One Piece: Serpent's Logs
A Self-Insertion (SI) fanfic. A new crewmate will join the Straw Hat early on in their voyage; this is his account of the journey (based off the anime).
I've gone back and combined all the previous chapters; there are also some major changes.
Log entry #1 "Beginnings"
I have been meaning to write a log book of my journey at sea. I've never gotten around to it, but now seem like the perfect opportunity now that I have joined with….well; I'll get to that later. I'll start at the beginning…
I was floating…just floating in a world of white and nothingness…. I wondered how long I'd been there…when will I go back to the world I knew before….During my thoughts, a woman appeared before me.
She held a dangerous mischievous air about her that kept me on guard. "I am here to offer you a chance at new life filled with excitement" Her eyes grew more mischievous as she said this. "What say you?"
I was about to answer when a single name came into my head…
"Loki…"
I said it without thinking. She seemed taken aback and then she disappeared to be replaced by a man with the same mischievousness in his eyes as the women before.
"Good grief, how did know my real name?" He asked a little upset.
"I didn't, it just appeared in my head."
"Well, once you said my name I had to reveal my true self." Now he seemed almost bored. "Here's the deal, I'm going to put you in a new world for my own amusement, how about that?"
"Why" I said without thinking again. I going to have to work on that
"That red hair sorceress and that group in Nerima were getting old, and I thought 'why not bring a person from one world to another' you always do that in fanfics." He seemed a little more enthusiastic now…
"Where am I going?"
"A place with pirates, treasure and a rubber man with a straw hat." Some people would be freaking out right now but not me. I actually thought it might be cool to a member of the straw hat crew.
"Ok, sounds like fun" He obviously wasn't expecting this because he did the best impression of an anime face-fault I have ever seen, though It might have meant we were closer to that world at that point.
"Wow, I'd thought you'd a least try and resist. Where's the fun in that?" for a Norse god he's kind of whiny.
I thought this might be a good time to move things in my favor. "I have few suggestions, if you don't mind"
"Sure go ahead, I don't care anymore" Now he looked liked he would die of boredom. At least his mood swings are mild and he hasn't gotten angry.
"Of course I want to be part of the Straw Hat crew." He listened with only half interest. "I want to be non-human since chopper is the only other non-human on the ship. I think I'll be part of a tribe of people that are descendant from sea dragons. I also will have a rare ability to breathe blue fire that can't be put out by water."
I was beginning to wonder if he was listening at all but I kept my cool to keep things in my favor.
~*~ A few paragraphs later ~*~
"You got all that?" I asked a little irritated; it looked like he ignored me the entire time.
"Yeah, Yeah;
Sea dragon…
Blacksmith…
Espionage…"
"Alri-" I started to say when he interrupted me.
"But, you won't start right where you meet the straw hats" He now turned sinister. "I'll set you up with that tribe and we'll see how things go. I might even send some chaos early."
His voice faded as everything went dark…
When I awoke I was in a strange room and everything seemed big.
"Talon, time for breakfast!" that was a woman's voice and I instantly thought Mom. The memories must have been implanted in my head. I found I was younger maybe five years old. It was weird being five when I'm so used to being taller.
"Talon, did you hear me, I said it's time for breakfast"
I started thinking about my real mom and my real family. I wondered where they were, how they're doing and if they know I'm gone, but I realized that I couldn't remember them. Something within me broke, maybe it was because I was a kid again, I don't know but I started crying.
"What's wrong honey did you have a bad dream?" my "mother" came in to see me crying; she quickly pulled me into a hug and soothed my tears. For reasons unknown to me it helped to calm me down. "Don't worry, that dream is over." For a second I saw something inexplicable in her eyes. She carried me downstairs where an older girl of about 13 years was seated at the table. The strange thing was, parts of her skin were actually scales and they were all mismatched. I did say I wanted to be a sea dragon and that was probably some puberty thing.
'Well, I have that to look forward to when I get older…' I thought to myself, 'I wonder if it itches.'
