I do not own One Piece.

"An adventure isn't worth telling if there aren't any dragons in it."-Sarah Ban Breathnach.

"That is easily the most hideous pirate ship I've ever seen in my life," Luffy stated as he looked through his spyglass and watched as a large pink pirate ship with a duck as a figurehead raided what appeared to be a cruise ship for civilians. The sails even had hearts on them, which just looked so wrong. "I would rather sail through the oceans of this world on a wooden plank then a ship like that."

He folded up the spyglass and put it into his coat pocket and pulled out his compass, and looked at it with an accusing glare. "I said I wanted a pirate ship to steal, not a pink swan ship." The compass didn't move, its pointer pointing stubbornly at the ship. He had asked the compass to point to the nearest ship he could steal, but he assumed the compass would have some standards.

He heard the sounds of gunfire ring out as the pirates began to board the civilian vessel; he was far away that he doubted anyone could see him. He could sprout wings, fly and save the day, but that's what a hero would do, and he wasn't a hero. A hero would defeat the pirates and give everyone back their stolen possessions. While he was fine with the saving people part, he had no intention of giving anything back. While the ship was of no interest to him, the pirates would no doubt be taking whatever plunder they got and store it with the rest of their treasure, most likely somewhere remote.

Luffy smiled as he waited for the ship to finish its plundering; then it would be a simple matter of following the pirate ship and relieving it of its stolen goods.

Nami had been having a wonderful time on the cruise liner she had managed to finagle her way onto. It had been easy to charm the captain and convince him to let her on board along with all the other wealthy guests.

She had spent the first day of the cruise picking pockets, sneaking into cabins, and pinching valuable jewelry and other items of great value. While she usually preferred to rob pirates and other bad people, these rich bouche people had more then enough money that her stealing wouldn't hurt them in the long run.

It's just a redistribution of wealth. Nami thought as she sat at a luxurious table surrounded by rich men fawning over her and promising her everything under the sun in exchange for her company.

Then pirates had to go and attack it, throwing all her plans for a loop.

She thought this ship would be safe since it was on a relatively well-traveled route, but pirates were boarding only a day into the cruise. First, there had been cannon fire meant to scare them and destroy the ship's mainmast to make sure that they couldn't escape, then the pirates began boarding.

The massive dining room she found herself in was quite crowded, to begin with, but now it became claustrophobic as the passengers were herded into it by the pirates. She could hear the sounds of fighting outside the dining room, no doubt a few of the security guards putting up a hopeless fight. While many passengers panicked, she stayed calm and collected; after living with Arlong for all these years, she saw all other pirate crews as children playing in a sandbox compared to the likes of the Arlong Pirates.

Soon the pirates entered; they were common as far as pirates went, unkempt, unwashed, and unimpressive. "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, we are the entertainment!" One of the pirates stated as he walked through the crowd of diners, a pistol in each hand. "Tonight's performance is brought to you by the Alvida Pirates!" As he said those words, one of the security guards came out with a rifle, but the pirate was too fast and gunned him down, causing mayhem to break out as people screamed and ducked for cover. "Anyone else want to heckle the entertainment?"

Screams from the frightened passengers filled the dining hall while Nami looked on bored as ever. She had grown used to seeing such senseless acts of violence; they were common in her line of work since she often robbed pirates. All she could do was play along and try to drown out the cries and screams of the passengers as they broke down at seeing such a violent act.

"No one else better play hero!" A deep female voice called out as the deck of the ship creaked and shook.

Nami looked up and saw the massive form of a familiar pirate walking along the ship's deck. It was Iron Mace Alvida, one of the most notorious female pirates in all of East Blue. She was a whale of a woman, but whatever one could say about her fat figure, she was as strong as an ox as she wielded an iron bludgeon that few men would be able to wield with both hands.

"My men will be relieving you of all of your burdensome valuable's, so hold them out as they come around, and do not hold anything back, or I'll have my men strip you naked!" Alvida ordered as she casually walked around the terrified passengers. "Koby, start going around and gathering the loot.!"

A small boy with pink hair who looked like he was going to fall over from fear at any moment began to talk around with a large sack, and passengers were taking off their jewelry and throwing their wallets into it. When the boy reached her, she started to do the same when one of the pirates began yelling.

"A marine ship to the north!" The pirate lookout yelled, and sure enough, the sight of white sails was present in the distance. There were three ships, all larger then the pirate ship. The pirates were outnumbered and outgunned.

"Damn!" Alvida grumbled as she pointed at numerous passengers. "Take some of them, hostage, in case the marines try to pursue us to our hideout!"

Nami was grabbed roughly, as were several others, as they were led away from the cruise ship and onto Alvida's pink monstrosity of a pirate ship. This would be a terrifying experience to most people, but to Nami, it was merely an opportunity.

I'll let them take me to their little hideout, escape, rob them blind and escape with all the treasure they looted from here and whatever else they happen to have. Nami thought happily as she was tied up and led to the ship's brig, a sinister smile plastered on her face.

After the pirates were done plundering the cruise ship, Luffy followed the hideous pink ship for half a day over to a small island, which seemed to act as the pirate's hideout as it had a small dock and even a few buildings located on the island.

