A/N: And here we finally see the opening scene of the One Piece manga :) Sorry for the delay in updates!

Chapter 30

Mountain Bandits

The vacation in a snowy wonderland didn't last as long as most of the pirates would've liked. After all, on the second day, some men found deer that could be hunted for venison. Though they were thin from a month's diet of tree bark, it was fresh and new meat welcomed by those tired of barbequing fish and pork. By the third day, Harry was handing out samples of freshly boiled maple syrup and cooking large pots of syrup-glazed venison. On the fourth day, however, the temperatures didn't stay below freezing long enough for many igloos, and as their shelters melted around them and the deer grew more alert, Shanks gave the order to move out.

The return to headquarters was relatively smooth sailing. Harry and Spaz spent most of the time milking cows and making ridiculous amounts of ice cream of varying flavors. They arrived back at the dock of Windmill Village at night and chose to go ashore with the sun rather than disturb the civilians.

Their first welcome appeared in the morning in the form of a little boy with a dagger, baring his teeth at the crew as he stood on the figurehead of the ship.

"Oi!" Shanks called out. The pirates all gathered out on deck, enjoying the warm weather. The pirate captain in particular even chose to forgo his coat. "What are you doing?"

Luffy huffed. He had, impressively enough, rowed himself in a small boat to the larger ship and 'snuck aboard' while the pirates were eating breakfast. "I'm not joking this time!" he yelled, holding the dagger up in the air. "I've had enough! I'll prove it for you all to see!"

Shanks merely laughed at the threat, knowing that his crew members were all perfectly capable of disarming Luffy without harming the boy. "Go for it! Let's see what you're going to do!"

"Man, that Luffy," the pirates joked with each other.

"He's going to do something funny again."

"Never gives up, eh?"

"Argh!" A yell of both pain and determination caught them all by surprise as Luffy grasped the dagger with both hands and cut into his cheek.

"WHAT?"

The deck was soon home to a cacophony of voices, yelling in pain, yelling in worry, yelling curses and scolding and orders as the weapon was taken away from the child and he was taken back ashore for treatment.

When Luffy was off the ship accompanied by Shanks and Beckman in search of the village doctor, the remaining pirates sank onto the deck, adrenalin slowly draining away.

"Ghaha," Spaz chuckled. "Isn't he a strange kid, Harry?"

Harry stared at the speeding rowboat with amusement. Luffy was certainly very unique. What kind of kid tried to prove his mettle to a bunch of pirates by cutting his own face? It was guaranteed to scar, though he supposed kids so young didn't care much about that.

Eventually the pirates were all laughing at the event and quickly prepared to disembark as well. A pirate will take any excuse for a celebration, and Luffy's crazy act just then would do just fine.

"Aren't you coming?" Spaz asked as he straddled the railing in preparation of jumping down to the waiting rowboat.

Harry shook his head. It was a bit too early to get drunk for him, and it didn't feel right celebrating a kid's successful attempt at self-mutilation, no matter how innocent the intentions. "I think I'll stay behind just a little longer. I'd like to take some time to inventory what ingredients I'll need to ask Shanks to raid for before we leave the town. Speaking of which," Harry reached into his pocket and retrieved the Rubber-Rubber Fruit in its small wooden chest and tossed it over. "Give that to Shanks or Beckman for me, will you? I'm kind of tired of carrying it around, and every time I try to hand it over something interrupts and I'm stuck with it again."

"Righto!" Spaz mock-saluted and left.

Harry turned back and headed towards the kitchen. He'd maybe spend on hour or two checking things out before heading to Partys' for lunch.

"I'll learn how to swim by then."

Harry walks into the bar, ducking as an empty beer barrel was tossed over his head and crashing into another pirate's head. Luffy was eating at the counter, a bandage under his eye but otherwise looking quite cheerfully at Shanks who wished him luck. He quickly found Spaz to the side and was waved over.

"Hurry, Harry! This is the last barrel so if you want some, you better get it now."

The wizard chuckled and headed over, but he didn't get a chance at any alcohol as the door was slammed open. The bar fell silent as the silhouette of a large group of bandits appeared in the doorway. The leader strode confidently into the building, followed by a mass of men wearing either arrogant frowns or cold smirks. He commented insultingly on the appearance of the pirates, who did nothing but stare.

Harry clenched his fists under the table. They couldn't afford to cause trouble here, even if the bandits provoked them. There was too much risk that they would take the first opportunity to get vengeance from the villagers the next time the pirates set sail, and any more ruthless options were not suitable in the presence of innocents like Makino and Luffy.

The bandit leader approached the counter, standing next to Shanks as he introduced them as bandits and ordered ten barrels of alcohol.

"I'm so sorry," Makino replied with a nervous smile, "but we are out of alcohol."

"Oh?" the bandit asked, looking around at the drunken pirates with skepticism. "That's strange," he said in mocking sarcasm, "then what are they drinking? Is it water?"

