My first coherent thought that I can honestly say was my own?

Why is this old man eating a cookie while holding me?

My second thought?

Why does this boat have a dog mast?

My next thought after realizing that I somehow understood about four concepts that no almost 2 years old was supposed to know, or the fact that I understood that I was nearly 2 years old?

Why am I surrounded by Marines?

Took me a little longer to realize and connect the dots as it were since I kept blacking in and out of consciousness.

I later realized that it was merely mental degradation due to the inflexibility of a child mind being unable to keep up with the intricate thought patterns I currently possessed.

Ain't that a mouthful.

At least I finally had justification as to why kids acted like they had ADHD and/or are on a sugar high for the first few years of their life.

The fact I was somehow aware of this should have been the more prominent warning sign.

Unfortunately, that was overshadowed when I saw the old man – who I finally recalled was my Grandfather, oddly enough – punch out a giant Sea Snake, which was part of the ever-present Sea Kings in the world's oceans.

They say Sea Snakes, I strangely think Leviathan.

The audacity of Garp laughing and having the nerve to call it a baby didn't go over too well with the rest of the Marines – or me.

Although that could be because I finally realized that I was in a manga-universe.

Don't know how I understood that it was a manga – all I knew that it was outside the norm of my previous life.

Few things went through my brain as my mind settled; most of it was expected, like realizing that I must have been some kind of reincarnated person and by extension, that I died.

That or that I was a 2-year-old who was a genius with delusions of unparalleled grandeur imagining myself as someone who got reincarnated from a different world to make sense of his present reality.

Occam's Razor made short work of the latter notion.

Seeing nothing that could change the present situation, I accepted my place: what's done is done.

The issue of who I was before being reborn was much more vexing. I don't know if it was something that happened after I saw 'the Light' or if the shock of dying had something to do with it, but I could not for the life of me remember significant chunks my previous life.

Shishishi… Death pun.

There were snippets of things here and there, but the people's faces were usually featureless and didn't use names. Best I could figure, more would come with time.

I was able to piece together a few things though. I died of old age, so plus there – must have meant that I went willingly and accepted my death.

Managed to figure out that I was married and had a happy family if the many picture frames in my 'home' where any indication.

That was debatable at times since I also realized that I was a veteran of some who became a teacher after being honorably discharged. Some of the photos could have been my old war buddies, and some of them could have been students who I must have befriended to a significant extent,

That made me happy – it must have meant that I was an important figure in their life's and maybe the community. Made me think that I was a beloved figure or something.

That wasn't narcissism stroking my ego – just a nice feeling. Nothing wrong with being proud of being wanted and liked…

Maybe that's why I reborn? Too much good karma gave me a chance at a new life?

That or the things I did during the war I was in were so depraved that I tried to bring as much life and good into the world to make up for it. Sounds too much like the Bushido-code samurai followed.

Kind of weird that I can't determine which war I was in… I have snippets of a few, but I can't tell if those are memories or just bits of knowledge.

And that actually surprised me more then I care to admit.

More so than being taken care of by the few female Marines that were on my Grandpa's ship when he was busy – as infrequent as that was.

Took me a few months to piece together at least the bare-bones of my existence and the world I was in.

My name is Monkey D. Luffy. I was born on May 5th, making me a Taurus, I am almost three years old, I can walk and talk with some difficulty, and I am the grandson of Monkey D. Garp, a Marine Vice Admiral, otherwise known as "Hero of the Marines," and "Garp the Fist."

Cool.

The Marines on the ship – and their skulls - were very familiar with the latter title.

In his own words, I was still too young to accept his 'Fist of Love,' but he was giving me glares.

I know the man loves me, but he reminds me too much of parents waiting for their kids to screw up so he can dispense some negative physical reinforcement. He isn't malicious about it – more like he just believes in tough love and letting people learn from their mistakes.

Not the worst teaching style. For some odd reason, I have a strange hatred of anyone who coddles their kids and blames everything on others then being at fault themselves.

People need to be unsigned at times to learn, damn it! You don't need a participation trophy! YOU KEEP COUNT OR IT DOESN'T COUNT!

I think I may have had a giant ruler that I used to intimidate students and troublemakers.

Must have worked though….

ANYWAY… Speaking of parents…

I think I came close when I asked him about them since no one else was able to tell me. I only managed to squeeze out of him that my mother passed shortly after I was born and that he doesn't like talking about his son. He is alive, but I think they had a falling out or something.

No one questioned Garp's bluntness and straightforwardness when responding to a child about something so depressing – dead mother and all – but I liked it. He didn't bullshit the truth; he withheld things, but I suspect he has good reasons.

The military man in me understands this.

The kid in me still wants to know though.

Ain't that an odd dichotomy to deal with?

Being the grandson of the ship captain – plus, you know, being a kid – gave me the leeway of going wherever I want, albeit slowly due to my short legs.

Sneaking into Gramp's personal office? Slightly more difficult.

Going through his books? Very informative.

Took me almost a month of skimming through what few books on the world and its history to slowly assemble the pieces available to me.

It did not paint a pretty picture. Plus, I realized I would need a journal or something to keep track of it all – which I did get after the first two days from the ship nurse.

She thought I was going to draw in it. Gave me colored pencils and everything. I used them as pseudo-highlighters.

I was already somehow aware of how to write in kanji, but for safety reasons, I decided to write in English. If anyone ever got their hands on my notes, they would pass them off as very neat doodles.

I still took lessons from the staff to keep up appearances – kanji was more descriptive at times, even if it was a headache to memorize everything.

In any case…

Getting over the shock of a world basically having six seas, a weird as hell equator of chaos - and from what I could figure so far - six species of human, the world history left little to be desired.

Specifically, two things left a rotten taste in my mouth: the Void Century and The Celestial Dragons.

The sheer fact that the world literally has a whole century of history removed – or unaccounted for - screamed cover-up, primarily since the World Government formed from the rubble under the unifying hold of the Council of Kings. And I say cover-up since the study of Poneglyphs - stone blocks that literally have history written on them - became illegal, and that just screams 'THE TRUTH IS HERE!' to me.

My past experiences just can't help but understand that when something is illegal or removed, it means that only those in high power are aware of why and want to keep it that way.

Although seeing as how the language to read the Poneglyths has been lost to time - as well as the demonization of the World Nobles over the centuries - makes me think that even they have forgotten the real reason as to why the Void Century is not studied.

Royals – regardless of worlds – can hold grudges for centuries for the stupidest of reasons. The fact that the royals in this world were blatantly dumb just made it worse.

Although the creation of the Ancient Weapons may be a reason.

And damn if that wasn't terrifying in itself.

For it to have only taken three weapons – albeit overpowered ones – to destroy the old world order, spoke volumes.

Pluton, Poseidon, and Uranus.

Pluton – the ship to end all ships, one either destroyed or lost to time. Seeing as it was a ship though meant that plans must either exist somewhere or are lost to the ravages of time. I doubt that the bastards in Mariejois would keep that hidden and not display it for the 'peasants' of the world to fear.

Poseidon – I don't know why, but some voice in the back of my head told me that the Fishman had this one. There was not much on it in Garp's books but the pattern made sense: one weapon to control the seas, one weapon under the seas, and one weapon above the seas. Speaking of the last one…

Uranus – not even the Marines seem to have anything on this bad boy. Two things do to come to mind from my previous life: a pluton is a body of intrusive igneous rock that is crystallized from magma slowly cooling below the surface of the planet, and that Pluto was the god of the afterlife and wealth that was below the ground. In any case, this just shouted 'death from above.' For some reason, 'Blitzkrieg' came to mind.

Eventually, however, I managed to break into Gramps desk and find his log book/journal, the thing that everyone - Marine and Pirate Captain alike - have. It was his latest one since, in his long life of service, he accumulated a few of them – which I was yet to find – but based on the first heading, it was dated a little after I was born.

That was as far as I got since it was in code.

The sheer shock of my grandfather – who had trouble keeping his mouth shut and getting focused on any task – being able to remember such a thing scared me more than I would like to admit.

This was going to take time.

Maybe someone on board has a cryptology book that I could borrow? I doubt they would ask questions about it.

About one year later… when Luffy is a little over 4…

Damn paperwork! If I knew sailing the East Sea was going to involve so much inter-island disputes, I would have punched Sengoku in his golden Buddha face for even suggesting it!

Despite his somewhat angry thought – hindsight being 20/20 – Garp was justifiably annoyed. It was the middle of the night, and despite all that he managed to put into the 'Out' pile to his left, an ever-looming and soon to be once more growing pile of 'In' paperwork stood to his right.

He sighed in exasperation, "Well, it's worth it I guess."

Being out the hell zone known as the Grand Line did do him some good. Say what you will, but his bravado can only cover up so much. He may be an idiot at times, but even he couldn't ignore the fact that he was in his sixty's and time was creeping up on him.

And despite his – and Sengoku's – efforts, he was yet to find a successor. He had hope in Dragon, but that went out the window pretty quickly.

Sengoku claimed he may have found a possible 'son,' but Garp has been out of the loop too long to check up on that.

Unfortunately, he put all his eggs in one basket – known as his own son - and now he had nothing to show for it. The Marines he has seen after Roger's death just didn't measure up to his standards, and with the ever-growing number of deranged and despicable pirates entering the Grand Line, he needed a successor and soon.

And then Luffy came along.

