'Red-Hair' Shanks frowned as a sensation entered the periphery of his observation haki.

Normally even he wouldn't be capable of stretching his unconscious observation sphere across half the ocean, but East Blue didn't have nearly the latent interference of powerful presences found in the other Blues, yet alone the Grand Line that the pirate had spent the large majority of his life sailing. It could be a bit annoying, but he actually enjoyed the faint whispers of potential he picked up from a few of the children across his captain's sea of birth.

This presence, however, was different. It was full malice and strength that the East Blue simply didn't produce in its calm waters.

The body laying next to him stirred, "What is it, Shanks? And don't say it's nothing, you have a far too serious expression on for that."

Shanks smiled briefly, leaning in to give his lover a kiss. "I'm sorry, Makino, but something seems to have swam into a pond little to small for it." He folded the covers off himself, swung his legs over the edge of the bed an reached for his clothes laying on the floor. "The crew and I will sort it out."

Makino audibly gulped as she sat up, not caring as the sheet that had concealed her nude body fell away. "You're gonna need your whole crew?"

Despite the seriousness of the situation, and it not being their first night together, couldn't help but be distracted by the sight. "Um," shaking his head, he refocused. "No, Lucky Benn Yassop and I should be enough, but the Red Ox just sails best with the whole crew. They're stronger than anything else in East blue, but compared to my last duel with Mihawk..." A wry chuckle escaped his throat. Tightening his shash, the one-armed man headed to the door, grabbing his hat from where he'd hung it on a bed post.

"We should only begone a week. Let Luffy know we'll be back before we leave for good."

Makino nodded, Luffy would go nuts if he thought he missed saying goodbye to his hero.

'I just hope we can get there before he does.' Was Shanks' only concern as he rushed to join his crew. The presence was headed straight for an island that held one of the children that whispered of great potential. And he'd be damned if that potential was harmed while he could prevent it.

-Three days later, in a certain orange grove-

"Shahahaha, under my rule, those without the money to pay shall all die! Shahahaha!" A saw nosed fishman yelled gleefully, standing over the body of what had been an attractive woman. "Is that clear, you pathetic humans!"

A happy-go-lucky octopus fishman stepped out of the house. "Arlong! Look what I found! Sea charts!"

An orange haired girl no older than 10 tackled the octopus man's leg. "Give them back, I'm gonna set sail with those maps!"

Before anyone had the chance to react, a steely voice cut through the hair. "And you will, little miss."

Everyone's attention snapped to the rise that hid the village proper from Bellemere's tangerine grove. A single man stood at the crest of the hill, a cloak, a wide-brimmed strawhat and the sun to his back working to hide his features.

Arlong narrowed his eyes. "And who are you to tell her that? I'm the one in charge of her fate now, human."

"Of course you are," the man replied civilly. "You're a fishman who sailed from the Grand Line. There's probably a grand total of three people who would care enough, and be able to do anything to stop you from taking over most of this peaceful sea."

"And you'd be one them, then?"

"Hai," the man replied, beginning to walk down the hill. "I had planned to simply ask you to leave..." The air was suddenly saturated with the man's presence. "But, for the murder of that woman and these villagers, I will simply end you"

The fishmen were suddenly nervous; the sensation of such a focused killing intent was not something they had expected to face here in East Blue. Back in the Grandline, yes, but here?

Kuroobi took a step forward, steeling himself. "Who are you to threaten us, human? We are a crew of superior beings and you are one man."

"Who am I? Oh, I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself yet, have I?" He came to stop in the middle of the crowd of fishmen. His right hand pushed the brim of his hat back, revealing his features. "I'm 'Red-Hair' Shanks, Captain of the Red-Hair pirates. And I'm also from the Grand Line."

The name meant nothing to the humans, though it tickled something in Gen's memory, but the fishmen took an involuntary step away from him, and that meant very much to the people.

After all, they had seen the fishmen flip a house.

Shanks squatted down next to the orange haired girl. "Hello there, miss. What's your name?"

She sniffled, "N-nami."

The red-head smiled gently at the girl, though the fishmen noticed he didn't have any problem generating the sensation of murderous rage that kept them from wanting to say much at the same time. "Nami, it means wave, right? An excellent name for someone wishing to sail the seas."

Nami returned the smile with a weak one of her own, the man's presence somehow soothing her emotional pain, "R-right?"

Chuckling, the man removed his hat, placing it gently on her head. "This hat is my most precious possession, given to me by my Captain when I was a boy. I can never bear to wear it in a fight if I can help it. Would you mind holding on to it for me?"

The ten-year old used both arms to brace the over sized hat to her head in way of answer.

Shanks grinned happily, even as his words were severe. "There are things out there, Nami, that are terrifying. Beings you can't even imagine. Normal looking people who can do amazing things." As he stood, his cloak fell from his body, revealing a rather ordinary look man... who was lacking his left arm.

Arlong suddenly found his voice. "Shahha! Lose something, Red-Hair! Last I heard you were a two armed man! The rumors of your stength must have been exaggerated of something here could take an arm."

The man grunted noncommittally, unsheathing the large saber at his side. "I bet it on a future generation. Not..." he turned to face Arlong. "That you have to worry about something that far down the road. You'll be dying here, after all."

Arlong spat at Shanks' feet. "Big words for a one-armed man. Kurobi, deal with him."

The manta ray fishmen took a stance, his sword pointed at Shanks' heart. "Of course, Arlong."

Shanks looked back over his shoulder at Nami, startling her with the intensity of his eyes. "Do not look away from this, Nami. If you truly sail the oceans one day, you will travel the Grand Line, and there..." He disappeared in a blur of speed, reappearing in front of Kurobi with his sword extended in a post slash position. A heartbeat later the martial artist's head flew from his body in a shower of blood. "Things like this are ordinary."

