Hey Guys! Crescent Rider Here with the first chapter of the revised One Girl Army. Before you all start, I want to remind you all that I've excluded this story from mass updates, and various tweaks regarding her Devil Fruit have been made.
As for how the older chapters are being replaced with new ones, I only changed the chapter's title and contents with the revised chapters. I'm well aware that both the revised and older chapters may not make sense in the long run, but I promise that I'll get to those chapters soon.
Some of the contents will remain as the old chapters begin, and some will be added or improved.
That is all and enjoy the revised chapter!
~A Grand Dream and Stormy Promise~
Long ago, the seas once revered a woman as her closest friend...
Envious of her as she walked above them to cross distant lands. The sea soon learned of her humble nature after she fell to the waves of a stormy day. She had not known the sea was watching, but she still apologized upon hearing their voice within her ears.
Though hesitant, the sea assented to her words and brought her to the nearest land for conversation. The woman learned of the sea and their quarrel, and the former understood their concern. She wished to make amends, and they agreed under one condition.
Explore the world, they declared, but share all you see with me. When we visit the land, we'll surely swallow it whole. The woman accepts their terms and starts swimming across the waters rather than walking over them.
She would see and share all manners of wonder and horror of the world and shared her findings with the very sea itself. They had their questions and arguments, and the woman obliged herself to listen and offer proper reasons for such matters.
Yet, this didn't deter their growing relationship as companions. Over time, the woman and the seas became the greatest of friends, ever-growing attached to each other's company and earning their fair share of joy and sorrow.
But much like time, fate was restless and cruel...
The woman's mortal life had come to pass, and the seas were calm. Despite the latter's awareness of its law, it quietly mourned her passing and valued their companionship for all time.
When laid to rest, the sea embraced her as she sank and the two are together once more...
"That was a great story, Mommy. Can you tell me more?"
"I've told you once before and I will tell you again. Only one story per night, we can't have you staying up all night now,"
"Okay, Mommy..."
With the light snuffed out, the mother planned to leave. But the daughter had one last question in mind...
"Do you think it's real, Mommy? About a woman who speaks with the ocean?"
There was silence between them, but the mother wouldn't refuse to answer her daughter...
"Every story has its truths, sweet pea. You have to find it yourself,"
With the door shut and the moon illuminating through her open window, the girl briefly jumps off her bed and rushes towards the window. In the distance was the vast and glimmering sea which filled her with wonder.
"And I will, Mom... I'll certain of it..."
~Years Later, Grand Line...~
Sailing across the treacherous seas of the Grand Line, the battleship-class vessel with crow nests shaped like dog houses, and a figurehead shaped like a dog head with a bone in its mouth and tongue sticking down. This was the Marine vessel under the command of the revered war hero and rival of the Pirate King, Garp the Fist.
But after Roger's execution in Loguetown, his dying words drove countless pirates across the seas, marking the beginning of the Great Pirate Era in search of the legendary treasure that awaits at the end of the Grand Line, The One Piece.
It had been twelve years since that faithful day, and Garp constantly grumbled about what went wrong. Even though the Pirate King's execution within his hometown was supposed to discourage the pirates from acting against the World Government, it had the opposite effect, and the Marines were spread thin in manpower to handle them all.
"Garp-san," Garp turned and the man who approached him was his right-hand man, Bogard, "There's a storm brewing from the port bow, shall we steer clear of the storm?"
"Hm... Is the storm big?" Garp inquired,
"No sir, but caution is advised. Such storms in the Grand Line are bound to become strong with time," Bogard replied,
"Then we might as well sail through it. Once we're through, we won't have to worry about our men being blown off to sea. So get to it," Garp ordered,
"Yes sir," Bogard replied and informed the crew while Garp gazed toward the storm,
By the time they entered, the waves were crashing violently against their ship and many of Garp's men struggled to secure the lines, endure the pouring rain, and steer clear or above potential rogue waves.
The Vice Admiral aided his men by bringing out the cannonballs and pitching them in large waves to prevent catastrophic damage to his men. Each pitch results in the waves being split open, and fresh Marines aboard couldn't help but admire the Marine Hero's immense strength against the tide.
It inspired hope as the Marines strengthened their efforts and followed the Vice Admiral's example. But unbeknownst to all of them, Garp would encounter someone out of the ordinary.
