Chapter 1: Romance Dawn


-Toredo Island-

It was morning time at the large island of Toredo. The port town of Poto was busy as usual as another ship was about to dock any minute now. Poto was a well known trading city throughout the East Blue. The towns itself was small in its building's sizes, mainly just residencies and shops were built here. The only large structure was the lighthouse atop a cliff to the South of the town. If you wanted to find anything rare, exotic or expensive, this was the place to look. The town of Poto was the biggest town on the island, the island had another port town on the western side of the island and a tiny village to the north within the jungles of the island. The dock workers prepared to take in another trade ship that came from near the Calm Belt with new goods and treasures.

When the ship had finished docking, a man leapt from the railing of the ship to land on the jetty with a thud,he was carrying a small bag with him. He was dressed in a coral colored pair of sleeves that exposed his chest and back, connected by a hood of cloth that dangled off the back of his neck, black pants that extended to just below his knees that were tied to his waist with an orange sash as a belt, he wasn't wearing any shoes and had a necklace of wooden beads that reached his sternum. He had very short black hair, a strong nose and green eyes. He stood at 6 feet tall and was of a lean muscular build, well trained.

"Ah!" he said as he dropped the bag and stretched out his muscles, "This looks like the best place to start off my journey. Now, I just need to a crew and a worthy ship to start!" he said to himself, and one could see the determination in his words. He picked up the sack and moved from the docks to the town itself.

As he walked the streets, he was fascinated with the people and the city itself. It all seemed so different from where he came from. Kids running around chasing each other, people trading at stalls all down the street. It was way more lively then his home. He wandered up to a random stall to look at the different goods they had on display.

As he went from stall to stall he didn't realize how far down the street he had gotten in that short time. He was nearing the edge of the town. When he went to pick one of the pieces of exotic looking swords he stopped when he heard someone say,

"Mountain bandits again! It's like the fifth time in three days.", said a man standing in a group of men and women They all looked somewhat troubled. He wasn't anything to look at, dressed in a bland way. He was just your average civilian.

"How much have they stolen in the past three days? It has to be something over five hundred thousand beli by now!", stated another man, who sounded very annoyed by it.

"They keep getting braver and braver everytime. First it was once a month, then once a week and now this?! It's too much!", yelled one man, clearly outraged by these bandits.

This caught our man's attention, "Hey!", he shouted toward them, gaining their attention, "What's all this about mountain bandits you're talking about?", he asked, genuinely curious.

"You're not from around here are you, pal?", one woman asked, this earned her a nod from our man, "Well, bandits came by and set up a fortress in the jungle a few months back and then have been causing trouble ever since.", she stated sadly, her livelihood had taken a hit from all the raids.

"There has even been rumours that the small village up north was destroyed because they tried to stop them. They were rumoured to have taken women and children from the village.", added another woman, who looked a tad frightened by the thought of some bandits raiding their town.

"I see," he replied to her. This sounded exciting one way other another, 'Maybe I could find a crew up there.', he thought to himself. The prospect of finding his first crew mate began to rile him up.

"Don't worry sweetheart, that won't happen to our town.", said a man next to her, suspecting they were husband and wife. The group began to move on from their conversation and slowly made their way back up the street toward the docks.

'Well, better go check that place out.', he thought to himself. A grin formed on his face at the adventure his about to have.

"Hey young man!", yelled someone to his right. He turned to see an old man sitting on a bench across the street, looking at him with a curious expression. The geezer was short, had a bit of a hunch and wore baggy clothes that made him look even smaller. He had a long white beard and a pair of spectacles. He to be older than any other 'old man' he seen before. He looked ancient. "I know that look, boy, don't bother going up there. Those bandits are as good as gone.", the old man stated like it was fact.

"Why's that?", he replied to the old man. The old man smiled at him, "What's your name, lad?" he asked kindly.

"Bellow Itzal! Nice to meet you, sir.", the man now identified as Itzal yelled back as he smacked his chest, proud of the name, knowing it would one day be world famous.

The old man smiled, "Well, Itzal my boy, there's a bounty hunter that showed up not too long ago and he's heading up there to take them out!" the old man replied joyously. Showing a bit of life in his old bones even if it was for a second.

Crack!. The old man ceased his quick movements and rubbed his back, he groaned to himself for a moment.

