Disclaimer – One Piece is owned by its individual creator and those who claim ownership under copyright.
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One Piece - Freedom
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East Blue Arc
Chapter 6 : A Scar That Reminds! His Name Is Jack
0o0o0 East Blue - Middle of the Ocean: The Going Merry 0o0o0
"What the hell is that?" Nami asked as she and Ussop watched Luffy fiddle around with one of their spare flags and some paint.
"It's our Jolly Roger!" Luffy proudly proclaimed, picking up his finished masterpiece to show off.
On the black flag was a horrendously drawn skull and crossbones with what one could assume was a straw-hat. "Isn't it great!?"
"Hahahahahaha!" Ussop couldn't contain himself as he began to laugh at his captain's lack of artistic ability.
"It's at least scary," Zoro commented from the bow where he was training, looking over to see what had Ussop cracking up.
"It's bad enough I'm sailing around as a pirate, I refuse to have… that be the Jolly Roger people associate me with." Nami crossed her arms in disgust.
"What do you mean? It's a great Jolly Roger!" Luffy tried to defend.
"No. It's not," Nami deadpanned. "It's anything but that."
"It is too!" Luffy yelled at her.
"It sucks," Zoro chimed in, causing the straw-hat wearing captain to stare up at his first-mate with a look of betrayal.
"Luffy, Luffy, Luffy, I'm just going to say it. You have no talent whatsoever. But what you do have is the master artist Ussop the Magnificent! People would come from all over the world to my galleries just to see even a glance of my masterpieces. 'It changed my life!' is what they all cried. 'I now know what true happiness looks like!' was the sentiment they left with! You let Ussop the Puissant Painter handle this!" Ussop wrapped his arm around Luffy's shoulders and led him away from the stack of flags and paint the lightning man had gathered. "Now just wait here and I'll have created the grandest Jolly Roger you'll ever see!"
"Wow really!?" Luffy rebounded with stars in his eyes.
"This should be good," Nami commented, rolling her eyes at Ussop's exaggerations.
Not 10 minutes later did Ussop hold up another flag with a much better rendition of Luffy's version, save for the elongated nose. "Behold my pièce de résistance!"
Luffy, Nami, and Zoro all gave him a blank stare with a raised eyebrow. "You knew you were going to have to change it," Nami chastised.
"Oh come on! I already gave up on being captain, let me have this!" Ussop tried to argue but buckled under the pressure of their stares. "Fine! Just give me a minute to adjust it."
"Was that really so hard?" Nami asked as they all stared down at the grinning Jolly Roger wearing a straw-hat.
Ussop ignored her and turned to Luffy. "Well what do you think? Am I good or am I good?"
"Yeah! It's pretty good! I really like it!" Luffy grinned.
"So this is our mark huh?" Zoro remarked.
"Yosh! With this the Straw-hat Pirates are officially formed!" Luffy declared. "Now go draw the same thing on the sail as well, Ussop!"
"Right!"
0o0o0o0o0o0
"I can't believe we're giving you Kaya's cabin," Ussop grumbled as he, Nami, and Luffy emerged from below deck after inspecting the few rooms the Going Merry offered.
"Well I wanted the Captain's quarters, but someone refuses to let me have it!" Nami pointedly glared at Luffy.
"I offered to share! Besides as Captain, I get the Captain's quarters. You're the one that doesn't want to sleep in the same room as me," Luffy shrugged, not really understanding her issue.
"It's because you reek! When was the last time you showered? Not to mention that it's unbecoming for a lady such as myself to share a bedroom with a man!" Nami yelled, gnashing her teeth.
"I don't need to shower. I can turn into lightning, remember? You're probably just smelling the ozone," Luffy commented offhandedly.
"Well it reeks. You're taking a bath every day to wash off that smell," Nami ordered.
"You know, you sound more and more like his wife with each passing day." Zoro, who had opted to remain above deck to start his daily training, smirked as the witch became flustered and red faced. Knowing he'd break into a sweat, the green-haired swordsman had removed his shirt and had been swinging one of his black-sheathed swords back and forth in lieu of having any weights to lift.
"Shut up!"
"So, everything look good down there?" Zoro stopped his training to turn to Luffy.
