitting across from me.
She was telling me all the missing pieces to complete the story.
First, Kuma did send Luffy to Amazon Lily, and almost the same thing happened as in the original story, except Hancock didn't attack Luffy for being a man but for entering her bathroom while she was cleaning.
From there, I created that coliseum where I forced Luffy to fight; only instead of fighting three Amazons, he fought the vice-captain of the Kuja Pirates, Luna Manmayer.
Now for the third thing, the joke that Luna had asked me for a Devil Fruit, and I, like a great father, got her one of the best, the Goro Goro no Mi.
The joke is that this fruit barely does anything to Luffy, and when he realizes the ability, he reveals that he has fought the previous user of the fruit. They begin to talk until they reach the point where they discuss me; from then on, Luffy and Luna become best friends, something that leaves Hancock bewildered.
Third, Luna pleads for Luffy's forgiveness, which I eventually obtain, thanks to her being the vice-captain of the Kuja Pirates. Luffy then stays at the base where Hancock, Luna, Sandersonia, Marigold, and Gloriosa are. There, Luffy discovers the imprisonment and that Ace is about to be executed.
Fourth, Luffy, with Hancock's help—all at Luna's request—helps transport me to Impel Down. I was surprised that she let Luffy touch her, but it turns out she was wearing an outfit that covered her skin, so there was no physical contact. From there, Luffy infiltrates the prison, and she goes to Marineford.
And lastly, since Hancock isn't in love with Luffy, she doesn't help him deal with Smoker, which wears him down more than he should. In the end, he manages to escape with the help of someone I never expect to hear from again: Johnny.
I heard he wants to talk to me and is waiting in Sabaody, hiding. I should go and see what he wants.
Hancock: "That's right, and to be honest, I can't allow her to train on the island, but I can allow it on the other surrounding islands, and it's not because you asked me to," she said, striking a diva pose with a tsundere attitude while smiling.
I just smiled back.
Luna: "They're not going to do anything weird like last time." She said, appearing out of nowhere.
Dante: "Like last time?" I said, somewhat surprised. The last time I did anything with Hancock was before we got married; I haven't touched her since, trying to be a good husband, something I've failed miserably at, at least in that respect.
(Note: Those indiscretions are Black Maria and Balesca, no one else.)
Hancock: "Wait a second, did you spy on us?" she said as her anger and disbelief increased exponentially.
Luna: "They weren't very good at hiding the noise, especially how you were screaming; back then I didn't really understand what was happening, but now I know what happened, or rather, Dante, yes, louder," she said, mimicking Hancock's voice and gestures.
Hancock jumped from the chair, attacking Luna, who, thanks to her newfound reflexes and speed granted by the Goro Goro no Mi, dodged as if it were a dance.
I just watched them in shock, unaware that I had destroyed my daughter's innocence, and I didn't realize it until now.
I can only say that in my place, being a man who likes women, I wouldn't have done it.
...
[He defeated Luffy, Straw Hat; his bounty is 800,000,000,000 PL].
The system notification sounded as Luffy lay motionless on the ground, breathing slowly, not to mention my foot was on his chest, making it even harder for him to breathe.
Dante: "You know, you have the same problem Ace had when I trained him, and it's not that you lack Haki, but that you don't know how to fight," I said, removing my foot from him. "They literally fight like monkeys sometimes."
Luffy was too tired to try and argue. Luna was watching everything from a distance with Rayleigh.
Luna: "Father's right; no matter how creative he is using his rubber abilities, there's no style or way to strike, why? Just because, and anywhere. If he could channel his strength in a certain way, he could deliver a blow with the force of ten."
The problem with these guys is that they just hit hard and that's it.
Let's look at my example: first of all, I'm not a fighter but a swordsman; second, I don't have a style like Zoro's, but instead I focused on one aspect, which is speed.
Luffy's fighting style is too broad and, therefore, mediocre overall; he lacks strength, defense, and speed, and he also lacks good combat strategies. He does everything on the fly, and that doesn't always work. It worked for him at Enies Lobby, so he got lucky—the protagonist's luck.
Dante: "Besides, you need a weapon," I told him.
Luffy: "No, uh, I need a weapon, uh," he said breathlessly and gasping.
Dante: "The only way you don't need a weapon is to take your strength and Haki to extreme levels like your grandfather did, but that takes time, something we don't know if you have."
