The Origin of a Demon:

-x-

The Straw Hat Pirates were once again sailing in open waters. Y/N was sitting back against the central mast staring up at the clouds when Nami came over and sat down next to him. "So..." Nami prompted.

"So?" Y/N repeated.

"I told you my story," Nami explained. "Now it's your turn." That seemed to get everyone else's attention because Usopp, Sanji, and even Luffy turned and glanced at them. Zoro didn't because he was off to the side sleeping.

"Do I have to?" asked Y/N.

"Yes," Nami answered firmly.

"Fine," Y/N conceded. "Just let me get something."

"You mean this?" asked Nami as she held out the folded up the wanted poster Y/N had stolen from Johnny and Yosaku.

"I should have seen that coming," Y/N commented as he took the poster from Nami.

"So are you really going to tell us?" questioned Usopp, who decided to give up on pretending to be doing something else.

"Yeah," Y/N answered as he slowly unfolded the wanted poster and glared down at it for a moment.

"This is, or was, me..." Y/N explained as he held up the poster of 'The Demon' Red Eye. It was a typical wanted poster on the bottom β 100,000,000 was written. But what was strange about it was that there was no picture, just a black silhouette and a red eye. Below the 'picture' it said "Picture Unavailable"."I wasn't the friendliest pirate back then. I killed anyone and anything that came near me so the Marines never got a good picture. They tried offering me money but gave up when I developed a habit of killing their messenger. Actually... I'm getting off track. It would be better to start at the beginning, back when I was still a relatively innocent kid."

"That's usually the best way to tell a story," said Usopp as he came over and sat in front of Y/N. Sanji was off to the side tending to the three tangerine trees that had recently been planted on the ship for Nami. Luffy was sitting up on the Sheep's head and no one could tell if he was listening or not. An occasional snore came from the sleeping swordsman.

Y/N shrugged and restarted his story. "Ever since I heard about Gold Roger's treasure the One Piece, I wanted to find it. Not to keep it for myself, just to see what it was. I dreamed of becoming a legendary treasure hunter and finding the legendary treasure. My mother died when I was still a little kid so I was raised by my Aunt who ran a tavern. We had a lot of weird people going through there telling weird stories and it was through the tavern that I met my best friend."

Luffy looked over his shoulder and smiled, "I heard about all the weird people that went through and went there to hear their stories."

"Our similar interests resulted in us growing really close," Y/N continued, "We're not real brothers but over the years that hardly mattered. Then we met 'Red Haired' Shanks, he and his crew used our island as their base of operations for a year or so. He always told amazing pirate stories and had amazing treasures with him. But it was back on the day when Luffy ate the Gum Gum Fruit that I first realized I had 'powers' of my own."

"What do you mean?" asked Nami.

"I don't know exactly," Y/N confessed. "For some reason I can sense treasure, meaning things of material wealth. I get this weird feeling in my stomach whenever treasure is nearby, it gets stronger depending on how big, valuable, or close it is. When Luffy found the Gum Gum Fruit I sensed a strange energy coming from it. I tried to stop him from eating it but he did anyway and ended up made out of rubber and unable to swim. I was always amazed at the treasures Shanks and his pirates had with them and I often swindled members of his crew out of their treasure so I could get my hands on some of it. Usopp's father Yasopp couldn't hold his liquor and was my favorite target. After seeing the Devil Fruit that Luffy ate and some of the other things that Shanks had with him, I realized what kind of things were out there in the world. I vowed to find the most amazing treasure in the world, the One Piece."

"At least that's what got me started," Y/N continued, "After that day, Luffy's grandpa took Luffy and me to live with a gang of mountain bandits. Their leader acted as our adoptive mother, she took a special interest in me and helped me perfect my sense so that I can get an accurate guess of how much something is worth when I'm close enough. When I come across a large treasure it gets to the point where it just pulls me to it. That's how I could sense the treasure on Don Krieg's ship. I knew it was incredibly valuable because I sensed it from on our ship when they went passed."

"And that's how you knew where to find the treasure on Gaimon's Island," Nami reasoned.

"Umhm," Y/N answered, "But back to the story. While we were being raised by mountain bandits we met our older brother, Portgas D. Ace. He's twenty and he's really strong. Ace wanted to form his own pirate crew so I left my village with him when I was fifteen. Luffy and Ace both agreed to set off when they were seventeen, but I decided that I was going to leave early and then come back to get Luffy three years later. That way I could keep them both out of trouble. We set off on January 1st three years ago."

-Y/N's Origin Flashback part I-

A fifteen year old Y/N was standing near the dock at the harbor of Fuschia Village. He stood at five foot seven and wore a black vest over a red t-shirt, black pants, black steel soled boots, and a red belt that had the sheath of Akaikyuuketsuki attached to it. Y/N had two big hazel eyes and long red hair that was coming out from under a black skull cap. Y/N held a sack filled with food and supplies over his shoulder.

Next to Y/N stood his older brother and current captain: Portgas D. Ace. Ace looked a lot like Luffy and would make some people think that they were actually real brothers. He had messy black hair and black eyes, but his facial features, such as the shape of his nose and eyes, made him look a lot more serious, and unlike Luffy, Ace had freckles on his face. At age seventeen, Ace stood at six foot one and wore an opened black shirt that showed off his muscular physique, black shorts, and short black boots. He wore a slanted belt around his waist with a knife in a green sheath at his side and had a backpack on his back. Ace wore a red ruby necklace around his neck and an orange hat on his head, the hat a band of rubies around it and two faces on the front one was smiling, the other was frowning. Two long orange side straps went down from Ace's hat and met at Ace's chest with a bull's skull pendant keeping them together.

Also at the port stood a fourteen year old Luffy, who wore a red sleeveless shirt with the work 'taka' and a little bird on the front. He had his signature straw hat on head and a few bandages on his face. Makino, Woop Slap, and some mountain bandits had come to see them off.

"Yeah, well bye Luffy," Ace said to his brother, "We're heading out before you."

"Well when I set out three years from now I'll become stronger too!" Luffy assured him.

Makino hugged Y/N, "Be careful," she warned him. "I know I can't stop you from going, your mother had the same adventurous spirit that you do. Please stay safe and don't get into too much trouble."

"Don't worry Aunt Makino," Y/N reassured her, "The reason I'm going is to keep Ace out of trouble."

Y/N turned to Luffy and smiled at him, "I'll see you in three years bro," Y/N reminded him.

"Yup," Luffy happily agreed, "I'll let you join my pirate crew. Just be careful of the sea monster out in the harbor."

"Hah-ha," Y/N laughed, "Don't worry, we can take it."

"I know that," Luffy agreed, "I just want it to still be there when I leave. I want a piece of it."

"I'll take it easy on him then," Y/N agreed.

Y/N turned and reluctantly faced the mayor, "Goodbye Mayor."

"I don't know what I'm gonna do now that you two are leaving," said Woop Slap. "You were always the good one. Now I'm stuck with rubber boy."

"Hey!" Luffy protested.

"In that case, here's your wallet back," Y/N offered with a sheepish grin as he held out Woop Slap's wallet.

"At least I won't have to worry about being pick-pocketed," muttered the old man.

"Bye everybody!" Y/N called out as he and Ace boarded their sailboat, it was small and had a red and white striped sail, but for the two of them it was good enough. Ace waved and Y/N shot everyone a foxy grin as they pushed off from the port and floated out to the harbor.

"So... where to?" Ace inquired.

Y/N reached into his right pants pocket and pulled out a rolled up piece of paper. "I managed to win this off of some drunk pirate in a game of cards two years ago," Y/N explained. "It's my very first treasure map, and it says that the treasure's here in the East Blue."

"Cool, we'll go find it," Ace decided.

"But before we do that..." Y/N said, "I have some business to attend to if you don't mind."

Ace smiled and stepped back while Y/N walked to the bow of the ship and stared out at the water in front of them. SPLOOSH! "RAAAAAAAHHHHH!" The water rose in front of their boat and the sea monster from all those years ago rose up out of the water.

Rather than be intimidated, Y/N smiled up at it, "I've been expecting you," Y/N informed it as the giant sea serpent glared down at him. Y/N reached to his side and drew his curved red sword and got in a fighting stance, "WELL... COME ON THEN!"

"GRRRAAAAHHHH!" the monster roared as it lunged towards the boat, Skish! Y/N leapt up off of the deck and up into the air, the monster was caught off guard when Y/N lashed out his steel-soled boot and kicked it in the jaw, THWAK! The sea monster's head snapped upward and it flailed around as Y/N flipped backwards and landed on the bow of his boat.

The boat tipped and dunked downward, but Ace jumped up and then came down on the stern, TMP! Ace's weight on the back of the boat caused the front to launch up out of the water and sent Y/N flying up into the air, "Red Blade... VOLCANO!" SLA-SLISH! Y/N spun around in mid air and slashed the side of the sea monster's face with his blood red sword. The monster's blood was spilled and dripped down into the water.

SPLISH! SPLOOOSH! Y/N came down and landed in the water and was followed shortly by the big body of the monster sea serpent as it hit the water. "That was for Shanks," Y/N told the barely conscious monster. "Just wait until Luffy comes through, you won't know what hit you."

Y/N sheathed his short and swam back to the boat and pulled himself onto it. "That was refreshing," he commented.

"I thought you told Luffy you'd take it easy on it," Ace replied.

"I did take it easy on it," Y/N insisted. "If I hadn't held back, we would've had days' worth of monster meat."

Ace picked up the map that Y/N had left on the boat and unrolled it, "Maybe you were onto something," Ace remarked, "the island your treasure's on is about a week's travel from here."

Y/N walked over and peered at the chart, "But those two islands are on the way," he pointed out. "It'll take about two days to reach the first one and another three days to reach the second. We came prepared and have some food with us, and we can stop there to get food and supplies along the way."

Ace nodded, "Once we leave the harbor, adjust our course to due south and let's begin our journey."

"Sure thing, Captain," Y/N agreed. "Soon the whole world will know the names of Pirate Captain Portgas D. Ace and Y/N, Treasure Hunter Extraordinaire."

"..." Ace was silent and looked thoughtful, "We both need nicknames. Luffy's already got 'Straw Hat' going for him. The best I could have is 'Demon Spawn'."

"Typically pirates don't come up with their own nicknames," Y/N reasoned. "But you do have a point. We'll just have to see what happens."

-One Week Later-

"Well... we're here," Ace announced as they pushed their sailboat through the shallow water around the island and up onto the beach.

Y/N stood on the beach and stared at the island, the most noticeable feature was the big mountain in the middle of it. Y/N closed his eyes and reached out with his treasure sense... and he felt it. "So is the treasure," Y/N informed Ace. From what Y/N could tell, it was incredibly valuable. It also felt... familiar somehow, like he'd sensed something like it before.

"According to the map, the treasure's in the middle of the island," Y/N stated, "My Treasure Sense agrees with it. I think we should head for that big mountain over there and see what we can find."

"Let's climb it," Ace decided. "I should be fun, and it'll give us a better view of the island."

"Sounds good," Y/N agreed, he grabbed his sack of supplies from the boat and the two of them headed for the mountain. Having lived with mountain bandits for a big portion of their lives, Ace and Y/N had no problem climbing the tall mountain. It was when they reached the top that they encountered a problem.

"I'm starting to think this isn't a mountain," Ace commented. He and Y/N stared down INTO THE MOUTH OF A VOLCANO! "Let's get out of here before it erupts and burns us alive."

Y/N frowned, "You're not gonna believe this... but it feels like the treasure is inside the volcano!" Y/N and Ace stared down at the molten lava inside of the volcano, they both blinked in surprise when they spotted a small stone island in the middle of the lake of lava. On a pillar on the island was a metal treasure chest.

"That explains why the treasure's still here," Ace reasoned. "Not many people would wanna throw their lives away by diving into an active volcano for a single treasure chest."

"Well my first treasure hunt as a treasure hunt isn't going to go down as a failure because I chickened out," Y/N resolved. "I'll get it somehow."

"If you can think of a way to get in their without getting deep-fried, I'd love to hear it," Ace replied.

Y/N stared at the metal chest and looked thoughtful, eventually he said, "I've got an idea." He pulled opened his sack of supplies and pulled out two long lengths of rope. "It'll be risky, but if we can run one rope across the mouth of the volcano, then we can tie the other one to the middle of it and use it to lower ourselves onto that island. Once we've got the treasure, we'll climb back up and get out."

"That could work," Ace agreed, "but we'll have to be quick. It could erupt at any time. I don't want it to happen while we're in there."

"Take this around to the other side of the opening," Y/N instructed Ace as he handed him one end of the rope, then he handed him a long metal stake, "Use this to anchor it into the side of the volcano." Ace nodded and went around to the other side, pulling the rope along with him. While he did, Y/N took the other end of the rope and tied an identical stake to the one he'd given Ace to the end of it, he drove the stake deep into the volcano, then climbed back up to the top and watched as Ace drove his end into his side of the lava filled mountain.

The rope now went across the mouth of the volcano and was secured on both sides. Ace came up to the top and gave Y/N a thumbs up, signifying that his end was secure.

Y/N nodded and tied the second rope around is waist before he grabbed onto the rope going across the volcano and pulled himself onto it. He hung from the rope over the boiling sea of lava and slowly began to climb hand-over-hand to he middle of the rope. The heat from the volcano caused Y/N to break out into a sweat and when he finally reached the middle of the rope and was above the stone island, his red t-shirt, black vest, and the brim of his black skull cap were completely soaked with sweat.

"It's a volcano," Y/N reasoned to himself, "I didn't exactly expect it to be cold inside." Y/N took a deep breath then swung himself up and wrapped his legs around the rope he was holding onto. He kept one arm fully wrapped around the rope while he used the other one to untie the other rope from around his waist and tied it to the first one. After checking and double checking to make sure that his knot was secure, Y/N dropped the second rope and was pleased to see that the other end reached the stone island down in the volcano.

Y/N gave Ace a thumbs up sign, to signify that everything was going according to plan, then maneuvered himself around and began to climb down to second rope to the small stone island surrounded by the sea of lava. TMP! Y/N let go of the rope and dropped down onto the stone island. He took a moment to wipe the sweat off of his forehead, he had thought it was hot before climbing over the volcano, inside the volcano it was even hotter.

