PROLOGUE(s)

FOOSHA VILLAGE, EAST BLUE.

It was a quaint, sleepy little village, tucked away back into the corner of the Goa kingdom. Its inhabitants were a simple and quiet folk, consisting of mostly farmers and small time traders. No one ever paid a second glance at it.

"TO LITTLE ANCHOR!"

Err, I think I spoke too soon.

Why? You see, it wasn't so quiet OR sleepy anymore.

"TO LUFFY'S BRAVERY!"

"KANPAI!"

The island was also the home of little Monkey D. Luffy, who, a few minutes ago had stabbed himself below his left eye with a small dagger. This was much to the astonishment and horror of a particular group of pirates, who had been using Foosha as their base for a year now.

They were all congregated at the Partys Bar, the go-to establishment in the village for any kind of celebration. They were celebrating Luffy's bravery, or rather, his impetuousness.

Luffy was currently seated beside a straw-hatted, red haired man who was sipping on his brew.

This was Red-Haired Shanks, the captain of the Red Haired Pirates, one of the most fearsome crews in the Grand Line. Shanks had rubbed shoulders with some of the more renowned names on the seas. He had also been a cabin boy on the crew of Roger Pirates.

Not that anyone would know all that, the way he was acting. The pirate with a Billion Beli plus bounty was busy pulling his little friend's leg, much to the amusement of his crew.

"Now you have to take me with you Shanks!"

"Luffy, you're too young to become a pirate. Plus you don't even know how to swim! What good is a pirate who can't swim?"

"Swim? Who wants to swim?! I can kick ass! That is all I need!" Luffy's smile was ear-to-ear wide.

Shanks turned to face him. "Why do you want to become a pirate so badly, Luffy?"

Luffy's face grew excited as he thought furiously for a few seconds. "Adventure, Shanks! I want to go on adventures, meet people and see new places!"

Shanks smiled. "Oh? And have lots of treasure, surely?"

Luffy nodded determinedly. "Yes! So that I can pay Makino back. I have a treasure tab here! I'm going to pay her back when I am a great pirate!"

Shanks smile grew into a grin as Makino smiled and rubbed Luffy's hair. "But I'm still not going to take you with us, Anchor!"

The whole bar erupted into laughter as Luffy grew even more irritated.

Whatever Luffy was about to say was interrupted as a tall, shifty looking man made his way into the tavern followed by a group of even more tall, shifty looking people.

"Oooooh! This place smells rank!"

He looked around. "Right. Must be because of all these sorry looking pirates here. Pirates. Hmph!"

He took a drag of his cigar.

"My name's Higuma 'THE BEAR'. I'm a mountain bandit with an Eight Million Beli bounty and a kill count of fifty-six."

He took out a poster, embellished with his name and bounty and proceeded to the counter, where Shanks was still sipping his drink and Makino was looking at the new entrant with a jaundiced eye.

"Give me some sake, eh, pretty girl? I and my men are thirsty." He eyed Makino from head to eye in a way that had Shanks tighten his grip on his bottle.

"Sorry sir, but we don't have any. We just finished our stock yesterday."

Higuma eyed Shanks and the bottle he was gripping. "What's this then, eh? You'll serve this insignificant pirate but not a handsome strapping man like me?"

The faces of the Red Haired crew were mostly hidden in shadow, their expressions unreadable.

Luffy wasn't paying attention. He had just found a weird, purple fruit in a box next to Lucky Roo. Stomach growling, he was about to ram the fruit into his mouth when it was taken from his hands by Higuma. He then proceeded to look at the fruit closely.

"Hey! Gimme that! It's not yours, you basta-!" Luffy's words were drowned out by a kick to the face which sent him crashing down to the floor. Higuma spat at him and turned to face his crew.

"Fuck off, brat! Look what we have here boys! A Devil Fruit and a pretty girl! All in one place!"

He eyed Makino again, while Benn Beckmann, Yassop and Lucky Roo had one hand on their pistols. Shanks turned one eye at them, softly shaking his head.

They sat down, calming at the signal from their captain. Lucky Roo picked up Luffy from the ground and pushed him out of harm's way.

Higuma didn't notice.

