Disclaimer: All respective characters and settings belong to their respective franchises.


Luffy stirred, his eyes opening into thin slits. Lying prone, he slowly blinked until his vision adjusted, finding it to still be dark outside. He sat up with a yawn, rubbing his eyes. For a moment, he sat still with his head low, staring at where his feet should be. Minutes passed before a thought came to him.

Breakfast.

He stood up, yawned for a second time, and walked forward, keeping going until he collided with something that caused him to fall back. Blinking, he stood back up and repeated the action, accomplishing the same result. He kept going a few more times, noticing that the wall of his room was sturdier than usual. His grandfather had allowed him to sleep outside to cut back on house repairs. He still slept in his room at times, but compared to the outdoors, there wasn't much of an equivalent.

Eventually, he gave up and began thinking about what to do next, rubbing his belly and promptly remembering that he wanted to eat. Yet, something odd occurred to him. He wasn't feeling the usual hunger pangs. It was then that his memory was jolted. He darted his head around, realizing that it wasn't dark because it was still the wee hours, but because he had been trapped inside a cave.

Dang it.

As he sifted through his memories, one detail stood out that made him smile from ear to ear. The mystery bracelet. He reached for his left forearm and was relieved that he was still wearing it; that it hadn't been a dream. Too bad the same couldn't be said for his current predicament, but that was where he remembered that the mystery bracelet could light his way out of this earthen prison.

He fiddled with the bracelet more vigorously, trying to twist the circular faceplate and hammering it with an enclosed fist. The bracelet reacted once more, lighting up in a bright green glow that illuminated the cavern even more intensely. Excited by this, he quickly scrambled to his feet and was about to take a step when he suddenly remembered that he had been injured. He braced himself for the pain to come, but after a moment, it didn't. Blinking his eyes open, he stared down at the ground, which was cast in a green glow from the bracelet. Peering at where his injury should be, on his left leg, he found nothing.

Brushing his right hand over the area, he could feel no wound or abrasion; only splotches of leftover dry blood, a telltale sign that there had ever been any sort of blemish. His face scrunched tightly at this, wondering if his injury had really been all that serious. To his knowledge, he regularly sustained varying degrees of trauma—just from his grandpa's training or the old man himself kicking and punching him around like a ragdoll—but never anything too severe.

There was that one time he had sustained a sprained ankle, but that was only from when the old man had ordered him to start hunting for his own food. The experience had certainly not been easy, but he still managed to come out of it relatively unscathed. He felt pretty dizzy and perhaps even blacked out a few times, but still remained as healthy as a strapping young buck. Over time, he got used to making sport of the wild game in the forest and would devour them to the bone, leaving a trail of carnage that most of the animals instinctively fled upon seeing him.

After doing a few more test movements, Luffy raised the now lit bracelet in front of him to light his way, slowly whirled around to fully take stock of his surroundings. The place he was trapped in appeared to be a small alcove, sequestered off by a cavity that led up to the main passageway, overlooking a steep slope that was jagged and uneven for even a boy of his frame to scale. The inside was cold and murky, the green light providing only enough visual for him to navigate within his immediate range. He kept swiveling around, illuminating nearly the entire circumference when he stopped upon facing the opposite end of the wall.

He took a few advancing steps forward, bringing his left arm further away from him to properly see what had caught his eye. Creeping closer, he began to make out...a line. A long single line that ran up the wall, then another that went across the middle of the first one. Upon running the light across the length and breadth of the wall, he could make out large words that were inscribed on it. He squinted as he examined them, his right hand coming upon the end of the first and poking his finger into the indent.

It looked as if it had been dug into by a sharp tool in a single stroke; one that had to have been hard and strong enough to accomplish such a feat. Luffy took a moment to read the words in their entirety.

'I'm sorry'

Luffy scratched his head at the words. Since when did caves apologize? And for what? With a shrug, he refocused his efforts to climb up the slope. Turns out, the task proved to be fairly simple; with how he was able to get a good foothold. When he was sure that he had a good grip, he proceeded to scale up the incline. Just as he was about to reach the mouth of the entrance, the light from the bracelet was starting to die down again.

