Beta Reader: Drakon21

On an island constantly marred by war, a child was born. His parents had no means or wish to raise him, and thus he was abandoned on an island covered with conflict. He had no name.

Chapter 1: The Iron Vagabond

"Pirates!" the cry arose around the port town as everybody gathered, gazing at the rapidly approaching buccaneers in fright. "It's Crescent Moon Gally!"

"Really!? Are you sure!?"

"That new pirate in the area!?"

"What are we going to do, Mayor!?"

The middle-aged man swallowed thickly. "What a terrible time we live in… it seems these days, pirates cover every inch of the ocean. It doesn't look like the Navy is in the area…" As he mopped his brow, the crowd waited with bated breath for his following words. "We're a small town, with no chance to defend ourselves and nobody coming to save us. If we give them anything valuable, they might leave us alone."

The townsfolk gaped at the man in charge, but couldn't fault his logic; the world was at the peak of the Great Pirate Age. About 20 years ago, the late Pirate King, Gold Roger, used his final words to spark a treasure hunt never before witnessed. Since nobody was any closer to finding the legendary horde, it might be a hunt that never ended.

Raising his voice, the mayor said, "Everybody get inside and bar your doors! I'll try to reason with them, but for your safety, you must hide!" And hide they all did, quickly entering any house or business nearby and piling the furniture at the door.

By the time they were done, the invading ship had arrived, announcing its arrival by ramming into the dock. Silence fell as the people waited for the onslaught… until a figure finally jumped from the ship. "Who is that? Is that Gally?" one terrified woman whispered as the man walked past their storefront.

"I don't know!" was frantically whispered back. "I haven't seen his bounty poster." The scared town watched from the shadows as the young man strolled through town, whistling a jaunty tune. To any discerning eyes, he didn't look much like a pirate; sun-kissed skin, short but shaggy dirty blond hair, a white short-sleeved shirt open to show off a gray undershirt half-tucked into blue jeans that were rolled up over his ankles, barefoot with feet covered in dirt, and the only accessory he had was the black compass hanging from a chain on the loop of his beltless pants. "He looks more like some farmer's kid…"

Suddenly, the boy stopped walking and whistling, his ear even twitching. He turned to glance at the storefront where the two were talking; in fright, they covered their mouths and plastered themselves to the back wall, far away from the window. Had he heard them? Were they in danger!?

After about a minute, a growl came from the boy… but not one of anger. Curling into himself, the boy groaned. "So hungry… Anything I had in the tank I used up beating those bozos. Is this place deserted?" Looking around the street, his gray eyes settled on a pub, the only building not boarded up. "The… Boar's Hat? What a weird name. Well, better than nothing!" And with that, the boy casually strolled into the open building.

And where was the mayor, who was supposed to 'talk the pirates down?' Scared to death of having to talk to pirates, the panicked man had passed out while hiding behind a barrel.

The Boar's Hat didn't look like anything special; it was the same as any pub… except for the decorative ornament behind the bar. It looked like an ax, entirely made of gold, down to the handle! "Huh. Nice place! Well, since there's no one here, they probably won't mind if I have a snack or three…"

The boy had been so focused on his mission, he failed to notice the young lady waiting just behind the door. As he took a few more steps in, she leaped at him from behind, sword raised high! "Take that!"

"Whoa!" The intruding teen avoided the attack, falling on his butt to dodge the assault. He raised his hands in defense, as the blonde pointed her weapon at him. "Wait wait! I'm sorry, I thought there was nobody around!"

"Today's your worst day then, scoundrel!" his attacker glared down at him. She sported a messy ponytail and big brown eyes that gave her an innocent appearance. Those warm eyes glared murder at the young man scooting backward at the advancing blade. "There was someone here, ready to defend-! Wait…" The girl frowned as she registered his words. "Why would you ransack a town if you thought nobody was here?"

"Ransack?" the young man looked at the armed girl in confusion. "I'd hardly call grabbing a bite to eat a 'ransack.' And I swear, if I had any money, I would have left some of it as payment."

