Disclaimer: I now own a Chihuahua pup named Shadow, but I don't own these series.

AN: So here we are again, eh? Sorry that I haven't updated my main stories in a while, I've been somewhat busy and my muse for those stories seems to have decided to take a miniature vacation, so in the meantime I thought I'd supply another challenge fic. I was looking through different crossovers when this idea occurred to me for a One Piece/DBZ crossover challenge. And, when looking through the existing crossovers in that category, I was shocked to see no one else has thought of this before. The idea goes like this:

What if Luffy wasn't the actual birth son of Dragon? In fact, he wasn't even born on the planet! That's right, Luffy is actually a Saiyan child that, like Goku, left the Planet Vegeta before is was destroyed. Luffy's pod crashed into the ocean of the One Piece world and was saved by Dragon from drowning, though the near drowning causes Luffy to forget his mission like the fall did for Goku.
Dragon raises the monkey tailed child like his own for a few years before he leaves Luffy with Garp for his own protection. Then when Luffy is 7, Shanks appears on the island. One night Luffy goes to visit Shanks but it turns out that it is the night of a full moon, causing Luffy to go Great Ape for the first time. However, before Luffy can do any real damage, Shanks calms him down with his Conqueror's Haki. Shanks then gives Luffy a journal on the basics of Haki, as learning it requires a great amount of mental discipline and the Emperor hopes that it would help Luffy tame the Beast inside him (which it does). In this story, Luffy doesn't eat the Gum Gum Fruit because his stronger senses can tell it's nasty.

Power wise he'd be around Dragon Ball Goku's level; strong enough to take on most enemies but not strong enough to destroy the planet (for now). He would have insane durability as bullets just tickle him and Garp will have Luffy train his tail to eliminate his obvious weakness. Then when he is trying to befriend Ace and falls down that ravine, Luffy discovers his flight capabilities and later learns Ki blasts (though he won't know what it actually is) during the 10 years with Ace and will be a great physical fighter. He also won't be able to spam Ki like the Z Fighters at first because it eats up his stamina. By canon, he'll also have a good grasp on Haki thanks to Shanks' notes.

I hope you all enjoy this idea and if anyone wants to adopt this challenge, please let me know via PM or Review. Now, on with the show!

The Saiyan Pirate King

You all hear the story of the Saiyan race? A species of proud, human like warriors from the Planet Vegeta who were capable of incredible feats of strength and an unquenchable lust for battle. They also had monkey like tails that, when exposed to the light of the full moon, allowed them to become titanic apelike monsters with ten times their normal strength. And there is even a legend that some Saiyans can transform into a higher level called a 'Super Saiyan', which is the mightiest warrior in the galaxy. Unfortunately, most Saiyans were wiped out when a galactic tyrant named Frieza, who feared the Saiyan's collective might, destroyed their planet and most of their race in the process. There were only a handful of survivors afterwards: Kakarot (later named Goku), Raditz, Nappa, Prince Vegeta, and a couple others. You know the story behind most of these Saiyans, but this story isn't about them.

On the day Planet Vegeta was destroyed, there was another Saiyan child that had left the planet on a mission to eradicate a planet on the far reaches of space. A planet mostly covered by water that had just recently entered an age known as the Great Pirate Era.

East Blue, Somewhere off the coast of Goa Kingdome

Monkey D. Dragon was sitting on a small raft off his home island in deep contemplation. He knew that this world, more specifically the World Government, was corrupt and that it was time for a change. However, going up against the government would be no easy feat as most of the Marines that made up the government's might were monsters in their own right, his own father included. He'd need a few years to gather like-minded individuals, supplies, and tactics so the revolution wouldn't die out before it could begin. It was for this reason that he was visiting his home island for a couple years as he doubted he'd be able to visit again for a very long time, if at all.

Dragon looked up into the sky as something tickled the edge of his senses. What looked to be a comet was streaking across the sky. Despite himself, a smile crossed the D's mouth at the sight. 'Perhaps this is a good sign for what is to come,' he thought.

