Life with the Marines
Chapter One: Prologue
Twelve years ago
"So, what are our options?" Yasopp asked.
Somewhere in East Blue, the Red Hair Pirates were crammed around a table occupied with worn maps, about to discuss their next destination. It was well past midnight and their damaged ship rocked back and forth clumsily, the faint stench of alcohol still lingering in the air.
"We have two choices." Benn Beckman said, cleaning his rifle. Almost instantly, the crew members who were whispering tiredly among themselves became silent. Beckman continued.
"While there are many peaceful islands with access to supplies in East Blue, we've only found two discrete enough to hide our ship while we repair it," He then gave their navigator a pointed look, urging him to continue. The noticeably young navigator straightened and cleared his throat.
"W-well, our main choice is Dawn Island." He grabbed a map from the table.
"As you can see, the shape of the island is perfect for hiding the ship," He emphasized this by tracing its outline " but to keep a low profile we'd have to avoid entering Goa Kingdom," He pointed to a large circle in the middle of the island " and stay at the outskirts instead. I actually found a village, Foosha I think it's called, that would be a great resting spot."
"That sounds good enough," Shanks said, "what's the second choice?" At this comment, the navigator gave Shanks a startled look, as if surprised his captain would actually bother speaking to him.
"Our second choice is Whale Island, Sir." The navigator rolled out another map.
"The shape isn't as favorable as in Dawn Island's, but I thought you'd like to know-"
The boy stopped himself, clearly debating whether or not to share this particular piece of information with his crew. After a few the boy sighed in defeat.
"Well, I thought you'd like to know that the island is known for serving the best rum in the entire east-"Shanks didn't even let him finish.
"Whale Island it is!"
At this comment the tired mood of the room lit up considerably, the captain's proclamation soon being met with barking laughs and comments like "Aye, that's our capt'n for ya!" It only took a few minutes for the room to get rowdy, the semblance of another hellacious party beginning to take form.
The only ones seemingly unfazed by Shank's decision were Benn Beckman, who also happened to be the personified common sense of the crew, and the rudely interrupted navigator. While Beckman sighed at his crew's boisterous antics, the navigator started fidgeting with his fingers.
Perhaps I shouldn't have told them about the rum after all.
Too busy partying in honor of their next destination, the Red Hair pirates failed to notice that their most recent acquisition from combat; a small treasure case containing a Devil Fruit (the Gomu Gomu fruit, if their speculations were right) had been carelessly misplaced somewhere on deck. Lucky Roo, who had been terribly inebriated at the time, was to blame for the misplacement.
Now, as the ship entered a particularly agitated stretch of the sea and started rocking back and forth violently, the lacquered treasure chest fell down into the ocean, quickly getting carried away by the waves.
Present
BOOM!
On a particular Marine branch office, Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp had just burst through a wall.
Again.
After dusting off from his suit the remaining debris, Garp quickly ordered his subordinates to clean up the mess he had caused. He also made sure to emphasize that they did it quickly with a particularly dulcet 'Hurry up you lazy sea dogs!'
The reason behind his impatience was that Garp had just broken into his own room. To make matters worse, he had broken into his own room in the middle of the night. The Vice Admiral did his best to ignore the stifled yawns and grumblings from his subordinates.
Garp didn't feel particularly guilty about waking up the whole Marine base, his reason for it was perfectly reasonable. Having suffered an uncharacteristic strike of insomnia, the 'Hero of the Marines' had been wandering around the building , that is, until he happened to pass in front of his own room and decided to smash his way in. He had never used a door in his whole life, so Garp didn't understand why his subordinates would think he would start now.
Waiting for the mess to be cleaned, Garp sat down on his favorite chair. The old thing squeaked loudly under the man's weight.
Garp sighed. Although he had gone to his room with the intention of finally getting some sleep, he still didn't feel tired in the least. It wasn't surprising though, as there was an actual, tangible reason for his insomnia. Tomorrow was an important day. A very importantday.
But Garp didn't feel angry or anxious, no, Garp was thrilled.
Tomorrow, Luffy will finally join the Marines! The mere thought made Garp break into a big, sloppy smile, earning him strange looks from the Ensigns that were still repairing his room's wall.
Certainly, Monkey D. Garp was a happy man.
Seeing that the fixing of the wall would take a long time, Garp decided to lie down on his bed. To pass the time he decided to think, for the third time during the night, about the set of circumstances that had granted him the gift of seeing both of his grandsons become marines.
