This is my first story don't expect too much and I apologise for any grammatical errors up front. Still i did my best and i hope that you enjoy the story.
Disclaimer. I don't own One piece. That series belongs to Oda Eiichiro. I only own my own original characters.
The Journey of a Lifetime
It was a nice and sunny day on Melody Island here in West Blue. The sky was blue without a cloud in sight and the wind was nothing but a mild breeze. The island itself was fairly small and only had one town, but it was green and lush and didn't have any large hills on it. The town was located by the ocean and wasn't that big. Approaching the island was a small ship, nothing bigger than a small caravel. It had only one occupant. The occupant was a young man. He wore a long brown coat with a black shirt underneath. He had dark blue pants with a belt on and dark brown boots. He had curly slightly long orange red hair, was fairly tall and had an athletic build. He stood calmly in the front of the ship with a smile on his face as he approached the island. Looking forward to what was about to come.
The door to the bar opened and the man from the ship walked in. He took a moment to look around the wooden house and scoured the people occupying the different seats and tables. When he saw the man sitting at one of the bar chairs in front of the counter he smiled and made his way over. The man was tall, towering over most people including the man approaching him. He didn't have anything that cowered his upper body, but he wore black shorts and brown boots. He was bulky, but not so much that it would slow him down. His hair was fairly short and was black in color.
He sat down next to him and asked the bartender for some sake. The tall man next to him gave him a look before he returned to his own drink. In less than a minute the drink was served and he took a sip from it. "Are you the one that's called Tom Andrey?" he asked while staring into his drink. The man turned to him and looked at him questioningly before he answered. "Yeah that's me". He smiled and turned to him. "Then I have an offer for you. I have the intention of starting up a pirate crew and I want you to be my right hand man. So what do you say? Wanna join my crew?" Tom gave him a questioning look before he said "why would I want to join you? I don't even know your name". The man's calm smile didn't waver and he answered "Well to start with my name is Erik Holen, Nice to meet you and for why you should join me the answer is simple. None of us will be able to make it out there on the ocean alone so we're gonna need each other if any of us are going to make it, especially on the Grand Line". Tom nodded in agreement. "Yeah I get that, but why should I follow you? I don't follow someone that is weaker than myself". Erik's smile widened before he answered. "Then how about this. We fight each other and the winner gets to be the captain?" Tom gave him a strange look. "You're serious about that. You're just starting up a crew and you are willing to risk the position as captain just like that?" Erik just shrugged and said "When you're a pirate you're gonna have to take risks. Besides, if I can't even fight for my right as the captain then maybe that position isn't meant for me". Tom gave him a broad smile and said "Alright I'm in. Now when and where do you want to do this?" "I wanna get this started, so I was thinking about doing it right now, but we're gonna have to find a more desolate area", Erik answered. "It's fine with me and I discovered a clearing outside the village when I was exploring the island. We can use it as our battleground". Tom said. "Great, then let's go" Erik said excitedly before he headed for the door. Tom followed right after.
They reached the clearing which wasn't more than a large grassy area surrounded by the forest. They went to the sides of the clearing before turning to one another. Both of them had excited looks on their faces. Obviously looking forward to the battle. "I hope you can back up you're talking. Since it's obvious you came here seeking me out you should know that I'm quite strong so I hope you will be able to deliver". Tom said as he took a battle-ready stance. "Well I'd hate to disappoint you." Erik said and mimicked his stance.
For a moment everything was still. You could hear the birds singing and the trees rashling in the wind. Then suddenly Tom rushed forward. His fist cocked back ready to strike. He punched forward aiming for the head but Erik was able to dodge the attack before he punched him in the gut. That appeared to be a bad choice since hitting him felt like hitting a brick wall. He didn't have time to think about the pain as he had to dodge the incoming punch at his head from Tom. He managed to make some space between them and so he took the opportunity to speak. "Damn what are you made of? It felt like I hit the side of a mountain." Tom smiled and said "I'm made of steel. I ate the steel steel fruit so I'm a steel man. I told you I was tough." Erik smiled back at him. "Good I worried that if I used my power on you I would end up crippling you, but now that I see how strong you are I know that I have nothing to worry about." Erik and tom jumped at each other. Tom aimed a fist at his right shoulder, but Erik dodged to the side and yelled "EXPLOSIVE PUNCH" before he hit him in the shoulder. Tom, expecting that his steel body would take the hit no problem didn't dodge and was surprised when an explosion erupted from Erik's fist when he was hit and he was pushed back a little even though with his steel body he was pretty heavy. He looked at his shoulder and felt the singe from the burn the attack had given him. He understood now why the man in front of him was hesitant to use it. A normal person would be seriously injured if not mortally wounded from such a hit. Luckily his steel body made him able to withstand most of it.
