One Piece: Legacy of the Pirate King

Chapter 20

One Piece: Legacy of the Pirate King

The sea around the Thousand Sunny turned silent—as if holding its breath.

Ahead, beneath the scarlet moonlight, shimmered a chasm in the water. It didn't roar or crash like whirlpools. It pulsed… as if alive.

Cymos stood at the helm, expression darker than ever.

"The Fifth Pillar lies beneath us," he said. "In the ruins of a city the world erased from time. A place once called Dawnara."

Lian's eyes widened. "That's the name Imu said."

Luffy stepped forward, hat shadowing his face.

"…That's where my mother lived."

Robin glanced at him, eyes soft. "You're sure?"

He nodded.

"She left me on Foosha Island… but she was born in Dawnara. It was a kingdom that opposed the Celestial Dragons during the Dawn Rebellion. They called her the 'Seer of Time.'"

Sanji lit a cigarette. "Let me guess. She vanished right before the Void Century?"

"No," Cymos said, "She ended it."

Descent into the Deep.

The Sunny, now equipped with underwater sails and deep-sea shields—crafted by Franky and imbued with sea-kairo energy—dived into the Chasm of Bloodlight.

Thousands of meters below the surface, the waters turned crimson.

Shapes drifted in the dark.

Cities.

Statues.

Ships, fossilized mid-sink.

Then, like an impossible dream, they saw it.

Dawnara.

A city of coral and crystal, shaped like a spiral sun, glowing with the last breath of ancient magic. Buildings curved like songlines, each one still humming a faint note.

And at its center, untouched by time… stood the Fifth Time Pillar.

But surrounding it was a temple of obsidian, carved with symbols no one dared read.

And within…

A throne.

A woman.

She stood the moment they approached.

Her hair floated like silver fire in the water, bound by moonlace threads. Her eyes—deep gold with flecks of red—held power and sorrow.

And on her back…

The D.

Not as an initial.

But as a brand.

Luffy swam forward.

Stopped just feet away.

"…Mom."

She smiled softly. "You've grown, Monkey."

Lian whispered, "That's Grandma?"

Robin murmured, "She looks barely thirty…"

Cymos nodded. "She was sealed here by the contract of fate. The fifth pillar is anchored to her life. She cannot leave. And she cannot die."

Luffy stood still.

"I always wondered. Why did you leave me?"

Dawnara stepped down from the throne, barefoot over glowing sand.

"Because if I didn't… the world would've burned."

She reached up and touched his scar.

"You have Joy Boy's smile. And Dragon's fire. But my blood… my burden… is why the World Government tried to kill you before you were born."

Luffy didn't flinch.

"Tell me."

Dawnara looked at the crew—then at Lian.

"I was the last Time Seer of the Moonblood line. I saw the moment the Collapse would begin. I saw you, Luffy—born to end or renew it. And I chose silence."

She turned to Cymos.

"And you broke the seal."

Cymos bowed. "The Collapse began regardless. We needed you."

Suddenly, the Pillar behind them flickered violently.

Black cracks spread across its core.

Dawnara gasped.

"He's coming."

Luffy drew his hat low. "Who?"

The water around them twisted.

Reality shattered.

And from the dark emerged a face they hadn't seen since Marineford.

Akainu.

Or something worse.

A fusion of magma and memory.

His face burned with distorted justice.

"I am what remained when the World Government tried to forget. You call me Akainu… but now, I am the Flame of Final Judgement."

The Battle of Dawnara began.

Robin summoned sea glyphs.

Zoro clashed with blazing magma blades.

Sanji ignited the water around him in blue fire.

But the enemy wasn't just strong—it burned time.

Every hit Akainu landed didn't cause pain—it erased seconds from the victims' lives.

Cymos collapsed, aged by five years in one blow.

Hancock screamed as her reflection in the water turned old and cracked.

And Lian…

He was next.

Until Dawnara stepped forward.

"No more."

She unleashed her full power.

Her Chrono Blessing turned the water gold.

Time itself slowed.

She pulled Lian close.

"You were never meant to fight this young."

And gave him her essence.

Light exploded from Lian.

His body glowed gold and white.

His eyes shone like stars.

And with a cry, he unleashed Chrono Drive: Epoch Form.

He warped behind Akainu and struck—once, twice, thrice—each blow undoing the seconds the magma beast had stolen.

Luffy followed with Gear Fifth: Cosmic Sun Mode, wrapping Akainu in a storm of laughter, rubber, and flame.

With a father and son united, the enemy was crushed—erased from the timeline.

Only ash remained.

The Fifth Pillar stabilized.

But at a cost.

Dawnara fell to her knees.

Luffy caught her.

"You're free now," he whispered.

She smiled.

"I only wish I could've met your family. Properly."

She looked at Hancock.

"You were always the one I wanted for him."

And to Lian:

"You are our legacy. Burn bright, child of the sun."

Then her body became starlight—and vanished into the sea.

The city dimmed.

And the crew left in silence.

That night, Luffy sat at the deck, alone with the straw hat in his lap.

Robin approached.

"She died for you. Twice."

He nodded.

"Now I'll live. For all three of us."

Elsewhere…

The Echo Child stood at the Sixth Pillar.

Surrounded by time wraiths.

He stared into the glyphs and whispered:

"Mother. Father. It's time I show them the truth."

Behind him, Imu stood… no longer cloaked.

But revealed.

A being of shifting forms—neither man nor woman.

And no longer alone.

For around him stood seven chairs.

And all were now occupied.

End of Chapter 20

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The Sixth Pillar lies in the ruins of Laugh Tale, where the final message of Joy Boy awaits. But nothing is as it seems. The island itself is alive. And buried beneath its surface is the answer to the world's greatest mystery: What is the Will of D?