There were no words to describe the happiness he felt at being a grandfather. His own son's birth came close, but that was shadowed by the death of his wife soon afterward.

And wasn't that the cruelest of ironies: both father and son lost their wives soon after their own son's birth. At least, that's what Dragon told Garp when he asked for him to take care of Luffy on his behalf.

Garp's gut told him that he wasn't lying – or telling half-truths – so he let it go. They did share sake in her memory.

He accepted immediately, burying all information about the exchange – except for telling Sengoku – and immediately requested for him and his crew to be transferred to the East Blue, the weakest and in turn safest of seas. He also wanted to be close to Foosha - where Luffy was born - should he need to drop him off at Dadan's if anything went screwy.

The fact that Ace was there was just an afterthought…

Still, he couldn't argue that it wasn't enjoyable. The somewhat lax standards of the East finally gave Garp time to really step up his crew's training. Oh, he was pragmatic enough to know that not all would come close to learning all the Six Powers or even mastering them, but the side benefits were worth it.

Even if most of them ended up in the Med Bay after every workout.

Luffy seemed to enjoy watching them practice.

And that was a particular logic puzzle Garp didn't want to play with.

Garp hated puzzles, but Luffy's behavior at times just seemed to set something off in his gut – and his gut has never led him astray.

Garp raised Dragon, and despite his demeanor and height, he has been around many kids, and they loved him. So he could say with some degree of certainty that he knew how kids were supposed to act.

It happened around the kid's second year when he mellowed out.

The crying tuned down, and he just seemed to… mature.

Talking and walking quickly followed.

The voracious reading followed soon after, but Garp wasn't against that. The Marines on deck swore that if the kid wasn't eating, sleeping, or watching them train, he was reading something or studying kanji.

The lack of hyperactivity is probably what set him off. He wasn't sure if it was a Monkey Family trait, but they all had their faults. Garp can control his when times call for it, and Dragon spend years eliminating his.

But the keyword here that it took time.

Garp wanted to chalk it up to his mom's genes, but he wasn't sure since he never met the woman.

Still, he couldn't really complain. Luffy was polite, he smiled, he was quiet when the time called for it, and was very sociable with the rest of the Marines that served under him. He had his bouts of childlessness, but they were never on the level of where he needed to introduce his head to the 'Fist of Love.'

That actually unnerved him a little – Luffy was already four, and Garp feared that he wouldn't be able to handle his training when the time came. He liked using his fist to get his students acclimated to pain and the sensation of low-level Haki being released.

He wasn't a sadist – even if his 'students' claimed that his training was 'straight out of Hell.'

Garp couldn't help but chuckle at that though, "I'll make a Marine out of you yet, Pipsqueak."

He was slowly indoctrinating… I mean, pushing the idea of Luffy into joining the Marines. He knew his crew represented the epitome of the Marine ideals: loyal, just, hardworking, with the mission of protecting the sea from elements that wished its people harm. He hoped they would inspire him on their own.

Garp was always proud to admit that no one on his boat was a bad apple.

If they were, they were quickly removed as to avoid spoiling the batch.

As Garp chuckled while he continued his paperwork, the door to his office creaked open. Before he had a chance to even look up and ask, his grandson had already closed the door, locked it, and was getting up on the seat facing his table.

He was about to reprimand him for being awake past his bedtime until he registered his face.

Luffy was always bubbly and smiling – not from ear to ear like Garp usually did, but it was a smile.

Right now, the face of seriousness his toddler grandson displayed set of all the alarms in both Garp's head and gut.

His words sealed it.

"I finished decoding your log book."

Garp was not a superstitious man. However, after living through the craziness known as Paradise and the New World, he couldn't disagree against at least admitting that at times, he could sense the world shift. Sengoku becoming the Fleet Admiral, Akainu becoming an Admiral, Ohara… he felt that those events radically shifted the currents of history.

Tsuru and Sengoku always chuckled at his gut feelings regarding those events – they stopped laughing when he was right a few too many times and started to take them seriously.

And right now, he could say with utmost certainty that the current just shifted again.

Realizing this was going to be a long talk, he put away his ink, pen, paperwork, sighed, and looked at his grandson's face. "How long did it take?"

"Longer then I would like to admit. With the books I managed to get from some the crew and with the library on deck, I managed to get a handle on cryptography. Unfortunately, your particular cipher stumped me. I was stuck for some time until I finally realized, you were using a keyword cipher as a base. Took me some time after that to brute force the word used – 'Devil Fruit.' I would have figured it out sooner, but nowhere in any book on deck were the fruits mentioned – at all. I eventually resorted to reading discarded newspapers to find out about them."

Well, that's another topic to discuss.

"I would have finished sooner, but keeping my research secret and only sneaking in when you were preoccupied elsewhere to make copies of your journal took time."

Garp crossed his hands, "I see. I never noticed you rooting through my desk in all this time…"

"To be fair, I always made sure to put it back exactly where it was before I took it. Locking the cabinet was always harder since I couldn't leave any scratches. Plus, I am a kid – who suspects a kid carrying out such levels of espionage?"

"Ahh, probably why." Garp sighed, "So… seeing as you read my log, can I assume you are aware why you are on this ship with me?"

No point leaving anything out. The fact he managed to do all of this without anyone realizing it means that he isn't a child anymore – not for a long time. Better treat him as an adult instead of a kid – at least in private.

Luffy worked up his nerve, "Yes… I am. While I can accept as to why you made sure to cover up who my father is, there is still one thing that bothers me about this whole situation."

Garp raised his brow, "Oh? What's that?"

"Why you keep trying to convince me to become a Marine."

Garp… that not expecting that question. "Wha… What? How can you even say that? Haven't you seen the work the Marines do? Haven't they and I set a good example for you?"

"Oh, don't take it the wrong way – your guys are decent Marines…"

Decent?

"But Grandpa, using just your crew as an example isn't exactly a good idea."

Garp started sweating, "What do you mean Luffy? All Marines are like my crew…"

"Stop it, Grandpa. I read the books in your office, and I listened to the crew chatter – we are one of the better ones out there, and you know it. The history books and newspapers only confirmed it."

Garp couldn't help it when he muttered "Damn it" in front of Luffy. He tried his best to show the world what good Marines could be for the people's well-being and Luffy's benefit.

"Besides, I wouldn't have made it far in the Corps anyway."

Garp looked up, "What do you mean?"

"Gramps, I am his son – you really think the higher-ups will look the other way, even if they have your recommendation?"

That… never crossed my mind. "Sengoku would have…"

"Sengoku is the same age as you, Gramps. He has maybe 15 to 20 years left in him before he finally runs out of strength and is forced to pass the mantle to one of the Admirals. And reading the current world climate doesn't leave with my hopes up as to who it will be. I give you three guesses, and two don't count. You really think the next guy is going to take your word for it?"

Garp wanted to reject the idea, but Luffy kept pushing, "I mean sure, you can drop me off at a base somewhere in the East Blue in ten years so I can work my way up from Chore Boy without someone shouting 'favoritism' for me working under you. And maybe I can work my way up to Captain before Sengoku retires by the time I am in my early 20's, but after that? I am either never going to be promoted, or I am going to meet an unfortunate 'accident.'"

"Luffy, how can you even consider such…"

"I've read murder-mysteries, Gramps. I am his son, and no matter how much you argue, blood is blood. Hell, the World Government searched the Blues high and low for twenty months trying to find the rumored child of Gol D. Roger, just because it was his blood."

Thank Oda that I wrote that down in the last log book and not this one, sweated Garp mentally.

"I can, however, promise you something else instead."

"Oh?" asked Garp hopefully, "What can you promise me since you won't become a Marine?" I am not going to push it – I'll bitch about it, try to convince him otherwise, but he is a Monkey, and a D. – his mind is set. I guess no one is going to succeed…

"I'll never be a good pirate – I will be a decent pirate."

Silence… Silence…

"What?" No…no… no…

"I know your opinion on pirates, Gramps. I read the news, and even I can tell that this isn't what Roger wanted, and I am a freaking child. A well-informed one, but a child nonetheless."

Okay, what? Where's this going?

"I don't know what Roger had in mind when he told the world that he left all of his gold at the end of the line, but I doubt that it was this," Luffy said the last word as he took out a folder of paper cutouts. Garp quickly noted the content as Luffy pushed, "Pillaging, robbery, rape, senseless destruction… this is not what Roger would have wanted. The only ones who seem to be embodying the original pirate credo are Whitebeard and Red-Haired, with a splattering of non-violent crews who only end up in the news AFTER they have been removed."

Garp was shocked at this. "Why those two Yonkos?" I'll ask about the credo later…

"Because Kaido destroys and Charlotte demands, but Newgate protects and Shanks enjoys. Can't hate a guy who considers every member of his crew as his children, nor a guy who simply lives every day as if it is his last. Plus, both own islands but yet demand nothing from them, despite the protection it brings the people? Heck, I can't find any reference to them outright going on killing sprees – robberies and wanton destruction, yes, but no mention of civilians deaths or the like. Marines from time to time, but despite the propaganda, it seems more like they were being attacked than the other way around."

Garp paused. He feared the worst when Luffy admitted to becoming a pirate, but something about that last statement seemed to leave a glimmer of hope… "Go on."