"Just one guy?", asked Iztal noticing he said 'he,' Itzal was also wondering who this person was to go take a bandit stronghold solo.

After the old man recovered, "Ever hear of the 'Head Hunter' of the North Blue?", asked the elder man, who began to stroke his long white beard. The old man's expression changed however when Iztal shook his head.

"Uh, well, he's a well known bounty hunter of the North Blue. Many describe the man as a 'Devil' in his battles. 'A devil dressed as a man' most people say. He's been in the East Blue for over a year now.", explained the old man, slightly surprised he had even heard the alias this young bounty hunter went by.

"Really?", Itzal smiled at the image of a devil, "That's exactly the kind of guy I need in my crew," Itzal spoke aloud. This caught the old man's attention.

"Crew? What crew do you speak of, lad?", he asked, both curious and concerned.

"My pirate crew of course!" Iztal said, emphasizing it with a hand gesture, as if it was obvious, "I need strong crewmates to journey with and this guy sounds like he'd be a great crew mate," he explained to the elder before him.

The old man looked at the young man before him, the thought of him being a pirate brought a smile to his face. He didn't seem all that intimidated by this news. "Oh so you're a pirate, are you?"

"Yeah, I'm searching around looking for crewmates to sail with. It's my dream to sail the seas to achieve the greatest ambition the world has ever seen," Iztal told the old man with a determined and fired up expression on his face, not really finding any reason not to express his burning desire in his goal.

"So you're just going to go and ask people at random to join your crew?" asked the old geezer who was hiding a smirk, Itzal felt like he was repeating himself slightly with the old man.

"Yeah, anyone strong to help me on my journey of piracy. And this 'Head Hunter' guy sounds perfect!" Itzal continued to explain, starting to get a bit bored just standing here explaining this for the past few minutes while a potential crewmate was on the island.

The old man rolled his eyes at his answer, he'd already heard him say that. The old man sighed in defeat, although you could see he still had a smile plastered on his face. "Well, best of luck to you, young man. If you want to know where this fortress is, it's in the jungle between this town and the one directly west of here. If you're any kind of pirate you'll figure the rest out on your own," the old man told him, with a slight jab at the end of it for humours sake.

Itzal just smiled at the old man, "Thanks elder-san. I better get moving," Itzal bowed slightly, as he looked toward the vast jungle ahead of him. A sense of adventure began to run through his veins as he began to move toward the jungle with gusto.

Itzal slowly picked up pace, the sack on his back bouncing around, threatening to spill its contents as he ran. The old man simply remained seated on the bench as he watched Itzal's fading figure head toward the jungle.

The old man gave a warm and content smile, "A dream, huh?" , he spoke aloud, as he watched Itzal's figure completely disappear into the jungle path. The old man looked to the sky, "It's good to see that kind of ambition again," he finished. The old timer laughed to himself, that really did make his day.


-With Itzal- Jungle of Toredo Island-

Itzal sprinted his way to the fortress, his speed through the jungle was impressive. Leaping over fallen debris or logs without a care, he made it look effortless. The small sack on his back bounced wildly from left to right. As he leapt once more he was forced to dodge an attack from behind a tree. A sword implanted itself into the tree Itzal had just passed, stuck at head height. Itzal stopped and spun on his feet to face his random attacker.

"Grrrrr," growled a burly man, "You the bastard that's attacking our base!" he yelled, his voice sounding like he'd eaten gravel for breakfast.

"Nah I'm not attacking your place but that's where I'm going right now," answered Itzal calmly. Relaxing his stance a bit.

"We got a call over a den den mushi that someone was attacking our camp! Who the hell are you then if it isn't you!" he continued to yell, two other men appearing from the shrubs behind him. Both the other men looked rather weasel-ish. Like the "stab you in the back" kind of fighters.

They all wore some kind of leather armour in some form or another, whether it was shoulder guards, chest or gloves. Their clothes were baggy, ragged and smelt of cheap ale.

"Well, I'm not the one attacking your bandit fortress," Itzal explained, "But I'm looking to ask the guy who is to join my crew," continued Itzal, who grinned at the end of his statement.

All three men glared at him before the burly one roared at him, "So you are with him! Kill him!" All three of the men charged Itzal, the two small guys further behind the big bear of a man.

