DEVIL
Chapter I
"What is it that drives humanity? What propels a man to try and exceed his own limits? Potential is something that cannot be measured, and one is only restricted by oneself. The will to try and reach higher no matter the obstacles in your way; to go forward, disregarding the consequences; to not fear death for death is but another form of rest, but to not seek it either, because that would be admitting defeat. Few are the men with will strong enough to adhere to such life-style and among these there are precious fewer still that are destined to reign above everyone else. The Disposition of the King and the Will of D. How do these two characteristics relate between themselves? Just what is this D? For centuries scholars have sought the answer to these questions but now there is finally a plausible hypothesis. From the Dark Ages rose the World Government and it promptly erased every recording of that Era long gone. But I have searched deep and can now recover it. I record it here, in this poneglyph, our first successful reproduction of the original stones, so that it may survive the tides of time for generations to come. This knowledge is dangerous for the instated Powers and the World Giant has been revealed as having very fragile feet. They will attack us without a doubt, in an effort to erase the evidence we collected. We'll send this knowledge to the New World, May it hide there until the time is right. Until the Will awakens once again…"
Ohara, Unknown, two months before the Buster Call
Luffy sat down, adjusting his trusty hat in his head to keep it from flying off his head with the breeze from the window. With precise movements he smoothed the surface of the large map and gazed upon its contents. The World gazed back at him, a meticulous work of marvelous precision, each country depicted with care and accuracy. Except for a long line, running across the equator. The Grand Line: Paradise, Hell; Luffy had heard every possible adjective annexed to the great sea. There was next to nothing inside the band that marked Grand Line, and it got even worse once one passed the Red Line in the direction of the sunrise. There was nothing there, only big letters which read "New World".
Luffy's hand trembled in excitement. He had asked Shanks about the Grand Line. It was the place where the real pirates were. The true masters of the seas called the place home. The only ones to ever have crossed Grand Line in its entire length had been the Great Pirate King Gold Roger and his crew and naturally, since Luffy wanted to become the next Pirate King and be deserving of the great pirate's inheritance, he had to go there.
Inheritance could, perhaps, be a term that would give the uninformed man a wrong understanding of what was at stake. Monkey D. Luffy didn't have family connection to the Gold Roger, at least not as far as he was aware of it. But the Pirate King had offered its precious treasure for the taking of the one who found it. One Piece, the greatest treasure in the world waited at the end of Grand Line and the one who got to it first would become the next king. That treasure was the product of the sweat and effort of the entire crew of Gold Roger's and in Luffy's mind carried with it the will of the ones who had assembled it. That was why he had to become a great pirate and conquer the Grand Line. He had to prove himself worthy of the title of King.
For years since that fateful day when Shanks had sacrificed his arm to save him from the sea monster Luffy had trained like a possessed man, strengthening his body to the best of his abilities and trying to master the powers given by the wretched Devil's Fruit he had eaten by mistake that day, ten years before, in a bar full of joyous pirates. The first was easy, since his Grandfather, in an effort to make him a "Strong Marine, boy!", had put him through the most challenging experiences he could manage to find, even going has far as throwing him off cliffs or leaving him stranded in the depths of wild forests for days straight. The last one not so much so. He had soon realized that his body now bore startling resemblances to rubber: he could stretch and compress his body just like a rubber band. He had also become unable to swim. It was apparent that the powers granted by the Devil's Fruit were not without a cost and, as Shanks had frantically explained him when he discovered what Luffy had eaten, he had forever lost the ability to swim; Luffy had become a hammer, the seaman's word for those who lacked the capability of keeping their head above water level.
Well, water under the bridge and all that. And if he couldn't swim then all Luffy had to do was to make sure he would never need to do that. And that meant he had to be strong enough to protect his ship, his future crew, and to avoid getting thrown in the water. And if the worst came to the worst at least he would go down trying!
Luffy rolled the map with a decisive gesture and left it in the drawer he had taken it from. Today was the day. Today he would start his own adventure; he would take the first step down the path to become the Pirate King. It was the perfect day too because his Grandfather was away on a mission for the Marines of the World Government.
