Chapter 4: Prelude to Misfortune

Rising Tides

"Talking"

'Thinking'

Attacks

I don't own One Piece

(4 years later)

Over the course of four years, Luffy had gradually changed. He was now seventeen and stood just half an inch under six foot tall. His training was going extremely well, and his body could prove that. His muscles were more defined, giving him the appearance of a seasoned athelete that focuses more on speed with just the right amount of muscle mass. (Picture Randy Orton)

He now donned a simple red sleeveless t-shirt and shorts with fur like cuffs at the ends. On his back sat the straw had his idol had given him, that he added string to so it didn't blow away.

Standing on the edge of a cliff that overlooked the sea, Luffy admired the view. A small smile showed on his face, as he stared out at the vast water. "Its almost time huh?" he asked himself.

Looking over his shoulder, "It's almost time to leave" He reiterated, amending his last words, to no one in particular.

For the moment, Luffy sat down on the cliff. His thoughts were on the past four years of his training. He was happy with his progress, but not just in the physical aspect. The seventeen year old had gained immense control over his devil fruit abilities, while also strengthening his haki. If he were to gauge were he stood, he could take on an admiral, but he'd be completely useless afterwards.

'Nothing another six months of training couldn't fix though, right?' he thought.

Turing, he wandered back to the clearing to gaze upon the ship that was nearing completion. A week at most he guessed. After all they were merely doing aesthetics at this point.

The next day everyone would help move the ship to a nearby cove he found. He figured it'd be easier to set sail from there on the day he planned to leave. Makino and a few other were painting it a nice shade of blue in places.

The ship was massive. It had five levels, including the deck, fifty-two cannons and three masts. It was a true master piece.

The first level, the deck, held the three masts. Two massive wooden pillars made up the front and middle masts with a smaller one behind the helm, above the Captain's quarters with stairs on either side to actually reach the ships helm.

The Captain's quartes was rather large, stretching the width of the ship. The room spanned twenty feet in length, from the stern to the deck. The room's height, from the floor to the ceiling was twelve foot. An area to the left and right under the stairs, were more stairs that lead to the other levels below deck.

Just below deck, the second level, was the crews resting area. At the rear was the first and second mates special quarters.

The private quarters were large rooms, only dwarfed by the Captain's, situated at the rear of the ship. There was two feet of space between them for a cannon. Each room had brand new beds, a bathroom, and a wardrobe to put any personal belongings and clothes in.

On the opposite end were the women's cabins. The rooms were much like the first and second mates only much smaller. They also had hammocks instead of beds. Also like with the first and second mates living quarters, there was a two foot spacing between the rooms for a single cannon to occupy.

In between the women's cabins and the mates quarters, there were rows and rows of stacked hammocks totalling around eighty. This area was split into sectors. Each sector held eight hammocks stacked in two lines of four. Each sector was numbered and had their own set of necessities such as a small bathroom and an area to store clothes and personal items.

Overall there was ten sectors. Ten cannons were placed on each side of the deck and strapped down with chains. In total there were twenty-two cannons setup just below the upper deck.

Further below deck, the third level of the ship, held the galley and the kitchen. The kitchen had a place for food storage in the back. With the addition of a training room.

The layout of the level was simple. In the area behind the kitchen was where they'd have their food storage that could hold up to six months supply. The kitchen itself was a simple, yet elegant, design with everything a small crew of chef's could dream of.

Just outside where the food would be prepared was a bar and dining area. The room was comfortably accommodated with twenty-one tables. Twenty of which could hold up to four people each.

The last table was larger and could seat around twelve people. This table was for Luffy and the eleven people he'd trust the most. They'd come to be known as the core members.

A row of ten cannons, lining both the port and starboard sides, were chained to the deck so they didn't roll. A wall separated the cannons from the dining area. In total his deck had twenty cannons.

Below the third deck, level four, held the sickbay at the bow of the ship. At the stern of the ship was a vault like storage room, almost as big as the CQ if not slightly bigger, for the spoils of their journey.