"Its sake and beer," Makino answered, and hurried to explain, "but that's all we have."

Shanks raised his head and interjected with a friendly smile. "I'm sorry, looks like we finished all the grog here, sorry about that. Here, if you don't mind," the pirate captain lifted up a glass bottle of wine that Makino had handed to him just seconds before, "take the last bottle."

There was a tense moment as the bandit leader stared down at the pirate and the offering when suddenly, a fist rose and smashed the bottle, its contents splashing over Shanks. Makino and Luffy gaped in shock as the bandits smiled and the pirates looked on silently.

"Just who do you think I am?" the bandit leader asked. "Don't take me so lightly. One bottle is not enough." He withdrew a wanted poster from his coat that revealed his name to be Higuma, seeming to not notice that Shanks was paying more attention to the fact that there was now a mess of spilled alcohol than to his eight million beli bounty.

Like typical villains, the man bragged of how he's killed 56 people and concluded with a warning of how mountain bandits and sea pirates "don't mingle very well."

Harry winced when Shanks ignored the entire speech in favor of picking up the glass pieces from the floor. People like Higuma hated being ignored and didn't care how much damage was necessary to bring attention back upon them.

Sure enough, when Shanks requested a mop, Higuma unsheathed his sword and, with a wide sweep, sent everything on the countertop crashing to the floor.

"Well, it seems you really enjoy cleaning," the bandit leader declared. "Now you can enjoy doing it more." Satisfied he had taught the pirate his place, Higuma turned with a huff and herded his men out the door, leaving Shanks on the floor, gritting his teeth.

"Are you alright, Captain?" Makino cried out, rushing around the counter to crouch before the pirate sitting on the floor, still dripping wine. "Did you get hurt?"

"No, I'm fine," he reassured her, smiling at her concern. "Phew!" he sighed, blowing off the rest of his irritation.

"Ahahahaha!" his crew laughed, teasing their captain now that the danger had passed.

"Our captain looked so silly!"

"He fixed you up good, Captain!"

"Dahaha!" Shanks laughed along. Harry smiled and chuckled too. It was actually pretty impressive how easily the situation was diffused. The bandits left in a good mood, so the village should be relatively safe, and there was certainly no threat to the pirates from them. Eight million beli was an impressive bounty for East Blue, but Shanks was a veteran of the Grand Line – such pocket money wasn't worth worrying over.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Huh?" Shanks looked up towards Luffy who screamed at them from where he stood.

"That was disgraceful! Why didn't you fight him? So what if they have more people? Who laughs after getting picked on? You're not a man, and not a pirate either!"

Shanks just looked at the boy for a little bit, as if suddenly realizing that Luffy was still a child not just because he was short and liked to drink juice, but because there was still so much of the world he hasn't seen and couldn't begin to understand.

"Look, I know how you feel," Shanks smiled, "but it's just a bottle of wine. There's nothing to get worked up about."

Luffy clearly didn't agree and turned to leave with a huff. "I don't want to see you again, coward!"

"Oh come on, don't go, Luffy," Shanks needled, grabbing hold of the boy's arm to hold him back. Luffy, however, continued walking, and as the distance between them grew, so did the kid's arm, to the shock and horror of all the pirates present.

"His arm, it's stretching!" Shanks yelled, which certainly didn't help matters as Luffy was beginning to panic about the fact that one of his limbs had grown then snapped back like a rubber band. An explanation quickly was found when Lucky Roo checked the Devil Fruit chest only to find it empty.

"It's gone!" he yelled, "the Rubber-Rubber Fruit we took from the enemy isn't here!" He grabbed the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia from Beckman and flipped to the page that displayed a drawing of the fruit in question. "Luffy," he asked, pointing to the picture, "did you eat this?"

Luffy's eyes bulged. "Well yeah, isn't that dessert? It tasted pretty bad though."

Harry, embarrassingly enough, started coughing, having choked on his own spit in shock. Tasted pretty bad? Devil Fruits were nasty! This kid was apparently someone who could eat anything.

"That's the Rubber-Rubber Fruit!" Shanks yelled, bumping his forehead against Luffy's as if the closer proximity would help him convey his message more clearly. "It's one of the devil fruits as well as one of the rarest treasures in the sea! Whoever eats it will turn into a Rubber Man and will never be able to swim!"

"What!" Luffy screamed, the last fact hitting him hard. "You're kidding, right?"

"You idiot!"

After causing such a commotion, the pirates chose to head off again the next day instead of sticking around the usual week. When they left, Luffy was still angry at Shanks for his 'cowardly behavior' during the confrontation with the bandit, but seemed pretty happy with his new body, going around to show off to the villagers all the new things he could do now that his body could stretch and was resistant to bruising.