With a roar of anger, most of Arlong's crew rushed the red-haired captain, though he seemed unperturbed by the proposition of fighting so many. In fact he continued to speak in a loud and clear voice to Nami that continued to be heard as if they were speaking across a table. "There is an ability to sense your enemies, to know their intentions before they can act on them." He seemed to be demonstrating this very ability as he calmly weaved through the mob of fishmen. "Allowing even someone without great speed to easily outmaneuver their opponents." While none of the villagers bought that the man wasn't fast, he was in fact moving at was best described as a walking speed as he smoothly dodged every attack, while his saber flashed and cut down enemy after enemy.

Then, to the villagers dismay and the hope of the pirates, he stood perfectly still. After a half moment of hesitation, he was attacked from all sides by every man at the Arlong pirate's disposal. To the shock of all fists broke, bullets dropped uselessly to the ground and swords shattered upon contact with his body; a body that every inch of suddenly a pitch black. "And there is a away to strengthen your body a hundred fold... Defensively..." He suddenly thrust his weapon into to the ground and lunged forward, blackened fist raised high as proceeded to 1-hit KO-punch half dozen fishmen. "And offensively."

Nami could only stare at this man, this pirate who was single handily (literally) beating the shit out of what had quickly become the terrors of her young life, with awe and continue to hold what that very man had called his greatest treasure to her head. Her older sister, though there was little resemblance due to being unrelated by blood, had finally found her way next to Nami and placed a hand on the orangette's shoulder.

The villagers were in a state of shocked inaction, too stunned by the sheer ability of this man to even consider helping.

As another member of his crew dropped, Arlong finally lost it. With a roar, and eyes reminding people of a seaking, the shark fishman charged the human pirate.

As if he knew it was coming (and he probably did, Nami remembered) Shanks easily sidestepped a punch meant to remove his head and rammed his fist into Arlong's gut, causing the fishman to slump over his shoulder as spit up blood. Recovering quickly, Arlong wrapped the smaller man in a bear hug and lifted him off the ground.

"Shahaha, not so nimble now, are you?"

Shanks just smirked before driving a knee into the larger man's solar plexus, causing Arlong to let go of him as he clutched his arms over his stomach.

"Not another move, Red Hair!" Turning to voice, Shanks nearly snarled at the sight of a blue skinned fishman holding a gun against the strawhat on Nami head. "Unless you want this human to di-" Before he could say anymore , something completely unexpected happened.

With a roar young boy ran out of the woods in a mad dash. Due to the sheer shock value the raven haired youth managed to run right past everyone and, with another yell, leaped into the air. Further shocking everyone his arm stretched a good ten feet behind him before snapping forward like a rubber band and nailing Chu right in his oversized, and extremely sensitive, lips. As Chu stumbled away, Luffy turned his back to Nami and Nojiko protectively as he glared at everyone.

Shanks held back a laugh, though a proud smile covered his face. "That punch might actually be like a pistol one day, Luffy!"

-the first morning of the voyage between Windmill and Cocoyashi-

Lucky was enjoying a nice roast as he strolled the deck of the Red Hair pirates ship, his smile less prominent than normal. He was a man born on an early island of the Grand Line, and as a pirate he had seen the beginning of that seas second half, which gave him an appreciation for what most called the 'weak' East Blue. It was peaceful. And while he enjoyed adventuring with his crew, peace was something to treasure. Whoever had sailed in from the Grand Line to cause hell was going to get some in return.

He blinked, his keen ears picking up a sound of snoring behind some barrels of rum.

This caused the fat man to pause, his expression turning into a full on frown. Normally, finding some of the crew drunk behind some barrels in the morning would not be weird (indeed, it was actually the norm), Lucky knew the crew's snores by now, and this one was unfamiliar. It sounded like a young boys-

With a sinking feeling in his rather large gut he leaned over the barrels to find exactly who he thought he would. "Captain!"

-Meeting room of the Red Ox-

Luffy nervously stood at the foot of a long table, Shank's and his inner circle seated across from him.

Shanks leaned forward on his elbows, his hat shadowing his eyes. "Explain, Luffy." His tone brokered no argument.

Gulping, Luffy started talking. "I-I wanted to sleep on the ship one more time. I know you guys hardly leave before noon, and you normally give the Ox a rundown before you leave, so I wasn't worried about going with you."

Shanks nodded. He remembered the night a few months ago when Luffy had asked if he could sleep on the Red Ox sometimes. Claiming a pirate should get used to sleepeing on the waves. And Luffy was right; they normally wouldn't have left in such a rush, or so early, if they were simply setting sail.

"Luffy, we aren't sailing for other seas. We're headed for a fight. Another pirate crew is sailing to a near by island to cause trouble. We plan to stop them." The captain sighed, "Luffy, there is an iron clad rule on any ship, do you remember what that is?"

The boy thought, Shank's had taught him several rules of life on a ship, but the one that probably applied here was...

"Everyone on a ship must have a job. Everyone most carry their own weight. If you aren't helping, you're harming."

Benn nodded from his spot on his captains left. "Aye. And when battle comes, unless you are too injured at the time, you must fight." He took a drag of his cigarette before continuing. "Us here are the Red Hair pirate's main fighting force, though every man on this ship can hold their own. The Red Ox is a rather large ship, and we all have a role in it's upkeep and sailing. What's yours?"

Luffy pouted, there was only one real option. "Chore boy,"

Shanks grinned, "And what can you offer us in a fight?"

This time the boy grinned, "A punch as strong as a pistol!"

This time it was Yassop that grinned, "You pack a punch, Luffy, but you can't hit the broadside of a barn with that stretching of yours..." He stood, a manic gleam in his eyes. "Yet."

It was decided that Luffy would have two different training days on their way to Cocoyashi Village, the first day he'd train with the Red Hair sharpshooter (cause the idea of Luffy staying put on the boat when they got there wasn't even considered) until he gained some accuracy, and the next he would rest up and spend the day with the crew in general, learning the various things involved with running a ship.