The armoury, which was about as big as the first and second mates quarters, was built next to the vault storage. However they left a five foot wide hallway next to the armoury to reach the 'tresure room'.

The armoury held all the weapons they would need to fight, as well as a small munitions storage. Five cannons lined either side totalling to the last ten cannons.

The final deck, or level five, held a navigation room towards the bow of the ship. The room had sea charts, compases, log poses including eternal poses and anything else a navigator would need.

Towards the stern of the ship held two different rooms, only slightly bigger than first and second mates cabins. In one room, it was full of crates loaded with the heavier munitions. The second was a workshop, that it was decidedly better to hold the gunpowder in.

Finally the brig, which lined the port side wall, was made of seastone. It was designed too have three cells, each being able to hold twenty people comfortably.

Luffy was quickly brought out of his small moment of admiration for the ship. The reason being, he sensed Makino walking towards him, who was smiling and waving. As she got next to him she stopped, looked at the teen, and asked curiously, "How long do you think before it's ready to sail?"

With his gaze on the ship, he took in Makino's question and closed his eyes in thought. After thinking everything over, the ship was complete in the structural sense.

With that in mind he turned to the woman with a smile and answered, "All that's left to do are some light touch up, furnishing the Captain's quarters, and giving it a name," he paused briefly to calculate an estimate. "I'd say a week, give or take a couple of days."

Makino nodded in acceptance to his answer. Looking towards the ship, she felt proud. Her and Luffy spent five years working to build it, however it wasn't complete yet. Then, with a smile, she went back to working on it. Luffy wasn't far behind her feeling just as proud.

(A week later)

As the week passed, the ships finishing touches had gone smoothly. The CQ was furbished with a desk, a wardrobe twice the size of his first mates, and a bed big enough for three plus himself.

The sails were properly secured and raised. The hull had been sanded and painted oak brown, giving it a natural look. Luffy decided to line the hull with seastone, and giving it the name 'Ocean's Freedom' which Makino agreed saying she liked it.

Staring at the Ocean's Freedom for a moment longer, with a proud smile, he turned and walked to the village.

When he got to the small town, he could hear the celebration from the bar. As Luffy walked in, he noticed everyone from the village was present. They raised their mugs in a toast to the completion of the ship and Luffy's departure for the next day.

The celebration carried late into the night, most reminiscing about the troublesome trio. Luffy and Makino sat back and listened for awhile, but they did need to talk. As the evening passed, the citizens slowly dwindled until it was just the two of them.

"Ah finally finished." Luffy said while leaning against the bar with a bottle of rum in his hands. "That was an exhausting few years."

Makino nodded her head beside him agreeing. Despite having her own drink she started cleaning the bar, unknowingly for the last time. Looking at the teen she began to speak, "Captain, when do we leave?"

"In the morning," he stated before taking a swig of rum. Then, with a devious smile, he said, "Besides, the sooner we set sail, the sooner you can see Shanks again."

Makino lit up a bright red in embarrassment, even dropping her drink to cover her face. Luffy just bust out laughing as he found a new hobby in teasing his older sister figure.

(The next morning)

In the back of Party's Bar, was a resting area. It was setup like a small apartment. The first room was the living room area with a small couch, a chair and a small table. It was connected to the kitchen which had all the essentials.

Moving further in there was a small bathroom, just big enough for a bathtub and toilet. The only other room in the place was an average size bedroom.

While it was still early in the morning you could hear rustling from behind the closed door. Inside the room was Makino, with a bag on the bed she was gathering her belongings.

In the living room, Luffy could be found quietly snoring in a peaceful slumber. He was most likely dreaming about his own adventures to the Grandline, and meat.

That soon changed as he bolted straight up, like it was habit. Who could blame him though after spending five years at sea, and his training. Getting up and slipping his sandals on he walked outside for some light training.

Two and a half hours later Luffy had finished his work-out and was now standing at the docks. Looking out over the sea, he let a smile play on his lips as he thought about the adventures he'd soon have.

He recalled the conversation he had with Makino before turning in last night. They had agreed on needing core crew members and underlings. The core members would be the power houses, capable of taking down Marine captains at the least. Outside the core members, would be the underlings to man the ship. They'd be run of the mill pirates, capable of taking on the brunt of foot soldiers the Marines had.

