Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Have you ever heard the story of the ope ope no mi?
It’s a devil fruit of a very special kind, that I can guarantee.
It cannot be found, it finds you.
But it can heal any illness, even those that thought death was due.
The ability to become a god is one that many want but only one can obtain.
They say you need to sacrifice a life in order to gain.
Many have tried, but not one has yet to obtain the fruit.
Will you be the one to pursue this route?
If you wish to obtain the ope ope no mi then hear these words:

If it is the ope ope no mi that you seek, then remember all that you love.
If it is the ope ope no mi that you seek, then a sacrifice must be made.
To heal an incurable disease is not an easy feat.
A life for a life is what the ope ope no mi seeks.

It started with a boy. A boy who was the only survivor of a massacre. A boy who is slowly dying from amber lead syndrome. He travels the world alone, slowly surviving on the fruit he finds in the wilderness.

Then one day, he meets a man. He’s tall, with blond hair, wears white sunglasses with red lenses, and a pink feathered coat.

“My name is Donquixote Doflamingo,” he says. “I can give you a place to stay and provide you with food and clothes if you do me a favor.”

“What’s the favor?” The boy asks.

“You help me look for the ope ope no mi fruit.”

“Deal.”

The boy followed Doflamingo back to his house. Flamingos statues litter the huge lawn of the mansion. The inside of the house was huge, with a huge staircase leading to multiple floors, and a giant chandelier suspended from the ceiling. It was clearly the house of somebody who has money, and lots of it.

“This is where you’ll be staying,” Doflamingo says.

“When will I help you find the fruit?” The boy asks.

“Don’t worry about it. You staying here will help me find it.”

The boy, not knowing anything about the devil fruit, nods and accepts this answer. He gets used to living with Doflamingo, who treats him kindly and always asks after him. However, his illness is catching up to him, and he’s starting to spend each day longer and longer in bed. Doflamingo begins to take notice.

“What’s wrong with you? Are you sick?” Doflamingo asks.

“I’m dying,” the boy states.

“Dying? From what?”

“What everyone from my village was killed over.”

“Why didn’t you say something? I could have gotten you help.”

“There is no cure.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll find a cure.”

And with that, Doflamingo turns around quickly and leaves the boy’s bedroom. The boy doesn’t notice the nasty grin that materializes on Doflamingo’s face.

A week after that conversation, Doflamingo introduces the boy to somebody new. He also has blond hair like Doflamingo, that is covered by a dark red hood which two heart-like shapes hang from. He wears a dark purple feathered coat on top of his white shirt with pink hearts. He’s wearing eye makeup underneath one eye only, and wearing lipstick in the shape of a permanent smile.

“This is my brother, Corazon,” he states. “He’s here to help me look for the devil fruit and find a cure for you.”

“Hi Law,” Corazon says with a smile. “Don’t worry, you’re going to get better soon.”

After that, the boy gets dragged all around to various hospitals. Each time, the hospital kicks them out after one look at him, not even bothering to treat the boy. Corazon still doesn’t give up and keeps trying to find a hospital who will help.

“Why do you keep trying?” The boy asks.

“Because you deserve to live,” Corazon states.

“I should die like everybody else in my village did.”

Corazon gets on his knees and cups the boy’s face with his hands. “I’m sorry about your village Law. But I won’t stop trying to find a cure for you. You deserve to live, you deserve to be happy.”

Despite all his efforts, Corazon has yet to find a hospital that would treat the boy. But one day, Doflamingo tells Corazon about a miracle that could help the boy. A devil fruit.

“The ope ope no mi is said to cure the incurable. You just have to find it, and the boy will live.”

Corazon takes the boy and proceeds to look for the ope ope no mi, in order to find a cure for the boy so he can live. He asks around, going to many different places, until he finally gets his first clue from a random villager.

“You’re looking for the ope ope no mi? The god fruit?” The villager asks.

“A god fruit?” Corazon asks.

“Yes, it’s rumored that the ope ope no mi has the power to turn somebody into a god. Turn you immortal.”

“Where can I find this fruit?”

“If it is the ope ope no mi that you seek, then remember all that you love.
If it is the ope ope no mi that you seek, then a sacrifice must be made.
To heal an incurable disease is not an easy feat.
A life for a life is what the ope ope no mi seeks.
That is how you find the devil fruit. But nobody has found it to this day.” The villager states.

Corazon then remembers a time when his brother loved his father, before he murdered him in cold blood. ‘Has he been looking for the devil fruit this whole time?’ Corazon thinks. ‘Is he willing to kill Law for this fruit?’

Corazon keeps trying to search for the fruit, ignoring the calls from his brother, for weeks with the boy. Over this period of time, the boy grows increasingly ill, until he can no longer walk on his own and has to be carried by Corazon.