"Yeah. You'll be bunking with Ussop and any other male crewmates we pick up along the way. Nami's getting Kaya's old cabin and I'm taking the Captain's quarters. We also have a storage room for supplies in addition to the kitchen. Not too big, but it'll do nicely," Luffy answered.
"Mm," Zoro grunted, going back to his training session.
"Right, now that we've taken stock of the ship, it's time I take stock of my crew!" Luffy hollered, making his three crewmates turn to him.
"Take stock?" Ussop questioned cautiously.
"That's right. As much fun as Shanks' crew had, they worked even harder. Whether it was taking care of their ship, the Red Force, or fulfilling their duties they did everything with 1000% effort. I was shown how to care for the ship, how to use a ton of weapons, and… how to get stronger." Luffy gave them all an evil grin.
Nami's eyes widened as she realized what was about to happen. "No. Absolutely not! I'm a navigator, not some muscle-head like that moss-head over there!" Nami pointed at Zoro, only to eep as Luffy gave her his full attention.
"And we have a volunteer! I was hoping to start with you, you need the most work!" Nami was already attempting to run back below the deck before Luffy even finished.
Turning to Ussop, Luffy held his almost demonic grin. "Don't go anywhere. I'll be right back~," he almost sang, before he faded from existence - only to reappear in front of the door to below deck, forcing Nami to halt in her tracks. "You can try to run, but there's really no point in hiding. Don't worry, we'll only be doing a warm up. It's only 500 sit-ups, 500 push-ups, 500 squats, and 20 Kilometer run around the ship or until you drop. It'll be over before you know it."
"Luffy, let's be reasonable about this. I couldn't do 50 sit-ups let alone 500 of them." Nami suddenly pushed herself against him sensually and ran a finger up and down his vested chest. "You know, I'm sure we could find a much more… pleasurable way to get all worked up, Captain." She lovingly batted her eyes at him.
"Oh? So you do want to share rooms then." Luffy smirked as Nami suddenly recoiled only to find herself thrown over his shoulder. "But we can work that out later. For now, we have sit-ups to do."
Nami thrashed as hard as she could against Luffy's iron-tight grip around her waist in order to break free. "Let me go this instant!"
Ussop, on the other hand, felt like he'd made a massive mistake in accepting Luffy's offer as he slowly got into position to begin the hardest training session of his life.
Zoro continued to swing his sword, ignoring the antics of his Captain. "800. 801. 802. 803…"
0o0o0 Several Hours Later 0o0o0
"Please kill me…" Ussop hung over the side of the Going Merry, his soul attempting to leave his aching body through his mouth. Never in his life had he ever felt so sore. This had been nothing like the various few times he'd attempted to work out on his own.
Lifting his head, Ussop turned to look where his fellow torture victim was laying, and saw Nami panting on her back in the middle of the ship's deck. Painfully he scanned the rest of the deck and noticed Zoro and Luffy having a conversation by the bow.
"So Benn tells- Hmm? Oh looks like they finished." Luffy, who was covered in sweat himself, smiled at the two dead weights on dying on his ship's deck. "I'll finish telling you later. You two still alive?" Luffy yelled at them.
"GO TO HELL!" Nami barked, unable to pick herself up.
"Please just kill me…" Ussop whimpered pathetically.
"Oh come on guys it wasn't that bad. Why the first time I trained with the Red-Hairs they made me do double what you guys did. And I definitely had to do a lot more exercises. I didn't even have my devil fruit yet."
"We're not a monster like you!" Nami cried out in agony.
"Give it time, you'll get there." Luffy turned to Zoro and thumbed at Ussop. "Go get that one. Doesn't seem like they're going to move any time soon."
"Heh, I don't think they'll be moving for a month after this." Both Zoro and Luffy walked down from the bow and went to pick up their tired crewmates.
Nami froze as Luffy became the only thing she saw. "Please don't make us do anymore."
"Don't worry. You're done. You did a good job." Luffy went to lean down and pick her up, only for Nami to stop him with a glare.
"Please remove that disgusting rag you call a shirt. I'm covered in enough sweat as it is."
