Chapter 1: Beginning at Loguetown.
The Mystery Man.
"My name is Joey Wish (better known as just Wish) and for as long as I can remember I've been doing "contract work", although.. lately my contracts have been a bit.. 'interfered' to say the least... I am an assassin and this is my story."
"Iron Club Alvida, Buggy the Clown, Arlong the Saw and Captain Kuro. Those were most of the bigshots that I had my eyes set on, so I could capture them and claim the rewards for myself. That was of course until that new big rookie pirate took care of them all."
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"Monkey D. Luffy is his name, and I guess you could say that he has 'helped' me multiple times now. Of course after each victory he obtains I go in and confirm that my "contracts" are down for the count and drag them to the closest Navy Base to cash in the rewards… or that's what I would like to do. However almost every time this 'Famous Rookie' wins one of these fights, he sends his enemies flying. I was lucky with both Arlong and Kuro but who knows who he'll sent flying next time.. As for Buggy the Clown, there is still no sign of him…"
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"Anyway I had a few small contracts that had lead me to a city called 'Loguetown'.
I had been staying there for almost 3 days and was ready to get my boat and take my leave.
At least that was the plan, but as soon as I entered the harbor I noticed with the corner of my eye a ship that looked like a ram. I decided to investigate, I was in no hurry. Upon closer inspection it was actually Straw Hats Ship which had to mean they were in town."
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"And so I began my search for the 30.000.000 Beli man.
Huh (chuckles).. As I looked up I started thinking to myself: I couldn't help but be proud of him for making it this far.."
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- As I started thinking, a big smile appeared on his face. –
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Meeting with an 'old friend'.
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- As Wish left the 'Going Merry' (The Straw Hat crew's boat) and headed into town he thought of who would be in Straw Hat Luffy's crew. He had picked up some 'wanted posters' but had never seen them before. They were all never-before-heard-of pirates. –
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- It wasn't long before Wish caught eye of the famous 'East Blue Pirate Hunter: Roronoa Zoro'. -
"Wait a minute… that's the pirate hunter."
- Wish slowly snuck up on Zoro. He reached his arm out to him, however it seems the pirate hunter knew someone was standing right behind him. –
- Zoro got nervous and he didn't trust that one bit. He felt a presence behind him coming closer.–
"I don't know who you are… -Zoro reached for his sword- …but if you think you can sneak up on me, -Zoro slowly started to unsheathe his sword- you have no clue about who you're messing with!"
- Zoro quickly stepped forward, turned around and swung his sword in a vertical line through the air. -
- Wish stepped back, dodged the sword-strike and disappeared into the crowd in order to remain hidden from Zoro. –
(Maybe I should wait with this bounty, until I can capture him where there are no people around. That might make things easier for now. )
*Zoro scratches his head*"My imagination? Hmm… Maybe the uneasiness of carrying unusable swords around is getting to me…? No, that's not it… There was definitely someone here just now…"
- With the entire crowd shocked. Pirate Hunter Zoro turned around, sheathed his sword and went into a dark alley. Wish went up and followed him by roof, but strangely enough he ended up seeing Zoro in front of a weapon shop. -
"Why is he going into 'that' shop, according to my intel he only uses three swords. Anyway it seems like he'll be in there for a while, let's see if I can find anyone from Luffy's crew. I do need to look out so I don't run into 'him' because I don't him to find out that I'm working undercover. "
Wish said- "Knowing Luffy he would probably head towards the 'Execution Plateau' in the center of town. Well, it seems I just found my destination.
- As Wish made his way towards the center of town, he slowly starts to put on a smile. –
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- It didn't take long before cloud started to assembled and a storm came up. –
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"Rain… ? no, this is a storm! I have to hurry! –Wish mumbled
- Wish overheard some people talking.
Person #1"Did you hear about the execution platform?"
- Wish pulls a frown as he walks by them -
Person #2"No what's going on?
