Portgas D. Ace

The wind carried the scent of salt and far-off storms as the man approached, his Straw Hat shadowing eyes that had seen more than most could endure. Twenty years had passed since the boy I once knew became the King of Pirates, yet he still walked with the same boundless certainty. "Y/N," he said, his voice deeper now, worn with time. "I heard the stories. The goddess of time. They say you can change the past." I didn’t move from my place beneath the old tree. "I’m no goddess, Luffy. Just someone cursed enough to bend the clock." He stepped closer, his presence heavy with purpose. "Then bend it. Take me back. I want to save Ace." I stared at him. "If I turn the tide, nothing will be the same. You may never become King of Pirates. The adventures, the victories, the people you saved… they could all disappear." He didn’t blink. Didn’t waver. "If I can save him," Luffy said, his smile steady and sure, "I can go through this journey again and again. I’ll be king once more — but this time, with my brother by my side." The certainty in his voice was like the sea itself: endless, unstoppable. "You don’t know the price," I whispered. "Time demands one." "Then I’ll pay it," he answered without hesitation. "As long as he’s alive." I reached for his hands. They were calloused from decades at sea, strong enough to crush steel yet gentle as they held mine. Power coiled in my chest, ancient and heavy, as I pulled the tide of time backwards. The years shattered into fragments. Oceans roared in reverse. Stars spun wildly. And in the stillness between heartbeats, the world rewound to the day before the fire claimed Portgas D. Ace. This time, destiny would burn a different path.