"Wealth, fame, power. The man, who once owned everything, the Pirate King, Gold Roger. The words he said before his death sent all the people of the world out to the seas."

"My treasure? If you want it, I'll give it to you! Find it! I left everything in that place."

"Men, searching for romance, pushed forward towards the Grand Line. The world is now in the Grand Age of Pirates!"

Chapter 03: Gingerbread Houses, Landing in Candytown

"Ooooh! That island looks so coooool! Hey! Franky! Make the Sunny go faster!" Luffy could barely contain his boundless excitement as he practically hung over the side of the ship, clinging dangerously to the railing by only one hand.

Nami cautiously looked towards the island that loomed in the distance, but she was quickly distracted from doing so as she caught sight of Luffy's recklessness caused by his mounting excitement. Without delay, Nami ran to the side to scold him like a child. "Luffy, you idiot! Get up here before you fall into the water!"

As Luffy audibly laughed from the side of the ship, his body recoiled annd he shot back up onto the deck of the ship as he ran full steam ahead to the front of the ship to look at the island that they were approaching. His eyes were as wide as saucers as he smiled like a hungry kid in a candy store. Chopper and Usopp weren't far behind, but they could never match Luffy's enthusiasm for the island, not when everything about the island from the ship's view looked edible.

Sanji flicked his cigarette as he peered at the island curiously, noting that the coastal village they were slowly drifting towards quite literally looked like a gingerbread town. He took a few steps forward, ignoring the enthusiasm of Luffy as he directed his question towards the more level-headed crew members. "What's up with this island?"

Brook tilted his head curiously as he looked for himself. "Yohohoho! Gingerbread? Fudge? Toffee? Is this the island of a lonely confectioner? Oh, my mouth is practically salivating... but I don't have a mouth."

"A lonely... confectioner... ?" Sanji trailed off as he took a moment to imagine a lonely confectioner or, in his mind, an adorable girl wearing an apron and a chef's hat with bits of flour adorably smeared to her face as she would offer him a spoonful of cookie batter. Naturally, this resulted in Sanji's legs waving about wildly as hearts blossomed from his eyes.

Sanji began rambling incoherently about the sweet, sugary girl he imagined as Zoro just blankly stared at him for a moment, blinking lazily before groaning and stepping forward beside Franky, Nami and Robin. "Idiot cook... but this island doesn't seem normal. Did the people who live there make it?"

"Ah, who knows! But if there's as much sugar as I think there is, then I should be able to get plenty of cola!" Franky uncrossed his arms and raised his sunglasses, grinning as he looked up towards Usopp. "Hey! Usopp! Come help me get the ship moving faster!"

"Oh, yeah! Right!"

Usopp hopped down excitedly and followed Franky inside as Chopper and Luffy were left staring ahead at the island, their eyes twinkling excitedly. Just then, Chopper perked up quite quickly and pointed beside the gingerbread houses that peppered the coastal village. "Oooh! Luffy, look over there! A lollipop forest! is it real candy? I wanna lick one of the trees!"

Luffy looked in the direction that Chopper indicated and, indeed, there was a forest where, instead of trees, there were red and white lollipops. "Oooohooo! They look so good! I can't wait!" Chopper looked at Luffy in surprise as he said that, but it was too late. "Gomu gomu no rocket!"

Nami watched on with bubbling rage as Luffy hastily rocketed through the air, practically yelling at him loud enough to wake the dead. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU IDIOT!? YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO LIVES THERE!"

As the Thousand Sunny and the voices screaming at him from aboard disappeared behind Luffy, the delicious island grew closer and closer and closer to him until...

CRASH!

Luffy found himself crashing straight through the wall of one of the houses, littering gingerbread debris everywhere inside. An old couple leaped out of the way at the last second, huddling in shock as they stared at the gingerbread rubble that laid where their kitchen table was once. Neither of them had the courage to move and investigate, until the husband took a few steps forward but was immediately driven back by some rather "voracious" sounds coming from wihin the rubble. He blinked quickly, listening closely for a moment before stepping forward again, this time carefully moving bits of debris until Luffy was visible, busily chowing down on the gingerbread. He paused and looked at the old man and smiled broadly. "Hey, old man! Sorry about your wall, but your house is delicious!"

"A-Are you..." The old man stammered as he looked at Luffy, causing a perplexed Luffy to look at him curiously until he was finally able to continue. "Are you a... pirate?"

"Yeah." Luffy's answer was, of course, as blunt as could be. Both the old man and the old lady immediately responded by pulling away in absolute shock, almost as if they were deeply terrified of him. They both bowed before him, almost quivering as they cowered, which prompted Luffy to stand up from the gingerbread debris and look at them awkwardly. "Hey, what're you guys doing?"

"Forgive us! We had no idea that you were a pirate!" The old man clenched his eyes closed tightly as the old woman held back tears. "A-Are you with the others? The ones who are on the other side of the island?"

"Huh? You guys are weird. I'm Monkey D. Luffy!" He grinned at both of them as he adjusted his hat enthusiastically. "I'm gonna be the one who finds One Piece!"

The old couple looked at each other, almost unsure of how to react to what was said, before the old woman glanced to Luffy. "Are you... with the rest of the pirates on the island?"

Luffy blinked several times before he looked at her oddly, tilting his head ever so slightly. "What do you mean, granny? I just got here! I wanted to see the lollipop forest! Is it real candy? Can I eat it? I'm so hungry!"

Both elderly inhabitants breathed a sigh of relief as they stood up, the old man taking the initiative. "Oh, thank goodness! Our entire east coast has been enslaved to work for them! It's only a matter of time before they come here, too! A-Are you here to help?"

As the Thousand Sunny pulled up at the wharf along the harbour, Luffy's expression quickly hardened as he looked between the two. "Enslaved by pirates? Who are they!?"

The old man gulped and lowered his voice, telling Luffy the name of the pirate crew. The name caused Luffy to stand up straight in shock, his eyes widening in surprise.

"The Krieg Pirates."

TO BE CONTINUED