Disclaimer: One Piece belongs to Eichiro Oda. Rising of the Shield Hero belongs to Aneko Yusagi. I own nothing but the plot.

Prologue

Noafumi looked at that small shot glass in his hand, lightly twirling it to observe the clear liquid in it move around, before downing the whole thing in one gulp. He sighed in disappointment. The drink didn't have a particularly bad taste, but its potent effects were wasted on him. Sometimes, only sometimes, he wished he could actually get drunk. Dealing with the other heroes was so mentally demanding that he wondered if intoxication would make it easier on his psyche. Maybe the alcohol would make the sharp pain in his shoulder dull a bit. He frowned at the memory of Ren, Itsuki and Motoyasu. The moment his glass was full again, he downed it in one gulp again.

He mentally scoffed. Those idiots would probably have died if they ever found themselves in his situation.

Then again, it wasn't too different than when he and the other heroes found themselves sprawled on the floor getting their bearings at the summoning chamber back in Melromarc. It was ironic how those idiots first acted all hostile to the wizards that summoned them while he tried to be a nice guy and at least listen. Oh, how the tables have turned. The heroes wasted no time in basking in the adoration of the kingdom while he got betrayed and turned into the distrusting cynic that he was. And to think he was all excited to roam a new world!

Oh, well. This was his second chance at that, he supposed.

A look around the large beige wall around him told him the architecture was very different from Melromarc. The tables, chairs, dishes, and even the liquid inside his glass indicated a completely different culture than what he was used to seeing. Or maybe not completely different; he could probably remember where he'd seen similar decorations if he really put his mind to it.

"Raphtalia, easy on the alcohol. We don't want to be rude but I also don't want you getting drunk here." A glance to his right showed his trusted companion, Raphtalia, following his example and downing her glass in one gulp as well. She seemed to dislike it at first, but then got around enjoying the very strong flavor.

"Yes, Mr. Naofumi," the racoon-type demihuman answered.

"And you, Filo," he turned to the little blonde girl on his left, "have some restraint. Just because we got invited here doesn't mean we can just eat all their food."

"Yes, master!" The little girl cheerfully replied.

Naofumi didn't need to turn and see, but he felt the disapproving stares from the armed guards on the corners of the room shot his way when the girl called him 'master'. He didn't really care what they thought, but he'd rather avoid unnecessary animosity with these people.

The Shield Hero sighed and turned his attention to the snacks before him: a large bowl filled with fried chips surrounded by smaller bowls with red, green, and brown sauces. He shrugged and dipped a chip on the brown sauce. It was surprisingly sweet.

Everyone in the room was silent, with the exception of the loud crunching noises coming from Filo's mouth as she ate the snacks with gusto, but that silence was broken when the big doors at the end of the dining room burst open and a large figure walked over to their table. The man took a seat on the end opposite of Naofumi. He opened his arms wide and with a deep, raspy voice, he finally spoke.

"Allow me to welcome you all to the Kingdom of the Dead!"

A/N: I didn't think I'd delve back into fanfiction writing territory, but here I am. I was just so enthralled by Rising of the Shield Hero that ideas kept popping up. And I've been a fan of One Piece ever since I was a little kid. I was kinda bummed there are not many crossovers of these two series that I just had to write my own.

The reason I stopped writing was that I had written almost all chapters of my previous story and was planning on uploading them all in one go, but someone broke into my home and stole many things, my laptop included. Seeing all my work literally just stolen away really bummed me, and I lost my drive to write. And well, I drifted away from MLP, so I kinda didn't really have much inspiration to rewrite all the chapters.

That said, I hope this story is different. As an attempt at personal improvement, I am challenging myself to have chapters done every one or two weeks. My life would be different if I actually have discipline, so here's my try at just that.

I hope you enjoy it!