"I don't know if it's true or not, but something in my gut tells me that the original pirate credo was about freedom and adventure – not lawbreaking and meaningless murder. Somewhere along the way, the message got twisted up, and now we have… this." Luffy waved his hand in front of the clippings. "This is not what I want to be forced into – and I know I will because I don't see myself living in a quaint little island somewhere for the rest of my life. If I am going to be a pirate, I am going to be a pirate that inspires a better generation – like you inspire a better generation of Marines."

The ember was growing…

"If I am going to be a pirate, there's no way I am going to leave so much muck in the world. I am not going to leave people of the world in fear, afraid of one day being attacked by an unjust and corrupt force. I plan to do something and make the original message spreads once more. My words will be justified, my actions unquestioned, my credo – unchallenged."

Garp listened, and caught the double meaning of some of his words, "Luffy… your words are rather open to interpretation…" Garp couldn't control himself as he cracked his hands and released some of his Haki.

"I've read your files, Gramps, and I can read between the lines in the news." Luffy slammed his hands on the desk and looked straight into Garp's eyes, "Tell me, right now to my face, that the Marines don't have those who abuse their powers and who represent the wrong side of Justice. Say it truthfully, and I'll abandon my plans right here and now."

Garp clenched his hands. He wanted to, he wanted to so badly to tell Luffy that the Marines were a force of justice and truth, but…

"No…" Garp looked down in shame, "There are bad Marines in the Corps."

"No Gramps, there are no bad Marines…. There are good Marines out there that make a bad example of decent Marines."

Garp looked up, the ember he sensed growing even more.

"I have watched you, Gramps. I have seen the way you treat and train your crew. I've heard whispers of your feats from others, and I've read what I could regarding your actions. You don't follow some laid-down rules of Justice. You don't claim to do good or persecute and hunt down evil – you do what you perceive is RIGHT and you persecute those who have done WRONG, regardless of where they stand with the law."

The ember grew into a campfire…

"I don't understand why whoever is in charge is allowing such a mentality to form within the Corps or why they are allowing the Celestial Dragons to get away with the all the crap they want, but no more. The world has too many good marines that need to be either reeducated or removed so the decent ones can change the corps from the inside. The cleansing of the good pirates will follow in tandem for the decent pirates to come out of hiding."

And Garp asked, "And how have you defined a good marine from a decent marine?"

Luffy sat back in his chair and considered his next words, "I don't know if I am wrong, but these worlds feel right. Good Marines follow their rules to the letter and will sacrifice all for the sake of justice. Decent Marines, Marines like you… They sacrifice everything for the sake of all. Even justice, if it comes down to it."

The fear that Garp felt at the beginning had nearly dissipated at that, but he needed one last confirmation, "And the pirates?"

Luffy clenched his tiny fists, "Yes… the pirates that are currently sailing the Blues are not what I want pirates to be seen as. There are decent pirates out there – those who seek adventure and freedom but are painted under the same black brush as their good pirate counterparts. No matter how wrong it will seem, they need to be removed. A change must happen, and it must happen soon while the Marines are still idle in their retribution, before the changing of the guard occurs."

And Garp finally asked the question, "So what will you do? Will you lead this revolution – this changing of the guard for both sides?"

And with a force that Garp was all too familiar with, Luffy spoke with absolute conviction, "No, I will teach a better generation so they can forge a better future. My only privilege will be lighting their way and starting the furnace that will forge them into a great katana."

Garp couldn't help it – he smiled as he stared at his serious grandson, and laughed like there was no tomorrow. He couldn't help himself – the irony of someone with Conqueror's Haki of not wanting to lead was just too rich!

Oh, it's not what I wanted for him. His hands – like mine and his father's – will be plastered in blood. But damn, if it isn't close to being what I wanted out of him as a Marine…

Luffy stared in shock, "This is not what I expected when I had this speech planned out."

Garp stopped wheezing, "Oh? And what did expect to happen?"

"I expected you to hit me with your 'Fist of Love' at some point and convince me I was sleep-deprived and you were hallucinating after so many sleepless nights," deadpanned Luffy.

Luffy quickly clenched his aching head after an angry Garp did just that, "DON'T THINK YOU ARE GETTING AWAY WITHOUT BEING PUNISHED!"

"For what?"

Garp sat down smugly, "For breaking into my desk of course."

Luffy rubbed his head, "But what about what I just promised? I basically said I was going to be a bloodthirsty pirate."

Garp turned serious, "No – you promised me you wouldn't be a bad pirate – or a good pirate, in this case. A man going around and removing the bad elements isn't a merciless killer. As far as I am concerned, that's what decent Marines are supposed to do. Granted, not the future I would have wanted for you, but I can't argue with what you plan to do. We will have talks about your nonchalance of jumping immediately to killing, however."

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions…" said Luffy without thinking.

Garp pondered the phrase, "Not something I've ever heard before, but I can't disagree with the meaning. Still, you realize that even if you have Conqueror's Haki, you won't be able to carry out this crusade alone and without training."

"I am aware of that – it's what I have you for! Also, what's Conqueror's Haki?"

Anime sweatdrop. "I'll address it when we get to it. You're almost five anyway, a good age to start some light training."

Luffy froze at the mention of the word 'light.'

Garp leaned in, smiling, "You are aware that I will hold you to the same standards I hold my Marines, right?"

"You mean you will break me, fix me up, and break me again until I stop breaking?" deadpanned Luffy.

"I don't know where you got that sense of humor from, but damn it if it isn't perfect for dealing with the crazy that is the Grand Line."

"I thought 'crazy' was just another word for 'applied bullshit' – it seems to work for you." snarked Luffy.

That earned him another fist. "I DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU LEARNED SUCH LANGUAGE FROM, BUT EITHER YOU STOP IT, OR I WILL WASH YOUR MOUTH WITH SOAP!"

"Owww… Sorry, Grandpa," spoke Luffy as he rubbed his sore head.

"You're forgiven. Now, go to bed Luffy – I have a lot to think about. Plus, your training starts tomorrow. I expect to see you up and ready by 0700."

Luffy smiled and did a salute, "Sir, yes, sir."

Garp raised a brow.

"Shishishi… Got to present an image of a good future Marine. Got to give you an excuse in the future when the higher-ups question you as to why you trained such a kick-ass pirate."

"Bwahahaha… Plausible deniability – the Monkey Family motto at its finest. Good night scamp."

"Good night, Gramps."

Garp waited for Luffy to close the door as he left his office before returning to his paperwork. He couldn't help but think about Luffy's decision. He was going to be a brutal man, but it isn't exactly a world of roses and daisies out there.

That, and his gut kept telling him that Luffy would stick to his promise to never be a good pirate. Garp can deal with that – at least he didn't trick him to demand training with false hopes of being a Marine in the future.

Garp froze at that thought.

Did I just promise to train someone who will destroy the Marine Corps as we know it?

Luffy got ready for bed, wiping off the sweat he didn't know he had after his talk with Garp.

I don't know what this Haki thing is, but if it is the sensation I felt when I spoke with him, then maybe its something important… Like these Devil Fruit things… I still find it odd that I had to find out about it by word of mouth. For such a powerful and key thing in this world, you'd figure there would be more research done into it.

In another world, where Luffy was the lovable clueless dork we all know and love, his dream of wanting to find One Piece always rubbed Garp the wrong way since he never justified it. Screaming it louder and louder wasn't going to win any argument between the two, but that was as articulate as that Luffy was going to get. Sure, he got wise to the fact that Luffy wasn't an average pirate, but it was too late by that point.

Actually explaining as to why he couldn't be a Marine and what he wanted to accomplish as a pirate actually clears up a lot of issues with Luffy being a pirate for Garp.

Besides, Garp was going to get his successor, one way or another. If he wasn't going to get the Right Hand of a Marine to change the world, he was going to get the Left Hand of a Pirate to stab in the back those who pollute it.

Besides, who's ever going to suspect a pirate of doing the work a decent Marine?

Garp expected to get the chance to use his 'Fist of Love' to wake Luffy up for their training session.

Unfortunately, Luffy seems to have either set up a few alarm clocks or he seemed to have skipped the Monkey Family Deep-Sleep Issue™.

Yes, that is a trademark there.

Garp walked into the usual Marine training room at 0645, but Luffy was already there, waiting for him, legs crossed.

"Good, you're early – good habit to get into," smiled Garp, arms crossed.

"Surprised you never learned that lesson," smirked Luffy.

"Just because I am your Grandfather doesn't mean I won't hurt you, Luffy," smiled Garp as he cracked his knuckles.

"Noted," seated Luffy nervously.

"Now," said Garp as he sat down in front of Luffy, "you've watched enough of the trainings I've supervised to know what's expected of you. Any question?"

"Only three."

"Less then I expected. I am guessing the first is regarding the Rokushiki? You've seen me train the higher ranking guys in them."

"Rokushiki?"

"Also referred to as the Six Powers. They aren't actually powers, more like very specialized martial arts. Popularized by the Cipher Pol guys since they needed a way to weaponized themselves without actually carrying around weapons. Eventually, it bleed through to the Marine Corps. Now, you can't make Admiral without knowing them and Haki – keeps the ones without conviction out of the higher ranks with justifiable reason."

Luffy nodded his head, "So that's what they are. You just always tell the guys what power to work on without ever explaining to them as to how to do it. I only figured how to do three of them."

Garp raised a brow, "Geppo, Tekkai, and Soru?"

Luffy nodded.

"Expected – those are the basic three."