Shrugging, he pulled his vest over his head and threw it carelessly across the deck, only to hear Nami gasp at the sight of his abdomen.
"What the hell happened to you!?" Nami's eyes widened at the sight of a massive scar that took up a major portion of the right side of his torso. The scar seemed to be a half-circle that reached from the front to the back, almost as if someone had ripped a piece out from his flesh and put it back.
Before Luffy could respond he had Nami inspecting his front and back and found that the scar completely encircled the right side of his torso. "Luffy…"
"Whoa! The hell happened to you?" Both Luffy and Nami looked over at Ussop who was being held up by Zoro.
"Did you win?" was all Zoro asked.
"I survived." Luffy sighed, and shifted uncomfortably as all three of his crewmates stared at his scar.
"Survived? This isn't the type of wound you get up and walk away from! How could you possibly survive something like this?" Nami stared up at him, concern in her eyes.
"If not for the doctor on Shanks' crew… well I ate my devil fruit a little bit after I got this," Luffy gestured at the scar, a far away look in his eyes. "If not for that I definitely would not be here now."
His crew just stared at him, waiting for him to explain further. "This scar… it's the reason I'm going to push you all further than you think you can go. I should've died back then. I wasn't ready to face a force like that. But I wanted to prove myself so badly to Shanks that I became reckless. I risked not just my own life, but the lives of those around me. This scar reminds me daily that I'm not invincible. I can die. So I'm going to become as strong as possible so that never happens again. And if you're willing, I'll help all of you become as strong as possible as well." A silence fell over the crew. "Anyway, that's going to be your warm-up from now on! Tomorrow we'll go over what you'll do after!"
All 3 Straw-hat pirates fell over at the sudden enthusiasm Luffy was displaying.
"You can't just add even more to that monster work-out!" Ussop cried, still leaning on Zoro for support.
"Of course I can, I'm the Captain!" Luffy bellowed as he laughed to himself.
"Ugh, just when you're starting to make me feel sympathetic towards you." Nami rolled her eyes, struggling to stand on her own. "I'm going to go get clean and refreshed. One of you better have something cooked when I'm done! I've made more than enough meals for you lazy bums as it is!" Nami then attempted to hobble away only to find herself in her Captain's arms once again.
"Don't push yourself. I'll take you down." Luffy smiled at her, causing her to blush. Before he could head below deck, Zoro called out to him.
"What was his name?"
"Hmm?" Luffy turned with a raised brow.
"The one that gave you that scar, what was his name?"
Luffy stared at his swordsman for a moment. "Jack the Drought. And if you ever meet him… run." Luffy turned, Nami in his arms, and headed down below deck.
Zoro stood there briefly with Ussop staring into the doorway that his Captain disappeared through. "We seriously need to find a church for those two to get hitched at."
"That's your take away!? We get told by our seemingly godlike Captain to run away from a guy and all you can focus on is getting him married?" Ussop stared at Zoro in disbelief.
"Those two have been trying to hump one another since they met. As of right now that's more of a problem than this Jack guy. Besides… if we ever do meet him, I'll cut him down."
"You're nuts."
"And you're making dinner." Zoro then unceremoniously dropped Ussop and walked away, leaving the sniper to crawl his way up to the kitchen.
"Yeah. I definitely should've stayed with Kaya."
0o0o0o0o0o0
"You know you'll catch a cold just laying out here like that," Luffy said as he approached Nami, who was now laying out on the bow of the ship, staring up at the stars.
Dinner had been a standard affair of them all gathered for the "Magnifique Ussop" and his 5 star cuisine that no chef for a thousand nautical miles could compare too. Although it was nothing more than a simple chicken soup that he served, the meal had still been enjoyed by all. The crew of 4 had spent some time talking, trying to decide what their next move would be, but with two members dead tired from their earlier training and Zoro falling asleep it was decided that they should all head to bed and reconvene the next day.
"Says the guy in shorts and a red vest. Those aren't still the same ones you wore earlier right?" Nami asked, having not seen him wear anything else before.
"No. Kaya's staff gave me some more clothes before we left. I think they realized Zoro and I didn't have anything on the boat we commandeered from Buggy," Luffy said as he laid down next to his navigator. "Man, I haven't looked up at the stars in a long time. Reminds me of when my brothers and I would do this."
