One Piece: My Version
Chapter 2: Devil Fruits and Haki, Oh my!
(On the island of Fuschia Village)
Red-Haired Shanks was one of the Yonkou like his rival Whitebeard, but contrary to the attitudes of the general public about pirates, Shanks was one of the most laid back characters in the world with a complex thinking pattern that no one can predict. He never acted in any way contrary to his being, and he was perfectly happy for who he is.
Right now he was staying at Fuschia Village at the Party's Bar where they drank and celebrated like there was no tomorrow.
Why? Because they were celebrating a courageous little seven-year old that went and stabbed himself in his left eye, leaving a permanent scar.
"I told you I wasn't afraid!!!" yelled the little boy named Monkey D. Luffy who was giving his role model the best angry pout he could give.
"True, you proved me wrong… But you're still a chibi." he teased.
Luffy looked about ready to throw a tantrum.
"SHUT UP!!! STOP CALLING ME CHIBI!!! I'M A MAN!!!" he yelled.
The bartender, Makino thought it was adorable that Luffy wanted to be so much like Shanks. She would always watch over him like an older sister or a mother-figure.
"And…and… My punch is as strong as a pistol!!!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, causing the whole crew to laugh out loud.
Shanks decided to humor him. "Okay…" he pointed to the counter of the bar.
"If you can make a dent in this, I'll take you sailing with my crew." he said.
Luffy's scowl was soon replaced with a toothy grin. "REALLY?!!"
Shanks was really just messing with the boy. There was no way that this boy could-
*SMASH*
All heads turned to a destroyed bar counter, and the source of destruction came from Luffy who held a small amount of surprise to himself as well as splinters lodged in his right fist.
The adults, including Shanks, were speechless for once. No one said or did anything for about a minute except stare at Luffy with dumbfounded expressions.
Luffy was confused. "What?" he asked while feeling uncomfortable with all the stares.
Shanks was currently deep in thought at what just happened. 'No way… the force in that punch… it can't be… but… I sensed it… Haki….'
Luffy remained silent until Shanks walked up to him and knelt down to his level.
"Luffy, do you know what you just did?" The boy shook his head 'no'.
"You destroyed the bar counter with just your fist. That's something only a full-grown man can do. How did you do something only grown-ups can?" he inquired.
The young Luffy looked at the shattered counter then back at Shanks, and then shrugged. "I dunno. I just got so mad that you guys treated me like a baby. Then I felt something flow through me and focused on that counter. I just gave it all I had in that punch and…. that happened."
He rubbed the back of his head self-consciously. "Well, I guess I don't know my own strength."
Shanks still couldn't believe his eyes. A boy no older than 7 had used Haki.
He would have had more time to ponder on the subject, if fate hadn't decided to interfere.
The double-swinging doors opened to reveal a tall, scruffy man with black hair which tied up to a small tail, a mustache-goatee combo and a cross-scar on his upper-right temple of his forehead. He was wearing black pants and a large, brown coat wielding a long saber. Following close behind him was his crew of 20 bandits. He marched his way to Makino and demanded drinks for him and his men, all while boasting about his 8,000,000 bounty.
Shanks became the better man and offered the Bandit Leader an unconsumed drink, to which Higuma responded aggressively by smashing his glass with his scabbard. He then insults Shanks and his crew and takes off.
It was after that…. They partied even harder. Lucky Roo and Yasopp were dancing goofily and laughing their heads off.
Beckman was against the wall with an amused smirk as he downed his drink.
Shanks hadn't stopped laughing since that event had passed. Still he couldn't help but think… 'How can he have an ambition that high, especially for a little kid. Then again, he is Dragon's son.'
Luffy however was mad as hell and let out his frustrations. "What was that?! You should've kicked their asses or something for disrespecting you!!!"
The laughter died down after his outburst and Shanks was the one who answered him.
"Luffy, sometimes you have to know when to pick a fight and when not to pick a fight. Besides, he just broke the mug and spilled some sake, it's not worth getting in a fight." he explained rationally.
