458AN:
Someone asked about why Shanks used hardening when he could have just used enhancement to protect himself from Higuma's bottle and you're comment was absolutely right, I needed it for the plot of the story. I kind of tried to play it off with Benn saying he was having fun but I guess it didn't really work... oh well.
You've probably got questions about all the enhancement business and it's more just a way for me to allow the use of haki at an earlier stage. It also makes sense in my head. I know there have been panels in the manga of Raleigh using haki without the black coloring. This is kind of just my way of explaining that, rather than just saying he was using regular haki and Oda just didn't want to spoil it so he didn't draw it. With that said, hope you enjoy the second chapter. I don't think haki is really meant to be visible at all but that is different in this story, hope you guys don't mind the change too much!
Chapter 2: An Early Start
Nine Years later
Two years had passed since Luffy's older brother, Ace, had left the island to pursue his dream of becoming a pirate and Luffy now stood at the same place he had seen him off from, preparing to start his own small journey for the next year. Well, a little less than a year now. As he stood before the sight in front of him, he couldn't help but grow excited. The waters of the sea were a vibrant blue, reflecting the sun and the clouds in the sky. It was the perfect day to start his journey.
The thought brought his brother's departure through his mind. It had been a colder day, but just as beautiful.
"Byyyeee Ace!", Luffy screamed from the land as he watched his brother's boat leave the port.
"Bye Luffy! Come find me once you set out to sea! I'm bound to be a super big pirate by then! You're gonna have a lot to live up to being my kid brother!", yelled Ace in return, his boat continuing to grow smaller and smaller in the distance.
The memory crept through the teen's mind fondly as he stood at the docks preparing himself for the start of his journey. No, not his pirate journey, his journey around the East Blue! Luffy knew that the moment he turned seventeen, he would set out, gather a crew, and enter the Grandline, the greatest stretch of ocean of them all. So, before that, he wanted to see the East Blue and get some experience on the waters around his home beforehand, because, like it or not, he'd never actually been off of the island.
Over the past nine years, Luffy had grown much. No longer was he a little 'helpless' seven-year-old boy. The teen stood at a height of five foot six and he certainly still had more room to grow. His face was slightly round, bearing a scar just under the left eye, and his eyes and hair matched both a dark black. Most would probably say he looked plain, but that was largely due to his age. He was still young, after all. With time to fill out and mature, Luffy would, eventually, become the apple of many eyes. The boy's body was on the smaller side, but very lithe and muscular, like a coiled viper ready to strike.
A pair of blue jean shorts and an open red vest was his signature outfit at this point in life, along with his hat and sandals. His treasure could be seen atop his head, the yellow of the straw gleaming in the sunlight and contrasting beautifully with the red of the sash sitting on the hat's brim. The last thing of note on Luffy's person was a beautiful brown chord around his neck.
The chord was braided from several different strands of leather into a loop. The loop was tight around Luffy's neck to the point that he couldn't remove it over his head, but not so tight as to choke him. It was… comfortable. Over the years, no matter how much he grew, the chord always seemed to fit perfectly. He, however, had never taken any real notice of it. The last detail on the necklace was a vibrant violet jewel that seemed almost woven into the leather through the stem of whatever the stone depicted. There were no other ornaments accenting the piece of jewelry, nothing more was needed. The gleaming purple gemstone was plenty beautiful on its own.
At sixteen the boy had, what he would call, a mastery of hand-to-hand combat. The claim came from spending so much time with his brothers. Where his brothers took to pipes as their weapon of choice, Luffy used his fists. They each fought one hundred times every day and hunted the large animals of the local mountain forest. Ace and Luffy even continued after the death of their last brother, Sabo.
The death of their late brother was sudden and affected the two children more than anything had in their entire lives. During that period, their spirits were under much duress and there were times when they both felt continuing on without him would be pointless, times when the guilt of being so powerless was overwhelming. However, they pushed on because that's what Sabo would have wanted.
The basics of haki Luffy learned at the tender age of seven ended up leaning more towards Conqueror's Haki. He found he had quite the affinity for it, according to Shanks. Because of that, however, the basics of Armament Enhancement were slightly rushed. Most of the learning he did with enhancement came after Shanks had left the island. With not a lot to go on, the boy had to teach himself based on feel and instinct and Luffy liked to think it had turned out all right.
He was now able to enhance his entire body at the same time. However, as he trained over the years, Luffy noticed that spreading his enhancement across his body drained him more than if he used it on a single body part or a smaller area of himself. Also, Shanks hadn't explicitly mention how to use the black form of haki, but, he did say that new forms of haki were extremely hard to unlock without a situation that pushed the wielder to or past their limits, situations Luffy had seen few of over the years. Therefore, even though his haki was strong, chances were, he wouldn't unlock hardening until he left the island.
