I shall now begin the disclaimer! And please review! Let me know where to improve and so on. Flamers will be sentenced to Level 6 of Impel Down. And we will begin with...hah? Jinbe? What are you doing here? You won't even appear until way later in this story!
Jinbe: Hence, Author-san, why I am here! Let me say the disclaimer!
Well, Jinbe, go ahead! But I have an important announcement to make later, so please stick around for that.
Jinbe: Very well! Author-san does not own, or have any claim to, One Piece, Naruto, or any other works referenced in this story!
"With this cup of sake, we will become brothers!"
These words, spoken five years ago between Uzumaki Boruto and his two new family members, left a lasting impression within his mind.
It was perhaps six years from this day, when he had met the two brothers who were so different, yet so alike. Portgas D. Ace and Monkey D. Luffy were his family now.
As Monkey D. Luffy prepared his small, rickety boat so that he and Boruto could begin their adventure on the seas, Boruto sat quietly on a rock to reminisce.
He certainly looked quite like a shinobi. His black cloak was fastened near where the collar of his tattered white, yet stained, undershirt alongside that of his jacket, also black, but with some dark pink stripes running along his cuffs or the base of his shirt. His black pants reached down to about mid-way down his lower leg, just above his pair of worn shinobi sandals reaching up to his trousers. Affixed to his belt was a sheathed straight sword with very little ornament, but his more notable features were perhaps the forehead protector – a strip of black cloth with a metal plate tied and fastened on top of his forehead, with the words 'MARINE' etched into the metal. However, Boruto's forehead protector also sported a massive horizontal slash through the letters, with the 'M' partially covered by bangs of his sun-like blond hair. Two whisker marks were present on each cheek, whilst on his right arm, running up to his face at the right cheek, up to his forehead and through his eye, lay a series of marks dark blue in colour.
"Join my crew!" Luffy had continued to pester him, consistently repeating the same statement over and over when he accidentally revealed he was a ninja. Honestly, that kid…where did his obsessions originate from? Whatever. What choices did he have? Only a pirate's life for him. Although he always held to justice in his heart, he could never really become a Marine. Not anymore. Perhaps that was why he was willing to acquiesce to Luffy's request.
"Your crew?" he had asked, head tilted slightly.
"Yeah! My pirate crew!" Luffy jubilantly replied. "I'm going to be pirate king!"
Boruto stopped to think, before continuing. "And…what exactly do you plan to do as a pirate?"
"Shishishishi! Silly Boruto! I'm going to be the freest man the in the world and have adventures with my comrades!"
"Just…as long as there's no looting, pillaging or anything like that, we have a deal."
"Of course! Those people aren't pirates! They're assholes who don't know how to have fun!"
"Oi, Luffy, I don't think you really realise what pirates are like…."
Luffy merely waved him off then. And Luffy wouldn't care now. However, Boruto could confidently declare that Luffy was to be his captain, and no one else. Could he follow any other? Probably not. Luffy extruded confidence; you knew he would be pirate king, and with him at your back, you definitely felt you could achieve your dreams, no matter how outlandish they were.
"Ne, Boruto," Luffy had asked about three years ago, when Portgas D. Ace, Luffy's other brother, had just set sail in a small sailboat, leaving the other brothers behind. "What are your dreams?"
Boruto didn't immediately speak or answer, instead opting to stare into the setting sun before answering.
"My dream?"
"Yeah! Everyone's gotta have one!"
Luffy was so simple-minded and naïve. That is okay, Boruto had thought. Let him be a child for longer. Luffy's childish selfishness was so adorable; he could not bear to rip it from him. Not like his own was.
"Ne, ne, tell me, Boruto!"
Could Boruto tell him? Would Luffy blab it by accident? He did not want Monkey D. Garp, Luffy's mad yet insanely strong Marine grandfather, to prematurely sink his dream. As a Vice-Admiral, he would be forced to act had such words been uttered in his presence; Garp's own attitudes on this matter notwithstanding. Vice-Admiral, just like the shitty old man, huh? So now there were two shitty old men to deal with.
Luffy was nothing but stubborn, however. Day after day he had continued to wheedle at Boruto, hoping that he would cave – and eventually he did cave.
"I want to throw the World Nobles down from their high places."
"Shishishishi! The future Pirate King wouldn't accept anything less!"
"Oh, Luffy, are you still spewing that pirate nonsense?" a loud voice behind the two boys had asked, just after Boruto made his declaration. Both Luffy and Boruto turned their head back, only to freeze in terror.
Towering over the two young men was a much larger figure who left behind a hole matching his outline in the wooden wall behind him. Never mind that the wood had begun to be eaten away by rot and mildew, this man was quite strong. His face had looked quite weary, for it had many wrinkles on it, set next to a grizzled beard. Monkey D. Garp, Luffy's grandfather, was an extremely imposing figure with a voice and mouth just as dominant.