Well, is not as if I don't deserve it. He thought.
All modesty aside, Garp knew he was awe-inspiring. It was just a fact.
With his rugged good looks and his mighty fist, Garp had certainly earned his epithet 'Hero of the Marines'. He had saved hundreds of lives, fought valiantly in the name of justice and raised through the ranks without the help of any Devil Fruit. All of this without ever asking anything in return.
So yes, in Garp's mind it made sense that when he finally asked for something -say, something like his grandsons becoming strong, brave, dashing Marines- it would be given to him.
But still, it had taken Garp years of persistence, tough love and manipulation to get to this point, and he intended to savor it. Oh yes.
Tomorrow Luffy, who had turned 18 some days ago, would become a full-fledged Marine. A macho man. An hombre. Garp felt a wave of nostalgia; his little annoying brat had grown up.
Surprisingly enough, it had been Luffy, not Ace, who had embraced the Marine lifestyle first. Then again, Luffy was three years younger, which meant he was much more impressionable than his older brother.
It wasn't like there had been lack of nurturing and eagerness by Garp's part either. Since the moment Luffy turned 4, Garp had come once a week to Foosha village for a surprise training session harsher than the training he gave his own men. Sure, he might have been a little rash at times, like that one time he pushed him over that cliff… but still. It had all been so he would become a strong man.
Garp would like to think this 'tender training sessions' are what inspired Luffy to make his grandfather proud and become a marine, but he knew that wasn't the motivating factor. In fact, he had a slight hunch that Luffy may not have appreciated much his elite training. Why though, Garp had no clue. He would have traded off an arm to have such a supportive grandfather when he was a boy. Oh yes.
Garp's first attempts to reason (with actual words instead of fists) with Luffy weren't the reason either. What Garp hadn't known back then was that this was mostly due to an incorrect approach of things. Luffy, despite his stupidity, has an outstanding talent; but he needs some sort of motivation. Luffy had needed a goal back then, something Garp hadn't offered him.
But of course, Garp first attempts to reason with Luffy weren't the last.
One day, when Garp came to visit Luffy for a surprise training session that involved knifes, water and some wild animals, the little twerp hadn't been home. Outraged by the idea he may have escaped somewhere, Garp had stormed off the house, fully intent on giving the brat a good lesson.
What he hadn't expected to find was said brat in Partys Bar of all places, sitting down innocently while that bartender- Makino it was?- read him a story. The look on his grandson's face had been priceless; Garp remembered. Luffy had stared at the young woman in wonder, sparkles almost coming out of his eyes and his mouth open in a small 'o'.
Intrigued, Garp has listened to the story the bartender was telling him. It seemed to be a compilation of the different adventures a bunch of fishermen at the sea, very different from the books on marine hierarchy Garp often read to him.
After a while, Garp had left his eavesdropping post, also leaving Luffy, who had looked like he was about to wet himself from excitement, to continue listening to the story.
From that day on, he made a change to his propaganda.
Upon noticing a familiar smell Garp took a glance at the wall, it was now being repainted.
He went back to his thoughts. Usually, when Garp talked to Luffy about the Marines he focused on their heroic actions; telling him how this 'brave warriors of justice' risk their life everyday to catch evil criminals and yet they still have time to help old ladies cross the road. Usually this touching stories earned a blank stare from his youngest grandson, and perhaps some nose picking.
Obviously, in Luffy's mental list of priorities, things like 'heroes' and 'justice' weren't very far up.
Thus, Garp's new approach mainly involved talking to Luffy about the Navy lifestyle under a totally new light ("…a Marine's life is a life full of adventure, friendship, love and freedom! Did you hear that Luffy? ADVENTURE!") And just to be safe, he also offered a slightly downplayed version of the pirate's way of life ("Constantly chased by us, those criminal's lives are sure dull! Focus on the word dull here Luffy! Dull as in boring, which means no adventures! Did I also mention they have no adventures at all?").
Even a faithful marine like Garp knew that a pirate's life was far from 'dull' or 'boring'. In fact, it was almost the antithesis, but it had to be done. If his grandson's motivation really depended on what could give him the most adventures, he would really have to do much more than just lie a little about pirates. Fortunately though, Luffy never met one to prove Garp's version of them wrong. Thanks heavens.
Also to his luck, his new approach to joining the marines had a slightly better response than the first one.