Conqueror's Haki was a different story due to the fact that it grows with its user. Luffy rarely ever used it because of his promise to Shanks, however, it had continued to grow over the years as the boy had grown and, even in its dormancy, had become much stronger.
Putting his fingers to his mouth, Luffy gave a sharp whistle out to the sea, the water beginning to ripple in response. The ripples continued to grow larger as they gravitated toward the dock. The closer they came, the darker the water seemed to get, almost as if the silhouette of a sea monster was rising out of the water.
In actuality, that's exactly what it was.
The Lord of the Coast's head burst through the surface of the blue liquid, sending water in every direction as its red eyes met the black of Luffy's. There was silence as the beast moved, coming closer and closer to the docks. By the time it stopped, the two were so close that Luffy would have been able to touch the sea monster. To no one's surprise, that's exactly what he did. Reaching up to the massive head of the beast, the boy lightly patted its nose and was nuzzled back in return. "You ready Levi?", he asked the creature.
The large sea beast named Levi nodded its head excitedly, ready to begin its journey with its master.
Turning to look back up at the island he was about to leave, Luffy spoke once again. "Take a good long look, Levi. We aren't coming back here for a while.", he said to his companion, smiling. This was his home, he would be back eventually. Where else was he supposed to start his pirate adventure from? "Alright!", he exclaimed, "Remember, Levi, no helping unless I ABSOLUTELY need it. I need to get stronger and that's why we're doing this.".
Once more gazing at the place he'd always called home, he gave it one last good look before turning away with a grin. "LET'S GO!", the teen yelled, diving head-first into the water. Before the two started swimming, Luffy grabbed a hold of the large beast and asked a question, "Hey you're a sea monster so you've probably been all around the East Blue, right?".
The beast nodded its head.
"So how about this, you lead the way and I'll swim beside you. Take us to the closest island and when I can't go any farther, I'll rest on your head until I can swim again!", the boy explained, "Sound good?".
With a final nod of its large head, the two set off toward the next island swimming side by side.
"MEAT!".
The scream was heard throughout the town making all heads turn toward the port. The scene there was something most of the townspeople could only gawk at. A boy, no more than sixteen, was riding on top of some sort of sea monster!
"MEAT! GIVE ME MEAT!", Luffy screamed. Like a man possessed, he jumped from Levi's head and proceeded to swim toward the docks at speeds that, while maybe not as fast as a fishman, were definitely faster than most humans. After making it to the dock and pulling himself up, the teen turned back to the sea, "LEVI! STAY AROUND THE ISLAND AND LISTEN FOR MY WHISTLE! I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG I'LL BE HERE, SO GO HAVE SOME FUN! BUT DON'T GO TOO FAR! SEE YA BUDDY!".
Turning away from his friend and facing the town again, Luffy sighed. "Now that that's taken care of… MEAT!", he screamed as he ran through the town looking for a restaurant, "SOMEONE GIVE ME MEAT! I HAVEN'T EATEN IN FOREVER! I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW LONG IT'S BEEN!".
Moving faster than most eyes could keep up with, Luffy twisted and turned throughout the streets until he finally found it. A bar. Stars appeared in the boy's eyes as he blasted off towards the establishment, so fast in fact, that he couldn't quite stop himself before he made it to the doors.
Inside the bar a young man of eighteen sat drinking peacefully, minding his own business. He wore a tight beige/white shirt that showed off the muscle he'd acquired over the years and a pair of dark green pants. Around his stomach was a light green striped haramaki and on his left bicep was a tied bandana, the same color as his pants.
He had short light green hair and tan skin. The lighter colors of his skin and shirt contrasted with the dark black of his eyes and the gold of the three teardrop-shaped earrings hanging from his left ear. At his hip, curiously, were three katanas tucked into his haramaki, the only one of note bearing a white hilt and a similarly colored sheath. It rested in the middle of the two other blades and it was obvious that the young man cared more for this sword than the other two with the way he rested his hand on its pommel.
The teenager had been drifting ever since he left his home and paid for all of his expenses through his 'job' so to speak. He originally left to pursue his dream, as well as keep a promise to a dear friend, to become the Greatest Swordsman in the World. However, soon after he left his village, Shimotsuki, he realized that he couldn't find his way back and was essentially lost. Not that he would ever admit it.
Because of his situation, he turned to bounty hunting as a way to sustain himself while journeying across the East Blue. Even if he was a bounty hunter, however, the money wasn't very important to him. Yes, it let him buy food and a bed in most places, but that didn't matter in his eyes. His true goal was to become stronger, so he could one day challenge the man who stood at the top of the ladder he was trying to climb... Dracule Mihawk, otherwise known by his epithet, Hawk Eyes.