Luffy decided to think about what he would do next, and while he stared at the island, he whipped out his tobacco pipe and filled it with some tobacco and breathed into it to light it with his breath. He took a deep puff from his pipe, enjoying the feeling of smoke filling up his lungs as he released it into the air, managing to make the smoke he exhaled form a perfect ring as it floated away from him. He had been tailing the ship for what felt like an eternity, and now that he was here, he was wracking his brain on what to do.

Run in, start burning things, grab the treasure, fly away, profit. Were the first thoughts that came into his head, and he might have gone through with it if it wasn't for the fact that the pirates took hostages. Hostages made things a little more complicated; he would have to take out all the pirates if they were to escape and probably help them steal a ship so that they could leave.

Luffy took another drag from his pipe and held the smoke in his lungs as he considered his options, his reptilian brain trying to figure out a good plan, but his head started to hurt after a little while. He exhaled and let the smoke fill the air in front of him. "Screw it; I'll just fly in and see what happens; no plan survives first contact with the enemy anyway, so why bother overthinking it?" He recalled those words from a boring book his grandfather made him read as training.

After dropping the anchor of his boat and equipping himself with his weapon, his metal club strapped to his back Luffy sprouted a pair of large black wings, and with a strong flap from them, he took flight and soared through the air as he headed towards the island.

He flew up into the sky and circled the island a few times, trying to get a general layout of the land. It was a simple enough island, a few simple wooden buildings used for storage, plenty of trees, and a dock for mooring a ship. He saw most of the pirates gathering together in a large clearing filled with numerous tables. Even from this distance high up in the sky, he could smell cooking meat. It sent his stomach rumbling, and he realized the pirates were enjoying a banquet, probably as a way of celebrating their recent plunder.

"I can't do my own plundering on an empty stomach," Luffy said as he found a good place to land. "I can't resist a free meal."

Nami looked around the prison she was in and couldn't help but chuckle at how pathetic it was. The woodwork was terrible; the cell's iron bars were old, made out of cheap iron, and beginning to rust. These pirates were amateurs.

The guards had left to eat and had been replaced by the familiar form of a small shrimpy pink-haired boy who was busy sweeping the hallway outside of the prison cell. She saw he held a set of keys that undoubtedly opened this cell and was about to work her magic when she heard him talking to himself.

"Stupid Alvida, making me sweep while everyone else eats." The boy muttered to himself as he swept the floor angrily, the broom throwing dust everywhere. "The way she treats me, I hope the marines kill her someday, assuming diabetes doesn't do the job for them."

That statement interested Nami as she realized she would be ankle to manipulate this kid, all she had to do was throw on some of her natural charms, and she would have him eating out of her hand in no time. "Psst." She whispered, getting the kid's attention. The pink-haired boy turned to her, a look of confusion on her face. "Yeah, you, come over here; I want to talk to you."

The boy did as he was bid, albeit very cautiously, and he approached her cell.

"I heard you bad mouthing your captain," Nami said smoothly as she put on her most seductive face. She made sure to puff out her chest and expose a bit of cleavage, anything to manipulate the pirate in front of her. "A pirate like you is wasted here; help me out of this cell and lead me to the treasure room, and I promise I'll make it worthwhile." She gave him a little wink and saw the boy's cheeks flush. "I'll even let you join the pirate crew I belong to, which is much stronger than Alvida's."

"HELL NO, I HATE PIRATES!" The boy yelled suddenly, causing her to fall back from shock.

"Be quiet!" Nami ordered as she looked around, wondering if anyone had heard him. "Are you trying to call everyone on this island to come over here?"

"Sorry, but I just couldn't help it." The boy said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"If you hate pirates, then why the hell are you serving under Alvida?" Nami was genuinely curious about the boy's allegiances. She had hoped she could seduce him into helping her so that she could make a clean getaway with the treasure before betraying him.

At this, the boy's eyes became downcast. He related his situation to her, how he had stupidly boarded the wrong boat when he went out fishing and ended up on Alvida's ship, and how he had to become their slave to survive. How the only reason Alvida even kept him around was that he was better at navigation then anyone else on her ship.

Nami couldn't help but feel bad for Koby, whose name she had just learned while listening to his life story. His story wasn't that different from hers. He was forced to join a pirate crew that he hated and was only kept around because of his abilities as a navigator. It struck a chord with her, and she felt like she was looking at a reflection of herself in many ways.

"I want to leave, but I'm so weak…" Koby cried in evident sorrow. "I want to be a marine, someone who puts bad people like Alvida in jail. But the marines would never accept a wimp like me; my dreams are as empty as my future…"

"Your dreams are only empty if you give up," Nami stated as she considered his predicament. After pondering his story a bit longer, she decided to help him escape the island so that he could be free after he helped her find all of the island's treasure. "I can get you out of here and even help you join the marines," Nami said, drawing the boy's attention. "But first, I need you to help me out of here so that we can steal some treasure and a ship."

Luffy walked across the island like he owned the place, and his confidence seemed to work since the pirates seemed to consider him as just another member of their ranks. It wasn't until he got close to a clearing filled with tables, benches, and umbrellas to block out the sun did someone finally stop him.

It was a muscled man wearing typical striped pirate garb with a blue bandana around his head. "Oi, I don't recognize you; are you one of the new recruits who came on over from Shells town?" The burly man asked as he blocked Luffy's path.

