chapter 14

The trip to the headmaster's office was very silent and uneventful. The sun was close to setting as they made their way into the elevator that would take them to their destination. Everyone remained quiet, even Luffy and Nora, and had many thoughts as to why Ozpin needed to speak to them.

When they reached the top floor, they were greeted to the sight of an open room with a single desk and clockwork gears below the floor and visible through the ceiling.

Ozpin is currently sitting behind the desk with his hands interlaced together waiting for them to get comfortable. This could be a very lengthy discussion.

"Professor, can you at least tell us why you brought us here?"

Ruby asked with a tone of anxiety. The professor adopted a look of contemplation, trying to collect his thoughts on where to start.

"I brought you here to help disclose the details of Luffy's circumstances with the rest of your team as well as team JNPR. By default, your team was going to know anyway. Team JNPR may as well know too if they are going to be close to you and Luffy. The explanation also involve his assortment of abilities which they seem very curious about."

the headmaster explained to the students. They perked up at this, indeed very curious on the matter.

The two teams were already on friendly terms, and withholding information that could be staring at them in the face can cause trust issues later. While it does mean that they will have the knowledge forced upon them, hanging around Luffy will inevitably get them involved with or without knowing.

He'd prefer if they got a heads up before then.

Ruby sighs in relief for the help, but Yang wonders one other thing that bugs her.

"What if they don't believe us? This is something that anyone would think is very unbelievable."

Yang reasoned.

"Oh please, what kind of secret does Straw Hat have that makes us think of it as a false story?"

Weiss challenged. All she got was a chuckle from Ozpin which she looked confused by.

"I find it amusing that you would use his actual epithet." Ozpin said as he pulls out a worn poster from the desk drawer. The gang get a closer look to see a wanted poster with a picture of Luffy with a wide grin. There were a few things that only added more questions, like the currency and his name.

"'Monkey D. Luffy, wanted dead or alive with a bounty of 400,000,000... beli'? That doesn't seem right."

Blake said with a raised brow and everyone nodding. His full name doesn't match exactly and she never heard of a different currency other than lien. Luffy picks up the bounty with a look of nostalgia.

"Yeah, that's who I was before coming to this world. I guess dad gave this to you, huh Ozzy."

Luffy said with a grin.

It was rather strange that the bounty poster came to him through the mail. While there was no name for the person who sent it, Luffy had a feeling it was the salesman since he also had the Gum Gum Fruit with him.

"What do you mean 'who you were'?

Did you come from another planet and change names?" Jaune asked jokingly, but Luffy shook his head. Although, he wasn't really all that far off.

"Reincarnation."

Everyone turned their attention to the person who uttered the word, Ozpin.

"Luffy has been reincarnated from his old world to Remnant. In his old world, he was a renowned pirate under the name of 'Straw Hat Luffy' and was also the Pirate King."

Ozpin informed them.

Everyone had incredulous looks on their faces, not really believing it. Nora, who can be open minded, had a glint of amazement for knowing someone infamous. She wasn't really scared of him being a pirate because she believes him to be a nice guy.

"You expect us to believe that!? Is this some kind of joke!?"

Weiss exclaimed in disbelief. Ozpin calmly raised a hand to quiet the heiress before continuing.

"No I don't. That's why I'm going to ask you this question. Through all your studies and vast knowledge of Remnant... have you ever heard of Haki?"

the grey haired man inquired. Weiss raised an inquisitive brow at the word, clearly not familiar with the word.

"Well allow me to define it for you in my opinion. Where as Aura is the manifestation of our souls, Haki is the manifestation of will."

Ozpin defined it with an analogy. The white haired girl nodded in understanding, even though she wonders why hardly anybody knows about it.

"Haki? Come to think of it, Ruby mentioned something about Conqueror's Haki back in initiation."

Pyrrha recalled.

"Yup, it's one of the three types of Haki that Luffy uses."

Ruby clarified for them, speaking up instead of the professor.

"And the other two types?"

Ren asked her.

"Observation and Armament. Some of you already seen it in action up close."

Yang noted.

They went over some of the telltale signs of someone using Haki. After that, their eyes widened upon realizing Luffy did in fact use Haki.

"That explains how he was able to find everyone near the temple. I thought you were either guessing or psychic because of how accurate you were."

