Bouncing against the hull were three barrels that were tied together with rope. As the waves sloshed around, the seagulls were cawing from above. These simple sounds alerted two sailors. The heavier-set man spotted the barrel first before calling over his skinnier friend. The man then grabbed his hook and started to whirl it over his head. He then hurtled it towards the barrels. At first, it missed, and that resulted in a snicker from his friend.

"I missed again," The larger man grumbled.

"Three strikes pale," His friend commented with a smirk.

From above the two, another voice was heard, as a third man looked down at the two. "If I threw that one, I would be embarrassed," He laughed from the crows nest. "You suck!" He said before glancing around until he eyed a small island in the distance.

It wasn't long before the group of barrels was hauled onto the ship. The two sailors couldn't do it by themselves so they asked three others to help them. "Their heavier than I thought they would be," Muttered the larger fellow.

"Maybe they are filled with beer," Commented another guy.

"Well it's our beer now," smirked the skinny sailor.

"I'm not sharing my half," said the stout man.

From above the small group, the man from earlier called out in fear, "Ship spotted on Port Bow!" The group of men gasped as they saw the obnoxiously pink ship. "They're flying a pirate flag. We have a pirate ship in pursuit!" The sailors then dropped the barrels abruptly to go warn the ship.

Inside, people were screaming as the group burst through the door. "Captain! We're under attack!" Warned the skinny man with the baby-styled hairdo.

"What!" Screamed the captain. "Everybody please stay calm!" He said as he meandered around the ballroom. As hard as he tried, they didn't listen. Fear and panic had already settled in.

It wasn't until a few minutes later, that a cannonball had hit the main mast, toppling it over. The shock shook the ship which made the barrels that were dropped bounce around. The rope had snagged onto a loose nail and cut the rope, letting the trio roll free. It wasn't long until they rolled towards a ladder and fell down it and onto hitting an open door. The three then spun until they were all in the kitchen, the last barrel had broken the door.

Above the kitchen, pirates threw their hooks and started to board. It wasn't long before the whole crew was on the passenger ship. One 'pirate' had snuck away and had found himself in the kitchen. "Good, there is no one in here," Stuttered the pink-haired cabin boy. He let out a sigh, "That is a relief." Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the three barrels. "Woah," He breathed. "Those are some big barrels. I wonder what's inside them," He remarked in awe before making his way to them.

It wasn't long before the boy stood two of the barrels up. He didn't want them moving away from him if the ship moved. He then proceeded to roll the third one to the door. Before he could leave the room, he was stopped by three members of the pirate crew he was in.

"It's our favorite weakling," commented a rather buff guy. He was wearing a striped shirt and had a striped headband to match. "You trying to hide in here, and duck out in all the action again?" He asked in a rough grunt.

The boy with the blue glasses quickly brought his hands up in denial. "N..no way! I was just trying to haul this big barrel of beer over to you guys!" He said in defense.

"Why don't you let us lighten the load," Chuckled the man.

"I was just starting to get thirsty," remarked the tall pirate in the back. His golden hair a bit ragged from all the sea salt.

"N..no way, you can't! Lady Alvida would kill us if she ever found out!" Squeaked the boy.

"She won't if you keep your trap shut," Remarked the third pirate. He had a few tattoos here and there. One of them being a scroll-like design around his eye. "Right? Boy."

"R..right," The boy muttered before backing away slowly so that the three can crack open the barrel to get a couple swigs.

The stronger man in stripes then stood the barrel up as he commented on how heavy it was. He then smirked as he stood up straight and cracked his knuckles. "Hold on boys, I'll open it the old fashion way." He then wound up his arm and prepared to strike. He waited too long to hit it when a pair of fists broke through the top and knocked him out.

The two other pirates and the boy all were shocked, as their mouths were on the floor.

" . !" Screamed the lanky black-haired boy with a straw hat on his head. He didn't realize that he knocked a man unconscious. Nearby, a noise was stirring from within the second barrel. Soon the top was opened to reveal a young lady as she stepped out, her black hair was tied in a ponytail.

"Luffy! What did you do now!" Asked the girl as her sky-blue eyes took in the scene.

