Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, no matter how much I want to.

The crew practically threw themselves onto the island once they had arrived. It had been almost a month since their last stop and, despite being pirates, they needed a break on solid ground. The entire populace of the smaller ship remained frozen in the sand, happily cheering as their superiors watched from the main ship. They laughed at the reactions from the other crew, who were all too unfamiliar with their Captain's many whims.

"Looks like we might lose some more, Captain," Nami teased, pulling back her long, orange hair and trapping it within a band.

The man sitting on the ship's figurehead laughed at this, his rather large mouth spreading from ear to ear. Once he caught his breath, he scratched his head with a smile. "Well, wouldn't be a first, now would it?" He watched the newcomers as they celebrated their survival and danced around on shore. Really, none of them had experience being out at sea for so long. It was no wonder they were relieved.

"Really, Luffy, you shouldn't be so relaxed just because you're the Pirate King, you know." Nami rubbed her temple. Though she was used to his behaviour after all of these years, she still couldn't help but lecture him. After all, who else would keep him in line?

A green-haired swordsman lowered the anchor as the rest of the crew prepared to disembark. Once he finished, the nine of them headed to shore, leaving their captain behind. They were there to train some rookies and the ones who completed the training would be allowed to join the Straw Hat crew officially. After all, the Captain didn't like having large groups, even if they wouldn't be on the main ship.

The nine commanders stood before the potential recruits and gave them a pep talk before they began; all the while their Captain remained on deck, watching with his usual grin. Jinbei was the one responsible for the training itself. The others would go through their usual routine of exploring the island and gathering supplies.

While it was called training, it was more a test of their skills. After gaining world-wide recognition as the Pirate King, pirates flocked to join the infamous Straw Hat Luffy on his ship. He couldn't allow them all on, and he didn't particularly want any more crew mates. He preferred small groups for their closeness. His commanders were his only family. He gathered up nine other ships and had pirates join those ships, each under the command of one of his nakama. The ones who passed this test would join one of the divisions. Even then the ships rarely stuck together. Often they would be scattered across the Grand Line and New World.

Just before Jinbei was to begin, Luffy stood from his seat on the figurehead. The pirates looked up at him in silence and awe. He gave them one of his trademark smiles, took a deep breath and shouted.

"Freedom!"

The crowd of men and women cheered at this and it seemed that was all that was needed to lift their spirits and get their blood running for the "training" they would be put through. Their cheers sounded throughout the island. Straw Hat and his remaining commanders headed into the forested area beyond the shore.

"Still doesn't feel right," grumbled Luffy as he rubbed his matted hair in hopes of finding his trademark hat.

"Don't complain about it now." Zoro stated, arms crossed in his usual fashion.

"Why did you leave it behind anyways?" asked Sanji, his interest just slightly piqued. He had to admit that it was rather strange to see him without it. They were all pretty surprised when he had returned from the last island without it. No one had asked about it, though.

Luffy paused. The crew looked back at him and noted his slight smile.

"To move forward."

Their Captain began walking without a further explanation. He was always like that and after a decade they had gotten used to his rather ambiguous behaviour. Though all of them had changed drastically since that first year when they first met, Luffy's personality was relatively the same. He had matured, yes, and now put more thought into his actions. However, he was still a very laid-back, cheerful guy.

They decided not to press the matter and divided into pairs, leaving Luffy to explore alone. He normally did. No one could keep up with his train of thought and, seeing as he was the strongest person among them, it was best if he just did what he wanted. Nothing bad could happen to as inhuman a pirate as he was.

"Hmmm…feels weird. Maybe I should find a new hat at the next island," he though aloud, not paying much attention to his surroundings. He'd been a month without it, but the feeling of discomfort hadn't dissipated. "Though, I don't want to replace it…"

A pair of eyes watched from the foliage as the pirate made his way on ground. It jumped from tree to tree quietly in an effort to keep itself from being caught. Its eyes darted around the man, searching for any signs of danger. He was completely oblivious.

Something glinted, catching Luffy's attention as it soared his way. He tilted his head slightly to allow the weapon to pass by. Looking at it, he realized it was a crudely-made spear. The handle was stained red. He blinked and stared for a little longer before dismissing the attack and continuing the inward discussion about his hat. Despite his lacking attention, he noticed the "cheh" sound his attacker made from within the greenery. Still, he wasn't interested. After all he had been through over the years, it was unlikely that anything on that uninhabited island would be capable of killing him.

He heard footsteps scampering against the bark of the trees and the rustling of leaves as his attacker changed position. Luffy sighed and scratched his head. His interest piqued a little at the sound: the light-weighted noise it made as its feet hit the branches indicated its small stature. No doubt it was a child. Again he glimpsed at the spear and the blood that coated the wood of its handle. Blank expression on his face, he picked up the weapon to study it further. As he did so, his hands were dyed lightly with red. The pirate gawked absentmindedly at the crimson on his hand before continuing his walk, spear still in hand.

"Well, whatever," he said, stretching as the shadows of the trees passed over his figure. He knew he was still being watched, but what did it matter?

