It has been fifty-seven years since the execution of the Second Pirate King, Monkey D. Luffy, and he has left a legacy in his wake so great that some say he was more legendary than the First King, Gol D. Rogers. But like the last Pirate King, at his execution, he told the world that he had again hidden the One Piece for the world to find. Many saying it was the start of the next Age of Piracy, but then, war broke out among two families: The Monkey family and the Cobra family. After four decades of bloodshed, the war finally subsided. And nineteen years later, a member of the Cobra family set out on a quest to obtain the One Piece, his name is Cobra D. Red. P.S. I wonder how many people actually read this paragraph every time.

Chapter 20: Setting Out On a New Ship! The Crew Sets Sail!

"And so, over the next few months, I was bedridden, trying not to throw up as my arm healed," explained Henry, continuing his story, "In fact, it was only two weeks ago that I actually managed to stand without passing out." Scratching his chin, Red considered this, saying, "Hmm, well that explains why you're weak." Saying that changed Henry's face from a passive calm to a fiery anger, shouting "What the hell does that mean!" Shrugging his shoulders, Red replied, saying, "Well you've been in bed for months, kind of hard to imagine you got stronger in it." Pushing his plate away, Red stood up, stretching his arms, saying, "I'm tired, think I'm gonna go to bed." Sighing, Bede said, "But, it's the middle of the afternoon." Ignoring him, Red lay back down on his roll, and soon after that, quiet snoring could be heard from where he lay. Standing, Miles went to his own bedroll and joined Red in the chorus of snores. Sighing, Bede went back to reading the book he had been reading before they had barged in. Henry got up, too, saying, "I'm gonna take a walk, need some fresh air." And with that, he got up and walked out the door. Thomas, concerned for his grandson, got up and walked out with him, leaving Bede, reading contentedly.

Walking across the small field, Henry went to the edge of the cliff and sat down, staring out at the vast sea. Following behind, Thomas sat beside him, and for a few minutes, they just sat there, grandfather and grandson. Sitting there dug up a memory that had been buried in his subconscious…

Sitting at the edge of the cliff, their feet dangling off the edge, a seven-year-old Henry and a ten year younger Thomas, instead of grey hair, it was peppered with black. Smiling, he looked down at his grandchild, who was playfully kicking his feet out over the sea. Looking back out again at the ocean, he said "One day Henry, I will show you the sea."

Bringing his mind back to the present, he looked down at his grandson once more, or more appropriately, looked to the side at his grandson. He had grown so much since they had first come here, trying to get away from the tragedy of his parents' death. But even though ten years had passed, he could still read him like a book.

"You're thinking about that young man's offer, aren't you?" Sighing, Henry turned to face his grandfather, his face full of indecision. For one thing, he didn't want to leave his grandfather behind, he would feel guilty if he did. But Red had risked his own neck just to save him. He just couldn't decide. Smiling, Thomas patted him on the back, saying, "Listen, it's going to take about another week to fully repair the ship, with your help that is." Looking up, the question in his face was obvious, and Thomas answered it, "Since they helped us with our pirate problem, I thought as a reward I would give them their ship, once its repaired that is." And with that, realization dawned on Henry's face.

The trio had come here in a storm, and they had washed up on the beach with no form of transport. Either they had been blown off the deck of their ship and a ship was floating out on the ocean at that moment, no crew to man it, or they had had a small boat that had smashed to pieces. It was obvious to assume that they would need a ship, and so the easy thing to do would be give them the one that they had been repairing. Smiling, he ruffled Henry's hair, saying, "How about this, we'll repair the ship, and you can make your decision then. They won't be going anywhere so you have time to decide." Nodding, Henry smiled, and said 'Okay', glad that he had a plan now.