"MEAT!".
It was the last thing the bounty hunter heard before the saloon-esque doors to the bar were practically blasted off their henges. Unsheathing two of his swords, he began to prepare for the worst as he turned to see what caused the commotion.
"MEAT! GIVE ME MEAT! I'M ABOUT TO STARVE TO DEATH!", Luffy screamed from his position on the floor. He could smell it. Someone was cooking something and that something smelled delicious. Getting up and once again sprinting his way to the bar to order some of the delicious-smelling meat, Luffy didn't even notice the green-haired swordsman holding two very sharp swords. Before he could make it all the way to the bar, the taller boy blocked his path, stepping in front of him and forcing him to stop to avoid a collision.
"HEY! WHAT THE HELL! GET OUTTA MY WAY SO I CAN GET SOME OF THAT DELICIOUS MEAT!", Luffy screamed in the stranger's face.
'He wasn't even phased from crashing through those doors.', the verdet thought to himself. Most people would have still been on the ground in pain but the kid didn't even have a scratch. He eyed the straw-hatted boy critically. He was obviously no swordsman but for some reason, the verdet just couldn't help but think he would be fun to fight. He glanced back at the broken doors and smirked. It looked like he had found a strong one. "Fight me.", he demanded.
"NO! I JUST SAID GET OUTTA MY WAY SO I CAN EAT SOME MEAT!", Luffy screamed back before trying to make his way around the stupid guy trying to keep him from eating. As soon as he tried to move, however, he found a sword at his throat.
The swordsman held his blade steadily, trying to hold his grin at bay. "I said… Fight. Me.", he demanded once more.
Trying to calm down before he broke the person in front of him in two, Luffy asked, "And why would I fight you? I'm hungry. Plus I don't even know you. I have zero reasons to fight you right now. SO. MOVE IT!".
"Well if it's about knowing each other, my name is Roronoa Zoro. Plus, you don't look like the type of guy to carry around money with him, am I right?", the older boy replied, seeing an opportunity.
"Yeah. So?", Luffy answered, not realizing why it mattered.
"Well, usually when you want to eat food, you've got to pay for it.", Zoro answered, smirking as he saw the look of realization come across Luffy's face. The expression was very similar to that of someone who'd just been told a loved one had died. "So how about this? You fight me, and if you win I'll buy you as much food as you want. Deal?", the older boy more suggested than questioned.
Luffy's expression changed so fast it could have given the whole bar whiplash, "DEAL! COME ON LET'S GO FIGHT RIGHT NOW! I'M HUNGRY DAMMIT!". He turned toward the entrance he had blown apart and excitedly ran out of it. He would do just about anything for food right now.
Zoro could only smirk at the boy as he followed him out of the bar. It looked like his name wasn't quite famous enough to be known yet. However, many bounties had already fallen to his blades. He may even have to go easy on the kid. He didn't really know how strong the seemingly younger boy was but there was one thing he was one hundred percent certain of. He wouldn't be paying for anything today.
The rest of the bar gaped in silence as the two exited the establishment. What exactly had they just watched?
The two walked in silence until they made it out of the town, to a nearby clearing where they stopped and faced each other.
"Alright kid, I gave you my name, I'd like to know the name of the person I'm about to beat down. Care to share?", Zoro asked with a smirk.
Luffy smiled at the question. "My name's Monkey D. Luffy and I'm gonna be the King of the Pirates!", he yelled, "Now come on! Let's fight!".
"Alright then, if you're gonna make such a declaration, I guess I gotta state my ambition too…", he looked Luffy in the eyes, "My name is Roronoa Zoro and I will be The Greatest Swordsman in the World.".
A slightly familiar feeling came across Luffy and his eyes widened by a fraction. 'Was that…', before he could finish the thought, however, his brain registered Zoro's declaration and his eyes turned to stars, "THAT IS SO COOL! THE GREATEST IN THE WORLD? YOU'VE GOT TO JOIN MY PIRATE CREW!"
The swordsman stayed silent for a moment before replying. "I have no intention of becoming a pirate. I will only ever pursue my goal and nothing will get in the way of that.", he stated sternly.
"Awww come on! We could go on really cool adventures! And there has to be some super strong people to fight on the Grandline. I know you probably want to get stronger! So do I! What better place to do it than there?!", Luffy exclaimed.
"Sorry kid, it ain't gonna happen. I told you I won't let anyone or anything get in the way of my dream.", Zoro replied with finality. If there were strong people on the Grandline, he would go there on his own eventually.
The two stared at each other for a moment, after the verdet's refusal.
"I refuse.", Luffy stated simply.
Zoro gaped at the words. "YOU CAN'T JUST REFUSE ME! I JUST REFUSED YOU!", he screamed, teeth turning to those of a shark.
