We docked at a small village, on a small island in East Blue. It was nice and quant. Simple. I guess we should have had expected Luffy's village to be simple- he was a simple person himself after all. It just seemed so... small. It was hard to imagine Luffy, with such a big personality and presence, to have come from here.

People stared at us as we walked through the village, whispers coming from every direction. But we didn't know where to go... until we came across a bar. Brook mentioned that we should go in and ask around for information- with how small this village is, they probably know where Luffy would be buried.

Buried...

As we silently walked in, the bartender turned around to greet us. She was a young woman who seemed to be working on her own today. But as she saw us her breath caught, and her eyes began to widen. It was silent as we walked forward to take seats in front of her bar. She closed her eyes for a moment as we seated, and then opened them again, smiling.

"What can I get for you all?" We told her each what we wanted to drink, and she went to fetch them. She took her time... which we were glad for. None of us were in a hurry to see him. We were afraid to. Even now, his death didn't seem final. As if there was still a chance he would run to us, to pout and treat us like idiots for leaving their captain behind.

The bartender finished grabbing us our drinks, but she continued to stand in front of us just silently smiling a warm smile. She probably knew who were were- after all, Luffy's wanted poster was hung up behind her on the wall. His face smiling at us as we... just sat.

After a long silence, Robin looked up to the woman. "We're here to see Luffy, but we don't know where to go. Do you know where we could find his... where we could find him?". The bartender nodded. "Yes, I can take you there once you're finished with your drinks if you like."

A solemn silence fell again, until Brook spoke up to talk to the bartender again. "Were you close with Luffy-san... um forgive me, we are-"

"It's ok." She interrupted. "I know who you all are. You're all Luffy's friends, his crew. I was looking forward to meeting you all someday but this... this isn't how I wanted to meet you all." She wiped away tears that had started to come. She grabbed a wet beer jug and started to dry it with a cloth. "I'm Makino. I'm the bartender here. I used to look after Luffy as he grew up. Garp was often too busy with his responsibilities as a marine, and his parents weren't around, so I would often feed Luffy here and teach him whatever I could." Hey eyes seemed distant, as if she saw things in the bar we couldn't see as she continued to talk. "Luffy... he would sit where you're sitting right now and talk about being a pirate. It was right there that he stretched across the room when Shanks pulled him after he ate the devil fruit... I was so worried about him." She stopped drying the glass and looked back at everyone. "If you could... please tell me sometime about the adventures you all went on together! I want to know... if being a pirate was everything Luffy had hoped it would be."

She was too young to be his mother, but we saw how she cared for Luffy. What a lovely kind woman... I'm sure Luffy caused her a lot of problems. We finished our drinks and Makino started to lead us through the forest. In the distance hoever, we could hear it getting rowdy. Someone seemed to be yelling.

As we cleared through the tree's, we were surprised by what we saw. The first thing we noticed was all the people crowded together on this hill. A group of what looked like some weak bandits, with one large woman with a peg leg, stood before Ace who was bowing. Garp and Coby stood nearby watching as they were being yelled at by some small older man wearing yellow glasses and a spiraled hat. From the sounds of it, he was yelling at Garp about having all these pirates on the island. And yeah, there were a lot. Along with Ace, it appears that the Whitebeard crew came with him to show their respects, Jinbe with them. Shanks and his entire crew were there too, sitting against some tree's with drinks in their hands. Interestingly, Mihawk was here with them too. So was Rayleigh. Ussop was particuarly interested in that group- it would only be the second time he had seen his father. We also noticed other people from our travels, non-pirates who had come. Vivi came running towards us, and hugged Nami as she started to cry. Nami held her tightly. They all recognized people from their own villages too- Nami saw her sister Nojiko and Genzo. Chef Zeff, Dalton, Doctor Kureha, and Iceberg were standing spread throughout the hillside. After all Luffy had done to save their homes, they wanted to come to pay respect to the one stranger who was willing to help them. There were also a group of women- one that some recognized as the Empress Hancock- who were sobbing nearby.

Everyone gathered fell silent one by one as they noticed the Straw Hat crews arrival. And it was in the midst of this silence that they noticed a small clearing nearby, one that looked out over the ocean. The ocean that sparkled under the light of the bright sun was breathtaking, but it was the dull tombstone that did the job.

There... he was.

Even though they were surrounded by family and friends they hadn't seen in a long time, and surrounded by some of the worlds most infamous pirates, they forgot all about them as they walked towards his grave.

His tombstone simply read: 'MONKEY D. LUFFY'. Leaning against his grave was his straw hat, and three sake cups- 2 filled, 1 empty- sat over the dirt. Over the dirt that... covered his body.

They hadn't seen Luffy in so long. They missed him so much. His loud laugh, the noise of his sandals clapping as he ran, the sight of him sitting on the ships mast always looking ahead of them. To think he was right there with them... under the ground. Silent. Unmoving. Seeing his hat again without him wearing it... it was unbearable. Some of them wanted to drop to the ground in their grief and just cry, but they knew they couldn't lose face in front of their captain they hadn't seen in so long.

What was there to say. Luffy's existance, what he meant to everyone there, was so much more than they could ever put into words. They could all talk for hours but... they couldn't. It was hard enough not to break out into tears.

Behind the crew, everyone began to crowd and look down at the small grave. And then, one by one... they approached.

Zoro mumbled something to Ussop, who kneeled in front of the tombstone and etched in with his tools- 'BELOVED CAPTAIN'. They stood aside so others could get past and say what they needed to.

