Wealth, Fame, Power, Gold Roger, the Pirate King, attained this and everything else the world had to offer. And his dying words drove countless souls to villainy. "With great power, comes great opportunity, all you have to do is reach out and take it." These words lured men to criminal activity in pursuit of dreams they never dared to imagine. This is the time known as the Great Power Era.
Like a leaf, a scrap of paper is fluttering in the wind of the sea. The ocean breeze directs the shred toward a small rocky island. Over a forest, the piece of paper dances, as the air current guides the scrap toward a small village. The snippet of paper lands on the ground in between a group of three people. One of the men in the group is discussing the recent rise in criminal activity. The group look down toward the scrap, and one of the men bend down to pick it up.
As he rises the man announces "It's him! The King of the Snipers!"
"It's true then, the wind does carry his name!" jests one of the other group members.
"He's from Sniper Island isn't he?" asks the man holding the paper.
"Yeah, I also heard when he takes aim its straight and true." adds the third.
"Who cares, I heard he can put a heart in his sights, whether its a man's or a mouse's." remarks the second man.
"No one knows what secrets lie behind that mask and his cape, he could be anybody." stutters the first man as he drops the shred of paper.
"I heard there is no escape from him." puts in the third.
"Don't worry guys, it's not like he aims true!" points out the second.
"Yeah, he's not the Sniper King, he's probably got no talent." spits the first man.
"I don't know, his bounty is pretty high..." retaliates the third man.
"It's probably fake, some crooks have been doing that to scare people." mocks the second man. "Sniper King isn't dangerous, and besides he's got no reason to come to Goat Island. Not with The Iron Mace running amok over in Mary Village." The group splits up and wanders off into the other parts of the village.
At the same time, on Sniper Island. A group of shady figures lurk towards a castle onlooking the island. Inside the castle is Princess Kaya, being tended to by her butlers, Merry and Kurodore.
"I do hope our gallant hero Sniper King returns to Sniper Island someday." Kaya states, "I do wish to hear of his recent adventures."
"Worry not! I do not expect him to stay away much longer." insists Merry. As Merry continues to discuss the gallant Sniper King, Kurodore sneaks out of the room. He begins to make his way to the exit.
"I'm out to retrieve supplies," Kurodore spits as he passes the entrance guards. Kurodore continues out over the drawbridge and toward the village.
Meanwhile, in Mary Village, of Goat Island, a crouched figure is looking at a wanted poster, it's labeled The Iron Mace with a price of 5,000,000 berries. The figure has a large staff-like slingshot, a golden sun mask, and a cape waving in the wind.
"Hmm... I should track her down before she gets dangerous..." decides the figure, who then jumps off the wall its crouched on and runs toward the town center. Upon arriving it skids to a stop, and quickly hides in a nearby alleyway. The figure reaches into his pouch and pulls out his own wanted poster. The poster is labeled Sniper King, with a price of 30,000,000 berries. "If I'm not careful it'll be me who gets caught..." then returns the poster to his pouch. Sniper King stands up and begins to lurk into the open. As soon as he is hit by the sunlight he pulls out his staff-like slingshot and holds it into the air.
"I am Sniper King! I am here to save the day, and protect you all from The Iron Mace." shouts Sniper King, and he pauses, and looks at the crowd. The crowd is all looking right back at him. Silently. There is a long pause. Then the crowd begins to laugh.
"A scrawny shrimp like you!? Protect us from The Iron Mace!? Ha ha ha ha not a chance!" a man yells.
"You're not Sniper King. If you were truly him we'd all be dead by now." shouts a woman.
"It's just another freak who thinks Sniper King's some sort of hero." mocks a man.
"Nice costume! Weirdo!" shouts a kid. Sniper King lowers his weapon and looks down. As if his pride was damaged. He then raises his hand to his chin.
"Hmm... this is good. No one really believes I'm really Sniper King, I can use this to my advantage." ponders Sniper King. There is a rumble in the distance. The crowd starts to freak out.
"Why'd you have to say that!?" shouts a woman. Sniper King looks up.
"Now she's coming here!" screams a man. Another rumble, this time it's louder, and closer.
"What have you gotten yourself into now..." ponders Sniper King. A third rumble which is really loud. The crowd screams and starts to scatter leaving Sniper King alone in the center of the street. A largely overweight woman lands right in front of Sniper King, knocking him off his feet.
"Gah! She's huge! One strike from that club and we're gonners!" wails Usopp, Sniper King's inner consciousness.
"Fear not! I Sniper King can handle this without trouble!" Sniper King reminds himself as he returns to his feet. Sniper King points his finger in the air, striking a signature pose. "The Iron Mace! It is I, Sniper King, here to end your evil ways!" The Iron Mace then looked down at Sniper King.
"What did you say?" she yells.
"Nothing!" Usopp screams in Sniper King's mind.
"That I'm going to end your evil ways!" recites The King of the Snipers.
"You're gonna pay for that you rat!" The fat lady shouts as she swings her club downward at the masked hero. The club smashes through the ground leaving a large pothole where it hit. Sniper King is not anywhere to be seen. Iron Mace looks around. "What!?" She spots Sniper King on a building in the distance.
"That won't work, I'm too fast for you!" shouts Sniper King as he loads the slingshot and pulls back the strings. "Now it's my turn. Time to face my staff-like slingshot, the Kabuto" as the caped hero releases the sling he shouts "Lead Star!" He then jumps off the building. "That's not gonna be enough to stop her..." he thinks. Sniper King starts running toward Iron Mace. The Lead Star hits her dead in the face, making her recoil back a bit. As she looks back up she only can see Sniper King charging at her holding a giant hammer. "Sniper King Pound!" Sniper King swings the 5 Ton Hammer like a baseball bat, it's a direct hit launching Iron Mace into the sky. Sniper King then drops the hammer and watches as Iron Mace flies into the distance. Precisely on time the Navy, the law enforcement for the World Government, as the world is mostly sea, enter the town center.
"We've got you surrounded Sniper King, lay down your weapon and surrender!" shouts a Navy captain. Sniper King twirls around to face him.
"Uh oh, It's time for me to go…" thinks Sniper King. "Smoke Star" the hero shouts as he launches a pellet with his Kabuto. As the pellet collides with a nearby building it explodes into smoke creating a smokescreen.
"Oh no! He's using the smokescreen to escape! Quickly find him." the Navy soldiers stumble through the smoke lacking sight. Meanwhile escaping through the rooftops, our hero flees.
At the outskirts of town, Sniper King stops to rest. "A good deed done. But it doesn't bring me closer to stopping The Dark Schemester who intends to kill Princess Kaya, and usurp the throne of Syrup Kingdom on Sniper Island." He pauses briefly to consider his words. "I need to stop monologuing to myself"
Disclaimer:
This is a Fanfiction based on the characters of One Piece, a manga by Eiichiro Oda. I do not own any of the characters.
The world of Sniper Warrior, Sniper King, is an alternate dimension where Usopp's stories of his fake identity Sniper King is reality, and Usopp's cowardice is Sniper King's inner fears instead of Sniper King being Usopp's inner bravery.