Rayleigh: "I think Dante has a point here; this two-year training will only get you so far, and nowhere else. If you want to achieve your dreams, you'll need everything that's available to you."
Dante: "Unlike you, Ace, or Garp, the latter two didn't have goals as grand as yours. Garp just wanted to hunt pirates, and Ace just wanted adventure. You want to be the Pirate King, which makes you the enemy of at least 90% of the world." I told him. "Besides, I never said you should use a sword or guns or anything like that."
Luffy: "What do you mean?" he said, tilting his head back with his tongue sticking out.
Dante: "Look, stop for a moment and imitate me," I said as I raised my arms, positioning them perpendicular to my body.
While doing so, I made a purchase of about 500,000,000 PL.
The moment he was doing the same thing as me, I summoned the weapons.
Five bracelets appeared on my arms, making a total of ten. I felt the energy and connection within them.
Only two seconds passed before the weapons appeared, and I used my arms to push them into Luffy's arms. When he received them, he was thrown back about ten meters.
Rayleigh and Luna watched the scene in amazement; this type of weapon had never been seen in this world.
Luffy: "Sugoi," he said, his eyes wide as stars, staring at his arms, but his expression changed to confusion in less than two seconds. "But what are they?"
Dante: "They're called the Ten Rings; they're named that because each one is based on the design of a ring, and since there are ten, that's where the name comes from. They're bracelets that increase your strength, defense, and destructive power." I made up the name, but seeing how they are, it makes sense.
They also grant immortality and other things, but it's very limited and incomplete, not to mention some details about that.
Dante: "The rings have a connection to their wearer, but it can be taken away," I said, punching Luffy in the torso to grab a ring on each arm so they would return to me. "See?" I said as I played with the rings around my body and put them back on my arms.
Dante: "You can do many things with them, like shoot them," I said as I threw a punch in the air, and a ring flew off and hit a tree, destroying the ones that followed before returning to me. "Use them like a whip," I said as all the rings appeared, grabbing the last ones so that, as a result, the five rings would fuse together with mystical energy. With everything ready, I slammed my fist into the ground, destroying and creating a gigantic, straight-lined crater, before returning to my arm. "Or, for example, fly," I said, leaping into the air and punching downwards, launching a ring to the ground, propelling myself upwards, and then back down.
Once I landed, I turned to face the three of them, who stared at me with wide-eyed wonder.
Rayleigh: "My turn," he said, patting his chest.
Luna: "You're crazy, man; it's clearly my turn."
Luffy: "It's not my turn."
Luna: "It's not fair; you already had them."
Luffy: "But that doesn't count."
Rayleigh: "Haven't you ever heard the expression 'elders first'?"
I watched them fight over who would wear the rings next.
All I could do was sigh and laugh.
*The next day*
I had left Luna and Luffy to train with Rayleigh while I traveled to Sabaody; there were two people who wanted to see me.
Once I arrived at the archipelago, I went to Shaky's bar. When I entered, there were only two people there, one being the former captain of the Kuja Pirates and current owner of the bar, Shaky. In a corner, there was a man reading about how to coat ships; he had glasses and his long hair was tied back in a ponytail.
When he saw me, there was a tense atmosphere, which was broken when I heard Shaky speak.
Shaky: "Well, look who we have here, the great hero Dante. I'm one of your biggest fans; will you sign it for me?" she said, showing me the book Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone; just kidding, it said the Philosopher's Stone.
Dante: "Oh, sure, no problem," I said as I signed the book.
Shaky: "As a thank you, I'll give you a 5% discount on your first drink."
"Only the first time," I told myself as I stared at her, a bead of sweat forming on my forehead.
...
In the end, we ended up talking about philosophical things and the meaning of life. Johnny had a lot of time to think in prison, reflecting on his actions and their consequences. There was resentment and hatred at first, but it faded over time as he realized that blaming others for his actions wouldn't accomplish anything, so he decided to move on.
Right now, he was studying to become a shipwright on the island, having decided to leave his life of crime behind and dedicate himself to a real job, just as Rayleigh did when he left Roger's pirates.
Once he had a good income, he would go to the old kingdom he ruled, not to see how the people were doing or to return to his former rule, but to find his younger sister and find out how she was.
The last I heard of her, she was married with two children, thanks to a few visits we made to the place to see Isis's family tombs a long time ago.
I gave him a relatively peaceful and quick route to get there, and we said goodbye.