A groan then was heard from the third barrel as another girl came out. Her red hair was a bit choppy and short. She stepped out of the barrel, dusting her cherished black coat, before joining the other girl. She opened her eyes to reveal topaz coloring and it was glowing with annoyance. "Remind me to never do that again," She muttered.

No one answered any of the questions as Luffy had turned to look at the guy who he accidentally knocked out. "Who's he?" He asked before turning to the girls. "Raven, Lea, are you both ok?" He asked.

"I'm fine, just a little dizzy," Remarked Lea as she checked over her coat one last time. Her hand then went to her neck to feel if her necklace was still there. She let out a small sigh of relief as she feels it there.

Raven nodded,"Yeah I'm fine, but I don't think he is," She said as she glanced at the man on the floor.

The two pirates still couldn't say anything as they just stared at them in disbelief, no one exactly knew what was happening. Luffy turned to the two and asked, "Who're you guys?" He asked.

The two then screamed in unison, "Who the HELL are you three!"

Luffy didn't answer as he finally stepped out of the barrel. "Your friend will catch a cold sleeping like that," He remarked.

"You're the one who knocked him out!" They screamed. The tattooed man then drew out his sword and held it to Luffy's neck. "Hold up, are you messing with us and you know well that we are vicious pirates."

Both Lea and Raven didn't flinch from the drawn blade. Lea raised a brow before asking bluntly, "If you're so vicious, then why are you hesitating?"

The man with the scroll tattoo over his eye ignored the girl but started to yell as Luffy walked away from his blade and towards the pink-haired boy and asked him for food. 'Hey! I'm talking to you!"

Both men had enough of the straw-hatted boy, so they raised their swords to strike as the skinny pirate muttered, "Stupid kid." Luffy just looked over his shoulder and soon the sword points were broken and embedded into the ceiling.

"Man, those are horribly made," Remarked Lea.

"The blacksmith who made them should be ashamed. I would've made them better," Huffed Raven as she folded her arms and watched the trembling two.

During the small fight, the boy had fallen to his knees and covered his eyes in fear. Slowly he looked up to see Luffy perfectly fine. The two pirates stood there in shock as they held the broken halves of their weapons. Luffy looked an raised a brow in concern, "What is wrong with you two?" Luffy asked. The boy's face was stuck in disbelief.

One of the two said in fear, "Who are you!"

Luffy crossed his arms and gave a grin. "Me?" He asked before telling them, "My name is Monkey D. Luffy. Hi. And these are my older sisters."

Raven barely raised a hand, "I'm Raven and you two should be ashamed that you carry such cheap weaponry!"

Lea just rolled her eyes before speaking. Her lips drawn into a smirk. "I"m Alandai D. Lea."

The two just shook their heads before quickly grabbing their unconscious friend and left screaming. Lea and Raven laughed at their idiocy and cowardice.

The boy finally got the nerve to speak, "so what happened?" He asked as he fiddled with his blue framed glasses.

"You got me, " Replied Luffy.

The boy then turned his head to the girls who only shrug and shake their heads in an answer. He then realized what was going to happen and got up to panic to Luffy. "You got to run! If they come back with their friends, you'll be in trouble!"

"I don't really care, I'm just hungry."

"You're always hungry, Luffy," Lea said in exasperation.

"You can't just blow all of this off like that," The pink-haired boy said nervously. "There are hundreds of them upon deck and they are waiting for the opportunity to kill anything," He said as he tried to hold Luffy back with one arm. The girls just followed behind their brother nonchalantly.

Luffy continued to ignore the boy as he moved around the room a bit. He soon came to a door and opened it. It led him to the pantry. He got excited and grinned wildly at seeing all the food. He got himself free from the boy's grasp and jumped down to scavenge.

The two girls and the boy stayed by the door. "Who knows, we might be safe in here," The boy said as he checked around outside the door before closing it and he began to watch Luffy as he found a box.

"This box looks promising…."Luffy said before prying it open to reveal ripe red fruit. "APPLES!" He remarked happily before he started to inhale a couple at a time.

Raven shook her head, "First time I heard him get excited about fruit."

"You're telling me," Lea said. "Hey, Luffy pass me an apple!"