"Wait for me, Shanks! I'm going!"
The Sun seemed to be in a bad mood. For the last two weeks, since Luffy had drifted away from the shores of Fuusha Village, his hometown, it had graced him with a scorching glare that gave Luffy the urge to gulp down a gallon of water every ten minutes – something he avoided doing in order to preserve his reserves of fresh water. He consumed only the strictly necessary amount and even doing so he was down to the last barrel of water. He supposed it was to be expected since he had only left with two barrels of water and one for food – the last one consumed in a single meal after he had dealt with the lingering sea monster in the vicinity of his hometown: the two of them had a score to settle and Luffy made him pay dearly for the lost arm of Shanks. It couldn't be helped really: his boat was small from the beginning and it had been made even smaller by the modifications Luffy had made in order for the vessel to support a small mast and a sail.
Now his lips were dry and his skin felt prickly, especially around the scar under his eye, where he had stabbed himself as a kid in a an effort to prove his courage to captain Shanks.
'I really am an idiot.' He laughed to himself looking around. The scenery was the same no matter where he looked: blue sea under blue sky. 'As if injuring myself would prove my value. If anything it made me look even more like a kid!'
He changed position so that he was no longer sitting on the top of his leg and let another hand of line go. He gave it an experimental push, using the resistance it made against the water as proof that there was still bait in the hook.
Luffy made a point to save at least part of the fishes he caught for the use of bait. He had made the mistake of eating the totality of his food on his first day and it had been sheer luck that a schooling of flying fish had passed by his boat. A few of them had been unfortunate enough to land on his small vessel – aided by Luffy's enthusiastic help, who had began slapping the fish in mid air in a famished effort to catch the largest quantity he could manage. He managed to retain five fishes and after a lot of internal debate decided to put two apart for the use of bait. The meal had been poor, at least by his usual standards, but at least he had eaten and managed to provide himself a steady, if repetitive supply of food by fishing. The types of fish swimming in the low depth waters were not too varied and after three days Luffy was pretty sure he had tasted them all. His favorite was a long fish with silvery scales – by far the most tasty when eaten raw - since he couldn't exactly lit a fire in the boat in order to cook the fish -; the flying fish didn't have much taste.
Luffy collected a few handfuls of sea water and splashed the bottom of the ship. By the end of the day the sun would have evaporated the water, leaving salt crystals he could use to at least attempt to give a bit more taste to the raw food. Tying the fishing string to one of his toes, Luffy manoeuvred across his tiny boat and settled down, protected by the shade of his small sail. Dropping the straw hat in front of his eyes in an effort to stop the reflection of the sun in the water, Luffy allowed himself to drift into a small nap.
In retrospect he should have known he was asking for trouble. Luffy woke up feeling a light tugging on his feet. At first he tried ignoring it but the feeling wouldn't leave and kept nagging him. Sighing in annoyance he lifted his head an looked around, only to find the toe he had tied the strong fishing string to stretched for a length three times that of his small boat. Judging from the movement, the vessel was being pulled along by whatever was hooked bellow the waters.
"WHOAH!" With a start, Luffy jumped to his feet and grabbed a hold of the line. With strong movements he started to pull the line back. "Good thing I used the strongest line I could get a hold of! This thing seems heavy!"
Regardless of its weight it was obvious the animal trapped in the hook wasn't amused by Luffy's actions. With a powerful rumble, the fish rose up and surfaced. Luffy watched, a little mystified, as a sea monster made its appearance.
The giant creature thrashed about for a little and then seemed to settle for pushing the boat and its sailor with increasing speed. Luffy let out a whoop of joy at the speed he was starting to achieve when a deafening sound reached his ears. Apparently the monster had decided that the best course of action for being freed somehow included wandering into a giant whirlpool. "Hmmm… I might be in trouble now." The boat rocked dangerously and faced the center of the whirlpool, "WHOAH! I better do something!"