The child growled low under his breath, clearly displeased by the pirate's actions. Now he had one less weapon to utilize. He decided to analyze his target further before his next attack. Clearly this one was different. The man had an air of calmness about him. He hadn't been phased when the spear was thrown at his head. In fact, it didn't seem like he cared.

That man was strange. Clad in a red shirt and black shorts that went past his knees, he didn't seem like a big deal. In fact, he looked rather weak, which is why the boy was shocked when he managed to avoid the spear with such ease. The stranger's eyes were large and round, framed with black strands, only slightly long, not reaching his shoulders. In all honestly, he looked childish, weak even. He had a stupid, blank expression in his eyes, making him look only more so. The man's defining feature was a scar beneath his left eye. He was nothing special, and yet he had no response to the attack.

The boy wiped his sweat away, smearing blood onto his cheek. He gazed down at his bleeding hand, only then realizing he'd been hurt. The cuts stung as he clenched his fist. This was bad; his hands were his most valuable asset.

"It's amazing how much wildlife there is on this island," Usopp announced as he marveled at the many creatures running from Zoro's sword.

"It's ridiculous," the swordsman stated as he cut down a rather large lizard. Usopp picked up the body and threw it onto a cart trailing behind the two. He took a close look at it, noting that it was now full, and nodded. "I'll bet Luffy's having a blast exploring this place."

Usopp laughed at this. "No doubt. Anyways, I think this should be enough. We got a pretty good variety so I'm sure Sanji won't complain. We should probably head back."

The swordsman nodded in compliance, imagining Sanji's usual complaints being raised once more. "That damn Love Cook better be satisfied. The bastard is hard to please!" Usopp laughed at this, noting the swordsman's clearly incorrect direction.

"Zoro, this way." The sniper pointed in a very different direction, causing his companion to blush a little from embarrassment and angrily shout "I know that!" before stomping away in a familiar fashion.

The trees and foliage continued passing the two by as they headed back to their ship. After scaring the animals away, the place fell into a dead silence. Only their steps made any noise. It was rather awkward. There was something that had been on Usopp's mind for quite some time and he was sure that, if anyone, the First Mate would know. Still, he wondered if he should pry. Curiosity getting the best of him, he had to ask.

"Hey, Zoro…" His voice trailed off, catching the attention of the green-haired man. Zoro grunted, waiting for him to continue. "Luffy's hat…you were with him when he got rid of it, right?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"What happened to it? When we left the last island, the two of you returned without it. I thought he'd give it back to Shanks, if anything."

Zoro stopped and pondered how to answer that. He knew what happened to it, but hadn't confirmed the reason why. He had his suspicions, though. Crossing his arms, the swordsman turned to look at the sniper, wording his answer in his head. "You know what was there, right?" Usopp nodded. They had known for quite some time that the graves of their comrades from the Great War were there, though it wasn't until last month that they had gotten the chance to actually go there. Luffy never seemed to be in a rush to visit them. After finding One Piece, they had all suspected that their Captain would want to hurry to the graves to tell his brother of his success, but four years had passed since then and he never mentioned it. They continued their route and, in time, arrived there. Only then did their Captain go to see his brother's grave.

"He left it there, on Fire Fist's tomb stone."

Usopp's eyes widened. He figured it was something like that, but still didn't believe it to be true. Luffy had always been protective of that hat. If it was ever damaged, he went into a rage, and when he was without it he seemed rather lost. Their Captain had left his most precious possession with his brother.

Luffy had been walking for quite some time and nothing on the island had caught his attention. He was a little interested in the kid, if only because he had thought the island to be uninhabited, but even that wasn't enough to keep him entertained. Where were the strange creatures and exotic foods? Where was the meat? Really, that was all he wanted. Sanji's cooking was unrivaled but, without more ingredients, he wouldn't be able to cook enough for the rest of their journey. All of the trees were bare and there were no animals in sight. What a boring place.

He heard something approach him from behind and ducked, rather effortlessly, to avoid four rusted knives. They buried themselves in a tree directly in his line of vision. "That was close," he said, though without any physical reaction. He studied the weapons for a second, reaching atop his head for his hat. A wave of recollection it him as he touched his hair. "Oh, right." He'd been doing that all month.

Again, Luffy heard the same "cheh" sound, this time from behind. He heard the child charge at him and sighed. "You really should stop this already." He turned his head to face his attacker. Upon looking at the boy, he froze. His already large eyes nearly doubled in size at the sight before him. The boy took advantage of this and kicked Luffy in the face. Too shocked to avoid it, the Pirate King fell backward, the boy's foot atop his face. The boy jumped back, prepared for retaliation, but the pirate just laid that watching the sky with a dumbfounded look on his face.

Ace?

A/N: I'm such a troll. Sorry. I'll try to update as often as I can until the break's over to make up for it.

So this is the actual first chapter of the story. I really would appreciate any feedback and ideas in reviews. I'm always looking to hear what you guys like, hate and want to see.

I have a few questions for you guys. Please answer them for me. I'll give you a cookie :)

1) What do you think is happening/going to happen?

2) What would you like to see? (i.e. plot, fluff, genre, changes to characters, plot twists, characters ect...)

3) What do you like/not like about it?

Thanks so much to anyone who bothers to read and review my story!