Person #1 "Some pirate is going to execute another pirate wearing a straw hat on the execution-plateau."
"?!" - Wish froze out of shock-
"Careless as always, ey Luffy? I can't afford to waste any more time!" –Wish squeezed his fist out of anger.
- Wish had made up his mind. He got on a rooftop and went from building to building as fast as he could. But would he make it in time?... -
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Rescuing the man who smiles at his execution.
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- As Wish made his way towards the execution plateau he caught glimpse of the 'Marine Base', he actually wanted to go in and check if 'he' was present. However for now he needed to make haste, knows how much time he had left. –
- As Wish came closer and closer to the middle of town he heard a voice that seemed familiar. –
?- "anylastwordsstrawHat?!"
"It seems I'm getting close, alright then it should be just around the next corner." Wish said as he came closer.
- As Wish turned around the last corner, he saw Luffy trapped in a 'stock' pinned to the execution stand. He looked around and noticed both the Pirate Hunter and Black Leg in the back of the crowd, making their way right through the band of pirates standing in their way. -
- Then he heard Luffy say with a serious expression on his face -
"ZORO!, SANJI!,USOPP!, NA…" Luffy screamed at the top of his lungs!
- However before he could finish whatever he wanted to say, Wish rushed in.. –
"They're not going to make it! Well then, if I don't who will?! (as I said that, the clouds right above us started to rumble)."
"Well, here goes nothing..."
- Wish quickly struck a pose and mumbled to himself: "Stone Stone Hammer."
- Wish took all the stone en pebbles from underneath the crowds feet, and created a giant three-fingered arm out of stone right in front of the platform and crushed one of the execution stand-pillar supports so that the entire platform would collapse.
He turned around and started heading towards Zoro and Sanji. Wish decided to quickly look back to see if anyone got hurt. However he was in for quite a shock..–
"What the..?!" – Wish said with a shocked expression. -
- As Wish quickly mixed himself into the giant crowd in front of the execution stand to avoid being seen, he noticed that a lightning bolt behind him slightly curved away from Luffy and headed towards the broken down platform. –
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"Wow that was weird… Anyway for now, everything seems to be going well. Let's just hope everyone will make it out alive." –Wish muttered.
(Since I knew where their boot was docked I tried to make my way over there, but seeing as I did not yet have the trust of the crew. I thought it might be better to escort them back to the harbor.)
"BLACK LEG!, RORONOA! listen up, you need to get out of here now!
"Who are you, jackass?!" -Sanji looked angry at Wish.
"Get out of the way or I'll slice you up!" –Zoro looked like he was about ready to cut me down.
- Zoro and Sanji tried to attack Wish but their attacks had no effect on him. As they both took a second to realize what had just happened Wish tried to talk them down. -
"Listen to me, the Navy will be here any secon...
- As Wish was interrupted by gunfire. They realized it was already too late and needed to make a break for it and fast! –
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"Gum Gum… ROCKET!!"
- Luffy had flown directly into Zoro and Sanji and rolled down the street with him, but he seemed to fly directly through Wish. He decided to follow them from higher ground. Unfortunately so did some of the Navy foot soldiers. After all, he DID have a 30.000.000 Beli Bounty on him. –
(I should hurry up and follow them before the Navy gets h…)
- As Wish was thinking to himself, he looked towards some of the Navy soldiers who started flooding the center of town. –
"There they go, its Straw Hat and his crew!" –The marines shouted.
"Oh no 'he' is here, the person I really didn't want to deal with right now! Navy Vice-Admiral Smoker."
"AFTER THEM MEN! If even a single pirate leaves this island we won't be able to call ourselves 'Marines'!" –Vice Admiral Smoker shouted.