"Well, I'm refusing your refusal. Now come be a pirate with me! You can be my first mate!", the straw-hatted teen argued, "Well… you can be my first mate… later…".
"WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?! YOU CAN'T REFUSE A REFUSAL! AND WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?!", the swordsman yelled in exasperation.
"Well, I just did.", said Luffy sticking his tongue out at the older boy and ignoring all of his questions.
Zoro'd had enough, he just wanted to fight. "Alright, I'll make you another deal. If you manage to beat me, somehow, I'll join your pirate crew, or whatever. Happy now?", he questioned with a huff.
"YES! ALRIGHT! LET'S DO THIS!", Luffy screamed. He then saw his opponent drawing two of the three katanas in his belly warmer. "Are you gonna use all three of those?", he questioned pointing at the swords, one still sheathed.
The shing of Zoro's blades sounded into the air as they left their sheaths. "Yes, I practice a style that uses three swords. Santōryū.", he stated.
"THAT IS SO COOL! YOU'RE DEFINITELY JOINING MY CREW!", Luffy screamed, excitedly. The guy was just too cool not to have on his crew. Three swords? Cool. Dreamed of being the World's Greatest Swordsman? Cool. Green hair? Cool. Belly warmer?… He somehow even made that look cool too!
The verdet chose to stare at Luffy instead of answering, a blank look on his face. It was almost as if he hadn't even heard Luffy say anything. "Rules are if you get knocked out or surrender, you lose.", Zoro clarified, ignoring Luffy's exclamation and drawing his third blade. He unraveled his dark green bandana from his bicep, tying it around his head, and placed his white-hilted katana in his mouth. "Got it?", he mumbled, through his sword.
"SHUT UP AND LET'S FIGHT ALREADY! YOU'RE REALLY COOL AND ARE GONNA JOIN MY CREW! PLUS, I'M STARVING DAMMIT!", Luffy screamed, jumping toward his opponent. His fist came flying toward Zoro's face and on instinct the swordsman blocked, two swords coming together in the center to stop the incoming fist.
As metal and skin impacted, Zoro could only gape at the sound reverberating from the clash. 'That didn't sound like skin at all!', he thought to himself incredulously. Just what the hell was the kid made of?!
Quickly coming out of his shock, Zoro pushed back against the boy's fist, attempting to create some distance between the two of them. He was shocked senseless once again when he realized that not only could he not push his opponent back, he was the one being pushed back! He jumped away from the clash, coming to the realization that he couldn't overpower his foe, before immediately rushing forward once more with a yell, "Tiger Hunt!".
Expecting Luffy to dodge, Zoro slashed as fast as he possibly could trying to see if what he lacked in strength he could make up with speed.
Seeing the head-on attack coming, Luffy couldn't help but smirk as the swords came down with blinding speed. The blades sped toward Luffy and he brought his arms in front of his body in a cross guard, jumping forward toward the swordsman. Blades met skin and created the strange sound yet again confusing Zoro once more. His swords bounced off of the incoming guard causing him to be left wide open and the younger boy took the opportunity to plant a fist right in the middle of Zoro's chest, sending him flying back several feet.
'Damn it! This kid is stronger than me!', Zoro thought in a panic. He had severely underestimated his opponent! How was the kid blocking his swords? His arms should have been in pieces with those two strikes! Ignoring the pain in his chest from his opponent's retaliation, Zoro once again sprinted his way toward his foe and prepared for a fight much more grueling than he expected.
The two teenagers moved faster than most eyes could up with as punches and slashes met each other one after another. Multiple blows were traded in the blink of an eye when, suddenly, Luffy sprang into the air and brought his heel down in the direction of the verdet's head.
Zoro brought his blades up just in time to intercept the incoming blow but struggled against the straw-hatted boy's strength as he seemingly hung in the air with all of his weight pushing downward. The swordsman pushed outward with every muscle he had, forcing Luffy into a backflip and overpowering him for the first time during the fight. He didn't even really have time to be happy about it, as Luffy was already sprinting back toward him.
The verdet groaned to himself. What the hell had he gotten himself into? However, he couldn't help but grin at the same time. The battle-crazed smile the straw-hatted boy was wearing as he approached was infectious.
The fight between the two teenagers continued for far longer than either of them had anticipated and while it seemed like hours to the two fighters, it couldn't have been more than ten minutes since the two began. Although Zoro was looking to be in worse shape, that didn't mean Luffy had taken no damage. Looking at the younger boy's arms, several angry red slices could be seen along with various streaks of blood from where he'd continuously blocked Zoro's strikes.