Luffy went off to sulk in a corner of the undestroyed section of the bar. He was pouting and grumbling something about his role model's logic, when at the corner of his eye, he spied two, small, open boxes sitting on his right-hand side, containing what appeared to be fruit.
The one closest to his left was a purple fruit made up of many small teardrop shaped parts with swirl patterns, and spreading green leafage sprouting from the top. It has a shape and appearance that closely resembles a pineapple or a bundle of grapes. The second one was a more violet-colored Yubari Melon shaped fruit with more swirls.
Luffy's stomach was telling him to 'eat them' and he was never one to doubt his stomach. Ever. After a few seconds, Luffy began to gorge himself silently on the fruits, starting with the first one closest to him.
Shanks gave the boy a minute to cool off, which was probably not the best idea for him, for as soon as he turned back he saw Luffy finishing off the second Devil Fruit.
He grasped the boy by the legs and started shaking him up and down with all his force but careful not to hurt the tyke.
"Spit it out Luffy!!! All of it!!" he yelled.
"Uh… captain…?" Yasopp beckoned.
"And after all that trouble…!!!"
"Captain…!" Beckman called.
"All that money… Gone!!"
"CAPTAIN!!!" Roo roared.
The captain turned to his crewmates, discontinuing his tirade. "WHAT?!!!"
Yasopp raised a shaky finger to the empty chests. "He ate both of them."
….
….
"NANIIII?!!!" Shanks yelled in disbelief; his eyes the size of dinner-plates.
He turned his head, almost giving himself whiplash. He eyes widened in horror when he saw that indeed both fruits had been consumed. He blanched as he shakily turned his head to the boy in question, who was quite literally 'face-down on the ground' his legs had stretched a few feet.
Shanks pulled the boy up to face him. "Luffy!!! You just ate two Devil Fruits!!!"
Luffy looked a bit panicky and confused. "W-What? I just ate them…. And they tasted really nasty just so you know!!!" he shouted
Shanks shook his head vigorously. "No boy!! No one is supposed to eat two of them!! The effects cause the user to be torn up and killed from the inside out!! So in other words… you're supposed to be DEAD!!!" he shouted back. Luffy's skin color paled considerably, but then realized something important after pausing for a few moments. "B-But… I'm still alive!"
Shanks also took note of that and how the toddler wasn't a bloody mess right now.
"But, how?"
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small handbook version of the Akuma no Mi Encyclopedia.
He skimmed through until he reached the desired section regarding the first fruit Luffy ate.
'Yami-Yami no Mi (Dark-Dark Fruit) is labeled the most powerful Logia-type fruit as well as the rarest. Whoever consumes this fruit is given the following in exchange for the ability to swim.'
The ability to control the darkness and its unique property of gravity.
Damage and attacks become useless as the user is his own center of gravity, thus resulting in regenerative healing and forcibly pull enemies towards the user.
Able to summon black holes and consume anyone and anything into it, effectively crushing them upon release.
The most unique and powerful advantage of the fruit, is that the user also has the ability to nullify the powers of other Devil Fruit users by simply touching them and draining them of their abilities. All powers from other Devil Fruit types, be it Paramecia, Zoan, and Logia are affected by this.
And finally: in the event the person who eats this Devil Fruit, is allowed to consume only one more Devil Fruit, completely ignoring the rules of consuming only one. This allows the user to be the first person to have two sets of powers. Note: Find a good second fruit.
Shanks had stopped reading as he collapsed back into his seat. Now if he remembered correctly, the second fruit Luffy ate, the Gomu-Gomu no Mi (Gum-Gum Fruit) was no pushover either, as it not only gave the user elasticity but can take a hammering and keep on coming back, or in other words, super-endurance.
Now Shanks had to recollect what just happened.
The boy has tapped into his Haki at an early age, and he just ate two powerful Devil Fruits. What's more, if this boy were to set sail and become a pirate, he'd have a great jump-start ahead of him.