"Ah! No, don't!" Luffy panicked, his right hand instinctively reaching for the faceplate and slamming it down.

He flinched and closed his eyes when he was once again assaulted by an explosion of green light, the intensity almost causing him to release his hold, but he held on strong, determined to get out. When he next opened his eyes, he gaped wide at the sight that greeted him. Instead of the green light, which was no more, the cave was now illuminated by a much brighter orange brilliance, roof and all.

"Eh?" Luffy sounded in a voice slightly deeper than his own, but he didn't notice, and even if he did, he was far too awestruck by this unexpected phenomenon to pay it any mind. It didn't take long for him to snap back to the present, and he proceeded to climb out of the entrance and leaving the cave entirely. He let out a whoop of joy when he looked up at the sky and realized that it was already dark outside. Huh, he must have been asleep for quite a while. Oh well, now that he was out of that dank cave, he could try finding a better place to sleep out in the woods. Underneath the stars and the fresh air.

Shrugging, he proceeded to trek back down the path leading to his home.


Elsewhere…

"Hey, boss!"

"Yeah?"

"Whaddaya say we go into town again and knock up that bar?"

A man with tan skin, black hair that came down to his neck and an x-shaped scar on his forehead was walking down the forest path with a drunken grin on his lips, eyes half-lidded. Accompanied by two other men, he took a swig from his bottle of cheap rum. Upon wiping his mouth with the forearm that held the bottle, he replied, "Or you just wanna knock up that girl we saw."

The man on his right said, "I hear she's the one runnin' the place."

"No kiddin'?" The first man who made the suggestion earlier clicked his tongue appreciatively. "Finest piece of ass I ever did see. Let's go on ahead and nab her."

"Whoaho, ease up man, I also heard she's tight with the mayor," the second guy to Higuma's left, the one that recognized Makino, said to his companion warningly. "No way are they gonna take that lightly. They might sic those pirates on us."

"Those wimps?" The first guy scoffed. "Were you even at the bar when the boss showed 'em up? Lousy chickenshits didn't even fight back, and after all those talks you hear about pirates bein' hot shit. None of 'em could ever hold a candle to the great Higuma. Ain't that right, boss?"

Higuma, said boss, huffed proudly, then let out a drunken belch and boasted, "Damn straight. I got 8 mil ridin' on me. Those fuckers could only wish they could eat my nutsack."

"Dahahaha! That's our boss for 'ya!" The same man cheered.

Higuma took another swig, only to find himself sucking on empty, the bottle drained of its contents. He threw it carelessly against one of the nearby trees, followed by the sound of shattering glass.

Releasing another belch, Higuma wiped at his mouth and said, "Gotta piss." The two men with him nodded, allowing him to amble his way into a nearby corner to take care of his business.

As the two other men stood by, engrossed in some small talk, Higuma went about unbuckling his belt. As he did, his nose twitched, taking an idle sniff of the air and, even in his drunken stupor, recognized it to be smoke. Huh, they must have been near a campsite. A grin slowly drew itself onto the bandit leader's lips.

A score.

He just needed to finish up first and tell the guys-

"B-Boss!"

Higuma fidgeted, still in the midst of draining his tank and almost spilling some on his pants leg. Irritated, he glanced over his shoulder and barked out, "Hey, if any of you fucks want me to cut off your dicks, just say so!"

He felt a hand grab his shoulder mid-sentence, pulling him urgently to turn him around, and that would have been enough for him to draw the sword from his back when he caught the look of abject panic painted on both of his men's faces, and the sea of flames that were behind them, greedily consuming the forest and casting it in a hellish glow that shadowed over them. His jaw dropping, Higuma frantically ordered his men to flee. Just as he was about to make a run for it himself, his foot got caught in his pants – in all the commotion, he had forgotten his previous endeavor. He reached out toward his men, who dutifully came to his aid, but more out of fear at the possibility of him surviving and punishing them.

