"Such a boring day wouldn't you say?" A uniformed marine officer sat with his legs on top of his desk. He wore his uniform loosely while he fumbled with a cigar on his lips.
"Captain Smoker, we must be diligent specially with the notoriety of Logue Town." A woman stood before the Marine Captain, fixing her glasses along with shifting her sword along her waist. She was the Vice Captain of the Marine base located in Logue Town. Why was this town so important? Well it is a pirate's destination. It was the place where Pirate King Gol D. Roger was publicly executed, witnessed by the entire world.
"Tashigi, we've had an eventful week, I can relax this day if I so choose." Though that would not be an option. Excited chatter echoed outside the main marine base. Captain Smoker and Tashigi made their way to the noise and found a lone man, standing with a skewer full of heads. Heads of pirates notorious in the East Blue to be exact.
"Who…are you?" Tashigi asked nervously, she felt his presence and understood that this man was powerful. He wore a red vest for his top, brown khaki shorts along with wooden sandals. On his right hand was the head skewer. On his left hand is an empty bag. Then on his back were a collection of weapons, a cannon ball with a familiar painting, an iron mace, a golden spear, amongst other things. A collection perhaps.
"Luffy, here to collect some bounties."
…
We all know how it began. Monkey D. Luffy was fated to consume the Gum Gum Fruit at the expense of Shank's arm. It was fated that Luffy took the hat of his hero and swore to return it to him when he became a great pirate. Yet what was not part of fate was this…for our hero awoke to his worst nightmare, his pain a catalyst for the birth or the strongest, most ruthless, Bounty Hunter the world will ever know.
…
A year ago
The sun had risen to indicate it was high noon. Luffy slept throughout the morning, and his stomach was telling him so. It had been nine months since that fateful day, from consuming a devil fruit, to his hero losing his arm. Luffy gazed with great resolve towards his straw hat, the one he inherited from Shanks, reminiscing the day he set a goal to become King of Pirate.
A cold breeze passed through him despite the summer months. Luffy felt like something was off, though shook it off as he didn't think much of it. He stood up immediately, stretching, not realizing what was to come.
After stretching, he left his man-made cabin, constructed by himself, and his two brothers; Ace and Sabo. Sabo was killed from a cannon, released by a monarch. Ace began his pirate adventure about two years ago. Their little cabin was now maintained by him alone, and him alone. It was lonely at times, but his drive to be stronger, along with his adventure throughout Foosha Village, kept him sane.
Luffy walked casually, whistling to the tune of his footsteps, hand holding down the straw hat which he treasured more than his own life. Though his mood immediately dropped, for what he saw was stuff of nightmare. First, flames covered the village of Fuusha, buildings were dismantled, though in a more gut wrenching fashion, people of the once peaceful village…massacred.
Luffy wandered aimlessly along the town in which he used to call home. For each house, he found families splattered, bodies bent into ways which are unnatural. Not a single man, woman, or children were spared. Air began to swirl around him unknowingly as he began to feel his distress escalate. His feet brought him to the town hall, where Mayor Woop Slap was located. If anyone could survive, the old man would be the one to do it…right?
Wrong..
Mayor Woop Slap laid in a pool of his own blood, a diagonal slash across his back revealing the death of the old man to be painful and lengthy. Across from the old man was an unknown pirate, carrying nothing but a flintlock pistol along with a cutlass. Luffy stood up, contemplating his next move, shaking his head furiously as to wake himself up from this nightmare and yet…nothing. He slapped himself across the face several times only to find blood trickling from his lips. There must have been some sort of battle, yet he could not get his thoughts together.
His aimless wander led him through his village, civilians and pirates alike were lying lifeless on the ground. The kills were precise, methodical and clean. Though for the eyes of a young Luffy, he could not see that. His anger peaked at the sight of the woman who cared for him like her own son, and the woman who treated him like a little brother.
Curly Dadan was lying lifeless on the beach, her body being brought in by the wave, and slowly taken out back to the ocean. Then not too far from her was Makino, the bar keep that kept him fed, and cared for him. Both women were impactful to his life, both of which are dead.
"No!" His anger was unmatched, an event that would change the course of history to its core. His anger awakened something hidden deep within him, one that was supposed to manifest much later into his life.
For in his grief, Luffy awakened the true nature of his devil fruit, manifesting the will of the Sun God.
White light emitted from his skin, his voice echoing throughout the entire island. His anger could be felt as the energy continued to pierce the very earth around him, splitting the sandy earth below. The water that once covered the beach began to evaporate at the power in which Luffy was releasing, the source of which remained unknown to the young man.
