The journey of a King

Summary:-

How the journey of Monkey D. Luffy would have shaped if he had not eaten the Gomu Gomu no mi on that day in Foosha Village. What if he was better prepared for his journey without the crutch that was his Devil Fruit?

Prologue

About one year ago, a Pirate ship landed right off the coast of Foosha Village in the weakest of all six seas. Foosha Village is a little port village that is located on Dawn Island and is part of Goa Kingdom. It was a little town, full of windmills, for which it is named after and quiet, hard working people. It is located near the larger landmass close to the Red Line northeast of East Blue. The only thing the place was known for was being the hometown of Monkey D. Garp, which admittedly was not known much. Ironically, his own grandson liked the pirates very much, and looked up to them, sometimess too much for the mayor's liking. Still, the pirates were surprisingly a bunch of good people so he didn't complain….too much.

"Oi! What the hell are you doing, Luffy!" A bemused voice called out. It belonged to a somewhat scruffy-looking man with brilliant red hair wearing a straw hat, a white shirt and trousers that were cut below the knee.

"I've had enough of you all mocking me!" An angry looking black-haired boy wearing a shirt with the epitaph of "anchor" printed on it roared, much to the amusement of the Red Haired Pirates. He was Monkey D. Luffy, and by the gods he was eager for adventure. He would show these Pirates that he was tough enough to travel with them! "I'll prove my strength to you all, and then you'll have to take me with you next time you set sail!" The Pirates weren't even concerned with the knife he had held in his hand. It wasn't as if they thought he would actually try to attack himself.

They may also have already been a little too drunk. It was already midday after all. The New World Redhead Pirate Captain burst out laughing, "Hahaha! Go for it Luffy! Let's see what you are going to do"

The amusement dried up faster than the water in a desert when Luffy roared, and stabbed the knife into his own cheek, right under his left eye. Instantly, jaws dropped all around as the Pirates panicked when a cry of "Aaagh!" rang through the ship.

"IDIOT! What the hell did you think you were doing!" The redhead roared furiously, his eyes comically popping right out of his head and pointing directly at the courageous little idiot.

"Bahaha!" The bar was packed full of the rambunctious group of Pirates, "Let's drink! To Luffy's idiocy!" The redhead yelled while raising his glass, "And to our greatness, of course!"

"Ga ha ha ha! Drink! Drink!" One of the Pirates yelled.

"Sake! Sake! Bring out more sake!"

One indignant Pirate screamed out, "Hey! That's my meat you shithead!"

A more laidback, stern looking man with dark hair shook his head, "Yo! Cut it out will ya! To brawl while you're drunk is so shameful!" He was Ben Beckman, the vice-captain of the Red-haired Pirates. Beckman is a tall man, standing at a height of 206 cm. His hair was jet black and pulled back in a pony tail. Luffy has never seen him without his rifle nearby or a cigarette in his mouth.

Luffy himself was in the bar with his Pirate friends. He was putting on a brave face with a pained grin stretched across his face. Some tears managed to escape from his eyes despite his attempts not to cry. The cut he had put on himself had already been stitched up by Makino, "Ha! It didn't hurt one bit!"

The redhead with the straw hat had shark-like teeth in his mouth as he yelled at the boy sitting beside him, "Liar! Don't do something so stupid again!"

Luffy laughed uproariously, forcing himself past the minor lingering pain, "I'm not afraid of pain at all. Next time bring me out to sea with you guys, will you?" He gleefully asked with his fists in the air, showing off the anchor on his shirt, "I want to be a Pirate too!"

The bar exploded into hysterics once more, as the Pirates burst out into laughter, none louder than the redheaded Captain himself, Red-Haired Shanks. "You can't handle being a Pirate Luffy." He unnecessarily needled the young boy, "Not being able to swim is the greatest weakness a Pirate can have!" Shanks sat with one leg crossed over the other with a glass of booze in one hand. Luffy visibly grew irritated and waved his arms around petulantly, "Then I'll just stay onboard the ship! I'll be fine!" He drew back and flexed, holding a tiny bicep with his other hand, "Besides, my fighting is pretty good too!" He grinned impossibly wide, before punching out, "I've trained rigorously before! My punch is as strong as a pistol!"