"Gramps!" Luffy had then exclaimed in shock. Garp hadn't returned to Dawn Island in many months, so Luffy was quite bewildered that he would come back at this current time. Garp's return would always be accompanied by his "Fist of Love" – which had always hurt! Luffy still did not know how Garp could do it, for his rubber body should have made him impervious to blunt pain!
(Not that Luffy really knew what blunt force trauma was in any sense)
"You're going to become a Marine, brat! No more of this stupid pirate king nonsense from you!" Garp had exclaimed whilst grabbing Luffy's shirt in one hand, yanking Luffy towards him, fist cocked back, ready to administer 'discipline', as he called it, before his eyes picked up that it was not just Luffy here with him. He noticed another blond boy who had suddenly jumped back, with the marks on his right arm and the right side of his face suddenly lighting up, the youth crouched in a 'ready' pose, his straight sword drawn in a reverse grip; he could not be thought to be truly ready, for no one could be fully ready to fight against Garp.
"Oh, and who is this?" Garp asked, bemused as Luffy continued to thrash around. Boruto had said nothing. He didn't need to. This shitty old man would recognise him by his face, he had thought, as his own looked quite similar to his father's face. Perhaps even more damning was his scratched-out 'MARINE' forehead protector worn by Marine cadets hailing from the ninja islands throughout the blue sea.
Although Boruto himself was part of the Uzu bloodline, Uzushiogakure no Sato had long been left to fade into the depths of history. However, there were still descendants of ancient Shinobi littered throughout the Marine corps (albeit with varying levels of knowledge of the ancient skill of Chakra manipulation) and the world, from islands such as Fire Island in the Grand Line, Lightning Island in the West Blue, the Mist archipelago in the New World, and so on. The tradition of wearing the forehead protector to identify one's allegiance, though rooted and shrouded in a historical mystery, persisted in those who were left to carry on the legacy of the ninja. Garp would have seen his own shitty old man wear his forehead protector when he was a cadet, Boruto thought as he began to panic. Surely, he would not…
"My new brother! Mine and Ace's!" Damn you Luffy, Boruto had thought as Luffy opened his mouth. Could you not keep your mouth shut for once, yet he was expecting it anyway; because to just butt-in to make your opinion known and not to recognise the gravitas surrounding the situation was just such a Luffy thing to do.
Garp merely let out a booming laugh. "Good! So maybe he can help me train you up to become a fine marine, brat!" He said those words whilst he had his finger inserted into his right nostril, moving about in quite a disgusting fashion.
"I'm going to be the King of the Pirates! Marines are lame anyway!"
Boruto let out a small breath. Good, Garp doesn't seem to have recognised me. Come on Luffy, keep distracting him; let him be engaged in a shouting match with you, he frantically wished.
"I will not let another grandson of mine become a despicable pirate!"
"Shut up! Pirates are cool; Marines are dorky!"
Garp began to swing his other arm back, fist closed, ready to strike Luffy. When Boruto had witnessed the immediate aftermath, he was understandably shocked. Luffy – hard-headed Luffy, impervious to all physical blows, recoiling from Garp's fist. Did Garp always infuse Armament Haki into his fists? Or was he simply that monstrous in strength?
Boruto grit his teeth as he reflected on the events of that day. Thankfully, Garp did not seem to show any signs of having heard his own declaration of dreams, for he still existed, and not as a smear on the ground. Nonetheless, the phantom pains still lingered throughout, for his body could still remember the agony Garp had inflicted on him.
All in the name of getting your grandson to become a Marine, huh?
That, Boruto thought, sounded much too similar to "Absolute Justice." For a man who displayed his distaste towards the World Nobles, he was spouting language that would be pleasing towards their ears – only if they did not know it was he who made the declaration.
Yet that was the past, a distant memory fluttering away in the winds blowing across his face, as Luffy finally finished loading up the supplies for the voyage.
"Boruto!" Luffy called out, cupping his hands over his mouth! "Let's go on our adventure!"
Chuckling, Boruto leapt from the rock towards the shoreline, his cloak fluttering in the wind as he descended. Surrounding the boat were many villagers of the Windmill village, preparing to see the two aspiring pirates off. Many of the villagers had smiles on their faces, waving and cheering for Luffy, save for a short old man, whose frown seemed to have become set on his face, his cream-coloured glasses barely constraining his worried eyes.
"Bah!" the old man, the mayor of the town, declared. "He's going to ruin the reputation of this village! It's a dishonour to the village to become a pirate!"
"Now, now, mayor," said the soothing voice of a young woman to his right. Her olive-green hair was barely hidden by a yellow kerchief. "We're all going to miss Luffy and that new friend of his!"
Just as Boruto was about to board the small rowboat, there was a loud cry and what seemed to be an approaching mass of people from the town centre.
"LUFFY!"
"Mountain bandits!" came the panicked cry from the villagers, suddenly fearing for their lives. What were the bandits of Mt. Colubo doing here? And what did they want with Luffy?
"Dadan!" Luffy happily replied! "You all came to say goodbye!"