Fortunately, they had enough time for Higuma to fix his pants back into place before they quickly made tracks. As they did, they happened to pass by a herd of animals going in the opposite direction, with many hurrying in a panic as if being pursued by a predator. One of the beasts almost ran Higuma over; had the latter not evaded it, he would have been trampled. The bandit leader quietly mused to himself what could have possibly caused the fire. There was no way that a mere fire pit could have spread flames this quickly unless some dumbfuck was really that negligent. There wasn't even a breeze to feed and fan the flames.

Arson? No way that his gang had anything to do with this, so his remaining suspect could only be Bluejam and his motley bunch. Only the reason eluded him. The man was a colossal prick even by his standards, but burning down an entire forest? Okay, maybe he was just overthinking it, and in their current predicament, the only crucial imperative for them was to get the fuck out. But still, he had no doubt that his two other cohorts were thinking the same thing. Who or what could have caused a forest fire this massive? And it only seemed to be growing.

"Run, you fuckers!" Higuma exclaimed to his men, swinging his arms and stamping his feet wildly.

"Right!" Both of his men were only too eager to follow suit, the heat from the flames proving suffocating as they navigated their way through the burning woods, one of them having to cover his mouth with his forearm, the other letting out a few coughs. It was like something out of hell; the starry night sky was now obscured by the light and thick smoke. None of them could imagine anything worse than being at the very heart of the inferno.

Luffy was walking down a steady path to his home, for some reason the trail illuminated brightly with lamps, granting him an excellent view of where he was going. Though he didn't exactly spot any, what else could possibly be making such bright light all around him? It was pretty damn convenient as far he was concerned. Maybe that was what had lit up the cave as well. Lucky.

Humming a random but happy tune to himself, Luffy kept on going when he spotted what looked to be three men in the distance coming towards him. They looked panicked and alarmed for some reason. Thinking to himself, he didn't believe that he needed to greet them a good evening, but he was then reminded of Big Sister Makino teaching him eti-etiq…how to be polite.

With that in mind, he raised his hand and waved at the three men, saying in a slightly deeper voice than his own, "Good evening."

As they passed by the odd creature, and really, it was possibly the oddest thing that they had ever laid their eyes on, Higuma and his cronies came to a stop and blankly stared at it in dumbstruck silence.

Three pairs of eyes followed the...thing as it simply strolled past them toward the opposite direction. It had a humanoid figure, walked on two legs, and was about the size of a ten-year-old, but other than that, it looked like a piece of molten volcanic rock got up one day, took human shape, and decided it was going to burn down a freaking forest. It didn't even have discernible facial features other than a line and two circles, which they figured served as its mouth and eyes, its head wreathed in flames. Its three-fingered hands glowed bright yellow as it continued to go on its way, going at an eerily casual gait like nothing was amiss.

They now had a pretty good idea what likely started the fire.

And it greeted them a good evening like it was a normal fucking person.

"B-Boss…" One of his men, who Higuma could care less which one it was, whimpered, fidgeting like a mouse as rivers of sweat rolled down his body from a combination of the heat, fear and panic. Higuma himself was trembling like a leaf, but then…an idea came to him, one that was just crazy, dangerous and stupid enough to get him killed.

But the rewards.

The rewards would far, far outpace the risks. He shot a glance at both of his boys, and while they still seemed terrified beyond belief and exhausted, they could read what was on his face clear as day, the flames around them framing the wicked look that had quickly replaced the fear ominously.


Elsewhere…

Garp let out a drunken belch, the man kicking back on his ever-trusty rocking chair, sitting by his front porch and appreciating the perfect scenery before him. There was just something sublimely magical about not having to deal with his dumbass grandson for a full day that made it all the more worthwhile of having reached his seventies. He sighed dreamily with the biggest smile on his face, taking in a joyous whiff of the fresh night air.

As always, it was deliciously crisp, warm, smokey…

Garp broke out of his relaxation, peeling forward to gawk at the unmistakable glow of orange in the distance. Discarding his bottle, he shot out of his rocking chair hard and fast enough to knock it all the way back and smash it against the wall, scattering the wood.

"Luffy…"

The thought of his grandson crept into the back of his mind, wondering where in blazes he could be. It was that same thought that pushed him off the ground, quickening his pace as he disappeared from sight.