Garp gathered his thoughts, "The reason you didn't hear their explanation is because the training for them is considered top-secret. To avoid pirates and possible infiltrators of getting their hands on these techniques, they are only taught by word-of-mouth. I gathered all the people who had potential in a locked room and told them the basis of all techniques ONCE. After that, they are on their own – I tell them the mistakes they make, but that is it. The only reason you – unlike others - managed to figure out the basis for three of them is because you watched them practice, especially since they are taught not to write notes about it."

Somewhere in the world, a CP9 Zoan Wolf user sneezed but continued writing in his scroll about his Rokushiki.

Luffy nodded, accepting the reasoning. If pirates did have knowledge of such techniques, the damage they could bring about would be monumental.

"Now, in order."

Luffy sat up straight.

"Geppo – or Moon Walk - allows the user to actually jump off the air itself. Rankyaku – or Tempest Kick – turns air pressure produced by leg kicks into air blades. Soru – or Shave – allows the user to move at extremely high speeds by kicking off the ground at least ten times in the blink of an eye. You can do more kicks for faster speeds, but it's difficult. As you can imagine, these three techniques require ridiculous length strength to carry out. As such, to use them in the future, I will be strengthening your lower body. A good foundation is needed for a strong house."

Luffy nodded, understanding the analogy.

"Tekkai – or Iron Body - hardens the users' muscles to the level of iron, to nullify damage taken from attacks. I've seen people get rather creative with the density and limb hardening aspect of this power, so don't overlook it because of its weakness of preventing movement. Also, it's needed to learn Shigan – the Finger Pistol. As implied, the training required is to simply strengthen your endurance and muscle control. Finally, there's Kami-e – or Paper Art – which makes the users' body extraordinarily flexible to avoid any attacks, float, and bend their body like a piece of paper. That one is more mental than physical, so leave it alone for now."

Luffy was about to nod, but Garp pushed on, "There's also the seventh power most don't know about since it requires mastery of the other six."

Luffy observed as Garp got up, turned to the side away from Luffy, and took an odd yet specific stance: fists facing opposite one another and ready at his side.

"The only reason I'm showing you this is because the mentality to perform this technique actually points out nature of the Six Powers, so pay attention – it may save your life one day if you ever see anyone take this pose. Despite how long I've had to practice it, I still can barely perform this thing."

Garp breathed in and out, "The Iron Body is the root of it all. It teaches the body to be strong so that it might withstand all forms of punishment and not rend itself apart. This must be brought to terms with the Paper Arts, so that one's muscles remain flexible even while staying in-flexible. Shave comes next - it teaches swiftness and speed, so that one may act decisively and in an instant, all thanks to a simple motion. Moon Walk and Tempest Kick are a dual lesson of how to put one's full body into affecting the air around them, as well as how to weaponize the very air. Finally, Finger Pistol is not about technique, but mentality. One's whole body is put into use in the attack, all muscles are exerted in the motion, and thus to perform it, one must effectively transform their body into a weapon."

Luffy sat paralyzed, at full attention. This sounds like something Bruce Lee would say or a Shaolin Monk in a demonstration to civilians… Where did that come from?

"Individually, these techniques are all incredibly powerful, but when brought together in a single instant and action…"

Luffy watched as Garp put his arms out, fists still in position. Luffy saw no muscles clench, nothing that indicated any form of movement was performed other than changing the placement of the arms to Garp's front.

The air shockwave said otherwise.

The cracks on the opposing wall confirmed it.

Holy…! No wonder the World Government keeps a lid on this! If every soldier on the battlefield had access to this shit… this would eviscerate a person inside out.

"…the sum total known as the Rokuogan is so much more."

Garp placed his hands down, but he heard Luffy mutter, "… One-Inch Punch…"

Garp took out a wipe for his forehead, "It's actually called Six King Gun, but that actually seems appropriate as well. To an uninformed observer, it would look like the user generates an ungodly amount of strength in a short amount of space. In reality, it's more like transferring energy from the very soles of your feet across the body through your fists, kind of like a spring releasing."

Luffy panicked, "Is… is this why the Six Powers are monitored? So people don't learn THAT technique?"

Garp nodded, thankful Luffy realized the danger of that technique. "It was a factor, but thankfully, I only know one person alive who can perform this technique flawlessly, and I suspect its more because of his Fruit then all the training he put into it."

Luffy tilted his head, "Devil Fruit?"

Garp nodded his head, "Was that one of your questions as well?"

"Yeah, right after what Haki is."

"Tch, shouldn't have made that gaffe last night," Garp sat down again. "The other reason as to why the World Government keeps such a tight lid on Rokushiki is that it can be taught. Haki can't – or rather, it can be, but only if awakened."

Luffy tilted his head to the other side in confusion.

"In the simplest of terms, Haki is willpower personified and weaponized."

That caught the kids attention.

"Haki is found in every living being in the world, more so in animals and us humans. It is not that different from the typical senses. However, most people do not notice it or fail to awaken it. Those that awaken them usually only gain access to two of them: Kenbunshoku, which is Observation, and Busoshoku, which is Armament."

"Most people?" inquired Luffy.

"Caught that, didn't you? The third Haki is called Haoshoku, otherwise known as Conqueror's Haki. You either have this Haki, or you don't. People who have this power are said to have the disposition of kings. Unlike the other two, it can't be trained: it is entirely contingent on your strength of will. In the presence of those with a weaker will, yours will dominate theirs and cause them to pass out. However, those with stronger wills can resist or even ignore the effects. It also has two unique uses: taming of wild beasts and unlocking the Haki of others."

"Really?"

Garp nodded, "Under controlled conditions and bursts, one can trigger the opening of another's 'floodgates,' allowing them to access and in turn achieve their Haki much easier. Unfortunately, it's hazardous since the amount of Haki released has to be fine-tuned to each individual with each exposure, or you risk… breaking the person."

Luffy flinched at that, "You've seen that happen before?"

"I have, and frankly, it's the only reason a teacher needs to take the slow and steady approach to Haki activation with his pupils. In a one on one setting though, especially between two Haoshoku Haki users, the risk is mitigated somewhat and actually allows the strengthening of each other's wills."

Luffy gulped, "And let me guess, you have it as well?"

Garp smiled, "Nope, but I suspect your dad does – that or your mom did. He may avoid using it though – knowing him, he may feel that it represents losing control of the situation as to resort to simply browbeating others into obedience."

"I guess that makes sense from an honor and respect point of view. Being the head of the Revolutionary Army means that his people have to trust him without the possibility of them doing anything under threat of Conqueror's Haki."

Garp was actually surprised at that, "It took the psychoanalysts at headquarters weeks to come to that realization as they tried to profile him. Guess father and son do think alike."

Luffy smiled.

"In any case, back to the basic two. The most common form of Haki in all the Blues is Busoshoku Haki. It allows the user to use their spirit to create, in essence, an invisible armor around themselves. A particular advantage of this Haki is that it allows the user to harm a Devil Fruit user whose body has been changed by their fruit – I will explain later. The armor can also be used as a weapon by coating one's limbs or weapons being used. You can spot its use by the apparent darkening of anything to which said Haki is applied, with dark black coloring being the highest recognized rank. I should mention that coating one's body is significantly harder than coating a weapon. On the other hand, with practice, one can coat ones entire body in Armament Haki and turn themselves into an impervious shield - within limits. It does, however, come with a catch though," Garp raised a finger on one hand to emphasize this, "Busoshoku Haki is subjected to depletion if used for long periods of time, as Busoshoku Haki is proportional to the amount of spiritual life force an individual possesses. After the threshold is reached, one will be unable to use it for a certain amount of time. Also, the more Haki is used, the faster it will deplete. One can get around this by learning to properly control ones Haki, but it takes time."

Useful, but not really something I feel like I will put much emphasis one for now; too much of a risk unless you are confident that your opponent doesn't have it or has a weaker will than you, though Luffy before considering all his options.

"Finally, there is Kenbunshoku Haki, which allows the user to sense the presence of others, regardless if they are hiding with natural or enhanced means and if too far away. It's most common usage, however, is predicting an opponent's moves shortly before they make them, thereby making the attack much easier to evade with enough skill. I've even heard tales of some people mastering Observation to the point where they see moments into the future."

"Wow." That definitely sounds much more useful, especially if it doesn't have any cost.

"It also has two other uses that are usually overlooked. First, it allows the user to sense and empathize with the emotions and nature of others. Very useful in negotiations and speaking, and deadly when mixed with Conqueror's if done right. Second, it can be used to sense the strength of others as well. It's actually what I used to pick out my crew. I may lean more towards Armament then Observation, but I've trained the later enough to accurately guess the latent potential of most."

"Most?"

"Some exceptions do apply, primarily for children and anyone before eating a Devil Fruit."

Just what the hell are these Devil Fruit things? "Sounds like an excellent skill to have, especially since it doesn't have cost."

"You would think so, but it has three significant weaknesses that are easy to exploit," Garp lifted a finger for each point, "First, it can only predict direct attacks; if its random, it won't work unless you trained it to the point where you can hypothetically see the future. Second, it requires a calm state of mind; you lose your focus, you lose the effect. The third weakness – and I can't emphasize this enough – is that unless you can dodge the attack, it's useless predicting it."

"Huh?"

"If it's too big to avoid or you are held down, then there's no point in knowing its coming."

Luffy smacked his fist into his open palm, "Oh! So a widespread attack or restraints is the way to go against an Observation user."