With quick, frantic movements, Luffy extended the sail to its maximum in an effort to stall the Sea Monster's movement, since the speed of the dinghy had already surpassed the small breeze Luffy had been making use of. The conflicting forces were too much for the string to hold and it broke under the strain. Finally free, the sea creature fled the scene, leaving behind a baffled Luffy trapped in the whirlpool.
"Crap! Crap! Crap!" he thought while reaching for his small oar. But there was a smile on his face while he did so. Strangely, the thought of a gruesome death by asphyxiation in some giant whirlpool was something that had yet to occur him. All he could feel was the blood rushing throw his veins, the adrenaline of the moment and his heart beating strong in his chest. Luffy quickly started to row, in an effort to avert the disaster but it was to no avail. The boat was surely (and quickly) being dragged towards the center. "Desperate times call for desperate measures!" he thought absently. Grabbing a hold of the barrel, Luffy gulped down the remaining water. The boat started to spin uncontrollably and began to sink deeper and faster into the spinning mass of water.
"Oh shit!" was all he had time to say before jumping in the barrel and sealing it. There was nothing to do but trust in luck now…
Upon recovering conscience he couldn't honestly remember where he was. Oh, yeah… the giant whirlpool. And then he had jumped inside the barrel in an effort to escape the raging waters… that explained why it was so dark that Luffy couldn't even see his own nose. It also explained why he was so cramped. But what really made him wake up was all the talk about a barrel of rum needing to be drunk. 'Not that I appreciate rum all that much but hell, after all those days on restricted drinking I could probably drink a barrel alone.'
One of the voices was remarking that if their captain caught them drinking on the job their lives were forfeit. This got Luffy thinking: really, a good crew should be disciplined. If – no, when he got his pirate crew he would make sure no one partied without telling the others. Everyone was entitled to food and drinking and fun. It was the answer that caught his attention, though.
"We're the only ones here. Just the three of us and Coby." A rough voice said, "And he ain't tellin' no one, right Coby?" there was a distinct menace in the voice now.
Luffy barely heard the bubbling answer of what seemed to be a very scared boy. The conversation was starting to get unpleasant and the rough voice reminded Luffy of the mountain robbers that had assaulted Makino's bar ten years ago. Besides, he needed to stretch a little. He experimentally tried to gently push the place where he supposed was the top of the barrel. All he met was resistance and, as his naturally small patience quickly vanished, he smashed through the wood. The result was his head and shoulders smashing through the barrel as the wood broke and his feet breaking free through the dislodged top. 'These idiots had the barrel upside down!' he realized amused.
His back cracked as he stretched his arms upwards and his exuberant personality couldn't hold the shout of satisfaction that escaped him: "YAWN! I SLEPT REALLY WELL! HAH AH AH!"
His satisfaction was met with three knifes pointed to his face. Luffy sobered immediately: he'd had more than his share of third kind encounters with knifes, most of them when stealing from the nobles of Goa city, back in his training days with Ace. And he didn't like knives to the face. He lifted his hands.
"Wow wow wow! Those are some sharp objects you guys have there. Let's calm down ok?"
One of the pirates, a guy with a black goatee, approached his face and looked down on Luffy, growling: "If ya don' want t' get hurt, Ah suggest ya start talkin' a bit more respec'fully, punk! Start by givin' us your every possession of worth."
"Yeah!" the largest one said, with the irritating voice Luffy had heard inside the barrel, "Then we'll decide whether ya live or don't!"
Luffy frowned, and looked around. He was in some sort of warehouse, with only small windows, all a bit too high, and the large entrance ahead of him. "Can I at least get out of the barrel?"
The pirates exchanged a glance and one said, "Very well. But don't try anything funny."
Using his arms to lift himself, Luffy started to exit the wooden trap. However, by the time his torso was fully out, he lunged forward and, using his arms as support, flipped his legs over his head and landed them in the head of the irritating guy in front of him.