"What wrong with him?" she asked. "It seems he had a bad dream." My mother replied. "Come on, eat something and you'll feel batter."
In a nearby mirror I finally saw what I now looked like. I had deep red hair, possibly like Shanks. My eyes were the most surprising, they were green but the iris was slitted, like a dragon's.
My mother placed me in a seat beside my sister and put a plate of food in front of me. There weren't many foods I liked in my old life, but this time I seemed to be able to eat almost any dish. I gulped it down so fast; I thought I might have been a match for Luffy. "Well, you seem to have an appetite, want seconds?" I nodded. "Okay coming right up… [Cough][Cough][Cough]."
"Mom, are you alright?"
"I'm fine, why don't you take your brother out."
The coughing fit slightly worried me but it was soon forgotten as we headed outside. This was a chance to explore my new home. One of the places that caught my interest was a small library. I wanted to learn as much as I could about my new home. I learned our island was located in the calm belt. The tribe didn't have much interest in interacting with other nations.
Our ancestors came here 800 years ago and named it Terra Draco because the island was shaped like a dragon. Legend says they were descendent from sea dragons. They called themselves sea dragoons, a name we inherited. We are able to breathe under water and swim faster than any human. We are also able to take on a human/dragon hybrid form. The true sea dragon form remains out of reach, however, and only a handful have ever experienced it, though none of them were able to call on it at will.
Once in a while rare powers would emerge in some individuals, my blue fire being one of those powers. Currently only one other person had a power, a man by the name of Blanton, whose power poisons water and allows him to control it. Some called him a genius for his strength and power.
I grew attached to my mother and my sister, Morra, but I felt uneasy. A year after I "woke up" Mother died from sickness. Her last words to me were "to protect my sister when the time came". I think she knew who I really was but I'll probably never know for sure. She left us two identical necklaces that she and dad, who died years before, once wore.
Half a year after her death, Blanton was banished for some crime I never found out. His abilities were sealed using an ancient method. However, his power was so strong it couldn't be completely suppressed.
I watched him as he was led to the boat he would take to the open seas, never to return. He vowed revenge, calling the village weak and cowardly. We met eyes for a moment…the chills sent down my spine racked my entire body. He would prove to be the bane of this village.
A few years past with just me and my sister Morra living together taking care of each other. After my eighth birthday a pirate ship landed on the island. They were fishmen led by Arlong. Our people had good relationship with the fishmen, one of the few groups we actually interacted with. The leaders welcomed the pirates provided they don't cause any trouble. The only one my sister and I talked with was the octopus fishman Hatchan or Hachi as most call him. He told us stories of famous pirates he's met, including the Pirate King's first mate, 'Dark King' Silvers Rayleigh. All in all, Hachi wasn't a bad guy, just kind of followed the crowd, so to speak. They fishmen stayed about a week before heading off toward the East Blue. Sis and I said goodbye to Hachi at the docks and watched their ship sail off.
2 years later, I woke up in the middle of the night from a dream filled with ships and fire. The dream felt so real that I was shaking all over.
Somehow I knew…danger was coming….I held my necklace in fright.
I slipped out of bed and headed to the village manor, there in a secret basement lay the Poneglyph and all the research the Elders had done on it. I had long ago discovered it and memorized how to get in and out without notice.
Anxiety filled me growing stronger with each passing moment. I ran in and grabbed a notebook containing a copy of the Poneglyph symbols, as well as a book containing our tribe's secrets. I then went back to the house and woke up my sister and managed to drag her to the harbor. "What is the matter, Talon? Why'd you drag me out of bed to docks?"
Day break was near and on the horizon I could see ships in the distance. "Look out there" I said. Sis saw them just as they opened fire. BOOM BOOM BOOM We ran for cave that connected to ocean on the other side of the island. Half way to the cave entrance, more cannon fire was heard and the town was set ablaze. We made it to the cave and ran inside just before a cannon ball stuck the rocks causing a cave-in.
There was no going back now and no way for anyone else to escape through here as well. The explosions outside still caused the cave and rocks to shake but no further cave-ins as we headed toward the underwater tunnel.