The boy looked at the trio strangely as Luffy threw an apple to each of the girls. He was going to throw one at the boy but he declined it.

As Luffy continued to eat, the boy piped up again and said his name, "My name is Colby by the way." He then smiled slightly. "That was pretty neat what you did back there."

"Thanks. Are we on a pirate ship?" Luffy asked.

"No, It's a passenger ship that's being raided by pirates under the command of Lady Alvida."

Lea paused from eating her apple and looked at Raven, "Hey Raven, does that name sound familiar to you?"

Raven nodded, "Yes, I believe I heard it before."

"I don't really care. I just want to know if there are any small boats onboard, "Luffy said.

"I think there are a few," Colby answered.

"Great cause ours got sunk into a whirlpool," He commented.

"No way, that big one outside!"

"Unfortunately, yes," Lea said as she finished her apple and threw away the core.

"We couldn't save our ship, so we tied three barrels together and got in," Raven said.

Luffy cut into the conversation and asked if he was part of the pirate crew or one of the passengers. The girls watched as they waited for Colby to answer them. Colby then became quiet before explaining his backstory of how he got on Alvida's ship.

"You're pretty stupid," Luffy said bluntly. Lea and Raven already knew how brutally honest he was so they didn't comment. "If you hate it then leave," Luffy said. Colby started to protest and panic about why he couldn't do it but he was cut short as Luffy just laughed. "You're a moron and a coward. I hate people like you," He said.

"Ok Luffy that was a little too much, "Lea said as she walked over and placed her hand on her little brother's head.

Meanwhile, the two pirates from before popped up from below deck and tried to get Alvida's attention. "This is bad!" They said in unison.

"Yeeeeeaaaah?" She snarled as she turned to the two with her large, Iron club in hand. "Then out with it!"

"It came from inside the barrel...with two others. It was a horrible monster!"

Alvida was getting pissed as her face twisted in anger. The two men shrunk back in fear. Their large leader then reeled back her iron club before throwing it at them. Right before it hit them, the ducked down while their friend, who had regained consciousness stood up. The striped pirate then got hit by the club and was sent into the railing and out into the sea. The club then came back down and landed on the other two's head.

"We...we're not talking about you, my lady. We were talking about the guy in the barrel, he might be a bounty hunter," The two replied as they rubbed their heads.

She snarled.

Back in the pantry, Colby was whispering, "You're right. If I had the courage I would drift in a barrel and be rid of these pirates and follow my own dream. Someday I'll do it." He said before asking the three, "So what got you three to first set sail?"

"Well, I'm going to be King of the pirates!" Luffy exclaimed.

"And I'm going to help him get there," Lea piped in. "Where else can you be the freest than with the king?"

Raven then added and grinned, "And I want to be the best blacksmith in the world!"

Colby gave the three a 'what the hell' face and started whimpering, "The King? Are you Serious?"

"Yeah," The trio said.

"But that would mean that you three are pirates too."

Luffy nodded and said, "That's right."

"Your crew?"

"Just us three. My advisor, blacksmith and I."

Colby then stood u-p, "King of the pirates is a title that is given to the one who obtains everything this world has to offer. You're talking about seeking the great treasure of wealth, fame, and power." He then threw his arms open, "The treasure that you seek is the One Piece!"

"Yeah!" Luffy said happily.

Colby then began to shake his head, "No way, that's impossible there are too many people looking for it." Luffy then interrupted him before he can go all the way into a rant. Colby was knocked to his knees as he held his head. "Why did you do that?" He asked.

"Because I felt like it," Luffy said simply.

"Well, I'm used to it. Everyone on the ship does it a lot," Colby sighed.

Luffy then took a hold of his hat and said," It's not if I can, I"m doing this because I want to." Colby then looked at him in awe and inspiration. Luffy took his hat off and looked at it as he said, "I decided long ago that I"m going to be King of the Pirates. If I have to die fighting for it, then I die."

Lea then ruffled Luffy's hair, "Nicely said."

He put his hat back on and walked back to the door, leaving Colby to think on what he said. "Now that we have eaten, let's get a new boat."

Raven nodded and started to join her brother "Right behind you Luffy," Lea said as she followed behind.