However, his smile soon morphed into a frown as the comet seemed to be changing direction and falling…right near his raft! The man could only watch in shock as the alleged comet crashed right into the water beside him with twice the force of a cannonball. The resulting waves rocked his small vessel, but years of experience allowed Dragon to quickly stabilize so he didn't capsize. Looking at the settling water, Dragon's eyes widened in wonder as the 'comet' was actually some sort of metal orb! It was then the tattooed man heard what sounded like crying coming from the orb as it slowly began to sink. Not even pausing to think, Dragon leapt off his raft and swam as fast as he could towards what he now realized to be some sort of odd vessel. Reaching the craft, Dragon peered into the red tinted circular window on the orb and inside he saw what looked to be a baby trying to keep afloat in a rapidly filling pod. Drawing his fist back, Dragon's fist gained a blackish tint as he coated it in Haki and, with a powerful punch, smashed the glass out of the window.

Reaching in, Dragon grabbed the drowning baby and quickly swam back to his raft. Once there, Dragon carefully placed the infant on the raft and began performing CPR when he noticed that the boy (for it was definitely a male) wasn't breathing. After doing this for two minutes, the baby coughed up the seawater he breathed and after a few hacking coughs began crying again. Dragon breathed a sigh of relief as the boy was no longer in any immediate danger and looked him over for any injuries. The baby had a patch of black hair on top of his head and he also had black colored eyes similar to Dragon himself. The baby wore no clothes, and that gave the man full view of the baby's strange, monkey like tail extending from his spine. All things considered, this wasn't the strangest thing about the baby and given all the strange things he'd seen in the Grand Line and the four oceans, a monkey tail barely even registered on the strangeness scale.

The baby had stopped crying after a few minutes and looked up at Dragon with wide, innocent eyes before laughing and reaching his arms up at the man. Despite everything that told him this could be a bad idea, Dragon smiled back and said, "Welcome to the family…Monkey D. Luffy!"

Time-Skip (7 Years)

A seven year old black haired boy stood on the bow of a pirate ship in the dock of Windmill Village from the East Blue. The boy wore a white shirt with a picture of an anchor on it, blue shorts, sandals, and curiously enough had a brown monkey tail poking out from the seat of his shorts. In his hand he clutched a dagger as he glared defiantly at the ship's crew; the Red Hair Pirates. "I've had enough of you guys! Now you'll have to take me seriously when I show you how tough I am!" the seven year old Monkey D. Luffy shouted defiantly at the pirates.

Instead of looking worried at the child carrying a knife, the pirates almost seemed more amused and curious on what he planned to do. "Hey Luffy, what are you gonna do?" one of the pirates asked.

"Is this another stupid stunt?" the captain, a man named 'Red Hair' Shanks asked as he adjusted the straw hat on his head.

Instead of answering, Luffy took the dagger…and stabbed himself under his left eye. "OW!"

"YOU IDIOT!" Most of the crew yelled.

At the local bar, Luffy sat beside Shanks with a bandage over his new 'manly' scar. "A toast to Luffy's craziness and to our next great voyage!" one of the pirates shouted out while lifting his tankard in the air.

The other pirates roared their approval as they ate, drank, sang, and danced like there was no tomorrow. Luffy meanwhile smiled happily though there were tears in his eyes. "It didn't hurt a bit!" he bragged though his expression spoke otherwise.

"Liar! That was a stupid thing to do!" Shanks scolded the boy who had become the pirate crew's own personal groupie during their stay on the quiet island.

Puffing out his chest in excitement, Luffy went on as if he hadn't heard the redhead. "I'm not afraid of getting hurt! Take me with you on your next voyage! I wanna be a pirate too!" he said in excitement as his tail wagged excitedly behind him.

Shanks however laughed it off. "You? A pirate? Impossible! Luffy, do you know why we call you 'anchor'? It's because you can't swim, you just sink!"

Luffy pouted, "But if I don't fall overboard then it doesn't matter if I'm an anchor! And I'm a strong fighter!" he punched a fist forward for emphasis as he continued, "I've been training! My punch is as powerful as a pistol!"

Shanks gained a bemused expression as he said in a disbelieving tone, "A pistol eh? Is that so…"

Angered, Luffy spat out, "Are you doubting me?!"