"No, I'm from Dawn island. " Luffy replied casually, too distracted by the scent of food to really care about what he was saying.

"Ah." The man nodded as if that explained everything. "I didn't know we were getting new guys from Dawn island, but it makes sense; heck, even our captain is from Dawn Island, a former noblewoman if you can believe it. Still, lots of people going pirate after the Revolutionary army leveled the Goa Kingdom, even if the seas are more dangerous. Bounty hunters and privateers are sailing all over the place. A man can hardly make a dishonest living anymore, eh?"

"Yeah, times are tough," Luffy answered as he looked over to where the food was. "So when do we eat?"

"We can eat now, but mind your table manners. Lady Alvida expects everyone to eat with dignity, even if she doesn't necessarily do the same herself. Still, there be plenty of food; we raided that cruise ship's food stores and got enough food to last us all a month."

Luffy needed no further encouragement as he was led to a massive table piled with food. There were many pirates already seated going about their meals at a leisurely pace. Luffy took a seat next to several pirates and began stuffing his face.

The pirate had spoken true, and there was tons of food, and all of it was high-class stuff. It made him slow down for a moment to savor a few dishes and consider the fact that he would need a chef on his ship as well as a navigator. If I had a chef, I could eat food like this every day. He thought to himself as he tried a seafood pasta dish. His fishing boat wasn't big enough to have electricity or refrigeration, so he had been eating ship's biscuit, salted meat, and whatever fresh fish he could catch with the ship's fishing gear. He didn't mind since he wasn't the pickiest eater but eating fresh food after being at sea for so long made him realize what he had been missing.

As he sampled the various dishes, he listened to the pirates all around him as they spoke about this and that. Living in Fuusha village had a certain isolating effect, and he was interested in what people living on the seas were talking about.

"Privateers and marines everywhere these days; if it weren't for Lady Alvida smashing all our enemies, we would have been dead years ago."

"Yeah, I heard a new group of Privateers is roaming around, got demons in their crews. Last I heard, they were near Orange Town looking for pirates to hunt down."

"They're everywhere these days, even Don Krieg allied with a bunch of other big-time pirates in order to fight off the marines and privateers, strength in numbers and all that. He formed the largest fleet in all the East Blue, heard he's got two big-time pirates under his command with bounties of ten million and more."

"Well, I heard he extended an invitation for Lady Alvida to join; she refused outright. I'm glad she's keeping us out of that mess, that many pirates together paint a massive target on yourself. Got to plunder everything in sight just to feed a fleet that large."

Luffy listened and soaked in the info, but eventually, his hunger grew larger then his desire to listen, and he refocused on the food as he saw the meat dishes being brought out. He grabbed a large piece of meat and stuffed it into his mouth. When he ate, he automatically activated his Zoan fruit instinctively, his teeth became razor sharp, allowing him to chew through anything, and he crunched through the meat, bone-in.

"Oi, stop that!" The man sitting next to him ordered.

"Yeah, that's gross, and Lady Alvida won't like it!"

"You'll choke!"

"What are you, his mother? Who cares about him choking? If Alvida sees, we will all be in trouble!"

Luffy ignored them; he hated it when people talked to him when he was eating. He continued to stuff his face as he drowned out the chorus of voices directed at him. Suddenly a loud voice rang out that he couldn't ignore.

"Who is this disgusting man?! His table manners are ruining my appetite!"

Luffy looked up and saw a large woman standing before him, she was probably the largest woman he had ever seen, and she was holding a massive spiked iron club with one hand while eating a piece of meat with her other.

Before Luffy could say anything, his new dinner compatriots began to speak on his behalf.

"We're sorry, Lady Alvida!" One began. "We tried telling him to eat more dignified, but he wouldn't listen!"

"He's a new recruit from Dawn island!" The big pirate from earlier pleaded. "He didn't know the rules!"

Luffy watched with only the tiniest bit of interest as the enormous lady glared at him.

"Dawn island, huh? Are you a beggar from the Gray Terminal or a criminal from Edge Town? I guess in the end; it doesn't matter; I'll let you off easy so long as you can answer one question," The enormous woman stated as she glared at Luffy. "Tell me, newcomer, who is the most beautiful woman on all the seas of this world?"

Luffy grabbed another piece of meat and shoved the entire thing into his mouth as he wondered who the heck this lady was. He turned to the pirate sitting next to him. "Who is this big chunky lady?" he asked in between bites of his food.

Silence reigned as if time itself had frozen; all the people seated at the numerous benches were looking at him with wide eyes and their mouths hanging open. He looked back at the woman and saw she was getting red in the face.

"Why you little-" The woman began but was stopped when a man ran over to the picnic area.

"Lady Alvida!" The new arrival cried out, drawing everyone's attention. "Someone was found stealing from our treasure vault!"

"What?!" The woman roared as she turned to the man. "Everyone, head over to the docks! If someone has stolen our treasure, then the only way out of here with it is on one of our ships!"

Everyone began to run to the docks except for Luffy, who looked at all the food sitting in the now-abandoned picnic area as he considered his options.

The treasure being taken away was terrible news; it was his treasure to steal, not someone else's. But at the same time, all these tables were filled with food which needed to be eaten.