Through the occasional flashes of lightning, Garp had shielded his eyes with one arm. When he lowered them, he had widened them to see a cloaked figure before his presence and steadied his posture for a potential fight.
"Vice Admiral Garp, I had hoped to find you in these waters,"
"Who are you and what do you gain from confronting me?" Garp questioned,
"I assure you that I'm no pirate, but why I came to you is with purpose,"
Garp merely frowned at this person and clenched his fist to feel his knuckles cracking. Then the cloaked figure unveiled a young sleeping girl in their arm and caused the Vice Admiral to gasp in disbelief. If that wasn't enough to convince him, the cloaked figure also revealed information regarding the young girl's origin and shocked the Vice Admiral to his core.
"Hey! You can't be serious with this! Do you honestly believe I would accept such selfishness!" Garp yelled,
"She was certain of her choice, and circumstances prevented her from providing any means of protection and transportation for the child. Which is why I was chosen to convey this request,"
Garp began gritting his teeth and growled at the cloaked figure with frustration. But before he could say more, the latter coughed raggedly as they fell to one knee but kept the girl from falling. The former's response was switched to concern towards the girl instead of the cloaked figure.
But as soon as Garp went close, he was grabbed by the shirt and gazed through the figure's determined eyes, "Please, Vice Admiral. I beg of you! She has no home to return to and the scoundrels responsible have followed us here! If no one aids her, she will be lost forever!"
Not far from the two, Bogard had spotted the cloaked figure and aimed to draw his sword. But the sound of cannon fire soon caught his and Garp's attention and they turned to see a large galleon bearing a pirate flag.
Bogard's initial response was to alarm the men "All hands, prepare for battle! A pirate galleon sailing towards us!"
"Yes sir!" The crew responded,
While Garp's men rigorously prepare themselves for a battle within this storm, the Vice Admiral soon turns to the cloaked figure as the latter forcibly presses the girl on his chest. This time, Garp took the child onto his arm and heed the cloaked figure's dying words as he held them with the other, "I leave her... To your care... Garp..."
Lightning flashing from the port bow, Garp flinched his head and averted his eyes from the blinding light. Once it passed, he noticed the cloaked figure had vanished from his grasp. The girl they held was still in his other arm and slept rather peacefully despite the crashing noises of thunder, waves, and cannon fire.
"Garp-san," Bogard walked over to him and noticed the girl on his arm. But instead of questioning her presence, he prioritized the ensuing battle before them, "What are your orders?"
Garp soon straightened his posture and handed the girl to Bogard's arms, "Keep her close to you,"
"Yes sir," Bogard replied,
The Vice Admiral removed his jacket and handed it to his right-hand man. He rolled his sleeves, buckled his knees, and targeted the galleon ahead of their ship. Then, he jumped from the ship's bow directly onto the pirate galleon.
From there, Bogard would only hold the young girl close as Garp singlehandedly beat these pirates barehanded. Just by listening to the sound of cannon fire and breaking wood, Garp showed no restraint to this band of pirates and their galleon had torn into splinters.
After some time, Garp returned to his ship with the pirates restrained together with the galleon anchor's chain, and the ship itself sunk into the depths like all pirate ships.
"Bogard, hand her over to me," Garp ordered,
"Of course," Bogard complied and handed the girl to him as Garp kept her close, "Shall I take these pirates to the prison hold?"
"Sure, and sending these pirates to Impel Down will make them think twice about going after my Granddaughter," Garp asserted, "But after we've taken them to Impel Down, I'll be taking a vacation,"
"Of course, and I shall look after the crew in your absences, Vice Admiral," Bogard obliged,
Though reluctant as it seems, Garp couldn't pass up the chance of raising a granddaughter for once. He'd take her to his quarters and let her rest on his bed as they made their way to Impel Down.
If there's any good in all this, it would be a sister for his grandson...
~Months Later, Dawn Island~
Though it had taken longer than he anticipated, Garp earned his vacation and visited his home village in the East Blue, Foosha Village. The residents of the village greeted him with smiles, but they took notice of the young blond-haired girl riding onto his shoulders.
"Hey, Garp-san. Who's that girl you've got on your shoulders?"
"Oh, her? sShe'smy granddaughter," Garp revealed,
"Ah, I see. She's your..." The villager stopped as they processed this information, then she openly expressed their reaction "EEEEEEHHHHHHHH!"
