If you don't like 30 years before then that's fine, you don't need to tell everybody about it with vulgar language, there are underage people who read the comments and they don't need read stuff like that.

Secondly I'm not changing the story because some random doesn't like the story. Don't like it then go and read something else. Nobody is forcing you read this.

I'm writing this because I like it! Not for any other reason, this simply is self indulgent nonsense. It's a fanfic! Not something offensive.

Whitebeard's POV

Newgate's trip back to the top of the ship was slow, he wasn't all that bothered, they weren't in any rush. He was used to walking at a lax pace, most people found it hard to keep up with him at his normal speed anyway.

Marco kept almost walking into everything, walls, corners, people. The little brat, who he had found out was called Luffy, had to redirect Marco a couple of times. The kid himself had a awful attention span, he would almost get lost constantly and his older brother would end up herding him back. Dragon was the only one that wasn't really a problem, silently trailing a few feet back.

After the last few days, this was actually quite pleasant, (except for the sour air coming off Dragon) he was happy to relax for a while. As long as he got to his destination eventually this was fine.

Newgate would glance over his shoulder once in a while to make sure that the boys were still behind him. Even if it was obvious, considering how loud the two youngest were being. It was a habit he had developed when Marco was much younger, when the boy would wander off accidentally when he wasn't paying attention.

The Yonko smilied lightly thinking back to the time before he was a captain with a crew. How long was it now? Two and a half years maybe three? Marco had been with Newgate much longer than that though.

Newgate had been walking for what had to have been miles, yet the small blonde boy was still tailing him, trying desperately to keep up, yet at the same time attempting to make it look like he wasn't.

He wasn't entirely sure what he was supposed to do. He had no idea that the kid would actually follow him, the man had presumed he would run away.

Newgate had spotted the poor boy when he had been walking through the less than savoury part of Sabaody. A crowd of people had gathered, which had piqued his interest and he had gone to see what it was going on.

It was a street performance, a very disturbing one. It's not like Newgate hadn't witnessed this sort of thing before. When you were a pirate this sort of thing was just part of the package, especially if you happened to visit the dark parts of town.

Didn't mean the man didn't hate it.

Normally the pirate would just turn away, ignore it, pretend it wasn't happening.

But his heart hit the bottom of his chest when he saw a young boy was part of the act. He was sat on the muddy ground with a rope leash around his neck.

"Lookie here folks at the Immortal Phoenix! He's a true mystery, it is said that he can heal any wound, he can't even be killed! Watch as the miracle happens!"

The cruel street performer then stabbed him with a spear. The kid barely even reacted at all, as the sharp pointed object was shoved brutally into his left ribcage. A moment later his whole side erupted into blue flames, as the spear was torn out once again.

The sick crowd started applauding as the boy's stab wound began to slowly close up, the child's face was devoid of any emotion.

Newgate didn't even think, he was too enraged as he barged through the group of twisted spectators, slamming his fist into the performers face killing him almost instantly, his whole neck snapped and cheek bone crumbled from the hit.

The pirate hadn't even used his devil fruit.

The dead bastard flew through the building he had been standing in front of, smashing through several walls, leaving the crowd speechless. That didn't last long though, soon they were all in a terrified frenzy, running for their disgusting lives.

Leaving the child staring at Newgate, he was still sat on the ground with blood covered clothes, his eyes wide and fearful.

The pirate let out a sharp exhale, attempting to calm his raging blood. He didn't want to scare the little brat more, opting to leave him be.

Well at least he was safe for now, the little one could probably find some place to hide and it wasn't like Newgate could do anything to help him anymore.

He was infamous after all; it would just cause the kid more problems. So, with that he turned his back on the kid and left.

Which brought him back to present situation with the little one following him. Why he had decided to pursue him, a scary towering man was anyone's guess.

The blonde wove through the crowd keeping Newgate firmly in his sight, he was sweating, probably from all the jogging to keep up.

The man sighed giving in, seemed like he wasn't going to give up. He slowed his pace significantly, the boy fell into a trot, relief covering his face.

Newgate turned a corner entering a much nicer part of archipelago, this area wasn't as rough as the place he had been before.

He had made the choice a little while back when he had noticed the boy following him.

Usually, the pirate kept to those kinds of regions because of his reputation, he was recognizable to most people thanks to his old crew. But as he had a kid trailing after him, he had figured he would at least go to a less thuggish place so the poor brat wouldn't get stabbed again.

What kind of devil fruit power did the boy have? That dead man had called him a Phoenix.

Maybe some kind of Mythical Zoan?

It's not like it was a big deal, as long as the little one was okay, Newgate was happy.

He snuck another glance at the boy, he was keeping up much better now, he seemed a little happier.

Urrrh Newgate what are you doing?

The pirate placed a hand on his forehead, rubbing his temples.