"I never thought about it like that," Murmured Colby. "If I put my mind to it, if I'm prepared to die for it," He began his small speech and it caught the attention of the trio.

"Like what?" Luffy asked.

"Do you think I could join the marines?" Colby asked instead of answering Luffy directly.

"The marines?" He asked before turning to his sisters and whispered, "Gramps would love this kid." They both agreed.

Colby then stood up determinedly with his fist in the air. "Yes! Catching bad guys is the only thing that I ever wanted to do. It's been my dream since I was a child!"

"You still look like a child," Lea commented. Raven stifle a chuckle.

"Do you think I can do it?" He asked again but this time in a pleading tone.

"How should I know that?" Luffy asked in an attitude.

Colby became even more determined, "I'm gonna do it! I'm not gonna get stuck here as a cabin boy for the rest of my life! I'm gonna break out and I'll turn right around and catch Alvida myself!"

Out of nowhere, Alvida burst through the roof, giving Colby only seconds to dodge her massive size. " Who is that you planning to catch, Colby? Are you actually thinking these twigs are going to help you? Well?" Colby stood there cowering as the girls looked on unimpressed. "Answer me!" She ordered.

All of a sudden, swords came through the wall around Luffy's head, he didn't flinch. Alvida then turned her attention to Luffy and the two girls as she didn't get an answer from Colby. Just like his sisters, Luffy was unimpressed.

She smirked, "My guess is that you aren't Zoro the Pirate Hunter." Colby gasped as Luffy repeated the name in confusion. "COOOLLLBBYY!" Alvida said as she looked back at the small boy. Colby screamed. "Who is the most beautiful of all on these seas?"

"Well, I….um," Colby stuttered. "Give me a second, I know this."

Luffy just pointed his finger at Alvida and asked, "Colby, who's the fat lady?"

Everyone's jaws dropped in shock as Lea laughed. "I love your bluntness Luffy!" She said with tears in her eyes.

Her crew started to get worried as Alvida's anger rose. "YOU RAT!" She yelled as she raised her club. At the last second Luffy and the girls dodged the blow. The club destroyed the place they once stood, all that was left was splintered wood.

"Let's go," Luffy said to Colby as they jumped out of the hole. Raven and lea were already waiting for them up there. Alvida's crew was there as well and they were ready to fight. Soon one pirate came charging up and the battle started. The three each were fighting multiple pirates at once. Colby smiled as he watched until one guy tried to attack Luffy from behind. "That's not fair to attack someone from behind," He said. The pirate tried to get his sword out from the floorboards.

Lea had brought out her knives and she came to the embedded sword and cut it into ribbons. "Now this is how a weapon should be made," She said as she showed off her knives. Raven then smirked as she dodged the guy that Luffy threw at the men behind her. More men appeared and they went right for Luffy.

Luffy ran past Colby and grabbed onto the mast. His arm was stretching as he continued to run. The men looked at it in disbelief and screamed. "Got ya!" Luffy said before firing himself back at them as Alvida watched in shock.

Colby staggered towards him asking, "Luffy, what are you?"

"Oh, I'm a rubber man," He said as he pulled his mouth impossibly wide.

"So...you're...made of rubber?" He squeaked as Alvida came up behind him. "I…." He felt a cold feeling go down his spine in instinct before he fumbled to get behind Luffy.

"So..you've eaten one of the devil fruits," Alvida said.

"Yeah," Luffy said as he let go of his mouth. "I ate the Gum-Gum one."

"Aha," She said simply. "I heard rumors that they existed but I'd never seen any evidence of them before today." She then smirked. "You are more skilled than the average deck swabber. ARe you a bounty hunter?" She asked.

"I'm a pirate"

"Pirate? Hah! All by yourself? In these waters?"

"I'm not alone, I have my two sisters. I'll find the rest of my crew tomorrow, or next week or something."

Alvida laughed one more, "Tell me if we're both pirates and we're not under the same flag, that would make us enemies. Am I right?"

Colby was shaking behind Luffy and he stutters, "Uh...Luffy. Let's go," Both Raven and Lea watched the two but didn't move.

"But why?" Luffy asked.