While Luffy didn't outright say he wanted to join the Marines - which he probably didn't- he wasn't opposing to it either. If anything, he was accepting that if he wanted some sort of adventure in his life that didn't involve being thrown in the middle of the jungle at night, being a fighter of justice was the best, if not only, option.
It was one fateful evening though, that Garp finally got Luffy a bit interested in his job.
Once again Garp had come to Foosha for a surprise training session (this time involving balloons, birds and meat) and once again, Luffy had not been at home. But this time he wasn't at some bar listening to a bunch of adventure stories, no, this time he had been doing something much stranger. When after some hours Garp had finally found him, the little devil had been sitting on top of a hill, staring quietly at the sea.
Emphasize the word 'quietly'.
Somewhat perplexed, Garp had sat down tentatively next to Luffy; afraid he might ruin what could potentially be 'precious grandfather-grandson bonding time'
Garp had been sure Luffy had sensed his presence, but he didn't look up, still frowning pensively. Garp stayed quiet too, wondering where this would lead.
Suddenly Luffy broke the silence.
"… Say old man, who is the freest man on the seas?" He asked. Garp remembered being utterly confused at that moment, then meditating the question for a few minutes.
"I suppose the Fleet Admiral, who controls everything."A few seconds after he said it Garp realized he might not have given Luffy a very good answer. Now that I think about it, he had thought back then, Sengoku is perhaps one of the least free peop-
"The Fleet what?"
"…"
After giving his grandson a good hard punch for being an uncultured idiot, Garp replied.
"The Fleet Admiral, don't you ever listen to me when I talk to you about marines?"
"No." Luffy had then proceeded to earn the second punch of the evening.
"Well, the Fleet Admiral is the leader of the Marines" Luffy frowned, rubbing the new bumps on his head.
"That sounds boring. Does he fight?" Garp fought the urge to punch Luffy again.
"Of course he does! The Fleet Admiral has the best fights and adventures in the whole sea!"
Garp had blurted that out as a spur-of-the-moment thing, but judging by the look in the boy's eye, his comment had intrigued Luffy. After that, they stayed quiet for a while, looking at the sea.
Garp looked at his room again; he had been so absorbed in his thoughts that without realizing it, his subordinates had finished painting his wall, cleaned the remaining debris and gone to sleep. He sighed contently. Much better. Now that he was in the privacy of a room without a gaping hole in one of its walls, Garp took the chance to get a few treats from his secret stash of donuts under his bed.
Lying down on his bed again while he munched happily the sugary treat, Garp decided to indulge in some more pleasant memories.
While Garp never found out to what extent that conversation had really interested Luffy, the day after that talk he had been sure the boy was at least a bit curious. This was mostly because the brat had suddenly started asking thousands upon thousands of annoying questions. Although he had almost lost it when Luffy had asked 'Do all Marines poop?' Garp had indeed been secretly very pleased with his advances.
As a result, it was during that time he had started to seriously plan Luffy's career.
There are mainly two ways to become a marine, usually depending on the age and connections the individual has. Typically if the person is young and, to put it bluntly, doesn't know personally any marine big shot, they will start in the lowest rank, Chore Boy, and will have to rise through the ranks while receiving harsh physical and academic training.
On the other hand, if the person in question is around 18 or above or has some pretty good influences, there is an easier way out. The individual will be tested both with a written exam and a battle to determine their prowess in the battlefield and their knowledge of the sea in general.
Afterwards, they are placed upon the rank the judges deem most worthy. While it is prohibited to give a rank higher than Petty Officer, this is still the easiest way out; simply because almost no one gets ranked as having the skills of a Chore Boy.
Now, any other person wouldn't have hesitated to shove Luffy as a Chore Boy and hope he would manage to make a name for himself. In fact, Garp himself had been tempted by the idea as he wanted Luffy to work his butt off to get things, but he had later dismissed the whole concept.
The reason for this change of mind was mostly due to the fact that he didn't want to leave his grandson's training to some incompetent. It would be him, Garp, 'Hero of the Marines' who would train and shape Luffy up to be a strong, wonderful marine, no one else.
Thus, from the day Luffy started asking questions; Garp started visiting Luffy almost daily. He also happened to increase his training by tenfold, something which his youngest grandson didn't appreciate much. But there was a purpose to all of this; these changes in routine had the sole purpose to prepare him for one single thing: the chance to prove himself after he turned 18.
Which is tomorrow. Garp thought happily.
Admittedly, even after Luffy stopped resenting the Marines, there had still been some set-backs on Luffy's road towards marine life. One of the most notorious being when he became a rubber man.