Even though Zoro hadn't cut his opponent very deep, he had made him bleed and he could be satisfied with that, for now. "I'm going to end it with this move. No one has ever stayed conscious after seeing this technique. Be proud, that you pushed me this far.", he spoke through ragged breaths.
"Bring it.", replied Luffy, just as exhausted, not taking his eyes off of his green-haired opponent.
Crossing his arms so he had a sword pointing to the sky on either side of him, Zoro bent down as if about to rush forward. "Santōryū:", an ominous purple glow appeared in his eyes as he looked to Luffy, "Demon Cut!". Faster than he had for the entire bout, Zoro burst forward and brought his swords to his opponent for one last strike.
Knowing his enhancement wouldn't be able to save him from being cut severely, Luffy dodged to the left. While his superior speed did allow him to move before the slash hit, it did not let him avoid it completely and time seemed to slow down before his very eyes.
Seeing where the one blade would connect, Luffy enhanced his right shoulder as much as he possibly could. Something inside of him just knew that it wasn't going to be enough. If he didn't do something he was going to lose his arm! He needed more! Way more! The teen continued to enhance his shoulder further and further as the blade continued its descent, screaming internally in exertion. He'd never forced his haki this far before and he still wasn't sure he'd be able to save his arm. Everything he had went into making his skin harder. Every ounce of willpower in his body. Absolutely. Everything.
Just as the sword was millimeters from Luffy's skin, a small dark grey spot, almost black, formed and it was just large enough to block the blade that would have taken his arm, metallic ringing sounding into the air.
The two teenagers looked each other in the eyes before both looking to the black-haired boy's shoulder, where Zoro's sword was being stopped. The blade had begun to crack along its edge, where it met the grey of Luffy's haki.
He'd finally done it. Even through his exhaustion, Luffy was soaring. He'd been pushed further past his limits than he ever had before, and the one to thank was the opponent standing before him. "Thank you, Zoro. If I hadn't met you, who knows how long it would have taken me to do that!", the straw-hatted teen exclaimed before completing his move to the left, Zoro's sword falling from his shoulder.
The verdet's only two reactions were confusion and panic. 'What the hell is this kid talking about?!', he thought to himself. How the hell had he done that?! Just who was this guy?!
Taking advantage of his opponent's momentary lapse in concentration, Luffy pulled his fist back for one last strike, closing his eyes and concentrating. He began to recall the feeling that came with the new form of Armament Haki he had finally unlocked. He had seen the defensive capabilities, but, now he wanted to see what it could do offensively.
Focusing on his fist, he felt the skin on his front four knuckles harden just like his shoulder had. Without the impending doom of losing an arm, Luffy had time to really feel the difference between enhancement and the new form. He could feel his haki surging into the tops of his knuckle bones and the blood surrounding them along with the skin, creating the appearance of grey metal. The feeling was similar to enhancement, but, just…more.
He finally opened his eyes and noticed that only his knuckles had the appearance of metal. He shrugged at the sight and looked up, addressing Zoro. It looked like he had a long way to go. "Well if you went all out, I guess it would be rude of me if I didn't.", smirking, Luffy only had one last thing to say before he launched forward to deliver a devastating right-handed punch, "You might want to block.".
Eyes wide, Zoro brought his swords up as fast as he could, barely managing to do so in time. His opponent's fist was moving faster than he could see. Grey knuckles impacted the blades and shattered the two in his hands, the only one surviving being the one in his mouth. However, the same couldn't be said for his face. On contact, the swordsman felt his nose break as he went flying through the air, headed straight for the trunk of a tree.
Instead of slamming against it, as anyone would expect, his body shattered the tree and he went straight through it. The verdet's body crashed through several more trees before being stopped by a large boulder, severely cracking it as he impacted. If he had been anyone else, he most likely either would have lost his head to that punch, or crashing through trees and hitting a boulder would have destroyed his body. Luckily though, he was Roronoa Zoro, and simply put, he was strong.
Letting his hardening fade Luffy struggled to stand, not realizing how much using his new form of armament would drain him. He had some training to do. The straw-hatted teen turned and looked at the destruction he'd caused, hoping his new crew mate was still alive. Maybe he should have held back a little?… No, Zoro didn't seem like the kind of guy who would appreciate that. He relaxed when groaning could be heard coming from the place where said swordsman had landed. Hoping he didn't hurt his new crew member too badly, Luffy walked over to see if the other teen was alright. "Hey… You alive?", he asked the green-haired boy.
Slowly, Zoro brought himself into a sitting position, ignoring the pain in his body. Before replying, he took a look at what was left of the two swords he was holding in his hands. 'Damn… These are gonna need replacing at some point.', he thought, proceeding to drop the handles to set his nose. He held it afterward to stop the bleeding, looking up at Luffy with a scowl. "No thanks to you… How the hell are you so strong?!", he asked, reaching up to pull his bandana off.