When all the catastrophe of the transformation finally ceased, he maintained the white flames that covered his hair, his entire attire now being covered by the same white aura. He suddenly felt everything around him, from the gentle wave from the opposite shore, to the bee that flew to its hive. The information was flooding his senses and yet his anger allowed him to focus on one thing and one thing only, what happened.
"I'm so glad we were able to get away…"
"Damn pirates…I thought they would leave us alone…"
The voices came from the mountains, the voice sounded familiar. With one final gaze into the fallen bodies of his beloved mother figure, and sister figure, Luffy disappeared, cutting through the air at a speed that he never thought he would reach.
Within moments, he stopped instantaneously before the set of voices within a dark cave. He floated in the air as his white aura revealed the content of the dark cave.
"Who the hell are you?!" A scared voice called out. The voice of the unforgettable coward known as Higuma the mountain bandit.
"What happened?" His voice was low yet carried a certain layer of venom. Luffy was about ready to snap.
"What are you talking about men…look I don't know…" Suddenly, Higuma found himself at the mercy of the young man, his hands wrapped around the throat of the mountain bandit. The other mountain bandits unleashed their gun at the young man with no effect.
Luffy remained steadfast, clutching at the neck of the leader of the mountain bandit. It would be so easy to crush his neck, but he needed answers.
"It was pirates!" His voice was raspy, struggling to get out the words. Luffy's grip loosened for a moment to let the mountain bandit speak. "They came in and ravaged the town."
"No…no…." There was no way it was true, pirates which he idolized destroying his home, his people? "What flag did they carry?"
If the massacre were not enough to change history, Higuma's answer would be.
"A skull with three red slash across the left eye." Instantly without hesitation, Higuma found himself traveling across the room, his thoughts wondering how he got across the room with his body sitting below the intruder. Then there was nothing, for Higuma's head was no longer attached to his body.
"I'll ask again." Luffy turned to the other seven people within the cave, all of which gave him the same answer. All of which met their end at his hands.
Luffy had crossed a line which he can no longer get back from. He had killed.
He made his way outside of the mountain bandit cave, staring at the sky. Rain clouds covered the sky, consuming the once bright light that covered the island. He collapsed on his knees, reverting back to his normal form. Trickles of the white flames that once covered his entire body had dissipated as they appeared. He collapsed with his knee on the ground and his palm on the dirt. Then he passed out.
…
A week later…
First, he gathered the good people of Foosha village, ensuring that they all had a proper burial. He was but a child carrying the weight of all this loss yet he knew he had to bury everyone. He didn't know for how long he shoveled, preparing different size gravesites for all sorts of people. Though nothing hurt more than preparing the gravesite of Curly Dadan and Makino, with dirt covering their dead body, Luffy finally ran out of things to do.
He sat at the shore of Foosha village and in this week of isolation he thought about the last thing the mountain bandit revealed to him. Pirates had done this, and to make matters worse, they carried the flag of his hero, Shanks.
He stared into the distance, he had lost all purpose once he buried the last of his people. Looking back, he remembered the anger that surge within him, releasing into a white aura that covered his entire body. He felt so powerful in that moment that an idea struck him, revenge.
In order to avenge the people of Foosha, instead of becoming a pirate, he will hunt them down into extinction.
With his new found purpose, the white aura surrounded him once more, his own aura emitted all around him. The beach in which he was sitting had now turned into a crater once more. It was at this moment that Luffy knew that he had the power to hunt down all pirates to the death.
…
Two weeks later…
Luffy finally prepared his small dinghy, looking at the island that once housed Foosha Village. The once lively town had become an empty land, countless craters all over along with every single building and houses decimated into nothing. In the past two weeks, Luffy had used his time to train, understanding his abilities better, honing it as best as he could. He used the mountains along with Foosha village in order to train, making sure that no unwanted attention would come his way, not yet, not until he was ready. For food, Luffy brought in the dead body of Higuma the Bear, claiming his 8 billion in bounty money, his first. He wore a mask over his face as he did not want to reveal his identity quite yet. When prompted for a name, he went by 'Head Hunter' and the marines over in Grey Terminal accepted it. Not a single one was aware of what happened in Fuusha, not a single one cared. His disdain for marines grew but not as much as he hated pirates.
On his way out from the marine base, he collected a stack of bounty posters in order to have a list of pirates he may come across. In order to get to where he needs to go, he needs money, and it helped that he was killing pirates along the way.
So from that point onward, Luffy decided to become a bounty hunter.
There was one more thing to do before leaving, Luffy set foot to his home island for the last time, started a fire, and looked at the straw hat that Shanks gave him. Without hesitation, Luffy tossed the straw hat into the open fire, burning his bond with the Red Hair pirate captain. With that, Luffy finally boarded his dinghy, leaving into the open sea and starting his hunt.
