Author's Note - Hello again! For the most part, this will be a re-write of my original One Piece continuity. However, it will have some changes. As i wrote, the story evolved a bit, so some of the continuity was lost. As i re-write this series, i plan to correct these inconsistencies. In addition, the original stories were separated and frequently in odd chronological order. This story will assemble those pieces in the order in which they occurred. I hope that this will make the story over all a bit easier to follow.

It is also very likely that i will add new scenes as i go, starting with this first chapter. I couldn't think of a better place to start than here. If you have not read my other stories, then feel free to do so, or to wait for them to be assimilated here. Be warned, when this is completed, i will be removing the old stories. If you want a version of this favorited in a certain way, transfer it to this story before the old ones are lost.

That's all from me! Enjoy the story, and sorry the first chapter is so short!

The Legacy of a Legend - Chapter 01

A Hat In A Field

"Hey! Roger! What is that?" A young girl shouted across the field at her brother. The boy in question was standing in grass that nearly hid him entirely, holding something in his hands that his sister couldn't see. "Come on! Show me!"

"Come out here and see for yourself!" The boy, Roger, called back. He was too absorbed with what he had found to look up at the moment. With an annoyed huff, the girl began pushing her way through grass that sat even with her neck in most places. Finally, she reached her brother's side and punched his arm angrily.

"You made me hike through all that grass to see a stupid ugly hat?!" The girl turned and began to storm off, but her brother caught her arm.

"Wait!" When she turned, she found him grinning at her the way he always did when his imagination was running away with him again. "Look at it!" He extended the hat. She raised an eyebrow, but took the thing and turned it slowly in her hands.

"What am I looking for, exactly?" She pretended she was uninterested, but as she handled the thing, she became more and more intrigued. It looked like it was ancient, with burns, tears, and marks of all kinds covering its surface. However, despite the obvious signs of wear, it was in perfect structural shape. Not a single piece of straw threatened to fall free.

"Fine, then." Roger snatched it from her hands and sat it resolutely on top of his head. "I'm keeping it."

"You would..." She shook her head, but reached up and slid the loop of red ribbon from her head and nestled it around the top of the hat. "There. At least now you have a little color." She folded her arms and looked at him critically. "You still look like an idiot." She turned and ran off through the grass, leaving her brother standing alone.

"Ha. Well, maybe I am an idiot." Roger took the hat off and examined it with the ribbon. "It looks nice, Chrysi. Thanks." He grinned and replaced it on his messy black hair and then took off after his sister.

When he reached the edge of the field, he found her waiting, as always, on a large rock they had found a few years before. Their parents didn't approve of them running off in to the forests and fields of the mountainous region of the island, but as long as they stayed together and always came back in one piece, they didn't put up too much of a fuss.

That was how they spent their days. Running through the forest, swimming in rivers, climbing hills that seemed almost insurmountable to children their size. A day without a new adventure was a day wasted.

So, Roger and Chrysos were well known throughout Loguetown as the best guides around, as well as the most likely suspects should something go amiss in the wild lands that took up a large portion of the island.

Their parents were wealthy, but not rich. Merchants who had worked hard to make their fortunes in the city that served as the crossroads of East Blue.

It provided endless opportunities for their children to get in to trouble as they listened to stories from pirates and marines alike about the wonders and dangers of the Grand Line.

"Think we should head back? Mom and Dad are probably going to yell at us for missing dinner again. We watch the sunset and not be much worse off." Roger pondered their options as his sister only rolled her eyes. She knew what answer he would come up with. If it was a choice between sitting in a house with civilized people and spending time with the wonder of nature, he would be camping every time.

The pair spent most of the evening laying in the grass, watching the sun set and then the stars appear. Roger never let the hat leave his side. Something about it seemed... special to him. As if he could hear a voice calling out to him from nowhere and everywhere that that had was destined to see incredible things, and he should be right there with it.

"Roger, do you think we'll ever leave this place?" Chrysos asked quietly.

"Yeah. Maybe soon. At least for me."

"You have to take me with you!"

"No way, Chrysi! You should go have your own adventure and make your own friends. You can't keep relying on me." Roger said. He knew it was harsh, but he had the feeling that she had a different path than he did.

"Fine... Where do you think you'll go then?"

"I..." Roger closed his eyes and remembered the feeling that came over him when he picked up the ragged straw hat that afternoon. "I am going to sail where no man has ever been before. I'm going to explore the entire Grand Line. All the way to the end!"

"All the way to the end of the Grand Line, huh? Yeah right. No one has ever been there, and you aren't the strongest man to ever try." Chrysi yawned. "I heard there are some revolutionaries going around causing trouble for the government. They might be fun to travel with. I might even meet a handsome hero and get married to someone who isn't as boring as all the guys around here."

Roger and Chrysos looked at each other, then grinned and extended their hands to each other, holding the other tightly.

"Promise, one of us will shake the world." They both nodded.

A few years later, the two siblings set off in their own directions. Chrysos met up with a recruiter for the revolutionaries. Roger met a man at the dock.

"Our meeting here is destiny, Rayleigh! My name is Roger! How would you like to turn the world on its head with me?!"

Review, please! They serve as excellent motivation!