Disclaimer: One Piece is the property of Eiichiro Oda. Many of the character's in this story of property of me. Do not use this story or its characters without my permission. Thank you.


"Bard, where were you? Playing on that island again?" Bard's mother had a worried look on her face, mainly because her son ate more than a single person could normally cook in a day and she spent several hours preparing dinner.

"I wasn't playing! I was training. There's a difference." Bard and his mother lived on the top of a hill on the island where the waves never reached. It'd normally take half a day of hiking to get from there to the beach, but Bard knew several shortcuts going up and down the path, mainly by jumping around until he gets to the top.

The feast was consumed momentarily by Bard, having eaten enough for several families, and his mother ate nearly as much.

"So," his mother started as she was putting away the dishes, "tomorrow's the big day, right?"

Bard smiled and nodded. Tomorrow was the day he would go with the Navy to join an exclusive organization that had personally recognized his talents and strength after he won a Navy-sponsored tournament.

"You'd better be careful, and watch out for pirates while you're at it."

"If any pirates try to take me down, I'll just throw their ship into the sky!"

Bard's mother smirked at her son's narrow mindedness, reminiscing on how his father thought just the same way.


The day had come. The statue-like government agents lined on either side of Bard as he walked down the dock and onto the ship. He had no good-byes to give, since he knew he'd be coming back soon enough. It took a lot to prove that he was ready, namely beating up several high-ranking Marine officers in the tournament, which was no easy task for him. He kept his face as straight and serious as he could until he got on the boat. He spun on his heel and smiled as far as his mouth could stretch, waved his arms over his head and yelled out "I'M GOIN' TO THE GRAND LIIIINE!!!!!!"

The crowd that had gathered there broke out in cheer, spouting cries of 'Good luck!' and 'Don't come back until you're a man, Bard!' It was time to depart for the ocean of adventure.

"That'll be enough of that, young man," A man said from behind Bard. The captain of his own ship, Captain Mars Young of the Marines stood just an inch or two shorter than Bard, but his muscles made Bard's naturally skinny structure look like an under-developed tree. "We have quite a journey ahead of us. This ship isn't equipped to handle the quick route through the Calm Belt, so we'll have to enter through the Reverse Mountain." Bard's face lit up. After hearing nothing but stories on how amazing the Reverse Mountain was, he would finally get to travel on it. Up it. Whatever.

"Sir," voiced out a random marine, "we seem to have a slight problem…"


"Well, now I'll have to find something else to do in my downtime, right Araly?"

No response.

"Araly?"


"Araly!?" Bard was as shocked as the marine personnel that had surrounded the girl that stealthily snuck aboard the ship during the march of respect. She was huddled over a garment that she had been working on for several days, and seemed to be in pain.

"How did that girl get here?" The captain demanded of the men.

"We're sorry, sir. Our guard must have dropped for just a moment when…" Araly interjected.

"You were both asleep, so I just walked around for a while. I was in here when you decided to weigh anchor and my sea-sickness kicked in."

The captain's anger had shifted to the marines, whom he had trusted to guard the ship, and decided they needed punishment.

A few moments, bruises and explanations later, Araly stood up waveringly, and walked toward Bard. "This is for you" She handed him a beautifully decorated and embroidered coat with a brilliant dragon design on the back.

"WOAH! Thanks, Araly! This is great, I love it!...Hey, are you gonna be alright?"

Araly fell to her knees and started shaking slightly. "I'll be fine, I just can't move around very much."

"Well young lady, seeing as you're here, you may as well get some rest. It'll take us an hour or so before we can get to Reverse Mountain, so we'll prepare a dinghy for you to get back with." The captain's face warmed up, without any discontentment to be found. He was talking to Araly like she was his daughter, which garnered a response from the marines and government agents that he had been so harshly treating during the trip.

"Sir! We have a problem!" A marine sounded off from the deck.

As the crew stepped out, all but Araly and Bard who was with her, they got drenched in water. It was a freak storm that hit them as they entered the final stretch towards Reverse Mountain.

"What the hell, ensign! How did you not see this coming!?" the captain vehemently yelled at the distraught navigator.

It was a bit late now. The entrance to the Reverse Mountain was in plain sight. The current was far too strong, even for a marine vessel to steer out of, and all that awaited them if they tried was a rather cruel fate of being crushed under the intense rapids at either side of the canal.

The crew was sent into a panic. Running around, trying to secure themselves onto something solid. The captain just stood there and watched as the mist cleared and the clouds passed them all by, until he could see the top. Then the ship shot upwards.


Araly could have been worse. She already threw up, not on Bard thankfully, and was now just hoping that the rest of her breakfast stayed down. Bard was a bit antsy, as he wanted to see the Reverse Mountain more than anything. He poked his head out onto the deck and was able to catch a sight more wonderful than anything else. There was nothing on the horizon but blue and clouds. He felt weightless for a second before gravity returned with a vengeance and slammed him onto the fine, wooden deck. Now a rushing feeling filled him. With all the power he could muster, Bard climbed up onto the sail and steadied himself by holding on, watching the water rush past them all as the ship sped down the mountain and into the Grand Line. Bard nearly cried before realizing that he had missed the whole damn thing.

"The Grand Line…wait. Where'd it go!?" Bard bellowed.

"What're you talking about, it's right…what the he-"

POOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

The roar coming from the exit of the reverse mountain nearly knocked Bard off his perch. What did send him colliding with the deck was staring at the mountain that had bellowed at them.