Blake said with a tone of intrigue.

"So then... that black blade was him using Armament?"

Pyrrha asked.

"Yeah, but for the most part you imbue it on your limbs before you do it to the weapon your holding. When you told us that the champion uses it too, that could only mean that-"

Ruby started before being interrupted by another voice.

"Luffy is not the only one reincarnated into this world, right?"

Ozpin completed the sentence. Ruby was startled at the conclusion but nodded her head.

"That's what Ruby and I thought. The only ones that we know that can use Haki are Luffy, dad, and uncle Qrow. Even if the champion himself was not reincarnated, he could still be taught by someone else who is." Yang theorized. It was very unlikely that a Remnant-born person would unlock Haki on their own by chance.

"All that aside, how does this prove anything about Luffy being from a different world?"

Jaune asked.

"Because Haki was really common in my world. We didn't have aura or semblances."

Luffy replied. Everyone turns to him with wide eyes at the thought of fighting with no aura shield to save yourself.

"Oh oh oh, what about his stretchy body? Is that his semblance?"

Nora wondered with bubbly glee.

"Nora... I don't think there would be a semblance that alters your body composition like that."

Ren countered, earning him a pout from Nora.

"Besides, Ruby said that his semblance works with his weapons."

Jaune said to the two.

"Nope, it's not my semblance. I got my rubber body from a devil fruit called the Gum Gum Fruit."

Luffy said to them. The others quirked a brow at the explanation before Ozpin spoke up for him.

"That was another thing commonly found in his world. They're strange fruits that give a special power whenever it is consumed, at the cost of being weak to water. If there are other incarnates in Remnant, chances are that we might see other devil fruit users. I only hope we don't have a logia user to deal with as an enemy."

Ozpin told them with a tone of worry at the end.

"What do you mean? Is that the most powerful of its kind."

Ren asked the headmaster.

"In a lot of ways, yes. But it's not so much as they are all very destructive, it's how you fight such opponents. They are said to be invulnerable to almost any attack we can throw at them because they become an element of nature itself."

Ozpin explained.

Jaune paled at the thought of an invincible opponent that he can't win against, even though he's not much of a good fighter himself.

"E-e-element of nature? You mean like being made out of fire or light?"

a scared Jaune asked reluctantly, fearing the answer to his question. Ozpin and Luffy nodded their heads in confirmation and Jaune bowed his head in gloom.

"How do you hurt something like that?"

You can't just simply hurt an element by slashing or shooting.

"You have to have Armament Haki. It's the only thing that can allow you to land a hit on a devil fruit user in general. Something about hitting the 'substantial body' underneath it?"

Luffy informed while activating Robin's bond. Might as well to help the headmaster out. Yang decides to elaborate on that note.

"Let's say that I have Armament Haki. Normally, punches don't work on Luffy. But if my fists had Armament, I could actually hurt him as if he had a normal body."

Yang said.

They widened their eyes at this, thinking how handy it is to have.

"Hey! Observation Haki is helpful too. Sometimes its better to not get hit at all."

Ruby whined at Yang who had a sheepish look for disregarding the other Haki type.

Through out most of the lecture about Luffy's past life and abilities, Weiss has been keeping her distance with Luffy with a scowl on her face. Knowing that the person next to you was once an infamous criminal can be very unnerving. Ruby turns to notice this and wants to bring up the topic that everyone seemed to ignore, even though it was something worth acknowledging.

"If you're worried about Luffy being a bad pirate, don't be. He's not like the other pirates that we make them out to be."

Ruby tried to reassure her partner, but it seems to have little effect. Ruby's voice brought Luffy's attention to her and Weiss and can only stare with an impassive look.

"What makes you think that he's telling the truth about that. He could have been lying the entire time."

Weiss rebuked, earning her a disapproving look from Ruby and Yang. The blonde thought of an idea to let them know of Luffy's ability to lie.

"Hey Luffy, over the past week did you take cookies from Ruby's personal cookie jar... twice?"

Yang deadpanned to her cousin.

Ruby perks up and looks aghast at Luffy. Luffy just averts his gaze to the side and starts whistling. The corner of the scythe wielder's lips started twitching in subtle anger at the action.

"Umm... No."

Luffy lied horribly, causing everyone to facefault at the attempt.