The other pirates then started encouraging Luffy, saying what a great life being a pirate is and that they always have a good time filled with adventure. Shanks berated his crew for filling the young boy's head with crazy ideas, but the crew laughed it off and said that Luffy should join the crew. Shanks nipped that thought in the bud as he told the crew that Luffy could come…if one of them stayed behind. Naturally, all the pirates immediately gave up the idea much to Luffy's chagrin. Shanks then told Luffy that he was too young to sail with them and that he'd give the boy a chance in a decade or so.

"Captain Shanks! I'm telling you, I'm not a little kid!" Luffy shot back defensively, his tail now sticking straight out with the fur bristling in agitation.

"Calm down. Here, have some juice," Shanks offered the glass to the boy.

"Oh boy, thanks!" Luffy smiled as he quickly downed the glass.

Shanks burst out laughing, "You are a little kid! What kind of pirate drinks juice!?"

Luffy screamed, "That was a dirty trick!"

Angered, Luffy grabbed his juice and started to walk off before he was called over by the Red Hair Pirates' first mate; Ben Beckman. The calm man explained to Luffy that the captain was actually looking out for Luffy since the life of a pirate was also quite dangerous, and he didn't want the boy to get hurt. The thought was ruined though as Shanks playfully called Luffy Anchor from the bar while giggling, causing Luffy to fume.

Just then, the tavern's owner Makino walked in to supply the crew with more drink when she noticed Luffy pouting. Knowing the best way to cheer the tailed boy up was through his stomach, she offered to get him something to eat which the always hungry boy quickly agreed and told the woman to put it on his treasure tab for when he becomes a rich and famous pirate. While they were eating, Luffy asked Shanks how long the pirates were planning on staying in the sleepy little island. The captain considered this for a moment and said that after two or three more voyages they'd pack up and head north. After hearing that, Luffy promised the man he'd learn to swim by then.

Just then, the door to the tavern was kicked in and a group of men walked in. Each of the men were rough looking and were all armed in some form or another. A man who looked to be the leader stepped up and looked at the partying pirates with an almost mocking glance. Unseen by everyone due to the group's entrance, no one noticed Luffy pick up a strange looking fruit from a chest by where he was sitting at. He was about to eat the fruit when his super sensitive nose caught a whiff of the fruit and nearly made him gag. The fruit smelled like someone wrapped it in used gym socks sprayed by a skunk! Quickly, Luffy put the foul smelling fruit back into the chest and closed the lid, sighing in disappointment. He was looking forward to dessert too!

Back with the bandits, the leader spoke up, "Heh, so these guys are pirates, eh? First I've ever seen them, but they sure do make a sorry lot."

He then strutted up to the bar and leered at Makino. "We're mountain bandits, but don't worry. We're not here to bust up the place, just sell us ten barrels of booze and we'll be on our way," the now identified mountain bandit said cockily.

Nervously, Makino smiled and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, we just ran out of liquor."

The bandit leader gazed around at the drinking pirates and asked sarcastically, "Well what are they drinking? Water?"

"I just served the last of it," Makino said with increasing nervousness.

Before the situation could escalate, Shanks spoke up, "Sorry about that, guess we drank up all the booze." He held up an unopened bottle he had by him. "Would you want this one?"

The bandit's face gained a dark look and smashed the bottle with his fist, spilling the contents all over the bar and Shanks. Both Luffy and Makino looked shocked while the bandits snickered in amusement. Surprisingly, the pirates kept quiet as they stared at the scene with blank expressions.

"Do you take me for a fool?" the bandit leader asked the drenched captain. "One bottle isn't worth a thing." He then pulled out a wanted poster from his coat and showed it to Shanks. On it was his face along with his name, Higuma, and his bounty. "I'm a wanted man, my head's worth 8 million beri. I've killed 56 people, mostly fools like yourself! Watch yourself if you're fond of breathing! If you're smart, you'll sail far away from this place so I never have to see your ugly mug again."

Instead of looking intimidated, Shanks frowned at the mess that was made and began picking up the shattered bottle. "Sorry about the mess, Makino," he told the flustered barmaid, "Could you get me a rag so I can clean this up?"

Higuma grit his teeth and pulled out his cutlass before sweeping it across the bar, breaking all the plates and glasses on it and showering Shanks with the debris. He sneered, "So you like to clean? That oughta keep you busy for a while." He then turned and began walking away while saying, "Idiot."