Nami turned her head to stare at Luffy in surprise. "I didn't think you had any brothers. Or are you referring to some pirate brotherhood you formed with the Red Hairs?"
"No. My actual brothers. Ace and… Sabo."
"Ace and Sabo," Nami said both names, committing them to memory. "And where are they?"
Luffy closed his eyes before replying. "Ace is out on the Grand Line somewhere. He's been pirating for 3 years now. He's the one that left me with Shanks' crew. As for Sabo… he's gone."
"You mean…" Nami didn't need to finish as Luffy nodded his head.
"It happened a long time ago."
"I'm sorry."
"It's fine. So do you have any siblings?" Luffy opened his eyes and turned his head to look at her.
Nami paused at the question. She'd never told anyone about Nojiko before. Out of the countless times she'd wormed her way into pirate crews and robbed them blind, she'd never once spoken a word about having family. Her cover was always that she was a street rat trying to make it in a cruel world on her own. There was no one waiting for her. Yet she couldn't stop the words from leaving her lips.
"Yes. I have a sister, Nojiko. I haven't seen her in a long while. I think about her quite often. She's always tending to our moth-" Nami stopped mid sentence and began to look anywhere but Luffy.
Luffy continued to stare at her before turning to look at the stars. "Shanks is the closest thing I have to a parent. When I first met him, I thought he was so cool. I tried to impress him and make him let me join his crew by stabbing myself below the eye."
That caused Nami to immediately look back at him. "You really are an idiot aren't you?"
"Well, I was 7 at the time. I thought proving I was brave and really a man would show Shanks I had what it took to be a pirate. But yeah, that was a really stupid thing to do looking back on it."
"It was a really stupid thing period."
"I got a cool scar out of it though!" Luffy laughed only to get lightly hit by his navigator.
"Hurting yourself is not cool."
"Yeah, it's not. Shanks made it pretty clear that I hadn't proven myself by getting me to drink some juice and claiming that a real man wouldn't drink juice. That got a laugh from his crew. That was when Shanks showed me what a real man is."
"And what does a Yonko think a real man is?"
Luffy chuckled before continuing. "One day a mountain bandit and his group barged into the bar Shanks liked to hang out at and demanded that the remaining alcohol be sold to him and his bandits. The barmaid, Makino, told him that unfortunately they were all out of alcohol but had water and various juice. When the bandit looked around and saw that Shanks' crew all had drinks he asked what they were drinking. Shanks stepped in then, and apologized, explaining that his crew had bought out the bar, but was more than happy to share what booze was left, offering a bottle to him. The bandit sneered at him before grabbing the bottle and took a sip, only to spit it out all over Shanks and threw the bottle at his feet." Luffy paused briefly, noticing he had Nami's full attention. "I remember how shocked I was seeing the bandit disrespect Shanks like that. I thought for sure he would beat the bandit up."
"He didn't?" Nami asked, curious about the Yonko's possible inaction.
Luffy shook his head, "No. Shanks just stood there in spit and booze and let the bandit explain that he was a wanted criminal worth 8 million Belli. He said that a few lousy bottles wouldn't even be enough for a bedtime drink and not to insult him again. We all just stood there waiting for Shanks to do something, anything. And when he did, he simply knelt down and complained about the wet floor beneath him. He apologized to Makino and asked for a rag to help clean up. Makino quickly rushed to get some rags as Shanks began to pick up the bigger pieces of glass from the smashed bottle. The bandit, angry he didn't get the reaction from Shanks that he wanted, drew his sword and slashed it across the bar, destroying several dishes and left a gash in the wood. He then told Shanks that if he liked to clean so much then perhaps he'd find picking up the newly broken plateware more fulfilling. He then sheathed his sword and left with his men, no longer interested in the bar or Shanks." Luffy chuckled to himself as the past event unfolded within his mind. "Man, I was so mad! I was practically shaking! I couldn't believe how that bandit completely disrespected Shanks like that. And then… Shanks and his whole crew just started laughing! They all started joking about how that bandit "got" Shanks and how lame he looked. Shanks even agreed, laughing right alongside them. Can you believe that?"