- At this point Smoker had noticed Wish in his cloak at the back of the crowd. He had worked a lot with the Navy when picking up the bounties at the local Navy bases, so Smoker recognized him right away. However Wish is known as John Smith at the navy head bases. –
- Wish jumped on top of one of the buildings and followed after the Straw Hats. Smoker thought that Wish/Smith was going after the Straw Hats for their bounty and called out to him. –
"Hey, Smith?! Bring me their heads, alright?!"
- Wish heard him, but didn't want to respond since he had no intention of working with the navy anymore. With no response Vice-Admiral Smoker started growing suspicious of his local bounty hunter. -
"All men support Bounty Hunter - Smith
- Before Wish knew it, he had the Navy on his tail. The navy soldiers weren't aware of Wish's situation, yet
If he wanted to get to Luffy he would have to deal with all those marines first. –
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- A little while later on a couple of streets away from the harbor. -
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-As Luffy, Sanji and Zoro were running through town with the Navy on their heels, they luckily ran into Usopp who went looking for them. Usopp (of course facing the other direction than the rest, had noticed a shadowy figure on the rooftops staring them down upon the crew. However he couldn't identify the person for it rain was blurring out his vision.
- Usopp pointed towards the rooftop next to the crew and said: "Guy's… who's that?!.. "
- When lighting struck the shadowy image disappeared from the rooftops and a mysterious man now stood before them. -
*Ussopp reached towards his chest and let out a scream* Ugghhh!
-The sight of a creepy guy following them while wearing a beat-up cloak and holding a beat-up dagger, was nearly enough for Ussopp to slowly fall backwards and faint, both out of shock and fear.-
-The pirate crew stood still and readied themselves facing the "Stranger" not knowing if he is an ally or a foe. –
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Zoro looked at the stranger and said- "He has the same aura as that guy from before!" *swords unsheathed* "So you followed me? Stand back Luffy I'll take care of him!"
- Right after Zoro spoke, the ground began to shake.-
*The stranger started mumbling:* "Earth Earth... 'Wall'."
- Before anyone knew what was going on.. a wall made out of stone suddenly appeared between the straw hats and the Navy. Thus cutting them off and securing their safety. -
"Hang on Zoro.." –Luffy put up a serious voice.
-Luffy turns and faces the 'cloaked stranger'.-
"Oi, was that you're doing? At the platform?!"
"Well it's just my way of saying thank you… "
(As I said that the tension in the air seems to loosen up a bit, then I slowly looked down at my left hand that was holding my "Contract Book".)
"Thanks?.. For what?" –Luffy asked confused.
- As Luffy pulled a frown and looked confused, white smoke started to appear above and over the wall. –
-'The Stranger' now moved towards Luffy and Zoro. –
"Now about the swordsman… " – The Stranger said with a serious voice.
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-Although he was interrupted by what was happening behind the crew -
Wish turned around and looked at what caught the crew's attention. That's when he saw the some and realized that he hadn't thought twice about Smoker's abilities.
-Wish thought to himself: (Oh no, this is bad! I'm not even sure Smoker knows if I betrayed him or not?!) -
"YOU GUYS, GET AWAY FROM THERE! " –He shouted.
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(Zoro and Sanji spoke at the same time while looking pissed.)
"Who are you, anyway?"
"Why should we even listen to you?"
- Luffy pulled a frown and looked confused, until an arm made out of smoke grabbed him and made an attempt to throw him into the water. –
"huh… whooaaa!..." –Luffy screamed while flying towards the sea.
"LUFFY!" –Zoro an Sanji shouted simultaneously.
"You're not getting away Straw Hat!" -Smoker shouted as he started to assemble his body against the wall.
*Stranger shouting* "Skystone: Gauntlet!"
- A giant stone hand rose up from out of the ground and caught Luffy. However Luffy's rubber body didn't bounce of the stone hand... –
"Luffy's body…"
"...didn't bounce of…" –Zoro and Sanji said in synch.
- The three of them were speechless. -
"I'll explain it all later but for now, RUN!" –The Stranger yelled
"John Smith?! You bastard, what is the meaning of this?!" -Smoker yelled at Wish.