'He can't lie to save his life.' they thought in unison. At least they don't have to worry about Luffy lying to them, they would know right away if he did.

Ruby snapped and jumped on Luffy and started hitting his head repeatedly with an angry pout on her face, with the straw hat boy trying to pry her off while apologizing. Ruby's punches are so weak, it looked like a toddler was beating on his head without any lumps appearing.

Weiss sweatdropped at her partner's childish demeanor, deciding to give Luffy the benefit of the doubt. It's still ridiculous to believe, but through what little time she spent with the moron, he doesn't seem like the type. But she can't believe he's all good since she was never born in his world to find out the truth.

Blake decides to move on with the discussion that was previously going on.

"So if his black limbs is using Haki and the rubber body is from a devil fruit, then what exactly is his semblance?"

she asked them. Luffy gets Ruby off of him after she finished pounding his head before showing Blake the glowing symbol on his hand. Ren and Nora notice this and quirked a brow at it. They saw a glowing symbol but it wasn't like that.

"Memory Bonding. My crewmates are inside of me and I can borrow whatever they know."

Luffy explained in vague detail, confusing the audience.

"He means that the spirits of his crewmates from his past life dwell within him and he can gain the knowledge of their fighting style among other things. But he can only use that knowledge as long as he has a connection to them. So anything other than his Haki, devil fruit, and hand to hand combat is actually from his crew and not himself."

Ozpin elaborated for them.

"Yeah, but since this world doesn't have some of the things that they use, I have to use Dust to replace that. And I can't use the devil fruit abilities that some of my crew members have."

Luffy noted.

Everyone adopts a look of understanding as they put together the pieces of info laid out for them. Though one thing seemed to bother Jaune.

"So wait, your chef can walk on air. You have one heck of a group."

Jaune said to Luffy who chuckled.

"Hmmm... well, thanks for letting us in on this secret. Forgive me Luffy, but your story is hard to believe. It's going to take a while for us to accept this."

Pyrrha told him politely, with the others nodding their head in agreement. Luffy just grins at them.

"I'm not forcing you to believe it. That's for you to decide, not me."

Luffy said to her which she smiled back.

"Now that we got most of that out of the way, any questions you may have later can be brought up to them. I do, however, have one more thing to discuss. It's about a certain risk you have on yourself when you use this 'Second Gear'."

Ozpin brought up, causing Luffy to turn his attention to him. Ruby and Yang looked at him in shock of figuring out the drawback.

Everyone had a look of thought as they try to recall what his Second Gear was.

"Oh, you mean when he gets all pink and steamy?"

Nora remembered. That skill looked so cool to her that she may have thought of something new. The others realized what she was talking about. Yang was able to piece together recent events with his Second Gear.

"That's why he ended up with more food at the cafeteria. You were looking out for him."

Yang said, really thankful for the consideration the headmaster shown. The group remained clueless at this, unable to comprehend the problem. Ozpin simply nodded his head.

"When he pumps his limbs, he accelerates the blood flow in his body which provides more nutrients and oxygen. Since his body is made of rubber, his blood vessels won't tear and his heart won't give out due to excess pressure. The increase in nutrients and oxygen allow him to become faster and stronger."

Ozpin gave a rundown of the positive effects of Luffy's technique.

The two teams were left in wonder at the creative use of his rubber body, but fear what the negative side is. Yang decides to fill them in on that.

"Since he's using up the nutrients faster, he makes himself hungrier than normal. But if he runs low on energy..."

Yang stopped herself as she had a look of dread.

"He runs the risk of shortening his lifespan."

Ruby finished with a sullen tone. Simply put, as long as Luffy is well fed, the chances are very unlikely.

The rest of the group looked towards Luffy, who has his eyes covered by the rim of his hat, with concern.

"It's alright guys, I'm very good with the technique. That's why I only pump one or two limbs for a short time."

Luffy reassured them, though they still kept their worried gazes.

"Even so Straw Hat, you can't just brush this off as if it's no big deal. This is about your life."

Weiss scolded him. Ruby looked at Weiss with surprise upon hearing the Ice Queen actually not yell at Luffy for once.

"As long as my friends and family are safe, that doesn't matter."

Luffy argued. A gloomy atmosphere loomed over them after hearing his declaration.