Shanks deadpanned, "Wow, a pistol? Really?" He looked incredibly uninterested, with his chin resting on one hand.

"What kind of tone is that!" Luffy yelled with his own Shark teeth at the man, outraged that even slashing his own cheek had failed to get his attention.

The crew began laughing again. A particularly round member with goggles and a drumstick in his hand spoke up, "A Pirate's life is great!"

Another member latched onto him in a one-armed hug, "Yeah, the sea is so wide and deep! You can go to any island and seek adventure!"

Yet another joined the growing Pirate train, "Nothing in life is greater than freedom!"

Luffy's eyes were sparkling in excitement as he stared at the Pirates in awe.

Shanks had a spoon in his mouth and an unimpressed look on his face, "Don't give him dumb ideas you guys."

The fat one looked confused and rubbed his head, "But it's the truth, ain't it?"

One of the members slouching on a chair spoke up, "Captain, why not bring him with us one of these days? It's not a big deal." He chuckled, "It's not like we're bound to run into anyone strong around here."

"Yeah! Please, please, please!" Luffy yelped and practically hopped in excitement.

Another Pirate popped up with a grin, "I agree!"

Shanks had a sly look on his face and a grin on his lips, "Fine, we'll bring him. But one of you has to stay behind so he can take your place…"

The bar was silent for a beat, before all of the Pirates turned away, "Well, we've said enough already. Let's go drink!"

Luffy exploded indignantly, "What kind of friends are you!" He pointed at them, his eyes bugging out and shark teeth in full effect, "And you! What kind of Captain are you!?"

Shanks chuckled and rubbed Luffy's hair, "Kid, the important thing here is that you're just too young. The sea is amazing but it's also dangerous. I'll reconsider taking you out to sea if you wait another couple years and want to join then."

"Damn it Shanks! I'm not a little kid anymore!" Luffy growled.

"Oh, don't be mad!" He pushed a glass filled with juice towards Luffy, "Here, have some juice!" Luffy's face lit up and he started gulping down the juice with a happy grin on his face. "Pffft." Shanks guffawed for a moment and then burst into laughter, tears streaming from his eyes, "Dahahahaha! You really are a kid! How funny!"

"What a dirty trick!" Luffy cried out while shaking a fist at Shanks. He blew a puff of air out, "I'm so tired." He groaned, "I even cut myself today and he still won't agree."

"Luffy." Ben Beckman called the young boy while igniting a hand-made cigarette, "You should try to understand the Captain's feelings kid." He told Luffy, who just looked puzzled in response, muttering the same words back. Ben chuckled while inhaling the smoke, "Of course! He is our leader after all! He knows being a Pirate is adventurous!" He blew the smoke out, "However, more importantly, he knows how dangerous being a Pirate is. Life can be very hard while on a Pirate ship!" He grinned, "Get it? He's not purposely teasing you. He's just looking out for you!"

"I don't understand." Luffy crossed his arms, "Shanks takes me for an idiot!" Shanks' chuckled, 'can't swim!' instantly made Luffy roar out, "SEE!" Ben could only sweat-drop even more at that.

The bartender finally made it back into the bar with a happy smile on her face. She was a beautiful, dark green haired woman with brown eyes whose petite frame belied her surprising strength. She carried a barrel full of booze with the ease of practice, "You seem happy, Captain!" She called out cheerfully while serving up more drinks.

"Ah, teasing the little anchor here is my joy, Makino-chan!" Shanks grinned. Luffy pointed at Shanks while looking at Ben, "He really is very happy." He deadpanned at the Pirate. Ben could only sweat-drop in response.