As the door closed behind the boy and Yassop, Benn turned to his captain. "Do you think this is wise, Shanks?"

Shanks shrugged, his gaze thoughtfully trained on the closed door. "We don't have time to sail back to Fusha. And even he does stay put, which we all know he won't, this'll help him when it is his turn to set sail."

Luck and Benn nodded.

-present-

Noticing Chu quickly recovering from the blow and taking aim at Luffy's head, Shanks focused his colorless eyes at the fishman, causing him to fall over, foaming at the mouth and out cold.

Most, even among the fishman hailing from one of the first islands of the second half of the Grand Line, were confused by what had caused Chu to faint. Arlong, however, knew of only one thing that could cause such a reaction, and it filled him with dread.

They were dealing with a goddamned King.

To be the Conquering King meant being able to over power others with a burst of concentrated will that subjugated those who were not strong enough to bear the weight of his spirit crushing down on their own. An newbie would simply release uncontrolled bursts that knocked out anyone in range that was susceptible to their will. Over time the new King would learn to focus at single beings or small groups out of larger crowds.

All living creatures could use Haki, but, just like how not all animals were an apex predator, not everyone could be a King. And being exposed to a King's 'intimidation' triggered a fight or flight response from the depths of one's soul. Most 'fled', simply fainting on the spot. Some fought back. But there were different ways to fight. Most that fought back were strong already, their confidence in their abilities giving them the support to remain conscious. But some were not strong, yet their soul would refuse to accept facts. These spirits would fight by subconsciously strengthening their 'presence' or 'fighting spirit'. They may not win that day, or even remain conscious for long, but they would be stronger for it.

And one out of a million of would actually remain unaffected, their own nature as a King refusing to yield in any way, even to another King.

"You know what? I'm done playing with you louts."

Shanks had an almost impeccable command of his abilities, none more so than his King's Disposition. Roger, and later Rayleigh, had made sure the only other person sailing on the Oro Jackson with the ability was well equipped to handle it. And it was that training that let the humans remain unaffected even as fishmen fell around them, except for two children. These two kids, whom shined with potential in his observation, he purposefully exposed to the weight of his will.

Sadly, for all his training, the very nature of a King's Haki made it impossible to use it lightly; you either were not a target, or got the full brunt of it.

Nami didn't understand what it she was feeling. One moment everything was normal, the next her senses were filled with panic. The sounds around her were muffled, as if she were deep underwater; her breathing was as ragged as if she had just ran a full speed mile; and her eyes unfocused until the only thing she could see was the man with red hair. It was if a god had peeled back his disguise and revealed himself. Everyone here, she knew, lived and died at his whim. It wasn't a simple matter of physical strength, like the fishmen that had upturned her life so easily thanks to their physical superiority to humans, but a spiritual fact.

She was about to black out, when another person entered her tunnel vision. The boy who had punched the blue fishman stood defiantly even as, she was sure, he felt the same intimidating aura radiating from Red Hair. Staring the thin armed boy's back, she realized that Shanks wasn't the only god hiding in human form.

Oh, the boy was nothing to the man. Their age and experience was worlds apart, yet...

Yet the boy stood. In the face of a similar but far greater presence, his nature refused to back down... even if he had no idea what was going on.

Luffy was confused. Shanks was an easy going who laughed off almost anything. The only time he had ever seen so much as a glare on his face before the bandit incident was the first time they met.

-A little over a year ago-

The villagers of Fusha were gathered at the town docks, nervously staring up at the flag flying at an inbound ship's center mass.

"Mayor Woop Slap, do you recognize that pirate mark?" One of the town people asked.

Woop Slap nodded. "I'm afraid I do. That mark belongs to none other than Red Hair Shanks. He's an infamous pirate from the Grand Line."

Everyone within earshot of Woop Slap grasped in shock and terror.

"Pirates from the Grand Line?" Someone asked in disbelief. "Why would they come all the way here?"

"Given the marines' weaker influence in East Blue, these pirates could see us as easy prey," Woop said grimly. "Any pirate from the Grand Line is on a completely different level from any hoodlums around here."

"What can we do?" Another villager asked desperately.

"Maybe... maybe there's a chance we can still get in contact with Garp. He only left over a day ago, but I want that to be a last resort," Woop Slap said in thought. "The last thing we need is a battle between the marines and the pirates here. Hopefully, this can be settled with money."

It wasn't too much longer before the ship docked into port. All the townspeople waited anxiously for the pirates walk off their ship. Luffy felt his heart beat faster when he saw the ladder lower from the ship.

Soon, three pirates came walking onto the dock. One was a fairly tall, lanky looking man with jet-black greasy hair that was tied into ponytail. He also carried a large flintlock rifle tucked into his sash like a it was a sword and wore a serious expression on his face.

The second man was a really fat guy with an eternal grin on his face and red-tinted glasses. He also had a giant piece of meat in his hand and was currently chewing on a mouthful.

The last man had a slim built and wore a black cloak that swung in the wind. His most distinguishing physical features were his short, flaming red hair, and the three parallel scars over his left eye. An old straw hat shaded his eyes.

Luffy stared, the only man he had ever meant with the kind of presence as the red haired man was his grandpa!

Woop Slap stepped forward to confront the pirates. "I am Woop Slap, mayor of this village."

The man with the red hair smiled. "Hello. My name is Shanks and I'm the leader of this band of pirates."

"I know who you are," Woop Slap said harshly. "I would ask why pirates from the Grand Line would come all the way here, but I have my assumptions. If you want our money, you can have it all. Just leave our village peacefully."

Shanks looked at Woop Slap for a moment before cracking up.

"Old man, we don't mean you, or this village, any harm," the man with the greasy hair said calmly.

Shanks nodded. "We didn't come to pillage your village or anything like that. We just came here to relax for a little while. Life on the Grand Line can be tough, so it's nice to take a break every now and then."