The young girl blinked at them, then leaned near Garp's face with perplexion, "Gramps, are they always like this?"
"Huh? Oh, don't mind them. This is their first time seeing you, so it's fine for them to feel surprised, Bwahahahaha!" Garp laughed while keeping the girl on his shoulders,
"My, what a cute girl you are," A woman with dark green hair approached Garp, and eyes directed on the girl on his shoulders, "Do you have a name?"
"Yes! My name is Monkey D. Marie! It's nice to meet you!" Marie grins at the woman,
"Nice to meet you too, Marie. I'm Makino, and may I ask how old are you?" Makino kindly asked,
"I'm eight years old! Thank you for asking, Makino-san!" Marie replied,
"She's certainly cheerful, Garp-san," Makino remarked,
"You think so? Then she'll do great once I have her meet Luffy! Bwahahahaha!" Garp boasted,
"So, Garp. Just where in all the seas did you find this one?" An old man, who happens to be the Mayor of Foosha, approached the Vice Admiral, "Surely you didn't take her from someone else, did you?"
"It's not like that, she was given to me at sea. Now she's part of the family, isn't that great?" Garp had quite the grin, though it made the Mayor sweatdrop from such a carefree response,
"S-Sure, what you say," The Mayor reluctantly said,
"Oh, that's right. I'd better take her to see, Luffy. It'll do him some good once they know each other, and maybe even Ace too. I'll see you all later," Garp recalled, and then walked past Foosha Village, but not before Marie turned and waved at the villagers, "Bye-bye!"
Makino waved back with a smile, and then she noticed the mayor sighing with pinched brows, "Is something wrong?"
"Considering that Ace and Luffy live with Dadan and her band of mountain bandits. I couldn't help but feel concerned for that girl," Then several tick marks appeared on his head, "If anything, it would've been better if she stayed here instead of living with a group of wanted ruffians! What is Garp even thinking!"
Makino simply giggled as the Mayor ranted over Garp's intentions, but she hoped that Marie would bring a change of pace for the boys after a tragic incident over at the Goa Kingdom...
Mt. Colubo
"Hey, Gramps. What is Luffy and Ace like to you?" Marie asked,
"Huh? Oh, they're a bunch of numb skulls who want nothing more but to become filthy pirates. Everything I've ever done for them was to make them Strong Marines, and this is how they thank me! I swear one of these days, I will set them straight even if it takes a thousand of my punches!" Garp wildly declared,
Marie snickered at his grandfather, then wondered if they acted after she met them for the first time. She was heavily invested in meeting her brother first before Ace...
They'd pass by Midway Forest, which Garp said that it's filled with a lot of dangerous animals. Though he assured her that they were nothing but pests and that he was strong enough to keep them at bay, making her snicker in amusement.
Eventually, they reached what appeared to be some sort of building in the middle of all this wilderness. Garp wouldn't set Marie off his shoulders just yet as he walked towards the door to knock, but stopped as soon as he heard someone from behind the door.
Particularly, the voice of two young boys...
"Ace! Are we going out to get dinner!"
"Yeah! If we want to become strong pirates, we're going to need all the strength we can get!"
"Alright! Meat! Meat!"
Marie couldn't help but smile from the enthusiasm she was hearing, though Garp wasn't too pleased when the term 'pirate' was mentioned. As soon as the door was opened from the other side, the boys were greeted by the Vice Admiral gritting his teeth and fuming with anger, "Oh, you still haven't given up on that crap, have you?"
The boys paled at the mere sight of his presence and wobbled right onto their behinds.
"G-Grandpa!"
"How long were you standing there?!"
"Long enough to hear it all. You two are going to Marines and even if I have to beat that through your thick skulls!" Garp immediately struck the two boys with his fist and large bumps sprouted from the top of their heads,
Marie looked surprised by Garp's brutish action, then she heard several people gasp in shock. When she looked up, she was met with what she assumed were mountain bandits and occupants of this house. After she stared at them, she looked down on the two boys as they sat up,
"Honestly, when will you two learn?" Garp complained,
"Um... Garp, who is that?"
Garp directs his attention at one of the mountain bandits with hair that resembled a chicken's, then hummed when he recalled Marie on his shoulder, "Oh, right. Marie, say hello to them,"
Marie nods and grins at the mountain bandits, "Hello!"