"HEY!" a young voice shouted out and made the tavern's occupants turn to see Luffy getting off of his seat, his face contorted in anger and his tail lashing around behind him. Ignoring the pirates and Makino who were trying to signal him to keep quiet and calm down, Luffy stalked towards the larger man. "You take that back what you said about Shanks, you stupid mountain ape!" Luffy shot at the man.

Higuma sneered and said, "Hmph, got a lot of guts talking to me like that, brat. Shall I spill them for you?" He then pointed his sword at Luffy's throat.

Shanks gained a serious look on his normally cheerful face and got ready to intervene when something happened that made his eyes widen and most of the other tavern's occupants' mouths to drop open in shock. Luffy reached up with his right hand and gripped the sword pointed at him. He then started to squeeze, and instead of cutting him like one would expect, the sword started to creak before it broke like it was made of glass. Higuma looked at his broken blade with a stunned expression, trying to piece together how a kid of all things was able to break a sword like it was some kind of toy. He didn't have long to ponder this, as Luffy stepped forward and swung his fist at the man's stomach.

…It was like getting hit with a wrecking ball.

The force of the punch was so great, it carried the man across the length of the tavern and caused him to crash through the wall and sent him flying back for several more yards before he collapsed to the ground in a pathetic heap. If the tavern's patron's jaws were dropped before, now they were touching the ground. Not only that, but their eyes were bugged out so much that it was a miracle none of them have fallen out of their heads. While the pirates new each of them could have easily taken on the bandit blindfolded, seeing a child not even ten years old from the tamest seas send the man flying like that after breaking his sword bare handed, well, it left them rather speechless.

Finally, one of the bandits managed to gather enough of his wits to act. "Y-YOU MONSTER!" He cried out in a panic as he hastily pulled out a pistol. The bandit quickly fired at Luffy, the bullet striking him right in the forehead.

"LUFFY!" the pirates and Makino shouted in shock, the former of whom were also ashamed that their surprise had slowed them down enough that a lowly grunt was able to get the drop on them like that. However, their surprise returned tenfold when the bullet, instead of piercing the boy's skull and killing him like they feared, the bullet just ricocheted off Luffy's head like it was made of solid iron.

"OW~!" Luffy yelped, clutching the red spot now on his forehead as a welt started to form. He glared with tear filled eyes up at the bandit and shouted out, "WHAT WAS THAT FOR, YOU JERK?!"

"MONSTER!" the rest of the bandits screamed in fright at the seemingly unkillable monster in the form of a tailed boy. They all started pulling out their weapons, hoping that they could kill him with numbers. Before they could attack, however, they suddenly found their way blocked by the pirates.

"Now hold on there," Shanks said with an easy grin. "How many men does it take to kill one boy? Now if it's a fight you want…" at this his grin disappeared and an angry look overcame the man's face, "…then we'll TAKE YOU ON!" he roared out this last part and an ominous force seemed to wash over the bandits.

Seeing that their leader was out cold and they had a, suddenly not that weak looking, pirate crew standing between them and a boy barely older than a toddler that sent said leader flying, the bandits decided to cut their losses and run. The bandits hightailed it out of the tavern so fast that it almost looked like they teleported, stopping only long enough to pick up their out cold boss and run like the devil was after them back to the mountains.

With the immediate threat out of the way, Shanks turned back to look at Luffy, who was still rubbing the red spot on his head like it was just a bruise and not the result of getting shot. Makino went over to check if the boy was okay while Shanks went over and kneeled in front of the boy. Placing his hand on Luffy's shoulder, the boy looked up to see Shanks' smiling face.

"Thanks for sticking up for us, Luffy," the man said sincerely. He added, "And I guess you were right, you are pretty strong. That punch was definitely stronger than a pistol!" Luffy beamed happily until Shanks' next words turned it into a scowl. "You're still and Anchor, though."

"Captain Shanks!" Luffy whined, causing the pirates to laugh and they began to settle back into their partying atmosphere. When the two settled back into their seats and Makino went to go get a tarp to cover the new hole in the wall, the boy turned to the captain and ask in a curious tone, "Hey, Shanks?" Seeing he got the redhead's attention, he continued, "Why didn't you fight that bandit creep? You probably coulda beat him in a second but you let him walk all over you!"

