(A/N: Guess who started watching One Piece earlier this year? This girl! I became hooked, created a character, started writing a few days ago, and here we are! This will basically be my new One Piece OC, Tempeste G. Venus, in the anime timeline, debuting in the Loguetown arc. I'm using aniwatch / to [replace / with period and remove spaces for link] for reference, to avoid interrupting our process on Crunchyroll. I'm watching in Japanese, with English subtitles. Really fun this way! Anyway, enjoy the introduction! It's basically most of episode 48.)


The Town Of The Beginning and End- Landfall of Loguetown

"Oh man," Monkey D. Luffy bemoaned to himself in disappointment, "I was trying to get to the execution platform, but now I'm somewhere else completely."

Luffy and his ragtag crew of misfits, the Straw Hats, had docked at Loguetown, famed for being not only the birthplace of Gold Roger, but also where he was executed.

"Perfect timing!" Luffy was happy to find a tall, burly man who seemed local. "Do you know how to get to the execution platform?"

"The execution platform?"

"I got lost on my way..."

"I've seen you around before."

"Yeah! I just landed on this island! This town sure is huge! It's way different from Foosha Village!"

"Why are you looking for the execution platform?"

"I wanna see the place where the King of the Pirates died!" There was a pause. "You don't know where? Aww..."

"Wait. Follow the smoke."

Luffy noticed the smoke from the man's two cigars drifting to Luffy's right, between two buildings next to them. "Oh! That way?! Thanks!" He ran that way, eager to find what he was looking for.

It seemed that somewhere, he must have taken a wrong turn, and he was now at an intersection of alleys with a few sets of stairs. "Oh, well. I'll get there sooner or later." He descended down one alley, and stopped after the stairs. "Is it this way? Let's see..." Turning the opposite direction, he spotted a sign hanging from a building. "Gold... Roger?" He read aloud in awe. Now curious, he walks down another flight of stairs, and entered a tavern through the wooden gate.

The Bar Gold Roger.

Strangely, the lights were all turned off, the chairs were upside down on the tables, and the tavern was completely vacant... except for a short, elderly man in a white and red shirt, and purple beanie hat, sitting with a bottle of wine, and what appeared to be an ivory mound on the table.

Luffy observed the area for a moment, then turned to the man. "Do you work here, old guy? It said "Gold Roger" on the sign outside; is that the place's name?"

The man was silent, staring daggers at him, before responding. "Scram. This place ain't for a runt like you. Besides, we're closed for good as of today." He poured himself a shot from the bottle.

"It wend under?"

"It didn't go under!" The man snapped. "I'm shutting it down myself! Now get lost!"

"I was just curious about the name, that's all." Rather than leave, Luffy sat on a barstool in defeat. "I'm lost. I was wanting to go to the execution platform; can you tell me how to get there?" He then took notice of the ivory. "What's that on your table?" He then saw that it wasn't an ivory mound at all. "Oh! A skull?! It's huge!"

The man stared at the skull. "This is what became of a guy once known as Killer Giant. A villain who sent hundreds of pirates to the afterlife." He smiled at Luffy. "But Gold Roger sent him to his grave with just one blow."

"Gold Roger did?!" Luffy exclaimed in childlike wonder.

"With truly lightning speed!" The man threw his hands in the air for emphasis. "This guy was famous for the absurdly huge blade he used, but their fight ended in the blink of an eye!" He poured himself another shot. "And this is the wound he received!" The skull had a long, vertical crack on the forehead. "But he was an infamous scoundrel himself! With his dying breath, he muttered, "Roger... my hat's off to you... may you have honor as the Eternal Pirate."

Luffy was shaking with excitement at the tale. "So awesome! So cool!" He gushed.

"Eric Down, the man known as King... Silver Silver, the world's greatest gunman... the giant Gowns Brothers..." He prepared another shot. "They were all tough men, who were as feared as demons. But for Gold Roger, they were as weak as infants." Luffy was shaking even more by now, with a wide grin. "Would ya like to hear more?"

"Yeah!"

"Very few people these days believe this story, you know..."

"That's okay! Just tell me!" Luffy encouraged.

"Hold your horses. Gold Roger... in those days... no, even still, I guess... he was the one and only man who didn't fear the Grand Line. Back then, the Grand Line was an unknown area, from which not a single boat ever returned after being swallowed up. It was a sea of evil that people feared, and which few approached!"

As the man told Luffy the story, neither noticed a slight creak from the door behind the bar.

30 years ago

"Old man. Give me more rum," A coat-clad figure demanded, "The whole bottle'll do."

The bar owner, the same man telling Luffy the story, handed over a bottle of Clement Rum. "You sure are drinking happily today, Roger," He commented.

Gold Roger downed the rum. "Of course I am. I'm just about to take a little stroll into the Grand Line." The owner's eyes widened in shock, as Roger held out the now empty bottle. "I'm excited beyond belief."

"Whoa! You're going there?! Into that sea of evil?!"

"What? Is there something wrong with that?"

"No, not exactly, but... take my advice: forget about going there. No one's ever come back!"

Roger laughed with confidence. "That's why I'm going. Now, then. Give me more rum. A whole barrel'll do."

"After saying that, he drank the whole place dry," The man concluded, "Then set sail all too casually the next morning. When I heard he ha conquered the Grand Line a bit later, I was more happy than I was surprised- I was more excited than I should have been at my age!" He recalled, as Luffy vibrated with ecstasy. "And then, 22 years ago today, Roger died on the execution platform. Ever since that day, everyone proud of their great strength has tossed their hat into the pirate ring. It marked the beginning of the Great Pirate Era! But now look! The town's full of nothing but cowards and scum now!" He ranted. "Men crazy enough to challenge that sea of evil are all but gone now! That's why this bar is closing down for good today."

"I'm going to the Grand Line, too!" The young pirate announced.

"Huh?!"

"Gold Roger's so cool... he's how a pirate should be! That's why I set out to sea. I'm gonna go to the Grand Line, get the One Piece, and be King of the Pirates!"

At that, the man's eyes widened. Luffy was like a young Gold Roger; the positive, eager attitude was uncanny. "Those're some mighty big words! And in this bar of all places!" He praised.

"I only said what I meant."

The man chuckled. "Kiddo! If there're still patrons like you out there, maybe I'll hold off on closing the place!"

Luffy cocked an eyebrow in confusion. "How should I know if there are?!"

"You're right! Of course you wouldn't know!" The now cheerful man walked to behind the bar. "I haven't been in such a good mood since then! I'll treat you to a drink!"

"I don't drink alcohol," Luffy said.

The man laughed from the fridge. "Right! Then have this!" He prepared two glasses of milk, giving one to the teen. "Let's have a toast! To the Eternal King of the Pirates!" He pulled off his hat with a grin.

Luffy turned to face him with an eager grin in return. "To the Eternal King of the Pirates!" They clinked their glasses, and emptied them swiftly.

During their conversation, the door slowly opened ajar, and a green-haired, purple-cloaked head peeked out of the room in curiosity, only her dark green eye visible, as well as a small, pale hand with black nails. 'Who's Mr. Rauru talking to?' She wondered to herself, not saying a word.


(A/N: Yeah, she was barely in here, but this eases into her introduction. Everyone belongs to Eiichiro Oda, except for Venus. She's mine. I will be updating on Sundays! I have this arc all done, and am proofreading/editing chapters to ensure that they're perfect. I'll be sharing her outfits in Twitter posts with the links for the first chapter of the arc. And others, depending on how many there are. My Twitter is BrainyxB.)