"Would you like something to eat, Luffy?" Makino called out as she got behind the bar.

Luffy grinned widely, "Okay! I'll pay you with my treasure!"

"What treasure?" Shanks scoffed out in amusement. He was lounging back, taking up two seats and part of the bar, "You're lying again. Don't try to swindle the pretty lady here!" He called out in amusement.

"No! I'll definitely be a Pirate! And then I'll definitely pay her back with the treasure that I will find!"

Makino's bright smile never dimmed as she giggled, "I'll be waiting for that time Luffy!"

Some time passed as the party mellowed out somewhat. Luffy was hungrily ripping into a large chunk of meat, his favourite food, "Hey Shanks, how long are you going to stay?"

Shanks smiled softly, "Well, we have been using this town as our base for a little over a year." He turned contemplative, "We'll probably set off a couple more times before we move on for good. It's been a good vacation… but like all goods things, this also must come to an end eventually."

Luffy's mouth was bulging with food, but he still somehow spoke clearly, "Couple of times huh?" He looked depressed for a moment, "Well, I'll definitely have learned to swim by then! Then you can take me to sail next time!"

Shanks rolled his eyes good-naturedly, "Sure, sure. We'll be waiting. Good luck!"

Whatever Luffy was going to say was cut off with a loud bang. The door to the bar almost ripped itself off its hinges as it slammed into the front wall. A foot lowered as a was a tall, dark-skinned man with black hair, a black goatee with an X-shaped scar above his right eye. He wore a long red coat over a white shirt, black trousers, and a golden necklace. As he walked in, "Hah! So, these are Pirates huh?" He mused, an ugly look on his dull face, "This is the first time I've seen Pirates." He eyed Lucky Roo – the really fat member of Shanks' crew who is eating a piece of meat perpetually from of his hand – and sneered, "All of them look pretty dumb to me."

Luffy was pretty uninterested in them and looked away without a care in order to find some more food. He eyed the chest the Red-Haired Pirates had brought in, sitting insignificantly on the table. It wasn't locked or anything, so Luffy opened it. He eyed the contents in confusion. Why would they keep a single weird-looking fruit inside a chest? He picked it up and eyed it. It certainly didn't look like any fruit he had ever seen. The fruit was a violet, round shape fruit with a stem sprouting out of the top, with swirls that go in a curly "S" like-pattern. However, before he could take a bite out of the mystery fruit, he remembered that it was Shanks's treasure. He was not a pirate yet so he cannot take Shanks's treasure without asking him. He might be small but he knew that you don't take a pirate's treasure without telling him unless you want to pick a fight with them. He shoved the fruit back and looked up to see what all that ruckus was about.

The funny-looking guy reached the bar and put a hand down, "We are mountain bandits." The man declared as a greeting. "We're not here to cause trouble." He stated, "We just want to buy ten barrels of sake."

Makino had a forced smile on her slightly sweaty face, "I'm sorry, but we're fresh out of sake."

"Oh?" The bandit, a man named Higuma said, "That's strange. What are they all drinking then? Water?"

Makino's smile became a bit more forced, "It is Sake. As I said, we're fresh out. I rolled out the last barrel a few minutes ago."

Shanks chuckled, "Sorry about that! Looks like we drank it all up." He raised the last bottle, "If you like, you can have this last one. I'm just about done for the day anyway."

Higuma sneered, and before Luffy realized what happened, the man's fist lashed out. The Sake bottle exploded and showered the alcohol all over Shanks. Makino gasped and held a hand up to her mouth. Higuma laughed, "Just who do you think I am?" He mocked the drenched Red-head, "Don't take me lightly! One bottle isn't enough you idiot!"

Shanks looked unaffected in the slightest. He didn't react even a little bit except for looking at the floor and saying, "Huh, looks like the floor is all wet!"