Speaking of Luffy, the seven-year-old now halfway down the mountain, was suddenly beset by a dilemma. One that had been niggling at him since leaving those three men behind. Rubbing a hand over his growling stomach, he wandered his gaze around the area, looking to see if there was any game he could make a meal out of. He regretted letting some animals pass him by, seemingly in a hurry for some reason. Maybe he could find some mushrooms as a pick-me-up. Scouring under the nearby corners, he soon came across some growing under a pair of intertwining logs. He bent down, using his right hand as support by placing it on the adjacent log, his palm soon burning into the aged bark until it was set alight. Not that he noticed.

Or for that matter, a grinning Higuma coming down from above with his sword drawn all the way behind him, the man having thrown caution to the wind to capitalize on the thing being distracted. Swinging the blade down with all his might, he wasn't taking any chances, the sharp end of the metal soon digging into the flame demon's shoulder with a clang. The bandit leader beamed in triumph that he had actually managed to fell the monster in a single stroke. He was sure that this thing would fetch him a pretty-

"Hm?" Luffy raised his head, feeling something tap his shoulder, causing Higuma to freeze up, the grin on his face just as frozen, blinking in surprise at discovering that his sword had barely penetrated the skin.

The molten, rock hard skin.

Luffy turned his head to catch a glimpse of the man over his shoulder and found him in an awkward position.

Higuma couldn't say a word, sweat pouring down his forehead as his gaze met the creature's. Or he certainly hoped he did, getting the distinct impression that he was staring into the very pits of hell itself.

Luffy blinked, wondering what the strange man was even doing, and why was he holding a...was he pointing a sword at him?

Higuma retreated back with a jolt and an undignified cry, lifting up his sword defensively against the now undoubtedly upset creature. Luffy stood up, checking down to see if he had at least managed to cop some mushrooms. All he found were odd clumps of dirt. He looked up at the man with a pout and a frown and said, "Hey!"

Higuma fidgeted, his heart about to leap straight out of his chest. For some godforsaken reason, he found himself responding with, "Y-Yes?"

"You're annoying," Luffy simply told him. "Go away."

Higuma…didn't rightly know how to even begin to dignify that reaction. The thing wasn't even acting hostile.

"...Eh?"

It was at that moment that Higuma's cohorts appeared behind him, both wearing uncertain looks on their faces. "B-Boss, come on," one of them said, the other beside him coughing from the smoke, the oxygen becoming increasingly limited.

Higuma, snapping out of his stupor, shook his head and growled, "And miss out on this cash cow?! Fuck that! No way am I gonna pass this up." He trailed off by tightening his hold on the blade and flashing it menacingly, ready to attack at any moment.

The exchange between the two strange men puzzled Luffy; he had no idea what they were even talking about. Shrugging his shoulders, he turned to leave when the man with the sword cried out loudly, grabbing his attention, and it did – with Luffy watching him swish his sword threateningly, making wild, uncoordinated swings which the boy found more bemusing than anything else.

"You're acting funny, mister," Luffy said simply, causing Higuma and his cohorts to pause.

The bandit leader's face then twisted into a heated scowl at the insult. "Funny?" Higuma fumed, then pointed his blade at the thing mocking him. "Who the fuck are you to call me funny?!"

Luffy blinked, maintaining his odd stare as he answered, "Monkey D. Luffy."

"I don't give two shits if your name's Susan!" Higuma shouted through the flames getting louder. And closer.

The men with him grew even more perturbed when they heard and saw several nearby trees giving in to the flames consuming them, toppling over in succession like dominos. Both shared meaningful glances. Whatever insane plan their boss had in mind, they were sure that it couldn't possibly be worth dying a fiery death over. And so, with silent prayers that he'd perish in their stead, Higuma's once loyal men turned heel and made a mad break for it.

Higuma caught this but didn't care; he was too focused on his prize and imagined the money that would set him up for life. To hell with his gang; this was his moment. "Alright, you freak," the bandit leader began. "Either you come along quietly, or I might just decide you don't need to walk anymore."

"Walk?" Luffy repeated strangely, looking down at his feet, then back up at the man. "But I am walking."

Higuma…blinked. "Are you fucking with me?!"