The old mayor was taken off-guard by the pirates' attitude. "You will not harm anyone?"

"Just show us where the booze is at and you won't even know we're here," Shanks said with a wide smile.

Makino moved to the front of the crowd, raising a tentative hand. "I... I own the bar in town," The green haired woman said softly. "If you like, you can go there and drink whatever you want."

Shanks grinned, "Hah! What a lovely face to own a bar." Makino blushed prettily, "We'll pay more than fairly, so keep the booze flowing if you can, Ms Bartender."

Benn sighed, "Do you really think it's safe to dock in the hometown of the Marine Hero?"

Shanks dismissively waved his hand over his shoulder, not even turning back to face his first mate. "Old man Garp won't be back for months at the very least. By the time he returns, we'll be long gone." He then dramatically crossed his arms. "Besides, I'm famished and we just finished the last barrel of rum this morning. No pirate crew can function without some form of alcohol. It's against nature."

"It probably would have lasted longer, Boss, if you didn't have that drinking contest with Yasopp," the fat pirate pointed out.

"Hey, I won, didn't I?" Shanks said as he rubbed his head. "It was worth the hangover too."

"Anyway, to the bar, boys!" Shanks yelled to his ship. There was a loud cheer before dozens of pirates came storming off the ship, stunning the poor bartender.

"Sorry about that," Benn apologized to the young woman. "Can you please lead the way to the bar?"

Makino nodded numbly. "Please… follow me."

The pirates followed Makino out of the port and into the main town. Their cheers could be heard across the island and the villagers could only look on in disbelief.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Woop Slap?" Asked a concerned villager, "We can still contact Garp."

Woop Slap shook his head. "As long as these pirates behave themselves, we don't need to bother Garp. He has enough to worry about with those pirates going crazy in the Grand Line. Although, we may not have any booze for a long time."

Luffy slowly crawled out from his hiding place and stared at the pirates as the disappeared into town. "So, those are pirates?"

The pirates had arrived at midday, and not a single one left the Party Bar before night had fallen. Makino found herself running out of beer after only the first couple of hours and was forced to used her emergency supply. These pirates just seemed to never stop drinking, especially their red haired captain, she seemed to be filling his jug every time she turned around!

Luffy was able to sneak into the bar using the backdoor Makino allowed him to use. From the safety of the backroom, he watched the pirates the entire night. They acted very different than how his grandpa would describe them. His grandfather had always told him how evil and vicious pirates were, but these pirates just acted like regular drunks in town. There was nothing scary about them at all.

It was only after things had quieted down that Luffy left the storage room. Most of the pirates seemed to have passed out, including their captain who was slumped over the bar counter. He was snoring heavily and his strawhat was loosely perched on his head.

"Luffy, you're still here?" Makino asked as she picked up the beer mugs. "Shouldn't you be home by now?"

He shrugged, "It's not like anyone's there."

"Luffy, you shouldn't be here," Makino said as she glanced around at the unconscious pirates.

The boy bravely puffed up his chest. "I'm not afraid of these pirates. And besides," He prodded one of the nearby pirates; when nothing happened Luffy calmly shoved him out his chair, where the pirate continued to snore away. "They're all drunk."

"Still, be careful," Makino warned, getting the Strawhats' attention. "People can be at their most dangerous when they're under the influence of alcohol."

Luffy climbed onto the stool next to Shanks and poked the older man's face. "This is Red Hair, right?"

Makino gave a loud sigh, Luffy wasn't listening to her at all. "Yeah, that's him. I hate to admit it, but he isn't as scary as I expected. He's actually really nice." She blushed, "And cute."

"I still can't believe he's a pirate." Luffy's eyes wondered to Shanks' strawhat. It looked unremarkable, just fairly old and beat up.

A mischievous look suddenly appeared on Luffy's face. He looked at the passed-out captain again before he began to reach for the strawhat. Just as he touched the brim of the hat, however, a hand suddenly grabbed his wrist. Looking back at the captain's face, Luffy was met by two colorless, bloodshot eyes.

"Don't touch my hat," the red-haired captain growled ferociously.

Luffy gave a loud scream as he attempted to pull his hand free, getting Makino's attention.

"Luffy!" Makino exclaimed as she dropped the beer mugs.

Some of the pirates began to stir with the commotion.

He continued to struggle to free himself as he was lifted off his stool. For the first time since the pirate had arrived, Luffy was afraid of this man.

"What do you think you're doing, kid?" Shanks continued to growl at him.

Luffy was near tears. "Let me go! Let me go! Makino, help!"

Makino ran to surrogate son/little brother's side. "Please, Red Hair, let him go! He didn't mean any harm!"

"Hey Boss, it's just a kid," the fat pirate said. "I'm sure he meant no harm."

Shanks kept Luffy suspended in the air for a long moment before he suddenly let go, causing the boy to hit the floor with a thump.

"Aw shit, my head is killing me," Shanks muttered rubbing his eyes.

Luffy started to crawl away, but the pirate with the slick ponytail cut him off before he could escape.

"Isn't it a little late for kids to be up?" Benn asked with a raised eyebrow.

Yasopp pushed him out of the way. "Stop that, you're scaring him. He's been frightened enough already with our captain growling in his face."

Shanks gave a loud grunt in response as he continued to rub his face.

"What's your name?" Yasopp asked.

Luffy was still too scared to speak.

"Hey, sorry about what our captain did to you. He's kind of protective over his hat," Yasopp said with a small smile. "It was a gift from his own Captain, you see."

Luffy's breathing evened out.

The pirate smiled at seeing the lad relax. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Yasopp, number one sniper of the Red-Hair Pirates," he said proudly as he put his hand over his chest.

After a moment of silence. "My... name is Luffy. Monkey D. Luffy."

Everyone became silent, staring at the young boy in pure shock. Even Shanks stopped rubbing his face.

