In the midst of the calm waters of East Blue, a sole barrel floated lazily towards a passenger ship. The sailors spotted it and decided to see if it had any value. Sake, gold, silvers, anything useful, really.
But just as they were about to open it, pirates attacked!
"Coby!" a harsh voice shouted. A short pink haired kid staggered forward.
"Y-yes, Ms. Alvida?" He stuttered, terrified. The not-necessarily-pleasing-to-look-at woman raised her iron mace threateningly; for she wasn't known as Iron-Mace Alvida for nothing.
"Tell me, who is the most beautiful woman in the world?" she asked.
'Definitely not you.' Coby thought, but alas he was too much a wimp to actually say that.
"W-why y-you a-are, Ms. A-Alvida." He chuckled nervously, praying she wouldn't kill him.
"Good. Now, do you know why we keep you here, even though you're pathetic?"
"B-because o-of m-my navigation skills."
"Yes. Remember boy, you are useless minus your navigation skills. If I wanted to, I could kill you right now. Don't take my generosity for granted!"
'What generosity?'
"I-I d-don't, Miss A-Alvida!"
"Then prove it and get your ass onto that ship!" she snarled and sent the poor boy hurling towards the passenger ship.
As the pirates raided, the boy, Coby, tried to keep to himself. Around that time, he stumbled upon a barrel. Curious, he rolled it away.
"What you got there?" A nasally voice asked. Coby squeaked and looked up. In front of him stood three of his 'crewmates'.
"J-just a ba-barrel. I-I t-thought there might b-be something i-important i-in it."
"Do you think it's sake?" the man on the left side of the first one spoke.
"Probably! Let's open it!" The last one exclaimed.
"But w-what about Ms. A-Alvida!" Coby shreaked.
"What she doesn't know won't hurt her." They glared at Coby, daring him to object. The middle one lifted his fist to open the barrel when it burst open itself.
"Ah! What a good nap!!" a young voice exclaimed. Then, seemingly noticing the four pirates, one reluctant and one passed out, he tilted his head.
"Who are you? … Your friends gonna catch a cold if he sleeps over there."
"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU? YOU DID THIS TO HIM!" The two remaining pirates lifted their swords, ready to attack.
"I did? Oops~ I'm sorry! Shishishi! My name's Monkey D Luffy! I'm gonna be the King of the Pirates!" The pirates attacked but Luffy broke their swords without much effort. Terrified, they picked up the knocked out one and ran away.
"How strange!" Luffy laughed. Coby, finally getting out of shocked demeanor, stared at Luffy in awe.
He was a handsome boy, that much Coby had to admit. He had short hair that seemed so incredibly soft. He had a skinny body and big brown eyes. He was wearing a red dress shirt that's collar was popped and first few buttons were kept undone. His black tie was loosely hanging around his neck and he wore a black leather jacket with the collar, once again, popped. He had fingerless gloves and tight pants. On his feet were black boots. Around his shirt, a belt hung. It had a sword attached to it with several pouches. He also had three… sticks?... attached to his pants. On his head a straw hat was perched.
Spotting Coby, he grinned, stretching the scar under his eye.
"Hey! Do you have any food? I'm hungry?" Coby blinked a few times before nodding and stumbling towards the kitchen. Luffy laughed and followed.
"S-so L-Luffy-san?" Coby tried starting a conversation. The boy stopped stuffing apples into his face and glanced at Coby with a raised brow.
"How do you know my name?"
"U-um… you s-said it a while a-ago."
"I did? Oh… Shishishi! What's your name?"
"U-um...i-it's C-Coby, L-Luffy-san."
"Nice to meet you Cucoby Lulooffisan. What a strange name!"
"It's just Coby."
"Oh. Nice to meet you, Justcoby." He continued eating, leaving Coby to stare at him, speechless.
"N-no… My name is 'Coby' not Justcoby or Cucoby Lulooffisan."
"Cobynotjustcobyorcucoby Lulooffisan?" Luffy asked. Coby collapsed onto the floor.
"Can I just call you Coby?" Luffy asked. Coby groaned but nodded.
"Well, Coby, what's going on here?"
"Pirates are raiding this passenger ship." Too flabbergasted to strutter.
"Oh. Are you a passenger?"
"No… I'm… a pirate. But not because I want to be!" Luffy raised a brow, signaling him to continue. And so Coby shared his humorous yet tragic tale.
"Why don't you just run away?"
"I tried...s-several t-times. B-but in the e-end I g-got too scared…"
"Ah, so you're weak, stupid, and a coward? I hate people like you!" Luffy exclaimed with a giant grin. Coby sulked.