Food or treasure? Luffy thought as he looked at all the fantastic food around him. It was like trying to choose which arm to cut off. His human desire to stuff his face, or his draconic desire to steal the treasure, both were fighting each other.

"I choose both!" Luffy stated as he began his complete transformation. Black scales covered his body as his limbs grew clawed and massive. He felt two huge horns sprout from his head along with a large spiked tail. Over the years, he had learned how to control his full dragon form, but most importantly, he had learned how to control its size and how to control himself. For now, his body grew to the size of an average-sized ship; he was easily as large as the pirate ship he had followed here. It was large enough to do what he needed to do.

With his new massive size, it was easy to devour every single piece of food present, and within thirty seconds, he had shoved every single bit of food into his massive maw, along with several tables and benches. After eating everything in sight, he sniffed the air, and sure enough, to the east of the island, he smelled humans and treasure.

He reverted to his human form and stamped his foot on the ground a dozen times in an instant.

"Shave!"

Nami cursed herself for her greed; if she had just grabbed what she could and left, she would be safe at sea with a good deal of treasure. It had been easy to hijack one of Alvida's smaller ships and break into the treasure vault, but moving the treasure between the ship and the vault took multiple trips. Even with Koby's hesitant help, it had taken a long time. If she had just taken one trip, she would be at sea with Koby, but in her greed and despite Koby's protests, she had made several trips and had been spotted by a pirate who alerted the rest of the crew.

She was cornered by the treasure vault, with Koby cowering behind her as numerous pirates surrounded her with drawn blades. In each of her hands was a flintlock pistol, and she was aiming them at the pirates, which was probably the only reason they had not charged her. None of them wanted to be the ones to get shot.

"Drop the guns; you're surrounded, little girl!" One ordered as he pointed his cutlass at her.

"You aren't going anywhere!" Another added.

"It's over, Nami," Koby muttered. "There's no way out of this…"

"I've gotten out of worse situations," Nami said, although that had only been half true. She could lie and swindle her way out of most situations, but this one was a doozy. She could lie and claim Koby was behind it all, that she was a pawn in all this. But it was a long shot, and even she had trouble with her conscience in selling out someone who pirates had effectively enslaved.

"Surrender now; we would hate to harm such a pretty face." One of the pirates stated, a lecherous grin plastered on his hideous face.

"Whose face is pretty?!" A booming female voice called out, drawing out the sounds of all the other pirates.

All the pirates panicked as the massive lumbering form of Alvida strode up towards Nami and Koby. "Surely you were speaking of my face, weren't you?" Alvida asked as she glared at her underlings.

"Of course, Lady Alvida!" All her underlings chorused together. "No one in all the seas has a face as beautiful as yours!"

"Indeed." Alvida agreed as she glared at Nami before her eyes fell upon Koby. "Koby, have you betrayed me?!"

"I...I…" Coby muttered, apparently unable to form a coherent sentence.

Nami considered her options; if her opponent was a man, she might be able to seduce him or sell Koby out to survive. But against someone like Alvida, her chances were slim; her best bet was to gun the woman down and run for the boats in the confusion. Not a great plan, but at this point, all her other options were gone.

"Koby!" Alvida shouted once more as she glared at her indentured servant. "Tell me who is the most beautiful woman in all the seas?"

Nami had to resist rolling her eyes; how conceited could one woman be? It had to be some sort of coping mechanism.

Koby stuttered until Nami heard him whisper to himself. 'I'm dead anyway, might as well speak the truth.' he cleared his throat before answering. "ANYONE BUT YOU!" Koby roared as he pointed at Alvida. "You're the ugliest person I've ever met; that goes for your looks and your personality! If you had a sister and a dog, I would choose the dog!"

"You little bastard!" Alvida roared, hefting her iron mace.

Nami couldn't help but laugh, even if she was about to share the same fate as Koby. "Looks like you found your bravery right before the end!" She could see Alvida was about to lead a charge and attack them; Nami pointed both pistols at Alvida as she prepared to open fire before making a mad sprint for the nearest boat.

Suddenly a young man clad in a black coat appeared in front of her from seemingly out of nowhere, making her take her fingers off the pistol's triggers. "Alright, where's the treasure?" He asked as he looked around his surroundings before his eyes fell upon Alvida, who was just as shocked by the new arrival as Nami was. "Oh, it's you, the chunk lady. How are you doing?"

"Is that any way to greet the most beautiful woman in the world?!" Alvida roared as she glared at the newcomer, her previous target forgotten as she focused her anger upon the newcomer.

"Right, sorry, Makino would be ashamed of my lack of manners." The stranger answered as he turned to her before bowing to her politely. "Hi, my name is Monkey D. Luffy; what's your name Miss Chunky Lady?"

Alvida's face was so red that it looked like a giant overripe tomato, and Nami could only watch in horror as the female pirate lifted her impossibly large mace and prepared to attack the mysterious stranger. "You rude little ingrate!" Alvida yelled as she brought her mace down upon the boy.

"Iron Scales!" The boy called out as his body suddenly turned black and his skin turned into scales. His body also seemed to tense up right as Alvidas mace smashed into his head. The sound of metal hitting metal rang through the clearing as Alvida stumbled back from the recoil of her strike.