The brute swung his large sabre at Itzal aiming for head hoping for a quick kill, however Itzal simply dropped the sack and leapt over the swing. As the brute swung his back after the first miss, Itzal ducked below and delivered a fierce punch to his stomach effectively winding him and causing the enormous man to slide backwards across the jungle floor a huge distance.

"Bastard!", one of the 'runts' yelled and he went for a straightforward thrust with a knife, only for Itzal to sidestep the strike, raise his arm above the guys head and dropped his elbow with extreme speed. The first weasel was floored to the ground with a lot of force, cracking the earth beneath him and was down for the count.

A rustle from the shrubs behind him alerted Itzal to someone's presence, and sure enough the other 'runt' leapt out at him with two knives, ready to slash Itzal to pieces. Itzal, having already sensed he was there, spun on his heel to face the sneak attack.

As he closed in on the pirate, Itzal deflected the knives with his wrists, leaving his attacker wide open, arms spread either side. Panic spread across the mans face, "Shit!", he grunted in that brief moment before Itzal spun on his front foot, swinging his back elbow around right into the man's face, every movement was perfect and precise. Absolute control over his body. The impact shattered his nose causing blood to spray over his face. He flew back a few feet before he fell on his back unconscious as well.

"Little bastard, come here!", yelled the enormous man, once again charging Itzal after his short recoverary. Itzal smirked, he slowly lined up his fist with the centre of the brutes chest and pulled his arm back ready to fire off a punch, steam began to radiate from Itzals fist.

"Pocket Burst!"

Itzal shot his fist forward, a wave of heat was fired off from his fist, travelled through the air with ease and passed right through the brute of a man.

The large bandit stopped in his tracks, eyes wide open in shock, sweat pouring from his face as he dropped his large sabre. His chest having been scorched by the attack. He tried his best to remain standing but that attack had done too much for him to handle.

"Y-(wheeze) ...you b...bas...tard," his words were weak before he too fell to the ground, face down in the dirt.

Itzal stood by the small sack on the ground and looked between the fallen men, all of them were merely unconscious, still breathing. That was easy as always. He grinned, "Well that's over," he turned to the direction the men seemed to be heading, "Shouldn't be long now," he stated, sensing the presence of a lot of people ahead. Although, one more powerful than the rest.

"Come on! Where are you guys?!" yelled a panic voice, Itzal turned to where the voice had come from. There was nobody there, "Anyone there?! We need help! This guy's insane!", the voice sounding even more distressed than the first time before being cut off. Itzal then realize it was a den den mushi inside the big guys coat. Itzal smiled, "Good, he's still there."

Itzal quickly plucked up the small sack he had been carrying and began to once again sprint through the jungle, making his way to the bandit fortress. It took a mere minute for Itzal to make it through the dense jungle trees and shrubs. The fortress stood in front of him, a massive stone and wooden structure, with Jungle trees surrounding the fortress from all sides. The back of the fort was protected by a sheer rock wall. However the main entrance was already broken through. Claw marks riddled the walls but the door looked to have been shattered by a blunt force strike.

"Kill him already!" a voice echoed from somewhere on the other side of the wall. It sounded like it came from an open courtyard beyond the main outer wall.

"Well, that'll be the best place to find this guy!" exclaimed Itzal, who couldn't stop an excited grin from forming. His first crewmate wasn't far now. Itzal was convinced he'd have this guy in his crew.

Itzal sprinted through the main hall of the fortress. There were claw marks along all the stone and wooden walls, defeated bandits sprawled across the ground, some bloodier than others, but all of them alive. Hopefully. Not much was left standing.

As he reached the other end of the main hall and entered the massive courtyard you could hear what Itzal assumed were bandits yelling.

"Stop moving you bastard and die!", one yelled as he and the group of bandits behind him charged an individual in the centre of the courtyard. He stood out among everyone else here.

This man stood at six feet and two inches, muscular and well built, he wore a black casual dress shirt with his sleeves rolled up, thin leather gloves, dark red trousers tucked inside black boots. Hidden under his leather bush hat was very short messy red hair, his eyes were a vibrant yellow, his right eye having a scar running down from above his eyebrow to level with his nose.

'This guy must be the 'Head Hunter' I'm looking for, thought Itzal, as he casually observed the fighting in front of him.