Although I wasn't the best swimmer in my class, I could beat any human and some ships. We swam through the tunnel and made it out to open ocean and to a small rock jutting out of the sea. We watched as the warships destroyed the village. I remember feeling disgusted with myself for running, I didn't do anything to save anyone. I at least was able to get my sister out. I continued to watch as the island become consumed in flames, with my enhanced hearing I could just barely hear the villagers' screams. Sis probably heard them as well.
"It'll be alright" she said as she wrapped her arms around me. "We're alive, but we need to keep moving."
I was scared and ashamed. I vowed never to run like this again. I gripped the necklace on my neck, knowing that I had at least kept my promise and saved my sister.
I woke up to find myself on a bed in someone's house. I looked over to a dresser where a tray of food was prepared. The smell of food was probably what woke me up in the first place. I quickly ate everything on the tray. But how did I get there?
I slowly recounted the events from when I left the village.
We swam through the calm belt where the island was. I don't know how we managed to get by all the sea kings but I remembered making it to a normal sea. I had no idea if it was the East Blue, West Blue, North, South or even the Grand Line. I was so exhausted, I was barely even aware I was approaching an island. I don't even remember making it to shore.
As I continued to collect my thoughts an older man came in with another tray of food
"Oh, so ya awake. I'm glad" He wasn't too old; he looked like he could handle heavy work if he needed to. "Ya probably wondering where ya are and how ya got here." I nodded an affirmative; then my stomach decided itself known.
"Ha-ha…Well, I'll tell while ya eat; ya sister said you needed more than what was on the first tray." He handed me the tray and began to explain things. "Here, your sister made it. She's a better cook than I am. She's down stairs by the way."
"For starters, my name is Kando. I was taking an evening walk on the beach, not my usually routine, but ya probably not complaining. Well, as I was walking I found the two of ya washed up on the shore; as soon as I made sure ya were alive I brought ya back to my house."
"And where am I exactly?" I asked
"This here is Kajiya island, best little island in the East Blue. Ya know why?" I shook my head. "Because I'm here that's why, ha-ha-ha"
'Oh great, I just couldn't be saved by more modest person' Even though I thought that, I eventually grew to respect him, maybe even admire him a little….just a little.
"Thank you for saving me and for giving me food, is there any way I can repay you?" I felt I needed to do something for his help.
"It was my choice to help ya, I didn't do it just 'cause I wanted ya to do something for me, I'm just that good of a man" (rolls eyes)
"Please, anything"
"Well, I was about to take some stuff down to port to sell, ya could give me a hand taking em there" I eagerly agreed. I finished up the food he brought and headed down stairs. I found Sis in the kitchen. "Oh, you're awake, thank goodness, I was worried." She hugged me hard, nearly choking me.
"I'm fine, now stop choking me!" After she settled down, I told I was going to help the old man who saved us. She agreed and said we should try and repay him for his kindness.
It turned out he was a blacksmith and crafted a wide variety of items. He had just finished an order of a few dozen swords to be delivered to some marines docked in town. I wasn't eager to see marines, in fact I was almost afraid but I promised myself I wouldn't be a coward.
He led me to his workshop and picked up a several long boxes which I assumed held the swords. I helped him pick up most of them leaving one box for me. For a normal ten year old, picking up a box of heavy swords would be impossible. Lucky I wasn't normal, though its size did give me a little trouble, you know with getting a good grip.
He house was on the outskirts of town up in the foot hills. We walked all the way to town with our load.
"Ya pretty strong for a kid, I wonder how ya got wrecked in the first place" I was silent "Any family ya can go to?" I didn't want to talk about it; partly because it was still a fresh "wound" so to say, but also because I didn't want him see me as a monster because I was a dragon. "Fine, I get it, I won't ask, I'm just that good of a man" something told me I'd be rolling my eyes a lot in the near future.
We reached the port and stood before a marine ship. It wasn't a warship like the one that destroyed my home, but I was still pretty nervous.