"What are you…" the armed young lady looked at the scooting young man with further confusion, sword lowering as she took in her unwashed guest. "Are you Crescent Moon Gally, or are you working for Gally?"

"Uh… no," the man said as he got up. "Never heard of a 'Gally' before. I'm-" The boy paused as if remembering something, then cleared his throat before taking a new stance. He now stood with his side facing his audience, his arms crossed, two fingers out in a sideways peace sign, topped off with a side look with half-lidded eyes. "Commit this to your memory! Carve it into your brain! This moment is your once-in-a-lifetime chance! You're looking at a man too big to ignore! As for name…"

Turning on the spot, he clenched one hand into a fist and jammed his index finger into the air. "Call me… James Hook!" He froze in that stance as if expecting applause; the girl just looked at him flatly for a minute. Finally, a rumbling from Hook's stomach killed the moment, his face paling as he looked away in embarrassment. "A-and I could really use some food, so I'll take anything you got! I'll pay it back in labor! Or something…"

"So, you're just a customer?" Silk muttered as she still gave the man a gauging expression.

"Sorry about earlier!" the brown-eyed girl said as she prepared something behind the bar, a bright smile on her face. "If I'd known you were here for food, I would have been more accommodating! The town's on edge, you know! Oh! Name's Silk, by the way!"

'Her entire personality changed, huh?' Hook thought before saying aloud, "It's fine, don't worry. But, are you sure you should be messing around back there? Won't the owners be…"

"Don't worry about it!" Silk waved away the comment. "I own this place! It's my bar and all!"

"Whoa, you own a bar?" Hook blinked. "Like, the whole bar? Even the ax?"

Silk glanced over at the decoration, an unusual expression passed over her face before she seemed to shake it off. "Yeah, even that… Here! Enjoy the House Special!" Silk placed a pot pie in front of Hook at the counter, with a mug of drink next to it.

"Alright! Thanks!" Hook picked up the fork, and grabbed his first bite… and nearly gagged at the awful taste that threatened his tongue! "Holy-! This is the second worst thing I've ever tasted!"

"Yep!" Silk smiled like she was proud she'd made something so atrocious. "Our specialty, Pot Pie of Despair!"

"Why on Earth would you serve something like that!" Hook screamed at the beaming girl. Desperate to get the sour yet somehow spicy taste out of his mouth, he took a swig of his beverage… and sighed in contentment as a heavenly taste graced his mouth. "Wow~"

"Paired with the house drink, Wow!" Silk smiled. "It had a different name once, but everyone called it Wow, so it stuck. At least, that's what I'm told. It was way before I was born and all."

"So, you didn't always own this place?" Hook said between forced bites of his meal, washed down heavily with Wow.

"No, it was my father's," Silk shrugged. "But when he passed away, it fell to my mom. I got it when she left."

"Left?"

"Yeah, it was about when I was 10 or 11, some pirate bum came into town," Silk recounted with a frown. "He was scruffy, vulgar, smelled like a still, his forehead was huge, and he was an absolute dumbass!"

"Don't have a high opinion of him, huh?" Hook muttered bemused. "What happened? Did he kill your mother?"

"No, worse," Silk snorted. "She fell in love with him! Sailed off after him, and left me the Boar Hat! How could she do that!" She slammed her fist on the bar, making Hook's plate and mug jump a little. "I didn't know him much before I died, but I know my father would have been heartbroken to hear she just up and fell in love with the first idiot to fall off a boat! He was only dead for seven years, and she just takes off for the sea, the bitch!"

"This feels like an overreaction," Hook muttered, but kept to himself.

"Then again, I can't blame her," Silk grinned, her emotions once more flipping on a beri. "We both fell in love with stories of Oakland Cisco…"

Hook blinked as he finished his meal with the last swallow of Wow. "Who? Oakland… is he famous?"

Silk's face fell at the question. "Is he famous!? Oakland Cisco's one of the most famous explorers in the world! He traveled all over the world, saw incredible sights, fought powerful monsters, and had parties and feasts that lasted for months!" Silk's whole face lit up as she recounted this to Hook, looking pretty much like a human ray of sunshine. "My mom told me my father courted her with tales of his daring, and that's how they fell in love!