"That's it? They just… laughed? Why didn't Shanks fight back or kill him? He's a pirate after all!" Nami furrowed her brow, completely thrown for a loop by the Yonko's un-pirate-like reaction to being spat on with booze and embarrassed in front of his whole crew.
"I asked pretty much the same thing. I screamed how uncool Shanks had been and that they should've fought for their honor or something silly like that. I couldn't understand why Shanks wouldn't have fought. I told him that no matter the number of enemies or how strong they seem, you're not a man or pirate if you laugh after something like that. Shanks just looked at me for a moment before he smiled at me and said that he could understand how I felt, but it was just a bit of spilled booze, it wasn't anything worth getting mad over. But I was mad. I was mad at Shanks and I was mad at that stupid bandit. So I ran out of the bar, not ever wanting to see Shanks again. He wasn't the man I had thought he was."
"You obviously saw him again. So something must have happened that changed your opinion."
"I didn't see Shanks for a while after that. It was the only time I didn't see the Red Hairs leave port in fact when they shipped off to go pirating." Nami scowled at that but Luffy ignored her. "It was about a month later that I realized I hadn't exactly been fair to Shanks and that I had missed seeing him. I would go down to the bar Shanks liked every day hoping that he'd returned and that he'd tell me more stories about his adventures as a pirate. However it wasn't Shanks and his crew that I found waiting for me, but the mountain bandits from before. The whole bar was packed with them and of course their leader was making fun of Shanks, regaling his entire group about how pathetic pirates were and that they were all cowards. And something just… snapped in me. To me, pirates were amazing. They ventured out to sea and braved the harsh landscapes before them. They went on adventures, found treasure, and sang songs to their heart's content. It was freedom in its purest form. At least, that's what I gleaned from Shanks' crew at the time. They weren't going to tell a 7 year old the full extent of their adventures and just how not-so-good they really were." Luffy picked up on the slight glare Nami was sporting for just a moment but didn't press about it. "So I attacked the bandit leader."
"What!? Just how stupid are you?" Nami poked his chest in frustration.
"I'd say pretty stupid! Shishishishi!" Luffy laughed, ignoring the "attack" from his Navigator. "I didn't stand a chance at all. I got one good punch in and bit his arm as hard as I could! The next thing I knew I was being thrown outside and kicked as hard as that damn bandit could. I must have been a bloody and bruised mess! He demanded to know why I attacked him when everyone was having such a good time and drinking and that I apologize. I just glared at him and told him that he was the one that needed to apologize for making fun of Shanks and his crew! That pirates were way better than stupid bandits and spat at him!" Luffy grinned as he could almost remember feeling the kick in the face he received for that. "He kicked me pretty hard for that. By that time a large crowd had begun to form as the villagers had come out to see what was happening. The bandits ignored them as they kept beating on me until the mayor stepped forward and pleaded with them to stop attacking me. He even tried to make a bargain but the bandit leader wasn't interested. I'd wounded his pride, and I was going to pay for it."
"What happened to make the bandit stop?"
Luffy smiled, "Shanks returned."
0o0o0 Foosha Village - 10 Years Ago 0o0o0
"So this is where everyone is! I was wondering why the bar was empty," Shanks spoke loudly, drawing everyone's attention to him. "Looks like it's those mountain bandits from before."
Standing behind Makino and the mayor were Red-Hair Shanks, Benn Beckman, Lucky Roux, Yassop, and the rest of Red-Hair pirates. Standing tall and proud with his black cloak wrapped around his shoulders and his lucky straw-hat sitting atop his head, Shanks stepped forward making the bandits surrounding Luffy stiffen in anticipation.
Shanks took in the bloody sight of the young boy and couldn't help but feel anger pulse through his veins, even as he kept a calm demeanor, smiling even in an almost friendly manner. He eyed the bandit leader and took note of the drawn sword in his hand.
"So you pirates are still here then. Have you been scrubbing the village clean this whole time?" Higuma sneered, only to be dismissed as Shanks called out to the brat beneath his heel.
"Luffy! I thought your punches were as strong as pistols?" Shanks then started walking forward.