The other two hesitated a split second before letting out a few exclamations of anger and moving to attack Luffy. The knives were sharp and one of them managed to give him a light wound on the side. Using the momentum gained by his dodging antics, the young man in the straw hat twisted and landed a kick on the belly of the pirate who had talked first. The man was sent flying a few feet, stopping against a wall and slopping down unconscious. The feat distracted the third member of the gang long enough to provide Luffy with the opportunity to land a punch on his dirty face, something the boy didn't hesitate in doing.
The fight was over in only a couple of seconds.
Luffy adjusted his hat before the excited shout of the boy he had almost forgot about brought him back to reality.
"That was amazing!" followed quickly by a complete 360 turn in behavior, "Are you mad? Now Lady Alvida will take your head for this. If you'd given them what they wanted, you'd have been able to escape with your life!"
"HAH!" Luffy answered him, taking his hat from his head and spinning him on the top of his finger, "As if I'd ever give my hat to those idiots."
"Your most valuable possession is that hat?" the boy asked, confused.
Luffy took a better look at him. The guy had an amusing hair of a pink shade (was it natural or was it just red hair bleached?) and sported the most ridiculous pair of glasses Luffy had seen. Even old Slap, Fuusha's mayor, didn't use that stile anymore. Now that he paid him more attention, Luffy could see the other wasn't really much younger than he was. He could even be older. He was, however, really short and seemed to still be trembling from the experiences he had been put through earlier.
"Say, who are you?" Luffy asked, curious.
The other startled and rubbed his head in embarrassment, "Ah! I'm sorry; I didn't even introduce myself yet! My name is Coby, I'm part of these pirate's crew." He clarified pointing towards the fallen trio.
"You're these jerks' crewmate?" Luffy asked incredulous.
"Ah, yes! I entered their ship by mistake, one day thinking it was a regular fishing boat and was forced to work for them. I'm Lady Alvida's cabin boy." He finished rather disheartened.
Luffy scratched his chin. Ever since his 17th birthday he had started getting facial hair and he was sometimes lazy when it came to shaving. "Pleased to meet you; I'm Luffy. But if you don't like them why don't you leave them?"
"ARE YOU CRAZY?" Coby shouted. He then seemed to realize something and, after looking fearfully to the entrance, continued in low, fast whispers, "Alvida-sama would kill me! No, no, no! I'd be as good as dead!"
"You're a cowardly thing, aren't you?" Luffy delivered deadpan, but without malice, as one makes a statement about the weather.
"You… you don't have to be so direct." Coby swallowed, "But you're right, of course. I'm a coward." He seemed to suddenly remember something and asked, "Hey, Luffy-san? What were you doing in that barrel? I found it drifting close to the shore…"
"Oh, you're the one that saved me? Thanks a bunch!" Luffy smiled widely and scored a slap on Coby's back. The other swayed from the impact, "My boat was sucked into a giant whirlpool and that was the only way I saw to get away with my life." He laughed.
"You got sucked into a giant whirlpool?"
"I got distracted and a sea monster pulled my boat into it when I was asleep." Luffy shrugged.
Coby stared at him open mouthed. "Wha..." he seemed to recollect himself and then inquired, "Luffy-san, if I may ask, why did you go out to the sea?"
"Why, that's simple: I can't become the Pirate King if I stay in land."
"Pirate King?" Coby repeated, not believing his ears.
"Yep, I'm gonna find One Piece." Luffy stated confidently. One of the unconscious pirates mumbled something and Luffy applied him a kick for good measure, assuring he stayed asleep for a while longer.
"But that's impossible!" the short boy said, entering another of his rants, "You'll have to travel across the entire Grand Line, the whole World Government will become your enemy, it's IMPOSSIBLE!"
Luffy applied a punch to his head, which had the desired effect of shutting him up.
"Oww… thanks, Luffy-san."
"Don't mention it: you were getting hysterical." Luffy twirled the straw hat in his fingers, "But Coby: no matter how hard it is this is my dream. I'll fight to the ends of the Earth for it. And if I die, at least I died trying, with no regrets. Don't you think that's the best way to live? Don't you have a dream as well?"