The man in the centre merely laughed, "You's don't learn do y'as!" he yelled, his voice carrying across the massive courtyard. The first bandit closed in and this man grinned, as the bandit swung his sabre, the 'Head Hunter' simply leaned back to avoid the strike. When the sword passed him, he darted forward and smashed his fist into the bandit' face, slamming him into the ground.

The next bandit didn't fair better, as when he went for a downward slash, the 'Head Hunter' leaned to his left, dodging the blade to swing his fist upward, giving one fierce uppercut.

"Nice!", yelled Itzal, which actually drew a lot of attention to himself, including the 'Head Hunter'.

The 'Head Hunter' looked directly at Itzal, he didn't say a word because he didn't know who the fuck this guy was. Some random guy wandering into a bandit fortress was definitely strange, right?

"Kill him!", screamed one scrawny looking bandit before charging at Itzal, a knife in hand. Over half the bandits seemed to forget about the 'Head Hunter' and charged Itzal instead.

Itzal once again dropped the small sack he was carrying before charging the advancing squad of bandits. The 'Head Hunter' merely watched as Itzal was charged by the bandits, not all that concerned by the bandits still near him. He was more impressed by the random stranger that walked into a bandit fortress.

"Kill them both!", yelled the bandit closest to Itzal, sword ready to strike. His stained sabre lashed out at Itzal, only for him to weave out of the sabres path. This in turn caused the first bandit to stumble forward due to over extending himself. This gave Itzal an opening to strike the bandit in the back of the neck. Dropping him to the ground.

The second bandit fell just as the first, their attack was dodged then countered with a punch or kick. One by one, they fell before Itzal, none of them could lay a finger on him. They were cannon fodder.

The 'Head Hunter' kept his eyes on Itzal as he went through the bandits one after the other, 'Not bad," he smirked as he too defeated each bandit that came at him.

"What's going on here?!" bellowed a deep gravelly voice from the entrance Itzal had come from. All the others bandits froze on the spot, confusing Itzal and the 'Head Hunter.' They both turned to the entrance to see a massive man with a large squad of bandits armed with rifles and pistols behind him.

This guy stood at eight feet easily, with a real musclehead look to him, shaved head and very tanned skin. He carried an enormous hammer that dwarfed the bandits that were with him. He wore a ragged and torn military coat, baggy trousers and boots. He looked 'pissed off' as an expression.

"Boss!" yelled one of the bandits near Itzal, 'So this is their boss?' both Itzal and the 'Head Hunter' thought, not really all that impressed by this guy.

"Can you useless fucks not even keep my fortress safe while I'm gone!" he continued to yell, emphasizing the word 'my.'

"S..s..sorry b..boss, these guys are s..stronger than they look," one bandit stuttered, while also backing away from his boss from fear.

The boss looked toward Itzal and the 'Head Hunter', and his expression just became one of anger. "These pathetic fucks?! You can't deal with two people?!" he was furious now. How could these two guys wreck his fortress and threaten his power over this island?! All the bandits around Itzal and Rob were sweating nervously after that.

"Who are you bastards?!" he roared at Itzal and the 'Head Hunter'. Just before the 'Head Hunter' was about to answer, Itzal spoke up.

"The name's Bellow Itzal! A pirate that will be the future Pirate King!", he exclaimed, you could almost feel determination on every word. The 'Head Hunter' just looked Itzal, he was actually rather surprised that he went quiet at that mad declaration. Everything went quiet for a few moments.

"Pfft, HAHAHAHAHAHA", the 'Boss' gave a hardy laugh followed by all the bandits that were with him. Some of them hunched over in their fit of laughter. Even a few of the bandits near Itzal and the 'Head Hunter' gave a small chuckle.

The 'Head Hunter' watched Itzals reaction, Itzal didn't seem all that bothered by the laughter even though they were laughing at his statement.

The 'Head Hunter' smirked at the scene in front of him. He had to admit, he was impressed by that declaration.

After the laughter died now everyone regained their composure, "Oh you're a funny little man aren't you?" spoke the 'Boss', as he began to grin like a mad man, "You're fucking crazy! Nobody could ever do that! Someone like YOU could never doing something like that!"