Shanks smiled again as he ruffled Luffy's hair, causing him to pout. "Sometimes, Luffy, there are fights that just aren't worth fighting," Shanks said sagely. Seeing Luffy's confused look, he elaborated, "Say we fought and beat those guys; so what? It was just some spilled drinks, it wasn't anything worth fighting about in the first place. While it may be hard to understand now, someday you'll see that the best way to win a fight is by not fighting at all. Though when it looked like they were going to attack you, that is one reason to fight for a friend's sake."

Luffy scrunched up his face as he tried to comprehend Shanks' wisdom (though he mentally beamed at the man saying they were friends) and finally said, "I don't really get it, but it was still cool how you sent them all running like that by looking at them! Can you teach me how to do that?" Luffy finished with stars in his eyes.

The pirate sweatdropped before laughing it off and smirked teasingly at the monkey tailed boy. "Hmm, maybe I'll tell you…if you can learn how to swim that is!" he then laughed at his own joke.

"Shanks~!" Luffy whined as the party continued.

It was late at night a few days after the incident with the bandits where we find Shanks siting on a cliff near the outskirts of the village, watching the waves crash against the rocks below. Hearing a snapping of twigs, Shanks turned around and saw a familiar dark haired boy walking towards him in his pajamas. "Luffy? What are you doing up? Isn't it past your bedtime?" Shanks asked the boy he'd come to see as a little brother of sorts.

"Couldn't sleep," Luffy replied as he sat beside the man. The two sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Luffy asked, "So…you're gonna be heading out in a couple days, huh?"

Shanks smiled and said, "Yep, it's nearly time for us to head back out to sea. You gonna ask me to go sailing with us again? Because the answer is still no."

Luffy grumbled and the two went back into silence. As they sat there, a breeze pushed the clouds away showing a full moon that lit up the area. Seeing this, Shanks looked up at the lunar body and smiled. "Heh, the moon sure looks beautiful tonight, eh Luffy?"

"Mm?" Luffy hummed before looking to where Shanks was pointing. Seeing the full moon, Luffy smiled and exclaimed, "Wow! I didn't know the moon could get all round like that!"

Shanks laughed, "You never saw a full moon before? My, what a boring childhood you must've had." Hearing no retort from the boy, Shanks turned to him to see if anything was wrong and froze at what he saw.

Luffy had a blank look on his face as he stared up at the moon as if he was hypnotized, his tail sticking straight out behind him. What really worried Shanks though was that the boy's normally black eyes now seemed to be a glowing red. Just then, a thumping noise could be heard over the sound of the waves below and it took the pirate captain a second to figure out that the sound was actually Luffy's heartbeat! The heartbeat was so strong that Luffy's entire chest was moving with the rhythm. Suddenly, Luffy's pupils seemed to disappear and his body seemed to leap in size! Getting up quickly and retreating several feet, Shanks could only stare in shock as he saw all of Luffy's muscles balloon out like a professional bodybuilder's! The force of the expansion caused all of Luffy's clothes to tear, but the change wasn't done yet.

Both the boy's teeth and nails grew sharper, becoming fangs and claws. Luffy then started growing larger both in size and mass as brown fur started sprouting up all over his body. His ears became large and pointed while his feet became like that of a monkey's, complete with a thumb like big toe. Finally, the formerly small child's mouth and nose grew out, becoming a muzzle. Gone was the small seven year old boy who dreamed of being a pirate, now there stood a 50 foot ape with glowing red eyes!

Shanks openly gaped at the creature before him. While he had seen many strange things in both the Grand Line and the four Blues, this was something completely new to him! At first he thought the boy ate some sort of Zoan Devil's Fruit, but that didn't seem too likely. For starters, while the boy resembled an ape, it was vastly different from any he had ever seen before, not to mention as large as most Sea Kings! Then there is the fact that, while Luffy can't swim, he had shown no obvious discomfort in the sea like most Devil Fruit users. Finally, there was no reason for Luffy to transform like this, not to mention his transformation seemed more drawn out and almost natural compared to the speedy transformations Zoan users seem to undergo. And what was really worrying the former apprentice of Gold Rodger was the fearsome red eyes of the transformed boy held no sign of resemblance in them.