"Perhaps I'll sell the fruit and keep the lass for me, eh?" He leered at Makino and smirked. "Or sell both! I hear the slave market is pretty active these days! Let's go, pretty girl. "

He took a swipe at Makino, intending to drag her out with him, only to be stopped by Shanks' grip on his arm.

"Let go."

Higuma paused, shaking Shanks off.

"What did you say, pirate?"

Shanks was unmoving, expression shadowed by his straw hat. A sudden chill had crept into the air.

"I said, let go. And Leave. You have no idea who you're dealing with here."

Higuma blinked, and then laughed uproariously, his crew along with him. "No idea who I'm dealing with? All I know that you're bunch of fuckers and cowards. Stay out of my way, loser pirate."

He took out his pistol and aimed it at Shanks.

"Grab the lady, Boys! While I finish this pretend pirate off!"

His men moved forwards, only for the chill in the air to intensify. Shanks had stood up and fixed gazes with Higuma.

"Are you prepared, bandit?"

Shanks voice was a soft rumble and something told Higuma to take a step back. He didn't though.

"Eh? For what? To kill you?"

"No. To put your head on the line."

Ben, Yassop and the rest had drawn their weapons.

"Now that you have drawn your weapon and assaulted my friends, are you prepared put everything you have on the line? Are you willing to face the consequences?"

Luffy, who had somewhat regained his senses, stared at Shanks, awed.

"No?"

Shanks tilted his head questionably, then gave a single nod at his crew.

The bar erupted into chaos. Gunfire sounded, filling the tavern with smoke. For all of five seconds, all one could hear were the echoes of screams and the thumps of bodies hitting the floor. Higuma went to help, only for Shanks to grab his shoulder and press down.

A crack of breaking bone and the accompanying cry of pain was lost in the din.

When the smoke cleared, all one could see were bodies, and people standing amongst them. Silence.

Shanks nodded at his crew.

"Take the trash out. Makino-chan doesn't need filth in her bar."

In five minutes, the place was clean of the bodies.

Higuma was shaking now. His men were dead, killed like flies! Who the bloody hell were these people! And why did he have to run into them! He tried to run, but Shanks stomped down on a leg.

Another crack of breaking bone, this time heard by everyone, echoed around in the tiny tavern.

Shanks motioned to Yassop. "Close the door. No one outside needs to see this."

Yassop did. Makino winced and put her hands over her mouth. Luffy was staring at the proceedings, open mouthed. Shanks turned to Higuma, who was moaning in pain and fear.

"Firstly." He reached into Higuma's pockets, drawing out the Devil Fruit. "It is impolite, and dangerous to steal another man's treasure without a fight."

Shanks put the fruit into the box, tossing it to Roo.

"Secondly. Eight Million? Take a look at this."

A poster was brandished in front of the bandit. The poster was of Shanks, and the figure below it had Higuma staring wide eyed and pissing himself in front of everyone.

Shanks grimaced at the now spreading puddle, but nodded. He then put his pistol to the forehead of the hapless bandit chief, who was sweating and shaking like crazy by now.

A shot rang through the air, Higuma's body jerking in response. The floor behind him was sprayed red. The dull thunk of the body hitting the floor echoed around the still silence.

Makino flinched and closed her eyes, shaking. Luffy stood still in shock. His world had changed within the space of a few minutes.

"Makino-chan, Luffy. I'm sorry you had to see that." Shanks' eyes were shadowed, his emotions concealed beneath the brim of his straw hat.

-X-

A week later…

Luffy stood in front of Shanks, his eyes red and watery. His nose was leaking snot. The Red Hair Pirates were ready to cast off.

"Do you really have to go, Shanks?"

Shanks smiled softly at Luffy. The critter had made himself a soft corner in Shanks' heart in a very short time.

"Sorry, Anchor. We'll have to go. Our staying here will bring a lot of unwanted attention to this place. Plus, I'm really sorry that you had to see me like that." He said, referring to the events in the previous week.

Luffy shook his head.

"No Shanks. You saved Makino-chan and me. You made me see that it's not all fun and games." Luffy wiped snot off his nose before he continued. "I'll always remember you, Shanks. I'll be as awesome as you someday."