In response to Luffy's outburst, a middle-aged woman with curly, orange hair angrily jabbed her thumb towards Boruto. "You can thank your friend for that!" She replied with an irritated tone, although her lips bore the faintest hint of a smile upon her face. The remaining bandits were more open with their well-wishes, happily saying good-byes and well-wishes next to a terrified village populace.
"Thank you very much for taking care of us!" Luffy continued rambling, as Boruto merely waved back, his right hand soon reaching for his forehead protector as his fingers ran over the etched-out "MARINE" engraving.
"Oh yeah! Dadan, I still don't like mountain bandits…"
"Shut up, you brat!"
"…but I like you guys."
Dadan suddenly began crying, desperately grabbing her handkerchief, attempting to halt the torrent of tears she began to shed upon hearing Luffy's declaration. "Stop talking nonsense already, and go away, you brat!" Were Dadan not such a large figure, holding in her other hand a large, plain axe, the villagers may have found the sight of a notorious mountain bandit sobbing as if a mother witnessing the departure of their child onto an adventure.
Jumping onto the seawater, Boruto quickly dashed towards Luffy's small boat as the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates began to set sail.
'Ace,' he began to reminisce again, 'we'll see you again!', thinking back to the final conversation between the two, the night before Portgas D. Ace set sail for his own journey to become a pirate. As Luffy lay fast asleep, outside of Dadan's hut, Ace and Boruto sat next to a campfire previously constructed by the boys, the flickering tongues of fire illuminating the dark night, Boruto's 'MARINE' forehead protector and Ace's hat – a very impressive cowboy hat, Boruto had to admit, especially with the smiley and frowny smiley adorning the headwear. Its only downside? In Boruto's opinion – that it was orange. Orange reminded him of the shitty old man.
"So, you'll be leaving soon." Boruto had begun. "To begin your journey."
"To be free." Ace had replied, still staring into the fire. "The freest person in the world." Tearing into a leg of boar meat he had set aside for the night earlier; he had pressed on with the conversation. "The world wants us dead. They don't want us to be free."
"And you're currently not free?"
"Not yet." Ace paused, before he had begun to talk again.
"And you're not going to set out on your own?"
"Who else will take care of Luffy?" Boruto laughed.
Ace let out a snort in response, before staring longingly at the fire, into the comforting light, into the warmth that irradiated from it. He couldn't really explain it. Fire always felt warm and comforting.
"You look like you still have some," he finally said.
"Regrets?"
"Is it about your old family again?" Ace couldn't help but ask at the time.
"I'm not Sabo," Boruto responded as he looked into the fire. "I…I had to leave them. But I…I still…"
Could he have ever gone back? Certainly, had he the choice not to leave his original family, he would not have. Even today, he still missed Himawari and the shitty old man, for all his own bluster. Laxus was part of the family too, he supposed, and mother…
Boruto could not help but let out a sigh. Himawari probably still thinks I'm a notorious pirate, hm? He mused, the thought weighing heavily on his mind. His once cute little sister was dangerous, especially when enraged. Why, Boruto could still remember the phantom pains from a well-placed strike Himawari landed on him for accidentally damaging an unassuming panda plush toy belonging to his sister. His sister, who, from what he heard in the newspapers as he attempted to scourge for information about just what they were doing, had become even more terrifying when she had devoured that Hoshi Hoshi no Mi (as if, Boruto thought, Himawari wasn't already scary enough, she just had to make herself even scarier) and, he realised, had many years to loathe and despise him.
After all, what other justification would there be to explain why Boruto had suddenly just disappeared from her life, only for her to next see his face stuck on a bounty poster with quite the impressive bounty?
His musings suddenly focused on that fateful moment –
"A commoner should not be in the way of a Celestial Dragon!"
Two gunshots rang out as a golden pistol, which appeared to be there simply for show, as the design looked perhaps horribly impractical otherwise, expelled wisps of smoke as black as night.
"KAA-CHAN!"
Boruto could only gape in disbelief as the two shots tore through Uzumaki Hinata, ripping the 'Justice' coat representative of a commissioned Marine officer, one bullet through each character which made the coat such a distinct symbol for the rest of the world, as blood began to drip, drip from her wounds and stain the coat…
Ace had given a long look at Boruto as he tossed away the bone from the boar leg. "We're your family now. And who cares if you're not Sabo?"
He had then whispered under his breath, "even if you sound and look very much like he did."
Boruto couldn't hold back the tears, until –
"GROUP HUG!" Luffy had come hurtling out of the hut inhabited by the Mt. Colubo bandits, rubber-arms outstretched, ready to catch the two brothers.
"LUFFY!" Ace and Boruto could only scream in pain and joy at the same time.
Boruto was suddenly pulled out of his memories as a large beast, so large the small rowboat may be merely a speck of sand within its gaze, suddenly rose from the depths of the sea. This was the 'Lord of the Coast', the name given to the 'Sea King', as it was called, lurking around the seas surrounding Windmill village. It resembled a large, oversized brown eel with blue fins and fierce vermillion eyes, which held a stern gaze. As the beast let out a mighty roar, shaking up the choppy waters, Luffy began to wind up his arm, ready to strike.