A marine walked up and addressed old man Kando. "Are these the swords we commissioned?"
"Yep, the finest blades ya'll find in the entire East Blue. Ha-ha" I had begun to sweat when the marine came up, but then…
"Who's this young lad with you?" I really began to sweat. I could feel his eyes scrutinized me. Old Man Kando must have noticed that so he interjected.
"He's my new apprentice, been hounding me for a while to take him on."
"Very well, I have your payment ready." He had some other marines take the boxes and then gave Old Man Kando the berries he owed him. We walked off and went to a local bar. Old Man Kando bought me some juice, said it would calm my nerves. After all the time I spent with him he never did ask why I was afraid of the marines.
He made his earlier statement true and made me his apprentice, for the next eight years he drilled the skill of a blacksmith into me.
"Hey why do I have to do this work, old man?"
"If ya want to be a blacksmith ya have ta start at the bottom!"
"I never said I wanted to be your apprentice, old man, you decided that yourself!"
"Ya cheeky brat, I'm giving ya food and shelter, the least ya could do is work for me!"
I did make a lot of mistakes though…
"You brat, ya went and ruined it"
"Hey, I'm still learning, so shut your yap"
"Quit your whining, make it again and this time get it right!"
Yeah, once we got over the awkwardness, we had a lot of fights…
"Hey, quit stealing off my plate, old man!"
"All this food is mine to begin with, ya should be grateful for what ya got!" (Visualize them fighting with forks over food)
Old Man Kando was also a swordsman and put me through rigorous training. He wielded a large zanbato, as long as him and almost as wide.
~+~ "Give me five hundred more swings" ~+~ "Get back up and come at me again!" ~+~ "Don't lose your grip on your sword!" ~+~
What he put me through…..still gives me nightmares….
In my spare time, I obtained what information I could get on the East Blue, the Grand Line, the Pone Glyphs and various other things. I wanted to be prepared for when I set out on my own. I learned to be discrete when gathering info and was careful to make sure it was legitimate. The tales from the Grand Line were especially hard to believe, but I kept a coded record of them and of the other stuff I found.
I found out about how the marines found the island and knew of the village's Poneglyph. The outcast, the one villager who was banished, had somehow broken the seal on his powers and went the marines and revealed everything. Apparently the marines took that as an act of war and feared we were going awaken an ancient weapon. The outcast has since become a marine vice-admiral and last I heard was in the Grand Line. He became known as the Blanton of the "Black Sea". Info on him was difficult to find. The World Government later released the story of the Marines victory over the 'monsters' of Terra Draco in the newspaper.
Turned out the old man had connections. To say I was shocked when Hawkeye Mihawk landed on our doorstep was an understatement. My jaw literally hit the floor as he greeted the warlord and directed him to the shop. I was eleven at the time and had just made my first real sword. After the initial shock I decided to challenge him to a spar. It was an embarrassment.
"Hawkeye let me spar with you!"
"Who is this boy?" he turned to look at me. I faltered a bit at his stare but recovered reasoning that hawk eye can't beat a dragon eye.
"Who, the brat? Just some kid I took in to teach the art of sword making, though he's a bit of a slow learner."
"I want to test my skills as a sword smith and a swordsman with this sword I made!"
He continued to stare as if to gauge my determination. "Very well, Kando bring me a spoon" I knew he wouldn't use the black sword on his back, heck, I half-expected him to use a butter knife, but a SPOON? Well, I guess you can tell how this ended; I was flat on my back in three seconds.
"Hmph…improve and next time I might use a butter knife." …I hated him. He came back several times over the next six years to have his swords repaired; apparently the old man's skills were the only ones he trusted.
When I turned seventeen, I completed my training as blacksmith and as a swordsman. I crafted my own sword using my azure fire breath. It was a large zanbato as long as myself with several small holes designed to reduce resistance underwater. My azure flame somehow turned the blade to an ocean blue. I named it Buruse.