Shanks blinked, amused. "Oh? As good as me?"

He took his hat off, letting it rest on Luffy's head.

"Keep this hat safe for me then, will you Luffy? Return it to me when you are on the top of the world."

Benn approached, carrying a long, thin case and a small bag. Shanks took it from him and handed it to Luffy, who was still in shock from receiving the Straw Hat from Shanks.

"I had always planned to give this to you, Anchor." He opened the case, inside which rested a sword and its sheath. The bag contained a couple of books.

Luffy's eyes popped out.

The sword, a chokuto to be precise, was a slim and straight instrument of death. It had no guard, the blade and the handle combined without separation. The blade was a dull matte grey, with the grain in the metal slowly transitioning to a gleaming silver across the width of the sword to a single, sharpened edge. The other edge remained blunt. The waves in the metal, which had formed during the tempering process mesmerized Luffy. The sword itself was about forty inches in length, the handle being eleven inches and the blade making up the rest. The handle was wrapped in a hardy deep-red leather. The sheath was made of polished wood, with fastenings for both shoulder and waist carrying purposes.

All in all, it was a work of art.

Shanks smiled as Luffy took the sword in his hands and admired it.

"This is my first blade, Luffy. It isn't a named sword, but is considered as one of the Twenty One Ō Wazamono grade swords. It is the only unnamed sword of this quality. This and my hat, were given to me by my captain. I outgrew it, becoming more used to a katana, but this blade remains very dear to me. They're two of my most treasured possessions. I bequeath both of them to you, in hope that you'll eventually fulfil my captain's dream."

Luffy looked at Shanks, excitement replaced by curiosity.

"Who was your captain Shanks?"

Shanks smirked. "Oh. It was Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King."

"NAAAAAAAAANNNNIIIIIIII!"

Shanks laughed and gestured at the bag.

"Oh yeah. And the books are something of a pet project of mine. Over the years, I wrote down my thoughts on what it meant to be a pirate. It's sort of my personal Log book, just without the details of the places I visited. There's a lot of useful stuff in it. And there's a book on swordsmanship, written by a dear friend of mine. Marines use it as a manual, but this particular copy is a lot more detailed, as it was personally gifted to me. Use them well Luffy, because the next time we meet, it'll be in the Grand Line."

Luffy was wide eyed as Shanks patted his hair and walked away towards his ship. He sniffled, before eventually screaming his little lungs out.

"I'll train myself to surpass you Shanks! I'll fulfil Roger's dream if it's the last thing I do! I'll be the Pirate King!"

His voice washed over the Red Haired Pirates, carrying a hint of something that made the lesser members of the crew dizzy. Shanks and Benn on the ship, felt their eyes widen as the beginnings of Luffy's potent willpower made itself known. They turned to each other, smirking.

"Well captain, looks like Anchor is going to be BIG someday."

"I know Benn."

Shanks looked at the crying child, waving at them from the shores as the ship of the Red haired Pirates pulled away.

'It won't be long before Luffy makes himself known. After all, you can't tie a KING down. Looks like I found your successor, Captain.'

-X-

A FEW YEARS LATER, FOOSHA VILLAGE, EAST BLUE.

We return to the sleepy little village. Its inhabitants were still a simple folk. Ever since Red Haired Shanks had left, the village had been quiet. Now, more than ever, no one paid a second glance at it.

"BOOM!"

Err, I spoke too soon. Again.

A galleon of respectable size with a Jolly Roger had shot another cannon ball that mercifully fell short of any life or property on the island. Who these buccaneers were is not important, as you will soon see.

"Move closer! Fire again!"

"Aye-Aye Captain!"

"BOOM!"

"BOOM!"

Perhaps, the pirates wouldn't have been as hasty as they were being if they had known that the isle was under the protection of a Marine Vice Admiral, who was currently holidaying there.

"Garp-san! Help!"

This particular, now very angry, Vice Admiral had been interrupted during his booze session at the Partys Bar by a panicked villager who had seen the first rounds of fire at the beach.

"Pirates! And they are firing at us!"

That had been all as Garp had crushed his tumbler into fine dust.