Coby seemed a little flustered and, after a while, started timidly, "Actually… I had a dream before getting stuck with these pirates: I wished to become a marine. You think I can do it, Luffy-san?" he asked almost fearfully.
Luffy's head perked up, "Huh? The Marines?"
"Yes! We'd become enemies, Luffy-san, but it is my lifelong dream!" tears started to form in the boys eyes, "I want to join the Navy and make sure no one ever has to go through the same ordeal I had to." He sniffled, "I'll join the Navy and I'll CAPTURE ALVIDA! Can I do it, Luffy-san?"
"How should I know?" Luffy asked him back. Coby looked disheartened for a moment, but Luffy continued, "But I do know this: You'll never know until you try! And Coby, just because you'll become a marine that doesn't mean we can't be friends!" he smiled, "After all, I'm a pirate and my grandfather's a marine!"
"Really?" Coby asked, baffled, "Then it's settled! I'll become a great marine and you'll become the greatest pirate. And I'll bring Alvida to justice!"
"WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT TAKING ME TO JUSTICE?" a booming voice was heard. Coby let out a scream off fear and, at the same time, a large object came crashing towards them, destroying part of the warehouse with it.
When the smoke cleared a large iron mace was stuck where they had been standing just minutes before. Luffy thanked the harsh training his grandfather had put him through, giving him the reflexes to dodge the attack. The goateed pirate hadn't been so lucky and the remains of his head now laid splattered all over the vicinity, coloring the debris in red and gray. Luffy frowned at the view. They had been unpleasant but didn't deserve to die…
A large woman stood in what had been the entrance to the warehouse, dressed in a ridiculous attire, complemented by the ugliest make up Luffy had ever seen. She approached the two of them in thunderous steps and collected the mace, lifting it effortlessly over her shoulders. One of the pirates that had accompanied her looked at the ground and said, "Ugh… Lady Alvida… I think that was Pig Slop."
The woman barely spared a glance at the corpse, "Humph, he couldn't avoid such a simple attack… he was useless."
Luffy wasn't liking the words he was listening and a tick had started to develop under his left eye.
"Say, Coby… Who's this ugly old bat?"
Judging by the enraged expression of the woman and the disbelieving ones from the other pirates, that hadn't been a very smart thing to say but Luffy couldn't care less at this point.
"Sh-sh-she's L-L-Lady Alvida, the captain of the Alvida Pirates!" he gulped frantically as Alvida took another step forward.
"She's their captain and she killed them?" Luffy asked Coby, a strange light making way towards his eyes.
"He was of no use to me, boy. And if you're not useful you don't deserve to be part of my crew. You got a problem with that boy?" the woman started walking towards them, "This is the pirate hunter you hired to capture me, Coby? Don't make me laugh, you thought you could escape me with just this? I'll send him flying to the other side of the world!"
Coby screamed in terror and grabbed Luffy's coat, "Luffy-san! Repeat after me: Lady Alvida is the most… the most…" he hesitated and his hands trembled, before he screamed in a voice dripping with fear, "IS THE UGLIEST HAG OF ALL SEAS!"
Luffy laughed as the enraged woman started charging in their direction.
"No, Coby! She's not a Lady, not even a woman. She's worse than trash!" he said venomously, "Someone who treats comrades like pieces of disposable furniture… doesn't deserve to sail under a pirate flag!" Luffy dodged the strike of the Iron Mace and landed a powerful punch on Alvida's face. The pirate captain was sent flying backwards, much like what had happened previously with the other pirate, and Coby could only marvel at Luffy's super-human strength.
The subordinates looked at the unconscious Alvida before starting to try and run away. Jogging up to them, Luffy grabbed one by the shirt and said decisively, "Give Coby a boat. He's gonna join the Navy!"
A/N.: Well... another story, this time in the world of One Piece. The first manga I read, I'm so excited about the possibilities! Also, I'll not post a new story until I've finished at least the Nightshade and one of the other two (either FOX or this one)... Otherwise I'll never finish a project. Hope you like.
Also: Seems like FFnet no longer recognizes scene breaks from Word, anyone knows why?