A/N: This is a story about a completely different set of pirates in the one piece universe. I plan to keep every basic element of One Piece except most of the characters from the One Piece universe. If you have a Japanese translation for flicker please tell me because I only get Japanese symbols in translators.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or any of its characters and ideas. I am merely borrowing them for the sake of this fanfiction.

A small dingy was floating adrift in, seemingly, the middle of the ocean. A single man lay on the boats stern, clad in a light, short sleeved jacket with a simple white shirt beneath it and dark, slightly ragged pants. He was a fresh mix of tan and pale that was only present on somebody who spent time outdoors but didn't intend on getting a tan.

The man's name was Zelin and he was sleeping rather peacefully in the rocking boat. He had about three barrels worth of supplies and one empty barrel that had been tipped on its edge, rolling from side to side in the front of the ship. The aforementioned ship had a thin mast with a small, simple linen sheet for the sail and an even littler black sheet with a crudely made Jolly Roger on it, tied securely and flapping in the breeze. It was about two meters in length and had a fairly beaten up look about it.

It was obvious that it wasn't the best pirate ship around. However, it seemed to keep afloat well enough, so it suited Zelin's needs.

Suddenly, a large hook came flying out of the air and landed on his ship. As it began reeling back it caught hold of the ship's side and dragged it towards a boat in the distance.

Zelin's eyes flickered open and he looked towards the enemy ship. It was a light galleon with its own Jolly Roger. The other ship's Jolly Roger featured a skull with two fists pounding together at the bottom.

The dark-haired man tried to place a crew to the flag, but he turned up blank. His ship finally arrived beside the other and was soon lifted up towards the deck. In moments, he was about eye level with the crew and he found himself estimating his odds of winning. There were about twenty crew members and they were all carrying either a pistol or a sword.

"Heheh… If you want to live, you'd better hand over your supplies!" One of the men yelled, keeping his pistol eye level with Zelin.

"I really am sorry about this, but I'm afraid I can't give my supplies—" he started, and suddenly, he disappeared reappeared right next to the man with the pistol, and whispered into his ear, "—to you." He punched the pirate in the gut and grinned as the man fell back with a painful groan. Surprised, the rest of the crew turned around and immediately aimed their weapons at him.

"H-how the heck did you…?" One of them began to ask before Zelin cut him off with another disappearing act and a punch to the gut.

"Heh. I ate the Flicker Flicker Fruit. It allows me to move at supersonic speed for small amounts of a time."

"Oh, god! It's a devil fruit user!" One of the men yelled.

"No, duh. He just told us," Another one of them responded with a shaky voice. Then, something seemed to occur to him, "Wait… If we surround him, there's no way he can escape!" The pirate announced. The remaining crew members seemed to realize this logic and began to surround him.

Zelin grinned and said, "If I had to rely on my power to beat idiots like you, I wouldn't be the captain of the Flicker Pirates." He cracked his knuckles and charged forward, dodging swords and punching people right and left.

Suddenly, a loud shout came from below the deck, "What the hell is going on up there?"

The crew members stopped in their tracks and looked even more frightened than they were before. A large man, at least ten feet tall, burst through the door. He had hairy arms and legs and wore a sleeveless brown vest with long brown pants. He was very bulky which meant he probably had monstrous strength.

One brave soul stepped forward. "Um, sir, this man was just attacking out ship. But I assure you we were just about to finish him," he said, trying his best to calm his captain.

"What? Who in their right mind would attack the Knuckle Pirates?" He said looking in every direction, hoping the mysterious man was within arm's reach.

"Um… Him, sir," He pointed towards Zelin and backed away a couple of steps, so as to avoid any other random outburst from their captain.

"What! Why are all my men laying around?"

"They are unconscious, sir."

"That's it! I'll teach you to beat up my henchmen! Grab me my knuckle bruisers!" The captain demanded, cracking his knuckles. At his captains orders, the man immediately took off to go and find them. Zelin knew that this guy was probably much stronger than his previous henchmen. Not enjoying the idea of facing the hairy man while he was armed, Zelin hit him square on in the stomach. The unfazed captain grabbed Zelin's arm and lifted him in the air.

"Is this the strength that took down my men? Pathetic!" He threw Zelin across the ship's floor. He hit the side with a thud, "You think you can take me, DK, captain of the knuckle pirates?" DK shouted, slapping his chest in a show of strength.

"Captain, sir, here are you knuckle bruisers," The pirate from before struggled to drag a pair of bronzed gloves across the ship.

"Out of my way, fool!" He yelled, pushing his henchmen away, "Now," He started, putting on his bronze gloves on, "time to be pummeled by my knuckle bruisers."

Damn. This guy is going to be tough! Zelin thought, raising his fists in battle position.

DK sent one punch toward Zelin, who in turn disappeared from sight. He appeared behind the pirate captain and sent in a flurry of punches.

"What's that? Is a mosquito biting me?" DK taunted before coming around with another punch that Zelin only barely managed to dodge with his power. The dark-haired man stood at the edge of the ship, panting.

Damn it… I'm nearly at my limit. If I keep this up some of my bones'll break. I've gotta find a way to… He cut his though off mid-sentence as DK charged at him. He disappeared again, appearing behind the huge man for another set of punches, but before he got the chance DK whirled around and hit him in the gut, sending him flying against the ships doors.

"Hah! Is that all? Your moves are so predictable!" DK laughed. Zelin staggered upright and looked at him, "I get your powers now. You couldn't dodge that last punch of mine because even though you saw it coming, you need a second or two in between bursts."

Zelin's face contorted in surprise. How did he figure it out so fast? He thought.

DK started laughing again. "I'm guessing from your surprise that I'm right. The fact that you're still standing after one of my punches is surprising, but this one should do you in," He charged back at Zelin and sent him a right hook. Zenil disappeared and DK immediately sent a quick punch back but was surprised not to see him.

"Look up, dumbass!"

DK looked up instinctively and saw Zenil five feet above him. The captain acted swiftly and sent a punch flying in the air.

I won't let him win, Zenil thought to himself before yelling, "Flicker Kick!" He activated his flicker power and had his leg aiming downward in a kicking motion. He knew that by combining his supersonic speed with his kick he would increase his power to untold heights, but the affect on his leg might be permanent. His kick collided with DK's bronze fist and, under the kick's immense pressure, the bronze shattered. The kick kept going until it hit DK in the face, sending the man flying downward right through the ship's deck. Zelin looked through the smoke and was happy to see DK unconscious on the floor below.

One of the pirates who had managed to wake up long enough to see the brutal fight stuttered out the question, "W-Who are you?"

Zelin looked toward him, smiled, and said, "Nothing special. Just the future pirate king."

A/N: This is my first chapter of, what I hope, is going to be a long running series. I have to thank my sister for editing it and making it a little less horrible. Please review and give me helpful critique but please no flames.