A rubber man.
It was at moments like those when Garp had genuinely wondered if his grandson had been born under a bad star. The Vice Admiral still remembers how unnerving was the first time he had given the little brat his 'Fist of Love' and his fist had actually bounced back.
Later on, Garp had learnt that Luffy had gone earlier in that remarkable morning to annoy some fisherman called Gyoru , with whom he was friends with. It turns out that the fisherman had fished out by accident a small treasure chest and had the bad judgment to show it to Luffy. His stupid grandson had obviously opened the chest, and since he found a fruit inside, he thought it was some sort of dessert. The rest, as they say, is history.
In a different scenario, having Luffy eat a Devil Fruit and acquire some freaky power like being elastic could have been considered useful. But Luffy, who was supposed to become a marine, had just traded off his ability to swim for a very dull ability.
At least if it had been something a bit flashier, like a Logia ability or a Mythical Zoan one, he might have let it slide, but Lady Luck wasn't on Luffy's side when he ate that fruit. Garp had still been fuming a couple of weeks after that incident.
Admittedly though, he had heard of worse scenarios. There had been a case of a particularly strong Commander who had eaten a Zoan type fruit, only to find out that it turned him into a beetle. Needless to say, he became the laughing stock of the whole Marine HQ.
But back to the point, even the whole Gomu Gomu fiasco didn't deter Garp in his endeavor of making Luffy a marine, and now, all these years later, the rubber brat was about to become just that in a matter of hours. Garp's heart swelled with pride.
Now feeling ready to go to sleep, Garp changed into his sleeping gear, including a sleep mask and pajama hat, and plopped onto his bed. But he still couldn't sleep.
One couldn't just think about Luffy and not have their thoughts eventually drift to his brother Ace.
Ah, Ace.
Ace, who because of his age had ironically been the first one to become a marine, (now some even say that he might be about to be promoted to Rear Admiral) had also been the most adamant about the whole idea.
Soon after Garp managed to get Luffy mildly interested in joining the Marines, Garp had realized there might still be hope for Ace too, thus he didn't waste time to take the 9 year old back from Dandan's custody (who despite trying to appear as relieved as possible, Garp suspected was secretly saddened to bid goodbye to the freckled twerp) and stuck him living with Luffy at Foosha village.
At first, that didn't go exactly well.
It didn't take more than 2 weeks to realize that somewhere on the way; his adopted grandson had become something of a monster. Perhaps leaving the boy with bandits and hoping he would become a marine wasn't exactly my brightest idea. Garp thought amusedly.
Indeed, Ace had picked up some curious habits from his time with the mountain bandits. Worth mentioning was the large repertoire of swear words that he could have only learned from criminals (in fact, even Garp didn't know some of the words the little gaki spewed out).
Also, while he had become pleasantly strong, Ace had also become independent to the extreme. Without counting sleep hours, his grandson spent absolutely no time at home. Zero. Zilch. Nada.
Garp soon discovered that the reason for this was that the brat went out on long trips to the forest, only to come back at midnight, usually with some gigantic dead animal on his back. Even more baffling was the fact that his rival's son didn't accept food unless he himself had hunted it.
Garp soon fixed this by giving Ace 'surprise training sessions' too, in an attempt to eradicate his visits to the forest. Disappointingly enough Ace, unlike Luffy, didn't seem to mind in the least his almost daily training. He was not even intimidated. In fact, Ace seemed to be in his element, so after passing flawlessly whatever Garp threw at him, the horror child still had time to visit the forest.
This routine went on until by a strike of inspiration, Garp found a way that although didn't stop completely his forest loitering habits, it dramatically reduced the frequency and length of these visits.
He gave Ace a job.
To be exact, he cleaned the floor of Party's bar. While he would have liked to give his grandson a more physically demanding job, no other place wanted to hire the rude 9 year old. It had been mere luck that the bartender, Makino again, was very fond of Luffy and was willing to recommend Ace to her boss.
The best thing out of all of this was that this job had unexpected results. While the main purpose had been to reduce Ace's trips to the forest, he noticed the boy's explosive temper had been somewhat appeased since he began his job. He eventually discovered the reason for this was Makino herself.
Sometimes Garp thinks that Makino girl was a gift from the sea gods.
While Ace wasn't nice per se to the young woman -in fact he mostly ignored her- he seemed to tolerate her presence; which is more than Garp can say about most people.
