Prologue

It had all started with Gold Roger. Upon his capture, and then, his public execution at Logue Town, he had revealed that his treasure was all for the taking, and he had left it in the Grand Line. This treasure went by the name of "One Piece", and was sought by many a pirate, for whoever would find the treasure would be proclaimed the "Kaizoku-Ou", or the "Pirate King".

Many had tried and many had died, on their quest to find One Piece. Great pirates, like Don Krieg fell to the might of the Grand Line.

However, there was one boy who would search out to find it, not letting anything stop him. This boy was Monkey D. Luffy, a boy inspired by his pirate friend, "Akaigami" Shanks.

When Luffy was only six years old, Shanks and his crew had lodged at Luffy's home town, Fushchia Village. When Luffy was seven, the small boy tried to convince Shanks to let him come along with them, by stabbing himself under his left eye. However, Shanks still would not let him go, because he was sure the small boy would merely go overboard and drown.

It was around this time that Higuma the Bear, the mountain bandit, tried to pick a fight with Shanks, over taking the last of the alcohol, at a bar they were lodging in. An enraged Luffy ate an odd, purple looking fruit, while this was going on, and when he tried to storm out of the bar, Shanks tried to stop him, by clutching onto his arm, only to find that Luffy's arm stretched. Lucky Roux, the rather obese man of Shanks' crew, then realised that Luffy must have eaten the Gomu-Gomu no Mi (the Gum-Gum Fruit), of the legendary Akuma no Mi (Devil Fruit), meaning he was just like rubber, and as a side-effect, he could never swim again.

It was then, that afterwards, Higuma and little Luffy had a brief fight, in which Luffy was thrown into the sea. Higuma was then eaten up by a sea monster, who came to get Luffy, next. However, Luffy was saved, by who else but Shanks, at the cost of Shanks losing his left arm to the monster.

The next day, Shanks left port, with his crew, and lent his straw hat to Luffy, telling him to return it to him, upon becoming a great pirate.

Ten years later, Luffy had grown into a gangly seventeen year old boy, and had continued his adventure to become Kaizoku-Ou, in having defeated many great pirates, with bounties on their head, as well as gathering a mighty crew.

First, there was Roronoa Zoro, his first mate, a Santoryu Kenshi (Three Sword Style Swordsman), a nineteen year old who wanted to become the world's greatest swordsman, to realise his dead friend's dream. Next, there was Nami, their navigator, and a natural thief. However, her thieving ways soon stopped, on the defeat of her former boss, Arlong.

During the recruitment of Zoro and Nami, Luffy had defeated three people, already. "Iron Mace" Alvida, Captain Morgan of the Marines, and Buggy the Clown.

The third of their crew members was Ussop, a natural born liar, and coward, with exceptionally large nose, a fitting characteristic for him. The enemy of Ussop's recruitment era was Captain Kuro, of the Kuro Neko (Black Cat) Pirates, a man who showed no care for his men, and thought of them as expendable pawns. After the defeat of Kuro, Ussop became the crew's sharpshooter due to his good sniping skills. This was a skill earned from his father, Yassop, who was incidentally in Shanks' crew.

Next on the list, was Sanji, a cook from the Baratie ship. Sanji's past was plagued by starvation, and as a result, Sanji was intolerant of any mistreatment of food, or manners in regards to food. Sanji was a man who believed that hands were meant for cooking, and thus, he used his feet to fight. An interesting quirk about Sanji was that he was a chain smoker, a cigarette almost never out of his mouth, and yet his food was always taintless of tobacco and nicotine.

The villain of Sanji's time was Don Krieg, the man who had many armies of pirates as his crew, most of which had been wiped out upon entrance to the Grand Line. Krieg had tried to get Zef- Sanji's former boss- to hand over his logbook, something useful for the entrance of the Grand Line.

Luffy had finally defeated Krieg, through many trials, as Krieg often used explosive weaponry to kill his enemies. It was then that Luffy had to defeat Arlong, Nami's villain. It was revealed that Nami had made a deal with Arlong to make one hundred million Berries- the name of the currency- to buy Kokoyashi Village back from Arlong.

Luffy, a firm believer that nakama (friends/team-mates/crewmembers) should be treated properly, promptly defeated Arlong in a gruelling fight, before he and his nakama set out to the Grand Line.

After much trial and error, the crew made it, and were greeted with Whiskey Peak, and a new temporary nakama, Vivi Nefertari, daughter of the King of Alabasta. Vivi was involved in Baroque Works, an organisation, many of the members being people who had also eaten Akuma no Mi. During this time, Luffy and crew, otherwise known as the Straw Hats, journeyed through Whiskey Peak and Little Garden, beating Baroque Works members.

It was then when Nami got ill, that the Straw Hats stopped at Drum Island, and met their fifth member, Tony Tony Chopper, a small reindeer boy, who had eaten the Hito-Hito no Mi, a fruit which turned into a half-breed, between human and reindeer.

Next, after having Chopper join as the doctor of the crew, the Straw Hats journeyed onwards to Alabasta, where one of the more rogue members of the Shichibukai (Seven Armed Seas)- seven ruthless pirates with high bounties on their head, controlled by the government- was holding power. This man was Crocodile, a man who betrayed the Shichibukai, by breaking the agreements made by it.

The other known members of the Shichibukai are Juraquille Mihawk, Donquixote Doflamingo, Bartholomew Bear and Jinbei. Mihawk was the man proclaimed to be best swordsman in the world, and beat Zoro mercilessly, hoping Zoro would be able to beat him one day. Jinbei was in charge of Arlong, and Doflamingo killed his underling, Bellamy.

It was during the Alabasta trials, that Nico Robin, the latest crewmember arrived, to be the general knowledge for the crew, as she was an archaeologist. Robin was a woman, who had a bounty on her head, since she was eight, and had eaten the Hana-Hana no Mi, which allowed to sprout new hands on any solid surface.

It was then that the Straw Hats toured through Jaya, where they encountered Bellamy, and Skypiea, an island in the sky, where the main man to beat was Eneru, a man who ate the Goro-Goro no Mi, and could control lightning.

Then, the Straw Hats faced a challenge in the form of Davy Backfight, a game among pirates, where certain events were performed, and crewmembers were placed under bet. Finally, after briefly losing and winning back Chopper, in two games, Luffy and Foxy, the person who started the game, had a boxing match, which Luffy finally won.

Now, the Straw Hats take a rest, after this experience, only to find that they have a new member to welcome.