"That won't work on me." The stranger stated as a long black tail sprouted from his lower back and a pair of large black wings. "When I use the technique my grandpa taught me along with my dragon scales, no blade or mace can get through...except for my grandpa's punches." The boy stated as he laughed merrily.

Nami could only state in shock as what appeared to be a half-human half-lizard boy shrugged off a strike that would have killed anyone else. The pirates seemed to share her shock as they panicked at seeing their captain's attack fail.

"Impossible!"

"No way!"

"No man can survive our captain's strength!"

"What are you?" Alvida finally muttered as she regained her footing. "To look like that and survive my attack...you've partaken of the sea devils power, haven't you?"

"The devil fruits are real?" One pirate exclaimed.

"He's a monster!" Another added.

"I thought they were a myth!"

Nami was just as surprised as all of them were, she had heard of devil fruits, but this was her first time seeing one in action.

The stranger simply shrugged. "Okay, you hit me once; now it's my turn." The boy's right arm suddenly grew large, black, and heavily muscled, and his fingers turned into claws with razor sharp ends.

"As If!" Alvida roared as she swung her mace sideways, intent on clobbering the man. However, her mace strike was stopped when the stranger in black grabbed her mace mid-swing with his clawed appendage; before anyone could even register what had happened, he squeezed the massive mace, and the strong metal cracked under his grasp until it shattered entirely.

Not giving Alvida a chance to recover, the stranger reared his arm back from the now shattered mace and delivered a solid punch to the woman's stomach, which sent her flying through her underlings and to the other side of the island, where she disappeared from sight. The rest of Alvidas' men turned tail and ran after their captain.

"Okay, now for my treasure." The stranger turned to her, and she finally got a good look at his face. He looked...remarkably average; the only thing of note about his face was a scar under one of his eyes. "Oh...hello there." He said as he gave her a little wave.

"Hi…." Nami said nothing else coming to mind as she processed the insanity that had just unfolded in front of her.

"You saved us…" Koby spoke up, coming out from behind Nami's back. "You have the power of the sea devil…"

"Yeah, I do." The man replied. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy; nice to meet you."

"Likewise…" Nami answered, feeling very awkward in all this. "I'm Nami, a thief that steals from pirates; thanks for your help."

"No problem?" The boy said although it seemed more like a question. "I just came here to steal the treasure from these pirates and steal a better ship, but I think I would rather sail a dinghy then any of these eyesores." Luffy pointed to the docks where several ships were docked. Alvida's main ship, then there was a smaller one shaped like a heart and several small vessels meant for only one or two people.

Nami couldn't help but smile and feel a golden opportunity to present itself to her, a strong, capable man who also stole treasure from pirates. "Well, as I said before, I'm a thief that steals from pirates; in fact, I was in the process of stealing Alvida's treasure." She gestured to one of the smaller boats, which was loaded with bags of treasure. "Maybe we should team up; I could use your strength when stealing. We can split everything 80/20, sound fair?"

"No," Luffy answered as his gaze fell upon her treasure. "Unless, of course, that 80 percent is for me. But right now, all I see is a girl and a boy standing in the way of my treasure sitting in my boat right there." He pointed at the boat that she had loaded with treasure.

Nami rolled her eyes as she gazed at her treasure. "I cant spot your boat or your treasure." She replied sarcastically as she made a show of looking pointedly at her treasure-filled boat. "Must be a tiny little boat holding a tiny amount of treasure hiding somewhere behind my boat."

"Nami, this guy has the power of the sea devil," Koby muttered as he hid once more behind her, his earlier courage gone. "Just let him have the gold."

"Listen to your sidekick," Luffy replied. "I'm a reasonable person, 50/50 split, and we shake on it."

"Never…" Nami wasn't going to give away half of her treasure; the East Blue was a dangerous place these days, and her ability to find treasure to free her village was growing more and more difficult. She couldn't afford to give any more away; her village was counting on her. "Possession is 9/10ths of the law, and seeing as how I'm in possession of the treasure right now, it's mine."

Nami expected a comeback, but instead, Luffy's form turned black as he began to grow. His body shifted to become longer, bigger, and more serpent-like until she was gazing at a roughly 50 meters tall black Dragon, its massive maw filled with teeth as sharp and swords and two massive devil-like horns sprouting from its head, along with a tail covered in black spikes and two massive black wings on its back.

"Now then…" The monster began as it brought its face down to her level until she was face to face with its massive head and its jaw that could swallow her whole. Each breathe the creature took blew back her hair and the temperature of the breath was sweltering as she immediately began to sweat. "What were you saying about my treasure?"

"It's a real dragon…" Koby muttered as he began to cry.

Nami gazed at the dragon before her and stood her ground. Her greed and desire to save her village overcoming her desire for self-preservation. "I said it's my treasure." She put forward, mustering all her willpower. "I'm willing to give you an 80/20 split in my favor so long as you're willing to work with me to steal more treasure." She stated with all the courage she could muster as she stared death itself right in its face.

Seconds passed by, although they felt like hours as she waited for the dragon to respond.

Suddenly the coast was filled with laughter as the dragon reared back its head and laughed. "HAHAHA HAHAHA!" The dragon cackled. "You're the best!"