"What a day," Harry sighed, walking up to Shanks who was sitting on the figurehead and gazing back at the island they were leaving. "Sorry about the fruit, Shanks. I probably should've kept it, huh?"

Shanks turned his head back and grinned. "Nah, it's not like any of us had any use for it, and to be honest, most pirates in the Grand Line have a Devil Fruit power. Luffy's just getting a bit of a head start, it seems."

"But poor you," Harry snickered. "Your biggest fan thinks you're a disappointment!"

"Dahaha," Shanks laughed, hopping back on deck. "He's still too young, after all, eh Kid?"

Harry rolled his eyes. Luffy wasn't the only one frustrated with how Shanks treated him like a child "Well, hopefully those bandits won't cause trouble while we're gone."

"They're all talk," Shanks replied. "There's no doubt that Higuma guy killed people, but anyone of serious danger couldn't possibly keep count of all his victims because he wouldn't care enough to. If he sees all his kills as individuals, then he's not the kind to burn down whole towns or fires randomly into the streets, right? As long as the villagers are smart enough not to provoke him, he won't bother doing anything to them."

"I suppose." Harry agreed to an extent. As mountain bandits stuck on an island, they were more dependent on their victims' livelihood than pirates, so they couldn't afford to do anything stupid enough to destroy that revenue source. Just let them believe they are the ones in power, and they'll let you live your life. Compromises like that, however, made Harry's stomach turn.

"Where are we off to then?" the wizard asked, hoping to distract himself from his thoughts.

"Hmm, I wonder," Shanks answered, tipping his hat back to look up at the sky.

"Hey now, you bloody scatterbrain," Harry scolded, "do you ever have a plan in mind before raising anchor?"

"Dahaha," Shanks laughed. "Isn't that the freedom of being a pirate? But you know, I've heard some rumors of a unique traveling merchant last spotted entering East Blue. Apparently he spends about two years in an ocean before moving on, and no one knows how he does it. Normally I'm not interested in buying goods, but since we're in the area, shall we go take a look at what he has to offer?"

"Heh," Harry chuckled. "You're the captain of this ship, aren't you?"

"I'll be your captain, some day, Kid, just you wait," Shanks promised. "Oi! Men! What say you to paying the famous Old Man Merchant a visit?"

"Ah?"

"Old Man Merchant?"

"That crazy legend?"

"Hey now, Captain," Alvin asked, waking from his nap. "You've heard the rumors about his extravagant fees, yeah? How do you plan to pay them when our last treasure haul was that Zoldeo guy over half a year ago?"

"We're pirates, aren't we?" Shanks grinned. "If we need more treasure, we'll hunt for it. If we need more goods, we'll steal it. Besides, we're just going to look, to look Al. He's practically a treasure all by himself."

The pirates traded looks and finally just shrugged.

"So where is he, then, Captain?"

"Uh," Shanks scratched his head under his straw hat. "Well, he is where he is. We'll find out when we get there."

Bodies fell to the floor in exasperation as Harry face-palmed. "That makes no sense."

"Dahaha! It doesn't? Oh well. I better tell Beckman our plans now. We have to make it back before our contract with Headquarters expires, right?"

"A new adventure?"

Harry glanced inconspicuously up at the ghost floating above his head and smirked. "Seems like it. Have you ever heard of this merchant before?"

"Just the rumors and stories Shanks has heard when traveling the Grand Line. Apparently he deals both in legal goods and black market items, selling Grand Line treasures to the cardinal Blues, selling marine technology to pirates, and charging fees not limited to gold and cash. Strangest of all, however, is that he travels between the separated bodies of water on a large ship without sails. Stories claim he disappears over night and has never been sighted at either Reverse Mountain or Mariejois, thus how he travels is a complete mystery."

"Sounds pretty interesting," Harry nodded. "Well, I better make dinner. See you tonight, Straw Hat."

"Sure. I'll stump you this time, Harry."

Harry gave a challenging smirk before walking away.

A/N: Whoo! So, there'll be an original arc to fill in the time until Shanks returns to rescue Luffy, and hopefully it will go well.

To my unsigned reviewers of the past two chapters:

Gogolu and Artemis, thanks for the review :)

Annabelle: It seems I won't get around to magic shows with the villagers, but maybe in this new arc?

Anonymous: Thanks for your wonderful review and praise :) Once again, this story will contain NO SLASH. This is directed towards you,

(): as well. Looking back, I can see why that line may seem a little dirty, but I had no such intentions, and really, vanilla extract isn't white. This story WILL NOT BE YAOI. Yaoi lovers are asked to please check out my other story, Pirate Conqueror.

Ebudae: Thanks for your review! As for your concerns about romance, nothing should happen for a long while, and I have no plans to go deep into romance. There will likely just be scattered scenes to make it clear who's together, but the story should maintain itself as a casual adventure.

Many thanks to PyromanianBlackWings for betaing!

551 reviews, 10/15/11

Thanks guys!