Another Piece

Written By: Smerph Greenfox

Disclaimer: All characters, unless otherwise noted, are copyright of Eichiiro Oda.

Chapter 4: Gomu Gomu Fruit

Author's Notes:

Coming soon: Luffy and Usopp encounter a foe verrrry familiar to OP fans.

Coming not as soon: New crewmates! Familiar faces and maybe some not-so-familiar ones.

Coming quite a ways away: CROSSOVERS! With who, though? You'll just have to wait...

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"Okay, so there we were, alright? I'm telling you, this shark was huge! And Luffy was all 'Oh, brave Captain Usopp-Sama! Stop him for me, because I can't swim!'" Young Usopp said, holding his arms out and rocking back and forth on the stool he was sitting on.

"Really? Is this true, Luffy?" Shanks asked him, amused.

"Not a chance! I'm Monkey D. Luffy! I'm not gonna back down from some stupid shark, no matter how big it is!" Luffy punched the air. "Besides, I've been trainin'! I'm super-strong now!" To prove his strength, he began fighting invisible foes until Makino emerged from the back room.

"Luffy! Calm down! You're going to break something again..." She sighed. "I'm sorry about that, Shanks."

Shanks laughed heartily. "No need to apologize, Makino-Chan. My, you're looking wonderful today." He commented.

"Aww, you flatter me." She said playfully.

"What, I can't compliment you?" Shanks asked innocently

Makino giggled. "Shanks, you've told me I look wonderful every time you enter this bar."

Shanks scratched his head. "I have? Well, I guess if I keep saying it, it must be true."

Usopp and Luffy both noticed that Shanks and Makino weren't paying attention to them anymore, so they focused back on the food Shanks had brought back from his trip.

Shanks and his crew had been living on Syrup Island for about a year now. Luffy and Usopp always waited impatiently for their return when they went on long trips. They had gotten into the habit of announcing the Red Hair Pirates' return by running through the streets of the village, yelling "PIRATES!"

"Oi, Luffy. Check out this weird fruit." Usopp whispered, holding up what appeared to be a purple cantaloupe. "Smells kinda funny."

"Ah, I don't like fruit that much." Luffy whispered back. He resumed eating his steak.

A brilliant idea formed in Usopp's head. "Give ya 20 Belli if you eat it." He said slyly.

"Aw, come on. Leave me alone, Usopp." Luffy groaned.

Usopp shrugged. "Okay, then. I guess you aren't as brave as I thought you were. Won't even eat a mystery fruit."

Luffy whipped back and glared at Usopp. He grabbed the fruit out of his hand. "Gimme that! I'm Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm the bravest person on this island!" He ate the entire thing in one bite, and made a disgusted face. "That fruit was disgusting!" He yelled. Usopp laughed.

The entire bar fell silent.

Eerily silent.

"Lu...ff...y..." Shanks slowly turned to face the two kids. "What... fruit?" He asked, a worried look on his face.

"Um, um, um, it was this purple one! It tasted terrible!" Luffy blurted out, terrified.

"WHAAAAAAT?" Shanks yelled. "LUFFY! YOU JUST ATE A DEVIL'S FRUIT!"

Usopp nearly passed out. "Devil's Fruit? Is it poisonous? Is Luffy going to die?" He cried.

Shanks ran his fingers through his hair. "No, it's not poisonous, but it IS dangerous! Devil's Fruits are cursed! They give whoever eats them special powers, but..." He paused, looking very serious.

"BUT WHAT?" Usopp yelled.

"They'll never swim again." Shanks finished.

Usopp fell out of his chair.

Luffy seemed uninterested. "Oh, is that all? I can't swim anyway. No big deal."

Shanks fell out of his chair.

"IT IS A BIG DEAL!" Shanks yelled. "DON'T YOU CARE?"

"What power did I get?" Luffy asked.

Shanks was dumbfounded. Wow. This kid really lets nothing bother him. He thought. "It, uh, it was the Gomu Gomu fruit. It means your whole body is now made of rubber." He explained.

Luffy's eyes widened. "REEEEAAALLLYY!" He yelled excitedly. To test it out, he began pulling on his fingers. To his and everyone else's amazement, they began stretching! "WOW! SO COOL!"

The pirates, who had up until now been scared silent, snickered and burst into uproarious laughter.

"That's our Luffy! Fearless to the core!" Lucky Roux cheered.

Luffy continued exploring his newfound powers, pulling on his cheeks and bending his fingers backwards until they touched the back of his hand, causing the pirates to laugh harder.

"Lu-Lu-Luffy!" Usopp suddenly spoke up. "We gotta go! Mom's gonna freak out when she finds out what happened!" He grabbed the back of Luffy's shirt and pulled him off the stool.

"Aw, Mom's not gonna care." Luffy moaned.

Suddenly, an older man came bursting through the door of the bar. "PIRATES! PIRATES HAVE LANDED!" He yelled, panicky.

The entire bar fell silent again. However, this was more out of confusion than fear.

"Um, yes, Charlie. We know. They've been here for quite some time." Makino said, gesturing to the Red Hair pirates in the bar.

Charlie shook his head frantically. "No, a different pirate crew! Their flag has a bear skull on it!"

Makino gasped. "Shanks, do you know-"

Shanks became very serious. "No, I don't." He looked at Charlie. "Go tell everyone to remain calm. Don't provoke them into fighting against the pirates."

Charlie nodded and ran off to warn the villagers. Minutes later, the bar door exploded off its hinges. Usopp pulled Luffy behind the bar's counter and prevented him from doing something stupid.

In the doorway was a fearsome, tall man. He grinned wickedly and laughed.

"Get me a drink, lady." He said.

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Author's Notes: Just for the record, this isn't the familiar foe I mentioned earlier. Three guesses as to who it is, though. The first two don't count.

Next time on Another Piece: A Tearful Promise! Luffy Vows to Be the Pirate King!