"I quit! Oh, by the way the name is Wish, Smokey." -Wish said as he ran away while looking back with a smile.
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* Flashback *
-At the Navy base in Loguetown 2 years ago.-
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"Hi there, my name is Smith, John Smith and I would like to offer my services as a bounty hunter."-Wish said to the administrative soldier behind the desk.
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-Then the vice-admiral of the base appeared in the lobby.-
"Oh, a new recruit?" -Smoker asked as he saw Wish handing the marine an application-form.
"Well, not quite. My name is Smith, John Smith and I want to help the navy with my skills for as long as I'm staying in this town, that's all." -Wish said as he turned away from the desk and towards the person in charge.
- Smoker raised a frown as he thought to himself as he was lighting another cigar: (That name doesn't sound familiar, so he's not from HQ. Anyway…). -
"Well we could always use another pair of hands. What is it that you applied for?"-Smoker asked Wish as he started inspecting him.
"Bounty-hunter" -Wish replied
"Oh? That's quite the task for someone of your age."
"You don't need to worry about that." -Wish said as he showed a little bit of his Devil Fruit-power by squeezing his hand.
"Ah, I see now. So, how long do you plan to stay?" -Smoker asked of Wish as he seemed more trustworthy than before.
"Hard to say, for as long as it takes to rendezvous with my old friend(s)."
"And, who is this friend of yours?" -Smoker asked
"Sorry, that I can't say." -Wish said as he faced back to the marine at the desk.
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"Well, everyone has something they don't want to share with anyone, that's understandable. Alright, good to have you onboard! -Smoker said as he walked towards his office.
"The paperwork is done sir, welcome aboard Mr. Smith" -the marine said as he handed me the paperwork and a Marine-badge followed by a salute.
"So this is who you were waiting for... Smith?!" -Smoker thought to himself.
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- Nobody in the crew argued, for they knew there was no time to do so and headed towards the Merry. -
-As we ran away, I put up walls every few meters. The next one higher than the last, after all.. Navy officer - Smoker was still behind us…-
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Off to the Grand Line!
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-As the crew and the "cloaked man" were running forwards Merry, they noticed that the smoke trail stopped following them. – Sanji and Wish turned around only to see 'a man in a green cape' holding back Smoker.
"We didn't know what was going on, but we took it for granted. There was no time to even think, all we could do for now was run or we wouldn't be able to leave the island because of the storm and eventually be imprisoned. We couldn't let that happen, now could we."
- As the crew was nearing Nami who was already on Merry, the storm got worse. Wish looked back to be certain of Smoker's delay, but the sight he witnessed was different. 'The man in green' that was holding Smoker's arm was surrounded by wind and it took only a second before a twister had appeared in 'the green man's' place, blowing everything away including us..
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-The wind hit us and we got blown away.-
What's this?! (As he said with a huge smile on his face) Whoooaaaahhh Awesome!
"Are you sure about that luffy?! Why don't you LOOK WHERE WE'RE HEADED?! " –Usopp screamed out of fear.
"Hmmuh…*luffy raised his hand to his forehead as he was trying to see what lies ahead of him*
I don't see anything but water."
Luffy doesn't get it. –Wish mumbled.
"We're about to land in the ocean and in case you've forgotten, ONE OF US IS PRETTY MUCH DEAD WHEN HE TOCHES SEAWATER!" –Usopp and Sanji screamed at Luffy
"Make that two…" –Wish muttered.
"You too?! " –Sanji said surprised
"We're gonna die! –Usopp yelled.
"What, then you're a…?! " –Zoro stuttered.
"Yup!... (I said as I smiled and chanted:)" Sky stone - Floating Fortress"
- All of a sudden Wish's lower body transformed into a giant stone-platform. Big enough to hold all of the crew members. -
"I ate the 'Tsuchi Tsuchi no mi (The Earth Earth - Fruit) and became a 'stone man'. "
- Wish caught everyone into the platform and flew them over to Nami and Merry.