Higuma's eye twitched as he drew his hand out of his open shirt with a piece of paper in it, "You see this? I'm worth 8,000,000 Beli. I'm one of the prime fugitives here in the place, and I've killed 56 people before, you cocky bastard." He leaned closer to Shanks, who hadn't even turned to as much as look at the man, "Now that you know who I am, I suggest you don't mess with me again." Higuma looked like he had something unpleasant in his nose, "After all, mountain bandits and sea pirates don't mix well."

Shanks reached down and grabbed the shattered glass bottle, "Man, what a mess. Sorry about that Makino. Do you have a mop?"

"Ah!" Makino stammered, "It's okay Captain. I'll get it. No problem."

Shanks waved her off, "Nah, I got it. Don't worry about it." He completely ignored the bandit.

The goateed man growled lowly, before swiping his sword out. The chiming and cracking of shattered glass rang through the bar as he broke every glass that had piled up. He grinned menacingly, "Well since you enjoy cleaning so much, you can enjoy it even more." He and his men left with a parting shot of, "Later, you cowards."

The bar was silent for a moment as Shanks sat at the bar with his straw hat over his eyes for a moment. Makino hurried over and bent at the waist, "Captain, are you alright? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

Shanks was silent, before a grin broke out on his face, "Phew."

The rest of the Red-Haired Pirates burst out into hysterical laughter. Lucky Roo was barely breathing as he wheezed out, "Hahahaha! Our Captain looked so silly! He sure fixed you up good, Captain!" Shanks burst into his own laughter as he took his hat off his head and waved it dry.

Finally, Luffy couldn't take it anymore, "That was completely cowardly!" He screamed at Shanks angrily. His eyes and mouth were wide and furious, "Why didn't you even fight him? Even if he had more men, who the hell laughs after getting picked on! You're not a man and you're not a pirate either! I can't believe I looked up to you guys."

Shanks looked at him silently for a moment, before chuckling softly, "Look Luffy, I know how you feel, but there's nothing to get worked up about. It was just a bottle of sake." He grinned, "If I fought every idiot who thought he was a big shot, I'd never get anything else done."

Luffy scoffed and turned to walk away, "I don't want to see you again, coward!"

Shanks laughed and grabbed his right wrist, "Ah, don't be like that Luffy. You will understand it when you are old enough yourself. Sometimes, to win a fight you do not need your fists. Sometimes, doing nothing is what you need to do in order to win in the situations like these. That man could not harm a hair on my head if tried his best. I knew this, my crew knew this and I did not need to prove anyone else."

This time it was Luffy who deadpanned, "Liar!"

The red head's crew laughed uproariously at Luffy's expression. Shanks chuckled as well and said, "No it's true. From where I usually travel, there are pirates who have even higher bounty than mine."

Luffy had stars in his eyes as the captain began regaling him with the tales of New World. He was especially enthralled by how strong the pirates of New World were. He promised himself that if such a strength was attainable, he would attain it.

Towards the end of the party, for what the pirates were doing couldn't be called anything else, Luffy noticed Lucky Roo taking that chest. "Shanks, what kind of fruit is in that chest? Is it delicious? Is that why you kept it in a chest? Give me some if it is tasty!"

Shanks chuckled, "No luffy, this is not a fruit that you want to eat. This fruit is called Gomu Gomu no mi. Anyone who will eat this particular fruit will become a rubber man. However, if you eat you will never be able to swim."

"Whaaat! Thank God I did not eat that fruit when I was hungry! I don't want to become an anchor for the rest of my life!", Luffy said with his eyes popping out of skull.

That night Shanks told Luffy everything one needs to be told about Devil Fruits. One thing in particular stuck in luffy's head when he asked if it is necessary to eat a Devil Fruit to sail in Grand Line. "Of course not! While many marines and pirates eat it, you can sail Grand Line fine enough without it. If you get a Devil Fruit one which feels powerful enough, then eat it otherwise don't eat one just for the sake of eating one. I have not eaten a devil fruit and I'm doing just fine if say so myself." He liked that about Shanks; he never treated him like a child but as an adult despite how constantly puts him down.