"Even after he died, the sea still called to her, and even though that dumbass, fat-headed, flat-footed, knuckle-dragging drunkard was too good for my mom, he dropped some interesting stories on her in the few days he was at port. I don't completely blame her for going off with him. I-!" Silk seemed to finally catch herself, cheeks getting red as she glanced at Hook's amused face. She fiddled with her ponytail and mumbled, "S-so, yeah. I get why she went out and all…"

Hook snickered, earning a small glare from the blushing girl. "Sorry! N-not laughing at you. I'm just impressed! Sounds like your Dream's pretty big…"

Silk looked up, noting his reaction with some interest and open intrigue. "My… Dream?"

"Yeah!" Hook smiled in a way that matched Silk's earlier expression. "This whole age exists because of the greatest Dream ever! Gold Roger, the One Piece, the title of Pirate King – we wouldn't have this era without his final words across the world!" Hook got up, almost determined to outdo Silk's tirade as he jumped on an empty table.

"This world wouldn't exist without our Dreams! I wouldn't be at sea without chasing my own Dream!" Pausing to breathe, he looked at Silk with a wide smile, jamming his own thumb in his chest. "My Dream – I will find One Piece, and become the most famous man across the world! And I won't let anyone stand in my way!"

"O-one… Piece?" Silk gaped at this bold, crazy teenager; anybody whose anybody knows what hunting down the legendary treasure would entail. The Grand Line, pirates, and eventually the Navy… God only knows what else! To Silk's own knowledge, not a single pirate had come close to fulfilling Roger's final words, and yet, with a conviction Silk had never seen before, this funny stranger covered in dirt had just declared he would do it. Not try, but will. The passion in his words stirred something in her… a feeling she had long since buried for her own reasons. Out of the corner of her eye, Silk thought she had since the gilded ornament on the wall glowed for a moment. The flicker was enough to snap her out of… those thoughts and to frown at Hook. "Dreams… don't be stupid. People shouldn't go after those. There are too many reasons to not take such a chance…"

Hook blinked at her, now sitting on the table. "Huh? But what about what you said earlier? About your mom? And that Cisco guy?"

"My mom's overly passionate, and jumps to ideas too quickly," Silk huffed, cleaning up Hook's empty plates without looking at him, "and Cisco's stories were just that. Not even sure the world knows or remembers he ever existed…"

Hook hummed at that, looking hard at Silk as if willing an answer to her mood to pop out of her mouth. "Well… even if he doesn't exist, you do. You could sail out to sea and find him, or you could do something else! There are endless possibilities out there!" Hook smiled as an idea came to mind. "Actually, I do need a crew and all… How'd you like to join-"

A sharp crack echoed around the pub. Silk looked up to Hook, a very forced expression of calm on her own face. Without a shift in her face, she let go of the now broken plate… and the slightly twisted mug, unable to handle her suddenly tighter grip. "No thanks," Silk said, devoid of any emotion. "I absolutely don't want to join a man who is this close to becoming a pirate…"

Hook looked back at Silk, unbothered by her sudden destruction of dinnerware. "Is it about the bar? You know, I bet anyone could run this place, or you could open a new one when we get back or something…"

Silk's glare intensified, the countertop now creaking under her fingertips. "That is-!"

A sudden gunshot and scream punched into the air, killing their conversation stone cold. Silk ran for the door to see what was the matter, Hook following at a slightly less hurried pace. Outside, they found the townspeople were no longer hiding, standing on the outskirts of a nasty scene. Waiting for all of them was the mayor on the ground clutching his bleeding arm. Not too far from him was a man surrounded by 20 sweaty others. "Mayor!" Silk gaped before snarling at the only armed man in the street. He was dressed in a purple coat and tricorne hat, with an unusually pointy beard and mustache combo to complete the outfit. "You must be Gally! You rat-bitten-!"

"Be quiet, bug collector!" Crescent Moon Gally yelled back. "I'm in no mood to play around! Not after dealing with that scruffy, little…"

'Bug collector?' Silk blinked at the unusual insult.

