AN: Well, the review count is a bit disappointing, but thank you Sylux for pointing out my mistake! Basically, Luffy will be training for 2 years, not 7 (Bit of a mistake on my part). Now that that's out of the way, onwards with the story!

[Timeskip- 2 Years]

Luffy was on the deck with Shanks, for 'one last match', as Luffy called it. Luffy had wanted Shanks to go all out with him, but yet again, Shanks had held back. The result was still the same as always though: A passed out Luffy and a lightly injured Shanks.

Luffy now had the power, along with the ability to fight, or at least defend against Shanks (albeit a held-back one), but being a nine-year-old, he didn't have nearly enough stamina to keep up with him.

After two years of conditioning his body, Luffy could now turn his body into flame at will and summon wings to fly, but both of these taxed far too much energy for his body to handle. All of his abilities used these two in conjunction to fly and unleash devasting attacks, but this mostly left Luffy in a semi-dead state after only four or five attacks.

Luffy still remembered when Benn first explained his powers to him.

The basics of it are that Luffy has all the powers that normal Mera-Ryuu Fruit users have, but amplified. However, this includes the weaknesses, so even the slightest contact with the sea with kill Luffy instantly.

Once Luffy has awakened his powers fully, he would be able to fly for close to an hour, but as he is now, he could barely maintain his wings for a full minute.

'Damn! Why am I still so weak! Shanks can beat me, and he isn't even using his Haki! Isn't this trip suppose to make me strong?'

"Hey! Luffy! I know what you're thinking. Don't be so hard on yourself, alright? It took years for me to get this powerful, even with the help with the best crew in the East Blue! A squirt like you won't catch up to me!"

"Of course I'll catch up, and beat you! Then I'll become the pirate king!"

Shanks looked like he was about to retort, as Lucky Roo interrupted them.

"Hey, Captain? We're having a party before Luffy goes! To celebrate him finally leaving!"

"Heh. We'll be down there in a second."

Luffy merely grinned, as he knew that the crew would miss him just as much as he would miss being a part of the crew, which was to say, a hell lot.

Shanks went down first, after telling Luffy to come down when he was ready.

Just as Luffy was getting prepared to go to the party, Benn Beckman came onto the deck.

"Luffy. Shanks didn't tell you this, because he wants you to forge your own path, but when you get back t your island, talk to your grandpa, and ask him to train you. While we can train you on your devil fruit and such, we don't have the time to train you physically. He's probably one of the strongest men in East Blue, and I have no doubt he'd train you if you asked."

"Alright, but I'm not happy about this. He just hits me a lot and doesn't teach me anything!"

Luffy had grown to trust and listen to Benn, even when he didn't agree with him. Benn did have the highest IQ in the East Blue, and intelligence was something that Luffy lacked at the moment.

"Alright! Let's get this party started!" Shanks led his entire crew onto the deck, most of them holding platters of food, while others were carrying barrels of sake and rum.

That night, while the entire crew was dancing and drinking booze, Luffy was trying to hold back tears, as he thought of tomorrow. Tomorrow he would be back in Windmill Village, and he probably wouldn't see the Red Haired Pirates again for years. Luffy was generally a pretty cheerful guy, but he felt sad as he considered the fact that his childhood hero was going to leave him today. He knew that he couldn't have been in Shank's crew forever, but now that his time was up, he didn't know what to do.

"Hey, how come you aren't partying with us? You look like you've been crying in a corner!" Shanks looked a bit concerned about Luffy, but that didn't stop him from poking fun. "Are you going to beg me to let you join my crew again?"

"No. I'll become a pirate on my own!"

"Ha! You don't have what it takes to be a pirate!"

"I do! And one day I'll assemble a crew that's even stronger than yours! And I'll become the pirate king!" Shanks looked surprised, but didn't reply, preferring to rejoin the party.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"You guys are leaving me for real this time?"

"Yeah…" Shanks looked away, looking at his crew getting ready to set sail again. He grinned, "You've been training with us for long enough, it's time for us to move on."

"Alright. But one day I'll become the King of the Pirates, and surpass even you!"

Shanks' grin grew even bigger, as he said "Is that right?" Luffy stared at the ground, as

tears leaked out despite his best efforts.

"Take my favorite hat, and when you surpass me, then you can give it back to me!" Shanks then leapt aboard his ship, and shouted "Become a great pirate Luffy!"

"Goodbye Shanks!"

-o-o-o-o-o-

Months after Shanks had left, Garp came back to the island, and the as soon as Luffy saw him...

"Hey Gramps! Can you train me?"

AN: This is kinda of a filler chapter, and I really do apologize for that, but I have to start the story somehow. I'm not too decisive on whether or not I should pair him with Nami/Boa or neither. So I guess I'm putting it down to a vote. Between now, and Chapter 5, tell me who you vote for!

Don't forget to review, and cya!