"B-but… What are y-you d-doing h-here L-Luffy-san?"
"Just Luffy's fine. The thing is, I was heading to make my dream come true on a small boat when a large whirlpool appeared out of nowhere. Thinking fast, I ate all the food and jumped into the barrel!"
"W-whirlpool?" Coby stared at him in shock, wondering how it was possible that he was still alive.
"A-anyway! You h-have t-to get o-out of h-here! Those men y-you d-defeated… t-they were p-part of A-Alvida's crew!"
"Who's Alvida?"
"She's the vicious pirate captain that happens to be the cause of my misery." Coby deadpanned.
"Ah! You didn't strutter that time!"
"Huh? I g-guess I-I d-didn't."
"Well. That was a short lived victory." Luffy went back to eating and Coby thought back to their conversation.
"L-Luffy-san? You mentioned a dream… M-may I-I a-ask w-what it is?"
"Hmm? I'm gonna be the king of the pirates!"
"W--what!? That m-means you're l-looking for the O-One Piece treasure! Everybody's l-looking for it!!!"
"I know. I am too."
"Impossible! I-Impossible! I-Im- Ouch! Why d-did y-you hit me?"
"Felt like it."
"Oh. W-well, I-I'm used to it a-anyway."
"Listen here Coby. I don't care if it's impossible or that so many people are looking for it. I'm still going to go after the treasure. I don't care if I die. Why? Because it's my dream. And I… I'm nothing if not a dreamer."
"Do you think I can do it, too? I-if I really w-want to. Do you t-think I c-can b-be a marine?"
"How would I know?"
"I can! I-I'll become a m-marine a-and catch bad g-guys l-like A-Alvida!" Just then the roof crashed and a baby whale fell in.
"Just who… are you going to catch, Coby?" The whale growled.
'Ah… she's not a whale. She's too ugly for that… but she doesn't look human either. Ah! Maybe she's a witch! That's gotta be it!'
Luffy grinned, proud that he had solved the 'mystery'.
"Who's the ugly witch, Coby?" Dropped jaws, wide eyes, and other shocked responses. Luffy tilted his head, confused.
"L-Luffy-san! T-that's A-Alvida-san! Don't y-you k-know t-that s-she's…" Coby thought back to what Luffy said: 'I don't care if I die.'
"D-don't you know that she's the fattest, meanest, ugliest hag to ever walk on earth!?" Luffy doubled over laughing.
"WHAT WAS THAT!?!?!?"
"Exactly what you heard! I'm gonna join the Marines and catch people like you! A-and plus! Luffy-san's better looking, anyway!" Luffy blinked at that before laughing again.
"Oh. So you go an' betray me over some guy you just met and got a crush on?" Coby shook his head frantically.
"L-Luffy-san's my first friend! Not crush!"
"And then there's the fact that I'm taken." Luffy commented as he stood up. Alvida took her mace and slammed it onto Luffy's head, but it broke. And with a shout of, 'Gomu Gomu no Bazooka!' Luffy sent Alvida flying.
She flew so far that she became merely a twinkle in the sky. It was weird how something so rotten and ugly could create something so pretty.
Luffy jumped onto the deck, Coby in hand. The pirates all jumped away, terrified of the person that defeated their captain so easily.
"Oi! You!" Luffy pointed to some random one. The guy stiffened and nervously pointed to himself in question.
"Yes, you! Get us a boat and fill it up with food! 'Kay?" The pirate nodded and scampered away.
"Hey, Coby? Who's Roronoa Zoro?"
"E-eh? W-why d-do y-you a-ask?"
"I heard his name pass around the ship while we were waiting for our boat."
"H-he's the m-most v-vicious p-pirate h-hunter. People s-say h-he's a d-demon! W-why do y-you a-ask?"
"I want him to join my crew. But only if he's a good guy."
"O-oh I s-see…. WAIT, WHAT!?!?! You want a pirate hunter to join you pirate crew???"
"Your stuttering went away again. And yes, but only if he's a good guy."
"He's not a g-good g-guy. T-they've h-held h-him captive at the m-marine b-base in s-shells town. There's no w-way h-he's a g-good g-guy."
"If he got caught, does that mean he's weak? How disappointing."
"H-he's n-not w-weak! H-he's a d-devil!"
"Shishishi! I'll be the judge of that! We are heading to Shell's Town after all." Coby gaped at Luffy but decided it was best to just leave it at that. There was no arguing with Luffy.