"Hm?" Hook muttered as he came out of the Boar Hat. "What's going on?" Looking around, he finally noticed Gally and his smoking pistol. "Oh, it's you. Didn't I tie you up?"

At the sight of Hook's face, Gally's anger seemed to skyrocket. "So you are here! You scurvy, flea-infested bastard! After what you did to me…!"

"What he did?" Silk turned to Hook, as well as most of the town. "What did you do!?"

"I didn't do nothin'!" Hook defended, raising his hands in protest. "He pulled me out of my sinking boat, rest its soul, then demanded I pay him!"

"And then you mocked me!" Gally roared. "Don't forget that!"

"Mock?" Hook crossed his arms and thought back. "I don't remember doing that. I just said, 'I don't have any beris, weird beard,' and then you got all…"

"And now you're doing it again!" Gally's temples pulsed in his growing frustration. "Argh! I'm furious now! Even burning this town to the ground couldn't help, but it's a start!" His crew cheered in agreement as weapons were drawn.

Despite the evident fear, the town's adults grabbed any children near them and pushed them behind for protection. Silk was the exception, having grabbed her blade in the confusion and unsheathe it. "You miserable ass! I'm not gonna stand here and let you do that!"

"Silk, stop!" As she leaped forward, ready for a fight, three men jumped forward to hold her back. As she dragged them forward, several more joined in until they were able to halt her completely. "If you attack him, you'll just get hurt!"

"That's right!" another said. "You're just using a sword, and even you can't take on 20 men with just that!"

"Just a sword…?" Hook muttered, perplexed at the phrasing. "What does that…?"

"Let me go!" Silk roared. "I can take him! I'll beat them all!"

"Silk…" the mayor wheezed out, pale from all the blood loss despite pressuring the wound. "No matter how strong you are… you haven't actually fought someone else before… If you get hurt, we'd never be able to look your mother in the eye…"

Silk flinched at that, frowning deeply at the reasoning and compassion. "But…"

"We can build another town," the mayor propped himself up on the barrel he'd been hiding behind before. "We cannot make another you. Port Cisco is more than just this town, you know… it has memories we all treasure."

As many of the townsfolk gave silent agreement, Silk was overcome with emotion. Her eyes were squeezed shut as she seemed to hold back tears. Hook stood by and watched the exchange, a small smile on his face. Meanwhile, Gally could only sneer at the crowd, unmoved by their moment. "How stupid are all of you! Memories aren't treasure! Gold, jewels, riches beyond your wildest dreams! Those are real treasures, and I'll take all of those you got-"

"Ka..." a noise drew everyone's attention toward Hook. Unable to hold back, he let out an unusual laugh: "Clakakakaka! Damn, it's not just your beard that's weird! It's your brain, too! Clakakaka!"

Gally's face went from red to as purple as his god-awful coat at that barb. "That does it! Forget the town! Kill him specifically!" Just eager for bloodshed, the pirates charged at Hook with weapons ready.

"What the hell! All this for one kid!" many in the crowd said. "Run! Get out of there!" Despite their warnings, Hook didn't move; he stood there in a boxing stance as if prepared to face the oncoming horde.

"We'll teach you to look down on the Crescent Moon Pirates!" a portly man in the lead said as he brought down his blade. "Take thi- huh!?" Hook did not take it; with a wrist flick, he deflected the sword and opened the man up to a jab to the face that took him down! Silk and the townsfolk gaped at the simple motion, but it was only the beginning. In a matter of minutes, Hook had dodged every strike and returned with punishing haymakers to the face, stomach, and even groin of every pirate in his vicinity.

"I-incredible!" said the store-hiding woman. "20 cutthroats… and he's taking them out like nothing!" True to the exclamation, only three of them were left standing, but that was only because they stayed behind their comrades as they got laid out.

"Whoa…" Silk muttered; the people holding her had let go in shock, but she didn't feel a need to jump in with how Hook had handled every attacker. "He's not just all talk, huh…"

"Cap'n…" one pirate moaned at Gally's feet. "It's just like last time… his fists are like metal! We can't even cut him!"