‘Please, please,’ Corazon pleads. ‘Please let Law live. I’m willing to give my life for him, please let him live.’

The next day, Corazon and the boy come across a box. Corazon opens the box and sees a red heart shaped fruit. Corazon knows deep inside, this is the fruit he’s been looking for.

“Law, Law wake up.” Corazon says to the boy on his back.

“Corazon,” the boy says. “What is it?”

“You’re gonna be okay, Law.”

Corazon bends down and places the boy inside the box, next to the fruit.

“Eat this fruit and live, Law. And remember, I love you.”

Corazon then closes the box and uses his devil fruit power on it. His devil fruit creates a soundproof field around the box, so nobody can hear the cries of the boy as he becomes aware of what’s happening.

Corazon knew his time was coming up. He could feel it in his bones. He knew his brother was a bad man, who killed their father to become a god, and he knew it was only a matter of time before Doflamingo came after him too.

Corazon hides the box in the woods, then goes and sits in an empty field waiting for his brother.

“Hello brother,” Doflamingo states. “You haven’t been answering any of my calls.”

“Are you going to kill me too, just like you killed father?” Corazon asks.

“No hard feelings, it’s only for the sake of becoming a god and living forever.”

“You’ll never find the fruit.”

“Where is it? I know you found it, where is it?!” Doflamingo rages.

“I'd rather die than ever tell you.”

Doflamingo then pulls out a gun and shoots Corazon multiple times. Doflamingo rushes off in a frenzy, trying to look for the fruit. Corazon clings onto life to give the boy more time to escape. As Corazon feels himself slowly fade he can’t help but to think with a smile, ‘a life for a life for somebody I love.’

Chapter Text

“You’ve never heard the story of the ope ope no mi?” A blond haired boy with a curly eyebrow asks. He has a cigarette lit in his right hand.

“Shishishi, Ace used to tell me a story about a devil fruit as a kid! About a fruit you need to go on an adventure to find. But he said somebody already found it.” A black haired boy with a straw hat on top of his head says. He’s wearing a sleeveless red vest, and has a scar underneath his eye.

“Somebody did find it, Luffy. Trafalgar D. Water Law.”

“Trafgl-Trafg-Traffy-Torao? Who’s Torao?” Luffy asks.

The blond haired boy smacks Luffy on the top of his head.

“Owww Sanji what was that for!” Luffy pouts.

“Show some respect!” Sanji demands. “How do you not know who the God of death is?”

“I thought those were just stories!”

“Gods are real! And Law was the one who found the ope ope no mi fruit. They say that he became a god when he ate the fruit.”

“Oi oi how did he find the fruit? I want to know about the adventure he went on to find it!”

“Well they say that a sacrifice needs to be made to find the fruit. ‘If it is the ope ope no mi that you seek, then remember all that you love. If it is the ope ope no mi that you seek, then a sacrifice must be made.

To heal an incurable disease is not an easy feat. A life for a life is what the ope ope no mi seeks. ‘ So he must have had to make a sacrifice to find the fruit.”

Luffy has a frown on his face as he looks down at his feet.

“What’s wrong Luffy?” Sanji asks, concerned for his friend.

“Well I was just thinking that it’s kinda sad.”

“What’s sad?”

“That somebody he loved had to die for him!”

“Huhhh where did you get that idea?”

“It’s what you said. If you love somebody so much that you want to save them, then you need to sacrifice your life for theirs! I just can’t help but to think that it's sad. I would never want somebody to die for me.”

“Luffy a sacrifice could have been anything. It doesn’t mean somebody he loved died for him. He’s probably happy right now, being a god and all.”

“Hmm well I think being a god would be lonely. You gotta live forever all alone with nobody to talk to.”

“Well you could always talk to him, you know. Just pray to him, Gods hear every prayer. He might not always answer, but he hears every single one.”

“I will pray to him! That way we can become friends and he won’t be so lonely!”

Later that night, before Luffy went to sleep he sent a little prayer.

“Hi Torao! I’m sorry that somebody you loved died for you. But that means that they loved you so much they wanted you to live, and I can’t be sad that you lived! Shishishi let’s be friends! My name is Monkey D. Luffy! I’m going to be the freest man in the world! Goodnight Torao!”

Day after day, night after night Luffy kept praying without receiving a response. Until a month passes, when suddenly somebody appears in Luffy’s room. He’s tall, with black hair, and he has blue spots decorating his whole body. He’s wearing a blue open shirt, with matching blue flowy pants. He has tattoos all over his body, with D.E.A.T.H. tattooed along the knuckles of his hands. 