…
"Iron Mace" Alvida - 5 million Beris
The flag of the infamous pirate known as Alvida flew above her ship covered in pink. Luffy was able to navigate his dinghy towards the easily recognizable pirate ship. He tied his dinghy to the side of the boat and jumped aboard, prompting the shock of the ship's crew.
"Are you lost boy!" A low tier pirate asked Luffy, flashing his cutlass as a threat. Luffy simply held up the bounty poster of Iron Mace Alvida, revealing the bounty of 5 billion beris. "You want our captain's bounty!" The pirate crew began to laugh amongst themselves, as it was all a big joke to them. Who would take a young man seriously, especially one kid against a crew of adults.
Luffy brought both of his fists up, getting into fighting form. "If you go against me, you will die."
"Who dares!" A heavy set woman emerged from the belly of the ship, each step causing the wooden deck to tremble.
"You're in trouble now boy!" The pirates laughed once more, believing that their captain was going to win without trouble. Behind the heavy set woman was a young boy, painfully carrying her iron mace.
"Koby! Who is the most beautiful woman in the world?" She had a smile over her face, knowing full well what her crew would answer. In truth she was stronger than normal, but that's just it, she was just compared to normal.
"You are Captain Alvida!" With that confirmation, the tiny cabin boy named Koby found himself covered in the blood of his captor. For the head of Alvida flew clean off by the sheer forceful removal of the bounty hunter. To say the crew was shocked would be an understatement.
Luffy looked at the rest of the crew, with Alvida's lifeless body falling into the ocean, her head in the hands of the bounty hunter.
"This ship is mine, any resistance will end in death." For a moment his hair and attire had turned white, covered in the aura of his abilities once more. Fear filled the heart of the Alvida pirates, most of whom had jumped overboard and risked being killed by a sea king. The only person remaining was cabin boy Koby. The poor guy was frozen in fear, from being a slave to Iron Mace Alvida, to witnessing her gruesome end, it was so confusing.
Without a single word, Luffy picked up Koby by the collar of his shirt, tossing him into the ocean. The diseased pirate captain's weapon falling onto the deck. It was then that Luffy got an idea, not only will he collect bounties, he will also collect their weapons. As his mission was now also to collect weapons of his targets, his collection was started by the iron mace of Alvida.
He gave it a nice twirl, feeling its weight, though nothing about it was truly special, it was a blunt force weapon with several spikes.
Admittedly, Luffy had no idea how to steer a massive ship, commandeering it might not have been his brightest idea yet. He did have an idea how to capture the wind by opening the sail. It was now up to fate
if he would be brought to land or perish in the cold, heartless sea.
As the ship of Alvida sailed with the wind, a little dinghy was left behind. The confused cabin boy remained speechless as he was thrown overboard onto the tiny boat as if he was given another opportunity to live. That bounty hunter freed him, sure, but it was now his job to determine what he would do with the freedom given to him.
The winds brought the bounty hunter to where he needed to be, though instead of recruiting his first crew mate, he found himself simply passing by.
Luffy crashed his ship onto the shores of Shell Town, unable to maneuver the massive ship on his own. In the commotion he caused, an event was prevented that would've cost an arrest of a certain green haired swordsman.
Prior to crashing to the shore, a little girl had offended the marine captain's son. He was going to have the little girl executed for simply being annoying but a green haired swordsman offered his own life instead. The tense standoff was broken with the loud noise from the shore. The marines were awoken from their daily routine and rushed to the source of the commotion.
The marines were slow to trickle in on the shore, with their marine captain standing in front of them. Axe Hand Morgan was the marine captain of Shell Town, ruling with an iron fist…well in this case, a sharp metal axe. He had about forty marine officers standing behind him while he stood face to face with the new arrival. Concurrently, his son Helmeppo also found his way onto the beach. The green haired man was confused at the commotion but went the other direction that everyone was going. The little girl looked so confused by knowing that the green haired swordsman just saved her life.
Back at the beach, Luffy stood on his ship, with it being unable to sail as the mass was completely destroyed.
"Who are you boy?" Axe Hand Morgan tossed away his jacket revealing his muscular complexion , pointed his axe hand towards Luffy, but he was in no mood to talk. Remembering the treatment he received from the Grey Terminal marines, Luffy jumped in front of Morgan, looking him directly in his eyes.
"I am a Bounty Hunter."
"In a pirate ship? You work for Iron Mace! Die for justice!" Morgan did the worst thing he could possibly do and swung his axe hand right at Luffy's neck. To the surprise of the 40 marines, Helmeppo, and the late arriving green haired swordsman, Luffy caught the wrist of Morgan and stopped him mid swing.