Y/N looked up and saw Ace on the rope going across the mouth of the volcano, Y/N decided to forgo waiting and approached the metal chest and the stone pillar it was on. Y/N reached into his left pocket and pulled out something made of black leather that looked like a wallet, he opened it and pulled out two metal lock picks and began picking the lock on the metal treasure chest. Click! TMP! Ace dropped down onto the stone island just as the lock popped opened.

"So what is it?" Ace asked.

Y/N opened the treasure chest and gasped, "It's a Devil Fruit," he answered. Now Y/N knew why the treasure felt familiar, it felt similar to the Gum Gum Fruit that Luffy had eaten years ago. But this fruit was a lot different, it was orange and looked like a pineapple.

"What do you suppose it is?" Ace inquired. Y/N reached out and grabbed the Devil Fruit and was surprised to feel that it was warm.

"It's warm... maybe something having to do with fire?" Y/N suggested. THOOM! The stone island they were on started to shake and the lava around it started to bubble. "CRAP! THE VOLCANO'S ERUPTING! WE'VE GOTTA GET OUT OF HERE!"

"We won't be able to climb that rope in time!" Ace realized, he snatched the Devil Fruit away from Y/N and took a bite, CHOMP! GULP! "Ugghh... it doesn't taste very good."

"Feel any different?" questioned Y/N, the lava was sloshing around them, he hoped Ace knew what he was doing.

Ace concentrated, FWOOSH! HIS FIST SUDDENLY BURST INTO FLAME! "Whoa!" Ace exclaimed as the flames on his hand burned up the remains of the fruit, "I've got fire powers!"

"Yeah, BUT MAGMA BURNS FIRE!" Y/N pointed out. "WE'RE SCREWED!"

"Not if I can help it," Ace resolved, "quick, get on my back."

Seeing no other option, Y/N did as he was told and climbed onto his older brother's back. FWOOSH! Ace's legs burst into flames as the lava started to rise, FWOOOM! Suddenly they rocketed up into the air, propelled by the fire Ace's body was producing.

"HOLY CRAP!" Y/N shouted as they shot out of the erupting volcano followed by the sea of lava.

"There go all of my supplies," Y/N muttered as he watched the lava go over the mouth of the volcano and burn up the sack he'd left there.

"We're alive, we can buy more," Ace resolved as the flames on his legs went out and they dropped down towards the beach. THUD! Ace and Y/N went crashing down onto the sand and panted. "Let's... get out of... here..."

"You can't swim any more," Y/N reminded him, "get in the boat, I'll push us off. It'll have the positive benefit of washing the sweat off of my clothes."

Ace nodded and got on the sailboat while Y/N pushed it away from the shore, after submerging himself in the water, Y/N pulled himself up onto the boat and sat on the deck. "You alright?" Y/N asked. "Sorry you had to eat that, we could've sold it and made a fortune. Now you'll never be able to swim."

"Don't worry about it," Ace replied. "I like it."

"I think what you ate was the Flame Flame Fruit," Y/N informed him. "It's a Logia-type Devil Fruit that allows you to turn you body into, and control, fire."

"This'll make things easier once I learn how to use it properly," Ace reasoned.

"And as an added benefit, I've got a nickname for you," Y/N told him. "'Fire Fist' Portgas D. Ace."

"Fire Fist," Ace repeated, he looked thoughtful, then smiled. "I like it."

"So where to now, Captain Fire Fist?" Y/N inquired.

"Wherever the wind takes us," Ace resolved. They sailed off into the horizon and away from the island in search of adventure.

-End Origin Flashback part I-

"You mean Ace ate a Devil Fruit?" questioned Luffy.

"Yup," Y/N replied. "We stayed on the next island we found for a few days and Ace learned how to use his powers. We wandered into town and found that it was being attacked by some pirate called Wild Joe. He used to have a bounty of two million berries. Ace roasted him while I took out the small fries."

Y/N reached into his top left pocket and pulled out a few things, his sunglasses, a deck of cards, and the same black leather 'wallet' from the flashback. "This is my tool case," Y/N explained, he opened it to reveal metal lock picks and a wide selection of different tools. "One of my hobbies is gem crafting." Y/N reached into his bottom left pocket and pulled out a small sack, he handed it to Nami, "These are some of the gems that we found on that island."

Nami had paid Y/N back for the three million berries that he had given her with the three million berries worth of gems that he had found on Gaiman's island. She didn't want to be in anyone debt now that she was free of Arlong.

Nami dumped the contents of the pouch out in front of her and, KA-CHING! Nami's eyes shined and seemingly reflected the wide variety of glittering gems that was on the deck in front of her. They had all been expertly polished. Nami couldn't even form a coherent sentence as she marveled at what Y/N had turned the rough-looking gem's they'd found in the cave on Gaimon's island into.

"Whoa!" Usopp exclaimed, "You could sell these and make a fortune!"

"Sometimes I do," Y/N admitted. "Other times I'll make them into jewelry. Anyway, that's what I do with some of the treasure I find." Y/N scooped the gems up and put them back in the pouch, bringing Nami out of her gem-induced trance in the process. He put the gems, his sunglasses, and his tool case back in their respective pockets.

"So what happened with you and Ace?" asked Luffy. He'd joined Nami and Usopp in front of Y/N, he already knew about Y/N's gem-crafting talents, but what he didn't know was what happened to his two older brothers on their voyage. He was eager to hear more.

Y/N picked up the deck of cards that he hadn't put back in his pocket, he casually shuffled them and then pulled one out. Without even looking at it, he turned the card around and showed it to Luffy. It was the Ace of Spades. "Ace formed his pirate crew."

-x-

Spade:

-Y/N's Origin Flashback part II-

"So where to next?" Ace inquired. "We'd explored the East Blue for long enough without causing too much trouble."

"Yeah right!" Y/N retorted. "Because of you, Usagi and his band of Rabbit Pirates quit pirating and became monks!"

Ace shrugged, "The interrupted my meal."

"Speaking of 'meals'," said Y/N, "This one guy at that bar we went to two islands back mentioned a restaurant. It's called the Baratie and it's in the middle of the ocean. He said the food there was the best he'd ever had, but the cooks are kind of rough and don't care for pirates."

"You got money?" Ace asked. "Maybe if they think we're paying customers they'll let us in. The idea of lots of great food sounds promising."

Y/N nodded, "Usagi and his men gave up all their worldly possessions to become monks. I took their treasure and some supplies. I've got five million berries."

"Then let's go," Ace decided. "You can find this Baratie place, right?"

"Its west of here, I'd say a day or two away," Y/N explained. "I should be able to find it." Ace nodded and they set their course for the Baratie the Ocean-Going Restaurant.

-Two Days Later-

"See, there it is," Y/N pointed out as he spotted the fish-shaped restaurant off in a distance. "I told you I'd find it."

"Then let's go eat," Ace resolved, "I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry," Y/N reminded him. He tossed Ace an opened black t-shirt, ever since Ace had gotten his Devil Fruit Powers, he no longer wore a shirt. "Put that on or they'll make the 'no shirt, no service' claim."

Ace tugged the shirt on and they docked their sailboat alongside the restaurant and climbed out. "We're not alone," Y/N pointed out. Ace and Y/N turned and saw a man standing in the boat next to theirs.

The man appeared to be in his twenties and had brown hair and a goatee, he wore beige pants, black boots, and a tight sleeveless white shirt that molded to his muscular frame. The man was eying the two pirates as he pulled a pair of gun holsters off of him and placed them in a box on his boat.

"You two pirates?" the man asked.

"Yes," Ace answered. "I'm Pirate Captain 'Fire Fist' Ace, this is my brother Y/N. Who're you?"

"My name's Hannibal King," the man introduced himself. "I'm a monster hunter."

"A monster hunter?" Y/N repeated.

"That's right," said Hannibal. "I travel the seas and save towns from monster attacks."

"Then why are you in the East Blue?" Y/N inquired. "Dawn Island has a few giant monsters, and there are fishmen in the north-west corner, but other than that there aren't many monsters here."

"I've realized that," Hannibal admitted. "I'm from the North Blue actually, I was exploring the East Blue to see if you had any monster problems I could cash in on. No one's really doing anything about those fishmen, and I'm not suicidal enough to fight them on my own. I came here for something to eat, same as you."

"Would you care to eat with us then?" Ace offered. "As pirates and a monster hunter we'd all probably cause a scene when we go in there. We'll cause less of a panic if we go in together."

"Alright," Hannibal agreed. "You two seem like an interesting pair of pirates."

The three of them headed around the Baratie to the front door, before either Ace or Hannibal could stop him, Y/N darted forward and kicked the door opened. WHAM! "Make way for the scourge of the East Blue, 'Fire Fist' Ace!" he called out.

The customers and the waiters all gasped and turned to stare at the three people in the door. Ace's reputation in the East Blue had grown and most of the customers looked intimidated by the two teenage pirates. A bunch of cooks came to the door of the kitchen and glared at the three of them.

"Way to cause a scene," Ace scolded his brother.

"We were going to anyway," Y/N pointed out, "I figured we'd at least make it a good one."

"You bums got money?" asked a three-years-younger Patty as he came out of the kitchen. "No money, no food."

Y/N reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a sack of gold, "Of course we've got money," he replied. "We wouldn't be very good pirates if we didn't. We're only here to eat, get us a table and a lot of food and you won't have any problems while we're here."

"There's a table over there," pointed out a sixteen year old Sanji, he was a little shorter and didn't have his beard or a cigarette in his mouth, but he still wore a suit and a tie, and was still the Assistant Head Chef. "Don't cause any trouble, we'll start on your food."

Ace, Y/N, and Hannibal took their seats at the indicated table. The customers buzzed and whispered about them but they ignored them as the waiter approached and asked what they wanted.

Two hours later, Y/N, Ace, and Hannibal, or 'Han' as he'd asked to be called, had traded stories over the course of the meal. Y/N and Hannibal had long ago finished eating, but the table was piled high with dishes that Ace had cleaned off and there were still more to come. Y/N and Han entertained themselves with a game of cards.

"I was thinking of leaving the East Blue soon," Ace admitted after swallowing the food in his mouth. While he shared Luffy enormous appetite, he had table manners.

"We don't really have a destination in mind though," Y/N added. "We don't want to head for the Grand Line just yet, but figured we could see the other three oceans first."

"For a pirate crew, you guys are kind of lacking," Han pointed out. "Are you looking for crewmates? If I go with you guys, I'll eventually come across monsters of some sort. I haven't been to the Grand Line yet, but if you guys are eventually going there, I'd like to come along."

Ace stopped eating, "You wanna join my pirate crew?" he repeated. Ace looked thoughtful, but then nodded. "I'm not really after anything, just adventure and acknowledgment. If you wanna come along, you're welcome. Two people isn't exactly a pirate crew, but now that there are three of us, this marks the birthplace of the Spade Pirates."

Y/N smiled and put three cards down on the table, the Ace of Spades, the King of Spades, and the Jack of Spades. "We've got the Ace, Han, you're the King, I guess that makes me the Jack."

"Alright, let's go," Ace decided, "I'm done eating."

"Aren't you gonna pay?" asked 'King'.

"I said we could pay," 'Jack' pointed out as he gathered up his cards and slipped them in his pocket, "I never said we would."

"If nothing else, this'll be an interesting trip," Han reasoned as the three Spade Pirates rushed out the door without paying for their large meal. Stopping only briefly for Han to get his guns off of his boat, they boarded Ace and Y/N's sailboat and sailed off.

-End Flashback part II-

"I'll say this," came Sanji voice from the tangerine grove, "Y/N, you managed to make three crappy first impressions."

"Three?" Nami repeated. Sanji and Y/N's meeting at the Baratie hadn't been that great. And neither had the one where Y/N was with Ace and King. What was the third?

"We'll get to that later," Y/N told her. "That one doesn't happen for another two years." Y/N casually picked through the deck of cards and pulled out two more cards, he put them on top of the Ace of Spades and turned them over to reveal the King of Spades and Jack of Spades.

Y/N stared down at the Jack of Spades which was in profile view and only showed one eye, "Now I'm a One-Eyed Jack."

Y/N played with the deck in his hands as he continued his story, "As our adventure continued, our crew grew. One day while we were going through a forest in the North Blue, we met our Queen."

Y/N pulled the Queen of Spades out from the deck. ZIP! Sanji was instantly sitting on the deck next to Usopp. "What was this Queen of Spades like?"

"Well... like you and I, she didn't exactly make a good first impression," Y/N stated.

-Y/N's Origin Flashback part III-

"Why are we here again?" Ace asked as he, Y/N, and Han trekked through a thick green forest on an island in the North Blue.

"Some of the villagers mentioned a series of Gargoyle Attacks that stopped about two months back," King answered. He had a shotgun in his hands and a pair of pistols holstered at his waist. "We're trying to find it and get rid of it... if its still here."

"You'd know this if you hadn't fallen asleep while we were eating in that bar," Jack reminded him. "What I wanna know is why we're looking for a gargoyle when the sun hasn't gone down yet. I'm no monster hunter, but aren't they stone during the day?"

"The sun'll go down in an hour," the monster hunter told him. "As a statue it can't defend itself. We'll be able to get rid of it easily. When they're awake, gargoyles are vicious and near impossible to kill. If that monster's in this forest, we've got an hour before our lives get a lot more complicated."

Shwwooooo! There was a whistling sound and three arrows came flying out from the trees in front of them. CHUNK! CHUNK! FOOSH! King and Jack were shot dead center in the chest, but Ace's Logia Devil Fruit Powers caused the arrow meant for him to fly right through him.

"Unngghh... too late..." Y/N groaned, things were more complicated already.

"They're laced with something..." Han mumbled, "I'm starting to see spots."

FWOOSH! Ace's hands ignited and flames ran up his arms to his shoulders. "SHOW YOURSELF OR I'LL BURN THIS ENTIRE FOREST TO THE GROUND!" Ace shouted out at their invisible attacker. His crew had just been attacked and had been hit by poison arrows.

"Whoa... pretty colors..." Y/N remarked as he dropped to his knees and held his head.

"You burn this forest down, and your friends will die," a feminine voice called out from the trees.

"If I have anything to say about it, you're going with them!" Ace threatened. "If they die, I will avenge them!"

"I can't move my arms," Han stated.

"You'd better have an antidote to whatever you poisoned them with!" Ace growled flames came out of his black and rose up into the air, "cause if you don't, you're getting cremated!"