The 'Head Hunter' tilted his hat to shadow his face as he watched this exchange between them. Itzal simply stood his ground, not at all that bothered about the insult.

"Of course I'll do it! I'll achieve the greatest dream there is! No matter how many people say I can't!" yelled Itzal, who smirked at the end of the sentence. "And that guy will be my first crewmate on my journey to become Pirate King!", Itzal pointed toward the 'Head Hunter'.

The 'Head Hunter' looked at Itzal for a moment to see if he was joking. When he realized he wasn't, he stood up straight, folded his arms and smirked at Itzal. "That so? And what if I don't want to go with you? After all, I have my own ambitions I want to achieve. And my dream isn't some joke," spoke the 'Head Hunter'.

"Your own ambition? That's perfect! I need people with strong goals and ambitions in my crew." Itzal stood with a confident posture, still grinning.

"Fair enough," was all the 'Head Hunter' added before he closed his eyes with a smile. You could sense some kind of link between them after that conversation.

"Enough of this bullshit!", yelled a voice closing in on Itzal. They both glanced over to see the boss dash toward Itzal, hammer ready to finish off Itzal.

The grin never left Itzal's face, the 'Head Hunter' didn't even bother to move at the approaching threat. Itzal charged as well.

"Die! You worthless bastards!" The boss swung his hammer over his head. Itzal jumped up into the air as it slammed onto the ground he just stood on. In mid-air Itzal kicked him in the face with both feet.

The massive bandit rolled backwards for a moment from that strike. "You fuck…", he dragged out. The other bandits watched in awe. Their boss just got knocked back like it was nothing.

Itzal stood back up straight and stood in a relaxed stance. The boss got back up and charged him again. "Die, you worthless pirate scum!"

The 'Head Hunter' raised an eyebrow at how relaxed Itzal looked. The bandit was closing in.

But than he noticed something, "Is that… steam?", he whispered. He hadn't seen something like that before.

Itzal was emitting steam from his body right where he stood, 'the 'Head Hunter' also noticed the smirk on Itzals face. The bandit swung the massive hammer directly above Itzal. Wham!

"Vulcan Prayer!"

All the bandits around them were stunned, "What?!", was the choice of word for most of them. Itzal stood there steam and heat pouring from his body, but what was more shocking for the bandits was the fact Itzal caught the hammer with both hands like it was nothing.

"What the hell is this?!", exclaimed the enormous bandit. He couldn't believe this 'wimp' stopped his hammer like that. Just than the hammer began to melt and was absorbed into Itzals body. The head of the steel hammer had completely melted away in a mere second.

The 'Boss' stumbled back holding the large handle to his former hammer. "What the fuck!"

"Prisoner Prayer!"

An eight foot steel chain formed from each of Itzals hands, "Try this," spoke Itzal as steam erupted from all over his body. His skin became red from the massive heat generation. Everyone was speechless, what was this? And the chains looked to be alive! They were moving like snakes.

Itzal swung the chain on his right and wrapped it around the bandits leg. "What!" he exclaimed. Itzal than swung the chain dragging the bandit over Itzal and slammed him into the ground cracking the ground from the impact. He than did it again slammed him into the ground where he once stood.

The bandits around them were too stunned to do anything. How could they? Their strongest and most terrifying fighter was getting his ass handed to him.

Itzal than spun on the spot and flung the massive man through the air. He slammed into a nearby wall ten feet away. The chains on his body were absorbed back into his body but he was still emitting vasts amount of steam.

"Kill him!" yelled one of the bandits that were with the boss. They all raised their pistols and rifles like a firing squad. Itzal smirked and raised his arms out straight either side of him and stood ready for the onslaught of bullets.

The 'Head Hunter' simply remained where he was, watching everything unfolding in front of him. He was impressed by this Itzal guy. Let's just say he made up his mind about his earlier declaration.

"Fire!" the same bandit yelled. All at once the squad of gunmen fired at Itzal. Over fifty shots were fired, but Itzal just stood there, unfazed. Nearly everyone's jaws dropped as Itzal just took every single shot.

"Penance!"

Itzals body became superheated, heat waves and steam poured from all over his body. Than all of a sudden a volley of bullets shot out from various parts of Itzals body directed right back at the original gunners. It hit every single one of them in some form, some in the leg others in the arm, but none of them fatally hit.