"Yup." Catching on quite nicely. "Do you know why I am explaining this to you so openly?"

"Because it will be a long time before I get to even learning how to use Haki?"

"Close – you're actually just too young to truly use them YET. Haki may be the weaponization of will, but it relies on one's life force to fuel them. Basically, you need to mature a bit before we really start training."

Luffy nodded in understanding, "Is Rokushiki training applicable to Haki training?"

"Only circumstantially. Tekkai can spill over to Armament and Kami-e to Observation, but that's about it. Rokushiki is about weaponizing the body, while Haki is about weaponizing the soul. Knowing one or the other is a must for those Commander to Captain, but knowing both is a must for Commodore and above. Having Conqueror's thought? They find a way to streamline you all the way up to Rear Admiral and up."

"Is that what happened to you?"

Garp laughed, "BWAHAHA! YUP! Those idiots in HQ thought I had it. By the time they realized that I was just a stubborn bastard, I was too well known and connected to demote."

Luffy couldn't help but laugh before calming down, "So… Devil Fruit?"

Garp sighed, "Devil Fruits are… a difficult topic to explain. The reason you found nothing about them in books is that the World Government regulates the spread of that information."

Luffy almost whistled in awe. That's… terrifying. So much effort for these things. "Why?"

"Because they can make a man into a monster, or worse, a disaster."

Silence…

"Wha…WHAT!?"

Garp held up his hand, "Calm down, Luffy! It's an extreme interpretation, but not a wrong one."

"WHAT THE HELL ARE THESE THINGS?"

Garp smacked Luffy's head, "CALM DOWN AND I WILL TELL YOU!"

One minute later…

"Now, for lack of a better word, they are magic fruit."

"Magic Fruit?"

"Magic fruit," nodded Garp. "Didn't really bother with the mumbo-jumbo some professors and researchers spew since that's usually classified as it is. All that matters is that eating one grants the eater a special ability."

This caught Luffy's attention.

"Legend has it that Devil Fruits are said to be the fruits of the Sea Devil and that the secret to their power is hidden in the Grand Line. These things are so damn rare though that most people don't believe in them; hell, there's a good chance that if we ask the average person in the East Blue if they are real, they will claim that they are a myth."

"Really? Is that due to a lack of information or lack of confirmation?"

Garp waved his hand back and forth, "Mix of both. All Marines are taught that they are a real thing, and we mention them specifically when writing bounties, but unless people see them in real life, it's out of sight, out of mind with them."

Luffy pondered this, "Is there a way to identify a Devil Fruit?"

"Easier than you think. Just find a weird colored fruit with spirals or patterns on it, and you have a Devil Fruit."

"Oh. How do you make them then?"

"You don't. All Devil Fruits that currently exist are all that there are out there."

"How does that work, Grandpa?"

"Simple: when a Devil Fruit user dies, their ability is reborn into another Fruit of the same kind."

"Does that mean that all the Fruits have been collected and classified?"

"BWAHAHA! Not even close. We may have a Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, but I know for a fact that we haven't discovered all of them yet. I also know that the same power of a Devil Fruit can exist more than once, though no two Devil Fruits of the same kind may exist at the same time."

"How does that work?"

"Usually context – it will makes sense later – and sometimes because some powers just overlap."

"Wow – wait, there has to be a catch. No power comes without a price."

Garp smirked, "Correct again, Luffy. The key weakness of any Devil Fruit eater is that all forms of water reject them."

"Reject?"

"Well…guys I met describe it more like losing all their energy and sinking to their death since they also lose the ability to swim. I should also specify that it only applies to all water but only if it is stationary. Rain and waves don't weaken them, but seawater is particularly devastating. For some reason though, it only kicks in if it's higher then one's knee. There are odd exceptions though since I have seen them take baths, showers, and lay in hot springs without any issues."

Weird…thought Lufft. Maybe it's a mentality thing…

"Seastone, a special substance that emits the same energies of the sea, can also cancel out Devil Fruit powers through physical contact with the user. Luckily, only Marines have easy access to the stuff, so that avenue is closed to MOST pirates."

"Does Haki count as a weakness?"

"Only Armament for a certain class of Devil Fruits, but it helps out."

"Are there any other weaknesses?"

Garp raised two fingers, "One is that unless someone has already cataloged the fruit, the special ability is unknown. It can be something useful or something so useless it would have been better off not to eat the damn thing. I know that some researchers pay civilians and Marines to consume unknown fruits so that they can catalog them, but that's neither here nor there. Finally, this is more of a warning than a weakness: never eat more than one fruit. Don't know why and no one is willing to confirm if it's true, but basically, it kills the eater – legend claims it's because of the devils in the fruits fight within the eater for superiority."

"Okay… So, fruit classes?"

"Oh right. Well, Devil Fruits are broken down into three classes, with some subclasses within them. The rarest are the Logia, which gives the eater the ability to transform themselves into an element, ranging from various states of phase to even abstract concepts. Their greatest advantage – other than becoming an element – is that they can effectively become intangible. They also gain every ability related to that element and the skill to disperse, control, and rejoin any part of their bodies while conscious and in control of their powers. Gives whoever eats them a bloated head until they fight someone with Armament, then suddenly they are as weak as kittens unless they bothered training with their fruit. They may also gain a unique weakness based on said element, like say metal logia being highly affected by lightning attacks."

"Makes sense." I wonder if they have plutonium in this world. A Kaku-Kaku no Mi sounds downright terrifying.

"The next rarest are the Zoan, which give the eater the ability to transform into an animal and acquire every trait affiliated with said animal. This includes the ability to shift from human to hybrid to animal form at will. This one has the most subclasses since it has so much to choose from, but they are broken down into four: normal, carnivorous, ancient, and mythical."

Luffy's eyes bulged, "Mythical? Like… dragons and phoenixes?"

Garp waved his wand, "Dragons I am not sure about, but the 1st division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates is a phoenix, and Sengoku – the Fleet Admiral – is a Buddha."

Luffy stared deadpanned at Garp, "If you are bullshitting me…"

Garp waved his hands in a panic, "No, no, no, it's all true – I'll get you the encyclopedia and show it to you later."

Tick… Tock… Tick… Tock…

"Fine," grumbled Luffy, "but if you playing with me…"

"Not in this case. Now, where was I? Oh right – Zoans. They can also be given to weapons."

"Now I am certain you are screwing with me."

"Nope – real thing. Studied, documented, and proven by Dr. Vegapunk and everything. Never read it, but it gave some of the higher-up's heart palpitations when they looked it over it."

Luffy stated, "I'll withdraw my previous two comments after I see the proof."

Anime sweatdrop, "Noted." He is really not acting like an average Monkey D. "Of the three classes, I guess Zoans are the most… useful… for combat. Really suited for anyone who prefers combat up and personal. Got an annoying drawback depending on which animal you get."

"Animal instincts?"

"The Carnivorous group gave it away, huh? Yeah… all of them outside of normal get particularly heightened instincts, but the carnivorous are more predatory and bloodthirsty than others by nature and as such, tend to be better adapted for combat. Unfortunately, unless they have extensive training and control, they can potentially go on berserk rampages. It's happened enough times for there to be data on it, so take what you will from it."

Luffy nodded, "I guess the last group is the most common and weakest?"

"Yes and no. Yes in that they are plentiful, no in that they are the weakest. When you get the chance, read up on Shichibukai when you get the chance."

"Warlords?... Okay, I guess."

"Good. Now, the last group are the Paramecia. These fruits give the eater a power that can affect their body, manipulate the environment, or produce substances. Basically, if it doesn't turn you into an element or an animal, it's a Paramecia. Although they do not include powers that allow elemental or animal transformations, some of them are capable of other forms of transformations, as well as creating substances."

"That's…. rather broad."

"Yeah… The Paramecia fruits also contain the greatest variety of powers, but they, unfortunately, have a particular nickname associated with them – the Gag Fruits."

"Really? They give people superpowers, but they are still considered a joke?"

"I know of a guy who can transform their body into a multitude of spheres, another who can transform his arms and legs into wheels, and my close friend Tsuru – a Vice Admiral – can literally 'wash and hang out to dry' people and objects as if they were clothes," deadpanned Garp.

Luffy stared in shock at Garp, "I want to call bullshit… but…"

"Trust me, so did I when I met the guy who gained the power to control his hair. Being attacked by nose hairs measured in feet REALLY makes you wonder what else is out there."

"You're joking – hair?"

"No better than the Shichibukai. Of the seven of those monsters, four have Paramecia Fruits for 'love,' 'string,' 'paw,' and 'shadow.'"

Wait a minute… something seems off here…"Are the fruits really that powerful?"

Garp shrugged, "Truthfully, I can't say. I know from talking to others that certain Paramecia fruit can be exploited and manipulated in a variety of ways, but with so many useless ones, no one has really looked into it. I can, however, say that the Paramecia can be categorized into two classes: those which are based on a characteristic or an object. Take what you will from that because unlike the other two, the researchers haven't bothered looking into this class."

Luffy nodded, but his brain went into overtime. Objects and characteristics? That can't be right… that just too broad. Logia and Zoan are specific: one element, one animal. These Paramecia are too open to interpretation. I mean, strings? Does he mean actual string or the more metaphysical concepts like string theory or the Red String Of Love? I have to look into this later – this has… potential.

Garp stared at Luffy who seemed to be thinking about something very intently. I guess something about the Paramecia Fruits set him off. Garp reached to check his pocket watch. "Huh… only 0730…faster then I thought. Hey Luffy!"