"Grrrrrrrrr. Can't a man drink in peace when he's on his holiday?!"

It was a rhetorical question, but Garp grumbled as he marched out onto the beach, where the ship's cannons were getting uncomfortably within range.

"BOOM!"

Monkey D. Luffy was still on the island, and at this moment, was hiding behind a boulder as his grandpa, Monkey D. Garp prepared to massacre the pirate ship that had made the mistake of firing a cannon ball – or several – at the island.

Luffy's tiny figure, a straw hat perched on his head, watched as his Grandpa uprooted a nearby Pine as high as the mast of the oncoming pirate ship with ease. Small black eyes bulged out the show of strength as the Vice Admiral launched the behemoth of a missile at his foe with a single flick of his elbow. It soon disappeared from sight as it sped forward like a heat seeking warhead, targeting the ship from more than a mile away. The resulting sonic boom kicked up an enormous spray of water and left a few villagers permanently deaf.

Luffy squealed in wonderment as he saw his beloved gramps take out a whole pirate crew without a single punch exchanged.

'Wow! Gramps is awesome!'

Yes, Shanks was awesome. The Devil Fruit he had almost eaten was awesome. Lucky Roo, Yassop and Benn were awesome and he himself was awesome too! But nothing beat his gramps' strength!

The pirate ship continued firing as it sailed closer. When-

"What's that small dot?" That was the lookout on the starboard side.

"I don't know, but it's growing larger." That was his crew mate.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! INCOMING!" That was the entire crew.

The poor pirates in question were left screaming in abject terror as the forty metre long, super thick tree pierced through their ship with ease. The ship flipped onto its port side, lifted almost a couple of feet clean into the air by the sheer power of Garp's throw. The resulting impact was enough to rip the vessel in two.

Grandfather, grandson and the thankful villagers were left to watch as the ship sunk in the distance, dragging down its ill-fated inhabitants with it.

Garp sighed and turned to his grandson, only to take a step back in surprise. "Luffy?"

Luffy's eyes were huge circles shining in awe, stars visible in them in a confined imitation of a galaxy. His nose was leaking snot and his mouth was opened as wide as it could go. He was also hopping in little circles around a bemused Garp. All in all, this was easily the most excited and gleeful Garp had seen his little grandson, ever since he had met that rascal Red-Haired-menace-of-a-pirate.

"Ne, Gramps! Teach me how to do that!"


AUTHOR'S NOTES: (Please read to know what to expect from this pile of jargon I'm trying to add to in the future)

I got into the OP fandom pretty late, at which point there was an absolute plethora of material to pick through. Manga, Anime, databooks, Wikipedia, pretty awesome Fan fiction and all. After some digging, I decided to concoct a small Two Shot (it's there on my profile) which was frankly, a parody. It featured a SUPER! Luffy with an absolute Monster! of a Devil Fruit. It was high on action and very poor in detail and character development. It was factually incorrect in many places, as I came to know afterwards.

I like to think it was pretty well received. :D

Then for some purist action, I decided to download the whole freaking manga till volume 77. (21GB worth of cbr files!) Anime, I found was a little slow paced for me. (Though I still watch it for the main action.)

So, my hunger not satisfied, I decided to do an Origin Story. One that would add itself to the countless others already on this site. You know, the one which every author dreams of doing? The one where Luffy has a different beginning? Different DF (A realistic one this time), different attitude, the whole retelling of the OP-verse, the whole nine yards?

Yeah, about that. *Hides in a corner*

I realized after 15k words of content (that I had rewritten, restructured and formatted over a course of two months or so) that there was no possible way on earth that I could do justice to a whole novel-style retelling of One Piece. The amount of back-stories and character development that Oda had weaved into this epic had me astounded.

What with leaving my full time (12hr-workday) job and getting ready to start at a b-school, I realized that the only way to do this would be to dodge the detailed back story and character building, and concentrate on the action. This I would do in the form of chronologically ordered one shots and indulge in my fantasies of One Piece. Hehe.

So if you're still interested in this version of Luffy (with all the above mentioned shortcomings in the narrative), hit me with whatever feedback you have. May get my brain-synapses firing.

Lust of Alucard.