Skush! Skush! Footsteps sounded through the forest and the Spade Pirates looked up in surprise as a woman came walking out of the dense trees. She wore a hooded green tank top that hid her facial features, green tights, and dark green almost-black boots. The tights and tank top clung to her and showed that was indeed a healthy young woman. Around her waist she had a dark green belt that had two large brown pouches attached to it, and across her back was a green quiver of arrows. The woman was carrying a bow and had it aimed at Ace.

"I'll give you the antidote if your promise not to destroy my forest," the woman offered.

THUD! Han hit the ground and stopped moving. "I vote antidote," Y/N stated, he swayed on his knees and had a faraway look on his face.

"Fine," Ace agreed.

The woman pulled two identical vials filled with a green liquid out from one of the brown pouches at her waist, she tossed one to Ace, "Pull the arrow out and put some of that on the wound," the woman instructed. "If you're fast it'll counter-act the poison."

"How do I know I can trust you?" asked Ace.

THUD! Y/N dropped down the ground and laid still. "You don't," the woman admitted, "But they've already lost the ability to move and only have a minute left. You can either trust me, or start digging their graves."

SHUNK! Ace pulled the arrow out of King's chest and pulled up his shirt so he could see the wound. Ace opened the vial and poured the green liquid into the wound as he was told.

At the same time, Y/N was rolled over and he stared blankly up at the... purple... hood that the woman who'd shot him was wearing. Shunk! His body was numb and he barely felt it when she pulled the arrow out of his chest, then pulled up his red t-shirt and dowsed his arrow-wound with the green antidote.

"If that didn't work, you're in trouble," Ace growled.

"It's working already," the woman replied as she stared down at Y/N. "They're already starting to become more aware of their surroundings. Now they should have the feeling back in their fingers and toes... now their hands and feet... their arms and legs... give it a few more seconds... aaaand they should be fine now."

Jack slowly sat up and stared at the green-clad woman in surprise, "She's good." King sat up and nodded in agreement.

"We're the Spade Pirates," Y/N introduced himself, "the hot head's 'Fire Fist' Ace, our Captain. I'm Jack, and he's King. We didn't mean any harm we were just looking for the gargoyle that the villagers mentioned."

"The gargoyle has been dead for months," the woman told him. "The only things you have to worry about in this forest are wild animals like tigers, bears, and gorillas."

"How do you know?" asked King.

"Because I killed it months ago," she answered, she lowered her green hood and revealed her face. She had short yellow hair that went down passed her ears, green eyes, and looked to be about nineteen. "My name is Olivia Queen, most people call me 'Ollie'. I'm sorry for attacking you, I was just defending my home."

"You live in a forest?" questioned Y/N.

"My father was the mayor of Oak Town," Olivia explained, "that's somewhere east of this forest. A year ago, he was killed by the gargoyle. I spent a month hunting it and eventually caught it in a clearing and shot it in the eye with the same kind of arrow I nearly killed you with."

"You must be a great shot then," Jack reasoned.

"I've studied archery ever since I was old enough to hold a bow," Ollie replied. "I'm the best archer you're ever likely to find."

"That doesn't explain why you're living in a forest and are dressed like Robin Hood," King stated.

"After I killed the gargoyle, town life got really boring," Olivia said. "I craved adventure, so I left the village and began living here in the forest. And I wear the green clothes because they help me blend in with the trees."

"If you crave adventure, why haven't you left this island?" Y/N inquired.

"This is the Age of Piracy," Ollie pointed out, "A girl can't exactly sail around alone. I may be a good shot, but even with a full quiver I wouldn't be able to take out an entire crew of horny savages."

"If you're looking for adventure, why don't you join up with us?" Ace offered. "You're a good shot and you seem to have a fair amount of medical knowledge."

"We're honorable pirates," Y/N added. "We won't lay a hand on you. And you saw how protective our hot-headed captain is, we'll make sure nothing horrible happens to you. Wanna be our Queen of Spades?"

Ollie smiled, "I'd love to."

An hour later, the Spade Pirates were heading for the shore. King and Jack were carrying a large crate between them. "What've you got in here anyway?" Han asked.

"Just a couple of spare outfits, some herbs from the forest, and materials to make more arrows," Ollie answered.

They stopped in front of the Spade Sailboat. "You can't be serious," said Queen. "How'd you even make it from the East Blue to the North Blue in that?"

"Ace can shoot fire out of his arms," Jack explained. "Large columns of fire can be used to give our boat a boost or make a quick turn."

"It'll do for now," Queen resolved. "But we'd better get a shipwright and a bigger ship before we leave the North Blue."

"It's on our 'To Do' list," Ace assured her.

"If any of you three so much as touch me while I'm sleeping," Queen warned them, "I'll shove an arrow so far up your ass that you'll be able to taste what it's coated in."

-End Flashback part III-

"SHE SOUNDS AMAZING!" Sanji swooned.

"She sounds unpleasant," Nami disagreed. "She shot you with an arrow, joined your crew, and then threatened to sodomize you."

"As opposed to, turning me over to Buggy the Clown, joining from a lost bet, and then strangling me?" Y/N countered as he added the Queen of Spades to the pile. "She was actually very pleasant once you got to know here. I got to know her really well."

"I always thought that arrows were too big and easy to spot," Usopp stated, "I prefer smaller projectiles that could turn out to be anything. But to each his own."

"I'll tell her you said that if we ever meet up with them," Y/N resolved, he picked the Ten of Spades out of the deck and placed it down on the deck in front of him. "While we were trying to find a shipwright we came across Deck. He was a ninja, complete with the black jumpsuit, mask, and stealth to go along with it. But he found out something that someone didn't want him to know, when we found him, he was nearly dead. It took a week for Ollie to patch him up, but once he'd fully recovered, he pledged his loyalty to Ace and became our Scout and Spy." Y/N glanced down at the Royal Flush he had on the deck in front of him.

"We actually found our shipwright before Deck recovered from his injuries," Y/N continued. "It took a lot of swindling, stealing, and treasure hunting on my part, but we found a shipwright and paid him to build us a ship. He did, but when he was done he asked to join our crew so he could look after his ship. We called him Deuce. He fought suing a pair of saw-blades that he could combine into a broadsword."

Y/N placed the Two of Spades down with the other cards he'd set out, then pulled the Three of Spades out of the deck. "Once we had our ship, we left the North Blue and went to the South Blue. That's where we found our cook Treys. He was a master with a knife and usually cooked hibachi style, he used his knives expertly in the kitchen and on the battlefield. He'd either throw smaller knives, or he'd wield a big one like a small sword."

Four of Spades. "He was our hand-to-hand combat expert. We met him on the South Blue's Karate Island. He knew over ten forms of Martial Arts and always wore dark blue gi like that ray fishman from Arlong Park. He was honorable though, Ace beat him in a fight and he agreed to join our crew."

Y/N pulled two cards out of the deck at the same time, Nine of Spades and the Six of Spades. "These two found us actually. They were former marines that attacked us looking to take Ace's head. They fought with the best teamwork I've ever seen but after Ace beat them, they quit the marines and joined our crew."

"Once we were done exploring the South Blue, we went to the West Blue," Y/N said. "That's where we finished off our crew." Y/N pulled out the Five of Spades. "This guy was huge, even bigger than Arlong. He fought with a big double-bladed battle axe and was our ship's powerhouse."

Y/N pulled two more cards out of the deck and then placed the deck down out of the way, he put down the Eight of Spades. "We called this guy Cannonball, he was our Ship Guard and Gunman. He got his nickname because of the unique types of cannonballs he used. He'd basically chain two of them together and would fire them at an enemy ship and completely tear off their central mast so they couldn't go anywhere."

Y/N put down the last card, the Seven of Spades. "I called this guy Lucky. He was this weird samurai that we met as he was heading back to the Grand Line. He offered to take us to the Grand Line and act as our guide. It had taken a full year to get that crew of thirteen pirates, and since Ace had already made name for himself in the East Blue, North Blue, South Blue, and West Blue, there was only one other place to go. Ace decided that it was finally time to go the Grand Line."

"If you had such a big reputation, why didn't the World Government try to stop you?" asked Sanji.

"They actually offered Ace a position as a Warlord of the Sea," Y/N replied.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Luffy burst out laughing and seemed unable to stop, he rolled around on the deck laughing at the top of his lungs. "ACE! WORKING FOR THE GOVERNMENT! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"That was actually our reaction too," Y/N admitted as he eyed his laughing younger brother. "They took offense to us laughing in their faces and set up a blockade of three marine battleships to keep us from getting to the Grand Line."

"Three ships!" Usopp exclaimed, "What'd you do?"

"We were upset that they hadn't sent more," Y/N answered. "Cannonball took out the main mast of the first one which left it easy pickings for Ace, who torched it. The rest of us split up and raided the other two ships. We were outnumbered fifteen to one, but we still kicked their asses."

"I wonder if they'll try to keep us from entering the Grand Line," Luffy wondered once he'd finally stopped laughing at the prospect of Ace working for the World Government.

"When they find out that we took out Arlong, Krieg, and Buggy, they're bound to do something," Y/N reasoned. "With the marines out of the way of the time being, Lucky guided us into the Grand Line. I've seen all the world's oceans, but the Grand Line is the most amazing of all of them. We'd been there a month and a half when Ace seemingly developed a death wish. He seemed intent on facing a man that terrified me."

"Who?" Nami inquired

"Whitebeard," Y/N stated. "He was, and still is, known as the Strongest Pirate in the World. He's one of the Four Emperors and at one time was the rival of the Pirate King Gold Roger."

"Did he find him?" asked Luffy.

"It took us another month and a half of searching, but eventually... he found us."

-x-

Pirates:

-Y/N's Origin Flashback part IV-

Twenty-one months before the current storyline started, the Royal Flush Officers of the Spade Pirates were walking on a snow covered island deep in the Grand Line. Ace seemed to be impervious to the cold and was wearing shorts and a sweatshirt with a cape on the back. The cold weather however, WASN'T impervious to Ace, the second 'Fire Fist' set foot on the island it stopped snowing.

King was wearing a long tan trench coat and had a pair of guns strapped to his waist inside of it. On his head he wore a matching tan fedora hat. Queen was wearing a long green coat and her green hood was up, her bow and quiver were strapped to her back but she still seemed to be cold. A seventeen year old Jack was wearing a black cloak with a cape and a black skull cap on his head. His trusty sword Akaikyuuketsuki was sheathed at his waist inside the cloak. Ten, being a ninja, usually wore a tight black jumpsuit and a mask that left his mouth uncovered and had two eyeholes that he could see out of but others couldn't see in. Now, he was wearing a hooded cloak to protect him against the cold.

"Why are we here again?" Ollie asked as she trekked through the snow next to Y/N. "I'm freezing my tights off."

"There's someone I want to meet no matter what," Ace answered as he led the group.

"You knew we were going on a winter island, you should've dressed warmer," Y/N pointed out. "Or maybe you should've stayed back on the ship with the others."

"And miss out on the adventure?" questioned Ollie. "Not likely. But I've got a big cup of tea with my name on it when I get back to the ship."

"So where is this guy?" Han inquired.

"If he's still the same as I remember, he's recovering from a hangover somewhere," Y/N answered.

"I checked it out earlier," Deck said. "He and his crew are camped out in the middle of the island. And actually... he did appear to be hung-over."

The Five Spade Pirates made their way to the middle of the island and reached a large snow-filled clearing. It was filled with a series of log cabins and there were groups of men huddled around numerous campfires.

A man with a sword stood up and addressed Ace. "So... I hear you want to meet me."

"No that's not what I meant," Ace replied. "My little brother was always bragging about you, the one who saved his life. He told me to thank you if we ever met."

"You're Luffy's... Oh!" 'Red Haired' Shanks exclaimed. "So he had a brother. Thanks for coming and telling me!"

"Actually, he had three brothers," Y/N informed him.

Shanks' eye lit up with recognition, "Y/N! You're a pirate now! That's great!"

"I'm more of a treasure hunter, but yeah," Y/N replied. "I'm the Jack of Spades."

"Won't you join us?" Shanks offered as he motioned to some empty seats around the campfire he'd been sitting at. "How's Luffy doing?"

"He's doing great," Y/N answered. "He's still got another two years or so before he leaves home, but he's gotten a lot stronger."

"Have you?" came a voice. Y/N turned to it and saw Benn Beckman sitting there smoking a cigarette. He'd aged a lot over the passed eight years. His once long black hair was now short and gray. His long rifle was leaning against his side.

Y/N flashed a foxy grin as he pulled opened his cloak to reveal his curved sword, "How'd you like to find out for yourself?"

"With your permission Captain, I'd like to engage a member of this rival pirate crew in a friendly spar," Beckman requested as he stood up and held his rifle next to him.

"Do your thing Beckman," Shanks encouraged his First Mate.

"Let's give them some room," Ace decided, he, King, Queen, and Ten backed away to give Jack room to face Benn Beckman of the 'Red Haired' Pirates.

"Before we begin," said Y/N as he stood across from Beckman, "I'd just like to say thanks for giving me a cursed sword that requires a blood sacrifice."

"It requires a blood sacrifice?" questioned Beckman. "Sorry, I didn't know. I guess I should've done some research before giving a dangerous weapon to a child."

"It only works if you give it blood every time you draw it," Y/N explained. "I suppose that's why it's called 'Red Vampire'."

"That does explain why the swordsman I got it from was so easy to beat," Beckman reasoned. "He attacked me from behind but his sword didn't cut me. I defeated him because of that."

"Well, with all due respect," said Y/N, "I plan on using your blood as the sacrifice this time." Y/N immediately rushed at Beckman while holding his sword's handle with both hands. Beckman swung his rifle around and aimed for Y/N's head, SWOOOSH! Y/N jumped up clear over the rifle, "Red Blade... LIGHTNING STRIKE!" Y/N changed directions in mid air and flew passed Beckman while lashing out at him with his sword, Beckman dodged to the side and barely avoided the sword strike, Slik! The red blade grazed Beckman's cheek and left a small cut there.

But Beckman took it all in stride, he spun around swinging his rifle like a club and connected solidly with Y/N's back. WHAM! Y/N went flying across the clearing and slammed down into the snow, SKOOSH!

"You still have a lot to learn," Beckman lectured.

"Hah-ha, maybe not as much as you think," Y/N laughed as he staggered back up to his feet. "I'm the Jack of Spades, and I can take a hit... even if it's from you." Y/N readied his sword and once again charged the First Mate of the Red Haired Pirates.