"I'm...the best?" Nami asked, utterly confused at this development. Suddenly the Dragon began to shrink until Luffy was standing before her in his human form, still laughing.

"Shishishishi."Luffy started to get his laughter under control to a mere chuckle. "In all my life, I never imagined I would meet someone greedier then I am!" He stated as he finally reigned in his laughter. "A thief that is greedier then a dragon, that is amazing. So we agree that all cash beli is split between us 80/20 in your favor; those are your terms?"

Nami nodded, her voice failing her. Her agreement made him smile as he held his hand out to her, which she accepted, and they shook on their new deal."Welcome to my crew." Luffy said as they concluded their handshake.

Nami felt a huge relief as her survival seemed guaranteed and that she gained a new ally until she realized he said the word crew. "Crew, what do you mean, crew?"

"Well, I'm alone right now, but I'm trying to assemble a crew so that I can go on adventures across all the seas of this world and find the world's greatest treasure, One Piece, and become the Pirate King!" Luffy answered enthusiastically. "Now that you've joined my crew, I can call myself a pirate captain. That boy behind you can be a ship's apprentice, I guess. I'll have to whip him into shape, though; if he's sailing with me, he needs to toughen up."

"There's no way I'm teaming up with a pirate!" Nami back away from him as if he were tainted. "I hate pirates and would never associate with one!"

The pirate cocked his head to the side and seemed utterly confused. "But… you're a pirate, aren't you?"

"Of course not!" In her entire life, she had never felt so insulted. "I don't steal from the poor people or slaughter people. I'm a thief who steals from pirates!"

"Well, I don't steal from poor people, and I generally try to avoid killing people," Luffy answered. "Also, weren't you stealing from the people on the cruise ship? That's why you're running off with all the treasure, right?"

"Yeah, Nami," Koby spoke up. "I remember on the cruise when Alvida forced me to take people's belongings; you had a bunch of jewelry and multiple wallets stuffed into the folds of your clothes…"

"That's different!" Nami protested, defending herself from this obvious character assassination. "They were rich and...and...it's not really stealing from them if I'm stealing from pirates, right? Also, just because I'm a thief, that doesn't make me a pirate!"

"Legally, it does." Luffy pointed out as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "My grandfather made me read a bunch of books on laws, regulations, and other boring marine legal stuff. Suppose you steal from pirates and don't turn the stolen goods into a marine or other law enforcement official. In that case, you are considered a pirate legally due to profiting from piracy, even if done so indirectly. The only exception is if you are a Warlord of the sea or a fully licensed privateer sponsored by an influential individual or government body. Even then, you have to give 25 percent of whatever you took from the pirates directly to your sponsor."

"He is technically correct; unless you turn in all this treasure to the marine base, then you are legally a pirate," Koby added unhelpfully. "It's considered an act of piracy, whether you consider yourself a pirate or not. You stealing from people on the cruise ship would also be considered an act of piracy."

"I...I…" Nami was speechless as she processed this information. "Well...I don't care what the law says, I'm not a pirate, nor will I be a crew member of one!"

"You gave me your word…" Luffy began his voice severe but soft. "We had a deal; you get the majority of the treasure and team up with me. If you go back on your word, I'll take all of this treasure for myself since we aren't crewmembers. You prepared to fight me for the treasure?"

She wasn't; there was no way she would win, so she came up with an alternative solution. "Let's just say that for now, we are temporary crew members." She put forward, if anything, she could find a way to profit from his raw strength. "And if I enjoy being your crewmember, then I will consider joining you permanently." A complete lie, there was no way she would join a pirate, but she might as well give the boy some hope.

"Okay!" The boy agreed, his previous serious demeanor gone replaced with one of pure optimism. "You guys stay here and gather the treasure on the docks; I'll fly over to my boat and bring it in for us to load the loot."

Nami and Koby obeyed him, and soon they had the treasure of Alvida's pirates loaded onto the relatively large fishing boat that Luffy used as his vessel. They also went about releasing the other hostages Alvida had kidnapped and sent them on their way in one of the smaller boats that were docked nearby.

The three of them boarded Luffy's modest fishing vessel once their business was concluded; while nothing special, it was a remarkably comfortable ship, and soon the three of them were out on the open ocean.

Nami sat on a lounge chair and allowed herself to relax, but the pillow the chair had was stiff, uncomfortable, and rustled with an annoying clinking sound. "What is up with this pillow?" She asked as she opened it up only to find it filled with gold coins. She couldn't believe what she was seeing and grabbed a coin and bit it to make sure it was real. It was solid gold. "Why are your pillows filled with gold coins? I'm not complaining, but this is weird for lack of a better word."

"I can only get a good night's sleep if I have a bunch of gold nearby," Luffy stated as he unfurled the sails. "And don't even think about it, as a Dragon, I have a sixth sense that allows me to keep track of treasure, there are exactly 267 coins in that pillow, and if I find one missing, there is no place in the world where I won't be able to sniff you out."

"You can sense treasure?" Nami couldn't believe it; then again, this was a man who could turn into a dragon.

"Sense it, smell it, and overall, keep track of it really well," Luffy answered in a bored tone. "Now, if the questions are over, I'll be heading to Shell's town; there's someone there I want to recruit into my crew. He was going to be the first person I asked, but I guess he'll be the second."