Gally sneered at his fallen man. "Useless! He's not a monster! Just a man!" With that in mind, he took aim with his gun. "And he'll fall like any other!"

As one of the last tried to stab him, Hook grabbed the knife by the blade. "Hey! Hold still!" He then backhanded the man into unconsciousness. "Hard to hit you guys when you're moving-"

"DIE!" the pirate, wielding a large hammer brought it down on Hook's head, poised to flatten it! The town gasped, mothers tried to cover their children's eyes… only to watch as the hammer bounced off Hook's head, the handle breaking and allowing the head to go flying off! Most everyone's jaws were on the ground at the sight of the broken weapon.

Hook scratched the impact point and turned to face his would-be assailant. "Ow! Damn it, watch where you swing that, would ya?" Hook didn't let him answer as he delivered a headbutt that flattened his nose.

"What is…?" Silk cut off her query when she noticed Gally cocking the gun hammer back. "Shit, Hook! Watch out-!"

The shot rang through the air, as Hook was shot in the bare chest! Silk, the crowd, and Gally watched as Hook… stumbled back in shock and rubbed at where the bullet hit him. All eyes traveled to the tiny iron ball at the boy's feet; Hook and Gally looked up and locked eyes, one's look mocking and the other's fearful. "W-w-what… That… that's impossible! You should be bleeding!"

"Maybe if I wasn't awesome!" Hook shrugged as he walked forward a bit, knocking on his chest… which gave out a sound of metal hitting metal, like a blacksmith in a forge. "Remember this day! Commit it to your memory! Carve it into your brain! The man who uses the Clank-Clank Fruit… is James Hook!"

"The… Clank-Clank?" most of the crowd muttered, unsure what he was saying… save for Silk and the mayor, who traded knowing glances.

"H-holy shit!" The last standing member, sans Gally, of the pirates took a few steps back in fear. "Gally, he's got one of those cursed fruits!"

"Devil Fruits!" Hook corrected. "Although, not being able to swim is a curse…"

His terror and shock forgotten, Gally snorted. "Devil Fruits are just stories! Fruits that give people the ability to control nature or become monsters are just myths!"

"Not exactly~" Hook bent over and picked up the broken hammer head. "My powers made me a Comboman! Could a 'story' do this?" From his hand, blue lines grew to cover the hammerhead, before it seemed to meld into Hook's skin. He chuckled at everyone's gobsmacked expressions. "Clakaka! A little iron for dessert never hurt nobody! But that's not all!"

Racing forward, Hook cocked back his right arm, and his hand, and wrist became covered in blue lines. In a heartbeat, his arm, from his fist to his elbow, became solid metal! "Iron Paw!" With a single strike, Hook sent Gally flying; not just rolling down the street, but off of the island and into his ship! (Later, when the Crescent Moon Pirates checked the aft, they'd find there was a man-sized hole in the back wall of the captain's cabin. In honor of their fallen leader, they would call it the Gally Hole.)

"Ah, oops," Hook blinked at the air time of the short pirate, before looking at his still metal fist. "That was a little too much power, huh? My bad! Clakakaka!" Port Cisco's denizens were speechless; just minutes ago, they were worried about what would be left of the town to salvage. Now, some dirty drifter came along and literally blew their problems away. To be blunt, they were clueless about how to handle this.

Gally's crew were not as lost; most of them recovered from their second beating that day, they saw what happened and came to the best decision: "RUN AWAY!" With no care about their fellow, slower crewmates, the pirates fled the port town, and rowed as fast as their ship could take! It was a miracle all of them were able to get on board before they got left behind…

As Hook continued laughing and waving goodbye, like he was seeing friends off and not an invading force he single-handedly drove off, Silk felt that same stir in her chest during his speech. Faintly smiling, she thought, 'James Hook… I guess your Dream's pretty big too.'

A/N: To Be Continued. Actually, it's already continued. The next two chapters are on my (PAT) reon page, link on my profile. If you like what I write, there's a bit more there too. Come join us for a little more fun!