The sky above Laugh Tale was brighter than any Luffy had ever seen. A sea of clouds drifted lazily as the sun began to set, casting golden streaks over the endless Grand Line. Wind howled softly through the ancient stones, whispering the secrets of a forgotten era. The final island—the grave of dreams, legends, and truths—stood quiet beneath his feet.
And in that silence, he smiled.
His straw hat—tattered, weathered, yet proud—rested gently in his hands. It had been with him from the beginning. From Foosha Village… to this place. From that day Shanks placed it on his head and promised, "Bring it back to me when you're a great pirate."
Now, he was more than that.
Monkey D. Luffy, the fifth Emperor of the Sea, no longer needed a crown or title to define him.
He had found it.
The One Piece.
The treasure that no one else could reach, the truth that Gol D. Roger once laughed at. He had laughed too—not out of ridicule, but joy.
Because everything he believed in—freedom, friendship, adventure—was right. He had lived it all.
Behind him, the Going Merry's figurehead stood rebuilt on the Thousand Sunny's prow, placed there by Franky as a tribute to their journey. Around him, his crew rested, battered but smiling. Zoro leaned against a rock, arms crossed and swords at his side. Nami was scribbling notes about ancient weather patterns. Sanji lit a cigarette, his hands trembling slightly. Robin, Usopp, Franky, Brook, Chopper, and Jinbei—every one of them had made it.
Together, they had changed the world.
The seas had shifted. The World Government was broken. The Celestial Dragons had fallen. The Revolutionary Army, led by Dragon and Sabo, had risen. The Marines were fractured. A new balance had begun.
But Luffy? He didn't care for politics.
He stood for freedom. And now, that freedom came with an unexpected question:
"What now?"
He stared at the hat again.
He remembered Ace… his brother's grave… Sabo's tears… his own pain. He remembered Merry's farewell… the thousands he'd saved… the friends he'd made, and the enemies he left behind.
He remembered her.
Boa Hancock.
The woman who had never stopped loving him.
The woman who once said she would never marry, then said she would marry only him.
And for the first time, Luffy felt something warm, foreign, but real. Not hunger, not thrill—
Desire.
Not for adventure…
But for peace.
For love.
For family.
He placed the straw hat gently on the rock beside him and looked into the horizon.
"I guess… it's time I asked her."
🌅 End of Prologue
The Pirate King had reached the end of the sea.
But the journey of his heart—of legacy—was just beginning.