Once upon a time, in Foosha Village, lived a seven year old boy. His name was Monkey D. Luffy.

"That's it! I've had enough with you all treating me like a child! I'll prove to you that I'm not just some kid!" shouted an angry Luffy with a knife in his hand.

"Ha ha ha, alright Luffy, let's see you "prove to us" that you're not just some brat!" challenged Red Hair Shanks, captain of the Red Hair pirates.

In a swift motion, Luffy slashed the area under his left eye with the knife.

"... WHAT?!" shouted the whole crew.

Some spilled blood, a panicked pirate crew and a band aid later...

"What the hell did you think you were doing, Luffy?!" demanded Shanks.

"Calm down, Captain. What's done is done." reasoned Yasopp, one of the crew members, "Anyways, let's have some fun! Here's to Luffy's craziness and our greatness!"

"Cheers!" shouted the crew.

"I need more sake!"

"That's my meat!"

"Hey, hey, hey, why are you already drunk?"

Happy cheers and laughter could be heard throughout the whole bar. Someone even tried to offer Luffy some beer, but he quickly declined.

"Ahaha! This isn't at all how I imagined pirates to be." Luffy cheerfully laughed.

"Ha ha, well I can't blame you for thinking badly about pirates after what happened to your mother. Your grandpa Garp told me all about it." Shanks said.

"Yeah, because of them, my mom is gone. I hate those pirates for what they did. That's why, when I get older, I'm going to become a marine and stop people like them."

"Really? That's quite a heroic dream you got there, but that means that we'll eventually end up as enemies. Oh, thanks for the food, Makino." Shanks said, happily accepting the food.

"That's okay," Luffy grunted while digging into his steak, "Even though you're a pirate, you're still a good person, so let's be friends instead of enemies."

"Well, I'm glad that I'm not on your naughty list." he chuckled, "Just remember that not all marines are good, like how not all pirates are bad."

"Mmmm... This is some good steak." Luffy mumbled.

"Are you listening to me?" Shanks sighed, "Whatever, just drink your juice."

"Hey! You're treating me like a kid again aren't you?! Well, I'll show you for real this time! Now, where's that sea monster that Makino told me about?" Luffy demanded, storming off toward the door.

"Now, now, calm down, Luffy." laughed Shanks, who was pulling on Luffy's arm.

"No! I'll show you..."

"... EHHHHH?!" shouted the crew as all their attention turned to the boy.

"Captain! Do you see that?! His arm! It's stretching!" exclaimed one of the crew members, "Wait! Where's the Gomu Gomu no Mi fruit?!"

"Luffy!" Shanks panicked while grabbing onto his shoulders, "Did you eat a strange looking, purple fruit?!"

"Yeah, it tasted really bad though."

"That was a Devil's Fruit! If you eat one, you'll never be able to swim! That's the biggest weakness of a Devil's Fruit user!"

"... WHAT?!"

Timeskip - a few months later

"Are you really leaving?" asked Luffy.

"Yep, we've been here for more then a year now. It's about time that we move on. Anyways, how are you handling that Devil's Fruit?" Shanks asked.

"So far I'm not doing pretty well with it. It doesn't seem pretty helpful for fighting, but I'll make sure I use it to my advantage! I'll become the best marine ever! And then one day, I'll be strong enough to beat even you!"

"Ha ha, well I'll be waiting for the day when you can beat me in a fight! Until then, here." Shanks said, sticking his straw hat on top of Luffy's head, "When you become a great marine, give this straw hat back to me."

If you looked closely, you could see tears running down the little boy's face. This was the day that an unsaid promise was made.

Shanks, Luffy thought, I swear that one day, I'll become an amazing marine. One that you could be proud of, despite the fact that you're a pirate. I'm going to make sure that no one has to end up like how my mom did.

"Alright everyone!" Shanks shouted, "Time to set sail!"


Well, there's the first chapter. I've got the basic ideas of what's going to happen with Luffy, but I'm thinking about what to do with his crew... I might add some OC later. Anyways, some advice on what to do about the crew are welcome! Until next time, later!