This kid can't come with you, he'd be in too much danger.

But where else was the little brat going to go, Newgate had saved him, so he was his responsibility.

The man groaned, kicking himself for getting involved. Yet he didn't regret saving the boy. He knew what he needed to do...

Newgate stopped, the public bustled around him unaware of who the hooded figure was, if only they knew, they wouldn't be so eager to pass him by.

He turned around fixing his eyes on the young boy, who looked startled at being noticed but he didn't run. He stayed where he was, looking up at the pirate with an unwavering gaze.

He gestured for the boy to come closer, he hesitated for a minute before slowly approaching him nervously.

"If you're going to follow me then stay at my side where I can see you."

Newgate said gruffly, he didn't know much of anything about kids and wasn't entirely sure how you were supposed to them.

After all the pirate had lost his parents when he was very small, he had never had anyone take care of him, that had always been his job.

Though he had always been fascinated by the prospect of family, it was something he had never really experienced, yet it was something he craved badly.

The little one didn't seem bothered by his tone, quite the opposite, he broke into a big bright toothy smile. He nodded vigorously, placing himself next to Newgate's leg, waiting for him to start moving again.

The man sighed shakily; he was suddenly incredibly overwhelmed with the responsibility of taking care of the kid.

What if this was a bad idea?

What if he did something wrong?

What if the boy-

The list of worries spun in his head as he began to plod along again, trying to keep his pace at a slow crawl so the boy didn't need to jog stay at his side.

Before long darkness crept in, the boy was beginning to drag his feet looking exhausted. Newgate elected to find some where to rest, before the little brat collapsed.

He wondered if going to a hotel was a good idea, but quickly dismissed it. Not in this part of town, there was too many citizens and tourists, Newgate and the boy would stand out too much.

So instead, the pirate led them down a thin alleyway, it wasn't the nicest place to stay but honestly there were worse places.

He would know he'd been to many of them.

Once they were out of sight from the street, Newgate slumped down next to a stone wall, setting a cloth wrapped Murakumogiri to the side. A beat later the little one settled down drowsily next to his leg, he rubbed his eyes as he yawned. He lowered himself stiffly into a ball on the mangrove, curling his arms into his chest and tucking his knees under them.

It was the first time Newgate got a proper look at the kid, he was smaller than he originally thought, malnourished and his hair was in a scruffy mess, it hadn't been washed in a while. His clothes were simple white linen, covered in holes and dried blood.

But worst of all the boy was clearly very sick, he was deathly pale and his breathing was laboured. The man suddenly felt awful for making him walk for such a long way.

He shouldn't be sitting in a dark alleyway; he should really be in a warm bed, having eaten a good meal and had a bath or something...

That was it they were going to a hotel! Screw it if anyone recognized him, he was strong enough to fend whoever they sent.

His kid needed a bed!

He scooped up his boy, disturbing from his sleep, he looked up at Newgate dazed. The man beamed down at him with a reassuring smile.

"It's alright little one we're going someplace nice and warm with a bed in it."

The child nodded wearily, not making a sound as Newgate jostled him awkwardly, unsure how to actually carry him. He eventually figured out that it was probably best to hold him against his chest.

The boy didn't seem to care all that much about being man handled, he was probably use to a lot worse than Newgate's terrible inexperience with holding kids.

Once satisfied the pirate took off in the direction of any close by hotels.

It didn't take him long to find an inn, it didn't look too busy and it was an unimpressive small building with nothing overly standout-ish about it. Perfect for keeping a low profile.

When he entered, he headed straight over to the desk, towering over it making the secretary looked up, immediately her face turned skittish. The lady's smile was extremely uneasy, she did try to make an effort to speak normally.

"Hello sir how may I been of service?"

Her eyes slid down to the young boy curled up on his arm, she slowly seemed to grow in courage as her face turned from nervous to concerned. Until finally she turned to look up at Newgate unwavering.

"Is that little boy, okay? Let me see him!"

She made her way around to the front of the desk where the pirate stood, giving the kid a worried look. Newgate slouched down so she could see, the woman placed the back of her hand to his forehead.

"Is he your son? How did he get in this kind of state? It wasn't one of those horrid human traffickers that did this, was it?"

His son? Newgate opened and closed his mouth; he wasn't sure what he was supposed to say. She was asking too many questions that the man was still figuring out for himself.

He just found out the boy was ill after he had decided to take care of him. He was his responsibility now so...

"Yeah, he's my son... I- we ran into some trouble and I just found him like this."

Not exactly a lie. Newgate's voice was full of helplessness and worry, when had he ever sounded like that?

And it was true, he didn't know what to do!

"You're in luck, I trained as a nurse for a little while, I should be able to help him..."

Newgate sighed heavily, relief spreading across his face.

