A faint hum filled the void, like a lullaby whispered across eternity. Monkey D. Luffy stirred, his eyelids fluttering as if waking from a dream he could not remember. When his vision finally cleared, he found himself surrounded by a sea of drifting, luminous clouds, shimmering with starlight. They glowed faintly like fireflies scattered across an endless night sky, forming a boundless ocean that stretched in every direction.
He blinked, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. Where am I…?
Luffy sat upright on the soft, star-speckled mist. It felt almost tangible beneath him, like a cushion of warm cotton. Curious, he reached down and scooped a handful of the glowing vapor. For a moment, the cloud remained in his palm, cool and weightless, before dissolving into motes of light that faded into nothingness.
"...Weird," he mumbled. His voice echoed faintly, swallowed by the infinite dark. All around him was emptiness—an abyss of black, punctuated only by rivers of radiant mist. There was no ground, no horizon, no up or down. Just a sky without end.
Luffy frowned, scratching his cheek with a puzzled expression. "Am I… in the sky?" The thought didn't feel right. The air was still, heavy with an absolute, eerie silence. He searched for the sun, the moon, anything that might anchor him, but found nothing.
His brows furrowed. He remembered dying. Yet here he was, alive again, wearing his familiar red vest, blue shorts, and his most precious possession—the straw hat perched snugly atop his head. His clothes, once torn and bloodied, now appeared brand new, as if washed and mended by unseen hands.
"...What's going on?" he muttered, tugging at his vest. It was real.
The silence pressed on him. Luffy cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted into the void. "HELLO! ANYONE HERE?!"
For a moment, only his echo answered. With no reply, Luffy pouted and began pacing. His eyes wandered toward the edge of the glowing cloud he sat on. Below him stretched nothingness, but scattered nearby were other clouds, glowing faintly like soft islands in a vast, starry ocean.
Curiosity sparked. "Heh. Looks like fun!"
He backed up a few steps, bent his knees, and leapt forward. "WOOOOAAHH—!"
He landed face-first onto the next cloud with a muffled fwomp. "Guehh—!" His muffled voice echoed as his face sank deep into the cushiony surface. But the cloud was unbelievably soft, like a giant mattress. Luffy rolled onto his back, laughing with childish delight. "Shishishishi! It's like a bed!"
Without hesitation, he hopped again, bouncing from one cloud to another. Each landing made him laugh harder. "This place is fun!"
After several leaps, he flopped onto one cloud, panting from excitement. His laughter faded, replaced with a thoughtful frown. "But… weird. I'm supposed to be dead. So why am I here?"
No answer came. Luffy lay down, gazing upward. The stars above glimmered like jewels scattered carelessly across the cosmos. His eyes widened with wonder. "Those stars… they look close enough to grab. Maybe I can touch one."
The thought alone seemed to stir the cloud beneath him. It shifted, gliding upward into the void. At first, Luffy didn't notice, but as the stars grew brighter and closer, he sat up with sparkling eyes. "OWOHHH! AWESOME! The cloud moves when I want it to!"
He raised his arms in triumph, laughing loudly. The cloud floated until it reached one particular star, larger and brighter than the rest. Its glow pulsed invitingly, as though waiting for him.
"Eh? You want me to touch you?" Luffy tilted his head, then grinned. "Alright then!" He stretched out his hand and brushed the star's light with his fingertips.
The world exploded in his mind.
Visions surged into him—memories that weren't his.
His eyes shot wide open. He no longer saw the cosmic darkness, but a strange world. A world with seven vast continents and three great oceans. There, the sky was filled with towering buildings that pierced the clouds. The streets were busy with people carrying small, box-shaped objects—smartphones, they called them. With those devices, they could watch videos, listen to music, talk to people far away, and even connect the entire world through something called the internet.
Luffy was amazed. "Whoaa… this world is so weird! Everyone has like a tiny Den Den Mushi in their hands!"
Yet behind that progress, the memories flowing into his head showed more than just the glittering city lights. There was a boy… living a simple life in a small village. His name was Arden.
Arden was born into a poor family. Both his parents died when he was young, leaving only his frail grandmother to care for him. Their life was hard—simple meals, working in the rice fields, sleeping in a wooden house that leaked during heavy rain. Yet, despite their poverty, his grandmother always advised him: "Arden, never give up. Study hard. One day… you must become someone who can change this country."
Those words were etched into the little boy's heart.
The vision shifted. Luffy now sat in a classroom, staring at a blackboard full of symbols he didn't understand—numbers, formulas, strange letters. Yet, through Arden's mind, he learned. He understood mathematics, science, history, and the vastness of a world mapped from the sky by machines called satellites.