"That's perfect," Nami replied as she carefully set aside the coin-filled pillow. "I promised Koby I would help him join the Marines, and Shell's town has a pretty big marine base on it."

"You want to be a marine?" Luffy asked as he looked at Koby with an appraising eye.

"Yeah…" Koby muttered, his confidence at an all-time low. "I doubt I'll make it past basic training, though…"

"Well, I can send a message to my grandpa," Luffy said as he pulled out a compass and adjusted the sail. "He is a pretty important marine; I bet he could whip you into shape. He trained me since I was old enough to walk, and I came out okay."

"Your grandpa is a marine, and you want to be the Pirate King?" Nami asked as she wondered what kind of messed-up family Luffy was from. "That must make family dinner pretty interesting."

"He is always trying to get me to become a marine." Luffy shook his head. "But I'm going to find One Piece and become the Pirate king."

"Impossible," Koby interjected. "Every pirate in the world is looking for that treasure; millions have lost their lives seeking it, you'll probably end up dying."

"It's my dream, so I'm not afraid of dying for it." Luffy put forward confidently.

"So confident…" Koby muttered. "If I was that confident, I could be a great marine. I always dreamed of throwing people like Alvida into jail and protecting the weak."

"It's a good dream," Nami said as she looked at Koby, who seemed to be growing more confident. "Just promise to look the other way if you ever see me stealing."

"I'll give you a five-minute head start to run away before I chase you." Koby joked, and they all shared a light laugh.

"So..." Nami began. "Who is it you're trying to recruit in Shell's town anyway?"

Luffy smiled. "The Pirate hunter Zoro, I've heard about him even in my remote village. He seems like he would make a good first mate...unless you want that job."

"First off, that's the stupidest idea I've heard all day. You want to recruit a known pirate hunter into a pirate crew. That's like trying a flock of canaries trying to recruit a cat." Nami explained, unable to understand Luffy's train of thought. "Second off; I'm not interested in being your first mate. I'll settle for navigator and treasurer."

"Nami's right," Koby added, his voice trembling. "Roronoa Zoro is a bloodthirst devil; I heard he is only in Shell's town because the marines captured him because he was such a menace."

"Well, I still need to see what kind of person he is," Luffy replied nonchalantly. "I want a cool crew, one with all sorts of people. A crew that will be a million times better then Shanks crew."

"It's your funeral," Nami added as she leaned back on the lounge chair. "If he kills you, I'm claiming all your treasure."

Alvida picked herself up from where she had fallen; her entire body ached as she moved her limbs to get herself up. All around her were her followers, her crew who were looking at her expectantly.

"Lady Alvida, thank goodness you're alright!"

"Those bastards stole all our treasure!"

"What are we going to do now?"

"Are we going to raid more ships? With your iron mace, we can easily make more money!"

"Go away!" Alvida roared as she looked at the pitiful men that surrounded her. Today's events had lit a fire within her, one that would make her begin anew. "All of you get out of my sight; I hereby disband this pirate crew!"

"What?!" Her followers asked in unison.

"You heard me!" Alvida pointed to her massive ship, "You lot can take the Miss Love Duck and do whatever you want. Continue pirating, become fishermen or sail it into a sea king's mouth for all I care! But I want you all out of my sight!"

They began to protest, so she picked up the remnants of her iron mace, which was little more then a metal stick with a bit of jagged metal at the end and waved it around threateningly and sure enough, like cowardly roaches, her men scattered, crawling into her pirate ship and sailing away.

Alvida stood alone on the island that she had called home for years; she was prepared to leave it all behind in pursuit of something else. She walked over to the docks where her other ship sat docked, The Heartseeker, named because it was in the shape of a heart. While not a large ship, it had the advantage that it only needed one person to crew it. It was the ship she had used to set out from her hometown to become a pirate; she had kept it all these years mainly for sentimental reasons, and for that, she was glad.

She entered the ship's living quarters; inside was a bed, dresser, mirror, and several metal chests. It was here that she kept for more personal treasures, items she wanted to keep away from her old crew. She reached for a small chest laid on the ground and opened it up, revealing within it a pink fruit in the shape of a peach covered in strange swirls.

It was a devil fruit, one she had found early in her pirate career and kept hidden in her old room to keep it away from prying eyes and sticky fingers.

She had kept the mysterious fruit around as a curiosity and trinket. She never had much use for one until now; she had earned her bounty and infamy with her sheer strength and courage. But today's events had changed all that. "Monkey D. Luffy…" She purred as she remembered the way he had struck her; she could still feel an ache in her abdomen where he had landed his blow that sent her flying.

All her life, men had been intimidated by her; ever since she was a little girl, the boys would run from her, avoid her, or even insult her, so she put them in their place with her strength. They had all been intimidated by her strength, her beauty; they just couldn't deal with the fact that she was a strong, beautiful woman. Even her parents rejected her and wanted her to be a dainty little thing to attract a rich husband to increase their social standing. She rejected that, and she used her strength the only way she could think of and became a female pirate captain. As a captain, no man could match her, her iron mace brought down every marine, privateer, and bounty hunter that came after her, and her own crew scurried to fulfill her every whim.