“Why do you keep trying?” The mysterious man asks.

“Trying what?” Luffy asks with a tilted head.

“To be my friend.”

“Shishishi because you are my friend Torao!”

“Everybody I have ever known has died. Why would you want to be my friend? So I can watch you die too?”

“Everybody dies Torao! That doesn’t mean you have be alone. And why wouldn’t I want to be your friend? Everybody deserves a friend, even Torao!”

“You-you” the god splutters. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Shishishi it’s nice to meet you Torao! My name is Monkey D. Luffy! I’m going to be the freest man in the world.”

“My name is Trafalgar D. Water Law, not Torao!”

““Trafgl-Trafg-Traffy-Torao.” Luffy nods. “That’s what I said!”

“Just say Law!”

“Okay Torao!” Luffy beams.

They kept talking everyday. Law realized that he’s attached to his new friend now, despite his best efforts to not become friends. Luffy is excited about his new friend Torao, who tells him all these stories about the people he has helped.

One day, Law comes to Luffy asking for help.

“I need your help Luffy,” Law states.

“What do you need Torao?” Luffy asks.

“There’s this man, Doflamingo, he killed somebody I loved. And he keeps killing people. He’s killing little kids now, to try and find the ope ope no mi fruit, and I need your help to stop him.”

“I thought Torao has the ope ope no mi fruit?”

“I do, but he’s still trying to look for it on his own. He thinks that if he keeps sacrificing people that the fruit will choose him and he can become a god.”

“What does Torao need me to do to stop Doffy?”

“As a god, I’m not supposed to interfere with mortals. So I can’t stop him myself, but you can.”

“I’ll help you! Let’s go find him and I’ll kick his butt.”

“I’ll have my animal companion Bepo guide you. He can help you find where Doflamingo is.”

A white polar bear mink appears in Luffy’s room. He’s wearing an orange jumpsuit that has a design on it that looks similar to the tattoo on Law’s chest.

Luffy and Bepo head out the following day to Doflamingo’s hideout. Luffy sneaks in through a window, where he finds three little kids sitting in a cell. He helps the little kids escape out the window they came in. He tells Bepo to help the kids find help and leave him to fight Doflamingo by himself. Bepo agrees and they split ways.

Luffy crawls out the window and goes around to the entrance of Doflamingo’s hideout. 

“Doffy come outside so I can kick your ass!” Luffy yells.

“Oh? And who do you think you are?” Doflamingo struts out of his hideout.

“My name is Monkey D. Luffy and I’m going to kick your ass! You won’t be able to hurt anybody anymore.”

“We’ll see about that.”

Doflamingo pulls out his gun as Luffy runs towards him. A gunshot goes off and Luffy’s straw hat goes flying. Luffy pulls back his fit and punches Doflamingo right in the face. His gun goes flying out of his hand. Luffy then punches Doflamingo again, before he’s able to regain his senses, and his head goes flying backwards and hits the stone wall of his hideout. He lands harshly on the ground, knocked out.

“Torao, I did it!” Luffy yells. 

“Thank you Luffy.” Trafalgar says. “Corazon would be happy.”

“Shishishi it was no problem.”

While Luffy and Law are talking, they don't see the flamboyant blond regaining consciousness until a gunshot rings out. Luffy looks down and sees a bullet hole straight through his stomach. Doflamingo is then knocked out by Law in a fit of rage.

“Oh,” Luffy states. 

“Luffy, Luffy you’re going to be okay,” Law says desperately. Law puts his hands on top of Luffy’s wound, applying pressure. “Bepo went with the kids to get help and they’ll be back soon and you’re going to be okay it’s going to be alright you’ll be fine you’ll”

“Shishishi it’s okay Torao. Everybody dies someday. At least those kids are safe.”

“You’re not going to die on me Luffy, I forbid you to die on me.”

“It’s okay Torao. It’s okay.”

“I can save you, Luffy. Become a god with me. You’ll live forever and watch everybody you love but you’ll live. Please don’t die Luffy, please.” Law prays.

“If I become a god, Torao won’t be lonely?”

“I could never be lonely with you by my side.”

“Okay, I’ll become a god with Torao.”

Have you ever heard the story of the God of Death and his Sun?

They say he saved his life when a prayer was sung.

He hears the voices of the desperate and the damned.

He saves those who thought all was lost.

For he knows what it’s like to feel helpless at all costs.

For when he was at his lowest, one man noticed.

And he remembers his sacrifice for all of time to come.

And when he asked for help to avenge the one he lost,

who came calling but that of his Sun.

His Sun came and went and defeated the bird,

until he was shot and almost took his last breath.

But the God of Death asked him to join him and he said yes.

And now the God of Death is not alone any more.