Author's Note

Good day to everyone reading this story. I'd like to take a moment to say how grateful I am to everyone reading this story. If you're here from another one of my stories then welcome. I can't tell you how happy I am that you're reading this story. If you're new to my writing, then I'm pleased to have new readers.

I've been working on this idea for a while. I hope I don't disappoint.

For reference I've become accustomed to dating sections of any particular chapter. The year mentioned at the head of each section will describe the amount of years since Gol D. Roger was executed. If you read two sections that have the same time-stamp that means that both segments occurred at the same moment in different areas.

March 1, XX99, 11:00 A.M, North Blue Sea

A small boat drifted through the North Blue. It was barely big enough for one person to fit in, but as its current occupant was nearing his destination he didn't care much about the problems his transportation had posed for him.

There in the lone boat, sat a young man. His short, black spiked hair drooped from the sweat that saturated it. The lightly tan skinned man, who was currently scanning the horizon for the piece of land he knew to be ahead of him, was drenched in sweat. Normally he wore a pair of black dress pants and a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, but the heat had forced him to disrobe to a spare pair of shorts and a white tank top. Other than the spare pair of clothing on the boat, he had a newspaper and two swords lying beside him. One was a pure white broadsword and the other was a black katana.

He reached for the newspaper and read the headline once again for the thirty or fortieth time since he had begun sailing from Skypiea.

"Pirates ravage the Grand Line once more," he read aloud to no one.

He dropped the newspaper to his side and a smile broke out on his face. Up ahead he could make out the silhouette of the island that he had once loved.

"No time like the present," he said as he changed into his preferred attire and prepared to swim the rest of the way. "I'll make you proud dad. I'll end this age of piracy before it begins."

March 1, XX99, 11:00 A.M, An Island in North Blue

"998…999…1000," counted a tall young man as he finished his morning set of punches.

His black and white tropical shirt lay on the ground beside him as he completed his routine. His long dark cyan hair was held back in pony tail. Before him were the remains of several punching bags. As he was shirtless now, the scars that littered his tan skin could be seen. Numerous cuts and bruises had been made over the course of his life of training. All of his muscles were now etched with remnants of battles.

He was looking around the training grounds for another punching bag, when a voice called out to him. "Cain! Cain! Pick up the snail already!" it shouted.

He put on the tropical shirt and without buttoning it he reached into his white cargo shorts and pulled out a snail transponder.

"Yo, Auron," he said casually in his deep voice. "It's a little early for you to be calling. You finished your workout already?"

"No! There's a ship on the horizon!" yelled the voice through the transponder.

Cain's eyes went wide and he dashed out of the training grounds immediately. "I'll head past Anca village immediately," he said before hanging up and running onto the forest path ahead of him.

Cain knew all too well that any ship coming here now was either a recruiter from the Marines or the Asuachi and as it stood, he didn't want anyone making up his mind for him.

He burst through the forest onto a beach path which he knew would lead him to Auron. After another minute on the path, he was running on the sand towards a man who had grown from a stranger to his brother over the last 15 or so years.

Before him now stood a lean, fair skinned man. He stood a few inches shorter than Cain at a height close to six feet. He too had faced a lifetime of training which resulted in a muscular form which was partially hidden by his black sleeveless coat which ended just past his knees. Underneath the coat he wore loose beige pants that were held up by a black sash around his waist. The ends of his pants were tucked bandages that wrapped around his calves and the top most part of his black boots.

"Where's the ship?" asked Cain as he scanned the beach.

"Right over there," said Auron evenly as he pointed to a tiny boat sitting a few hundred yards off the beach.

Cain's jaw dropped at the sight of the boat. "You called me here for this," he said as a look of confusion spread across his face. "I thought a recruitment ship had made its way here."

Auron scratched his head in bewilderment and then simply said, "You said to tell you if I saw a ship."

Before Cain could respond there was a loud splashing as something jumped out of the water. Auron drew the simple katana he kept sheathed at his waist and Cain shifted into his stance as they scanned the water for the source.

