Disclaimer: I don't really own One Piece.

Chapter 00: Prologue

Gold Roger, The King of The Pirates, had achieved it all. Wealth, fame, and power had all been his. Not surprisingly, the final words he spoke before they lopped off his head inspired adventurers throughout the world to sail seas.

Roger said, "My treasure? Why it's right where I left it. It's yours if you can find it, but you'll have to search the whole world."

This started the golden age of piracy.

Pirate ship in the harbor of Foosha, a small peaceful village on Dawn island, a boy was standing on the figurehead with a knife in his hand. This was the ship of Red-haired pirates, captained by Red-Haired Shanks. They were a famous pirate crew from the grand line; not that many people were aware of this little tidbit, if any, in this village.

"Hey, Luffy! What're you up to now?" Captain of the pirate ship asked the boy.

"Hmph! I've had it with you guys! Now you'll have to take me seriously!" Luffy replied. Focusing mainly on Shanks, he exclaimed, "I'm going to show you how tough I am."

"Hahaha! Get it over with! Whatever it is," Shanks taunted.

"What's that pup up to now?" Asked a crewman who just came on the ship.

Then suddenly, everyone's jaw dropped with some amazement and lots of horror as they saw the little boy taking the knife and stabbing his face with it. For a moment everyone was stunned to a statue which was broken when the boy cried, "AARGH! YEOW!"

Shanks hurried to Luffy and said, "You Idiot! What'd you do that for!?"

A Few Hours Later

After Luffy was treated for his "battle" wound, everyone came to Partys Bar, one and only tavern in the small village, run by its proprietor Makino. Makino was also the de facto caretaker of Luffy.

"A toast! To Luffy's courage and to our great voyage!" one of the crew said. And they started enjoying their drinks and meat in typically pirate fashion.

On a tool besides the bar counter sat Luffy, the subject of the toast, who, with tears in his eyes, said, "It didn't hurt a bit!"

When Shanks heard it, he scolded Luffy angrily, "Liar! That was a foolish thing to do!"

"I'm not the least bit afraid of getting hurt! Take me with you on your next voyage! I wanna be a pirate too!" Luffy said after the pain of his injury had dampened to a manageable extent. This was an innocent wish of a boy who was enamored with stories of voyages of these pirates and didn't want to be alone in this isolated village anymore.

"You?! A pirate?! Impossible!" Shanks teased. Shanks continued, "Luffy, do you know why we call you "Anchor"? Because you can't swim – you just sink! What good is a pirate who can't swim?"

Luffy answered angrily, "But if I don't fall overboard, then it doesn't matter if I'm an anchor! andI'm a strong fighter." He continued, "I've been training! My punch is as powerful as a pistol!"

"A pistol, eh? Is that so." Shanks derided.

"Are you doubting me?!" Luffy asked Shanks with apparent anger in his voice.

The crew dancing together said to Luffy one after another, "Calm down, Luffy!"

"Let's just have a good time!"

"Yeah! Pirates always have a good time!"

"The sea is vast, and there are lots of islands to explore!"

"And best of all, pirates have FREEDOM!"

Hearing about all this inflamed Luffy's already strong desire to be on the pirate ship with this crew. He thought, "Wow! They are so cool! Except for Shanks. He is a bastard, whatever that means."

Shanks addressed his dancing crew members, "You guys stop filling his head with crazy ideas."

Lucky Roux, a member of the pirate crew, replied, "But it's true!"

Yasopp, another member of the crew, supplied, "Right!?" with a questioning expression, but pretty confident of the answer.

A crew member appealed to the Captain, "C'mon Captain! Let's take the lad with us, just this once."

Another crew agreed, "Aye, let's see if he can really handle the seas."

Luffy excitedly said, "Yeah!"

To this, Shanks indifferently said, "Okay! But one of you will have to stay behind."

Hearing this, everyone did an about-face and said to Luffy, "Sorry, Laddy, you've been beached! Let's drink!"

Luffy barked, "Hey! I thought you guys were on my side!" feeling betrayed.

Shanks addressed Luffy, "You're just too young, kid. Maybe in 10 years, I'll give you a chance."

Luffy, gritting his teeth, said, "Shanks, I'm telling you I'm not a little kid!"

"Don't get upset now. Here, have some milk." Shanks entreated.

"Oh, boy! Thanks!" Luffy said, taking the glass of milk and drinking it.

"See! A real pirate would never drink milk!" Shanks said, laughing so hard that his eyes became watery. All crew members in the bar also started laughing hearing Shanks.

"That was a dirty trick!" Luffy said, getting angry again. Luffy, who didn't stop drinking milk, continued huffing, "Hmph! I'm getting tired of this. I even stabbed myself in the face, so you'd take me with you."

Ben Beckman, first-mate of Red-Haired pirates, addressed the boy, "Luffy. The Captain's just doing what's best for everyone."

