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"One Piece." – Speaking

'One Piece.' – Thinking

One Piece. – Flashbacks

One Piece. – Devil Fruits and Techniques

Deadly Drinking Pirate

Promise Between Men

Previously on Deadly Drunken Pirate,

It was rather disgusting to see dozens upon dozens of bagels getting gobbled down like a pack of hungry, wild boars. And when the plate was cleaned of the dough delights, a loud burp was heard. "Ahh~! Those were good!" Judging by the round belly of his, anyone could guess that Garp enjoyed the bagels. "Wait! I still haven't done the thing I came here for!" Suddenly, Garp got up, lost the full gut and held up his grandson by the collar; not that the latter was bothered by it. "How dare you attack Enies Lobby and make a mockery out of us by stealing one of our ships to hitch a ride home!? I have taught you better than that!"

With a punch reeled in, everyone expected the pirate captain to be given a mean punch to the noggin. Except, Garp fell asleep, still in mid swing. "WHAT THE HELL!?"

"No, your eyes are correct. He is always doing this." No wonder Luffy wasn't worried, he knew his own grandfather just enough to expect this. Yet the awkward sight was broken when Garp woke himself up again and noticed the stares.

"Now you are quite done, Gramps, you can put me down." Luffy spoke with a deadpan tone that made the old man feel stupid, putting the former down gently this time. "Now you are going to remember what you wanted to bash my head in. You want to know how I knew in Loguetown, about Dragon." Luffy finished that, not with a smug grin or a deadpan frown. In fact, his face was near emotionless; it was hard to tell how the young captain thinks of the name.

Garp, on the other hand, gritted his teeth as he recounted what happened at the last stop in the East Blue before Reverse Mountain. How he tried to get to Luffy and discipline his grandson on being a pirate instead of a marine. Instead, he encountered his own flesh and blood; the real black sheep of the family. Then came Luffy's shout in the wind that caused the two adults to realize Luffy knew something he shouldn't have.

"Who is Dragon?" Aisa walked up to her adoptive older brother, feeling brave enough to walk up to the marine that tried to harm Luffy but instead embarrassed himself.

"A person that is a big deal down here, Aisa." Luffy spoke up. "He is known to many as, Dragon the Revolutionary." Next came the world shattering like glass,

"WHATT!?" The marines, including Coby and Helmeppo, as well the Straw Hats all fell to their behinds when they heard that name. "Dragon, the founder and current leader of the Revolutionary Army!?" Everyone was especially shocked to hear that name, even Chopper.

"Yes and now explain to me how the hell did you know who he was!?" Garp hated that everyone made a big deal about Dragon, right before they realize that both men were from the same family.

"I got it from you." Was Luffy's response and before Garp could deny it, "To rephrase, my Akuma no Mi allowed me to hear off your nosy mind which told me the man in the cloak with tattoos on his face was Dragon." Of course, the Straw Hats were used to this while Garp grumbled something that was understandable, the rest of the marines were in awe that such an ability existed. "And yes, I also learned that Dragon is actually…" Luffy started and left off to build up the tension and Garp just gave up on responding right up to the big unveil. "…my father."

"WHATT!?"

"Your father is the single Most Wanted Man in the World!?" Luffy sighed and rubbed his forehead; clearly, he was having an headache from that racket.

"And I appreciate that none of you will speak a word of this but yes, my father's name is Dragon." Luffy answered, "But if you are wondering where he is and what he is doing then you have wasted your time. He never even tried to show up in my life, not once." Then the young captain turned to his silent grandfather, "I only called him by 'Dad' because I knew he will get into your face and I wished that I saw your expression~!"

Like a volcano about to erupt, Garp struggled to swallow his anger at Luffy's smug expression. Instead he growled out, "Just how did you get that annoying little trick to read our minds?"

Despite Garp trying to mutter under his breath, everyone heard that question and wanted to know too. Luffy sensed that, and rubbed his face again. "For one thing and the umpteenth time; I. Don't. Read. Minds." The captain said with emphasis on those last four words while stretching his arm to retrieve a chair to sit in. "And for those who are staring at me, I am willing to answer…" Soon a crowd was forming with the Straw Hats and the Marines acting like little kids awaiting story time. "IF…!" That shook them something bad, "This does not leave this building. That simple, good?"

It will be quite the scene but everyone in attendance nodded their heads. They were a class of kids listening to their story with the promise of a cookie for each. "Good. It all started over ten years ago, when I first awakened my secondary Akuma no Mi (Devil Fruit) power…"

XXXXX

Flashback Begins!

"W-what?" Seven-year-old Luffy was at the spot with the crate, the stolen bottle of sake and three sake cups. He was looking around him with eyes filled with fear and shock. Their session of 'becoming brothers' was interrupted by a pack of wolves that thought Luffy, Ace and Sabo looked delicious; it must have been the sake. Instead of a feast for the canines, they laid on the ground and not even twitching. Judging by the bloodshot eyes and the drool & spit leaking out of their mouths; they were no better shape than being a vegetable.