Luffy laughed and thought about how he'd gotten to this point, "I've pretty much been training for my entire life. Even coming here is part of my journey to get stronger before I set out to be a pirate!".
Zoro looked at Luffy in confusion, "So you're not a pirate?".
"No, not yet. I made a promise with my brothers that we would all set off for our own journeys the day we turn seventeen. So, instead of just waiting around my village and training there for the next year, I thought that I would go around the East Blue and get some experience on the sea instead.", the black-haired teen answered.
'As dense as this kid seems, that was actually pretty smart of him', the verdet thought to himself. "So you're not a pirate YET, but, I'm guessing that part of the journey you're on right now is to find some crew mates for when you DO set out?", he asked.
Luffy's eyes widened at Zoro's question, "THAT'S A GREAT IDEA! WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT!".
The swordsman could only sweat drop at the kid. 'He may be denser than I originally thought'. Sighing, he stood from his sitting position before addressing the boy he would apparently be calling his captain sometime in the future, "Listen… I won't let anything stand in the way of my ambition, not even you. I'll join your crew, but… If you ever get in the way of me achieving my dream. I will not hesitate to put you down… Permanently.". Zoro stared Luffy down waiting for his reaction.
"… YESSS! MY FIRST CREW MEMBER! AND HE'S GONNA BE THE GREATEST SWORDSMAN IN THE WORLD! THE PIRATE KING WOULD HAVE NO LESS ON HIS CREW!", the future pirate captain yelled, pumping his fist in the air.
Laughing at his furture captain's antics, Zoro walked to where his white-hilted sword had fallen. Thankfully, as he examined it there didn't seem to be any damage and placed the blade back in its sheath. He then began to make his way toward the town. After all, he did owe Luffy a meal.
"Uhhhhh… Zoro?", the black-haired boy queried.
"What is it Luffy?", the verdet replied, somewhat irritably. He was hungry, now, and he seriously needed some booze.
"Where are you going?", he asked, "That's definitely NOT the way back to town."
Zoro froze in place before turning around and walking in the opposite direction, acting as if nothing had happened.
"Still not the right way…", Luffy sweat dropped.
A tick mark appeared on Zoro's head as he turned around once again, "I knew that!".
Luffy tried to keep himself from laughing but gave up after realizing Zoro was headed in the same direction he was going in originally.
"What the hell are you laughing at?!", Zoro screamed at Luffy, as the younger boy rolled on the ground.
"I can't help it! Your sense of direction is just so bad!", he managed to wheeze back through his laughter.
The swordsman scowled, "It is not! The town must have moved or something!"
"Sure sure, whatever you say!", the younger boy replied, still rolling on the ground. Taking a second to gather himself, Luffy stood before telling his new frined he knew the way back to town and signaling him to follow, turning to walk in that direction.
Zoro glanced at his companion as he followed. He had just met him today, but he was glad that this was going to be his captain. Luffy knew how important people's dreams were to them because of how important his own was to himself. Because of that, even after only knowing him for less than a day, he had a feeling Luffy would never intentionally get in the way of his goal. On the contrary, he felt that just being around the straw-hatted boy would put him in situations that pushed him further than he may have been able to push himself. He didn't know if he would follow him forever, but he had a suspicion that if not, it would be for quite some time... What could he say? He liked the kid.
The two didn't make it back to town for hours because even though Luffy said he knew the way back, his sense of direction wasn't much better than Zoro's. But eventually, they made it back to the bar they'd met in and had an extremely large meal, on Luffy's part, as well as drank more than either of them should be able to, most of the drinking being done by Zoro.
A week had passed since the two had become future crew mates and they had yet to leave the island they were on, Yotsuba Island, located in the Yotsuba Island Region. They would have left earlier, but Luffy said they couldn't leave until Levi came back. When Zoro asked who Levi was, the younger boy just said that it was a surprise.
The whole time they had been on the island, they explored, sparred, ate, drank… and that was about it. Ririka the owner of the establishment they frequented in Shells Town, where they had been staying on the island, let them sleep in the back of the bar. There was also a bathroom where the two could shower, as well.
Waking up on the eighth day of their stay, the two ate with Ririka and her three-year-old daughter, Rika. The young girl adored the two boys and could usually be seen hanging off of one of them, while they were in the bar together. The four ate lunch in peaceful silence... well as peaceful as possible, with someone like Luffy at the table. The others were constantly guarding their plates to stop Luffy's wandering hands from snatching any of their food.
Just as they were finishing their meal, the group heard a commotion from outside the bar and stood to check and see what it was. The group watched as a contingent of navy soldiers led a handcuffed man past the bar windows.
"Why's he got cuffs on?", Luffy asked curiously, watching the man being dragged through the street.