"Sh-shut up!" Luffy cried out both in pain as Higuma dug his heel more into his chest and embarrassment over being called out like that.
"I dunno why you're here, but you best leave before you get hurt. Any closer and he'll shoot your head off, wimp." Higuma nodded to his underling that was closest to Shanks.
Shanks came to a stop as a pistol was held up to the side of his head by the grinning bandit, "He said no closer! Don't make me blow your head off!" The rest of the bandits all chuckled at the sight, knowing the cowardly pirate would back down.
Shanks allowed his kind smile to grow into a confident smirk. "Put your life on the line."
"Huh!?" The bandit holding the pistol to Shanks' head gave him a puzzled look, not understanding the pirate's reaction.
"Now that you've drawn your pistol, put your life on the line." Shanks rephrased for the man.
"What the hell're you talkin' about, bastard?" The bandit was thoroughly confused at this point. "What the hell is wrong with this guy? Why isn't he afraid?"
Shanks suddenly turned his head to the bandit and pointed at the barrel of the gun. "I'm saying those aren't for threatening people."
A deafening crack thundered through the village as the bandit toppled over, blood and brain matter flying out of his skull as the bullet that killed him pierced through him.
Lucky Roux continued to eat through his meat on bone, now standing next to his Captain, his pistol smoking, uncaring for the corpse that lay at his feet.
"N-Now you've done it!" One of the bandits cried out. "These damn bastards fight dirty!"
"Dirty?" Yassop was insulted at the accusation, not believing the hypocrisy he'd just heard from a bandit.
"Cut the crap. What, do you think you're dealing with saints or something?" Benn Beckman spoke up, unimpressed with the so-called 'mountain bandits'.
"You're looking at pirates!" Shanks added
"Shut up! You had nothin' to do with this in the first place!" Another bandit yelled, still in shock at the sight of his murdered comrade.
"Listen, bandits. Whether I'm splattered with alcohol or food or even spit on, most of the time I'd just laugh and forget about it. However!" Shanks calm demeanor finally melted away as his anger had finally reached its boiling point, his voice became gruffer and his smirk replaced with a scowl. "No matter what the reason, anyone who hurts my friends has to pay!"
Luffy stared at the red-haired pirate in disbelief. "Shanks…"
"Hehehehehe! Has to pay, huh!? Damn pirates! Kill them!" Higuma ordered, his own look of rage overtaking him.
The bandits drew swords and charged at the pirates.
"I'll handle this. Should be easy enough." Benn drew the blunderbuss strapped to his waist and calmly approached the charging bandits.
It wasn't even a fight as the pirate dispatched the bandits in less than a minute, utilizing the butt of his firearm as a club.
Higuma stared on in disbelief as one man had beaten or killed all of his men on his own, completely speechless and frozen in fear as Benn was now pointing his blunderbuss at him. "Don't get so cocky, bandit. If you wanna fight us, then go drag a warship here or something."
"So strong!" Luffy couldn't believe the strength of Red-Hair Pirates' First Mate.
"H-Hold on! The kid attacked us first!" Higuma finally removed his foot from Luffy's chest and took a step back, trying to create as much distance from him and the pirates staring him down as possible.
"You're a wanted man," Shanks countered.
"Damnit!" Higuma quickly grabbed a smoke bomb from within his coat and set it off to mask his escape.
"A smokescreen!" Shanks yelled and waited for the smoke to clear.
Once it did, Higuma and Luffy were nowhere to be found.
"Luffy!" Shanks cried out, not seeing the boy anywhere. "Crap! I let my guard down! Luffy's gone!" Shanks grabbed his head with both hands as he began to panic over the missing boy. "What do we do, guys!?" Shanks turned to his crew, still holding his head.
"Quit freaking the hell out, boss! It won't take us long to find him!" Lucky Roux reassured, as the Red-Hair pirates began to disperse in search of Luffy.
Benn just gave a knowing smirk at his Captain "I can't believe this guy…"
Not far off the shore of the village, but just barely in sight, in a small row boat was Higuma and a struggling Luffy trapped within the mountain bandit's grasp
"Hehehehe! I made a clean getaway! They'll never expect a mountain bandit to escape onto the sea!" Higuma applauded his own cleverness, as he'd outwitted the pirates.