(Later that day)
Makino and Mayor Woop Slap ran into Shanks and his crew and told him that Luffy had gone to face off against the Mountain Bandits from earlier.
Shanks sighed frustratingly. "Stupid brat." he muttered.
After confronting and interrogating all of Higuma's henchmen, one of them revealed that their leader had taken Luffy out to sea; something about teaching him some respect he won't forget in the afterlife.
Shanks eyes widened in horror. He knew what was going to happen if he didn't get there in time. So he told the crew to stay behind and told them he was going to take care of this personally.
Once he made it to the docks, he used Haki to focus his vision to see what direction they went in.
Detaching his captain's coat, straw hat, and sword, he jumped into the water and swam as fast as he could.
He arrived just in time to see Higuma being devoured by a red-eyed, brown scaled, green-finned Sea King in one bite in its large, powerful jaws.
But where was Luffy?
Over on his left, he saw some splashing, signifying that it was Luffy trying to stay afloat as possible, despite the fact that he's become a hammer.
Then over on his right he noticed the Sea King swimming over to his next meal. There was no way that he was going to let Luffy become fish food.
He immediately swam over just in time to keep the boy afloat, and the serpent getting closer and about to attack.
Luffy saw it resurface out of the water and his role model about to take the blow for his stupidity. He wanted to close his eyes, but he could only stare at the approaching Sea King. He desperately pleaded to somehow find the strength he needed before.
'No…'
'No….'
'No…!'
Luffy couldn't hold his frustration with his mistake and scrunched his eyes in focus. And then… something amazing happened; that same power he showed at the bar accidentally came back… and at full force.
"LEAVE US ALONE!!!!!!!!!!!!" he screamed to the top of his tiny little lungs.
Luffy's voice echoed in a powerful shockwave that resounded in a 5 mile diameter.
When he opened his eyes, he saw two things; an astounded Shanks and a stunned, frightened Sea King. Shanks was astounded for a reason. After Luffy's outburst, he fully examined his Haki. 'He has… the Haoshoku Haki (The King's Disposition)….' he thought.
After a tense silence, he noticed that Luffy had passed out. Probably from having such an eventful day and tapping into a powerful and rare technique. He smiled lightly down at the boy. Now he would definitely owe him for saving both their lives. He turned to the still frightened Sea King and used a bit of his own Haki to send the creature away. He swam back to shore while carrying Luffy and making sure he didn't fall into the ocean.
It was two days later, and the Red-Haired Pirates were preparing to leave for good. The day before, Luffy had challenged the bandits in a fight for Shanks' honor. He had been brutally beaten, even with his newfound powers, though granted, he didn't know how to use them.
Then there was the fact Luffy had used Haki, something only adults could use. Why? Because they have the most ambition at that point. And yet, Luffy just showed one of the Yonkou a deep hidden potential.
Luffy and Shanks were having a last farewell. Or rather, Shanks was provoking Luffy until he exploded. "Shut up! I don't want to go with your crew, even though I won the bet!" Luffy cried, yelling his true feelings for the world to hear. "I'll start my own crew that will be even stronger than yours, travel the world, and find One Piece. AND THEN…I'M GOING TO BE THE PIRATE KING!" The words seemed to echo faintly, as if they carried the will of fate.
Shanks grinned, and said "Is that so?" With that, he plucked his favorite straw hat off his head and gave it to Luffy. He leaned forward and spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear. "Listen, Luffy. You have a special power and not just your Devil's Fruits either. You have the Haoshoku Haki. Be careful with it. You have no idea how dangerous it can be." Shanks pulled back, and said in a distinctly softer and brighter tone "That's my favorite straw hat. Keep it safe for me, please. You can return it to me… as a great pirate."
Shanks turned to board his ship, as unashamed tears fell from Luffy's unseen eyes. As Shanks waved the island goodbye and set out to the seas he loved, he thought to himself 'Luffy… you're going to be one hell of a pirate when you grow up. And I just hope…that I'm there to see it.'
Chapter 2 done.