"Monkey D?" Shanks repeated slowly. His eyes widening in realization. "You... You're not related by any chance to Monkey D. Garp?"

Luffy nodded, "He's my grandpa."

Shanks looked like he was just struck by lightning. Lucky Roo and Yasopp also were both completely shocked by the revelation. Benn was the only one who looked somewhat unimpressed. The rest of the pirates just gaped in open shock.

"Garp's grandson? I didn't even know he had a kid," Lucky said,

"I didn't even know he was married! What crazy woman hooked up with that nut job!?" Yasopp exclaimed.

"Well, I never would've guessed you were related to that man." Benn said, lighting up a cigarette. "You seem too... normal."

Luffy quickly stood up and puffed his chest. "I'm not normal, I'm strong! I can survive in the jungle eating nothing but frogs and snakes."

"Yeah, but why would you?" Yasopp asked as he sweat-dropped.

Luffy pondered the question for several seconds. "Well... because grandpa said it's necessary to become a strong marine."

"What kind of marine is Garp thinking of?" Lucky Roo asked.

Shanks shrugged, "Who knows? You know Garp, Lucky, the man marches to his own drum more than any other marine could ever get away with." He got off his stool and knelt down to Luffy's eye level. "Listen kid, I'm sorry I scared you earlier. But you see, this hat is very important to me. Like Yassop told you already, it was a gift from my former captain, who was like a father to me."

"A father..." Luffy replied, almost curiously.

Shanks smiled and looked fondly at his hat. "Yeah, and that why this hat is my treasure. I don't let anyone touch it."

Luffy looked at Shanks for a moment before he lowered his head remorsefully. "I'm sorry I tried to take it. I just wanted to have some fun with you."

Shanks folded his arms. "You're a pretty bold kid to want to play a trick on a bunch of ruthless, murderous pirates." He gave Luffy an evil grin. "You could have been killed."

"I've been watching you all day. There's nothing scary about you." Luffy fired back,

"Oh, and who almost pissed themselves in fear not even five minutes ago."

Luffy flushed in embarrassment. "I... I wasn't scared! You just startled me."

Shanks busted into a full-blown laugh. "You're such a terrible lair! You were ready to run away and cry to your mother!"

In the rush for another round, no one noticed a far off look in the young boys eyes. "Father... Mother... Huh."

-Bellemere's orange grove-

Luffy still remembered the sense of dread those cold, angry eyes had filled him with. How every instinct he'd developed fighting monkeys under his grandpa's watch had screamed for him to run. That was nothing compared to this. He felt like he was on a sinking dinghy, alone in the middle of the ocean as he stared his idol in the eyes.

Suddenly, he wasn't alone. The orange haired girl he'd saved earlier was standing by his side. Sharing a quick glance at each other, the two stood their ground in front of Red Haired Shanks and did not back down.

The man himself grinned at the children. 'Impressive, even more than I hoped! I don't know who his father or mother is, but Luffy sure takes after his grandpa. And Nami? She's not a Queen, but she's is stubborn to a fault. I just wish I had gotten here in time to save the mother, she must have been an amazing woman.'

Without warning Shank's withdrew his presence, causing the kids to fall over in relieve.

Gen, who had watched everything in sheer amazement was the first to recover. He opened his mouth to say something, but Shanks waved him off. "My crew is taking care of the fishmen at the other villages. The most important thing right now is to give that marine woman a proper burial."

The officer nodded thankfully and, continuing to ignore the wound on his arm, ran to join the group surrounding Bellemere's corpse.

Shanks walked over to the three kids. "Good punch, Luffy."

Luffy's face split in a wide grin, "Hehehe."

Shanks focused on the blue haired girl standing next to Nami. "And you are?"

"Nojiko, Nami's sister."

A flash of regret crossed the one armed man's face, 'Not one, but two girls lost their mother today because I could not get here faster.' "You have a gifted sister, Nojiko." No one had noticed him pick it up, but he held out the sea chart that had originally gotten the fishmen interested in Nami. "This map is as well drawn as any I've seen."

Nami fought down the anxiety his presence stirred in her, the last few minutes fresh in her mind. "Thank you, Red Hair!"

-A few hours later-

The burial had been simple if a bit long, most of the villagers having come to pay their respects to the only casualty of Arlong's day of terror. Shanks had stood off to the side watching Gen Nojiko and Nami stood by the grave marker, the three thanking each person for their presence. Luffy stood at his side, jealously staring at the straw hat still perched on Nami's head, but respectfully keeping his peace.

As the respect givers dwindled to their final numbers, Benn and Lucky walked up the well worn forest path. Each showing a small respect to the dead; Benn was without a cigarette, and Lucky's near constant grin was somber.

The first mate spoke quietly, "It's done, Captain."

The Red Hair Pirates had split upon docking on the island, Shanks taking Luffy with him to where the strongest presence was, his three officers taking groups of men to round up the fishmen harasing the other villages on the large island of Conomi. After the fighting was done, they had then spent time dragging the bodies to the large ship the fishmen had sailed into port on. And, after sacking the ship for anything they found of value, had haphazardly piled the corpses on it's deck.

Shanks nodded, "Good." Pushing off the tree he'd been leaning against, the Grand Line pirate walked up to the three standing next grave marker. Luffy rushed to walk by his side, Lucky and Benn following behind. He stopped at the foot of the grave, staring at the name chiseled in the stone cross before bowing his head. 'Bellemere... I am sorry. If I had been only moments earlier, you would still have gotten to see your girls grow up. They truly are something special, Nojiko and Nami. Nojiko will be a splendid woman. Nami... I sense the potential for greatness in her. Rest in peace.'

He could've sworn he felt a presence leaning against the gravestone. "Thanks, Red Hair."

He blinked. Sometimes, someone singularly talented in observation Haki could sense the spirit of the recently deceased. He was not so gifted with that particular Haki, causing a thin smile to cross the captain's face. 'I see they had a truly splendid woman as a role model!'