This snapped him out of his thought, "Yes, sir."

Garp smirked, still got it. "You want to go eat breakfast before you start training with the rest of the crew?"

"Yeah, sure but umm… can I train alone for a while? Until at least I get to their level a little?"

"Sure, fair enough. Just don't do anything crazy like wearing weights while training – the extra weight will offset your growth. Only cardio and body weight exercises."

Garp noted his grandson's confusion.

"Cardio is mostly running and anything that gets the heart going. Bodyweight is any exercises that use your own body weight against you. I'll get you a book on it later to see if there are any you think you can do on your own."

Luffy nodded, "I think I'll read that book after breakfast."

"Good. Make a list of some sort and give it to me afterward. We will start your routine tomorrow. Go while I find that encyclopedia, I know I bought one with me just in case."

Luffy got up and smiled. Garp in turn smiled and waved as the boy left the room.

When he did, the demented smile he put on would have scared convicted criminals, "Soon… I will make a man out of you yet Luffy. BWAHAHA!"

Luffy shuddered, "I don't know when… I don't know why… but I've made a huge mistake."

The next two and a half years were Hell.

Garp's definition of training was something straight out of some deranged lunatics survival guide.

Oh sure, he started off nice and easy: some repetition exercises, squats, pushups, running, the usual spiel.

Then he – and I – both realized I was progressing a little too quickly: weights were soon added over shorter periods of time, my reading time increased ever so slowly as I completed my schedule faster and faster…

Garp stubbornly waited till I was five before he really let loose.

I should mention that Garp's crew makes frequent island stops due to their 'importance.' Garp just calls it 'fancy paper pushing.' Granted, it's somewhat spot-on: his name is so famous even in this Blue that he hasn't gotten a good fight in some time now and all he has been doing is passing around cargo and dossiers.

Still, it gave him access to some… unique training environments when I came of age.

Being thrown into valleys, left alone in dangerous forests, and tied to balloons over high altitudes, all for the sake of making me stronger.

Now I don't know if this world had child-endangerment laws, but honestly, it didn't seem as bad as other Marines made it out to be. Oh sure, if you weren't mentally ready, the shock would paralyze and cripple your thought process, but otherwise, it was like extreme camping.

I think of done similar things when I was training during the war. The guerrilla tactics I employed to fight off animal herds and gather food implied as much.

When Garp inquired, I just told him I read it in a book somewhere.

It did, however, get me two pets out of it a little before I turned six…

"How in the blazes did you get your hands on two wild Den Den Mushis?"

Garp – as well as the other Marines – shared similar faces of surprises when I emerged after my three-day excursion from a tropical island. On my shoulders, I carried – or is allowing them to ride me? - two different Den Den Mushi.

Interesting animal, the mushi. When I was trying to figure out the technology level of this world, I found it odd that phones, fax machines, and televisions seemed to be ignored. Took me a while to realize that the mushis took that role in this world.

The books claimed that they could be found almost anywhere on the Grand Line, but they were somewhat rare in the other Blues due to their environmental requirements. Plus, the Marine Corp regulates the growth and trade of these things somewhat: civilians can open businesses to sell the things, but there's a lot of regulation and paperwork involved to keep track of all the numbers. I think some odd taxes are required as well.

There was also the small issue of the different species cross mating and 'diluting' their specialized tasks. I say dilute since the select breeding done by the Marine researchers is probably what caused the species specializations.

In any case, the evolutionary steps these things took must have been either beyond coincidental, or some civilization got involved early on and made them like this.

Still, it's a unique survival mechanism: the ability to communicate with each other telepathically through radio waves. The people of this world take advantage of this ability by attaching buttons and receivers to them to strengthen these connections artificially. According to the texts, this process is quite simple, non-invasive, and harmless to the snails.

The face mimicry is a little unnerving, but at least they have natural volume control and a 'silent' mode.

Regardless, snagging the two I found was completely an accident. Around the end of my 1st day, I found the two baby snails hiding under a large canopy, frail and apparently dehydrated. Coming to the conclusion that one of the islands native birds must have eaten their parents – as the mushis were a communal species who took care of their young – I felt pity for the guys… at least I think they are guys. Snails are hermaphroditic if memory serves.

Took me some time to coaxes the two with some small fruit slices and water, but they came around eventually.

The shoulder thing was merely because it was easier for them and me, since I doubt they wanted to be in my pocket.

Anywho…

"I found them abandoned in the jungle. Can I keep them?"

Garp rubbed his nose bridge, "You know, I had this talk all planned out in the future when you'd bring a stray dog aboard. I'd make a whole issue about how you would have to be a responsible kid and take care of it until you got lazy and I order one of my men to take over… HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO DO THAT WHEN YOU PICK UP SNAILS AS PETS?"

Everyone flinched as he raised his voice – and a few smart ones covered their heads – but I shot back.

"AND WHAT'S WRONG WITH HAVING SNAILS AS PETS? WHAT IF I WANTED TO KEEP A BIRD AS A PET? OR A MONKEY?

"MONKEYS THROW POOP!"

"NOT IF THEY ARE WEARING A DIAPER!"

This went on for some time until eventual I jumped him.

He, of course, quickly beat the snot out of me.

Hey, sue me – I was still a kid. Some urges are just too strong.

Still, I managed to convince Garp to keep the two as pets. Helped me build a habitat for them, but they strangely preferred to be on my shoulders. I doubted their natural stickiness will last against more strenuous activity, but the Communication Head convinced me that nothing can get a snail off a surface unless they want to – or if they are asleep.

He also happened to figure out what the two snails were.

The tallish white one with black stripes seemed to be Communication Related Den Den Mushi. However, as the Marine believed, its coloring made him think that its ancestors included a Black and White Mushi, with Black being the older ancestor. When asked, I was told that Black Mushis are bred as listening devices - or wiretaps - to intercept calls between pirates or other miscreants, while the White Mushi can send out psychic waves that prevent calls from being intercepted; in a way, the opposite of the Black. He wasn't sure if that particular skill would come up, be he still said that this snail would be more difficult to intercept and detect when making calls.

The shorter grey one was a Visual Related Den Den Mushi. He was too mixed to identify any dominant ancestry, but he was definitely part Proko and Cameko.

Neat – a projector and a camera all in one. Wonder how good his memorization is?

In any case, when Garp eventually asked what their names were, two immediately came to mind.

'Pinky' and the 'Brain.' Obviously, I wasn't going to actually call him 'The Brain.'

Why? Because the taller snail was a little goofy at times, while the shorter one was more stoic and paid attention to everything in his surroundings. Plus, their odd ancestry made them 'mutants' among their brethren, which made me think 'lab experiments,' which led me to the rat duo.

Only Garp got the joke somehow.

The man terrifies more and more every day.

Speaking of 'terrifying'…

Garp finally upgraded my training to include Haki and the Six Powers. He told me immediately that Conqueror's was outside of his expertise, but he was already giving me more then I asked.

He showed me the same thing he would have shown the other Marines, except I already had a year to read up on the body to prepare myself mentally, as well as physically.

I grasped Mon Walk well enough – ones I adapted to the leg cramps. Couldn't do it for more than thirty seconds, but I had time.

Same for Shave; couldn't do it for long.

Tempest Kick was impossible. For one, my limbs weren't long enough. Secondly, I was still a kid who lacked muscle mass. Stubbornness can only get one so far. Gramps did say that Tempest Kick could supposedly be done with arms, but only if the dimensions were right. Translation? He was too buff to do it.

Iron Body was scary easy to figure out. Oh sure, there was a trick to it that most civilians wouldn't discover until normal circumstances, but once you did… Suffice to say, Armament training became more bearable.

Paper Art I understood, but I still couldn't clear my mind for it to work.

I didn't bother practicing the Finger Pistol – yet…

Haki was a different beast though. Garp said that there was an 'accepted' method of training Observation – hitting the person blindfolded until they could predict it – but he claimed that it was bullshit. His argument? No two people are the same, and as such, such specialized skills couldn't have such a generalized training method.

We tried brainstorming for a while, but we resorted to the true-tested method. Had to put Pinky and Brain off my shoulders when we training, but I noticed that the two were particularly interested in Observation Haki.

Out of curiosity, I asked Gramps, who admitted that certain animals have been known to use Haki. He mentioned an animal called the Kung-Fu Dugong who are well-known for mastering human fighting styles and techniques.

With a name like that, they better…

Great, now I want one now.

Armament was easier to train – just fight someone using it until the body figured out the feeling. Blunt, but so was Armament.

Unfortunately, the only one Gramps trusted in training me in both groups was… himself. Oh sure, he pawned me off to some of his better students, but most of the time it was him.

The worst part was how he got int a habit of surprise attacking me with a wooden sword at the worst of times.

The year of hell, 2nd rendition, had its charming moments though.

Garp seemed to have gotten into the habit of actually relaxing on the islands now since he no longer felt throwing me into the wild would do me any good.

It gave me a chance to get to know the locals as well as ease up the tensions of the other Marines on board. Since most have been on the boat with me from the beginning, we became a pseudo-family, with them collectively acting as an older sibling, watching out for me when 'dad' got too crazy.

It was still a productive year. I got a good grasp on Iron Body, along with Shave and Moon Walk. Tempest Kick and Paper Art were outside my reach and the Finger Pistol I left alone… I was waiting for a particular moment to try it.