"I would be in your debt; I'll pay you with every I have."

She waved hand absently.

"No, no that's fine, the room price is more than enough"

"Do you know what's wrong with him?"

"Well, he's malnourished and he has a high fever, those two things are probably the cause..."

The woman said sarcastically, not really becoming of a nurse, maybe that was why she wasn't one.

"Follow me, he needs a bath before I can do anything, all that dirt isn't very healthy."

The lady led Newgate down a corridor after retrieving a key from behind her desk, unlocking a door to a small room with large bed sat in the middle.

"How long was he with the people who did this? I imagine you got him back, it's not like the Marines ever do anything... Judging from that big weapon you're carrying you must know how to fight"

Newgate set the bo- his son down on the bed gently, he sat next to him, the mattress didn't sag when he put his full weight on it, which was surprisingly nice.

"Yes, you could say that..."

She leant over his child, grabbing his wrist she checked his pulse while glancing at a pocket watch. She nodded looking satisfied with something.

"Well good news his heart rate isn't as fast as I thought it would be, should mean that he isn't as sick as he looks"

Newgate smiled pleased with the prognosis.

"You don't mind if I give him a bath, do you?"

The man shook his head, he was quite pleased that she had offered, he wouldn't have even known what he was meant to do. Especially considering both of them were devil fruit users and he would be afraid of accidentally drowning his poor boy...

The inn keeper picked the kid up with practiced ease, she clearly had experience as a mother or something.

"Oh, be mindful he's a devil fruit user"

The lady paused frowning at him, not understanding what he meant, he forgot a lot of normal people didn't know what devil fruits even were.

"He's vulnerable in water, he won't be able to move when he's under it, so don't leave him unattended because he may actually drown."

"Oh, God! I'll keep that in mind. Is it some kind of- uh- what is it?"

Newgate decided it was easier to demonstrate, he lightly flicked the air with his finger, a tiny splinter appeared. The room shook ever so slightly, it made some of the furniture rattle.

"What the hell was that! You did that!"

The woman said in a shrill squeak, she was looking at the boy as if he was a bomb.

"That's just my devil fruit, he can only turn into a bird, so don't worry"

Newgate chuckled; he found the lady's reaction rather amusing. She looked at the man sceptically, but she carried on to the bathroom without another word, leaving the quake user alone.

Newgate let out breath pushing his hood off, he flopped down onto his back.

He was a father.

It felt nice, maybe his dream wasn't so farfetched after all. He had a son; he was going to take good care of him, make sure that his boy was going to be loved, just like he had always wanted to.

He closed his eyes, he felt happy. He hadn't felt this happy, well he couldn't remember when. The world slowly fading into the background, Newgate fell asleep.

The pirate was woken when two small hands started pulling at his moustache, blinking blearily he was met with a grinning face. He smirked lazily, prodding the little one's face causing him to giggle.

"Hello little one, you look better"

"I'm not little one, I'm Marco, yoi!"

"Well then hello not little one..."

Marco puffed out his cheeks in annoyance, smacking him in the face angrily. Newgate burst out laughing, he could get used to teasing the boy it was surprisingly fun.

"I'm Marco, yoi!"

Newgate sat up, catching Marco before he tumbled off his chest. His son settled comfortably into the crook of his arm; he was still sulky though.

"Marco... it's nice to meet you son"

The boy looked up at him, he's eyes began welling with tears, he started to sniffle and hiccup.

The man immediately assumed that he had said something that had upset the boy, panicking he tried to comfort him, which he wasn't sure how to do.

Do I put him down?

Do I rock him? No, you do that with babies, I think.

Pat him on the head? His not a dog Newgate!

"I'm yo- your son, yoi?"

Uh?

"Well yes, but if you don't wa- "

Marco threw himself at Newgate's neck wrapping his arms it to the best of his ability and choked out a joyful.

"Pops!"

"Oi? Pops! You listening, yoi?"

Newgate jolted back to reality, looking down at Marco who was no longer a small 7-year-old. This was teenage Marco who was stood in front of him, several bandages wrapped round his head, eyes hidden under them, half burnt shirt and a grumpy looking face. Definitely not the same Marco...

"Oh, Marco... what's wrong?"

His son jabbed his finger at a wall, the Yonko frowned at him confused.

"Luffy said you're blocking the stairs, yoi."

"The stairs?"

"To the top deck, remember where we going to go, yoi"

The captain turned to find that he was indeed blocking the stairs, his gaze slid back to Marco who was still pointing at the wall.

Luffy, who was laughing, slowly twisted Marco towards the stairs, so now he was pointing in the right direction.

Dragon just rolled his eyes with aspiration.

"Thank you, yoi"

Newgate snorted trying to hold in a chuckle of his own, he began to led the way upstairs towards their destination.

How things had changed.