"Damnit! Let me go, you stupid ape!" Luffy insulted, being held by the collar of his shirt. "I hope you die!"
"Heh! You wish! You're the one who's gonna die! After all, you're the reason all of my men are dead! So long!" Higuma threw the boy into the choppy waves, knowing he would tire out from trying to swim for his life long before he got close enough to the shore to survive.
"Damn! Damn! Those guys are scum, but I couldn't even beat one of them! Damn!" Luffy fell through the surface and was immediately tossed about by the ocean. He barely managed to resurface, struggling to hold his head above water. "HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!"
"Sorry! I got no use for you anymore boy! Hehehehehe!" Higuma laughed cruelly as he watched the Luffy struggle against the waves, not noticing a massive dark shadow stop just behind his boat. "On second thought, I think I'll keep you company until the waves drag you down to your grave! Should be entertaining! Hehehe-!"
Water exploded upward and a beastly howl deafened the laughing pirate, who was now staring up at the massive sea-beast that had emerged from the ocean depths.
Known as "Lord of the Coast", the brown eel-like Sea King with blue fins stared down at Higuma with menacing blood shot eyes. The man was barely able to begin screaming as the monster swallowed him whole, tearing through the small boat the man had stolen. Blood dyed the ocean a deep red.
Luffy watched the man be eaten with wide eyes, still struggling to keep himself afloat against the strong current the bandit had thrown him in, forced to splash about for his life.
It didn't take long for the Sea King to notice Luffy and rush toward another free meal.
Luffy was helpless to do anything beyond splashing about and make feeble attempts to get back to shore. He was going to die.
The Sea King's jaw opened to swallow the boy, and Luffy could see deep into the black abyss of the beast's throat, that was to be his doom.
Pressure.
That would be what Luffy would remember for the rest of his life.
An intense pressure surrounded him and the monster, swallowing both into an intense feeling of dread.
Moments from closing its jaws around the boy, the Sea King dared not move as it looked into the eyes of a red-haired human in the water not far away and knew death would take it if it dared close its mouth.
"Get lost," was all Shanks needed to say for the beast to withdraw and swim away.
Once the beast was gone, Shanks relaxed and the pressure disappeared.
Free from the paralyzing pressure Luffy once again began his struggle to keep his head above water when he felt powerful arms wrap around him and a calming voice assure him he was finally safe. "Easy Luffy. Everything's alright now. I've got you. You don't need to worry any longer."
Luffy couldn't help himself as he threw his arms around the man's neck and cried into his shoulder. "I was so scared!"
"Hey! Hey! It's alright, I won't let anything happen to you. I'd give up one of my arms if it meant you were safe. I'm just glad nothing happened." Luffy could only cry harder into the man's shoulder, truly believing Shanks would give up an arm to protect him, and so much more.
0o0o0 The Going Merry - Present 0o0o0
Nami couldn't help but marvel at the parallel between herself and her Captain as she listened to him regale her with his tale of how a destined Pirate Emperor saved his life as a young child. "Just how different would my life be, had Shanks come to Cocoyashi even just once?" The navigator couldn't help the bitter jealousy that coursed through her at Luffy's fortune to have met such a man and she such a monster instead.
"I then told him that I would gather a crew just as good as his, that I would be the one to find the greatest treasure in the world, and that I would be King of the Pirates!" Luffy shouted springing to his feet in excitement stretching his arms out, small sparks jumping from his body. Luffy laughed heartily before he fell back down on his back, his straw-hat falling from his head. Grabbing it, he held it above him and Nami, and smiled fondly at it. "This hat used to belong to him, you know? After I declared I'd be King of the Pirates, Shanks took it off and placed it on my head. It was his lucky hat that he always wore no matter what. I remember staring at him in awe as he told me, 'You're gonna surpass me, huh? In that case, I'll leave this hat with you. It's dear to me. Take good care of it.' He then left with his crew and I didn't see him again until 7 years later when Ace and I found his crew on the Grand Line." Luffy laid the hat down on his chest leaving a hand on top of it as he placed the other behind his head. "This hat is my promise to Shanks and my greatest treasure. It means more to me than my own life."