Luffy continued to be confused by this interaction. He didn't even know who this man was or why he was mad at him. As such, he turned on his heel and was about to depart as well when Higuma lunged forward to attack again.

"Screw this! Damaged goods is better than nothing."

True to his word, Higuma laterally drew back his sword before swinging it with all the strength he could muster, determined to bisect the creature's legs. But before the blade could even so much as nick Luffy's now rock-hard skin, Higuma's vision swam and then went completely black.

He withdrew his fist from the now-dead bandit leader, the latter's head completely caved in and spilling out a pool of blood. Having encountered the other two by sheer chance and disposing of them as well, he was able to trace their steps and locate the bastard. Killing him was only a matter of flying in like a meteor, and none too soon; for the moment he caught sight of it, he knew then and there that no witnesses were to be left alive. The fact that they were scum only made things easier.

He rose to his full height and regarded the figure before him with a grave frown, questions buzzing around in his head, with only one rearing itself at the forefront. "What the fuck is a Pyronite doing here?"

Was it an illegal? It would certainly explain the forest fire. Pyronites who hadn't been properly vetted through immigration and had not been given an inhibitor tended to be wildly unrestrained with their pyrokinesis. He took out his Plumber Badge and clicked the center with his thumb. It would be a while before a squad arrived, so for now, he needed to nip this in the bud before anyone else came snooping along.

"Hey!" Garp called out to the alien, who had walked about twelve feet away from him.

Luffy stopped at the sound of the voice.

A very familiar voice that called out to him from behind. Slowly turning around, he caught a glimpse of his grandfather, standing across from where he had stopped. "What?" Luffy asked with a frown, addressing his grandfather in the same manner as he would normally.

Garp's eyebrows narrowed before he said, "You can't be here." He held his hand up, the other flashing his badge. "Easy, I'm a Plumber. Just come along quietly and I'll get you home."

Luffy's eyes widened into saucers. Oh no, this wasn't another one of the old man's stupid night training, was it? He stuck a defiant tongue out, letting it come across loud and clear that he was not in any mood and for his grandfather to stuff it. This only seemed to irritate the large man, if the shift in his expression was anything to go by.

Then, much to his surprise, his grandfather disappeared before his very eyes, and before he knew it, Luffy found himself being anchored down by a strong and sudden force. Garp didn't even flinch when he came into contact with the Pyronite's body; he had already initiated Armament. "Last chance," he told the alien, "You don't want to make this any harder than it has to be."

Luffy struggled to break free from his grandfather's hold; his right arm was securely pinned behind him, while his head was being pushed down by the man's large hand. The boy gritted his teeth from the strain, and if he had been more perceptive, would have noted the marked difference in how much strength was being used to subdue him. He normally could break free, as the old man always tended to hold back, but to Garp, he wasn't dealing with his annoyingly troublesome grandson right now.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Garp said to the squirming alien in hopes of placating him. "Not unless you do something that forces me to. Don't be stupid and just listen, kid. I'll help bring you somewhere safe where we can sort this out. I don't even need you to trust me. Just know that whatever it is you're here for, you can't just go walking around and start forest fires."

This seemed to cause Luffy to stop in his struggles. "Eh? Forest fire? What forest fire?"

Garp's eyes widened, but then remembered that the burning surroundings wouldn't register to Pyronites as they would to humans, due to their homeworld being a star. "This forest that you were walking around in just now? On my world, it isn't supposed to be on fire—as far as natural disasters go. Just look around and see what you've caused."

For a moment, it seemed as if the alien would continue to be uncooperative; when he went ahead and pitched his gaze at the smoldering woods, sucking in his lips. Garp managed to catch this, knitting his brows at the rather odd...but familiar tic.

Now that he had actually taken his time to look at what was happening around him..."Eh?!" Luffy gasped in shock. "Where did all this fire come from?!"

"LUFFY?!" Garp exclaimed in disbelieving recognition, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

"Yeah," his grandson answered simply in a deeper voice than his own. "Where did all this fire come from, grandpa? Who did this?"