His jaw dropped. They can draw a map of the whole world from up there?! Excitement bubbled in his chest as Arden's hobbies flowed into him—books filled with knowledge, tales of gods, politics, and philosophy. A world of fiction opened before Luffy's eyes, and for the first time, he felt the sensation of reading from another's perspective.
Every day, after school, Arden helped his grandmother in the fields, drawing water, weeding, even cooking. He grew up quickly, far more mature than other children. While many of his friends had to drop out of school because they couldn't afford it, Arden persevered thanks to scholarships.
However, fate was not always kind. When Arden was in junior high, his grandmother fell gravely ill. With no money for a hospital, he could only hold his grandchild's hand on a simple bed. With her last breath, the old woman whispered: "Arden… don't forget your promise. Become a person of use…"
Tears streamed down Luffy's face unconsciously. He gripped his hat tightly. "...A promise , huh…"
Arden grew up alone, but that promise became the torch guiding his life. He studied even harder, pursued higher education with scholarships, and eventually graduated from university. After that, he worked diligently for four years, learning about bureaucracy, the people, and the nation's problems. Finally, he said to himself: "Now I'm ready. I'll start small."
Arden ran for village chief. The people were initially skeptical, but he went down to the field himself: building village roads, repairing fields, cracking down on illegal levies. From village chief, he was trusted to become mayor. From mayor, he stepped up to governor. And finally, after years of hard work, he was elected president.
As president, Arden did not forget his grandmother's promise. He implemented harsh policies against corruption, purged dirty officials, and even dared to enact strict laws with the death penalty for major corruptors. He built schools in villages, ensuring poor children could still get an education. He launched poverty eradication programs, built decent housing, opened job fields, and upheld the law.
In the early days of his term, Arden still often went down to the field himself. He inspected projects, spoke directly to the people, and heard their complaints without intermediaries. But the higher his position, the more he had to entrust to his confidants. Even so, he still occasionally made secret visits to ensure his people truly felt the change.
The memory ended with Arden standing before thousands of his people. His gaze was firm, his authority palpable. He was no longer the poor boy from a small village—he was a leader who brought his nation to rise.
Luffy was silent. His chest felt tight, as if sharing the burden of the thousands of lives that man carried. Then, slowly, he smiled. "...That feels so heavy… being a leader." He looked down, then lifted his straw hat onto his head. "But it's also really cool! Shishishi!" With a blazing gaze, he clenched his fist. "In that case, I'll also become the Pirate King who's not just free… but who can also make people believe in me, just like him!"
After receiving Arden's memories, Luffy headed towards another star that called to him. The moment he touched that star, new memories and experiences flooded his mind once more.
The strange world unfolded before his eyes again. This time, it wasn't just tall buildings and busy streets. The first thing he saw was an orphanage.
He blinked, and suddenly he was small, a lonely boy sitting in an orphanage, clutching a worn-out blanket. He felt Kevin's longing, his yearning for parents who never came. Emptiness grew without a family. The boy's heart felt constricted. So this is what it's like... to be truly alone from the start.
But then came joy—Kevin laughing with the other children, learning to lead them, protect them, almost like an older brother. And at school, Kevin was active; he always participated in school events, whether as a committee member or a participant. Kevin also had many friends because of this. Kevin also loved playing music because with music, he could make people happy, and he was excellent at playing the piano and guitar.
Kevin's teenage years followed, and Luffy felt an awkward heat in his cheeks as he stumbled upon memories of dates, kisses, and even... a lot of sex. When he turned 18, he left the orphanage because he could finally get a job and a place to live. He also entered university and chose to major in musical arts because he aspired to be a musician. During his college years, a friend introduced him to anime. After discovering the world of anime, his favorite was One Piece. He even read the manga up to the Egghead arc. After watching the latest episode of the One Piece anime, he would usually open forums to discuss theories about One Piece.
After graduating, Kevin tried to make and publish his music. Although he was unknown at first, he worked side jobs during the early part of his career to make a living. After 18 months, he finally got his chance—a call from an agency saying they wanted to meet him. After the meeting, they offered him a contract. After that, the music he made began to be known by many.
The last memory from Kevin was of him holding a concert with thousands of attendees. He looked incredibly happy because he had achieved his dream.
Luffy closed his eyes, absorbing it all. He felt the loneliness, the hard work, Kevin's spirit, and the courage to chase a dream even though life was hard. "...So this is what it's like… to struggle from nothing," Luffy murmured, his face more serious this time.