The Whitebeard pirates thanked him for his help in saving Ace, and expressed regret for not getting to ever officially meet him, and spend time with him as one of their commanders family. They spoke to the crew then and let them know that they would come and aid them if it was ever needed, to protect the crew Monkey D. Luffy left behind.

Makino came and kissed the stone.

Dadan just stood in front of it in silence and took her time to step away.

Garp stood too. He looked exhuasted, his eyes dull and washed out. Looking down at his grandson.

Coby followed along close to Garp. He could barely see past all his tears that he aggresively tried to rub away.

Mihawk came and also expressed regret, regret that he would never be able to see the world that Luffy would have made as King of the Pirates. Regret to not be able to see the fruits of Luffy's potential.

Hancock was next, but she couldn't bear the weight. She fell to her knees, sobbing. The only words she could muster were apologies, until a group of women picked her off her feet and took her away. One of the women, a blonde curly haired on, lingered at the grave for a little bit before moving on with the rest of the group.

Rayleigh was next. He stood there and looked down, and then moved his eyes to the view of the ocean. On these sea's, many great men and women lose their lives. He remembered Gol D. Roger, and wondered if- for just a moment- whether the One Piece was truly worth the lives it continued to take. 'Was this promising young mans death a result of our own adventure... Roger?'

Shanks and his crew stood before the grave next, and guilt washed over him. He didn't regret making that promise with Luffy- he was sure Luffy wouldn't have- but regardless, he is where is he is today, right at this moment... thanks to the day he placed this hat on that child. The hat of a King... how heavy. He closed his eyes, and stormed away. His crew looked on Luffy sadly, and then followed.

Nami, Sanji, Chopper and Franky watched as their friends and family, representatives of their villages and homes, came to thank Luffy for what they did for them all.

Vivi stood tall now whilst her guards stood to the side. Luffy had helped her save her Kingdom. Even though they met as enemies, he decided to help her. He even fought a Warlord of the Sea for her. She had wanted to become a pirate with them so so badly... but she knew she had her responsibilities as a Princess, especially after everything that happened, especially for her Kingdom she loved so much. She chose being a Princess over a Pirate, and so now she would stand tall as fitting a royal subject. Her tears continued to fall however, as she repeated "Thank you" to her savior under the grave.

Last of all... was Ace. The entire time he had been waiting... he hadn't noticed a thing. All he could see was Luffy and himself as children sitting where his grave now stood. Looking out onto the sea with big dreams. He couldn't see anything else. He was... overcome. With sadness for losing his brother. With anger at Akainu for killing him, for himself for letting it happen. With guilt for being the reason Luffy and Whitebeard were there in the first place. With emptiness for still being alive. Knowing he had to keep living this life his small, weak little brother sacrificed for him. He looked down now... looked down at Luffys grave. And he collapsed. He scratched at the dirt, balling it in his hands as he yelled. Nothing to say, too much to say. This immense feeling of loss.

As Marco came to take Ace, Ace noticed the three cups of sake. He wasn't entirely sure that he knew what he saw. For now, he would believe that the lonliness of being the last of three brothers made him see things that weren't there. He allowed himself to hope that maybe Sabo was still alive... but also feared it. If Sabo really was alive then... surely he would never forgive Ace for letting Luffy die.

It had been about 2 hours now. The sun didn't shine as bright as it did before. Everyone returned to the village, but noticed that the town centre in front of the docks was lively. There were tables and tables of food, and barrels of all kinds of alcohol. Music was blasting, and there was a memorial set up with Luffys wanted poster in the front. It seems that the villagers who had seen all these people had made preparations for a party, to celebrate Luffys life.

Everyone still felt terrible, but they partied late into the night. They ate and drank, joked and danced, and they all told stories about Luffy to each other- how silly Luffy was as a child, and how silly Luffy was as a pirate captain. The crew got to hear how Luffy was before they ever met him, and everyone else got to hear about all the crazy things he did once he left this villiage. At Luffys grave, two hooded men- one with a burn and another with a tattoo on his face- stood silently. They looked onwards, and etcheched their own words onto his grave.

Back at the party, everybody laughed at everything. Luffy, sitting behind the crowds, laughed the hardest.

As dawn came and everyone was fast asleep on the ground, Luffy walked towards the sea. He put his straw hat on, and turned around to smile at everyone he ever cared about.

"Shishishishi... Bye, everyone! Thanks... for everything". He knew they would be fine, but it was time for him to go. He didn't want it to end, he wanted to continue to sailing with everyone. But he knew everyone would fulfil their goals. He wasn't worried.

And so, Luffy got onto a small wooden boat, which drifted towards the ocean. In the distance, he could see the Going Merry waiting for him to come, and board him once him again.

The grave he left behind, he wasn't there anymore.

R. I. P. MONKEY D. LUFFY: BELOVED CAPTAIN, BELOVED BROTHER, BELOVED SON

- Authors Note:

Hi everyone. I can't believe after all these years people have still been favouriting it and following it etc. so I thought it was about time I finally finish it. Sorry that I didn't put more chapters focusing on characters like Dragon, but I didn't want to write for a character we still don't know much about. Others like Vivi and Mihawk was just laziness to be honest. I never really wanted to go the ghost route but I honestly can't think of writing a One Piece story without Luffy being in it in some way or another. Thanks for everyone who supported, and sorry if the ending didn't meet prior expectations!