"Gomu Gomu no…"
"Allow me instead, Luffy."
"But I want to fight it," whined Luffy pitifully, looking quite like a kicked puppy denied food, with his pouting expression and quivering lips, almost enough for Boruto to acquiesce – except that Boruto had enough character – that, and experience with Luffy's tricks – to deny his request.
"You can have the next fight, Luffy." Boruto acquiesced as he drew his straight sword. Focusing on it, closing his eyes for a second, lightning sparks suddenly began to dance throughout the blade. As the Sea King, with open mouth, prepared to devour the newly minted pirates, Boruto's voice suddenly felt cold, as he muttered.
"Sword art: Blade of a thousand chirping birds"
Immediately as he swung the blade, what appeared to be a lightning blade suddenly ripped through the head of the Lord of the Coast, leaving behind a decapitated body which began to sink into the sea, its blood dispersing throughout, yet forming many mesmerising patterns throughout the seawater.
"SO COOL!" Luffy shouted, and were those stars in his eyes? Certainly, his enthusiasm began to shine through his eyes. Yet this continued enthusiasm was not to be, for a large whirlpool began to come into the sight of both Boruto and Luffy. How could the small rowboat escape from the massive vortex threatening to consume the boat, trapping them into the deep abyss?
Coby was scared.
Now, this statement may seem quite out of place with all else that has been happening on the East Blue sea as of now. The East Blue was reputed to be the calmest of the Blue Seas, with little disturbances, and even less so from pirate activity. Nor were there any supernatural natural disasters, or perhaps just natural disasters, or even disasters in general, for when was the last time anyone heard of a hurricane strike through East Blue?
Except Coby was a scrawny kid whose expression was comparable to a man always afraid of their own shadow, quite chubby, with pink hair – not unlike the colour of the Sakura blossoms, but not that good-looking, and round-frame glasses which only contributed even more so to his pitiful appearance. Moreover, he was on a pirate ship, with pirates, forced to act as a pirate – against his will, mind you, for his dream was to become a marine, a servant of justice.
It was all an accident, and laughably funny if retold again and again – Coby wasn't enslaved or abducted by pirates, as many individuals on pirate ships were and pirates were oft to do – rather, he simply embarked on the wrong boat, confusing a pirate's scout ship for a fishing boat. Hence, Coby found himself currently exiting the kitchen of a cruise ship the pirate crew he was shanghaied into had attacked, rolling a large barrel across the corridor. However, he did not continue in his task for long, as he was soon accosted by three men who entered the corridor through a door to the side.
The first was quite stocky, of considerable build and stature, with a tattoo running from his forehead to right cheek in addition to one emblazoned on his right arm. He was accompanied by a gruff, unshaven man with even wider build – you could see his belly hanging from his striped shirt, which was straining quite hard already from holding itself together, and a lanky blond man, taller than the other two by perhaps a head, and barely slightly better-dressed (for how much an actual shirt counts, anyway)
"Hey, coward!" the second yelled at Coby. "Are ya hidin' out in a place like this again?"
"N-No!" Came Coby's fearful stammer. "I thought I'd haul this big barrel of alcohol over…"
The stockier pirates chuckled. "We'll lighten it for ya!" They began to reach for the barrel.
"I was just feelin' thirsty!" The lanky blond pirate acknowledged.
"Y-You can't!" Coby began to hyperventilate. "Master Alvida will kill us if she…"
But just what exactly would make Alvida kill Coby and three of her pirate crew would not be revealed, as Coby would stare in shock at the sight of all three pirates' heads suddenly being sliced off in a clean stroke. The bodies would fall forward, collapsing onto the ground, crimson red blood spurting out from their necks before pooling, beginning to seep into the ship.
Coby's shock only grew further upon the sight of an imposing cloaked figure, whose dark cloak only stopped concealing a wicked blade stained with splotches of blood as the man sheathed his blade. He was quite scary, Coby thought as he began to shiver, as his eyes were concealed by that metal strip around his forehead. Was he going to die here too? He clenched his fists. I don't want it to end like this, he desperately pleaded…
"Oi, Luffy!" The figure cried out, kicking the barrel quite violently, although not enough to shatter it.
Immediately afterwards, a figure immediately shot out of the barrel, completely shattering the lid.
"Ah!" The figure exclaimed, revealing a young man, boyish even. How did this youthful-looking person with the worn, old straw hat, short blue pants folded up to knee-high and a bright crimson vest revealing, well, perhaps nothing else other than an unassuming figure to the world, and really just contributing to the 'I'm very much harmless' vibe he was getting from the young man, know that…that…cold blooded murderer, with blonde hair; it's sun-like appearance probably the only cheerful feature he held at the moment, as a black cloak prevented Coby from really seeing anything else – not that Coby wanted to, for Coby was still shaking quite heavily at the sight. "I slept great!" continued the straw-hat wearing pirate. Coby could not help but let his mouth hang down as he struggled to comprehend the situation. Here was another young man, who knows you and is very much dangerous, likely to be angry at you for some reason, and oh, I don't know, very much ARMED AND DANGEROUS, and your first reaction is I SLEPT GREAT?