A FEW DAYS LATER

The Red haired Pirates had gone on a voyage and Luffy was sulking at the bar under the care of Makino. He looked like a kicked puppy with an expression so cute that Makino couldn't help but tease him. She liked the seven years old kid. He helped her whenever she needed and never complained about anything. There was nobody in the village for him to play with so he spent almost all of his time with her.

As if sensing her good mood, Higuma and his lower than dirt band of bandits entered her bar. She put a forced smile and welcomed them, "Welcome to Party's bar! How can I help you?"

"Wench! Bring me twenty barrels of alcohol for my men and come sit on my lap! Maybe then I would forget the little incident that happened the last time I was here."

Line Break

Makino is running around the town trying to find the mayor. Luffy had gotten into a fight with the bandits from yesterday because he was defending her and Shanks' honour. Not only the bandits had dared to harass her but also insulted Shanks when he wasn't even there to defend himself, so Luffy stood up for both of them and told the bandits to take back what they said about Shanks and say sorry to her.

"Mayor, come quick!"

-With Luffy-

"Bastard, Let me go or I'll kick your ass! That'll teach you not to make Makino cry!" Luffy exclaimed while having a foot pressed onto his face.

"Oh, and how are you going to do that kid, you can barely release yourself from my grip, let alone kick my ass."

"Shut up, my punches are stronger than pistol, I can kick your ass any day!"

At the sound of footsteps, both of them looked up to see Makino and Mayor Woodslap running towards them. "Please let the boy go! I don't intend to fight with you. If you'll allow it, I'll even pay you! Spare the boys life!", the mayor begged the bandits.

"Leave it to old men to know how the world works. But no. This boy had the gall to make me angry. He will pay the price with his Death!", the bandit roared as he drew his sword to behead a child.

However, before he could strike the child, he was interrupted by the statement, "No one came to greet us at the port…So I wondered why…." He looked up the see the face of the pirate he humiliated days before.

"Luffy! Isn't your punch as strong as a pistol?"

"Shut up! Shanks", was all could Luffy say from higuma's foot.

"You damn pirates are still here? Are you cleaning the town now? Any closer and we'll shoot your head off, coward!"

Without paying any heed to the Bandits warning, Shanks closer to the town square, where Luffy was pinned down by the pirates. He continued walking until a pistol was placed at his head by the bandit nearest to him. "He said no closer! Don't make me blow your head off!"

"Risk your life on it. With that pistol, you risk your life. This isn't a child's game."

"Eh! What the hell are ya talking about?"

'Bang!'

Everyone except the pirates could only stare in shock when Lucky Roo, the most jovial member of the crew casually blew the head off of the bandit pointing the gun at Shanks in a shocking display of speed and brutality. Nobody was taking them lightly now.

You killed him! You unfair bastards!"

"Unfair? Don't be naive. You are not fighting against Knights or holy men. The ones before you are pirates"

"So cool!", was the thought going through Luffy's head.

"Hey! This brat was the one who started the fight. We were minding our own business!"

Shanks looked at the bandits with a glare that could kill, "You can pour drinks on me. You can throw food at me. You can even spit on me. I'll just laugh that stuff off. But… good reason or not...Nobody hurts a friend of mine!"

"Captain, let me handle these piece of scum", Shanks's first mate said while taking out his rifle. He proceeded to use the rifle like a bat to smash the face of the rest of the bandits. "If you want to give us a fight, bring as warships next time."

"But this brat started the fight! We were minding our own business!" Higuma panicked as his men were killed.

"You have a Bounty don't you?" Shanks mused.

Shanks could not hold his surprise when Higuma dropped a smoke bomb and hightailed from the area.