"Luffy…?" Shanks asked in a voice barely louder than a whisper.

"GGGGGGRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOAAAAARRRRRRRRRRR!" the beast roared to the heavens, beating his muscular chest. The roar was so loud that almost all the residents of Windmill Island woke up to it in fright. Fortunately, the man and beast were too far away from the village for them to be seen, so there was less likely to be civilian casualties. Unfortunately, this left Shanks alone with an out of control towering monkey!

"LUFFY, CALM DOWN!" Shanks shouted up at the giant ape before he just narrowly dodged getting crushed under one of the boy's feet. Turning around, Shanks' eyes widened in horror when he noticed that the boy seemed to be stomping in the way of the village, smashing everything in his path. 'No choice then,' Shanks thought resolutely before calling on his Haki.

"LUFFY, CALM DOWN!" he yelled again, but this time there was a weight behind the words that would make lesser men faint. Even the berserker Luffy paused mid step at the oppressive feeling coming over him. Seeing that his Haki seemed to have worked, Shanks called out again, "COME BACK HERE, LUFFY."

Slowly, the ape boy turned around and walked right in front of Shanks, the formerly rage filled eyes looking submissive to the man before him. 'Here's hoping this works,' Shanks thought as he reached out with all the Haki he could muster and reached out to the boy. He then gave one simple command. "LUFFY, GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF."

The ape seemed to struggle with itself for a bit, shaking its head back and forth before giving a loud growl and gripping its head as if in pain. Opening its eyes, Shanks nearly sighed in relief as he saw a flash of recognition in those red orbs. Like that, the man's Haki broke through the haze in the boy's mind and it came rushing back with absolute clarity.

"S-Shanks?" the beast rumbled in a deep voice, though if one paid attention they could still hear Luffy's voice underneath it. "What's going on? Why are all these trees knocked down?" he asked before Luffy noticed a crucial detail, "And how come you're so small?!"

Shanks looked up at the formerly small child and contemplated how to handle this. Since tact was never his best angle, he went for blunt honesty. "Actually Luffy…I didn't get smaller. You kinda…grew."

Luffy blinked. "I did?" he asked in confusion.

Shanks nodded. "Yeah. And you kinda…turned into a giant ape monster thing."

"H-HUH?!" Luffy cried out in shock before searching his body and, upon seeing all the changes done to it, gripped his face in horror. "AAAAHHH! WHAT HAPPENED TO ME?! WHY AM I LIKE THIS!?" He screamed, causing Shanks to cover his ears at the loud noise.

"I'm not sure Luffy, but could you keep it down!? You're really loud like this!" Shanks shouted up to the boy. Seeing the monster ape shut up almost immediately, Shanks let go of his ears. "That's better. Now tell me, what's the last thing you remember?" he asked, hoping to at least get a clue why this happened Luffy.

Tilting his head and crossing his arms, Luffy said, "Well, I remember that I couldn't sleep and that I came down to see you. Then we talked for a bit, you showed me the moon, and then…That's about it."

Shanks hummed in thought as he went over all the facts. When his eyes wondered up to the full moon, they widened in realization. "THAT'S IT!" He cried in triumph. Shanks looked to Luffy and said in an almost excited manner, "Luffy, before you transformed you told me you'd never seen a full moon before now, right?" Seeing the ape nod he continued, "Well, I think seeing the full moon actually caused the change, so when it goes away by morning you should be back to your old self again." He left it unsaid that he had no idea what to do if he was wrong.

Luffy blinked before leaning down to get to eye level with Shanks. "Really?!" he asked with a wide smile showing all his large, sharp teeth.

Shanks nodded. "I'm pretty sure that's the case. Though we're going to move soon, because I think the townsfolk are going to be here soon to see what all the noise was about and I'd rather not have them panic when they see you Luffy." He then turned around and beckoned for the beast boy to follow. Carefully as possible, Luffy followed behind the redhead as they made their way into the forest away from prying eyes, both wondering what morning would bring.