"How do you figure, Mr. First Mate?" Luffy asked.

Ben, hoping to discourage Luffy from becoming a pirate, started to explain, "The safety of the entire crew and ship rests on his shoulders. Being a pirate isn't all fun and games, you know. There are lots of duties like… pillaging, hostage-taking, heavy drinking… and swimming!" Luffy started wondering why he was being told this when Ben continued, "And the Captain knows all about the dangers of the sea too! It can kill you in a thousand ways! It's not that he wants to crush your dream of becoming a pirate."

Luffy, not at all believing anything good about Shanks, said, "Well, I don't believe it!" He continued, considering all his interaction with shanks, gritting his teeth, "Shanks just likes to make me look dumb."

As if to prove Luffy correct, Shanks, still laughing, called him, "Hey, Anchor!"

"I told you!" said Luffy while Ben sweatdropped.

Makino coming out of storage with the last barrel of beer, addressed Shanks, "Captain Shanks! I'm glad to see you and your crew are enjoying yourselves."

Shanks replied, "Ho boy. I just love making fun of this kid!" as if to prove Luffy correct to everyone. Luffy pointed his finger to Shanks to show Ben the proof that he was right about Shanks. After hearing Shanks reply, Ben considered, "Hmm… Maybe the lad's got the point."

Makino addressed Luffy, "Luffy, would you like something to eat?"

"Yeah! Just put it on my treasure tab!" replied Luffy hungrily.

Shanks, upon hearing this, mocked Luffy, "Treasure tab? Look, boy, don't try to swindle the lady."

"I'm gonna become a pirate, find lots of treasure, and then I'll come back and pay her!" Luffy replied matter-of-factly.

"HaHaHa! We'll celebrate together when you return." Makino said encouragingly. This made Luffy smile full-heartedly, "Hee-Hee."

After a few moments, Luffy had started eating his food. He asked, "Shanks."

"Yeah, kid?"

"How much longer will you be at this village?"

"Hmm… Let's see… we've been using this village as our base for about a year. After two or three more voyages, we'll leave for good and head north."

"I see. Two or three more trips, eh?" Luffy repeated, feeling a bit sad. But he recovered his enthusiasm and said to Shanks, "I'm gonna learn how to swim by the time you leave!"

"That's a good kid. Do whatever you want," said Shanks unenthusiastically.

After a few minutes of silence where everyone was eating and drinking peacefully, someone kicked the saloon doors so hard that it broke and was thrown in the middle of partying pirates. Someone yelled, "Make way for the Scourge of the mountains!". One guy, who had a smirk pasted on his face and looked like a stereotypical bad guy, said, "Heh Heh… So, you call yourselves pirates, eh? First time I've seen pirates… you look like a sorry lot to me."

In the meantime, Luffy, who was done eating food on his plate, took out fruit from a box and started eating it, wondering about what is happening. Makino lost her smile as she became slightly concerned. The guy continued, "We're mountain bandits. Oh, don't wet yourselves. We're not here to bust up the place. Just sell us 10 barrels of beer, and we'll injure only the bare minimum."

"I'm sorry. We just ran out of liquor," replied Makino anxiously.

"Hmmm… that's strange. What're all these pirates drinking? Fruit juice?" asked the mountain bandit sarcastically.

Makino replied in a polite voice, "It's true. I just served the last of it."

Shanks supplied, supporting Makino, "I feel kinda guilty. I guess we drank up all the liquor. Sorry about that." He picked up their last unopened bottle of liquor to give to bandit and suggested, "Why don't you have this? It's still unopened."

Mountain bandit took the bottle from him and broke it on Shanks's head. This pulled every pirate's attention to the bar counter, whereas Luffy and Makino gasped, startled. His bandit followers were smiling with satisfaction and anticipation of a good fight. "What do you take me for? You can't make a fool of me! What good is one bottle of liquor?"

Shanks completely ignored the bandit and said, "Oh my… what a mess."

Bandit leader took out a wanted poster and waved it in front of Shanks, "Look at this, my head's worth 8,000,000 berries. I'm a wanted man. I've killed 56 people… mostly fools like you!" The guy now identified as Higuma continued, "Watch yourself… If you're fond of breathing! If you're smart, you'll sail away from here, so I never see you again."

Shanks bent down to pick up the broken glasses, completely ignoring Higuma. "Sorry about this mess, Makino. Give me a rag, and I'll clean up."

"Uh… Don't worry about it," said Makino hesitatingly.

Seeing the pirate ignore him, Higuma's face became horrid. He took out his sword and cut all the bar's glass and china. "So, you like to clean? That ought to keep you busy for a while."

Shanks slipped on the spilled liquor and stayed down with his straw hat shadowing his face so that nobody could look at his expression.

Seeing that pirates were not retaliating, Higuma couldn't satisfy his craving for a good fight. He huffed in disappointment, "Hmph! Farewell… cowards," and left the bar. Outside the bar, he said to his followers, "No liquor! That's an outrage!". He continued enthusiastically, "Let's go to another village."