Unfortunately for them, the ship only took three days to complete, and Henry had to make a decision fast. But it seemed the trio had remained oblivious to the fact that they had continued repairing the ship, despite the pirates being defeated. Especially Red, who, during the three days, had tried to make a raft out of fallen logs, which, once it was finished, Bede and Miles refused to get on, despite Red's showcase of it going out a few meters, quickly breaking apart as a wave broke the very loose knots. Seeing Red floundering amid the debris, the two sighed. A quick game of rock paper scissors chose Miles as the one to get him, and after handing his vest and shirt to Bede, he went out and got the now sinking Red. Dragging him onto the beach by the collar, he sputtered out, "I thought I was gonna die," with a response from Bede being a fist to the dome.

Seeing this, Thomas came up to the three and asked them what they were doing. Red explained how he had tried to build a raft, but it had quickly failed, yet again receiving another fist, this time from Miles. Shaking his head, Thomas smiled, saying, "You don't have to build a raft, Henry and I have been fixing those pirate's ship up for you three." Hearing this, Miles and Bede delivered another set of fists, bringing him down to the sand, shouting, "You idiot! You told us they were taking the ship apart!" Rising back to a sitting position, Red clutched his head, saying "I thought they were." To this, Thomas looked confusedly at him, saying, "We're shipwrights, not dismantlers, why would we take a repairable ship apart for parts?" and to this, Red received another two knocks to the head.

Finally, after waiting another day, the ship was complete and fully operational. It was given a brand new brown stain and the railings were painted white, with black iron accents every so often. They had replaced the tattered black sail with the mark of its former owners with a standard white one. Staring at their handiwork, the two shipwrights smiled, glad that they had finally finished. But Henry still had a worm of doubt in his mind. Now that the ship was finished, he would have to decide on whether or not he would go or stay. After working on the ship so long, he felt a connection with it, as if he had to stay with it, even though his grandpa had done most of the work.

But he pushed the doubt aside for now, happy that they were finally finished. That night, they feasted on a wild boar that Red had managed to shoot down in the island's very small forest, and after a few hours the last of the meat vanished down the throats of the men there. Soon after that, they began drinking, hiccupping and laughing at stupid jokes. Miles passed out first, red-faced from all the alcohol. Soon afterwards, Red, who had never been able to hold his booze, passed out, leaving Bede, Thomas, and Henry laughing at the two. Thomas managed to stumble off to bed, leaving Bede and Henry there. Smiling, Bede in a slurred voice said, "I can go all night baby, I'm-" and on that note, Bede fell face first into a pool of potato, gravy, and grease, snoring away. Henry got up after that and stumbled himself off to bed, wrapping himself in the warm sheets. He knew he had something to do, but his drunken mind fought that thought and soon he was off into a deep trancelike sleep.

The next morning, Henry awoke groaning, feeling his head for the massive headache. He promised himself then to never drink again right then and there. Smelling the fragrant scent of coffee, he followed his nose out into the kitchen and emptied the last of the brew into his cup. Drinking it, he sighed, letting the caffeine cut through his groggy mind. And just as his mind was clearing, the problem immediately came back to him: Would he go with Red or stay with his Grandpa. He pounded his head for being so stupid and his head retaliated with another wave of dizziness. Stumbling around, he caught the counter until the room stopped spinning and he could think.

He didn't want to leave his grandpa alone, but Red had helped him, and he didn't even ask! He was so torn; he didn't know what to do. Finally, he came to a decision. Walking out the door, he began to make his way down the mountain.

With Red's Group

"So this is our ship, huh?" said Red, looking upon the ship with awe. He knew he would've gotten a ship anyways, but he never expected to get one so soon. He always thought that he would sail around in a boat for a while, seeing how long it would take to get a crew large enough to require one. And it was plenty big, the hull alone being about forty feet long and sixteen feet tall and twelve feet wide, with from what the old man had told him, about six rooms. One of them had been for the captain, another had been for his more elite men, while the rest slept on deck, another was for storage, one for weapons supplies and the forward cannon, one for eating and cooking, and the last was the bathroom.

The sail was large and white, though, and didn't give the impression of a pirate ship, more of a trading ship really. So he'd need a jolly roger later, he just didn't have a design yet.