"You don't know how powerful her club is, and of all the cheats in these waters…" He was cut off as Luffy just stared at him. He then remembered what Luffy had told him before.

Alvida just smirked as she watched them, "Go on...tell me."

Colby then snapped and turned to face the woman. "YOU'RE THE MOST UGLIEST THING ON THIS SEA!" Colby's little outburst made Alvida's crew drop their jaws. They couldn't believe that he said that to her. They knew it would ensure his death. Raven and lea just started to laugh and grin. Alvida's face was frozen in anger and death was seen in her eyes. Colby had his eyes closed and his face was bunched up. He was preparing for his death.

Luffy burst out laughing, which made Alvida snap, "What you say!"

Colby stepped closer, "I really mean it! I'm going to join the marines. Then I'm going to spend the rest of my life beating up dirty pirates like you!"

"Do you have any clue in what you are saying to me right now?" Alvida asked darkly and through her gritted teeth.

"Of course I do! And I'm going to do what I want to do and nothing is going to stop me! I'm going to join the marines and I'm going to catch your lousy ass first!"

Alvida then screams and raises her club, "YOU'RE DEAD KID!"

Colby was screaming as he watched her. Luffy quickly got in front of him and grinned, "Nicely said!"

Alvida then slammed her iron club on Luffy's head. At this point, Lea had turned her arm into metal before slamming it into her club. At first, nothing happened, but then cracks appeared and the club shattered and fell to the floor. Alvida and her crew just watched in shock.

"I"m a shapeshifter. I ate the Shape Shape fruit," Lea said smugly.

As Alvida stood there in silence, Luffy stretched his arm before plowing his fist into her stomach, sending her off the boat and into the sea. The shockwave of her landing in the water made the boat move. Luffy then turned to look at the stun pirates. 'Hey, you!" He said, "Go get a boat for Colby. He's leaving your ship to join the marines. You're not gonna stop him."

"Y..yeah...sure," The crew said before they scrambled to find a boat.

Colby finally eased up and smiled softly, "Thanks Luffy." It was only a few seconds later that cannonballs were fired and landed on the water. Colby had turned to see three ships. "Hey, look, it's the marines."

Luffy just grinned, "oooooh. Perfect timing! Head over there and tell them that you want to join," He said to Colby. "But I'm a pirate so I'm out of here." Luffy then jumped over the railing.

"See you around Colby," Raven said before Lea and she followed their brother up and over the railing and onto the boat.

"Hey wait! You can't be serious! If I approach them now, they'll catch me like another pirate!" Colby said as he hopped over the railing to join them in the boat before Luffy dropped it into the water. The girls and Colby were holding onto the edge of the small boat tightly. As they landed in the water, it caused water to rise up and a woman's scream was heard. Luffy was grinning and holding his hat when he spotted an orange-haired girl. Their eyes met before a cannonball landed between them and blocked his view. The group used this distraction as a way to get out of there.

When they were far enough away from the other ships, Colby spoke up, "We actually managed to get away…"

Luffy just laughed, "Ah! What fun!"

"So Luffy, if you are searching for the elusive One PIece, then you have to be heading to the Grand Line, right? You know the people that I've talked to said that it's the pirate graveyard." He said from behind a barrel.

"Right," Luffy said with a nod. "And that's why I need an extra strong crew. I already started it with these two," He said as he pointed to the girls next to him. "You guys mentioned some pirate hunter. So what's he like?"

"Oh you mean Zoro, last time I heard, he's being held prisoner at some Marine base," Colby stated.

Luffy shrugged, "Oh well, weakling huh?"

"Wait no! You're so wrong!" Colby said as he ran to the barrel and leaned on it to talk to Luffy. "He's as violent as a demon and three times as horrifying!" Colby explained before calming down a bit. "Why are you asking about him Luffy?"

Luffy then grinned, "I figured if he's good enough, then I would ask him to join my crew."

"Chasing him down is just plain reckless!"

"Oh, you don't know. He might jump at the chance to join,"

"He's a bad enough guy, that the Marines have him, no way. Forget it! No-Ow!" Colby ranted until he was hit in the head by Luffy again. "Why'd you hit me?"

"Cuz I felt like it," Luffy said simply.