It was morning by the time Shanks and Luffy walked out of the forest, the latter of whom was back to his normal self with the former's coat tied around him like a toga since his clothes from last night were destroyed. The two had spent the entire night in the woods, both trying to avoid detection from villagers and talking about this new development in Luffy's skill set. Also, Shanks was trying to think of ways on how to help the boy so he wouldn't lose control again like he did last night, since if he wasn't around to stop Luffy he doubted there would be a village left standing by the time Luffy turned back to normal. After going through all his options, Shanks decided on the best one: teach Luffy the basics of Haki. While most people could learn the technique, it still required a level of mental discipline to fully use Haki, and Shanks figured that would help teach Luffy to keep a clear head when he transforms. If Luffy could do that, then he'd have a powerful ace in the future, at least on the nights of the full moon.

So after making sure to get Luffy back home undetected (because a full grown man walking into town with a half-naked boy would raise WAY too many uncomfortable questions), Shanks went back to his ship and pulled out a journal he hadn't used in years. In its pages contained all the notes that Shanks had about Haki, from the different kinds of Haki to its different uses, all dumbed down so it was easy to understand for beginners. Shanks couldn't help but smile as he tucked it away for when he would give it to the boy. If nothing else, Shanks was sure Luffy would make a big impact on the world! Plus, even if they didn't quite help him learn to control himself during his transformations, Shanks figured learning Haki would only help the boy in the long run if he planned on becoming a pirate like he said.

Time Skip (A few days later)

Luffy and most of the town stood on the dock to wish the Red Hair Pirates goodbye. Luffy was standing before Shanks as the pirate captain asked the young boy if he was upset over their leaving.

"Yea but…I won't force you to take me with you any longer. I'll become a pirate by myself!" said Luffy.

"Heh," chuckled Shanks before sticking out his tongue at the monkey boy and saying teasingly, "I wouldn't take you even if you begged me. You don't have what it takes to be a pirate!"

Luffy got a large tick-mark on his forehead and shouted back at Shanks, "Yes I do! One day I'll find a crew that is as strong as yours! And then I'll find the world's biggest treasure! And become King of the Pirates!"

As his crew looked on in amusement, Shanks said, "Oh, you want to be bigger than us huh? Well then…" Reaching up, Shanks took the straw hat that he had on his head and placed it on top of Luffy's head saying, "This hat is my gift to you. This is my favorite hat, you know. So when you become a great pirate in the future, return that hat to me."

As Luffy started to cry, Shanks discretely pulled out his journal and handed it to Luffy. He then whispered to the boy, "Also, that journal will help you out controlling your little monkey problem. It'll also help you when you set out for real. Make good use of it, okay?"

Luffy swallowed and nodded, holding the journal like it was a fragile egg. With that, the Red-Haired pirates hauled anchor and sailed off, leaving the waving townsfolk and the crying Luffy in the distance. They were not seen in the village again for many, many years.

Time Skip

It had been 10 years since the Red-Haired pirates had left Windmill Village. The villagers were once again gathered around the ports, this time to bid farewell to a 17 year old Monkey D. Luffy. Luffy had changed a bit over the years. What was once a small boy was now an average height young man with lean, athletic muscles if you looked closely. He still carried the small scar under his left eye, but his wardrobe had changed drastically. He now wore a button down red vest and jean shorts that cut off slightly above the knees. He wore simple sandals on his feet and had Shanks' straw hat on top of his raven black hair. His tail poked out from a hole in his shorts and waved merrily behind him.

Currently he was on a small skiff about a mile away from his village's harbor when the water in front of his boat started to bubble and a large eel monster suddenly burst from the ocean's depths!

"Oh, you again," Luffy said in an unconcerned tone.

The Sea King roared as it charged at the small raft. Instead of looking worried, Luffy gained a huge grin on his face as he leapt up into the air and seemed to hover there for a minute. Luffy's arm then took on a blackish tinge as he shot forward right into the beast's face. The attack was so fast that the Sea King didn't even have time to blink before Luffy's hardened fist socked him right in the jaw, knocking him, and a few of his teeth, out.

"Heh," Luffy chuckled as he landed back on his raft before loudly announcing to the heavens, "I'LL BECOME THE PIRATE KING!"

Little did Luffy or anyone in the world at the time know that this one small act would lead to world changing events and life changing adventures! This is the story of "Straw-Hat" Luffy!