The above was what Coby wanted to shout. However, he recognised that no, Coby, it is not wise to immediately throw your life away like this just yet, don't do anything stupid…
He did not need to, for it would seem the two newcomers had begun to do it themselves.
"I'm hungry!" Yelled the straw-hat wearing young man, before immediately being slapped, crashing into the walls forming the corridor within the ship.
"Oi, Boruto!" the slapped young man yelled, although Coby idly noted, whilst still shivering and listening to the rest of his body telling him run, run, get the hell out of here and don't ever come back, that he did not suffer any injury, no bruise nor scrape even after the force of that impact, "what the hell was that for?"
"I could have gotten us away from the whirlpool, Luffy." The now named Boruto replied, seething.
"No you couldn't." Luffy simply retorted as he picked his nose. "Your cat-ra wouldn't have helped us get out anyway…"
"Chakra, Luffy."
"That's what I said."
Coby wanted to gape in disbelief. He had noticed earlier that giant whirlpool – hence why Alvida had chosen to lie in wait for just a bit longer, when the cruise ship that they were currently attacking had been much closer, just behind the large rock where the Miss Love Duck had lay in wait, was also next to that large maelstrom. And to talk of getting away from that? What supernatural powers did these individuals perhaps hold?
"Whatever," the now-named Luffy continued to wiggle his finger within his left nostril. "I'm hungry. Where's the food on this ship?"
Stammering, Coby could only look on in despair as Luffy and Boruto made quite the ruckus…eugh, the heads of the decapitated pirates were still rolling around and the blood-stains spreading throughout the ship. He wanted to ask, to question ever so desperately, how could the two be so carefree, bickering and biting along the way during their search for food, when there were still so many more pirates, not unlike those so easily dispatched by the menacing cloaked figure. Yet he could not bring himself to raise his voice as his teeth continued to chatter and strike repeatedly, whilst beads of sweat – although it was not blistering hot – coalesced onto his forehead, beginning to run down his skin. If there was one thing which kept Coby alive all these years, it was self-preservation; a skill he morbidly observed to be maintaining his life right now.
Eventually, once the trio reached the storage cellar of the ship – it was not that big, although it was a cruise ship, perhaps the voyage of the ship was not to be long, for there were not that many supplies stored in the dank space. Entering, Luffy soon broke into a crate full of apples, hungrily stuffing them into his mouth as Boruto calmly chewed on a bread-loaf, thankfully still soft, pried from another crate.
"M…My name is Coby," Coby began to stutter out, but only found himself being ignored by Luffy, quite rudely so, he believed, though he would not dare to complain, not in the face of sudden yet silent danger.
"Is this a pirate ship?" Luffy tried to ask as he continued to stuff apples into his maw.
Somehow, Coby found himself responding, although he would not be able to understand just how exactly he managed to decipher Monkey D. Luffy's gibberish. "No, no," Coby bit out, still shaking. "This is a cruise ship being raided by pirates."
"Okay." Luffy nodded slightly, barely even a registered movement, more so a slight jerk of the head. "Doesn't matter anyway. Are there any boats onboard?"
Not willing to continue the conversation just yet, Coby settled for a panicked nod, though Luffy was in front of him, crouched over, only showing his back as fragments of apple skin and flesh flew from where he was squatting.
"He says yes," came the clipped reply of Boruto.
"Why are you two here?" Coby finally asked after a long silence – to him anyway, as though he was silent, the sounds of Luffy's chewing continued to permeate through the otherwise silent cellar.
"Oh, our dinghy was destroyed in a whirlpool…" Ah, so that was why they were discussing it earlier…destroyed? Coby could only continue to gape. It was not possible! To survive in a small barrel whilst your small, rickety boat, perhaps unable to survive even a large ocean current, was swallowed by that giant maelstrom? The two were much more daring than he, much more courageous, not like him, who simply embarked onto the wrong boat and was shanghaied into the Alvida Pirate crew, forced to be her personal chore boy.
(Both Luffy and Boruto expressed their displeasure and disappointment at Coby's misadventures, to Coby's eternal shame and embarrassment. Quite laughable, really, to not notice pirates next to a small boat you attempted to go boating in.)
"If only I had the courage to drift the ocean in a barrel…" Coby murmured, his face downcast. "There's actually something I want to do, too…" He stopped for another moment, before tentatively raising his head, although he still could not bear to look Luffy in his eyes, much less the darker, scarier Boruto who had casually slaughtered three grown men, (yes, they were pirates, but still).
"Umm… What compelled you to set out onto the seas?"
"I'm going to become the King of the Pirates!" Luffy happily replied, his smile arranging itself into a goofy grin as his eyes closed, almost as he was imagining his dream at the same time.
"King…King of the Pirates?" Coby's mouth hung open.
"Yup."
"Are you serious?"