"I see," Beckman commented as he swung his rifle again. SWOOOSH! Once again, Y/N jumped clean over the long gun.

"Red Blade... HURRICANE!" Y/N spun around in mid air and slashed his sword, Slik! Beckman managed to duck out of the way but Y/N still grazed his left cheek a second time while spinning in the air. WHAM! Beckman slammed his rifle into Y/N's face while he was still in mid air and sent him flying. SKOOSH! Y/N went crashing down into the snow while Beckman was left with another cut on the left side of his face, giving him an 'x' shaped wound.

"Nice hit," Y/N groaned as he pushed himself up off of the ground and stood back up. Beckman's rifle had made a gash on his forehead. The blood was going down from the gash passed his eye down towards his mouth.

"You're still standing?" said Beckman in mild surprise.

"Barely, but yeah," Y/N replied. "Surprised?"

"Yes," Beckman admitted. "You've come a long way from the nine year old that climbed onto my back and jumped off onto a pair of mountain bandits. I'm glad to see you learned how to use that sword properly."

"It took a few years, but now this sword is like an extension of my body," Y/N told him. "You still want to fight?"

"I think this has gone on long enough," Beckman decided. "It's only a friendly spar. There's no sense in prolonging it when I've seen what I wanted to see. You've come a long way, but you're still young and inexperienced. You still have a long way to go, but I'm sure you'll become a great pirate."

Y/N nodded and sheathed his red blade. "He's right, you've come a long way, kid," Shanks agreed. "If your improvement is anything to go by, then Luffy will really start shaking the world up when he sets off in two years time. I'm in a good mood now. THIS CALLS FOR A CELEBRATION!"

"Captain, didn't you just recover from your hangover?" questioned Lucky Roux.

"Who cares about that, WE'RE GONNA PARTY!" Shanks cheered. "Would you Spade Pirates care to join us?"

Ace nodded, "Deck, get the others and tell Treys to bring some food," he ordered. "Tonight we're partying with the Red Haired Pirates."

-End Flashback part IV-

"WOW!" Luffy exclaimed, "So you saw Shanks!"

Y/N nodded, "I also swindled Usopp's old man out of ten million berries. It was just like old times and that guy still couldn't hold his liquor. It was a fun break from Ace's suicidal search of Whitebeard. It took another few weeks, but we eventually came across someone who could lead us to him."

"Who?" asked Nami.

"Arlong's old boss, Jinbei," Y/N answered. "He was the first Warlord I ever met and he certainly set a high standard."

Snort! "Warlord?" Zoro grunted as he sat up and finally woke up.

"I was just telling them about my time in the Grand Line," Y/N explained. "If you can stay awake for another few minutes, I'll include my meeting with Hawk Eye." Zoro was instantly sitting up and was now as focused on Y/N's story as the other four Straw Hats.

-Y/N's Origin Flashback part V-

Ace stood with his crew in front of the Knight of the Sea, one of the Seven Warlords with a former bounty of 250,000,000 berries. Jinbei was a large blue whale shark fishman with two-toned black hair in a topknot, curly yellow eyebrows and sideburns, a small greenish-black beard on his chin, and two large cone-like teeth poking out from the bottom of his mouth. His hands and feet were webbed and he was dressed in an orange jinbei with black and white square-shaped patterns all over it. A red sun tattoo could be seen through the opened neck of Jinbei's jinbei, he also wore a pair of sandals and a purple sash around his large round waist.

"Hey big fella," Ace greeted the Warlord, "I want to meet this guy called Whitebeard!"

"We have reason to believe that you know where he is," Jack added as he calmly stood at Ace's right side. Queen was to Jack's right while King and Ten were on Ace's left. Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, and Nine were standing in a line behind before the Royal Flush Officers. Five towered over everyone else and was wearing boots and heavy metal battle armor, his large battle axe was strapped to his back, he looked to be roughly the same size as the fishman in front of them. "Would you mind telling us so we can meet him and get on with our lives?"

"I will not let a dangerous boy like you meet the old man," Jinbei resolved. "I am not a member of the Whitebeard Pirates but I am grateful to him... which is why I shall face you!"

"You sure you can take this guy, Ace?" asked King. "This guy's Jinbei, he's one of the Seven Warlords."

Seeing the determined look on Ace's face, Jack turned and addressed the rest of the crew, "There's no stopping him now. Unless you wanna get deep-fried, give them some room."

The Spade Pirates backed away from their captain and the warlord and watched as they clashed in a battle of fire and water.

-Five Days Later-

HUFF! HUFF! Ace and Jinbei stood across from each other panting for breath. They both looked barely conscious, but both fighters were determined to win and refused to let up for a second. They had fought for five days straight.

"It's been going on for five days and they still can't settle it," Deck commented as the rest of the Spade Pirates sat at the battle site. THUD!

"Hey, wake up!" Han turned and nudged Y/N who had fallen asleep sitting up. Ollie was also asleep with her head resting on Y/N's shoulder.

"Wazzat?" Y/N grumbled as he blearily opened his eyes and stared at the battle in time to see Ace and Jinbei simultaneously collapse to the ground, THA-THUD!

"Is it over?" Ollie, who had jerked awake with Y/N, wondered out loud.

DOOOM! That was when they noticed the MASSIVE pirate ship off the shore. It was made to resemble a giant white whale and was aptly named the Moby Dick.

"HOLY SHIT! IT'S THE WHITEBEARD PIRATES!" Y/N shouted, instantly awake, he jumped to his feet along with the other Spade Pirates. There on the deck, flanked by countless pirates, stood the largest man that Y/N had ever seen. Edward 'Whitebeard' Newgate.

"WHICH ONE OF YOU SAID HE'D TAKE MY HEAD?" came the deep booming voice of the Strongest Man in the World. "IF YOU WANT IT SO BADLY, HERE'S YOUR CHANCE!"

"Get ready for battle," King ordered. "If we're gonna go out, we'll go out fighting."

At the same time Whitebeard addressed his men, "I can do this alone." SHOOM! Whitebeard held onto his bisento which was even bigger than he was and leapt from the Moby Dick to the shore. WHOOOOOM! The giant man landing on the shore sent the Spade Pirates flying backwards.

On the ground, Ace opened his eyes and grinned at seeing the man he'd been looking for. He got up and shot flames out of his hands, FWOOSH! "FIRE FENCE!" The flames surrounded both him and Whitebeard and a giant wall of fire.

"Captain Ace, what are you doing?" called out Ten.

"ACE, YOU MORON, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING?" Y/N demanded.

"YOU GUYS MAKE A RUN FOR IT!" Ace ordered.

"What... are you cowarding out?" asked Whitebeard as he towered over Ace.

"Let my Nakama escape," Ace requested, "And in return... I'll stay right here."

"Cheeky brat," Whitebeard commented.

"Here goes nothing," Y/N muttered. He ran straight for Ace's firewall and leapt right through it. THUD! He hit the ground and rolled around to put out the flames that had caught on his clothes.

"Y/N, what the hell are you doing here?" Ace snapped. "I told you guys to run!"

"And as your loyal crewmate, I would've obeyed that order," Y/N agreed. "But as your brother, I'm not gonna leave you alone after you've been fighting for five days straight."

Y/N finally directed his attention on Whitebeard and his eyes flew opened, the man was more than five times his size, he and Ace barley came up to his knee. Whitebeard wore a long white captain's coat over his shoulders, his arms were out of the sleeves and his chest was bare showing off his large muscles and numerous battle scars. He wore baggy white pants, big black boots, and a black bandana over his short hair. Under his nose was Whitebeard's signature crescent shaped white mustache/beard.

"Well... you certainly know how to pick 'em," Y/N remarked.

"GURARARARARA!" Whitebeard let out a loud booming laugh, he had an amused smile on his face as he stared down at Y/N and Ace. "So you two are gonna fight me together, eh? I never thought I'd live to see this day."

"Ace, Battle Tactic 002," Y/N whispered to Ace. Ace turned and put his hands together, Y/N drew his red blade and ran and jumped onto them and Ace launched him high up into the air and over Whitebeards head. "Red Blade... AVALANCHE!" Y/N called out as he slashed his sword downward at Whitebeard.

At the same time Ace spun around, his fist engulfed in flames as she shot it out at Whitebeard, "FIRE FIST!" FWOOOSH!

FWISH! WHAM! Whitebeard batted the fire and Y/N away from him all in the same motion using his bisento. Whitebeard had used the blade to deflect the fire while Y/N got smacked out of the fire circle by the shaft of the huge weapon. THOOOOM! Whitebeard drove his weapon into the ground and a shockwave sent Ace flying backwards. Ace fell into his fire wall, but since he was made of fire, it didn't burn him.

Skish! Ace quickly regained his balance and let out a yell of rage as he charged out of the wall of fire at Whitebeard, "UOOOAHHHH!"

BOOOOOM! Ace's blood was spilled and he was left lying on the ground in front of Whitebeard. But Ace wouldn't give up. He started to get up and prepared to face Whitebeard again.

"Gurarararara," Whitebeard laughed. "So you're still gonna stand up? It'd be a shame if you died here, kid. If you still want to wreck havoc on this sea, bear my mark on your back and go as wild as you like!" Whitebeard smiled and held out his hand, "Become my son!"

"Oh crap," Y/N muttered as he sat up and stared through the fire, "Ace has always had daddy issues."

"DON'T SCREW WITH ME!" Ace shouted as he charged and attacked Whitebeard again.

-Hours Later-

The Moby Dick was sailing through the Grand Line, Y/N was standing on the deck staring down at Ace. A man with slicked back blond hair, a black goatee, and a curved scar on the right side of his face was sitting on the railing near him.

Ace's body suddenly twitched and he sat up. "Hey, you're awake." Y/N greeted him. "You had me worried there for a second, Hot Shot."

"My name's Thatch," the blond man introduced himself, "I'm commander of the 4th Division. If you're gonna be our crewmate, let's try to get along."

"SHUT UP!" Ace shouted, then he turned to his brother, "Y/N... what happened?"

"He knocked you out and took you on board his ship with him," Y/N explained. "He seems to genuinely want you to join his crew. We regrouped and attacked in an attempt to get you back... it didn't go so well."

"We beat the crap out of them," Thatch supplied.

"But no one's dead," Y/N quickly continued. "The only one missing is Lucky. He said that he only came along as our guide and now that we're with the Whitebeard Pirates, we don't need him any more. Everyone else is on this ship right now. Whitebeard asked us to join his crew along with you. Personally, I think it's a great opportunity to learn from the Strongest Pirate Crew in the World."

Ace disregarded his brother for a moment and eyed Thatch, "You okay with me being on your ship without handcuffs or anyone guarding me?"

"Hm?" said Thatch.

"You might wanna get something to eat," Y/N suggested. "You fought Jinbei for five days and need some energy. I'll show you the kitchen, just like everything else on this ship, it's freaking huge." Y/N helped his brother up and the two of them wandered off.

-End Flashback part V-

"It took Ace a long time to accept," Y/N admitted. "In fact, he tried unsuccessfully to kill the old man one hundred sixteen times. Eventually, Ace came to terms with it and took Whitebeard's mark on his back."

"So your entire crew became members of the Whitebeard Pirates?" Usopp summarized, "no wonder you're strong."

"The old man wanted me to take is mark and become his son too," Y/N added.

-Y/N's Origin Flashback part VI-

"RRRAAAAHHHH!"Ace charged at Whitebeard from behind wielding an axe, THWHAM! But Whitebeard batted him aside and sent him crashing into the railing. THUD!

"That's unsuccessful attempt number forty-six," Y/N stated, he sounded bored.

"I can understand him not wanting to accept it," Whitebeard admitted. "What about you, kid? You've got spirit. Do you want to take my mark and become my son?"

Y/N frowned, "I never had a father," he confessed. "But there's only one pirate I'll pledge my undying loyalty to."

"You mean him?" asked Whitebeard as he motioned to Ace who was attempting to pull the blade of his axe out of the deck.

"No, my other brother actually," Y/N explained. "He hasn't set sail yet, but in about nineteen months he will. I plan on joining up with him and finding the One Piece with him so he can become the King of the Pirates. That's why I can't take your mark, my loyalty lies with my brother."

"So you wouldn't go and find the One Piece for me even if I ordered you?" questioned Whitebeard.

"That's right," Y/N agreed, "Although, for some reason or another, you don't seem to be after the One Piece. "

"You're a smart one," Whitebeard commented. "Many pirates are after treasure and power, but not me. All I ever wanted was a family. I can understand you being loyal to your brother, you must have an even deeper bond with him than you do with Ace, I'd never stand in between you and your family. But I'd still like you to be my son while you're on this crew."

Y/N smiled a foxy smile, "Sure thing, Pops."

Whitebeard's eyes went wide as he stared down at the red haired treasure hunter. Almost without realizing it, he said... "You look just like your mother."

"Say what now?" said Y/N as he stared up in surprise.

Whitebeard seemed to finally realize what he'd said, "I knew her," Edward Newgate explained. "Her name was Mitsune. She was a nurse. Very clever, just like you."

"She died when I was three," Y/N said. "I barely remember anything about her. Her sister Makino raised me in her tavern on Dawn Island in the East Blue. I was adopted by the leader of a clan of mountain bandits when I was nine. She raised all of us."

"Well you might not have had a father when you were growing up," Edward told him, "But you do now, son."

-End Flashback part VI-

-x-

Training Montage:

-x-

"The Whitebeard Pirates took me under their wing and treated me like one of their own," Y/N continued. "I learned a lot during the time I spent on that crew."

-Flashback part VII-

-Sensory Training-

Thatch was standing in front of Y/N holding his sword with both hands, he was wearing a long-sleeved blue button-down shirt and his blond hair was still slicked back. "I've decided to help you enhance your skills as a swordsman," Thatch explained. "Let's see what you can do."

"Alright, I just have one question," Y/N replied. "WHY AM I BLINDFOLDED?" A black strip of fabric had been tied over Y/N's eyes and he couldn't see a thing. Somehow Thatch expected him to swordfight.

"I want to enhance your senses," Thatch answered, "A good swordsman is always aware of his surroundings. Sometime your sense of sight won't be able to help you, so you'll have to rely on your other senses to compensate."

"I guess that makes sense," Y/N reasoned.