Straightening, he met the eyes of the woman's chosen family. "Give the signal, Benn."

Behind and to his captain's left, Benn silently drew his rifle. Aiming it to sky, the first mate fired a single shot.

The three mourners turned to face the sea, and a moment later two ships came into sight, the Red Ox towed Arlong's galleon. Shanks' ship hauled the Dokuwanga out to where Nami knew from her map studies was the beginning of the areas deep water, before disengaging the grapples connecting the two.

"We are pirates," Shank's spoke. "As were Arlong and his men. Normally I'd let your village turn him in for whatever bounty may be on his head. However, this pirate has ties to the World Government via the newest Shichibukai, Jimbei. I haven't met the man personally yet, but if they are actually friendly, it would've been nothing for a Warlord to pardon what the Government would label a minor incident." His dark eyes drained of color, "So, he gets pirate justice. He is bound on deck, the corpses of his crew around him."

Nami and Luffy shuddered. Shank's wasn't letting his presence weigh down on them, but they could still feel it in the air.

The Red Ox had pulled abreast the Dokuwanga, it's port side canons loaded.

The captain continued, "Nami." At being addressed directly, the girl spun to face Red Hair. He was holding out a flare gun. "This is the signal."

The girl didn't hesitate before grabbing the gun, spinning to face out to sea. Lofting the gun up into the sky, she took a moment to consider her next action. She would give the signal to kill someone. She may not be the one to do the action herself, but she would order it. She thought of the lessons she'd learned from her mother, on the stories Bellemere had shared about her time as a marine. She glanced at her side, at the steely eyes of both Genzo and Nojiko as they stared ahead. She looked behind her at the Red Hair pirates, who stood calmly by. Then the boy, who she had learned was named Luffy, and for some reason her eyes stayed there.

He was a bit younger than herself, but his passable impression of Shanks's posture made him seem a bit older. His arms were crossed, his owlishly round eyes were staring resolutely at the fishmen's ship. He didn't blink as he turned his head to meet her eyes, and she could feel it. He was once again giving off the same pressure as Shanks. Not as strong, not as focused, but still the same feeling of fight or flight stirred in the primal recesses of her mind.

With a squeeze of her finger, she chose fight.

That night was an odd mix of celebration and mourning. All over the island of Conomi people raised first a glass in remembrance of the woman who had been their pride, even if she'd always been a wild child; who had died because she couldn't deny her children. Then they raised another to the pirate Red Hair Shanks for arriving when he did to save the youngest of those very children from a terrible fate.

Then people simply drank, happy to be alive.

And in the center Cocoyashi village those most connected to the incident were having dinner. At one end of the table the three kids sat laughing and talking amongst themselves, Luffy entertaining both girls with stories of the Party Bar, at the other Shanks sat with Gen and the local doctor.

"They're handling it all better than I could've expected," Shanks commented.

Gen shook his head, "Nami might be a bit surprising, but... well, it's not the first time they've lost their family, though Nami was too young to remember. Bellemere found them in a war zone. She quit the marines to come here to raise them. She was never one to pull punches when the girls asked questions about her life as a marine. I believe she'd even been teaching them self defense for awhile now."

The pirate paused, a drink half way to his mouth. "She was a marine?"

The doctor nodded, "Yeah, a former HQ Captain."

Shanks supposed he shouldn't have been surprised he hadn't recognized her; having a flintlock go off in your face would make it hard for most people to be recognizable. "Captain Bellemere..."

Gen looked curious, "Did you know each other?"

Shanks chuckled, "She was hot on arresting me a few years back. Chased me half across Paradise before she up and vanished... Now I know why." Shaking off his surprise, he nodded. "It makes sense then. Those two have old souls already."

Gen asked, "Paradise..?"

He was ignored, "I want to leave my flag at your port." Shanks held up his hand at their shocked expressions. "Listen, I said already that Arlong had ties with a Shichibukai. It's possible he may come here to get retribution. My flag here will deter such a response, at the very least until I can meet him myself and hash this out."

"Your flag will deter a Warlord?" Repeated a flabbergasted doctor, "Just how big a name are you, Red Hair?"

He shrugged, "Big enough that I've already rebutted a few offers to be a Sichibukai."

The other two men gaped.

Meanwhile Luffy had just finished telling Nami and Nojiko a story Yassop had told him, leaving large grins on all three faces.

"Pirates really are a mixed bag," Nami said around her giggles. "Bellemere always said there was more than one kind of pirate."

Luffy nodded, "Yeah. My grandpa always told me pirates are all bad people, but I think he just really wants me to be a marine. Shanks says says its just like anything, there's a good people and a bad people in any group.

Nami also nodded, remembering how Bellemere explained it. "It's true that a good number of pirates are bad people, but you don't have to go around pillaging villages to be a pirate. Some are simply outlaws, they live outside the law but they don't cause much trouble for everyday people. I think Shanks is like that; he doesn't want to hurt anyone, he just wants to live his life as pleases."

"By the same token, not all the marines are great people. There are plenty who let the authority go to their head." Nojiko imitated her mother's voice.

They were quiet for a minute before Luffy's face split into huge, rubber-boy only smile. "I'm going to be a pirate, someday." He said with youthful determination. "Greater than Shanks, greater than anyone."

Nami smiled, "Greater than Red Hair, huh?"

Luffy understood the distinction. Could he be greater than the man in the way he had shown himself to be this afternoon? He didn't hesitate, "Of course. I'm goin' to be the greatest when I'm done."

"The greatest pirate, heh?" Nami seemed lost in thought. "I want to be a navigator. I want to map the whole world one day."

"That'd be awesome!" The boy seemed genuinely excited about her ambition, which caused an odd warmth to spread across her cheeks. "You should be my navigator, Nami!"

The blush on her her deepened, causing her sister to laugh.