They can't help but find his conviction admirable but it hurts to hear him say that with no fear. They don't approve of it, but they can't argue against it. All they can do is support him and respect his decision.

"I see you've made up your mind on this. I guess I just wanted to hear it with my own ears. As headmaster I want you, our student, to at least try to preserve your own life as well as others. Can you promise me that?"

Ozpin asked of Luffy.

"Shishishi, then you would be with the rest of my family. I promised them that I won't die so early. I intend to live a long life like I did in the last one." Luffy told him. Yang and Ruby smiled at this, glad that he remembered their promise.

"Well then... that will be all. I look forward to your efforts in Beacon Academy."

Ozpin said with a small smile. Teams RWBY, JNPR, and Luffy waved/bowed before entering the elevator to leave. Ozpin just stayed in his desk, thinking about the conversation that transpired.

"This year is going to be quite interesting."

he said with a hint of amusement.

The shattered moon was out as the group of teens were making their way through the dormitory making small talk.

"We never bothered to know, but how many beli does it take to make one lien?"

Jaune asked the family trio. They adopted a look of thought, trying to come up with an accurate translation of currency.

"It's really hard to say... in my opinion it might be either a hundred beli or a thousand beli."

Ruby answered with uncertainty.

Everyone had a cold sweat at the answer. It didn't matter which way it was, four million or four hundred thousand was still a fortune. It only goes to show how powerful he was back then.

Blake looked pensive at the new take on the bounty and had a sudden inquiry appear.

"What did you do to get a high bounty? Ruby says you're not like the others, but you still have one anyways." Blake wondered.

"Hmmm... I just did stuff like fight in a war and beat up some important people that are being jerks. But that's not the highest bounty I've had, it was a lot higher than that when I became Pirate King."

the former pirate told her. Before they could ask anything, Jaune decided to voice out a more worrying thing he mentioned.

"W-war? Why would you be in something like that? How old were you then?"

he asked in a panicked tone, in fear of the answers he would receive. This happy go lucky person didn't look the type to involve himself in war for no reason.

"To save my brother... I was seventeen."

was all they got out of him in an emotionless tone. Jaune's heart sank even further upon hearing that, but at the same time found it commendable that he would go so far for the sake of family.

"S-sorry for bringing that up. I just wanted to know because my great-great-grandfather once fought a war."

the blonde boy informed.

After that, the conversation dropped and silence took its place. They still had so many questions, but decided not to pry any further for now. After hearing about something as dreary as war, they stopped in fear of bringing up old memories that are best left forgotten. Luffy stops himself in realization of something, causing the others to turn to him.

"... I get a room all to myself!"

he cheered while doing a fist pump. Some of them flinched at the volume and 'shhh' him, only for Luffy to sheepishly rub the back of his head.

"We should probably exchange scroll numbers to get access to your room." Yang suggested. Luffy agreed with her while he learned how to do just that since he never really used a scroll all that much.

"Hey Luffy, maybe WE can start learning this Haki thing that you do."

Nora said, resulting in thoughtful looks from the rest of them.

"It... might be better if you started now than later. Haki can take a long time to unlock."

Ruby admitted to them.

"Wait, couldn't Luffy unlock ours' like how someone unlocks another person's aura?"

Pyrrha asked, getting a negative from Luffy.

"You guys have to do it yourselves. I can teach you how to, but I can't do it for you."

Luffy informed her.

"How long does it take to get both types?"

Ren asked. Ruby and Yang looked at them with nervousness.

"Depends on the person's affinity. Since Luffy did it before, it only took him one year to get it back. Our dad and uncle... took five years to get both types."

Yang begrudgingly told them. They gaped at her after hearing the amount of time it could possibly take.

"B-but what about you two? Do you have at least one type?"

Jaune wondered. The sisters bowed their heads in depression, as if giving him his answer.

"We're at year two, and we don't have either one. I'm trying to get Observation first, and Yang wants to learn Armament."

Ruby sulked. She hoped she was getting closer to achieving it.

"We can worry about that later. Right now, we need to sleep for tomorrow."

Blake told them. Everyone nodded in agreement and found their rooms, which are all next to each other. They all gave their goodnights and changed into their pajamas before turning in for the night.

For the group that just learned of Luffy's past life, it may be hard to take all of it in. But it will eventually become normal for them and accept the possible fact that he was the former Pirate King.