Nevertheless, this scared Luffy out of his wits. He tried to keep himself together but the world was blurring and contorting all around him; it was like the Vertigo Effect was taking place but it was something else entirely. All that mattered to the little boy was to get himself to the two boys before him. When he got to Ace, Luffy was distraught when he couldn't even feel the tip of his own fingers!

"What's wrong with me!?" Luffy could only grab the sides of his head in fear and frustration, mixed with shock and confusion. And while he was screaming, the rippling aura around him surrounded the entire island. People and animals felt the same effect, only stronger, to the point they couldn't get off the ground. Everywhere, bodies were laying down as if a plaque had gone by; even the birds and fish were affected.

A few hours later,

At the pier, a ship bearing a Jolly Roger arrived. "ANCHOR!" Immediately, a man's voice was heard. Running on the plank cast on the railing was Shanks! While his crew docked their ship, the captain and his other notable crewmates scrambled with worried looks on their faces. Something had brought them back to the East Blue, something bad.

Shanks took his only hand to his forehead to ease his worries and reach out to where Luffy was; emotions can still cause trouble for a master of Haki, even to one like him. Yet he was too good to waste time and found the little boy in no time. Too bad that he was deep in the jungle which meant a long trek from the pier. Shanks shoot off and his crew didn't question it, instead half of them chased after their captain while the other half stayed to watch over the ship.

"Luffy!" Shanks shouted off as soon as he found the closest entrance to the island jungle. He had hoped that the little boy would have heard him. Yet Shanks picked up a caudron full of despair and that worried him something terrible. So much that Shanks didn't even bother to wait for a response and got back to sprinting into the jungle.

On the way over, the jungle stank of garbage and sewage spilled over the trees and shrubbery. Not to mention that Shanks had to step on the bodies of wolves, boars, tigers and even the birds on the way to Luffy. The young captain didn't even notice that his crew failed to follow and most likely got lost in the jungle. And finally, "LUFFY!" Shanks found the boy in question. It was a terrible sight; the boy once full with life and a loud voice was on the ground in a ball and the ground stained with tears.

"Luffy! Are you hurt!?" Shanks approached Luffy and the boy finally twitched his ear yet didn't even show his face.

"S-shanks…?" That little, broken voice had shattered Shank's care-free heart and more when the boy crawled in retreat. "No! I am hearing things! Shanks can't be back!" When Luffy hit a tree, he fell back into position. "We made a promise and I am not even on the sea yet!"

"Luffy, its okay~!" Shanks never saw himself to consult a scared kid but now was not the time to be picky and when he tried to reach out to Luffy, "Offmph!" An impact came out of the little kid's fist that actually sent him flying a good few meters. That didn't leave a bruise but Shanks felt that for real. Yet it was not to time to dwell on that while Luffy was still frightened. "You are not in danger, Luffy~! Your friends are here~! We can help…!"

"Who will want to be friends with a monster!? Why would anyone want to be my friend after I killed them!?" Luffy shouted off and Shanks widened his eyes a bit before taking a good sense of the denizens on the island.

"No Luffy, they are not dead. You didn't kill anyone…" Once again, Luffy tried to snap back at Shanks.

"They are dead! And its all my fault and…!" Shanks got a bit impatient with the little progress he was making and pressed his right fingers against Luffy's head. A neat little gimmick that Shanks learned on the seas was how to share senses with another for a brief time. Yet that was enough to have Luffy 'sense' that he was wrong; no one got killed. "B-but…but…"

"We are here Luffy because we learned what that fruit really was and you need our help." Shanks saw that it was time to explain why he returned to the East Blue. "You have a lot more power than being completely rubber, a lot more and it is very dangerous. But we can still help you, please Luffy~!"

Luffy didn't answer this time nor respond which almost worried Shanks again. But after a passing moment, "Can…can you guys forgive me…?" Shanks didn't want to interrupt and said nothing. "Going with you will be to break a promise between men and men don't break their promises, right Shanks?" For a moment, the pirate captain wanted to say something to that until it let itself out of his lips,

"Real men don't abandon their friends either." Once Shanks said those words, something happened that was hard to explain. It was like the words had been hiding and waiting for this moment to emerge. It was just the thing for Shanks to teach Luffy and also the one thing that the latter needed to hear from the former.

"I…I am your friend…?" Shanks couldn't believe that Luffy responded like that; as if the kid didn't have a friend before. "But all I did was bug you and you just laugh at me in the pub. I am just an annoyance and…" Before Luffy could say another word, he was surprised when a single arm engulfed him. Somehow, one arm had the strength of a full hug and by Shanks.

"Yes you are my friend and since I caused this to happen, I am going to correct it." Stubborn as a man can be, Shanks finally got up and forced Luffy to drape over his shoulder. "And if you have a problem then you can try to escape."