While in the midst of the memory, he gazed out at the sea. His thoughts turning to his coming adventures. When he suddenly spotted something on the horizon, he grabbed his spy glass and saw it.

A group of Marine ships were on the horizon. He had seen this once before on his adventures, but hoped he was seeing things. His mind couldn't be helped but be bombarded with questions like, 'Why now?', 'Who ordered it?' and 'For what reason?'

To make sure he wasn't hallucinating, he began to count how many Navy ships were present. Luffy noted the fleet wasn't an ordinary patrol party. He scanned over each ship and realized they were war ships, ten of them to be exact.

As he continued to look through the ships, Luffy stopped on the central ship. It seemed to be the one leading the charge and notably larger than the rest.

His vision was assualted, he visage changed from calm to furious. The man he caught sight of was Admiral Akainu, a man he held a deep hatred for.

Gazing at the man's face, with his emotion written on his face, he witnessed the Admiral smirk. It was like Akainu knew he was watching, which didn't help as his grip on the scope tightened to the point it snapped in half.

Dropping the worthless equipment, his eyes shadowed by the straw hat he was gifted. He realized what had happened. Someone at the top had ordered a buster call.

The pieces, like a puzzle, began to fit together. The Marines somehow found out about his heritage. Adding onto that they learned of his apprenticeship under Red Haired Shanks, but how was still the mystery.

After putting the pieces together he completely understood. The Navy wanted to cut him down, as if he were a disease among the world.

When reality finally sank back in, he turned towards the village using shave to get there faster. The young man had a good idea where everyone would be. That saved him the trouble, he could warn most everyone at once. Luck, however, wasn't on his side as the Marines had already began to open fire.

As Luffy made it to the bar, an explosion was heard from the beach. Cursing under his breath, he slammed the doors open. He quickly scanned the room for Makino, then shouted "MAYOR!"

The man in question stood up and looked at the seventeen year old. The panic was clear in his tone as he reaised his own voice a little and asked, "Luffy what the hell is going on!?"

"The marines," Luffy paused as his memories of that time resurfaced yet again, "they buster called the island!"

Woop froze with trepidation. Luffy had informed everyone about buster calls, and what it entailed. After a moment the mayor recomposed himself and questioned the teen, "What do we do?"

"Save as many as possible. Those bastards will reach land soon," Luffy answered with a blunt seriousness. He then closed his eyes and with a sigh of resignation he continued, "I'll hold them off while you and Makino get as many people to my ship in the cove safely."

"What?! Luffy No!" Makino shouted in protest at his absurd plan.

"Makino!" he responded, his tone elevated conveying that this wasn't up for discussion. He hated using that tone with her but he had no choice.

Everyone stopped in shock. The fact Luffy had raised his voice at Makino of all people, was stunning. This gave the teen time to drop a bomb of sorts, "They have an admiral."

Time itself seemed to stop at that point. They knew the only person who stood a chance against an Admiral was Luffy.

Begrudgingly nodding, with obvious signs of worry, Makino led them to the ship. Woop was at her side, trying and succeeding slightly in calming the people.

The citizens were murmuring, not so quietly, about how the Marines were hypocrites. Woop just rubbed his temple's and whispered to himself, "I always complained about pirates. Maybe I should have been complaining about corrupt Marines instead."

Reviews

sudhush: your review on chapter two...please do remember he trained under Red Haired Shanks. Now I'm not saying his style is going to be primarily sword fighting, but this does open more opportunity for Luffy to train his core crew members up to snuff.

VoyagersUnite: I haven't really decided on if there will be lemons or not. If I do decide to write lemons, I doubt it'll be in the main story. Also I will inform the readers if I do write them, but absolutely no promises.

Guest 1&2: I'm not sure if I'll add Dadan yet, only because Luffy did travel with Shanks for five years in this story. As for Chouchou, it's kind of difficult to forget the little fella. As for adding him to the crew, I'm uncertain about that at this time.