The old man had figured out I was a dragon long ago but wasn't bothered by it. He was "just that good of a man". Though that scale thing my sister had before might have unnerved him a little when I got it. I had to wear bandages for months while visiting town.
Speaking of my sister, she got a job as a waitress at the local tavern. She was very popular with her looks, though they learned early on not to touch as she could snap their arms with her dragon strength. They especially behaved when I was around or else certain incidents could happen.
Anyway, the old man gave me a boat with a furnace in it and sent me off to make my own way in the world. I traveled the East Blue for a year making not just weapons but kitchen ware, working tools, even furniture. Then I met her….
It was just after I had turned eighteen, having been traveling the East Blue for a year. I was out at sea when I noticed a nearby ship. It was a luxury ship which was sailing past a whirlpool. It suddenly clicked in my mind which ship that was. I ran alongside it and talked to the sailors who had already spotted me. I requested to speak with the captain who came out shortly.
"Good day sir, I am a traveling blacksmith, might I entice you to buy some of my fine silverware." He mulled it over and decided to let me on board so he could look at my merchandise. "These are top quality, the same used by high-ranking marines and nobles, all for a fair price."
"Yes, these are spectacular. I was going to purchase new dinnerware at the next port, but the quality at these prices is hard to come by." We settled on a price and he had one sailor take purchased item to storage for now.
"You seem to have quite the party, might I join?" He looked me over, probably put off by my seafaring clothes. "I do have a proper outfit for the occasion." I had been a quick success in business so I could afford fancy clothes for times like this.
"Very well, please change and I'll escort you to dining hall." I quickly complied and headed to where the great navigator/thief was currently located. I instantly spotted her by her orange hair. She was staring out the window at a large rock formation jutting out of the sea. She wore a simple light cream colored dress with red rings and some frills. I held my necklace for good luck as I walked toward her.
"Excuse me, would the pretty lady care to dance?" she thought it over and complied. As we were dancing I talked in a low voice so only she could hear me. "So, what's a thief like you doing in a high-class party like this?" her eyes grew large in surprise.
"W-what do you mean?"
"I happened to run into a few of your previous acquaintances, not many girls on the sea with short orange hair. So what are you after, this ship's loot?" she was hesitant but told me of her plans.
"There's a pirate ship nearby ready to attack, led by a woman named Alvida, during the confusion I'll slip on to their ship and steal their treasure and anything they get off this ship. If you help me out I'll give you a cut of the spoils." She put on a flirty smile which was attractive but I kept head straight.
"Alright, I'll help you out." She gave a victorious smile. "I'll take ten percent, excluding anything that was already mine to begin with." She had an even bigger, though slightly surprised, smile. I guess she expected me to ask for a bigger cut. Right then an explosion was heard and the ship jerked suddenly. People screamed and panicked while running for cover. "I guess that's our cue, name's Talon by the way." "I'm Nami, let's go."
We headed out to an empty hallway where Nami threw off her dress to reveal the casual clothes underneath alongside the bandana that seemed to magically appear on her head. I wondered how she did that without ripping the dress, but guessed it was part of the laws of this world. I, too, threw off my suit to reveal shorts and a t-shirt with a pouch full of kunai strapped to my waist. Although I'm a sword user I like to have some extra insurance hidden away.
"You seem to have come prepared." Nami eyed me suspiciously. I shrugged, "Anything can happen out at sea, I just prefer not to get caught unawares."
We headed up on deck and slipped onto the pirate ship, Nami by zip line, me by tightrope running. We only encountered one pirate who I instantly knocked out so Nami wouldn't kick him where it hurts, as a fellow man I didn't want to inflict that on him. While the pirates threw the loot into the hold we gathered it up to take to my boat since Nami said stealing one was too risky when we already had mine.
I heard a lot of commotion outside with my enhanced hearing and knew Luffy was the cause. The marines showed up and opened fire on the pirate ship, though thankfully we had already loaded up the treasure. As we were about to make our getaway another boat dropped beside us carrying Luffy and Coby.
We eventually got away and Nami directed me toward our next destination, a marine base.