"Good, then prepare yourself," Thatch warned him. SWISH! Thatch swung his sword with two hands, Y/N attempted to block with his sword but his timing was off, allowing Thatch's attack to break his guard and connect, WHAK! At the last second Thatch turned his blade to the side so the flat side hit Y/N instead of the sharp one.

"GAH!" Y/N yelped as he staggered backwards.

"Keep your sword up," Thatch called out, "we're not done yet!" SWISH! WHAK!

"GAAAH!"

-x-

Swish... KLANG! A week and a half later, Y/N was once again blindfolded while dueling Thatch but this time he managed to get his curved blade up in time to defend himself.

KLINK! KLANK! KLANG! Y/N continued to use his senses of hearing, smell, and even his treasure sense to block Thatch's attacks.

Y/N was pushed back towards the mast despite his increased senses, he was still at a disadvantage. KLANG! "Nnnyyaaahh!" Y/N blocked another attack and pushed Thatch's sword away causing the older man to stagger backwards.

Thatch charged at Y/N but Y/N turned around ran in the other direction then ran up the mast and backflipped off of it. TMP! Y/N landed on the deck behind Thatch. Thatch spun around and swung at him, SWISH! Y/N ducked down and dodged the attack then lashed out with the flat side of this curved sword, WHAK! Thatch was caught off guard when Y/N's attack connected and he fell backwards, THUD!

"HAH-HA!" Y/N laughed, "I GOT YOU!"

"Good job, kid," Thatch congratulated him as he got up. Y/N grinned and didn't even bother removing his blindfold.

-Endurance Training-

"For a runt, you've got great endurance," a large dark-skinned and extremely muscular man commented. He wore battle armor with black shoulder pads that had red bolts on them. His hair and beard was in a stripe-like pattern and a scowl adorned his face. This man was Jozu the Commander of Whitebeard's Third Division. "Let's increase it."

POW! Y/N was suddenly punched in the stomach with a gigantic fist that was as hard as diamond, he went flying across the deck and then slammed down and went skidding into the railing.

"Ugghhh..."

"When your ribs heal, come back for more training," Jozu instructed him.

A month later, Y/N's ribs had been broken and healed another two times. He stood in front of Jozu and waited the worst. He clenched his stomach and chest muscles and braced for impact.

POW! Jozu's diamond-hard fist slammed into Y/N stomach and he went flying across the deck. WHAM! Y/N slammed into a wall and crashed down to the deck, but then pushed himself back up one his hands and knees.

"Nothing's broken," he groaned, "but I feel like I'm gonna throw up."

"Good job runt," said Jozu. "Your endurance training is complete." He turned to leave.

"Hey wait," Y/N called after him, he staggered up to his feet. "You're a division commander, so that means you're really loyal to Whitebeard, right?"

"I am," Jozu answered.

"Why don't you have his mark then?" Y/N asked.

"Because no needle can pierce my skin," Jozu growled. "I thought you were smart."

Y/N fished into his pocket and pulled out his black case and opened it up to reveal his gem crafting tools. "Would you mind letting me give it a try?"

An hour later, Y/N surveyed his work on Jozu's left arm, etched into his bicep was a manji with a white mustache, the mark of the Whitebeard Pirates.

Jozu stared at the mark and for the first time in a long time, he smiled, "Thanks runt."

-Explosion Balls-

"What're you doing kid?" came a sleepy voice as a blond man with tanned skin walked in. He had a lean but very muscular frame and wore an opened shirt, a blue sash around his waist, and a dark pair of pants. This was Marco, Whitebeard's First Division Commander.

Marco opened his normally droopy eyes and stared around at the wide assortment of gunpowder and other explosives that were around Y/N.

"Hey Marco," Y/N greeted the First Division Commander. "I'm trying to make a smoke-screen. The best way for me to survive against stronger opponents here in the Grand Line is to escape. I'm trying to create something that not only provides a smoke cover, but also explodes and can be used as a weapon."

Marco casually sat down across from him, "You know... rum burns," he supplied. "What if you made a ball of gunpowder and soaked it in rum? When you threw it on the ground it would explode and the rum would help it burn to create a fire screen."

"You might be onto something," Y/N realized.

-x-

A week later, Y/N, Ollie, Han, and Deck were surrounded by a dozen pirates that were armed to the teeth with guns and swords. Y/N seemed to have pissed them off when he stole a treasure chest from him.

"Looks like this might be it," Deck muttered.

Y/N flashed a foxy grin and reached into his top right pocket. He pulled out a pair of red balls and threw them on the ground at his feet. KA-BOOOOM! The balls exploded and Y/N, Deck, Ollie, and Han were all hidden from view by a dark cloud of smoke. The pirates stared at the smoke cloud in confusion, when it cleared, all that was left was a small hole that had been blown in the ground.

"Wait 'till I tell Marco that the Explosion Balls worked," Y/N commented out loud as the four of them ran to their boat. Y/N still had the treasure chest tucked under his arm.

THUNK! When they arrived back at the ship, Whitebeard slammed a barrel of grog down in front of them. "Good job boys, drink up."

"I'M A GIRL, DAMN IT!" Ollie shouted up at him, she stalked off grumbling about the nurses being the only ones that didn't get treated like a 'son'.

"I don't drink," Deck excused himself as he walked away.

"Looks like you're on your own, son," Whitebeard commented as he eyed Y/N and the barrel of grog in front of him. Han was already off drinking with some of the other Whitebeard Pirates.

"BUT IT'S HUGE!" Y/N protested.

"No son of mine won't be able to drink a like a man!" Whitebeard snapped.

"But I could get alcohol poisoning! Or explode!" Y/N argued.

"Let's hope you don't," Whitebeard replied.. "NOW DRINK!"

"I hope I can keep this down," Y/N muttered.

-x-

Two weeks later, Ace led the rest of the Spade Pirates onto the Moby Dick. Fire Fist proudly sported Whitebeard's mark on his back.

"ACE'S DONE IT AGAIN!" someone called out. "I hear he made Doma's gang surrender!"

"Well done Ace," Whitebeard congratulated him. "I've seen how well you lead your men, and I've decided to make you the Commander of Division Two. Everyone's already given their consent."

Ace turned to a large man with a scruffy black beard, "You pretty much look like an old timer, Teach," Ace reasoned. "Shouldn't it be your job?"

"Zehahahahaha!" Marshall D. Teach laughed. "Nah, it's okay. I ain't got such ambition! You do it Commander Ace."

"Alright, I'll do it," Ace relented. The Whitebeard Pirates let out a collective cheer.

"THIS CALLS FOR A CELEBRATION!" Whitebeard called out.

Whitebeard's five cooks, one of which was Treys, made a feast which Ace ended up falling asleep in the middle of. Some of the more excitable pirates frantically checked if he was dead or not.

THUNK! Whitebeard ignored the commotion and slammed a barrel down in front of Y/N. "Drink up son."

CHUNK! Y/N drove his fist down into the top of the barrel and made a hole in the top then hoisted it up over his head and drank from it. Whitebeard watched in amusement as Y/N drank the entire barrel. THUNK! Y/N put the barrel down and staggered backwards.

"You okay?" asked Ollie as she caught him and helped him regain his balance.

In response, Y/N grabbed her and kissed the surprised archer soundly on the lips. Y/N pulled away and flashed her a foxy grin, "Hah-ha, that hit the spot." Ollie stared at him wide-eyed... then punched him in the face. POW! Y/N was out like a light.

"Jerk," she muttered as she glared down at him.

"GURARARARARA!" Whitebeard laughed. "Nice hit son."

"I'M A GIRL, YOU OLD BASTARD!" Ollie yelled.

"Well you punch like a boy," Whitebeard replied. Ollie stepped over Y/N's prone body and stalked off grumbling to herself about senile, gender-confused, old men.

It didn't help that she almost ran into Izou the Commander of Whitebeard's Sixteenth Division.

-Encounter with Mihawk-

"So how much do you think its worth?" asked Ace as he and Y/N sat at a table in a pub and inspected treasure chest that they'd acquired. Y/N had come across the treasure map and asked his Division Commander to come along with him.

"I'm not all that sure," Y/N admitted as he peered inside the chest and sifted his hands through the treasure inside. "Something in here is throwing it off."

Kreeeek... The door opened and a lone figure walked in. He was wearing a black hat with a feather in it, a long black coat with purple sleeves, gray pants and black boots. He had a six foot sword that was as big as he was on his back. You could tell he was strong just by how he carried himself.

Y/N stared in shock at the man while Ace looked confused, "Who's that?" Ace asked.

"That's 'Hawk Eye' Mihawk," Y/N whispered, "The World's Greatest Swordsman. He's also one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea."

"Well if it isn't Whitebeard's Second Division Commander," Mihawk commented. "I heard that he'd recently recruited someone strong. The World's Government's been worried about you aligning with him. Perhaps I should do my duty as a Warlord and rid the Government of this problem."

"Y-you may be the Greatest Swordsman in the World, BUT WE WON'T GO DOWN WITHOUT A FIGHT!" Y/N shouted. Internally he was terrified. He knew he couldn't win a swordfight with the World's Greatest.

TUNK! ZZZZZZ! Ace suddenly fell asleep face-first in a dish of food.

"Okay... uh... maybe we will go down easily..." Y/N admitted with a huge sweat-drop on the back of his head. "But... um... see that mark on his back!" Y/N pointed to the manji on Ace's back. "Whitebeard's taken a special interest in him. Taking us in will be more trouble than its worth."

"You may have a point," Mihawk admitted. "But you don't have his mark, and you seem to have a sword."

CHUNK! Y/N slammed the treasure chest shut and threw it across the room at Mihawk. It hit the floor in front of him. "JUST TAKE THE TREASURE! DON'T KILL ME!" Y/N shouted.

"Hmm... how much is in here?" Mihawk inquired as he stared down at the treasure chest.

"S-seventeen m-million," Y/N stammered, "but uh... there's something else in there that's worth another... um... eight. I just don't know what..."

"I suppose this'll do," Mihawk resolved as he picked up the chest and headed for the door, "perhaps we'll cross paths again." KREK! With that, he was gone just as quickly as he came.

"Phhheeewww," Y/N sighed in relief, "I just survived an encounter with Hawk Eye Mihawk. There's only one thing to do after a situation like that... get trashed."

"Sounds fun," said Ace, who'd just woken up. "What happened to Hawk Eye?"

"YOU LEFT ME TO FEND HIM OFF BY MYSELF, YOU NARCOLEPTIC ACEHOLE!"

Ace and Y/N got totally trashed in the bar, on the way back to Whitebeard's Ship, Y/N had an unforgettable encounter with a shark.

-End Flashback part VII-

"Way to keep your composure," Zoro teased him.

"I wasn't ready then," Y/N defended himself "I was still in the early stages of my pirate career, even if I did align myself with strong pirates. I wasn't ready to have the World's Greatest Swordsman out for my head."

"Sounds like you and Ace had a lot of fun in the Grand Line," said Luffy. "I can't wait to go there!"

"It was fun," Y/N agreed. "Those three years on Ace and Whitebeard's pirate crews were the best years of my life. It was great while it lasted."

"Something tells me your story is going to get worse," Nami assumed.

"That's the case with most stories," Y/N replied.

-x-

Treasure:

-Y/N's Origin Flashback pt VIII-

Eleven months before Luffy set out and the current storyline began, Y/N was walking along a hallway inside the Moby Dick. He was eighteen now and had grown to his full height of six feet over the year he'd spent with the Whitebeard Pirates. His long red hair was tied back in a ponytail that went down to the bottom of his neck. He wore a pair of black boots, black pants, and a white shirt with the mark of the Whitebeard Pirates on the back.

WHAP! Someone suddenly grabbed the back of Y/N's shirt and yanked him into the room he was walking passed. Y/N was placed down on a stool and the door was slammed shut. SLAM! Thunk! A man placed a mug of grog down on the table in front of Y/N then sat down next to him. "I have a proposal for you," said the man.

The man stood over eleven feet tall and his large girth made him three times the size of Y/N. He had long curly black hair and short scruffy beard on his jaw, the four buttons on the top of his white shirt were undone and showed off his hairy chest. He wore a black bandana on the top of his head, the aforementioned white shirt, black pants and boots, and a thick belt with rum bottles and a pair of pistols stuck in it. His name was Marshall D. Teach.

"Teach, what do you want?" asked Y/N.

"Have a drink," Teach offered as he motioned to the mug he'd placed on the counter in front of Y/N. "I hear you like grog from the North Blue, so I got some especially for you."

An alarm bell went off in Y/N's head as he took the mug and tentatively took a sip, it was genuine North Blue Grog, his favorite. "Good stuff," Y/N remarked. "Why the particular interest in me?"

"I need a favor," Teach explained, the normally jolly man was serious, another warning bell went off in Y/N's head. "Ace told me about that Treasure Sense of yours, and how you used it to find his Devil Fruit. I was hoping you could help me do something similar so I can achieve my destiny."

"Destiny, huh," said Y/N. "I suppose I could help you out. What do you need?"

"I've been searching for a Devil Fruit called the Dark Dark Fruit for the last fifteen years," Teach told him.

A third warning bell went off in Y/N's head. This 'Dark Dark Fruit' sounded creepy. Y/N quickly took a long drink from his mug of grog to hide the suspicious look on his face.

Teach pulled a rolled up piece of paper out from his belt, "I found this map a month ago, I think I leads to the island that the Fruit is on. It's my Fate to get that Fruit, I just know it."

"Then why do you need me?" questioned Y/N as he finished off his grog and placed the empty cup on the counter. "If finding this Devil Fruit's your destiny, why haven't you done it already?"

"I've already investigated the island," Teach admitted. "But I couldn't find it. I think that Treasure Sense of yours could help me. What do you say, will you help me achieve my destiny?"

Despite all the warning bells going off in Y/N's head, he was still a treasure hunter, and he couldn't pass up on this opportunity to find this amazing treasure. "Alright," Y/N agreed, "But I have a condition."

"What?" asked Teach, Y/N pretended not to notice him twitching.

"We need to bring someone with us," Y/N answered, he saw Teach about to protest but cut him off. "It always helps to bring along an extra crewmate to have your back. You never know what kind of booby-traps are set up around the treasure. Did Ace happen to tell you that we found his Flame Flame Fruit inside a volcano?"

Y/N could see the wheels inside Teach's head spinning. It was clear to Y/N that the man didn't want anyone else to know about his expedition. Y/N didn't feel comfortable going on a trip for a creepy Devil Fruit with a just as creepy Teach for company.