After that, I met with Law. I told him everything Doflamingo was up-to-date on: his tactics, his negotiations, and different ways to ruin his life.
My original idea was to sabotage his SMILE machines, but there was a chance that wouldn't work; it turned out to be effective in the original story for other reasons. So, I basically told him: Doflamingo might have something to appease Kaido or replace the SMILE machines, so if you want it to work, you have to ruin as many of their businesses as possible and reduce their numbers and influence. That way, he won't have any support for Kaido, and consequently, Kaido might actually go after him.
I also talked to him about allying with some leaders of the underworld, thus taking away Doflamingo's leadership.
With a well-thought-out plan, all that was left was to wait for an arm donor, and we'd be ready.
And finally, I learned the reason why Gil and Marie weren't at Marineford. It turns out they'd been promoted to vice admirals and, consequently, given command of G8, which, ironically, is located in the New World. During the war, they sent him to guard the base, fearing he might try to save Ace because they were brothers. Despite all this, Marie accompanied him to the G8 base.
...
Third-person POV.
Two years have passed since Luffy's training. During this time, he trained in various combat styles, including one Dante called Iron Fist, which involves the circulation of Chi—in this case, life energy. This doesn't affect him while he's wearing his rings, something he knows perfectly well, since Dante drilled that information into him.
On his back, he carried a bunch of things he'd brought back from his training, most of which were given to him by Dante.
While searching for the Thousand Sunny, he encountered some imposters and pacifiers, whom he easily dealt with.
This time, he reached the latter's ship, where the rest of the Straw Hats were waiting for him.
After a friendly welcome and a quick departure, they headed toward Fish-Man Island.
Amidst all this, a conversation arose.
Usopp: "Hey, Luffy, what's that you've got there?" pointing to the large bag he'd brought with him.
Luffy: "Oh, these are gifts Dante-sensei gave me for you guys."
Usopp: "Really?" he said, excited to receive a gift from one of his biggest idols.
Luffy: "Yeah, look," he said, pulling out something wrapped in a blanket. "This is for you, Nami," he said, handing it to her.
When Nami opened the gift, she saw that inside was a sansetsukon made of sea stone.
Nami: "This is it," she said, somewhat amazed.
Luffy: "He said it's one of the first weapons he made; it's called Nemesis. currently, because of his Devil Fruit, he can't use it to its full potential, so he hopes you'll use it better."
Nami just smiled at this.
Usopp: "There's something for me too," he said excitedly.
Luffy: "Here, take it," he said, handing her a wool cloth.
Usopp: "What's this?" he asked Luffy.
Luffy: "A nose hat, so your nose won't be exposed in the coldest temperatures."
Usopp couldn't help but compare his gift to Nami's.
Luffy: "Here, Sanji," he said, handing him a book. Its title was "100 Ways to Win a Lady's Heart."
Sanji was incredibly excited until he opened the book and realized it was empty. It was full of pages, but without a single word; it was all blank. Seeing this, he became so disheartened that he collapsed to the ground in utter despair.
Luffy took a knife with a 3 cm handle and a 10 cm blade, shaped like a cross, and gave it to Zoro.
Luffy: "Dante-sensei said it could also be worn as a necklace."
Zoro accepted the gift with disbelief, a flashback to what happened at Baratie flashing through his mind.
Then he pulled a hammer with a strange mechanism from his bag.
Dante: "Here, Franklin. He said it's a hammer that only hammers when you press a button."
Franklin took it, and when he pressed a button, the hammer began to strike the air on its own, without anyone moving it.
Luffy: "And this is the last one for Brook; according to him, it's a revolutionary instrument called an electric triangle," he said, handing him a metal tool with a wire attached to it with tape.
While everyone was looking at their gifts, Nami spoke up.
Nami: "Hey, Luffy, what about Robin's gift?"
At that moment, Robin appeared.
Robin: "I was with the revolutionaries, so I ran into him a few times, and he already gave me the gift."
Upon hearing this, Sanji's blood began to flow, turning his face pale as he feared the worst, given the legend of the womanizing Dante.
Sanji: "Miss Robin, don't even tell me your gift was..."
He couldn't finish, as Robin spoke.
Robin: "New glasses," she said, showing him a pair that looked to be of good quality.
At this, the blood returned to Sanji's body.
Nami: "Pervert," she said to Sanji, who was still lying on the ground.
And with all this, the Straw Hats' journey continued without further incident.