It actually did make sense that someone like Ace, who had been completely devoid of a mother figure (Dandan could hardly be considered a woman to begin with) all his life, would find something of a parental figure in sweet, gentle Makino.
Curiously enough, Luffy had never had these parental issues. In fact, he treated Makino as a friend of his age more than anything.
Garp suspected that the reason for this was that Luffy, in a strange way, had become more resilient and mentally strong than Ace, the latter who had been mentally scarred to the point of questioning his own existence. Admittedly, if the brat hadn't acted like such a snot back then, Garp might have even felt sorry for him.
It is also worth adding that - for reasons he cannot fathom- some women of the village actually found his younger grandson cute and tried to be motherly with him. Fortunately, Luffy paid no attention to them. Ace on the other hand, who looked older and more intimidating than his real age, didn't get this sort of attention.
But all of these issues with his older grandson, which were many, were still only the tip of the iceberg.
At first, while exasperating, he hadn't really minded the Pirate King's son rude manners and cold demeanor. Obviously he gave him a corresponding beating, but that was that. When it started being a threat to Luffy's life though, he began to worry.
Strangely enough, Luffy seemed to want to befriend Ace, so he started following him in his little escapades to the forest (fortunately now less frequent). Usually, Garp would be somewhat amused to learn that the 6 year old had followed Ace again only to have a tree trunk collide with his face or something of the like; but he soon realized that Luffy wouldn't be much of marine if he was dead.
Besides, he had been hoping the two boys would eventually become friends, and he was starting to see that while Luffy miraculously seemed willing, Ace was not warming up to him like he expected.
Oh-ho, but Garp wasn't having any of that. Both of his grandsons would get along. Oh yes.
So he decided to make joint training lessons. Surely, relying on each other to survive will make Ace warm up. Garp had thought back then.
It didn't help much though; in fact it only helped to make Ace exasperated on Luffy's inferior skills.
Fortunately one day, this dynamic changed. Somewhat.
One day, Garp had been visiting once again Foosha village, which was by now an almost daily habit, only to find Luffy being beaten to pulp by some angry folks, a burning building behind them. The comedy errors that lead to the building being on fire, he would never know, but what he did find out is that Luffy was not the only one guilty for the disaster.
It was after Garp recued Luffy that Ace found out Luffy had taken his and Ace's blame. The freckled boy had told Garp he thought Luffy had just escaped. Garp didn't blame him for thinking that; after all, the building the little devils had set on fire had been a Dojo.
After the whole ordeal, which involved Garp saving Luffy from complete obliteration only to give him a good beating himself, Luffy and Ace had a talk. During this conversation Garp had hidden behind a tree, listening intently.
He heard some sobbing, presumably from Luffy, and a harsh "stop crying!"From Ace. After some shouting, Ace seemed to be asking Luffy something, only to be interrupted by the latter.
"…because I don't want to be alone!" Luffy seemed to be explaining.
Just when the conversation was getting juicy and Garp believed to have heard Ace asking something about living, Garp's eavesdropping session was interrupted by mayor Woop Slap asking him what on All Blue's name was he doing hiding behind a tree spying on kids.
This wasn't yet the final incentive for Ace to befriend Luffy, but it was a start. Garp, immensely pleased, increased their joint survival training. Now, he left them to survive on deserted islands or jungles with nothing but each other for months. Which was convenient for Garp too, who couldn't afford visiting Foosha so frequently.
Curiously, what truly brought out Ace's protective streak was when Luffy had a brush with death. Garp admitted that he might have overdone it a bit when he locked up the 2 boys inside a room full of lions, but he hadn't expected for Luffy to come out so injured. There had been a moment where everyone genuinely thought Luffy would not make it.
It was after this that Ace, who probably had the guilt trip of his life, began acting like a real brother to Luffy. Amazingly enough, he even asked Makino to help him with his atrocious manners.
After this, Luffy's and Ace's relationship seemed to gradually improve, but there was still one tiny problem.
Ace wanted to be a pirate.
It wasn't just a hunch either; Ace had outright said "I don't care about your stupid rules old man! I want to be a pirate!" While this obviously earned him a good beating, Ace, much like Luffy, didn't care much about trivialities like threats and rule breaking.
The worst thing is that he was rubbing off unto Luffy, who was beginning to get curious about pirates too. After months of constant fighting and arguing because of this, it was a random slip once again what eventually changed Ace's attitude towards piracy.