"Alright," Teach conceded. "We'll bring someone along, but just one other person. Find someone, and meet me in and hour and we'll set off. I wanna get my hands on that Fruit as soon as possible. I'll finally achieve my destiny. ZEHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Y/N quickly left the room and wandered the inside of the ship, wondering who to bring with him. His mind was buzzing with how creepy Teach had been acting and how suspicious this Dark Dark Fruit sounded. He almost didn't hear the person that was calling after him.

"Hey Y/N!" Y/N turned around and saw Ollie running down the hallway toward him. "I've been looking for you."

"Oh yeah, what's up?" Y/N asked.

Ollie smiled at him, "I was wondering if you wanted to do something tonight."

"I... can't," Y/N reluctantly replied. But he'd already told Teach that he'd find the Devil Fruit with him. In all honesty, he'd prefer spending an evening with Ollie then going on a treasure hunt with Teach.

"Oh," Ollie replied dismissively. "Well, then just forget about it. It was a stupid idea anyway."

"I'm leaving on a mission soon," Y/N explained. "Teach found a treasure map and wanted me to come along with him."

Ollie's green eyes widened in understanding, "Oh, can I come?"

Y/N thought about it, they'd been Nakama for a while. She'd been on treasure hunts with him in the past. But this was different. Teach was acting weird and Y/N DID NOT want to get her involved in the weirdness. Y/N wanted to bring along someone who could hopefully handle Teach if things got weird, like one of the Division Commanders. He didn't want Ollie to get hurt going after a creepy treasure with him and Teach.

"No," Y/N answered a bit more bluntly than he had intended.

Ollie frowned, "Sorry I asked," she pushed passed him and walked off, "I don't know why I even bothered."

"I'm sorry," he whispered after her. He felt horrible. But he didn't want her to get hurt. Y/N strengthened his resolve and ran up to the main deck in search of a Division Commander to bring with him.

Ace was away on a mission and Jozu was busy. Y/N eventually found Thatch and explained the situation to him.

"That does sound suspicious," Thatch admitted. "But Teach has been a member of this crew for a long time."

"Well he was acting weird," Y/N explained. "And with a Devil Fruit called the Dark Dark Fruit, I just wanted to be careful."

"Alright, I'll come," Thatch agreed. "When do we leave?"

"Teach asked me to meet with him in an hour," Y/N answered, "So... ten minutes."

"Then we'd better get going," Thatch decided. Y/N nodded and the two of them headed off to meet Teach.

-End Flashback pt VIII-

"We followed Teach's map to this island," Y/N continued, "the second I got off of the boat we were on I felt the treasure. It was the same kind of feeling I had when I saw the Gum Gum Fruit... and the same feeling I felt with the Flame Flame Fruit... but it was darker." He still had the entire crew's attention.

-Y/N and the Treasure Flashback part IX -

Y/N stepped off of the boat and onto the shore, "SWEET SILVERS RAYLEIGH!" Y/N took a step back and shivered.

"What is it? Do you sense the treasure?" asked Teach as he followed Y/N off the boat.

"Yeah but that's putting it mildly," said Y/N. "It's almost overpowering. You were right Teach, it must be powerful I've never sensed anything like this before."

"Zehahaha! Excellent," Teach chuckled happily. "Then it should be no problem for you to find it."

"You've got that right," Y/N agreed, "follow me."

Y/N led Teach and Thatch across the island and they eventually made it to a cave on the mountain in the middle of the island.

"I checked this cave the last time I came here," Teach told them. "But I didn't find anything inside it."

"It's definitely in there," Y/N assured him. "I'd bet anything on it."

"A dark cave leading to the Dark Dark Fruit," Thatch remarked as he stared into the opening of the dark cave. "It seems fitting."

"Torches?" Y/N suggested. The three of them quickly lit torches and entered the cave. The cave went downward and they kept going deeper and deeper for what felt like hours. But eventually... they had reached a dead end.

"See, it's a dead end," Teach pointed out. "It's the same thing I encountered last time."

Y/N ran his hands along the wall beside him and stared at it. "It's not a dead end," Y/N told him. "It feels like its coming from behind the wall. Maybe there's some kind of room through here."

"There's a small opening in the wall down there," Thatch observed as he pointed his torch towards a small hole in the wall.

"I won't be able to fit through that," Teach realized, he eyed Y/N, "But the kid could probably do it."

Y/N nodded in agreement, "I think I can manage it."

"When you find it, bring the treasure back," Teach instructed.

"Dah hah ah ahh 'ahhih a' oin'," said Y/N as he put his torch in his mouth, then got down on his knees and squeezed into the opening of the tunnel. (Translation: That's what I was planning on doing.)

"We'll keep our lights pointed at this end of the opening so it will be easier to find your way back," Thatch told Y/N as he crawled into the opening.

With just the torch in his mouth to light his way, Y/N squirmed his way through the small passage. It went on for a few minutes until the passage started getting wider, Y/N kept crawling until he came out of the passage into a small chamber. It was barely big enough for him to stand up in. On a short stone pillar in the middle of the room was a black treasure chest. "There it is," Y/N thought to himself, with the torch still in his mouth. Y/N reached into his left pocket and pulled out his black leather took case. He pulled out a lock pick and shined the torch on the chest as he picked the lock. Click! It popped opened and Y/N lifted the lid and shined the light down on the strange-looking dark purple fruit that resembled a bunch of grapes. "This thing's beyond creepy."

Y/N closed the lid of the treasure chest and held it up in front of him. "I'll make sure to show this to Pops, he'll know what to do." Y/N tucked the chest under his arm then crouched down and crawled back into the hole he had come in from. With the chest under one of his arms and the torch in his mouth Y/N crawled through the passage way until he saw flickering light coming through the other end.

"Here he comes," Thatch's voice called out.

"It's about time," Teach's voice replied as Y/N squirmed out of the hole and stood up. "Well, you got it right?"

"Yeah, I got it," answered Y/N as he took the torch out of his mouth and held it with one hand while opening the chest with the other to show Teach the fruit inside.

"At last!" Teach exclaimed. "Zehahahaha!"

"Nothing personal," said Y/N. "But that fruit gave me the creeps. I want to show it to the old man before anyone eats it."

"But that fruit is my destiny!" Teach protested. "That Fruit is my Fate, you can't keep it from me!"

"Calm down," Thatch scolded him. "You can live your dream after we show the fruit to the old man. With a name like Dark Dark Fruit that fruit sounds very dangerous. I just want to be sure that it's safe."

"Of course it's safe! It's my Fate! My destiny!" Teach insisted.

"If you think about it, I was the one who managed to get through the little passageway and got the chest," Y/N pointed out. "If it was your destiny to find this thing, wouldn't the tunnel into the other chamber have been bigger?"

"The Fruit's my Fate, it doesn't matter how I acquire it."

"Let's get out of this cave and get back to the ship," Thatch suggested. "Once we're there we can sort out this whole thing."

Y/N nodded and started back out of the cave, without another word Thatch followed after him. Teach stood and muttered something then went after them.

Two and a half hours later the trio finally made it out of the cave and back to the ship. It was already dark out so they had dinner then decided to head back to the rest of the Whitebeard Pirates in the morning.

In the middle of the night Y/N's eyes snapped open, he felt himself being drawn to the Dark Dark Fruit and in no time he was in the room they were holding it in. Y/N lifted the lid of the chest and stared down at the fruit, it was like it was calling to him. Y/N pulled the fruit out of the treasure chest and held it up in front of him staring at it intently. But suddenly he heard voices.

"Where are you going, Teach?" came Thatch's voice.

"I was just going for a late night snack," Teach answered. "I'm still hungry."

"Don't give me that," Thatch's voice replied. "You're going to eat the fruit."

"Zehahahaha!" Teach laughed. "Alright, you caught me."

"I told you, not until we get back to Whitebeard," said Thatch.

"You no longer have control over the matter," Teach replied. BANG! THUD! BANG! BANG!

Y/N stared at the door in horror, he was pretty sure he had just overheard Thatch getting shot multiple times. He picked up the treasure and held it to his chest. Teach had killed one of his Nakama to get the Devil Fruit. That went against all of the morals that Whitebeard had taught them.

Y/N's mind was buzzing, he was right to be suspicious of Teach, he'd killed to get that Fruit. Not just that, he'd killed his Nakama to get the Fruit. Y/N was momentarily glad that he'd decided to leave without Ollie, he wouldn't have been able to live with himself if he let her come and end up getting killed over the Fruit. Teach had killed Thatch, a Division Commander. Y/N had picked him to come as an escort so that WOULDN'T happen.

"You shouldn't have interfered with Fate," came Teach's voice, it was getting closer. KREEK! The door opened and Y/N found himself face to face with Marshal D. Teach, he had a pistol in his hand.

"So you heard, eh?" questioned Teach. Y/N only nodded. "Zehahaha, that fool interfered with my destiny and was out to ruin my dream. No one can fight Fate."

"But... you killed him!" Y/N exclaimed still shocked by what he had heard.

"It couldn't be helped," Teach replied. "He was in the way. Now the question is... are you in the way... or are you going to allow me to achieve my dream?"

"This dream of yours is bigger than the Fruit, isn't it?" asked Y/N.

"Zehahahaha!" Teach laughed. "You always were the smart one. Yes, I have big plans but the Dark Dark Fruit is at the center of them. By giving me that treasure you're helping me realize my dream. So what I want to know is... do you want to join my pirate crew?"

"Your pirate crew?" questioned Y/N.

"Yes, my pirate crew," Teach confirmed. "I plan on setting out on my own and forming the Blackbeard Pirates. I'LL BE THE KING OF THE PIRATES!"

"King of the Pirates?" Y/N repeated.

"Yeah," said Teach. "The days of Whitebeard are over. That old man can't become the King of the Pirates, it's my destiny. That fruit will help me achieve it."

"Why is this fruit so special?" asked Y/N.

"They say the Dark Dark Fruit has the powers of the Sea Devil himself," Blackbeard explained. "It controls darkness and I must have it. You'll make a great addition to my crew with the proper molding. Your observations about Fate were correct, you were the one to crawl through the tunnel and get the treasure. Your destiny is to help me achieve my dream at the same time you'll live your dream and find the One Piece you're after."

Y/N stayed silent and Teach continued. "So what do you say?" Teach asked. "DO YOU WANT TO JOIN MY PIRATE CREW?"

-End Flashback part VII-

The Curse of the Devil's Eye:

-x-

"So you joined him and that's why everyone's afraid of you now," Sanji guessed.

"No, unfortunately I didn't," Y/N replied, as he suppressed a shudder. "I wish it had been that simple. More lives would've been saved if I had just accepted and turned on him at the right moment."

-Y/N's Flashback pt VIII-

(A/N: This section contains graphic violence. But if there are Naruto stories out there that have death and violence and can still be rated 'T', I think I can get away with this. I'd like to see you have someone's eye cut out and keep the rating at TEEN.)

"Teach wants me to abandon pops and join him," Y/N thought to himself and stared at Blackbeard.

"All you have to do is give me the fruit," Teach told him.

Y/N took a deep breath and walked over to Teach then held out the chest containing the Devil Fruit. "Open wide," Y/N instructed.

"ZEHAHAHAHAHA!" Teach laughed. "That's the spirit boy! You'll be my First Mate! We'll scour the seas for worthy crew members and we'll start the new age of pirates!" Teach opened his mouth and waited for Y/N to give it to him.

"JAVELIN KICK!" Y/N screamed. He gave it to him all right he lashed out his leg and kicked Teach in the jaw with everything he had. CRUNCH! Some of Blackbeard's teeth fell out of his mouth as he fell backwards and hit the floor FWUMP! Y/N jumped over Teach and ran out of the room clutching the treasure chest to his chest.

He saw Thatch's body lying on the deck. He had four bullet wounds in his chest. Y/N momentarily felt guilty. He had convinced Thatch to come along, if he hadn't, he'd still be alive.

Y/N shook his head. Thatch had agreed to come because he knew the risks involved with a powerful Devil Fruit. If Y/N had gone alone with Teach, it might've been him lying there dead on the deck. Y/N had brought Thatch along, but Teach had been the one to kill him. Thatch had died to keep Teach from getting his hands on the Fruit, and Y/N wasn't going to let his death be in vain. He owed Thatch that much. Y/N turned and jumped off of the ship then raced back towards the island.

"YOU'RE INTERFERING WITH FATE, BOY!" Blackbeard shouted after him. "NO ONE'S GOING TO KEEP ME FROM MY DREAM!" SPLASH!

Y/N didn't have to see him to know Blackbeard had jumped off of the boat and was running after him. Y/N ran as fast as he could and made it to the island he, could still heard Teach coming behind him but luckily Y/N was faster than Teach and was putting some distance between them.

"This is hopeless," Y/N thought to himself. "There's only one way off of this island and that's with the ship we came here on. As stupid as he looks, Teach knows that. I need to catch him by surprise then jump on the ship and take off before he can stop me."

Y/N put on another burst of speed and ducked down behind a big rock. The cave that the Dark Dark Fruit had been in was part of a mountain that had giant boulders all over it. Y/N was halfway around the cave and hiding behind one of the boulders.

Y/N peaked around the side of the boulder and saw Teach running over, "GET BACK HERE YOU BRAT!" Teach bellowed. "YOU'RE KEEPING ME FROM MY DESTINY!"

Y/N put down the treasure chest then stood back up and drew his sword, "Here goes nothing," Y/N whispered as he waited for Blackbeard to pass the boulder he was behind. "Red Blade... LIGHTNING STRIKE!" Y/N launched himself at Teach with his sword drawn, but Teach heard him coming and whirled around in time to side-step the pirate flying towards him. SWISH! WHAM! Blackbeard held his hand together and drove them down into Y/N's back, sending him crashing down to the ground.

"I see..." Blackbeard commented, "attacking an opponent roughly ten times your strength in a one-on-one battle... a cunning strategy. Wait no... what's the opposite of that?" (A/N: Dragon Ball Z Abridged reference)

"Uh... stupid?" Y/N offered as he lunged up off of the ground and swung his leg around at Teach's face. WHAP! Blackbeard reached out and grabbed Y/N's leg then used his hold on it to slam him down to the ground. WHAM!

"Yeah, that's it, stupid," Blackbeard amended as he stood over Y/N. "ZEHAHAHA! YOU NEVER STOOD A CHANCE BRAT!"