"You saved us all, thanks!" Is what Luffy said with that teeth grin of his.
- Shortly after arriving on Merry they all sighed of relief to have escaped the Navy's grasp. -
"Thank goodness you're all okay.. um… who is this? " (Nami said as she gestured in my direction)
"Ah sorry, I'm…" (As I tried to explain myself, I got interrupted by Luffy. )
"He's our new crew member! "
(I was surprised by Luffy's announcement.)
"Well that was to be expected with that strength. " (That was Zoro's way of saying welcome.)
"You're a strong addition to the crew that's for sure. " (Sanji was smiling while he was lighting a cigarette.)
"Maybe if you're strong enough, you would be able to follow in my footsteps. "(He said as he was shivering and holding his chest high.)
"Oh is that right, well then my name is Nami and this is the Going Merry. "(She said with a welcoming smile.)
"Roronoa Zoro, ex-pirate hunter"
"Black Leg Sanji - first class cook, if you ever feel hungry just come to me."
"I-I'm 'Captain Usopp' and I have eight thousand man under my command!"
"Hi I'm Monkey D. Luffy, but you already knew that didn't ya…. Wish?
-Wish smiles
"? " -Zoro frowned while looking back at Luffy.
"Do you know him Luffy? " -Sanji said as he pointed towards me.
"Yeah, I know him from WAY back." -Luffy said as he spaced out, grabbing onto his hat.
"Ah I see, so he's a friend of yours Luffy?" -Nami said with ease
"If he's a friend of Luffy, that makes him even more fit in 'my' crew." -Usopp replied while he was starting to calm down.
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"Allow me to formally introduce myself. My name is Joey Wish, I am twenty-seven years old and I'm from the South Blue. My profession involves doing 'contract work' and of course I have a goal that I want to achieve. I can use pretty much use any kind of weaponry and in addition to that I have worked undercover in the navy for a while so I know a thing or two about them. However I assume that is pretty much old new to you, ey Luffy?" -I said as I took my attention off of the crew and directed it towards Luffy.
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"Yeah, most of it. " –Luffy said pulling a grin and raising his arms behind his head.
- As they we're talking, the clouds started to rumble even louder and the waves started to shake the boot. It was time that they got out of there real fast. -
- Nami caught eye of some sort of light. -
"Look at that light!" –Nami said while looking at the lighthouse.
"The island's lighthouse?" Usopp said while staring into it.
"That's our 'guiding light'. The light that points towards the entrance of the Grand Line! " –Nami said while looking at the crew.
"The Grand Line is over there?" –Luffy was already lost in thoughts. Merely by thinking about the Grand Line he started to doze off.
"What now?" -Nami said with putting up a smile.
"But are you really gonna go in a storm like this? " -Usopp asked.
"Let's have a little launching ceremony to mark the importance of our voyage! "
"Hey! " –Usopp complained
"Yeah, great! " –Luffy yelled
"Let's do it!" – Nami cheered
"Sounds like fun! " -Wish said.
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"Place your foot on the barrel and state your future occupation, alright?! " –Sanji said while he eyed down his crewmates.
"To find 'All Blue'! "
"To become Pirate King! "
"To be the greatest swordsman! "
"To draw a map of the world! "
"To become the greatest assassin! "
"I.. I'm… To become a brave warrior of the sea!"
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"LET'S GO TO THE GRAND LINE!"
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- Everybody raised their legs and hit the top of the barrel at the same time and enthusiastically yelled.–YEA!
"And that's how it all began, this is my story and our adventure.. "
Let the Grand Line be ready, for the Straw Hats Pirates are setting sail!
. . .
TO BE CONTINUED…
Next Time: Chapter 2 – Entering the Grand Line!
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