Garp's mouth was the widest it had ever been as his mind was hastily processing this bizarre turn of events. One thing was for sure, though. He could weed out that kind of stupidity anywhere, and he would do so by yelling at the very top of his lungs, his voice echoing throughout the night, even causing the flames surrounding them to buckle.

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO DID THIS, MORON!"

"EEEEEEEEHHHHHH!?"


Several minutes later…

"We've managed to put out the fire, sir. That should be all of it."

Garp massaged his forehead as he addressed a man in black and white armor, his face completely obscured by the helmet on his head.

Garp replied, "We were lucky it didn't reach town. Had the wind been a little stronger, that really would have been a party."

The man nodded, then flashed him a salute before walking off, leaving him alone to his thoughts. He turned his sights to where there were a few others in similar armor, some still milling about with guns that spewed a thick white foam on the now mostly extinguished forest. On the opposite end from where he stood, a large, oddly shaped vessel was nestled in the middle of the clearing, its main body circular with a pair of crescent-shaped wings fanning out symmetrically across. The bay doors were open, with two other armored individuals standing guard, each wielding a more conventional rifle. Stalking about the ship in an energized frenzy was Luffy, still in his Pyronite form but wearing an inhibitor around his neck.

"Awesome!" Luffy exclaimed with stars in his eyes. After being given the best explanation his grandfather could give, while being slammed to the ground like a human/alien club, it was made explicitly clear to him that he was the one who started the forest fire. He had tried to argue back, as he always did, but after being shown what he looked like in his current form, as well as nearly burning the shirt his grandfather was wearing, earning him another beating, he was both amazed and mortified. A million questions ran through his mind, wondering in distress as to how he ended up assuming such a form and if he could change back.

Being able to shoot fire from his hands was a pretty tantalizing incentive though, nearly burning his grandfather's hair in the process, which, of course, granted him a punch to the face that managed to chip off a chunk of his chin. Not that he cared. It was only when the…thing before him came down from above that any and all anxiety that might have shaken him was replaced by sheer awe, practically drooling that he didn't even fight back when one of the weird people in armor that came out of the ship slipped something around his neck.

As Luffy was still ogling the vessel to the point of worship, Garp approached. He nodded to the two men minding his grandson, who immediately stood at attention in his presence and flashed him a salute.

"That son of a bitch." Garp cursed quietly to himself. "If I ever see-"

"Whoa-ho! What'd I miss?"

And now, Garp was certain that his suffering for the night was complete. His back facing the newcomer, he replied gruffly, "Nothing you should concern yourself with, brat." He trailed off with a sliver of apprehension, unable to find the proper words to even remotely explain half of the shitshow that had ensued on this evening alone. Not that they seemed to need an explanation, seeing the swath of destruction left by the fire.

Meanwhile, Luffy stood to the side of the ship, glancing up and admiring one of its wings when he caught a glimpse of his grandfather from the corner of his eye, standing by the craft's entrance. Mildly intrigued, he leaned his head ever so slightly to make out one of the other guards that had been watching over him and the vessel itself. Looking ahead, he had to squint when he caught sight of someone standing just behind his grandfather, only they didn't seem to be wearing armor like the other strange people. Driven by his ever-constant curiosity, Luffy made his way towards the mouth of the ship.

Upon getting a full glimpse of him, Luffy observed that the man seemed to be talking to his grandfather directly, his head cast in shadow due to the light coming from the mouth of the ship, standing just a ways away for it to only reach the tip of his chin.

Yet, having crept closer, he could see the man's full attire, and his hearing could pick up just some of the words he was saying as his grandfather seemed to be arguing with him.

And he recognized the voice.

"Shanks?"

"Hm?" Shanks followed the voice that had called out to him, and found the juvenile Pyronite that was poking its head out from the corner of the ship. "Well now."

Luffy watched as Shanks crept closer, the light finally reaching his face and revealing the signature grin he had been flashing at him.

Right at him.

The man bent down until they were eye level, and, because of the inhibitor having suppressed his flames to a manageable warmth to keep his body functioning, patted him on the head. Garp hadn't even told him, but he knew, that the one before him couldn't be anyone else but.

"So, Luffy, did you have fun?"