"I dunno, your guess is as good as mine.", Zoro replied, sifting through some papers he always kept on him.
Ririka sighed at the sight. "That's been happening more, recently.", she said, "A lot of people are being executed for piracy these days.".
"EXECUTED?!", Luffy screamed suddenly. He turned to Zoro and jumped onto him, bringing their faces inches apart, "ZORO... CAN WE PLEASE GO?! PLLLEEESE!".
"GET OFFA ME YOU IDIOT!", Zoro yelled in return, shoving the younger boy away from him, "Why are you even asking me? You're the captain... Also, why the hell do you even want to go watch? We're pirates just like him.".
Ririka's eyes immediately widened as she grabbed Rika and began to slowly back away. The two didn't seem like pirates to her. They were just kids. However, she couldn't deny what she'd just heard.
"Shut up Zoro! You're scaring the nice lady!", Luffy exclaimed, shooting the green-haired boy a dirty look. "Don't worry lady...", he started, now addressing Ririka. "... We aren't pirates.", he said, his signature smile resting on his face.
"Very convincing Luffy...", Zoro sweat dropped, looking at the still 'scared' Ririka and a very confused Rika.
"What do you mean?! We aren't!", Luffy argued incredulously, "I can't be a pirate for another year! And you're joining my crew so you can't either! And I want to watch because I've never seen one before!".
Ririka listened to the conversation in confusion. "Wait... now I'm confused. You aren't pirates... but you're going to be?", she questioned. She was just going to pretend she didn't hear what Luffy said about wanting to see an execution just because he'd never seen one before. Nope, she didn't hear it.
What followed was a short and to-the-point explanation of what was going on with the two teenagers from said teenagers. Well, it would have been... if Luffy wasn't Luffy or Zoro actually cared. Luffy started telling a story that no one could really understand and took way too long. Ririka was lost the whole time until the end when he said he and his brothers promised to become pirates when they turned seventeen. That was pretty easy to understand.
Hearing that, Ririka was relatively satisfied and no longer scared of the teens. She could see just how honest of a boy Luffy was. It wasn't really that difficult, he was absurdly earnest. To be fair she wasn't really scared to begin with, there was just a stigma around pirates being bad people and she didn't want to associate with that.
"I see. So you can't start your journey for another year, well a little less than that now, I guess.", she smiled at the boy. "Thank you for telling me all that Luffy. You've made me feel much better. Although, I do think you may have missed the execution...", Ririka said, secretly glad. No children of any age should have to witness something like that if they wanted to or not.
Little did she know that both Luffy and Zoro had seen dark things in their young lives. The lengths people will go to for the sake of status and comfort, human nature at its worst. The cruelty of the universe playing with things at its whim, taking before it is time and leaving the weight of what's lost on the ones who still carry their memory, their dreams.
These two young men had already experienced much hardship in their short lives. However, instead of melting away under the heat of their experience, they were instead tempered by it and would be forever stronger because of it. In comparison, an execution was nothing to these two, not anymore. Ririka had nothing to worry about.
Luffy shot up from his seat and sprinted out of the door towards the local marine base, Zoro in tow.
As they came up to the gate, they could see the crowd thinning and people beginning to leave, signifying that, yes, they had indeed missed the execution. "DAMN IT! WE MISSED IT!", the younger teen screamed and proceeded to fall to his knees, pounding the ground with his fist and creating cracks where it would impact. Zoro only looked on with a bored expression before grabbing the back of a sulking Luffy's vest and dragging him back toward the bar.
"Thank you, Daddy! That idiot insulted me to my face! He deserved to die!".
The verdet turned at the voice that had come from somewhere behind the wall, likely close to the base. After stopping for a second and deciding what to do, he turned back and chose to ignore it. Luffy was getting annoying to carry and he didn't care about some stupid idiot getting insulted.
"Luffy, stop moping and get up I'm not dragging you anymore, it's annoying.", Zoro said with a scowl, dropping his future captain. Before the swordsman could say anything more, however, the other teen shot up from his position on the ground with wide eyes and a massive smile on his face. Without any word to his partner in crime Luffy proceeded to blast off from his position on the ground, running in the direction of the port.
"HURRY UP ZORO! I THINK HE'S BACK AND THAT MEANS, IT'S TIME TO GO!", Luffy yelled as he continued to get further and further away.
'Who the hell is he talking about?', Zoro thought to himself. Well, there was no use sitting around. He might as well go and see who the idiot was so excited to see.