Garp didn't even remember the situation; the when, the how, or the why, but he distinctly remembered how after a brief flash of horror, Ace's expression had seemed to close when Garp had offhandedly blurted,
"You are more like your father each day"
When he realized his gaffe, Garp had tried to amend it, but it only came out worse.
"Well Ace, maybe you shouldn't become a pirate if you resent your father so much. Ever thought about that?"
The silence that followed was so treacherous and loaded with significance Garp actually got worried. It was then when he realized how deeply rooted was Ace's resentment towards his father.
But Garp got out something positive out of this uncomfortable exchange; he had finally found his grandson's weak spot. In an attempt to sway him from his desire for piracy Garp made more of this comments during the following months at any chance he could. To be honest with himself, each time he found himself saying meaner and meaner things.
Ace did get quite furious at Garp several times, the brat even mustered the gall to try and punch him, but Garp's constant jabbing eventually worked. Ace never said anything about becoming a pirate again.
After that, everything went so quickly Garp still can't believe that twat grew up to be so… bearable. If someone had told him before that Ace would grow up to be a Commodore that was famous for his impeccable manners and well-humored nature, Garp would have punched the poor delusional fool.
As they say, reality is stranger than fiction.
Asides from the personality upgrade, the fact that his elder grandson even managed to join the Marines was a surprise. Not because he was unskilled in battle, nor because of the written exam, as the boy did have a streak of intelligence. No, the problem lied with the background check.
As expected, a thorough verification of your background is required, and there was something terribly tacky in Ace's one. Namely, being the son of the Pirate King, which wasn't particularly looked well upon. Fortunately the boy got lucky and his real heritage wasn't uncovered. Garp had a feeling it eventually would, but the consequences now would be softer. He didn't want his grandsons to become marines only for selfish reasons after all.
A loud crack interrupted Garp's train of thought: it seems the recently fixed wall hadn't been able to hold and had broken again. But finally feeling relaxed after his mental movie of success, Garp decided to pay no attention to the wall. After all, he needed to be in his best shape for tomorrow. Garp closed his eyes.
It was an important day after all, and nothing, nothing was supposed to go wrong.
Twelve years ago
A young boy sat gloomily on a tree, staring quietly at the forest.
His stomach was empty, his clothes tattered and he felt a fine layer of dirt covering his face. Of course, he didn't mind enduring hardships as long as he was far, far away from home, but he felt he was slowly losing his sense of purpose. Sure, being free from the restrictions of his former life was great, but now without them, he was somewhat lost.
Adjusting his hat, the kid hopped from the tree. He needed to eat after all; there was no time to regret his decisions. But his thoughts betrayed him and he couldn't help but think this life of freedom hadn't been what he expected. Then again, he was not sure what a life of freedom comprised. Was this really freedom? He didn't know. The nine year old wasn't sure yet what sort of life he wanted. What he was sure of is that he really, really did not want to become a noble.
While hunting for his lunch he reflected, quite anguished, that he really was lost. He had no plans for the future, and if his parents found him -which they probably would- he would have no plan for escaping his noble life either. But, to be honest with himself, there was another pressing matter that weighted him more.
It was a bit stupid but, above all, Sabo was lonely.
As he treaded carefully through the woods, he eyed a wild boar. Perfect.
Sabo frowned, when was the last time he had human contact, months? Well, saying that he hadn't seen a single human for months wasn't exactly true either, as for one, he had seen a young boy like him running around this forest. He had actually intended to talk to the black haired boy, but by the time he decided whether this was a sensible idea or not, he had started seeing the boy less and less until one day, he had stopped seeing him altogether.
Killing the boar with one swift blow, Sabo dragged the dead animal back to his small hideout. He quickly lit a fire and started roasting his future lunch. His thoughts drifted again. During these last months he had been thinking a lot. But all his thoughts ended in the same conclusion: he wanted to be free.
He didn't know or when, but he promised himself that someday, he would be freer than the freest of birds. Even if his parents did catch him.
Sabo sighed again. They do say one has to wait patiently for miracles to happen.
A/N: Yes, navigator, you shouldn't have told Shanks about the rum.
Hello there! I must admit since the moment Garp mentioned he had wanted Luffy to become a marine -and subsequently Ace too- the idea of both brothers becoming marines has intrigued me. Thus, this project was born!
Just so you know, this fic is an AU in which the divergence point is when Shanks decides not to visit Luffy's hometown. While the world itself will be left intact, the storyline will obviously be totally different.
I would also like to mention that this story won't have any pairings, sorry buddies.