"Ahh, Aurelia Island," said a voice from behind them. "What are you two looking for?"

They turned to face their surprise visitor and both of them stood shocked at who stood before them.

"Kisaro!" they yelled in unison.

"Yup. How you been little cousins?" asked Kisaro as he adjusted the broadsword on his back.

"Did you sail here in that tiny boat?" asked Auron.

"Yup," replied Kisaro. "I've come to see grandpa and then I'm off to enlist."

"Enlist?" asked Cain as his eyes widened. "So you're deciding to go along with this destiny crap?"

Kisaro smirked at his younger cousin's view on their family business. "I don't care much about destiny, but I think joining the Marines is a good way to help people. I don't have time to talk though, so I'll head over to grandpa and catch up with you guys later."

He paused as he decided on what to do next.

"Anca village is that way," said Cain as he realized why his cousin had lingered.

Kisaro gave a quick head nod and headed away from them.

"Can you believe this guy?!" shouted Cain. "He's back and the first thing he does is go and enlist. He's just like grandpa."

Auron watched his friend for a moment before speaking. "You know grandpa's not so bad. Even though your dad took me in back then, when he left, grandpa let me stay."

"Well, no. He's not heartless," admitted Cain. "But he's got some nerve telling me it's my duty to carry on the family tradition of Marines."

He turned to his Auron and continued. "He's been pushing me to eat that devil fruit," yelled Cain. "He says that it'll jumpstart my career once they see that and the skills that grandpa taught in his dojo."

"But you know," said Auron. "Having a devil fruit power isn't so bad."

"It's different for you Auron. You've had that fruit since before you even washed up here. It's been with you, your whole life."

Cain thought back for a moment. 15 years ago, he and his father had been out fishing in open water, when they noticed Auron's body floating along on a piece of driftwood. Cain's father immediately rescued him and brought him to shore. They cared for him and eventually he was back to full health. He couldn't remember how he had gotten there, but one thing did remain from his life before them. At some point in his childhood he had eaten a devil fruit.

"Nope," said Cain as he came back from his thoughts. "If you end up drowning again, how am I supposed to help you if I can't swim?"

"Good point I guess," said Auron unable to punch holes in the logic.

"Right," continued Cain. "Back to the plan. With Kisaro back, grandpa is sure to try and get you and I to enlist alongside Kisaro. So, if you're up for it. We'll sneak out tonight and leave this island."

Auron raised his blade in anger. "I already told you. There's no need to feel like your forcing me to go. I want to see the world, just like you and plus," he paused to sheath his blade before continuing. "We're family."

A smile broke across Cain's face. "Alright then brother, let's get re-"

"Ahhh!" screamed a woman's voice from nearby.

The brothers gave a quick glance and were dashing down the beach towards the voice.

March 1, XX99, 11:30 A.M, Anca Village, Aurelia Island

Kisaro walked through military town. On the outskirts it was a simple fishing port. As the outskirts were passed, one entered a town with uniform stone buildings. Kisaro was making his way to the center of the town. There he would find the Ryuden Dojo. A place specialized in the training of swordsmen, rokushiki users and an array of hand to hand specialists from around the world. But above all that he would find his grandfather; the current grandmaster of the dojo which had been passed down throughout his family history.

He passed through an inner border of Anca Village. This border signified that he was currently within the dojo territory. To accentuate this change, the territory took on a golden hue. The simple stones from before were now coating in a light coat of bronze and the walls were a warm red shade. Along the walls, words were etched in to remind students of the purpose of all they were learning. Honor. Discipline. Justice.

The long walkway up to the central room passed quickly and before he knew it he was being led into his grandfather's private study by a student.

He slid open the doors and immediately bowed before taking a seat on the beige tatami-matted floors.

"Grandmaster Wako. It's a pleasure to be back," he said quickly.