"Die!" the enormous bandit leapt at Itzal from behind, having drawn a massive knife that looked more like a sword in size. Itzal casually looked back. "Hmmm?" The bandit swung the blade toward Itzal.

But nothing happened to Itzal, everyone looked at the scene before them, once again shocked. Between Itzal and the bandit stood the 'Head Hunter,' arm out stretched holding the blade with his… fingers.

"Dragon Claw!"

The 'Head Hunter' than shattered the blade with his fingers alone! He leapt up into the air, flipped mid-air and swung his foot down onto the bandits head, slamming him into the ground, causing the bandit to go unconscious from the overhead kick.

"Thanks! uhhh...", said Itzal as he looked over his shoulder toward the 'Head Hunter.

"The names Rob, Jackdaw Rob,", he smirked, "Captain," he added with a grin. He then stood up straight and stepped back. Both Itzal and Rob looked around at all the bandits, they all seemed to scared out of their minds because some of them panicked and ran, while others simply remained frozen where they stood.

"Oi, Itzal," spoke Rob with a smile, gaining Itzals attention. "What's the plan now? Leave or finish this off?"

"Let's end this!", was Itzals reply as his body began to emit steam again. Rob only smiled at the answer.

Itzal and Rob than spent a mere five minutes clearing out the rest of the fortress. Not a single bandit giving them any sort of challenge, to their disappointment. Although, they did enjoy destroying the place as they did. So that's a bonus.

"I really wanted a challenge…", Rob was disappointed by the lack of 'fight' in these guys. Itzal just nodded an agreement as they both returned to the courtyard.

Itzal retrieved the bag he'd brought with him before turning to Rob. "Come on let's head to the town and get off this island!"

Rob merely replied with 'Ay' and a quick nod of the head.

And with that, both Rob and Itzal left the decimated fortress behind them to head back to town to acquire a ship of some kind, to get the hell off this island and go on the hunt for other potential crew mates. As they both learned, neither of them had a ship as they just ship hopped to get to Toredo Island, so they had to get their hands on one first.


-Poto Town-

Itzal and Rob wondered back through the main street of Poto town that Itzal had come from earlier that day. They had to get their hands on a ship but neither of them had much money if any money at all, but Itzal had a backup plan if they needed some money.

"Oh so you made it back alive did you young man?" a voice to their right called out to them. Sitting by a fountain was the old man from before.

"Hello Elder-san!" Itzal spoke with enthusiasm, "Those bandits weren't nothing we couldn't handle! They shouldn't be a problem anymore." The old man smiled at Itzal's words before spotting the red haired man beside him.

"So you got your first mate did you?", his smile only growing wider.

All Itzal and Rob did was grin at the old man. He chuckled at their response. "So where are you both heading now then?"

"Well," Itzal began, "First we need a ship to begin our journey. Think you can help us with that Elder-san?" Itzal asked hoping this would be a quick fix to their 'lack of ship' problem.

"I believe I can. I got a small boat that you could use until you get your hands on something proper," the old man smiled, "I'll trade it to you! What you got to give?" he said. Rob remained silent during their exchange, not knowing what Itzal had planned.

"Sure thing! You can have one of these." Itzal opened up the sack he had been carrying to reveal that inside were two strange looking fruits. Devil Fruits!

The old man went silent, stunned at actually seeing one. "Are they both devil fruits?", asked Rob as he leaned over to inspect the sack, not all that surprised by the fruits.

"Yeah they're both devil fruits, they should be enough for the boat.", explained Itzal, holding the sack open for the old man to see them.

"You want me trade a boat for a devil fruit?", asked the old man in disbelief. He'd never thought he would see a devil fruit let alone be given one. He was amazed.

"Take your pick elder-san, and then show us our boat." Itzal just wanted to get out to sea already. The old man nodded. He ended up picking the yellow pear shaped one, leaving behind the pink apple shaped devil fruit. After taking the fruit and examining it for a moment and began to make his way to the docks to show them the boat.

The boat was small, one small plain white sail, room for a max of three people. It wasn't anything special. if anything it really wasn't even worth the price of a full devil fruit but, Itzal and Rob had no money so they had to give something. Plus,he old man wasn't going to complain at all.