Once Luffy had digested Kevin's memories and experiences, he headed towards the third star that called to him. Suddenly, a voice rang out.
"Ohhh? What's this? What's this?" The words floated from nowhere, echoing from the emptiness itself.
Luffy's eyes scanned the endless starry mist, searching for the source. Suddenly, light gathered in front of Luffy. A figure began to form, white and luminous, taking on a humanoid silhouette. Its body was vague and imperfect, lacking details—no eyes, no nose, no real features except for a single horizontal line where a mouth might be.
Luffy's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Whoa! A ghost!"
The white figure floated closer, tilting its faceless head as if observing Luffy. It tapped its chin—or where its chin should be—with exaggerated attentiveness.
"Hmm, why are you here?" the white figure asked Luffy in a confused tone.
"I don't know. When I woke up, I was already here," Luffy answered plainly. "So, do you know where I am now?"
"You are in a place called the Soul Plane..." the white figure explained in a strangely resonant voice before pausing and 'staring' at Luffy. "...This is where the souls of the deceased from the universe are gathered before they truly die... So, why are you here? This is supposed to be a place where the souls of the dead are collected, and none of them should possess consciousness."
"So you mean this is like the afterlife? But I died too," said Luffy, still processing.
"Hmm… You died, but why do you still possess consciousness…" The white figure fell silent for a moment, then 'stared' at Luffy as if understanding something. "Ahh... so that's what happened."
"What? What? What happened?" Luffy asked curiously, leaning his face closer to the white figure.
"You died, but you possess an obsession so powerful that your soul resisted the pull of the Soul Plane. And there is also another power trying to sustain your soul, preventing you from truly dying. In essence, you are a... ghost."
"Ueh… I'm a ghost!?" Luffy was shocked, then asked the white figure, "But aren't you a ghost too?"
"Me? I am not a ghost," the figure refuted. "I am a being that lives in a higher dimension. But people from your dimension often call us by the name... gods. But you can just call me White."
"Awesome!? I thought you were a ghost, but you're actually a god!" Luffy exclaimed with excitement, his eyes shining like a child seeing a new toy.
"You should return to your world. Your presence here could disrupt the balance of the Soul Plane," White said to Luffy, his tone flat yet authoritative.
"Even if you say that, I don't know how to get back to my world," Luffy whined, pouting. Then he looked at White. "You said you can be called a god, right? So can you help me get back to my world?"
White seemed to consider it. "I could help you return to your world. But, I cannot bring you back to life. I can only grant you a few hours to... improve your condition. That is all."
"So you can send me back?! Yahoo!" Luffy cheered happily, jumping up and down on the cloud.
"Wait," White interjected. "I cannot bring you back to life. I can only give you a few hours. The rest is up to you and your fate."
"Wait-wait. So if you send me back to my world, I'll still be dying?" asked Luffy, finally catching the important point.
"Clever," White praised, giving Luffy a 'thumbs up,' though the shape of his hand was still vague. "Even if I return you to your world, I can only give you a few hours. The rest is up to you. If you do not use this chance well, you will likely return here... but in a state of being truly dead. No consciousness. Just a soul waiting to dissolve."
"In that case..." Luffy became serious for a moment, his hand touching his straw hat. "Can you give me some time? I want to think of a way to survive." After saying that, Luffy sat cross-legged on the cloud, his face showing a rare look of concentration.
"Very well. If that is your wish," White replied, standing by and observing.
About 30 minutes passed. Luffy's head began to emit literal 'steam' from overthinking—a literal expression of his confusion. His face scrunched up, frowned, and he occasionally scratched his head. Suddenly, he stood up and broke into a wide smile, letting out his characteristic laugh. "Shishishi! I've got an idea!"
"So, are you ready?" White asked.
"Ouh... I'm ready!" Luffy answered with burning enthusiasm, his fist clenched with conviction.
The Soul Plane trembled. Light swirled around Luffy, enveloping him like a shroud. He felt his body—or his consciousness—being pulled, yanked back towards something heavy, something real. A strange sensation flowed through him, as if every cell was being reassembled. His chest burned hot, as if fire had been poured into his veins, reminding him of the wounds he had left behind.
The glowing cloud beneath him shattered. The surrounding darkness split apart.
And Monkey D. Luffy opened his eyes once more...
...in the world of the living.
The familiar world—the smell of earth, iron, and blood—greeted him. The sound of distant rustling and footsteps. And the immense, piercing pain throughout his body, confirming White's words. He was back. But the fight for survival had just begun.