"'Course he is." Boruto replied this time.
"So, you're a pirate, Luffy?"
"Yep."
"What about your crew?"
"Oh!" Luffy jabbed his thumb at Boruto. "He's my first mate! But we're just about to look for more comrades."
Coby was even more flabbergasted. "He's your first mate." He deadpanned as he pointed at Boruto.
"Yeah, I am, so what?" Boruto's face began to show his displeasure, as his lips began to twitch.
"You're scarier than Luffy."
"Someone's got to take care of this idiot."
"Oi! Boruto!"
"Shut up! You knew it, and so did Ace!"
Coby continued to stare in shock as the two pirates began to tussle and play-fight, throwing punches and kicks throughout, albeit not in any ordered manner, limbs tangled and hands tugging at cheeks. King of the Pirates?
"…The title given to the one who obtains everything in this world", he squeaked, "and you're both seeking the great treasure of wealth, fame and power…"
Luffy and Boruto both nodded whilst holding each other by the scruffs of their necks, fists cocked back, ready to strike.
"The One Piece!" Coby began to panic again, arms waving around wildly. "Pirates all over the world are after that treasure!"
"Us too!"
"No way! No way, no way, no way!" Strangely, Coby found himself starting to warm up to these two young pirates. They seemed to give off an air of camaraderie and belonging, even with their frequent disagreements – nay, perhaps they resembled a comic and his straight-man, save for their declaration that they were indeed pirates. He didn't want them to just needlessly throw their life away, not for a treasure definitely sought after by the most powerful pirates in the seas, who, to this day, are no closer to obtaining One Piece than they were since the death of Gold Roger.
"There's no way you can stand at the apex of this Great Pirate Era! No way, no w…"
He was interrupted before he could finish. Two fists struck his head, one from each side, sending Coby face-first into the wooden planks of the cellar.
"Why did you hit me?" Luckily for Coby, he did not seem to suffer any major injuries from the impact.
"Just because," was Luffy's nonchalant reply.
"It's alright," Coby began to murmur to himself again. "I guess I'm used to it now…". He let out a nervous chuckle.
"For Luffy," Boruto began again, having resumed munching on the loaf of bread, for he had earlier discarded it during the short scuffle, "it's not about whether he can or not. He's going to do whatever he wants to do, because he's just too stubborn to take no for an answer, even if it is the entire world against him."
Coby, from where he was kneeling on the floor-boards, titled his head up to see Luffy look fondly at his hat – the tattered straw-hat with a red band, worn over time, grains of salt littered around the straw fibres forming the hat.
"I've decided to become the Pirate King," Luffy's voice began to pick up, as if he were asserting his will through his voice. "So, if I die fighting for that, that's fine with me!"
"What about you?" Coby asked Boruto as he finished gobbling the loaf of bread he had been eating earlier.
Boruto gave a small smile – which, to Coby, looked quite scary nonetheless, and shook his head.
"Maybe next time. What's your dream?"
Coby gulped. Though his confidence had been somewhat restored after encountering the two aspiring pirates, he still began to waver ever so slightly…before he decided to steel his resolve. Just as Luffy and Boruto began arguing about whether they would ask for a boat (as Luffy simply jubilantly thought that asking would be fine) or commandeer one (for, as Boruto put it, they were dealing with pirates, so it would be best not to try and be bogged down as such; naturally, Luffy insisted that they should ask, because it was the right thing to do, and one thing led to another, thus beginning another fist-fight), he finally spoke up, with a tinge of hope finally worming its way into his voice.
"Do you suppose I can do it, too? If I'm prepared to die for it?"
"What?" Luffy interrupted his argument, both he and Boruto turning their heads.
"To join the Marines?"
"Marines?" Was Coby hallucinating, or did he notice frostiness creep into Boruto's words?
"Catching bad guys is my dream!" Coby proclaimed, fists clenched tight, as if to hype himself up. "It's been my dream ever since I was little! Do you think I can do it?"
"How should I know?" Luffy chuckled.
Boruto, however, closed his eyes. Contrasting his earlier statement, he opened them again to speak almost nostalgically. "Heh. I had that same dream too. Look how that turned out, kid." He began turning back to leave the cellar with Luffy, tapping the forehead-protector, drawing Coby's attention to the etched out "Marine" on the metal plate.
Coby was intrigued. There seemed to be a significance to the plate, although what exactly, he did not know. However, any further musings were interrupted as the roof of the ship's cellar suddenly broke open to reveal the form of a massive woman who was dressed in a plaid shirt coloured a dull pink, white trousers, a purple sash, with jewels of varying colours and cut and a flintlock sickeningly decorated with love hearts tucked in, the sash barely holding itself together around her considerable bulk. Covering all of that was a Prussian-blue captain's coat with golden trim, although it indeed clashed horribly with her nails polished the most disgusting shade of vermillion and her white cowboy hat with an equally horrific crimson plume stuck into the brim of the hat. Perhaps the only menacing features of the brute were to be found on the face; the freckles and pudgy looks sure to induce nightmares.