Y/N rolled away from Teach and attempted to get up, "You're spirited but you're in over your head. You're determined to protect that treasure... and I respect that." THWAK! Teach lashed out his leg and kicked Y/N in the face sending him crashing to the ground and rolling away. "This is your last chance, boy. Join my pirate crew... you'll find One Piece... and I'll become King of the Pirates."

"Hah-ha," Y/N chuckled as he staggered up to his feet. "That's where you're wrong, you might kill me... but you'll never become King of the Pirates."

POW! Blackbeard punched Y/N hard in the stomach doubling him over. SLIK! Blackbeard raked his nails across Y/N's right eye causing the skin around it to bleed and drip down into the split eyeball. Blood was dripping down the side of Y/N's face and he let out a pain-filled scream, "AAAAAHHHHHHH! SON OF A BITCH!"

"ARE YOU DOUBTING MY FATE AND MY DREAM?" Teach demanded. "If you're so smart, you tell me, who do you think will be the next Pirate King? That old man you call 'pops'? Whitebeard?"

"No," Y/N replied as he staggered up to his feet. "He hasn't set off yet... but in a year's time... he will. The new generation of pirates... will be lead by the next King of the Pirates... MONKEY D. LUFFY!"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Blackbeard snarled, SLIK! Blackbeard raked his nails across Y/N's right eye in the other direction, giving him two deep scratches going across his eye which was now bleeding profusely.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Y/N screamed in agony as his eye was practically torn out of its socket. "MOTHER FU—" THWAK! Y/N was cut off with a hard kick to the chest and went crashing down to the ground.

WHAM! WOMP! CRASH! CRUNCH! Blackbeard kept attacking Y/N until he was no longer moving. Y/N laid on the ground and his consciousness faded, the last thing he heard was Teach laughing, "ZEHAHAHAHAHA!"

-End Flashback pt IX-

"So that's where you got the scars from," Nami realized, she placed a comforting hand on Y/N's shoulder.

"Did you really tell him I was going to be King of the Pirates?" asked Luffy.

"Of course," Y/N answered, "I've never doubted you. Teach was already a great fighter before eating the Dark Dark Fruit, with it he's probably unstoppable. But if anyone can beat him it'll be you. No matter who you're fighting you always rise to the occasion and beat them."

"So what happened next?" asked Usopp. "Obviously you didn't die because you're still here."

"You're right," Y/N agreed. "But the story only gets worse."

"What could be worse than getting your eye cut out and almost dying?" questioned Nami.

"Finding a new one," Y/N replied.

-Origin Flashback part X -

Y/N eventually woke up and opened his eye. He wasn't sure how long he had been unconscious for, it could have been hours, it could have been days, it could have been weeks for all he knew. The blood from his right eye had dried and the cuts around his eyelid were starting to scar. He reached out and grabbed his sword which was on the ground next to him and cut himself with it before putting it away. But that was when Y/N felt it. "Wait... what's that?" Y/N asked himself. "I sense treasure, something dark. But that bastard took the Devil Fruit and left." With only one eye Y/N staggered to his feet, he barely had depth perception now, so he relied on his Treasure Sense to lead him. He found himself in front of the cave he had found the Dark Dark Fruit in. "There's something else in there," Y/N realized. "The Devil Fruit must have been blocking me from sensing it." Y/N stood in front of the cave for a moment, "It's not like I have anything to lose."

With the aid of a torch they had left at the cave and with only one eye Y/N headed into the cave and made the difficult two and a half hour journey with barely any depth perception. The entire way, Y/N was thinking about Teach and the horrible things he had done, "He killed Thatch ... He tried to kill me... He killed his Nakama... He abandoned Whitebeard after all the years he had been on the crew... he'll pay for what he's done... sooner or later... he's going to pay..." Eventually Y/N made it to the same dark dead end and after feeling around he found the passage way. Y/N put the torch in his mouth and got down on his hands and knees and squeezed into the opening then crawled through it like he had earlier. A few minutes later, Y/N came out the other end and found himself in the same cavern he had found the Dark Dark Fruit in.

Y/N's search of the cavern came up with nothing he shook his head and sat down on the small pillar that the Devil Fruit had been on. "I sense the treasure but I don't see it. It's like I'm sitting on top of it. WAIT A MINUTE!" Y/N stood up and glanced at the pillar, "It's worth a shot," he said to himself, THWAK! Y/N lashed out his leg and kicked the pillar, knocking it away into the wall. "That was a little easier than I—Whoa!" Y/N suddenly noticed a hole in the ground where the pillar had been, it looked like it was barely big enough for him to fit into. Y/N shrugged and put the torch back in his mouth then lowered himself legs-first into the hole. He spread his legs out to keep from falling then slowly slid all the way inside and started his way down.

Y/N kept going down the hole for what felt like hours, it seemed like it was going down to the center of the Earth. But Y/N had nothing else to do, his ship was gone and he was stranded on the island. So he kept going for what felt like forever and kept going lower and lower, deeper and deeper, he felt like he was going down to Hell itself. The treasure he sensed kept getting stronger. Finally the hole Y/N had been squeezing through opened wider, Y/N shined his torch down at the cavern below him and could vaguely make out solid ground. Y/N took a deep breath and dropped, TMP! He landed in a crouch in a small cavern that wasn't even big enough for him to stand up in. By now the treasure was almost overwhelming his Treasure Sense... like a really strong smell or a bright light after being in the dark for a long time.

Y/N shined his torch which was almost burned out by now and noticed a blood red chest on the ground in front of him. There was no lock on the chest and Y/N gave it an experimental tug ... IT OPENED! "I didn't expect that to actually work." Y/N commented to himself. Inside was a blood red ball, Y/N tentatively reached in and picked the ball out of the case. It was about the size of a human eye and smelled strongly of blood. After looking over the ball for a few minutes with the little bit of light that he had left Y/N realized, "ITS AN EYE!"

"How do you like that for Fate, Teach?" Y/N asked himself. "You cut out my eye, I find a new one. I managed to squeeze through two holes that your bulky ass wouldn't have made it through. You're talking about destiny... well this eye is mine." Y/N used the tip of Akaikyuuketsuki to clean the remains of his eye from his eye socket, having gotten the blood from his eye on the sword he put it away. Then he slowly lifted the red eye to his face, he hesitated for a moment then shoved the eye into the empty eye socket, SQUISH!

"Whoa," Y/N said to himself. "I feel great." His eye didn't hurt anymore now that he had the new one and his body was no longer sore.

"Amazing isn't it?" came a voice in Y/N's head, startling him.

"Who the hell are you?" Y/N demanded.

"I'm the spirit of the eye you just put in your head,"came a reply. "You no doubt have heard of the Devil Fruit... since I was practically buried under one. Well I am THE DEVIL'S EYE!"

"Never heard of it," Y/N stated.

"Of course you haven't," the voice boasted. "The Devil's Eye has never been seen by a mortal before yourself. You have found one of the ocean's lost treasures and are now endowed with the powers I possess."

"Powers?" Y/N repeated. The red eye swiveled and glanced upward.

"That's a long hole you came down through isn't it? I bet you'd like to get through it quickly."

"Well as tempting as saying in this hole sounds..."

"Your sarcasm is not appreciated."

"Okay, yes... I'd like to get out of the hole."

"That's what I thought. Picture yourself floating upward with your mind, floating up that hole to the next room."

Y/N did as he was told and pictured it, but nothing happened. "Is something supposed to happen?"

Without even knowing that he was doing it, Y/N raised his arms up in the air then shot them downwards, HE FLEW UP INTO THE HOLE! Y/N kept going and it was only a matter of minutes until had managed to come out the top of the hole and find himself in the cavern he had found the Dark Dark Fruit in.

"What the hell was that?" Y/Ndemanded.

"It's called telekinesis, its one of the powers that I possess. You can move things, including yourself, with your mind... or more appropriately, with me."

"This is amazing! I could do anything with this!"

"Including killing the bastard that cut your eye out and left you for dead. You have the power to kill him even if he has the Dark Dark Fruit."

"How'd you know that?"

"I'm inside your mind, how do you think?"

"Okay, dumb question but here's another one. You said that telekinesis was one of the powers that you possess. Does that mean there others?"

"Did you notice that you don't have your torch, yet?"

"But I can see fine!"

"Exactly. I'm a mystical eye. With me you can see perfectly for long distances and you can see beyond the visible light spectrum, smoke and darkness have no effect on me. It's called UltraRed Vision."

Y/N smirked, "Teach won't know what hit him."

"Yes, that's it. Embrace the power... you can now control anything you wish. Why don't you get out of this cave and give it a try?"

Y/N nodded and without even knowing what he was doing, he dropped down to the ground and shot his arms out behind him. Y/N rocketed forward and into the sideways passage that he had crawled through and in seconds he was on the other side. But Y/N kept going and FLEW all the way out of the cave in a matter of twenty minutes.

"Wow!"

"Hold it right there!" came a voice. Y/N spun around to see a group of five pirates standing behind him. "Who're you? What're you doing here?"

"If you're here for the treasure... I'm afraid you're too late," said Y/N.

"You mean you have the Dark Dark Fruit?" asked one of the pirates.

"We're gonna have to kill this brat for getting in our way," one of the pirates thought to himself. But for some reason, Y/N heard it.

"He didn't say that out loud," Y/N said to himself.

"You can read minds... with me you're telepathic."

(A/N: There's death ahead. Not descriptively violent, but still death. You've been warned.)

"OI! I'M TALKIN' TO YOU!" a pirate yelled. "DO YOU HAVE THE DARK DARK FRUIT?"

"No," Y/N answered honestly. "Someone else does but I have something better and you're about to find out first hand."

Without even knowing what he was doing Y/N pulled out Akaikyuuketsuki and threw it at the pirates, "RED EYE... BOOMERANG!" he heard himself shout. The red blade whizzed out at the pirate, but they managed to get out of the way.

"You missed you red eyed brat!" one of the pirates taunted.

"Heh-heh-heh," Y/N chuckled in a loud laugh unlike his own. "You'd think that wouldn't you?" Y/N felt his arm raised and pulled back, SLA-SLISH! The red blade came flying over and slashed THROUGH a pirate and kept on going. SLA-SLISH! SLA-SLAK! SLISH! CHUNK! Y/N stared in horror as he felt himself telekinetically using his sword to slaughter the pirates. In a matter of second they were all on the ground dead.

"What just happened? I killed them... but I wasn't..."

"No... WE killed them. You see brat, you don't control the Devil's Eye... THE DEVIL'S EYE CONTROLS YOU! HEH-HEH-HEH!" (A/N: I have the strangest urge to make a Soviet Russia joke.)

Y/N felt himself hold out his hand and his sword pulled itself out of the pirate's chest where it was lodged and floated over to him. Y/N ran an uncontrolled hand over the red blade then brought the blood to his lips and licked it off his finger.

"Taste that? It's the blood of the first of many victims to come. No one shall see the Devil's Eye... all of the humans shall die!"

"You're a monster..."

"Heh-heh-heh, actually YOU'RE a monster. YOU killed them."

"No... I didn't... it... no... I have morals... I don't kill people without a reason..."

"Heh-heh-heh! Morals? You mean the ones that old man taught you? Don't make me laugh. You're a blood thirsty killer and unfortunately for you... YOU DON'T HAVE A CHOICE IN THE MATTER!"

Akaikyuuketsuki was put away in its sheath telekinetically, then Y/N lifted up off of the ground and levitated to the shore where he found the ship the pirates of the pirates he had killed. "I don't need this pathetic piece of drift wood to transport myself. Watch this brat." Y/N held out his hand and then yanked them back, KRAK! THE ENTIRE DECK OF THE SHIP WAS TORN OFF AND FLOATED UP INTO THE AIR!

The deck crumbled until it was an exact rectangle then it floated over and landed in front of him. "And you called the ship a pathetic piece of drift wood."

"Its all about striking fear into the one you're about to kill. If they see you approaching on a ship, you're just a pirate. But if they see you approaching on a floating piece of wood... you're a demon. Now we're ready to – what's that?"

Y/N head turned and he caught sight of a fin out in the water. "Hello fishy..."

"No... no... SHANE!" Y/N screamed at the top of his lungs, hoping to save the shark that had been following him around for the last few months. "SWIM AWAY! SWIM AWAY! GET OUT OF HERE!"

Unfortunately the shark didn't heed Y/N's warning and was surprised to find itself suddenly yanked up out of the water and into the air. The disgruntled blue shark with long long jagged nose thrashed around in midair as he found himself unable to breathe now that he was out of the water.

"NO! SHANE NO!" Y/N hollered as his shark 'friend' began suffocating as the air rushed through its gills. Y/N was desperate, sure the shark had tried to eat him for the last few months, but he didn't want to kill him. WHAP! Using his last ounce of control Y/N reached out with his left arm and slapped his right arm which he was using to telekinetically hold the large fish out of the water. SPLASH! Suddenly released from the telekinetic hold, Shane splashed back down into the water. "SWIM AWAY SHANE! SWIM AWAY!"

"You little fool... you can't fight me... you're nowhere near strong enough..."

Again Y/N's right arm shot out and the shark that had been attempting to swim away was once again yanked up out of the water. "RED EYE... TOSS!" Y/N's arm snapped to the side and the shark came flying towards him and landed on the shore, THUD! Shane thrashed on the sand, once again unable to breathe.

"Shane no, no..." Y/N made to dash for the aquatic animal in an attempt to get it back in the water. But Y/N's right arm suddenly veered around and punched him in the stomach POW! Y/N went flying backwards and went crashing down on his back. Y/N rolled over and attempted to fight back up, but his right arm was on his back pressing him down into the sand and preventing him from getting up. "NOOOOOO! SHANE! SHAAAAANNNNEEE!" Y/N was rooted to his spot and watched in horror as the shark's movements slowed and its breath left it, Y/N closed his left eye so he wouldn't see it but the view from his right eye was broadcasted into his brain forcing him to watch. A tear dripped down out of Y/N's left eye and ran down his face, "I'm sorry Shane... I'm so sorry..." Eventually the shark's movements stopped completely... Shane was dead.

(A/N: That's it for the death in this chapter.)