Coming up on the port, Luffy could barely hold in his excitement. He hadn't seen his friend in a whole week! He was also getting antsy to go on some more adventures. As cool as the island had been, he was definitely happy about recruiting Zoro as his first mate, he was ready to go and see more of the East Blue and meet even more cool people! If only he hadn't missed the execution, that would have been the perfect end to his stay on the island. Oh well, once again, there was nothing he could do about it now. When he finally reached the dock, Luffy stuck his fingers in his mouth and gave a sharp whistle to call his friend, along with a loud shout of, "LEVIII!".
After waiting for just a moment, Luffy began to see familiar ripples in the water, signifying the sea monster's arrival. "Levi!", he exclaimed hugging the monster's nose as he came out of the water. "I've missed you, buddy! I feel like I haven't seen you in forever! I've got so much to tell you! I met this really cool guy, who uses three swords, and we had this fight and he agreed to be pirates with me when I start on my journey, isn't that cool! Oh! And… Nope, that's about it. What about you buddy? Did you have some fun, while you were gone?".
The sea beast nodded its head in confirmation.
"Well, I'm glad.", Luffy said with a smile. "We are getting ready to leave soon now that you're here buddy. Oh, and you gotta meet Zoro! He's the swordsman I was telling you about. He uses three swords! How cool is that?! Oh, and he wants to be the World's Greatest Swordsman and I told him I wouldn't have any less on my crew. It was really cool! Anyways, you can meet him when he gets here, even though, he might take forever because he has no sense of direction. Then, we're gonna go to the bar, real quick, to get some food for the trip because I really don't want to be that hungry again.", the boy took a deep breath after finishing having not taken a single one while he was talking.
"What. In the hell. Is that.".
Turning away from Levi, Luffy saw Zoro staring at him frozen in place as his friend watched him speak to the giant sea monster. "Zoro! You're finally here!", he quickly ran up to the swordsman and grabbed his arm, dragging him over to his large friend. The verdet reluctantly followed, not really having much choice in the matter.
As they neared, Zoro could hear the monster purr at him and stopped to tell Luffy, mistaking it for a growl, "Luffy, I don't think that thing likes me too much.".
"No way! Levi's my friend and you're my friend, so you two have to be friends!", reasoned Luffy.
"Firstly, I'm not sure that's how that works. Secondly… WHY THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING TO A SEA MONSTER?!", the young man screamed back with shark teeth.
Luffy stared at Zoro blankly, not understanding the question, "He's my friend, why else would I be talking to him?". He looked over at Levi and the beast simply nodded its head in agreement.
"That's not what I…", Zoro paused for a second before seemingly giving up, "You know what… never mind. I don't even want to know.".
After introductions were over if you could even call them that, Luffy and Zoro headed back to the bar to pick up their things and get food for the trip to the next island. Along the way, Luffy explained how Levi helped get him from island to island. Now that they could use Zoro's small boat as well, they would be able to bring food and other supplies along.
The two were a whirlwind as they swept through the bar, gathering all the things they would need for their voyage. It would put a small dent in what Zoro had saved up from bounty hunting but neither of the teens felt good about just taking from Ririka, even though she probably wouldn't make too much of a fuss about it. Plus, what else was he going to spend it on, if not this… Oh yeah, he still needed some new swords…
Eventually the two, hopefully, had everything they would need for their next voyage and made their way back to the port, Ririka and Rika in tow.
"Do you really have to leave?", Rika asked, tears in her eyes. The two young men turned to look back at the girl following them and both of their hearts broke at the expression on the young girl's face, even though Zoro would never admit it.
"Rika they have a journey to go on, you know that. Plus, I'm sure this won't be the last time you see them… Isn't that right boys?", the death glare Ririka was aiming at the two sent a shiver down their spines and left no room for argument, not that there would have been any in the first place.
"Of course!", Luffy shouted with a smile while Zoro nodded his head in agreement. "I don't know when we will be back, but I promise", Luffy looked the girl in the eyes, "we will be back someday and when we do come back, we will have lots and lots of new stories to tell about all of our adventures! Sound good?".
The girl nodded her head enthusiastically before rushing to the two boys and wrapping her arms around their legs in a hug. Luffy just laughed and hugged back, while Zoro awkwardly patted the girl's back, not used to such shows of affection.
"Alright, Zoro! Let's get a move on! I don't know where the next island we are going to is, but I can't wait to get there!", Luffy jumped into the small boat before taking some rope and tying one end to the helm and the other into a large loop, throwing it into the water. The rope was immediately pulled under the surface and just before the boat started moving, Zoro hopped in as well. "Bye, guys! Thanks for letting us stay at the bar! See you again someday!", the straw-hatted teen yelled waving back at the now quickly disappearing port.
Rika and Ririka could only stare in shock at the boat sailing away at a pace much faster than should be possible. Eventually coming out of their stupor, they waved back before the small vessel completely disappeared, the two wondering how long it might be before they see the interesting teenagers again.