"Well Rob, lets get going. On, to the next island!", exclaimed Itzal as he jumped into the boat, causing it to rock in the water. Rob smirked and leapt in after him, hoisting the sail after he did. Itzal sat down the front of the ship, Rob at the back, operating the rudder of the boat.

"Thanks for the boat Elder-san!", Itzal called back to the old man as they began to make their way out to sea.

The old man chuckled to himself, "Good Luck!" he shouted, "Pirate King!" he added the last part even louder than the first part. Causing a few passerbys to look at them strange at the mention of 'Pirate King.'

Itzal and Rob waved off the old man as they headed further out to sea. All three of them smiling like mad men.


-Somewhere in the East Blue sea- With Itzal and Rob-

Itzal and Rob had only been sailing for fifteen minutes or so, but they were actually both rather excited by where they would land next, Itzal more than Rob.

"Oi, Itzal," Itzal turned to his 'First mate', "We have a name as a crew yet?", Rob was curious as to what they would be called as pirates. They'd have to be known as something.

Itzal glanced at the clear blue skies above, "We're the Sky Pirates," Itzal gave a small smile of satisfaction.

"Why Sky Pirates?", Rob continued to question Itzal, after all if he was to be his captain he'd want to know more about him and this 'journey' they were going on. Itzal's gaze never left the sky.

"The Sky is truly the place without limits. There's nothing and no one to stop you or tell you were to go next. You merely go wherever you want. Truly free…" Itzal nearly whispered the last part as he continued to watch the sky.

Rob smiled at his answer. He had to admit, it had a nice ring to it. "I can guess this answer but have you ever been a captain of a ship before? Any idea on what you're doing?"

Itzal laughed at the question, "Nope, I actually haven't seen much of the world," Itzal explained, "That's why you're going to be my vice-captain. You got that?" Itzal smirked at Rob who was the one to laugh this time.

"You got it, Itzal.", Rob liked that, not bad being the vice-captain to a pirate crew, even if it was just the two of them.

"I got a question for you Rob. What was your ambition you mentioned earlier?" Itzal asked. Rob began to get a bit excited at the question.

"I want to become one of the strongest people in the world! But I want to do it my own way. Not with fancy devil fruit or a weapon. That's why I set out to sea. I want to prove to the world how strong I am! I don't need a devil or weapon to be strong. I'll be the source of my strength! And if I have die to achieve my dream so be it!", exclaimed Rob, through the whole explanation he got louder and more passionate in his words. It was hard to miss how much heart and soul he put into his dream.

Itzal couldn't hide the smile that little speech caused still looking to the skies above.. He'd always been fascinated by the passionate dreams of men and here he had found a crewmate that was truly passionate in his will to achieve and dedication to his dreams.

"Itzal," Itzal faced Rob, "Why the pirate king? What made you choose that as your dream?", Rob had caught the joyous smile Itzal had after Rob's little speech and wanted to know why Itzal wanted to go for the title of Pirate king.

"Because it's the greatest dream on the seas. The greatest ambition on the seas.", Rob listened quietly to his words, "It's a dream that many would call foolish. People will see it as crazy. Everyone will say I 'can't' do it or it's 'impossible for me to do it'. But that's exactly why I want to do it. I want to achieve what others say is impossible. When the world says I can't, one day I will say 'I did!'", the smile on Itzal's face threatened to split it in too with how big it was.

Rob leaned back, his hat cast a shadow over his face. "I see," was all he said. But you could easily tell it was with a huge smile of his own.


Chapter 1 complete. What did you guys think? Good, Bad or in between? Leave a review on what you readers out there think. Has its similarities with the main story but trust me it'll change more as we go along.

I aim for five thousand words per chapter, so it'll take time for me to write each chapter but I'll do my best to not keep you all waiting. I'd also like to thank everyone for their time and effort with their OC submissions. I'm both grateful and honored from the effort people put into this just for my silly little story. Thank you all.

Bellow Itzal is created by Condor k, who also beta-read the first chapter for me, so special thanks to them for the help.

Jackdaw Rob is my personal creation in the story and I'd like to know your thoughts on the characters in the crew so far.

Disclaimer, I obviously don't own One Piece (For Shame). All OC' go to their respective owners and such.

AlcatrazDGold- Till the next chapter… (Chapter 2 - We did something…)