Observation Haki was actually progressing nicely, since Garp managed to activate it in me in a month. He was very aggressive in his surprise attacks.

Still, results are results. Couldn't get a good grasp on my range – omnipresence for the win – but predicting the attacks of most people was getting easier and easier. I was yet to make progress on the other skills for Observation.

Armament… was an embarrassment, especially for Garp. He figured that despite my displeasure fo it, I would have gotten it by now. Other Marines usually got it after six months after his frequent 'Fist of Love,' but I just couldn't break through the wall.

I started to think that I may have accidentally made a mental block against it, but Garp argued that such a notion was impossible and that the more logical explanation is that I lack enough will to weaponize currently.

I wanted to call bullshit since I had Conqueror's which meant I already had more will then most, but even I could see the strain of Gramps for putting up a smile for me.

The snails must have sensed my feelings regarding it, since they rarely left my side after that point, even when I was sleeping.

Eventually, the time came for all good things to end. A specially marked Coo arrived one day a little after I became seven with documents for 'Captain Eyes Only.'

I remembered what that usually meant – some was finally fed up with Garp 'slacking' and was redeploying him elsewhere, probably back to the Grand Line.

Meaning that I had to be hidden. Garp wasn't surprised when I told him this, but he had to check up something before he settled on a place for me to hide in.

He did tell me that he was going to most likely drop me off in Foosha Village, the place where I was supposedly born.

"Hey, Boss?"

"Yeah Beck?"

"How come we are going to the East Blue again? Thought you said we were never returning to that Blue ever since we picked up Yasopp."

"I know, I know, but… something is telling me to go there."

"What, you think we will get a better price for the fruit we found?"

"I don't know… I know the fruit will be involved but still… something important will happen there soon."

"What? The birth of the next Pirate King?"

….

"Boss… I was joking."

"I know… but I just can't bring myself to say 'no.'"

Foosha Village was nice.

I didn't care for the Dawn Island Kingdom – my hatred for nobles was still strong. The farther away I was from the Royal Palace, the more likely they were going to stay alive.

Oda damn it, I thought I got those thoughts in order…

Garp dropped me off two days ago, telling the town mayor – some guy named Woop Slap – that it would be for a month at most and that I wasn't going to be an issue.

The look Woop gave Garp left nothing to the imagination – he was apparently used to the Monkey Family CrazyTM.

Yes, that's a trademark.

Honestly, it was nice – relaxing even.

Woop Slap wasn't a bad guy per se – more like cranky from his age. He seems to be a nice and admired person within his own village, as he managed to maintain his position as mayor for a decade democratically.

Wasn't that a shock to me?

In a world full of nobles, some places actually allow democratic elections – as long as they aren't important.

Kind of see where Dragon is coming from.

In any case, Woop decided to place me with Makino, a very prominent figure in the village despite her age.

They say it's because she is kind, caring, and beautiful.

I say it's because she is the only bartender at Partys Bar.

You never piss off the bartender, especially one strong enough to shatter wood with her bare hands and shoot a flintlock without looking.

I'll let you guess which method she prefers.

Anyway… she lives in the bar since she is close with the owners and has nowhere else to be.

I read the subtext: orphan. I never asked for confirmation, but her smile and personality says she must have grown past it.

She took care of me despite my insistence on being able to do things myself – I was seven. We argued for the whole first day.

We didn't argue on the second day – I think Garp taught her his 'Fist of Love.' I thought I was finally away from that crazy bastards machinations.

Still, a routine did form. Wake up, wash, eat, train for a day, talk to the villagers, etc., etc.

This went on for a week before…

I guess the best word of it is that I heard a voice.

Bothered me a little since neither Pinky nor Brain seemed to have reacted – yes, I still carry them on my shoulders despite Makino telling me otherwise – but I didn't ignore it.

Never asked Garp why I had 'urges' and 'feelings' at times about things. I chalked it up to Conqueror's Haki since he admitted that there are things about it that even he still didn't understand. Seeing as how he knew almost literally everything about Haki and the Rokushiki, I took his word for it.

It was because of this voice in the back of my head that I cut my training early and ran from the jungle back to the village.

It didn't take an idiot to notice the pirate ship docked at the bay.

It wasn't waving a flag, but it was pretty obvious: you are either a Marine, a Marine-approved vessel, or a Pirate. Could be a privately owned vessel, but that's rare in this Blue.

And yet, the town wasn't in a panic. Meaning one of three things: everyone was dead, they are held hostage, or the pirates were from this village.

My Observation Haki wasn't up to snuff yet, but I could still feel people moving around in the village and not huddled together, so the first two options were out.

Easing my tensions, I decided to follow it. I quickly realized it was leading me back to Partys Bar.

I didn't need to be deaf to hear the party that was happening there.

I opened the bar doors to see the rowdiest – and ironically stereotypically dressed – pirate crew drinking along merrily, exchanging stories, eating meat on a bone, slapping each other on backs, and otherwise being merry with the civilians.

As I began approaching the bar stool to talk with Makino, I started profiling the people here.

None really stood out – well, except for two. One was a tall man with black hair and a ponytail smoking a cigarette in the back, conveniently near the window, probably at Makino's 'request.' The second was a rotund man eating a meal for four wearing goggles and a white stripped green shirt.

I could have sworn I've heard about those two somewhere.

I sat down next to a man with red hair and a straw hat, calmly eating his meal. I decided to leave him alone, even if the voice in my head was practically screaming at him and the small chest at his side.

Makino finished wiping her glass, "Hello Luffy. Guess you heard the commotion from the forest? These guys have been known to get rowdy at times."

I shook my head. "Not really, just felt like finishing training early today. I panicked a little when I saw the ship, but no one was in a tizzy, so I figured the pirate crew was from this village."

The man next to me chuckled, "'Tizzy'? Not a word you hear every day from a kid."

I smirked, one edge of my mouth rising, "Not every day you meet a pirate crew that actually welcomed to a village."

He paused chewing a little but smiled none the less as he drank his sake, "Touché. Yeah, some of the idiots in the East Blue have been giving us free-spirits a hassle. Had to avoid two Marine ships on the way here just in the last three days."

"Seeing as you made, I can only assume it wasn't my Gramps ship."

He looked at me with interest, "Really? You, a Marine brat? No one in this town has joined the Marines in ages – your dad must have left to join long before I started visiting these parts."

"He did," replied Makino, beating me to the punch. Guess that answers the question whether or not she knew who my dad was.

"Yeah, I guess. Never met my dad before. Gramps says he has his reasons. Been raised on a ship my whole life. Trained on it as well."

The red-haired man smiled as he cut up his meat, "Guess I can't really call you a kid then. Is that how you got the two snails on your shoulders?"

I smiled as I petted the two, "Nah, found these two a year ago during one of my three-day jungle training trips further up west in the Blue. This is Pinky, and this is Brain."

The man noted my smiling snails, "Not every day you meet such well taken care of Mushis. Most Marines just treat them as nothing more than equipment."

I shrugged, "Maybe other Marines do. My Gramps crew are decent Marines."

He slowed a little. I wasn't facing the rest of the pirates, but I caught their reflections in the bottles behind Makino: some were still rowdy, but a few of the older ones where nonchalantly paying attention to our conversation, especially the two I noted earlier.

The man went on, "Oh? And what makes them good Marines?"

I waved a finger in his face, "No, no, no. I said 'decent' Marines – not 'good' Marines, 'decent.'"

The man placed down his utensils, leaned on his folded hands, and gave me a somewhat lazy yet serious glare. "And what is the difference between a good Marine and a decent Marine."

I stared at him equally serious, "Good Marines follow their rules to the letter and will sacrifice all for the sake of justice. Decent Marines sacrifice everything for the sake of all. Even justice, if it comes down to it. Unfortunately, the latter category is a misunderstood minority in the Marines."

This… actually froze the chatter. Makino had already heard this from – and agreed! – on my first day here. Don't recall how that talk started, but I think she too tried convincing me not become a pirate. Not at Garp's insistence though – he gave up on that a while ago.

The red-haired man was first to break from his shock.

He laughed. A full-throated, from the bottom of his belly laugh. It slowly spread to the rest of his crew.

"You know, for a Marine brat, you sound suspiciously like a pirate wannabee – what would your Gramps say?" asked the red-haired man as he was wiping his tears

I smiled as I drank the juice Makino put out for me. "Please, Gramps gave me his wholehearted approval. Says maybe I can go and cleanse the Blues of the more moronic idiots out there so he would have less paperwork to deal with. Hell, he's been training me for the last two years just for that occasion."

"Oh? Does that mean I should expect a rival out of you in a few years' time?"

I waved my hand nonchalantly, "Nah – maybe a decade. If you last around till that point."

A man with yellow dreadlocks behind me laughed, "Damn! I wish my kid had the cohenes to speak to his elders like that! The boy needs some courage in his bones!"

The man in front of me turned, "Oh, shut up Yasopp! We just left Syrup Village! You had a whole week to knock it into his head! Instead, you taught him how to use that stupid slingshot."

"Well Banchina wouldn't let him hold a gun. How else was I supposed to pass on my legendary Marksman skills?"

Someone else laughed from another table, "Marksman skills? Please, you miss the toilet half the time."

Everyone – me and Makino included – laughed at that barb. We would have gone on singing and eating had someone not entered the bar.

By smashing the door in.