"I was wondering just what happened to Peppoko and Poppoko, those lazy bums." The figure growled out as she hefted her large steel mace over her shoulder. Coby began shivering, retreating into himself upon hearing the cruel voice which tormented him for so many years. "And I find you conspiring to capture me, huh, Coby?"
As the remaining Alvida Pirates began to gather around the hole created at their captain's whim, the large woman shifted her gaze from the hapless cabin boy, who was doing his very best to appear insignificant, to the two strange individuals who had the audacity to defy Alvida, the most beautiful woman on all the seas…
"None of you seem to be Pirate Hunter Zoro." She grinned. "Coby! Who's the most beautiful woman on all the seas?"
"Of-of course it would be…" Coby began to stutter out but was interrupted.
"Hey, Coby, who's this fat hag?"
The Alvida pirate crew, sans their enraged captain, all found their jaws dropping in shock. Did the kid have a death wish, they wondered. Did he not see the massive mace carried by their captain, for which she was so renowned for?
"You RUNT!" Alvida, enraged, began to swing her mace around with reckless abandon. Laughing, Luffy simply jumped up to the upper deck of the cruise liner through the very hole Alvida created, carrying a screaming Coby up, Boruto joining him a short moment later.
The multitude of pirates soon found themselves overwhelmed, as frantic sword strikes which failed to cut at anything but empty space found their initiators met by well-placed punches and kicks, all whilst Boruto stayed back to watch with Coby.
"Aren't you going to help out?" Coby was worried for Luffy's safety, and Boruto could definitely fight, so what was he doing?
"I promised him he'd have the next fight earlier."
Soon, the remaining pirates, having decided they may gain the advantage by all attempting to rush Luffy, quickly became astonished as the arm which grabbed one of the masts of the ship suddenly began to stretch beyond normal human limits as Luffy continued to run away from the horde, until he came to a sudden stop.
"Gotcha!"
Immediately, he suddenly began to retract his outstretched arm as he entered a pose, ready to strike at the now-rapidly fleeing pirates suddenly feeling very much out of their element, for they had never seen anything like what they had just witnessed, resembling fanciful tales told by drunken sailors in bars; the pirate horde was scattered, sent fleeing as Luffy's body crashed into the horde from the momentum created by his stretchy arms.
Alvida was enraged even further. How dare this upstart call her hag and thrash her pirate crew just like that? This devil fruit eater (it should be noted that Alvida was much more knowledgeable than her crew of nitwits, for she had at least heard of the rumours) dared to challenge her?
"So, you're a devil fruit eater, huh?"
Luffy laughed as he pulled at his cheek. "Yep! I'm a rubber man! Ate the Gomu Gomu no Mi. (Gum-Gum Fruit)".
"And your friend?" She found herself interested in the silent young man, who stared back.
"Nothing of the sort," he began, though Luffy quickly interrupted.
"He's a ninja!"
Alvida snorted. Ninja? Ninja were just the fantasies of boys! There were no ninja! However, she decided to entertain this pirate before he would meet his end.
"Then are you bounty hunters together? You and the ninja?"
"We're pirates!"
"Hah! Just the two of you?"
"We're looking for more." Boruto chimed in, as his had began to stray towards his waistband, holding his straight sword.
"Yeah! Around ten others sounds good to me!"
"We probably will need twelve more."
Alvida's harsh chuckle broke the small upcoming argument. "So you're both pirates too, huh? Then you and me are enemies, eh?"
Coby, who at this point had retreated to the relative safety of being behind Luffy, began to frantically whisper to Luffy. "Let's get out of here!"
"Why?"
"You saw how powerful her mace is! In these waters, she's the most…"
"Most?"
Boruto could not hold back the snickers which had long threatened to sneak out from his mouth. That Alvida would be considered anywhere close to being the most powerful in the East Blue was absurd. In fact, not even the heavyweights, Don Krieg, Buggy, Arlong…they were no major threats, not with him around. Continuing to laugh, Boruto simply reached into his cloak, before tossing out a piece of paper.
The paper itself was quite old; its edges were worn and crinkled, and the colours stained a dull, earthy yellow. However, the text and image did not fade, but were rather clear. Curious, both Coby and Alvida looked down at the poster, only to gasp in shock:
WANTED
DEAD OR ALIVE
UZUMAKI BORUTO
130,000,000 BERRIES
The poster was most certainly the real deal. Coby, inexplicably, found himself suddenly swell with courage; unlike the reactions of many people who would be told of a wanted man worth ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY MILLION BERRIES in their presence. To Coby, however, this was his chance. Alvida is nothing, he realised. He survived the presence of this extremely dangerous person. Where did Alvida, with her five million berry bounty, stand against Boruto?
"The most ugly, cragged old hag ever!"
As Luffy and Boruto began snickering anew, Alvida gnashed her teeth. Coby would pay dearly for his defiance!
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?"
"I'm going to join the Marines! And then I'm going to beat up pirates!"