The two spent the next few minutes staring up at the stars in silence. Just as Luffy was about to turn and check if Nami had fallen asleep, he heard the girl sigh.
"This world sure is a big place…" she said melancholically. She sat up, giving Luffy a complicated look. "...Thanks for sharing, Luffy."
"You're a good listener, Nami!" Luffy complemented her, a smile on his face. "And you know, anytime you want to talk, I'll listen. That's what a good captain does."
"Of course," the orange-haired girl smiled wryly, before standing up and brushing off her skirt. "Have a good night." Nami began to head below deck, pausing at the doorway.
"Nothing is more important than your own life…" she softly uttered, thoughts a thousand miles away, the soft click of the door echoing afterwards.
Luffy stared up at the stars, her parting words echoing a phrase he'd heard from Shanks, though the meaning was quite different.
"As long as you're alive, nothing's over. Another opportunity will come, you'll have another chance. As long as you're alive. So stop doing such reckless shit!"
Luffy smiled and closed his eyes, falling asleep to the gentle rocking of the boat.
0o0o0 To Be Continued 0o0o0
I can't believe it's happening. After 20+ years, we've finally hit the 1000th episode of the Anime. What a journey it's been. Not just for Oda and his characters and the incredible world he's created but for each and every one of us. For it to bring us all together like this is amazing. I don't know who I'd be without One Piece. It was the first Shounen Manga, well, manga that I ever read. I may have watched anime before, but One Piece was the first manga I read and I just remember falling in love with it. It was a little off putting at first but it worms its way in.
To Oda, if you ever read this, congratulations on such an amazing story that is beloved the world over.
As for this story, revelations have begun. Not all of them, but slowly the ripple of 1 missing devil fruit has started to show its hand. As for the future? Well, don't expect things to go the way you think they're supposed to. That ripple has already become a tsunami and it hasn't gotten remotely close to shore yet.
Unfortunately this will be the last update for 2021. There's a lot that needs to be planned out for the remaining half of East Blue and that's not even including what will happen in the Grand Line and the consequences awaiting us all there.
I am possibly considering opening a p-a-t-r-e-o-n to help open more time to devote to writing. As it stands now I can only give a few hours a week, honestly 1 evening each week, to work on fanfiction at all. It is only a hobby at the end of the day. And especially since my good friend Lord of the Morning gives up the same amount of time to help me out, it's just not something I've been able to give a lot of time to. But, potentially with a p-a-t-r-e-o-n, we would be able to open up more time to give to this story and really pump out the content rather than as we please. By no means is this a cry for money, just something that's being considered and I wanted some input about whether or not it should be attempted. Nor is this a paywall either. You will always be able to read any of my content for free 100% guaranteed. I just need a reason to be able to devote more time to it beyond "its fun" and a hobby. So let me know and a final decision will be made in the new year.
I'd just like to finish off by saying thank you to everyone who has reviewed and read the story, even if it was only chapter 1. There's a lot going into this story and I honestly can't believe how many of you have favorited and followed it. I don't know how far we'll get but as I said in the first chapter, I want it to be far. And I know with all of your support, whether a p-a-t-r-e-o-n exists or not, we'll go far. Because we're One Piece fans, and we're in it for the long game.
1000 EPISODES!
Until next time!
TheRevolutionaryRonin
Lord of the Morning
Review Responses:
Nami4Life: Thank you for the support, always reviewing each chapter. Greatly appreciate it. I'm also really happy that you fell for the twist with Kaya. You thought! But you were wrong mwuahahahahaha! I can only hope others did as well.
Lolabugga1: I saw your first review as we were finishing up chapter 5 and couldn't help but smirk to myself thinking "Oh if only you knew." Appreciate the reviews and hope you enjoy all the LuNa spread throughout this chapter!
Centipede996: It has been a long time. You never call, never write, I'm hurt. But it's ok, you found us once again. And just a small secret, I never left. May have taken some time to get everything written out, but we were always here.
LordDarkness89: Luffy will not be getting a weapon unfortunately. At least not as part of his normal arsenal.