Someone not part of the red-heads crew.

"Sorry for the interruption."

Silence answered in turn. Everyone stared, but the red-haired man next to me just kept on eating. I noted the man had a small following behind him.

"So these are the so-called pirates. They look like idiots."

The man walked across the room, straight to the bar area, almost smashing into the straw-hat man next to me.

"Welcome," answered Makino calmly as he walked up to the man.

I noted the man carefully. X-scar on the right side of his forehead, a weird orange necklace thing, a goatee and top knot, a tragedy looking cloak. It all screamed…

"We are bandits."

Knew it

"We're not here to destroy your bar. We need ten barrels of sake."

I counted the turban-wearing men behind him – 15, much smaller than the pirate number in the bar.

"I'm sorry, but we're out of sake at the moment," calmly answered Makino.

"Hmmm? That's strange… The pirates are drinking something… is it water?"

"All the sake we have is out there."

Red-hair looked up from his meal. "That's no good. We drank everything," he turned smiling to the bandit leader, "Sorry. If you want, you can have this bottle. I haven't opened it yet."

The bandit reached out for it, but he quickly formed a fist. He smashed the bottle, spraying the liquid and the fragments onto the man – and indirectly, me.

"I'm a wanted man. I'm worth 8 million Belli. One bottle won't be nearly enough. Don't take me so lightly."

The arrogance was literally spewing out of him. A perfect example of a 'good' pirate… or bandit in this case, but there is no such thing as a 'decent' bandit.

I felt a sense of foreboding from that thought.

I thought the red-head would have gotten angry. Instead…

"Damn… Now the floor's all wet. Sorry about that, Makino. Do you have a mop?"

I watched – somewhat surprised – that the man in front of me leaned down and started to slowly gather up the glass shards and wipe the alcohol with his towel.

"I'll take care of it," said Makino as she started to come out from behind the bar.

The bandit took out his sword and slashed across the table – getting more fragments on me – as the rest fell on the floor and in turn, on top of the red-head.

"Looks like you enjoy cleaning up. You'll enjoy this even more. No point of wasting time here if you don't have any sake. Let's go."

Makino approached the man and started helping him up and drying him.

I did something else.

"Are you going to apologize?"

If it was silent before, not it was quiet enough to hear a mouse fart from within the walls.

The bandit slowly turned to me, "Did you not hear what I said, boy? I am Higuma the Mountain Bandit, a wanted man."

"And I am Monkey D. Luffy, a child who you got glass shards and alcohol on. Now apologize and pay for the damages."

Higuma and his crew laughed at that. The red-haired man next to me though was trying his best to hide his shock.

Guess he figured out who Gramps was.

Higuma finally stopped laughing, "Or what? Are you going to go cry to your mommy?"

I finished my juice, "Wouldn't if I could – she's dead. No, what I am going to do is give you to the count of three. If after I finish counting you haven't apologized and started reaching for your Bellis, I going to knock you out. If you still don't, ill break your fingers. After that… well, I am not really familiar with interrogation techniques, but there's enough of you here to experiment with."

Higuma looked at me with a mixture of pure confusions, surprise, and anger. "You must be one of the stupidest kids in all the Blues to think I will…"

"One…" I raised a finger.

"Did you hear what I said?"

"Two…" another finger followed.

The redhead started getting up in panic, "Kid, what the hell are you doing?"

His crew started getting up as well, drawing swords and pistols. They wouldn't make it in time anyway.

Higuma just got mad and started drawing his swords, "You damn annoying…"

He was just about to slice me…

"Three."

I let out my Haki.

Believe it or not, maintain constant control on Conqueror's Haki is hard when you start practicing it. Letting it out felt nice.

I thought I lost control and spilled it on the pirates, but they didn't seem to react. Some shook and sweated, but that's it. Makino was behind me, so she was safe, as was the red-head man.

The bandits though…

Took them all less than a second to faint.

I got off my barstool while everyone else looked in shock at what I just did. I kicked Higuma a bit. "Huh… neat. I wonder… if I turn him into a bounty office, would I get the 8 million?"

That apparently broke Makino out of her stupor as she went up to me and smacked me in the head with her own 'Fist of Love.' "Damn it Luffy! Shanks had it all under control!"

"Oww… Damn it, Makino! The bandits destroyed cutlery and cut up the bar, who exactly was going to pay for it… Did you say Shanks?"

This actually surprised her, "Didn't you know?"

I slowly turned to the now named Shanks as he finished cleaning up the mess while his crew was tying up the bandits. I turned back to Makino, "We never actually said our names…"

He couldn't be…

I turned back to the people I noticed before. As if the synapses in my brain finally fired, I remembered the wanted posters that hung up on Gramps ship. The tall man with black hair – Benn Beckman, the smartest man in the Blues. The rotund man – Lucky Roo, the man who could out-eat giants. The dreadlocked man – Yasopp, the man who could snipe wings off flies.

I slowly turned around, facing the man who was by my own admission, the man who epitomized 'decent' pirates. I turned in shock slowly, "Then you… you…"

Shanks slowly got up – I just realized how tall he actually was – and took off his hat, parting his red hair, reviling the three scars on his face. "And you, my little Haki using friend, are the grandson of one Monkey D. Garp, the most decorated Marine out there, who you just openly admitted ALLOWED you to become a pirate. Must be a good story there."

I snapped.

"WHAT THE HELL IS A YONKO DOING IN THE EAST BLUE? DO YOU KNOW THE RAMIFICATIONS OF YOU BEING HERE?"

I would have kept shouting had he not covered my mouth in a rush, "Calm down kid. We came in incognito. If we took a ship from our actual fleet, we would have stood out like a sore thumb in this Blue. Also, you might want to get stitches for that scar – it looks like its turning nasty."

I quickly checked my reflection – moon like scar under my eye.

Makino sighed, "I'll get the kit. Looks like he needs stitches."

I calmed down as I started disinfecting the wound. "So what is a Yonko doing in the East Blue?"

As the rest of his crew carried the bandits away, Shanks started sat down and faced me. "Well, if you asked anyone other than my Hands, they would say we were visiting their families – a lot of my crew is from the East Blue."

"But?" I asked.

He reached for the chest at his side. "I had a sudden urge to go to the East Blue with this…"

Even as he opened the lid, I already knew what it was. The voice in my head pounding away.

Before Shanks even said anything, I already registered what I saw.

A violet, spherical shaped fruit with a stem sprouting out of the top, with swirls that go in a curly "S" like-pattern, its overall appearance greatly resembles a Yubari King.

"This here is…" started Shanks.

"The Gomu Gomu no Mi, a Devil Fruit that gives its eater the properties of rubber, turning them into a Rubber Man."

I have never actually seen a DF before, so my surprise clearly showed. The ringing in my head was finally less clawing and more… soothing.

Shanks turned serious, "How did you know what fruit this was?"

I looked at him and spoke truthfully. "I read the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia cover to cover, but honestly? A voice in my head told me."

The surprise on Shanks was actually palpable. However, it quickly turned into a smile as if he suddenly struck oil. "I think I realize why I came to this sea."

Had Shanks known of the ripple effects his decision would cause the world over in a decade, he would have laughed all the way to the heavens and praised Oda.

For the Rubber Tenma was born that day, and the world will fear his wrath.

Well? Anyone interested?

This is more of a test chapter if anything to see if anyone is interested in this story. It's a little rough around the edges, but I am trying to follow the anime, so the next chapter would jump straight to Luffy meeting Coby.

First thing first though: credit where credit is due. The following works have inspired me to take a crack at testing out a 'One-Piece' Fic:

1. "New Game Plus" by DuncanIdaho2014

2. "Ripples in the Pond" by TheRealEvanSG

3. "Second Wind" by The-Lost-Samurai

4. "Twelve Red Lines" by Vikingr

5. "This Bites!" by Xomniac

I should say this right now: any and all things that I write that sound similar to what the following five people have written have inspired this work.

A LOT of things that Xomniac (and in turn CV12Hornet and The Patient One) have written ABOUT (but not their story) will be mentioned. The good and decent Marine thing is straight from that story, and I give them ALL THE CREDIT for it. The snails? Yes, that too, but they won't be like Soundbite. Some small things may slip through as well, but I premise this by saying that I did try to contact Xomniac for permission to use some of their elements. They never got back to me, but I tried. I understand that this is fanfiction, but I give credit where credit is due. If they ever get back to me and tell me to stop, I will – so forewarning.

In any case, this would be a Reincarnation fic – so no future knowledge or significant changes to the plot – with an OC who was a veteran – I left out which war intentionally - and a teacher. The primary focus of this story would be on Devil Fruits and the corruption within the Marine Corps while following the anime. More specifically, I will be using my OC to point out how no one has ever genuinely experimented with the capabilities of the DF (as pointed out by 'This Bites', the main inspiration for this fic). This, in turn, will start a plot in which Luffy and his crew uncover a conspiracy that has been decades in the making, that includes history revisions, cover-ups, and a plotline straight out of "Fahrenheit 451".

This fic will include fillers and movies as chronologically close as possible.

Oh… and one last thing.

ONLY 3 OR 4 MEMBERS OF THE CREW WILL BE CAPABLE OF SWIMMING. EVERYONE ELSE WILL HAVE A DEVIL FRUIT.

I SAID THIS FIC WAS GOING TO BE DEVIL FRUIT FOCUSED!

ENJOY AND REVIEW!