Alvida's face looked almost demonic. "Do you even know what you're saying?"
"I have no regrets!" Coby shouted, the passion tangible. "I'm gonna do what I want to do! I'll join the Marines and catch your lousy ass!"
"YOU DAMN BRAT!" Alvida swung her mace downwards, livid, boiling over with rage.
Coby closed his eyes, waiting for his inevitable death. This was it, huh? The end of my dream. But I said it, he thought. No more regrets.
His death never came.
Alvida's mace was suddenly reduced to a steel shaft as he completed her downward swing, the remainder of her iron mace sent flying from the momentum produced with the downward strike. Looking up, Coby saw the grinning face of Boruto – and goodness, was that unsettling – his sword wreathed in sparking lightning.
"Well said, Coby!" Boruto jumped back, the lightning no longer dancing on his straight sword as Luffy had finished stretching back his right forearm.
"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!"
Luffy's arm began to contract as he turned his body around, before thrusting a heavy punch into Alvida's chest, launching her into the air, her landing unseen. Coby and the pirates fortunate enough to have already returned to the Miss Love Duck could not conceal their awe. Pirates this strong, in the East Blue, laughingly considered the weakest of all the seas?
(Though perhaps the more well-read observers would have remembered this sea produced monsters such as Gold Roger and Monkey D. Garp)
Such was their amazement at the sight, they could only meekly accept Luffy's absurd demand to give Coby a small boat to let him join the Marines. Pirates, wilfully helping individuals become Marines? How absurd!
"Luffy…" Coby wanted to speak up, but his musings and any move to thank his newfound friends were suddenly stilled by three cannonballs striking the surrounding waters of the cruise liner.
For in the distance were three Marine ships, of a classification commonly seen throughout the Blue Seas, not like the fearsome battleships seen in the Grand Line. Rather, these appeared to be cruisers, with six sails, all white in colour, contrasting with the rather ugly blue-green of the Marines. The ships were nonetheless well-armed, with four heavy cannons fixed at the bow, and the flanks outfitted with six smaller guns at the sides.
"Great timing!" Luffy laughed as he began to climb onto the railing of the ship. "You should go see them!"
Boruto simply grabbed Coby, as Coby suddenly let out a shrill scream. "Luffy you moron! Coby can't just join the Marines like this!"
"But Grandpa would be cool with it." Luffy stubbornly insisted. Grandpa? Coby was now curious. What did Luffy's grandfather have to do with the Marines?
"Your grandfather," Boruto drawled out, "is a weird old man. Any other Marine would probably have arrested Coby on the spot."
Fortunately for the nascent pirate crew, there were plenty of small sail-boats lying around, although not considerably better than Luffy's original vessel. Eventually, having escaped the small flotilla, Luffy and Boruto found themselves relaxing, one lying next to the mast, the other at the bow, looking towards the seas. Coby, frantically looking around the ship, felt compelled to again speak up.
"If you're going for the One Piece,"
"Definitely."
"…that means you're going to the Grand Line, right?"
"Yeah."
"Of course."
"You do know it is called the 'Pirate Graveyard,' right?"
"Sure."
"Where do you think I came from?"
Coby just looked down. Of course, the hundred and thirty million Berry ninja would be from the Grand Line, because that was where any manner of strong person just seemed to come from, and he would never be that strong, for he was just from the Blues, - suddenly, his train of thought derailed with a resounding punch from Luffy.
"Why did you hit me this time?"
"You were acting mopey." Luffy began to wiggle his finger into his right nostril. "But that's why we need a strong crew. What about the Pirate Hunter guy?"
"His name's Zoro." Boruto murmured.
"Yeah, him!"
"I heard he's being held prisoner at a Marine base." Coby answered.
"A weakling?"
"Is he really worth our time?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, mister-hundred-and-thirty-million," Coby finally snapped, "not everyone is as strong as you, okay? Zoro is as terrifying as a demon to us normal people, alright?" Letting himself greedily gulp deep breaths of air, he continued, in a more subdued tone, the realisation of who he was mouthing of too quickly closing him off.
"Why are you asking about him, anyway?"
"Shishishishi!" Luffy cackled. "Nice backbone! Thought I might have him join my crew if he's a good guy!"
"HUH?"
"Luffy, remember our deal."
"Hence why I said if he's a good guy!"
Coby was puzzled. Zoro must have been caught because he was a bad guy! Right? …right?
He left his question unasked as Luffy and Boruto bickered all the way as they sailed towards Shells Town in the Yotsuba Islands of the East Blue.
Ah...writing, so fun, yet so demanding. Don't expect updates even this frequently anymore. When I put the first and second chapters up I was about halfway through this chapter. However, that is not the main announcement. Jinbe?
Jinbe: Right! Similar to Oda-Sensei and the One Piece Manga, Author-san will also be introducing an SBS (質問を募集する Shitsumon o Boshū Suru, "I'm Taking Questions") for his story! Please direct your questions about this story either via review or PM.
Hopefully this chapter is worth it for you guys! Again, please read and review.