Luffy fought against Higuma's grip with all his might but failed to free himself. "Ha ha ha! No one would think to look for a bandit in the open seas! You know what! I'm going to sell you and become a pirate! Aaghhh….!" Before he could gloat more, the local sea king saw his next meal and attacked the dinghy. Seeing the predator, Higuma threw the child into the seas to save himself. However, the lord of the coast was undeterred in his route and swallowed the bandit and set his sight on the child.

Luffy was scared. Cross that, he was very scared. First, he was captured by that low life Higuma and now he was going to become food for this overgrown snake. He was sick of not being able to protect himself for the second time in one day. He will not become food. He will not die. As the sea king inched closer to him, he yelled 'NO!' at the top of his lungs. Unknown to him, a wave of powerful force slammed into the minds of all beings nearby him, including the sea king. The last thing he saw was the wide eyes of the overgrown snake as he lost his consciousness.

"You're leaving for real this time?" Luffy looked down, as he realised that his idol is leaving now. He had done a lot of soul searching since the day he faced death for the first time in his life. He realised that he cannot rely on empty boasts now and has to back up his claims. He will train hard to become strong like Shanks and his crew.

"Yeah…" Shanks looked over at the ship, where the rest of his crew and even some of the villagers, who volunteered to help were still packing the supplies. "We've been here too long. It's time we move on. Anyday your grandfather might decide to check up on his hometown." He grinned at his young friend and mussed up his hair. "You aren't upset, are you?"

Luffy responded immediately, "Of course I am!" He exclaimed, "We're all friends aren't we!"

Shanks and the crew in earshot smirked and let out short cheers, "Of course. But aren't you going to beg to go with us again?" He teased with his tongue wagging.

"Nah." Luffy shook his head, "I'll become a Pirate on my own!" He pumped a fist in the challenge.

Shanks laughed and drew his eyelid down with a finger, "Idiot! You don't have what it takes to be a Pirate! You can't even swim properly!"

Luffy immediately growled and balled up his fists, "Of course I do!" He roared, "One day I'll set sail and find a crew stronger than yours!" Shanks' eyebrows rose in surprise and his grin widened, "I'll find that treasure with them! The world's biggest treasure!" He threw his arms out in the air, "I'm going to be the Pirate King!"

Shanks has met many people who claim that they will become the Pirate King one day. After all, this was the great era of pirates. Men and kids alike want to find his Captain's treasure. But never before has he seen such surety in their voice. He has also never seen such a potential in any one before. Using the will of the Conqueror at such a young age was almost unheard of. The wide smile that this kid wore on his face was sometimes so eerily similar to his captain that one would think this child was his. Of course, he knew that was not true. The child had inherited his captain's will. However, to make sure, he asked," Why do you want to become Pirate King Luffy? Is it wealth, fame or power? What is it you seek?" "I saw how free you bunch of guys are! If a pirate can be this free, how much free would the King of the Pirates be? For me, the King of Pirates is the freest person in all the seas!" For a moment Shanks thought he could see his captain's Silhouette looking at the kid with fondness. It was all the confirmation Shanks needed.

Shanks' grin grew the widest Luffy had ever seen it as he mused, "Hoh? You're going to be bigger than all of us huh? Well then…" Luffy stared at the ground, trembling and trying not to cry. Shanks's eyes were shadowed by his straw hat up until he removed it with his arm, "I'll leave this precious hat of mine to you." Luffy froze as Shanks pushed his treasure hat on his head. His head dipped further, and twin streams of tears dripped from under the hat, "It's very dear to me. Take good care of it!" Shanks turned and walked away, his cloak billowing as he hopped up a massive distance up onto the ship, "Become a great Pirate Luffy! When we next meet, you'll give that hat back!"

"SHAAAAANNNNKKKKSSSSSS!" Luffy cried even further as he waved goodbye to his departing friends. His dream had been acknowledged by his idol, and Luffy would never stop until he achieved it!