Makino, concerned for Shanks, asked, "Captain, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, no harm done," replied Shanks. He exhaled, losing any anger if there ever even was one, "Phew!"

Every one of the pirate crew started laughing, mocking the Captain. Lucky said, laughing a belly shaking laugh, "Har Har Har Har Captain!" Yasopp supplied, "He got you good." Shanks also started laughing; the whole crew simply laughed off the insult.

But Luffy, who was first concerned for Shanks after seeing him all right, became angry. He got up from his stool, went in front of Shanks, and said shouted angrily, "You think it's funny?! He made you look like a weakling! Why didn't you fight him?!" He continued, calming down somewhat, "Sure, they outnumbered you. And maybe they looked pretty tough, and maybe his bounty was higher than yours but what kind of man lets himself be treated like that then laughs about it? You're a disgrace to all pirates!"

Shanks just stared at Luffy for a moment then said, "When you grow up, maybe you'll understand, kid. He just got some liquor on me, that's all. Needless killing doesn't make you a man." He also corrected Luffy, "And Luffy, his bounty is not higher than mine."

"Sure, it is! It is written above your head. One is lower than eight, right." Exclaimed Luffy. Then he considered things for a moment, then he asked, "Hey, why am I seeing things written above everyone's head! Is something wrong with all of you? Did that mountain bandit did something to all of you?"

"No, he did not!" replied Shanks, still oblivious to what Luffy seeing things means. Then he spaced out for a moment, mind going a thousand miles a moment, and finally came to a terrible conclusion, looked at Beckman, who was looking intently at Luffy. Shanks quickly got up from the floor, turned his eyes to the treasure box placed on the bar counter, and found it open. Then he gripped Luffy's hand and asked, face stuck in a shocked expression, "Luffy, this is very important. Did you eat the fruit in the box?"

"Yeah, I did. I needed a dessert, so I ate it, but it was nasty," replied Luffy bewildered. He had never seen Shanks this serious.

Shanks, now almost hysterical, picked Luffy by his leg and turned him upside down, and started shaking him up and down, 'thinking' he could somehow get the fruit out of the boy. Ben seeing Captain's nonsensical actions, said calmly, "That's not going to help him, Captain. Once devil fruit is eaten, it's not going to come back out, not that way at least."

Hearing the first mate's calm and logical voice, Shanks put back Luffy on his own leg and calmed down. His face was still sober. He turned to Luffy to ask a few questions but saw Luffy walking off. Seeing Luffy walking off, Shanks grabbed his hand and asked, "Hey, Luffy, where are you going?"

"I am going to look for a better role model. I don't need a coward who randomly flips me upside down as a role model," replied Luffy.

Shanks, who had now calmed down, released his hand and told Luffy, "Sorry Luffy, I was flustered. You see, Luffy, the fruit you ate was not a normal fruit. It is a devil fruit. They are treasures of the seas but are also accompanied by a curse. The person who eats it can never swim."

"Whaaaat?" replied Luffy trying to accept this new reality. He continued in a low sad voice, "If I can't swim, then how can I become a pirate?"

"Don't worry, Luffy, the devil fruit gives some sort of power to anyone who eats it. Besides, there are many pirates in the world with devil fruit. Whitebeard is one of them, and he is known as the strongest pirate in the world," assured Shanks.

"Really. Really Mr first mate," asked Luffy to Ben to confirm. His belief in Shanks still shaky. Ben confirmed, "Yes."

"Then why wouldn't any of your crew didn't eat it?" asked Luffy.

Ben replied, "Captain and I decided not to. And since we don't yet know what power this fruit provides…. Well besides the bounty on everyone's head as we now know, we were going to decide after everyone had eaten his fill, as to who would eat it. After all, whereas powers of devil fruits vary, there is always one downside, devil fruit user can't swim, and we are all pirates of the sea."

Shanks now asked, excited, every tension was forgotten as if the previous incident never happened, "What is your power? Can you tell? You said you could see my bounty?"

Luffy replied, "I can see your name Shanks and then question marks and then your bounty."

Red-Haired Shanks

Level = ?

Bounty: 1,000,000,000

"Eh! Just this, you can't do anything else?" asked Shanks.

"I don't think so," replied Luffy hesitatingly.

Shanks then started Laughing, "HaHaHa! That's why we were not eating it, and you shouldn't eat food when you don't know where it comes from. See, this devil fruit only shows name and bounty. It is a pretty useless devil fruit."

Luffy, who was becoming sad, became angry instead, and replied, "That doesn't matter. If someone can become a pirate with devil fruit. Then I also can become a pirate with one. I will just not swim."

Hearing this, everyone started smiling. And the party continued.

A/N: This is prologue, I have mechanism of how the devil fruit will work and how luffy will use it in a ppt. but I don't know if I will continue it.