An elderly man walked towards him slowly. His eyes were rounded and despite his age he showed no signs of physical deterioration. He stood tall and firm. While he wore a black haori with white embroidery, he also had on a pupil's outfit. It was his way of saying, that no matter the age, we should all be learning.

Kisaro could feel the intense glare and when the old man was no more than a foot from Kisaro, it felt as if the sky was bearing down on him. They stayed like this for a few minutes and then Kisaro's determination was broken by a loud cackling noise. He looked up to see the elderly man in uncontrollable laughter.

"You come back after so long and don't address me as a grandpa," said Wako playfully as he picked up his grandson by his collar and smothered him a hug.

"N-no," said Kisaro as he struggled to breath. "I mean I'm 25, but I just didn't want to be rude."

"You. Rude. Ha!" he said jokingly as he took a seat and poured water for them to drink. "If you think you're rude, then you should see your cousin."

He handed the glass to Kisaro and continued. "Once he and Auron get going, they're the worst knuckleheads I've ever seen."

"Are those the dial sword you made in Skypiea?" asked Wako.

"Yes," he said quietly. "The broadsword was forged from impact dials and the katana from heat dials."

Wako smiled at his grandson. "We teach many sword styles here, but it's always engrained in the students head to develop new variations on the basics we teach. I'm curious to see what you came up with."

Wako saw the immense seriousness on Kisaro's face and had a quick outburst. "Spit it out!" he snapped. "You've obviously got something on your mind."

"Why did you send for me?" asked Kisaro. "Wasn't it you who banished me and my father?"

Wake eyed his grandson and chose his words carefully. "I won't deny you the truth, but I find it hard to give you answers and not tarnish the memory of your father."

He took a sip of water and continued, "Once in every generation, a pupil of the grandmaster must take up the mantle and learn the grandmaster's sacred style. By an odd coincidence, the child of the grandmaster is usually gifted with this ability as it isn't one that can be learned. So like my father and his before him, we were able to pass on this knowledge. However, neither of my sons had this ability. But they were both gifted with a sword. They enlisted in the army and when they returned. Your father and his skypiean wife came here. She was pregnant with you and while he initially thought I would be mad at him, I was overjoyed at the idea of a grandson and a daughter."

They exited the room and Wako led him to the inner compound where they could walk and continue the story.

"Your father, my eldest son, believed that he deserved to be the next grandmaster if no justifiable heir could be found. Now Cain's father didn't care one way or the other. But in one I saw the potential of a rambunctious teacher and in the other I saw someone who would snuff out a pupil's desire to learn."

Wako paused to look over his grandson and when he had seen enough he continued. "As I'm sure you know, he would have been quite the general."

For Kisaro, it was a lot to take in, but when Wako put it like this he could understand. His life had been stressful to say the least. He was often seen as a half-breed on the sea and back in Skypiea his father was a volatile combination of strict and bitter.

They had walked into a serene park area that resided in the center of the dojo. They took a seat on a bench made of oak and remained silent for a bit. His grandfather sighed before continuing.

"The worst part was, Cain's father didn't accept the position. So your father leaving was for nothing."

"Yeah," said Kisaro. "We heard about it."

Wako could see that this conversation had the effect he predicted, so he decided to turn the conversation to the matter at hand.

"So you've decided where you'll be joining?" asked Wako.

Kisaro perked up a bit and shook his head. "Yup, I'll be joining the marines," he said excitedly.

Wako looked at the young man that his eldest grandchild had grown into and was proud. He laughed happily and called for someone to get something to drink so they could celebrate.

"Our entire family has served in the Marines," he said as he poured sake. "I was born around the same time as Monkey D. Luffy. I used to hear stories about Gol D. Roger and then the stories slowly shifted to Luffy after he became the second Pirate king."

He turned to see the look of awe in Kisaro's face and then continued his story. "You'd think as a marine I'd have hated him, but he was something else. You couldn't really hate him."