Smiling, he jumped up and landed on the deck, causing him to kneel down in pain, but quickly get up again. He still had a fractured rib and it would stay that way for a while, but he knew he could handle it, it'd just take time. Climbing down again, he thanked the old man for the ship and told Miles and Bede to start loading the ship.

As they were loading the last of the supplies, they heard the pounding of feet on sand and they turned to see Henry doubled over panting. Letting him catch his breath, Red waited to see what Henry had come to say. Finally regulating his breath, Henry stood straight up and held out his hand. "Thank you guys so much for catching those pirates," said Henry, "I know you invited me to your crew and all, but I can't go," to this, Red raised a quizzical eyebrow, hoping that the simple motion would tell him to continue, and thankfully, it did. "I can't leave here because my grandfather would be all alone, and I would feel guilty the rest of my life if I left him here." Red nodded, mulling this over in his head. The old man was probably Henry's only living relative, and if that were the case, he would want to stay with him. He was fine with letting Henry stay, it'd just be a shame to miss another new crew member due to different circumstances. But before he could respond, something nobody expected happened: Thomas slapped Henry.

Reeling back from the smack, Henry rubbed his cheek and looked up at his grandpa in shock. Sighing, Thomas shook his head, but then stopped and smiled, saying, "Henry, you can go." Surprise replaced Henry's shock, and he climbed to his feet, stammering out, "B-but grandpa-" But before he could say anymore, Thomas patted him on the shoulder, saying, "It's fine, I only came out here with you so we could get away from the tragedy anyways. Once you go, I'll go back to the main island," Henry nodded, thinking this was good, but then thought of a problem that he needed to address, but before he could ask, Thomas explained it, "I've had a pen pal for quite some time now, and she's willing to give me a bed until I get my own home."

At this thought, the old man's cheeks grew a little rosier, and a little blood leaked from his nose, which he quickly wiped away, hoping nobody had seen. Unfortunately for him, Red had seen the blood and the blushing cheeks and put two and two together, saying, "You're a pervy old man, aren't cha?" Sighing, and knowing that he had been caught, he smiled, replying in a sort of longing voice, "A man can dream… A man can dream."

Smiling, Henry hugged his pervy grandpa and started the long trek back up the mountain to get his stuff. Hearing a cough, he stopped in his path and turned, staring back at the ship. Red smiled and held up a large bag, "Looking for this?" Mouth dropped, Henry began, "How…" hearing this, Red smiled even harder, "I figured you would be coming with us, so I decided to bring your stuff ahead of time." At first, Henry was confused, but then, realization dawned on him. He had been suffering a massive hangover that morning and it caused him to completely ignore the fact his room was empty. Smiling, Henry climbed on board, and said to Red, "Wow, and I took you for an idiot at first." Smiling proudly, Red replied, "Even idiots can have their smart moments!" then running to the steering wheel at the back of the boat, he shouted, "Hoist the sails!" Quickly, the crew ran to their positions, and with a few rope pulls, the sails were billowing with wind as the ship was pulled out of the cove. Running to the back of the boat, Henry called out to his grandpa, shouting over the crashing waves his farewell. Knowing he wouldn't be heard, Thomas simply waved, a smile on his face knowing his grandson was in good hands.

As the crew sailed on, they were surprised to hear Red call for them. Gathering on the main deck, Red began by saying, "This won't be our permanent ship, just so you know." Taken aback, Henry was about to counter, when Red held up his hand, saying, "It just doesn't feel right that our main ship would be stolen from another band of pirates. I know you worked hard on this ship, Henry, but we're going to get another one." Letting his head droop a little bit, he thought of all the hours put into fixing the ship, and realized it was all for naught. But he understood it, this ship just didn't feel right, knowing what kind of crew had sailed on it. Smiling, he said, "At least let us give it to someone who will take care of it when we get a new one." Nodding, Red said, "I promise." Climbing the stairs and taking ahold of the wheel, Henry stared out at the expanse of blue stretched out before them, wondering where the winds and waves would take him next.