Luffy had been the first man to hit her or even stand up to her in any meaningful way. A man worthy of her, with a man like that by her side, someone she could truly rely on, then there would be no stopping her. She recalled his attire, the cutlass, the pistols, the black captain's coat. He was surely a pirate or at the very least a sailor; with someone like him by her side, they would be unstoppable. "To impress him, I need to get stronger," Alvida muttered as she looked at the fruit before her. She had no idea what power it held, but surely it would make her stronger. Strong enough to grab the attention of the only real man she had ever met. She grabbed the pink fruit and swallowed it whole, nearly vomiting it back up when the taste hit her, but she gathered her willpower and kept the fruit down.

Suddenly her body was burning, was eating the fruit supposed to be painful? She let out a silent scream as her entire body seemed to burn; it felt as if her flesh was being burned off of her body. The pain was so horrible that darkness overtook her as she passed out.

She had no idea how long she had been out, but when she came to, it was night, and she had to fumble around for a light. Finding a lantern, she lit it and brought it up to a nearby vanity and looked at herself in the mirror. "My freckles are gone!" She exclaimed as she looked at her face; she was still as beautiful as before, but she lacked freckles, and her skin seemed extremely smooth.

Alvida had no idea what power she had gotten, but she had time to figure that out later. She tried to walk out of the room but tripped over her own feet. She looked down and saw that her clothes were suddenly far too big; it was like she was wearing a circus tent around her body. Had her devil fruit affected her clothes somehow? She considered her situation and checked herself more closely. On top of her skin feeling smoother, she also felt lighter? Did the devil fruit make her stronger and more agile somehow?

She shook those thoughts from her head; she had to make up for the lost time. Luffy could be anywhere by now, and she had to find him. She managed to gather some clothes that would fit her, got out on the deck of her ship, and set sail for the nearest island.

As she steered her ship, she allowed herself to enjoy the feeling of the ocean breeze as she sailed towards her destiny. It reminded her of a song she used to sing back when she was a young girl watching ships come into port near her old home. Back when she dreamed of meeting a strong man, a strong sailor who would be worthy of her.

Alvida smiled as she began singing her old childhood song.

Upon one summer's morning, I carefully did stray.

Down by the walls of Edge Town, where I saw a sailor brave

His hair was done in ringlets; his eyes were as black as coal

My heart did seek him, for he was a sailor bold.

My father is a merchant, and the truth to you I'll tell

And at the top of High Town, in opulence, I once dwelled

His fortune did exceed 300,000 gold

And he frowned upon his daughter because she wanted a sailor bold.

But a fig for his riches, all his merchandise, and gold

For I seek out a jolly sailor bold

I fled from his riches, and in poverty doth dwell

Turning my back on High Town and all that I had known.

I set out to sea, with not a piece of gold

Intent on finding, my jolly sailor bold.

Alvida ceased her singing as she thought of Monkey D. Luffy, the first real man she had met since leaving High Town and the Goa Kingdom behind at the age of fourteen. An act that saved her life since her family and everyone she had known was most likely dead after the revolutionary army leveled her old home. She never did bother checking to see if they survived; they had been dead to her long before that.

If she had stayed, she would have been dead regardless of whether or not the revolutionary army had come. She was little more then a clockwork doll for her parents to use to advance their social standing. She had lived in opulence, eating only the finest of foods and attending the fanciest parties. She had hated every second of it; the idea of marrying some weak nobleman had disgusted her. She loved seeing the real men at the docks, and she knew that she would find true love out at sea, so she set out as a pirate. Being a pirate had exposed her to numerous men, but they had all been weak disappointments until now.

Alvida smiled as she thought of some new verses to the song she used to sing as a young girl.

My name is Alvida; I was once a merchant's daughter fair,

And I have left my parents and three thousand gold a year

My heart is pierced by Cupid; I disdain all glittering gold.

Now that I have found my jolly sailor bold.

As Alvida finished singing her latest verse, she reached up to her chest where Luffy had struck her and let out a wistful sigh as she looked around her at her ship, The Heart Seeker.

"Let's see if this ship lives up to its name."

Authors note

Thank you for all the reviews and comments; I really appreciate them.

Iron Scales- A combination of Tekkai and Luffy's draconic scales, making his body and flesh as strong as steel. He can also reinforce his body further with armament Haki if he so chooses.

Divergence from canon as I used Nami's presence in the anime to change things up. Only minor changes right now, but believe me, things will slowly start getting different once the story picks up a little steam. Nothing too crazy, but hopefully, it will be interesting.

Everyone keeps asking about pairings even though it's right there in the story description. But I will put it here for the sake of my sanity. There are multiple pairings, and eventually, a Luffyxharem. However, there won't be any real romance until we are into the grand line, until at least Alabasta. I have no intention of characters hooking up without proper development. The only kind of exception being Alvida, but even then, she has something more akin to a schoolgirl crush on Luffy, making her more similar to Boa Hancock. Harems are complicated and, in many ways, inherently unrealistic, but I'm at least trying to make mine somewhat believable.

I also messed around with Alvidas backstory since she has none in canon. I hope it wasn't too weird or distracting, but I want to give characters some depth, even if it is as shallow as a puddle.

Not much else to say; please leave a review to let me know what you think.