Before anymore could be said there was a knock on the door, a moment later it opened to reveal Lucky Roo. "We're ready to depart, Captain."

Shanks nodded, standing from his seat. "Go ahead, Luck, we'll be along shortly. We'll leave a flag for them to hang if they decide to."

The fat man nodded, "Aye, Captain."

The red haired pirate stood, "Time to head out, Luffy."

The boy nodded, following him out to the door. However, he hesitated at before at the threshold, turning to face his orange haired friend. They locked eyes for a moment, light amber brown meeting charcoal black. Time lost meaning, and they forgot there were other people around. They didn't speak simply staring for a timeless moment, before a Luffy grinned. "See you, Navigator."

Nami smiled back, "Keep in touch, Captain."

And no amount of teasing from Nojiko or Shanks would make them regret that shared moment for a second.

-A week later, Fusha docks-

"Are you sure, Makino?" Shanks asked softly, standing close to his lover over the past year.

The bartender's eyes were wet, but she didn't allow a single tear. "Yes, Shanks. I'm not meant for the sea... And Luffy needs me here."

Shanks sighed, it was an old argument between the two. He appreciated the second reason, though, the first reason...

Rouge had rebutted Roger in the same manner. But this was different, because unlike Rouge Makino was...

"I never meant to give you more than a pleasant memory to think back on."

Makino smiled, a hand resting on her stomach. "It's no trouble, Shanks. I never wanted a child, but I will not regret our time together. I will love our child. Now go, the sea is calling you back. The Grand Line is calling you back. I am as meant for the sea as you are for land, and it's time for you to go back."

As much as he wanted to deny it, it was true. East blue had been a nice vacation, but his spirit wouldn't rest until it had returned to the New World. And the ship of a high bounty pirate crew in the New World was no place for a pregnant woman.

Slowly the Captain left the only woman that had taken a piece of his heart from the sea to stand by Luffy, who was standing at the foot of the plank leading up to the Red Ox's deck with a far off look in his face.

"We're leaving, anchor boy."

Luffy twitched at the nickname, but the last few weeks had been a wonder on his patience. "I'm not going to beg to go with you."

Shanks barked in laughter, "I wouldn't even if ya did beg. You don't have what it takes to be a pirate!"

Luffy's developing patience snapped at that. "Yes I do!" He yelled, catching the attention of every single Red Hair pirate. Subconsciously releasing a flare of Haki that wasn't strong enough to knock out a villager yet was there. "Nami and I are going to start our own crew, and we'll be stronger than all of you! She's going to draw a map of the whole world, and I'm going to claim it's greatest treasure! I'M GOING TO BE KING OF THE PIRATES!"

"Oh, so you're going to surpass us?" Shanks asked in good humor, before turning serious. "In that case..." He reached for his strawhat,only to placed it on Luffy's head, stunning the boy. "I'll leave this hat to you. You know what this hat means to me, so you better take care of it."

Luffy just stood there dumbfounded as he felt the weight of Shanks' hat on his head. This hat was Shanks' greatest treasure. Something he let no one touch, even his own crew. The only other people Luffy had seen wear it were Nami and Makino. But he... Luffy felt tears beginning to burn his eyes as the full implication of what Shanks had said sank in.

Shanks leaned down to whisper something else into his ear. "I want you to return this hat to me, in good condition," he said softly. "And only after you've become a great pirate. That's our promise, Luffy."

Luffy could only nod as Shanks pulled away from him up the plank on to the Red Ox. Luffy didn't turn his eyes away, even when Makino came to put a hand on his shoulder.

"Pull up the anchor and set sail!" Benn's voice was heard.

Luffy and Makino stayed until the ship was out of sight.

"Hey, Makino?"

Eying her surrogate child curiously, the green haired beauty smiled. "Yes, Luffy?"

"C-can you help me with my writing?"

That perked up an eyebrow, from Shanks had told her about Cocoyashi she had a faint idea of what could be prompting his studious inquiry. "Oh? And what reason could you have for needing such a skill? I thought pirates didn't need to know such things?" She threw his favorite reason not to study back at him.

He huffed, "Pirates may not... But I have a friend now, and I wanna keep in touch with her."

Makino smiled. A friend. Luffy had never had someone his age he considered a friend. The village children liked him well enough, but between Garp craziness and the fact he'd spent most of the last year free from his grandpa hanging out in a bar full of pirates... "A friend, huh? This the same girl that's going to be your Navigator one day?"

He grinned, "Ishisihi, yeah."

"Then it seems only right. A captain and navigator are very important to their crew, after all."

-a several days later-

Nami gasped, her arms trembling as she blocked another strike from her sisters bo staff with her own.

It was late afternoon and the girls had finished their chores and work in the tangerine grove and were spending a half hour on the training Bellemere had started them on.

"You're really going to do it, aren't you?" The older sister asked, breaking of the stalemate to try to land a back kick in her sister's side.

Nami managed to jump back in time to lesson the impact. "Do what?"

"You know what, Nami. Sail off with Luffy one day."

Even after a week and half the mention of the raven haired boy brought a slight flush to her cheeks, though on like before she wasn't distracted enough to let her sister gain the edge in their daily spar. "Yeah."

Nojiko smirked, planning on teasing her sibling further but something caught her eye. "Hey, Gen-san."

Both girls kept sparring as the man approached them. "Training hard I see."

Nojiko giggled, "Well, someone wants to impress a certain boy."

Nami charged, her blush as bright as her hair. "Nojiko!"

"Not a single denial." The bluenete noted, causing her sister's blush to deepen further.

"Hm," Genzo sounded thoughtful. "Wouldn't be a boy by the name of Monkey D. Luffy, would it? Cause I have a letter here addressed to Nami from a boy by that name." The grin on his face was as teasing as any Bellemere would've worn if she'd been delivering such mail.

Nami froze, before rushing Genzo and swiping the envelope from his grasp. With a yell of, "Training's over!" She ran off to read the letter in private.