"So he really found the One Piece?" asked Kisaro. "That was 65 years ago, and no one knows for sure. The only thing that can be said for certain is that he made it to Raftel. On his way back he and his crew had supposedly had a rare flower on their ship that's only found on Raftel. They were hunted by the world government out on the open sea. When the Gorosei saw that they had made it to Raftel, they chased them to the ends of the Earth. Rumor has it Luffy and Zoro went down with the Thousand Sunny."

They got up after drinking and headed towards the edge of the compound.

"There are other rumors. After Luffy died, people added the ship to their list of possible locations for the One Piece in hopes of succeeding Luffy. But it didn't matter. There was a coup in the Gorosei and the last generations of leaders were killed off. The next regime deemed the Marines incompetent. They recalled all of their private officers and Cipher Pol agents and reorganized them into 5 units which comprise the organization we now call the Asuachi. Why didn't you want to join the Asuachi instead of the Marines?"

Kisaro thought for a moment. "I'm gonna make my dad and this dojo proud. The Asuachi are just legalized criminals. I'll admit some marines are terrible, but the Asuachi handle all of the World Noble and Gorosei personal situations no matter how dark. I met one of their bishops in Skypiea and he was on orders to drag a skypiean back as a slave. They do as they please and in exchange they've cut ties with the marines."

Wake had a proud smile etched into his face now. If only Cain and Auron shared your enthusiasm," he sighed. "One of the Asuachi's highest ranked members, a saint, came by attempting to recruit Cain because they caught wind that he had inherited my ability."

"What do you mean they're not as enthusiastic?" asked Kisaro with a hint of anger to his voice.

"15 years ago, a man named Carver D. Buster challenged the entire world. Piracy had been all but dead for years and then he told the world that he would find Monkey D. Luffy's resting place and rushed into the New World. He was slaughtered there, but his death ignited a fire in people once more. Cain's father left some time after to see more of the world and I'd imagine Cain also wants to see the world now since he has no interest in joining the Asuachi or the Marines."

"No worries, I'll go talk to them," said Kisaro.

"Before you go, I've got something for you. It was originally supposed to be the next grandmaster's, but I'm certain that no matter what, Cain and Auron will find themselves on the sea just like their father."

A pupil brought over a chest to Kisaro and Wako. When Wako opened the chest, he pulled out a blue circular devil fruit with stripes and handed it to Kisaro.

"Whether or not you eat this is up to you," he said in a matter of fact voice.

March 1, XX99, 11:30 A.M, Beach, Aurelia Island

Cain and Auron raced up the beach towards the sound of the voice they had heard. They found a short girl with long blue hair and matching eyes. She was wearing a cloak, but presently a large man behind her was tearing at it. He was bald and had a sinister smile on his face. He was a tall man with a gaudy green shirt that was covered in dirt and brown pants with matching boots. In his right hand was a pistol and on his waist was a saber.

"Let her go!" shouted Cain. "There's no reason to treat a lady like that."

Behind the man, stood several dozen men dressed in a similar fashion. One of them yelled from the crowd. "Move on if you don't want any trouble. This here is our boss, the million beri bandit Braice. The whole crowd cheered behind their leader, who now wore a cocky grin on his face.

"Doesn't matter," responded Auron. "This won't end well for you if you don't stop."

Aurelia island was protected from both Asuachi and Marine interference because of the dojo's supply of powerful soldiers. Pirates knew better than to come here and openly challenge authority, but bandits tended to be just stupid enough to cause trouble on the military island.

"Soru!" barked Cain as he instantly closed the gap between him and the bandit leader.

The bandit had little time to react and before he knew it, Cain's momentum had brought his open palm into contact with Braice's gut sending him fly.

The girl went running towards Auron for safety and 3 bandits jumped into the air above Cain with their swords aimed to pierce him.

Auron readied himself from afar and grabbed ahold of the hilt of his katana.

"Draw-sword Style: Void Strike!" he barked as he swiftly drew and sheathed his blade three times.

The air compressed by his motion flew towards the three bandits and sent them flying.