"Why you?!" Captain Morgan tried to pull away, but Luffy's grip was tighter forcing the axe hand out of the arm of the marine captain. Now only having his right arm as a stub, fear set into the eyes of the marine captain. "What the hell are you?" Then his vision blurred as the last thing he saw was his own axe hand being swung at him.
Luffy cleanly cuts the head off the tyrannic marine captain. He didn't know this of course, he just wanted to kill a marine.
Instead of continuing to attack him, the marines broke out in a gleeful cheer, celebrating the death of Axe Hand Morgan.
Helmeppo fell on both knees and trembled in fear as he lost his status. Meanwhile the green swordsman was tremendously impressed, approaching his fellow bounty hunter. He did announce that he was one, it was just the marine captain that doubted him.
"So you are a bounty hunter?" The swordsman asked, relaxed as he rested his hands over his three swords.
"What's it to you?" Luffy asked coldly as he wiped the blood off the axe hand with Morgan's own uniform jacket. He won't be needing it anymore.
"My name is Roronoa Zoro, bounty hunter, what company do you work for?" He asked, the marines continued to celebrate in the background.
"Company?" Luffy finished wiping the axe and placed it on his back, joining Alvida's Iron Mace.
"Yeah, Bounty Hunter Company, association, who gives you jobs?" Zoro asked, perplexed that he wouldn't know what a company was.
"I work alone." Luffy noticed a marine officer approaching him, and so did Zoro.
"Well if you ever start one, I'll find you. Thanks for saving me from a headache." With that, Zoro made his way back to the town in order to check on the little girl and her family.
"Sir! Thank you for saving us!" The marine officer had saluted him, showing his respect.
"Hmm?" Luffy looked at the marine in confusion.
"Captain Morgan was a horrible person! Thank you for saving us from him sir! As a reward, we have agreed to pool our 1 month salary for your payment, you are a bounty hunter after all." Luffy was not going to deny money, but he needed a new ship.
"I'll take a ship instead. One that is easy to steer and doesn't rely on wind." The marine thought about it for a second, it was more than all 40 of their salaries combined, but getting rid of Morgan deserved all the reward.
"Sure thing sir! We will have it ready on these shores in a day's time!" In Luffy's mind, maybe not all marines were so bad. Now that he had time to think for himself, he made his way to the town as well, maybe grabbing some food and drink before resting in the local inn. Money was not an issue, he had plenty of that from the Higuma bounty. He still had a sack of a single head so far, Alvida. Then he had an iron mace, along with an axe hand. In the town he ate and drank quietly, listening to the local conversations. Mostly about the death of axe hand, a terrible person from the mouth of the locals. Then an interesting tale emerged of a heroic green haired swordsman who saved a little girl from the fury of Helmeppo, the son of the deceased marine captain. Maybe the swordsman wasn't so bad, but he couldn't care, not yet, he wasn't ready for more loss.
So then Luffy ended his night in his own inn, sleeping at the thought of a bounty hunter company. He even thought of a name.
'Pirate Hunter Association'
…
The next day
Luffy awoke midday, the most sleep he's ever had since the incident. He felt really good about the way he took out the marine captain, which inadvertently helped the local citizens.
In his joyous mood, one he hasn't had for a long time, he made his way to the shore, finding the ship he requested. It was a standard marine ship, one that holds about 30 people at most. It looked freshly colored, black and white abandoning the usual blue and white marine color.
It had sails just in case the steam engine did not function properly.
"Here it is sir, a mighty ship for our savior!" The marine along with the whole group of 40 saluted the bounty hunter.
"Thanks." Luffy left without saying another word, boarding his ship and starting the engine.
"Sir if you find the time! High bounty pirates can be found in Orange Town and Conomi Island!"
Luffy would only give a thumbs up before heading on his way, turning the helm of the ship to who knows where, he was no navigator after all.
And so Monkey D. Luffy had lost so much, obtaining a heavy hatred against both marine and pirates. Marines because of their lack of action, pirates for their participation in killing his people.
He carried the head of Alvida to eventually collect her bounty, a mace and an axe hand. Also now, he had a steam ship, with its base model coming from a small marine ship.
A name for the ship…he thought as he looked towards the distance, traveling to wherever fate takes him.
"The Decapitator." He liked that name immediately.
"What the hell?!" A somewhat familiar voice exclaimed from the belly of the ship. The steps were quick as it ran to the deck. The stowaway looked directly at Luffy and to the open ocean.
"Roronoa?"
"Luffy?"
Somehow, as fate would have it, Bounty Hunter Roronoa Zoro had stowed away with Luffy. Seems like some things just don't change.