He looked from his burnt shoulder and over to his opponent and said "so you ate a devil fruit as well. What kind of power do you have?" "I ate the bomb bomb fruit so I can make any part of my body explode and my body is immune to the components of an explosion", Erik answered. "What do you mean by components?" Tom asked. "It means I am immune to the heat, the shockwave and I won't get burned from it, though I can still be hit from the falling debris." Tom looked at him impressed "That's a pretty nice power but it still isn't enough to beat me." Erik smirked at him. "Maybe, but exploding isn't the only thing can do." Tom was about to ask what he meant but before he was able to say anything Erik muttered one word "SORU". He disappeared and reappeared again behind Tom with his fist cocked back ready to slam it into him. Tom's eyes widened in shock before he quickly turned around and brought his fists up to block the incoming punch. It exploded and Tom was again pushed back, but Erik wasn't done and followed after. "BOMBARDMENT" He yelled and sent punch after punch at Tom though this time being prepared for the attack stood his ground. The two of them was caught in explosion after explosion, but seeing an opening Tom struck forward and hit him in the gut with all his might. Erik spat up blood and was sent across to the side of the clearing. Tom followed close after and sent a punch aimed for his head. Erik just managed to dodge but he wouldn't be fast enough to dodge the second punch so he prepared for the hit and yelled "TEKKAI". The fist connected with his stomach, but unlike last time he didn't spit blood or got sent back. Tom looked at him with wide eyes, not understanding how he was able to take his hit so easily, especially after what happened the first time he hit. His gawking however left him completely open and so with Erik shouting "EXPLOSIVE PUNCH" sent a fist exploding right in his face. He was sent tumbling back and he could smell the burnt hair on his head.
They were both panting heavily. Both feeling tired from the attacks they had sustained. Tom was burnt all over and he was drained from all the hits he had gotten. Erik while not having gotten hit as many times as Tom was heavily injured from tom's punch and he suspected that he might have some inner bleedings. And the second hit though being mostly absorbed by the tekkai couldn't absorb everything and so he still felt a little of the attack. "Damn, Even after using tekkai the attack still hurt. You're really strong", Erik said after taking a moment to catch his breath. "You're damn strong yourself. You're the first person that has given me such a challenge", Tom answered having gotten more control over his breathing as well. "You've been a great opponent but I think I'm gonna have to wrap this up" Erik said and got into battle stance again. Tom chuckled and said "Heh, I'd like to see you try" before he too readied himself. They rushed at each other with fists ready. Just as they were upon each other and ready to strike Erik yelled "GEPPO" and shot himself up in the air. He twisted around and kicked the air sending him rocketing back towards Tom. "TEKKAI" he said before he followed up with "DIVE BOMB" Tom only had time to close his eyes and prepare for the hit before he was caught in a great explosion as Erik hit him.
When the dust cleared you could see Erik standing in front of Tom taking heavy breaths while Tom was on his hands and knees panting hard an unable to get up completely. Erik raised his arm and held his fist in front of Tom's face. He smiled and said "Seems like I won so that means I'm the one who gets to be captain." Tom sighed before he smiled and said "Sure thing, Captain" Then he fell over. Too tired to do anything but relax at the moment. Erik smiled before he himself lied down. Feeling like relaxing as well.
After a while they made their way back to the village. "So when do we leave captain?" Tom said while they walked down the streets of the small town. "We'll leave after we've restocked our supplies." Ertik answered. "Do we buy it or steal it?" Tom asked "I don't want to steal if we can avoid it and I believe we have enough money to buy what we need." Tom nodded. "Then what is it we need?" Erik gained a thoughtful look. "We need both food and water, and a few bottles of alcohol doesn't hurt either. We also need to restock our medical supplies." "Then I should go and get the food and water while you get the medical items since you know what it is we'll need." Tom offered. Erik nodded. "Yes, that would be the best. I'll meet you down on the ship. It's located on the far side of the harbor. There aren't many ships there so it shouldn't be hard to find." "Ok then captain, I'll see you on the ship." Tom said and went to get the supplies. Erik looked after him for a moment before he also went off.
Erik was at the boat making it ready to sail when Tom came with a few bags and a barrel presumably filled with water. Erik looked over to him while he tightened the last knot before he went over and took the bags of food to put them away. Tom put the barrel down, looked around with a content look and said "I guess I can't expect anything bigger from a man who sails alone." "If it was any bigger I would have a hard time steering it" Erik said as he came out on deck. Tom pushed them away from the harbor before he turned to Erik again. "So where too now captain?" Tom asked. Erik looked to the open ocean before he answered "First we need to gather our crew, then", Erik smirked "We head for the grand line."
Somewhere else in West Blue.
BANG! The man fell over bleeding from the bullet wound in his chest. In front of him stood a man with his gun held up before him and a scowl on his face. "You should learn how to choose your opponent" he said before he put his gun in the holster, turned around and walked away.
Authors Note.
A few explanations. As I'm shure several are wondering how Erik is able to use Rokushiki, it will be explained hopefully in the next chapter.
The ship they are currently using are just a little bit smaller than the Going Merry. Just small enough for one man to handle it.
I also chose the Bomb Bomb fruit for the main character. I think it is annoying how they portrayed the bomb bomb fruit in the anime. I think the Bomb Bomb fruit has a lot more potential than what was shown in the anime. I hope to explore that potential in this story and i already have plans for how i want to develop it and how i want it to work.