More bandits had surrounded Cain, but were failing to land a blow on the agile man.

He seamlessly dodged attack after attack and when the distance between him and a target was closed he delivered another quick open palmed strike leaving them unconscious.

"You could end this now!" yelled Auron as he picked off more bandits with his void strikes.

Cain stopped to smile at his friend. "Yeah, so could you."

Behind the distracted Cain, Braice returned. "I'll gut you!" he yelled as he aimed his saber for Cain's chest.

"Rise, Shade!" barked Auron at his shadow. The shadow rose from the ground and materialized into a darker version of Auron.

The Shade acted on instinct and quickly darted towards Cain and Braice. It closed the distance and expanded into a sphere-like shield around Cain.

Braice's blade hit the shadow. No matter how hard he pressed his blade couldn't cut Auron's Shade.

"I'll finish this Auron," said Cain calmly from within the bubble.

Auron recalled his shadow and picked off the remaining bandits.

"I've been nice so far, Mr. Bandit," said Cain calmly. "I haven't seriously hit a single comrade of yours yet, but I think you deserve one."

He cocked back his fist and prepared to unleash on the bandit. "Wako's light pu-" he barked before he was sent flying by a new arrival.

"What's this I hear about you two not joining the Marines?" asked an angry Kisaro.

Cain jumped to his feet and Auron rushed to Kisaro as well. "We're in the middle of something!" they yelled in unison. "I knew you'd end up doing something crazy," added Cain.

Braice saber closed in on the new arrival, but he sidestepped the blade without ever seeing it and elbowed Braice in the chest forcing him to step back as he gasped for air.

"Fine, but we'll be having a talk after I clean up this mess," said Kisaro.

He turned to Braice and reached for the broadsword on his back.

"Draw-sword Style…," he whispered as he drew the blade straight above his head then let it slam into the ground. "Void Impact!"

Kisaro's massive strike tore at the Earth as the force of the attack crashed into the bandit.

The dust cleared and Braice lay on his side bleeding, but the ground between him and Kisaro had been torn open.

He sheathed the large blade and returned to his cousins. "So who's not joining the marines?"

Author's Note:

Special Thanks:

Special Thanks to Raiyane

Special Thanks to The Impostor.

Special Thanks to all my return readers

How's it Going?

So I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter. I've wanted to write this for a long time and I'm glad it's finally underway. Something to address is the following, it's clear that devil fruits from One Piece will appear in this story. Just about every devil fruit is available if you want to pair it with an OC, however, I'm a firm believer in the user of the fruit determining how a fruit is used. What I mean to say is, there should be almost no way that an OC has a fruit that currently belongs to someone from One Piece and uses it exactly the same way or develops carbon copies of their techniques. For example, if you submit an OC with the Bomb - Bomb fruit (Mr.5), then they shouldn't develop a technique where they flick explosive mucus. Be inventive or simply create a new fruit. Also not everyone has to have a devil fruit.

If this chapter seemed a little conversation heavy, I apologize. I thought it was important for me to address how I thought the world might be after Luffy becomes the next Pirate King. I promise there will be more action.

I introduced something that I'd like to think is fairly unique. The Asuachi. This is an organization run by the new Gorosei. They're structured in a way similar to the marines, but there are 5 divisions. One for each Gorosei member. Each Gorosei member then has a rank beneath them called a Saint. They can have anywhere between one and three Saints beneath them. Then there are other ranks, such as a Cardinal and a Bishop.

This new organization will come up quite a bit, but there will still be Marines, Yonkou (or something similar) and possibly Shichibukai.

I thought it was important to create something entirely new, because the fact of the matter is, if Luffy and his crew complete their journey then the world should be changed forever. Every one of the Straw hat's dreams has the ability to do so.

If you're interested in being a part of this story, check the OC form and OC position sections on my profile.

Now if you had any issues or disagree with me, that's fine. Feel free to message me about it and I'll gladly listen to your opinion.

I'm also very open to critiques.

Until next time.