"N-No... You can't be serious," The middle-aged and overweight woman dreaded as she pieced the connection between Garp and Marie as the former sets the latter down, "Ace, Luffy, meet your sister, Marie. As of today, she'll be staying here with you two,"
"It's nice to meet you both!" Marie beamed with a smile,
After the other bandits processed this information, they all shared one simple reaction, "No way!"
Moments later, the middle-aged woman protested what she assumed was another child forcibly put under her care, "You're just going to leave her to us like that?! Not a chance in hell!"
"What?" Garp sneered,
This caused the mountain bandits to flinch in fear, and they straight themselves especially the middle-aged woman, "I-I mean... We believe that a new one isn't so appropriate for us, especially after what happened,"
"Don't worry about a thing with this one, give it a few days and she'll grow on all of you," Garp assured with a grin,
The middle-aged woman just stared at Marie as the latter waved at her, she felt overly cautious that Marie would turn out like the boys behind her beaming smile. But given the circumstances where she doesn't want Garp to throw her to jail, she relented from any further objections and slumped in defeat.
With Garp reaching an understanding, there was another matter he had to tend to. Regarding the two boys who ought to sneak out while he wasn't paying attention, "Just where do you think you two are going?"
Luffy and Ace flinched and shakingly turned their heads at a fuming Garp before their eyes. Not long after, the two decided to run for it and Garp gave chase, "Get back here you brats! Don't you dare run off without saying hello to your sister!"
Marie laughed as Garp disappeared into the woods, and then the middle-aged woman and her mountain bandits approached the young girl, "So, do you have a name?"
"My name is Monkey D. Marie, and I am eight years old!" Marie greeted and bowed, "It's nice to meet you all!"
The mountain bandits just blinked and shifted their eyes at her and each other. Though she seems nice on the surface, they distrust her given all their experience with the boys. Not long after, the middle-aged woman shared her greetings with Marie, "Ahem... So, you'll be living with us since Garp told us to. But you should know that this place is the Mountain hideout of the Dadan Family. If you want your fair share around here, you're going to have to work real hard from today til' tomorrow! And don't even think about telling Garp will make us do what you want, you got it!"
"Is that all?" Marie inquired as she wasn't intimidated in the slightest, if not at all,
"Huh? That's all you got to ask? Not going to cry, whine, or anything?" Dadan questioned as she looked surprised by her casual demeanor,
"Not really. Before Grandpa took me in, my Mommy taught me to care for myself. And while I was at sea with Grandpa, I sometimes helped his crew clean, too," Marie explained, grinning at them. He also promised to teach me whenever I got the chance to care for myself more, so I'm not worried!"
"Your mommy? Just who might that be and why aren't you with her?" Dadan questioned,
"My mommy is..." Marie suddenly paused as if she stopped breathing. Dadan and her mountain bandits leaned forward for a clear answer, and a beaming smile appeared on Marie's face, "I don't know!"
Everyone comically collapsed on their backs and Dadan's head stuck through the floorboards, "You don't know! Why the hell do you don't know?!"
"I don't know either, I do know that I have a mommy, who taught me to care for myself. Then all the nice people I don't remember taught me many things too," Marie explained with a grin, "I'm not sure how I don't remember, but I know they helped me!"
As Marie laughed, everyone picked themselves up and stared at the girl. They couldn't help but feel dumbfounded by the girl's blissful enthusiasm and Dadan slumped her shoulders out of reluctance.
After Marie's grin and Dadan regained her composure, the former asked her most important question, "So, where do I start, Dadan-san?"
~End Notes~
That's all for this chapter, everyone! But before you all go, many of you may noticed that all of the older chapters have been deleted. That is also part of the revision process, and it'll take some time before I reach the point where I stop again.
Also, I've decided to answer any questions you may have in mind about the story. However, said answers will only be found in the posting of the next chapter instead of answering it here or via Private Messaging.
And just in case people have forgotten, I'll also answer any What If Scenarios regarding Marie and her Devil Fruit.
Example: What if Marie was given to Sengoku instead of Garp for adoption?
Answer: Marie would certainly become a Marine and earn the Rank of Captain at a Young Age. Garp still tries to adopt her as her granddaughter, but constantly clashes with Sengoku as he deems him a bad influence.
That is all I have to say and I'll see you all in the next chapter!