One Piece: Pirate Kingdom
Chapter 1: The Mark of the Snake
Snakes. In many religions and myths, snakes are regarded as evil creatures and the form taking by demons. However snakes are also the symbol of rebirth and reincarnation for their ability to shed their skin. There are those born with the Snake's Mark on their body. Some people see these children as the spawn of the devil and a symbol of bad luck, drought and famine, plague, and even the world's destruction. Others believe that the child has a soul that has been reincarnated seen all six realms of existence and has obtained true enlightenment. The children believed to be the latter, are considered prophets and believed to know the secrets of the universe. The former however...
An infant with tan skin and short tufts of dark brown hair that had a birth mark that resembled a snake coiled around the bicep of his left arm was laid upon an altar in the middle of a large crowd that was gathered and was cheering during the night of a full moon. The newborn cried out as its only method of communication. Despite having its umbilical cord freshly cut and having never opened its eyes to see the world, it knew instinctively to be afraid and call out for its mother to protect it. Its cries appeared to fall on deaf ears as a large man holding a knife in his right hand walked up to the alter. As he did the crowd yelled out their cheers.
"Do it! Kill the demon child!"
"That boy will be the end of us all!"
"He is evil incarnate!"
"His life is our death!"
The man raised the raised the knife above his head. "Child who bears the Snake's Mark, in order to save my village from the evil you will bring, I slay thee!" The man stated. He swung his knife down toward the infants neck. Before he could harm the child, he was suddenly tackled by a woman with long brown hair who grabbed onto his hand that held the knife, stopping him from killing the child.
"Please... don't hurt my son." The woman pleaded. Tears streamed down from her soft brown eyes. "He hasn't been in this world for ten minutes! He hasn't done a single thing to anyone and you're executing him as if he was a criminal!" The woman cried. The man pushed the woman off of him, causing her to fall to the ground. When she got back up, the man stabbed her in her abdomen with his knife. She coughed up blood before bowling over. The man removed his knife from her stomach, allowing her to fall to the ground. He turned back to the infant and felt something grab onto his ankle. He looked down and saw the woman grabbing onto his ankle. "Please... someone... save my son..." She begged. "...If he lives, then I can die happily... my only regret is that I wont get to see my son Vincent grow up..." She mumbled. She closed her eyes as blood flowed out of her wound, forming a puddle on the ground. Her grip on the man's ankle weakened and he kicked her hand off.
"Foolish woman, she shouldn't even be walking in her condition," The man stated. He turned back to the infant, the boy named Vincent with his mother's final breaths. "... and she died for what, to save this child, her son?" The man said. "That foolish bitch! Doesn't she know that this child will only bring us chaos and destruction?" The man asked. "I, his father, the man who had a hand in his conception, must right the wrong that I brought into this world!" The man exclaimed. He raised his knife above his head once more, primed to kill the infant, his own son.
"Hurry it up already!"
"If you don't hurry up and kill this kid, we'll all be doomed!"
The man nodded in response. He quickly swung his knife down as the audience cheered. He widened his eyes and the audience cheering stopped. The man's knife had cut into the altar, but not the child. The infant Vincent had suddenly disappeared to the crowd's shock.
"What the hell!"
"He really is a demon child!"
The man turned to the crowd in anger. "What are you all still doing here?" The man asked. "Find him, find the demon child and kill him!" The man ordered. He watched the crowd scrambled away in search for Vincent. He looked down to his lover and Vincent's mother. He saw that she had a wide smile on her face that angered him even more. He suddenly kicked her in the face, turning her over. He knelt down and grabbed her hair. He lifted her head so he could look at her face to face. "That smile, you bitch! You planned this didn't you?" He asked.
XxX
Out into sea on a small boat, a man with long black hair braided into a ponytail held the young Vincent. Despite having his eyes closed, he stared down at the young infant. Like Vincent, he too had the Snake's Marks but his was over his right eye. "Even though I can't see it, I know it's there." The man said. "You too are a child of the Snake's Mark, a child who is both blessed and cursed." The man added. "You're mother said your name was Vin, but that's a little long, so how about I just call you Vin for short?" The man asked. The infant Vin only slept in response. Despite only being alive for a few minutes, he has had a long day. "Well since we're going to be living together, I might as well tell you my name, I'm Li..." Li introduced.
X Sixteen years later... X
Vin sat at a desk reading a book titled, 'One Piece'. Vin had grown into a handsome young man. His dark brown hair had grown into spikes that were brushed back excepted for two locks that hung over his face. He wore an open red vest over a black long sleeved shirt with matching black pants with red wristbands and sandals. Li opened the door to the room and walked in. "Hey Vin- Kun, what are you reading?" Li asked.
"Oh Li- San, I was just reading this book I found, One Piece." Vin informed. "I just finished it, but there is nothing but a bunch of blank pages in the end." Vin stated. "I wonder why?" He asked.
"Perhaps the next chapter needs to be written..." Li joked.
"The author said this story is based off the story of Monkey D. Luffy, but is it true? Does One Piece really exists?" Vin asked.
"Please Vin, it's just a fairy tale told to children, as if such a treasure really exist..." Li stated. "But yet in still many pirates, waste there entire lives chasing after a childish fantasy." Li sighed. Vin closed the book and stood up. He walked towards the door, stopping when he was beside Li.
"You say One Piece doesn't exist, that it is a myth, a legend, but I now its out there..." Vin stated. He looked down at the book in his hand. "I know One Piece is real, I can feel it, I can't explain it, but I feel it..." Vin said. He look ahead and walked toward the door. He turned back to Li and smiled. "Just call me the Pirate Prince, because I'm going to prove One Piece exists and become the Pirate King. Even if it kills me, even if my journey takes me to the ends of the earth, I will find it!" Vin stated. Vin walked out the room as Li only smiled.
To Be Continued...
XxX
Shonen King: Yo, Shonen King here! I'm rewriting Pirate Kingdom, for quite a few reasons. One reason is that I felt that Vin was a bit overpowered and another was that I felt that I was rushing the story a bit. I'm going to included the Anglia Arc from the original. Also, I'm looking for OC's(Again...).
The Character Sheet:
Name:
Age:
Appearance:
Personality:
Weapons/Devil Fruit Powers/Etc:
Techniques:
History:
Other:
Keep it cool, keep it Shonen!