The remaining two blinked before laughing.

Nami came to a stop in front of her mother's grave, the envelope in one hand and freshly picked mikan in the other. "I got a letter from Luffy, mom." Her blush returned to her face, she set the tangerine on the left arm of Bellemere's cross before sitting down by the cliff so that the ocean filled her vision. After a moment to take in her favorite view, she nervously opened the envelope to pull out the letter within.

The handwriting was a mess, but legible. He told her about Shanks leaving, giving him his hat! That he'd sworn that together they'd find a crew superior to the Red Hair pirates. That she would map the world, and that he would be Pirate King.

The confidence in his, and her own, abilities brought a smile to her face.

They were going to shake the world one day.

A/N

So, I'm back. Five freaking years. Don't ask me about my other stories, they're dead for various reasons. Mainly a lack of interest in my part. I make no promises about this one finishing, but I've been having fun writing this, and I have a notebook of ideas and plot twists to introduce, which is different than how I approached my previous attempts. (Other than one, but I never typed a single word of that one) I'll be picking and choosing various anime and movie arcs to add (though, 8-10 and 12 are for sure, as they have the most authenticity since they directly relate to canon story arcs, and 10&12 were overseen by Oda personally, so I accept those two as canon). There will also be a few completely original arcs, the main one I have mapped out having been hinted at in this chapter (1 internet win for anyone that guesses).

So, with that out of the way, I will now clear up, in no particular order, somethings that I think will be most asked in any reviews, I will cover in big questions that I missed here in a preface in the next chapter. I'm going to try to do one of these a month, since that's about how long I worked on this chapter, but I have a very shitty track record so we'll see what happens.

Also, most of my information is either my interpretation or taken from the One Piece wikia, or brief internet searches.

-The Red Ox; We all know the ship Shanks had in East Blue is not the same as the one he showed up with in Marineford. I found no record of the original ship's name, so I made one up.

-The Dokuwanga; The name of a pacific island shark god that ate lost souls, enjoying childrens' souls the most. Seemed appropriate for Arlong's ship.

-The travel time between islands was a guess, we all know we have no real idea about the subject in One Piece so I went with what sounded right.

-Shanks preferring to fight without his hat; this is my reasoning as to why he's known as 'Red Hair' Shanks rather than 'Strawhat' Shanks. If the marine's thought the epithet worked for Luffy, I don't see why they wouldn't have named Shanks that when he got his own nickname 20 years earlier *shrug*

-The three people are Shanks, Garp and Dragon. The reason Garps probably didn't put a stop to Arlong himself was his ties to the shichibukai, but if he talked with Jimbei I can't imagine Jimbei not stopping him. And if Dragon had heard about this, say while he was in the area picking up survivors from the grey terminal? I know Arlong isn't the World Government, but that's exactly the kinda shit Dragon is out to stop.

-Also, on the matter of Shanks; I'm choosing to believe he wasn't a Yonkou at this point. I don't think even Higuma wouldn't have recognized one ofthem.Also, the marine's really police the Emperors' movements, and I doubt they'd let one camp out on the same island as Goa Kingdom.

-Nami and Nojiko; yes, they're different from canon (kinda one the main driving points of this story, actually). This is in large part due to a change with Bellemere. When Nami ran away in the flashback about her death, it was shown that she had not told Nami about how she had really found her and her sister. In my story she had, and had actually been giving the girls basic lessons in fighting, and had shared stories about her time as a marine. These are large differences in how the sisters were raised, and therefore largely impacting they're personalities.

-Luffy managing to do jack to Chu; Luffy's abnormally strong for a boy his age. He seems weak in the flashbacks for various reasons; the other boys his age are Ace and Sabo, both older and having dealt with way more shit at the time. Higuma, while a punk ass bitch, is a full grown man and Luffy was still getting used to being made of rubber. By the time they got to Cocoyashi Luffy had a little over a week to get used to his body, plus Yassop spent a day helping him work on his 'gum gum pistol'. I also made it clear that Chu was taken by complete surprise and that, in my mind at least, those lipshaveto be super sensitive. It's not like Luffy scored a KO, Chu just stumbled back a bit.

-I won't be getting too into Haki out of story, as that will be spoilers. But as far as I'm concerned Nami definitely has latent Haki talent; the bruises and bumps she's given Luffy are proof enough of that. Are they normally in a comedic fashion? Sure. But I like the idea of beefing her up a bit. No one is mastering Haki any time soon, so no worries about them just steam rolling everyone till they run into someone like Crocodile or Enel.

-Makino and Shanks; I justlikethe pairing, and there's the cover art with holding a baby *shrug* Not overly important to the over all story, but having a younger brother/sister type character is one more plot device I'm using to give Luffy a bit more maturity.

Hm... I feel like that's about it. It's early, so I shouldhopethere's some questions, but I feel like those are the one that needed addressing. Like I said, I'll try to answer any other questions (that I feel require an answer) in the next chapter's preface.

Pairings will be mostly left unsaid for now. I'm a romantic at heart, and I will trying find a partner for most of the crew. At very least the cannon crew (more on that later). There will be a couple multiple relationships, but the only one I'm confirming now is LuffyxHarem.

Now, to a few informal polls! First, couples! I will listen to suggestions, please supply some reasons other than 'that would be hot'. Most of the charators in One Piece are incredibly attractive, so that could be almost anyone with almost anyone. Segundo (see what I did there?) is crew. I will probably expand it. This will help change the story, as it will lead to new inner crew dynamics and how they break up to fight. As I'm focusing on East Blue for now, the ones that can join are; Kaya, Johny and Yosaku, and Nojiko.

East blue is probably two more chapters; recruiting Zoro Ussop and Sanji, and Loguetown and reverse mountain.

Whew, a 1100 word A/N? i'm going to bed, I spent the last six hours pouring over this and its 2 in the morning here on the west coast. Night.