By the time the Red Hair Pirates had finally found their captain, they saw the little anchor childishly pound his little fists on Shanks's shoulder.

Flashback Ends!

XXXXX

"Is that why you refused to give up on us?" Zoro asked once Luffy halted in his story. "Because Shanks didn't?" Several members of the crew remembered how they thought Luffy to be either stubborn, foolish or both to not let them go and even invite them on his ship.

"He was my hero as a child. Among the many things I want, some I already have…" Expertly, he sent notices to his crew before sending a different one to Nami and Robin who blushed a bit before continuing, "…I want to be a pirate that Shanks will be proud to know and call as friend and maybe an equal." This time, Garp did not protest because technically his grandson was not talking of being a pirate but a person instead like the 'red-hair brat'.

"What happened after that, Big Brother?" Chopper walked up and rested his cute little head on Luffy's kneecap in a way that made most of the audience want to coo at. Luffy himself was no different.

"When Shanks got back with his crew, he had to make sure that no one will figure out that I have left the island a decade early." Luffy spoke and some of his crew were starting to understand. "They more or less had me learn to use my secondary powers to cast a 'spell' over the island to force them to believe that I truly never left Dawn Island." Even a kid could see that skepticism was brewing among the audience so Luffy added, "As much as I wanted to laugh, protest or both in that order, the guys weren't going to hear it. It really wasn't worth the welts, either." Judging from the still forlorn expression, everyone else could only imagine how bad it was.

"Thankfully, it only took a day short of a week when I got it down to the point that I could do it in my sleep. That was when the Red Hair Pirates sailed off with a cabin boy and apprentice to teach." Luffy continued. "From my home island and past Loguetown, up and down Reverse Mountain, they took me through Paradise. That was where I learned how dangerous it was, how recklessness can lead to suicide on those unpredictable waters." Many heads started to nod at how true that was."

"And here is the part that you may or may not believe but Shanks took me to the New World to train me." He was right, there was barely anyone that did believe him. Garp now wants to find Shanks and straggle the 'red-hair brat' even more. "Training was hell. They made sure that I only ate the least and slept the least; if I was caught doing either one more, they will double my training. It took a whole week to finally get it down and their punishments stuck to me." Luffy continued and was completely aware of his crew shivering from how their own training will be bone-breaking and their captain still found a way to make it worse when they upset him.

"They taught me how to sail, how to use a sword, use a firearm and especially how to use my Akuma no Mi powers. That last one was why they even came back to the Grand Line; because they finally learned that my Devil Fruit was actually a prototype hybrid that was considered a failure by the creator: Vegapunk." Luffy went on and that name got everyone's attention. "For those who haven't heard, Doctor Vegapunk is known as the most brilliant mind in the world. His research, his knowledge and advances in science has caused the World Governemnt to employ him. He still wishes to uncover the secret to all Akuma no Mi and maybe find a way to grant an eater a secondary Akuma no Mi power without the danger of overload that is lethal without a doubt."

"So, I guess that Red Hair stole that 'hybrid'…" Garp wanted to speak up and Luffy nodded.

"Pirates still love to loot and the Red Hair pirates need to scratch the itch sometimes." This time, nobody had a response to that statement, not even Chopper or Aisa. "The Hybrid Akuma no Mi supposedly was to be taken to an unknown location, probably to just be savaged before disposed. They just didn't count on pirates to find them first and steal their cargo that included the rejected Hybrid. After realizing what it was, they planned to sell it until a certain local boy ate it."

"So why did you go back to the East Blue? Why not stay in the New World?" Chopper asked in a voice only an innocent child can make.

"Because I didn't plan keeping everyone back home under my 'spell' forever. My role model and idol risked the Marines to find me at my bleakest and also risked having me aboard to help fix my problem." Luffy spoke with the maturity of age and experience. "I only jumped ship when I was confident that I have mastered my Akuma no Mi and I needed to be back for my brothers. Both Ace and everyone from the port town never screamed so loud in their lives when I had to tell them that they spent three whole years under the illusion that I never lift the island. I had to listen to my ears ring for a solid week." Now that was something the audience could picture and they could sympathize with Luffy a little. And good thing because Luffy's mood dropped as well as the atmosphere.

"And I am sorry guys but this is only between me, my crew and my grandpa." Luffy turned to the marines with a sickening sweet smile that was thought only possible on a woman's face, right before all of them but Garp fell to the ground while foaming at the mouth. "Seriously, I was expecting more resistance than all that." His grandfather could only growl and rub his eyebrows,

"I get it, brat. I will fix the problem later." With that said, Garp released his fingers from his face. "Now what is so important anyways?"

With a grimly serious look on, Luffy answered. "The true name and true nature of the other Akuma No Mi."

End of Chapter 53.

*Hello Everyone. Hope you like this chapter and constructive criticism is welcome while flamers will be ignored. Good night!*