"HEH-HEH-HEH! That stupid fish's death marks the beginning of my reign of terror. You can't stop me. No one can." Y/N stared at the dead shark, killing those pirates was one thing but this was something... no... someone that he knew. Yes the fish had spent the passed few months trying to eat him but that was their relationship and the thought of killing the shark had never crossed his mind. But that's what he had done. Whitebeard had taught Y/N morals and that killing was wrong and unnecessary. While he hadn't done it directly, Y/N had still made the mistake of putting the accursed thing into his head. Y/N had killed his friend.

"Please... can we... can we at least bury him? It'll be an official landmark of where your reign of terror began. Please... he was my friend..."

"Very well. You're a clever little brat, I don't want to deal with your pathetic – but still annoying – attempts to stop me. The longer we're here the more time I have to take complete control. Your last moments of control will be spent making a grave to mark the start of my rampage."

Y/N slowly pushed himself up off of the ground and up to his feet. In a sudden act of desperation Y/N shot up his left arm and clawed at his right eye but his arm suddenly snapped to the side. POW! Y/N's right arm came up and punched him in the face sending Y/N tumbling down to the ground.

"You little fool... I knew what you were planning BEFORE YOU DID! Do you realize that even IF you managed to get me out, you'll kill yourself in the process? I've attached myself to your brain, removing me will kill you."

"And what's so bad about that? I'll take you down with me. I'll have saved the world from your 'reign of terror'."

"You stupid brat, even if you do die I'll remain active. You'll be a rotting corpse but I'll still be an eternal spirit. Someone wishing for the power to smite their enemies will come across me still lodged in your remains. They won't have the reluctance to kill and willingness to die that you do. You being alive is the only thing keeping someone worse from using my powers to terrorize the world. THAT is your curse. THAT is the curse of the Devil's Eye."

Y/N stayed silent, he couldn't think of any response to that. Even if he somehow died to keep the eye from doing anything, eventually someone else would come across it and they'd be cursed like him. Just seeing what he had done to his six victims made him sick to his stomach, he couldn't imagine another innocent person being forced to go through what he knew he was about to. He needed to live in spite of the eye. He needed to live to keep it from falling into someone else's hands. He needed to live and eventually find a way to stop it.

"Now then... we've got a grave to make." Y/N wasn't even controlling himself as he stood up then levitated Shane's body up off of the shore. He walked towards the cave, floating the shark corpse behind him and then tossed the dead fish into the opening of the cave, followed by the other five victims. "This cave will now be a tomb, marking the first of my many, many victims." Y/N pulled off the white Whitebeard shirt he had been wearing and threw it in after the six corpses then smashed the roof of the cave with a hard kick, THWHAM! The entrance caved in sealing the cave off from the outside world. Y/N then spent the next few minutes making wooden tombstone out of the remains of the pirate ship. Using his sword he carved the eye's cryptic message into it.

'Red Eye's reign of terror began here. All shall perish before the power of Red Eye.'

Leaving the sign/tombstone there to be found by anyone else who came across the island, Y/N climbed on board the rectangle of wood that the eye had torn off of the pirate ship and it floated up off of the sand, then flew into the ocean and floated off into the horizon.

"Is that going to be my name now? Red Eye?"

"I'm actually quite pleased with you as my host. Your red sword and red hair will fit my demonic image nicely. BUT NOW WE'RE OFF! THERE ARE PEOPLE TO KILL!"

-End Flackback part X-

Living in Hell

-x-

"That next year went from being the best to the worst of my life," Y/N said to the Straw Hats, all of whom were staring in different degrees of shock, disgust, and sympathy as he continued his character origin story. "I was in my own personal hell. The longer I used the eye, the less control I had. I had to watch as I killed countless people without being able to stop it. The worst part was since I could read minds, I could hear their dying thoughts. I heard them panicking and crying, the terror and the revulsion that they were feeling as I killed their friends and family in front of them. It was horrible."

Y/N suddenly put a hand over his mouth, then shot to his feet and ran to the railing and lost his lunch. He staggered back looking pale.

"I'm gonna say this now in case I ever lose control again," Y/N informed them. "One of the Devil's Eye's major weaknesses is that it can't instantly kill someone. There's something to be said about a person's own strength and will to live. As long as the person's still fighting it the Eye can't flat out snap your neck and kill you. Despite all of its talk, that's why it drew out the fight with Arlong, it had to weaken him and completely break his will before it could kill him. But in the end, I was the one who did that."

"But you can't break my neck anyway," Luffy pointed out as he grabbed the side of his head and snapped his head to the side, since his body was rubber his couldn't break his neck.

"I know," replied Y/N, "and it knows that too. That's why I was the one to talk you out of fighting Arlong. It knew I'd have to completely beat you to kill you, and even with its powers I'm not sure that I could. That's also why I didn't attack anyone with legendary strength. If I went and attacked someone like Whitebeard, Shanks, the Warlords of the Sea or some high ranked marines, even with my powers they'd still probably be able to beat me."

"But if you killed everyone you came across how to do you have a wanted poster?" questioned Usopp always one to spot details. "If no one lived after they saw you, how did the word get out that you were the one that killed them?"

"The eye kept leaving cryptic messages like the first one," Y/N explained. "It would wander into town, killing everyone, and then carve a message into the side of a building. The Marines were skeptical at first, they thought it was some kind of hoax, so the eye made a point to kill people while they were on a Transponder Snail, that way they could scream that they were being attacked by someone with a red eye. Eventually the evidence became overwhelming, even for those inept marine bastards, and Red Eye got a one hundred million berri bounty."

-Y/N's Flashback part XI-

"RED EYE IS HERE!" A marine captain screamed into his Transmitter Snail. "HE BOARDED MY SHIP AND HE'S KILLING EVERYONE HE COMES ACROSS! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!"

"Stay calm," said the voice on the other end. "We'll try to send reinforcements."

"I don't have that long!" the captain screamed. "My entire crew is being wiped out as we speak!"

KRASH! The door to the captain's quarters came off of its hinges and fell into the room. A boy with matted and extremely messy red hair that covered most of his face with the exception of a glowing red eye stood there. "HE'S HERE!" screamed the captain as Red Eye stared at him and raised his arm up in front of him. The Captain felt his heart beat faster. "RED EYE'S HE—" The marine captain was cut off as the receiver was yanked out of his hand.

"That's rude, you know," the figure in the doorway remarked, "I come all this way to kill you and you can't even get off the phone."

The Marine Captain was terrified and dropped to his knees, "Pleeeeaaaaasssseeee don't kill me!" he begged in absolute terror, he was crying.

"That's odd..." Red Eye commented with a cold voice, "Your spirit's already broken and I haven't done anything to you yet."

"RED EYE... STRANGLE!" The demon with the red eye reached out his arm and closed his hand, the captain felt a squeezing sensation on his throat. It didn't let up, he couldn't breathe, but he was too scared to try to fight it. A thirty seconds later the captain had passed out, and a full minute later, he was no longer alive.

"Captain... Captain... what's happening?" asked the voice on the other end of the Transponder Snail.

Red Eye raised an eyebrow and the receiver floated over to him. "Is Red Eye still there? What's going on? Captain?"

"I'm sorry, he's kind of... dead," Red Eye informed the person on the other end. "Can I take a message?"

"What are you talking about?" asked the marine on the other end. "What happened? He stopped talking for five seconds! How do you know?"

"Heh-heh-heh, I'm pretty sure he's dead," said Red Eye, he turned to the unmoving captain, "HEY YOU! ARE YOU STILL ALIVE?"

"..." The corpse gave no response.

"I'm sorry, he's not answering," Red Eye apologized. "I'm pretty sure he's dead now."

"How do you... but... I was..." the marine on the other end stammered. "If he's dead and you're telling me... then that means... YOU'RE RED EYE!"

CLICK! Red Eye Rick hung up the phone. Then turned and left the captain's quarters and wandered down to the very bottom of the ship. Squeeek... squeeek... squeeeek... The screws holding the hull of the ship together unscrewed themselves and dropped down to the ground, SPLOOOOOSH!

Water rushed into the ship and filled it. Red Eye fled the ship just as it sand to the bottom. Any marines that by some odd chance were still alive, drowned.

-End Flashback part XI-

"So what did you do?" Nami asked. "How'd you get back in control? When you were fighting Arlong at one point it looked like you regained control again."

"That was a unique circumstance," said Y/N. "The Devil's Eye wanted to kill Arlong but Luffy was getting in the way. I managed to convince the Eye to let me take control. It knew from my memories Luffy was strong and stubborn so it figured it would be easier having me get him out of the way, rather than having to kill him in order to kill Arlong."

"So if that was a unique circumstance how did you completely regain control?" questioned Usopp.

"I discovered that I could regain control over my body if I was sufficiently drunk," Y/N explained. "Alcohol affects the brain and that red parasite is connected to my brain. I have a high tolerance for alcohol, it doesn't. One night while I was drunk out of my mind I stole an eye patch from a dead pirate and hid it inside my boot. When I pass my alcohol tolerance, I black out and don't remember anything. All I knew the next day was that I had a way to beat the Eye. The Eye was so arrogant at this point that it felt anything I tried to do would be useless. I managed to convince the eye to go back to the East Blue and wreak some havoc there. The Eye agreed because it would be able to kill my Aunt, adoptive mother, and younger brother. Along the way... I stopped at the Baratie."

"Yeah, I remember that day," said Sanji. "That was when you died and scared off all the waiters. Coincidentally, that's also the day I took up smoking."

"If you want to tell them go ahead," Y/N offered. "My throat's getting dry."

-Sanji's Flashback, but still Y/N's Origin part XII-

"May I get you anything else milady?" a newly nineteen year old Sanji offered as he swooned over one of the female customers taking in her curves, her beautiful face and her silky blonde hair.

"Leave my wife alone!" snapped the female customer's husband.

KREAK! The door to the restaurant opened and in walked a figure with long messy red hair which had his face mostly covered. It appeared to be a young man based off of his physique so Sanji didn't immediately hit on it. He wore worn clothes that were covered in blood stains and black steel-bottomed boots. He also wore a blood stained blood-red cape that was fastened around his neck and fell down to the top of his boots. The mysterious person walked over to a table and sat down. The waiters in the room all turned and stared at Sanji wondering what to do. Since Sanji was the Assistant Head Chef, they listened to him. "Well, he's obviously hungry," Sanji said to the waiter closest to him. "Go see what he wants."

The waiter timidly went over to the man and took his order. Sanji watched as the man pulled a big sack out of his pocket and placed it on the table. The waiter ran back to Sanji less then a minute later. "He wants our entire stock of alcoholic drinks," the waiter reported. "He said he could afford it. What do we do?"

"Bring it to him," Sanji instructed, then he noticed a pair of beautiful women arriving and quickly ran over to the door to greet them.

An hour later the boy was still sitting at his table and had empty barrels and bottles of booze piled around him. "Well, go ask him to pay," Sanji told the waiter. The waiter timidly walked over to the boy but before he could reach him... KA-BOOOOM! The boy and his table exploded in a cloud of smoke, the customers all started screaming and Sanji helped the women make their way out of the restaurant.

When the smoke cleared the table, the bottles, and the boy were all gone. The only thing there was a hole in the wall. "H-he exploded!" a waiter shrieked. "HE DRANK TOO MUCH!"

"What's worse is, he didn't pay," Sanji realized. "The old geezer ain't gonna like this."

"'Ey! Sanji! What da heck is going on 'ere?" Patty demanded as he and a bunch of waiters and chefs came into the dining room after hearing the explosion.

"Some guy exploded after drinking too much," Sanji explained.

"What did he look like?" asked Patty.

"Don't know," Sanji replied, then he pointed to the waiter who had waited on the boy that had exploded. "Ask him."

"What did dat guy look like?" Patty asked the waiter.

"I didn't see much of his face it was covered by his long red hair ... but he had this one red eye... it was glowing and when I looked at it directly I felt like I was gonna die," waiter answered. "I didn't want to ask where he got it the thing gave me the creeps. He just told me to bring him all the booze we had and showed me a big sack of coins."

"A glowing red eye?" Carne repeated as he came over. "YOU IDIOT! THAT WAS 'THE DEMON' RED EYE! THE NOTORIOUS MURDERER FROM THE GRAND LINE!"

"Who?" asked Sanji.

"It's said that he has a red eye that gives him demonic powers," Carne explained. "The wanted poster says flee-on-sight and that he's worth 100,000,000 berries. But he's killed anyone that's ever seen him. That's why no one really knows what he looks like."

"I JUST SAW HIM!" the waiter screamed. "HE'S GONNA KILL ME!"

"But didn't ya say da bum exploded?" asked Patty.

"HE'LL COME BACK FROM THE DEAD AND KILL ME ANYWAY!" the waiter shrieked. "WHAT IF HE THINKS THE STUFF I BROUGHT HIM MADE HIM EXPLODE? I'M GONNA DIE!"

"What if he doesn't remember who waited on him?" wondered another waiter. "WE COULD ALL BE KILLED!"

"CUT IT OUT YA' BUMS!" Patty snapped.

"If you shitheads can't handle pirates then you shouldn't work here," said Sanji. "I don't see what everyone's getting so worked up about. The guy's gone now anyway, if you're not gonna toughen up, then leave."

"You're not going to be hunted down and killed by an angry demon!" a waiter exclaimed. "I QUIT!"

"ME TOO!" agreed another waiter. Before Sanji, Patty, or Carne could stop them all of the waiters had quit and ran out of the Baratie and left without looking back.

"Do any of you idiots wanna explain to me what just happened?" came the voice of Head Chef Zeff.

"Shit," Sanji cursed when he realized that Head Chef was going to hold him responsible, he spotted a male customer lighting up a cigarette and swiped it from him and enjoyed his first of many cigarettes while he was made to repair the hole in the wall.

-End Sanji's Flashback (Y/N's Flashback XII)-

"That's three bad first impressions," Sanji concluded. "Because of Crap-Eye, all the waiter's jumped ship. The geezer blamed me for everything and I had to act as a waiter and fix the hole you made in the wall."

"Would you have preferred it if I ended up slaughtering everyone in the restaurant?' questioned Y/N. "The way I see it, I was doing you a service by publicly ridding the world of a demon. If I just put on the eye patch the night I was drunk, everyone would still be worried about Red Eye coming and killing them. Now at least there's piece of mind, because most of the world thinks Red Eye exploded."

"Besides," Y/N added, "I'm sure your restaurant must've gained a boost in popularity when it became known as the death place of Red Eye."

"I did have to wait on a lot more customers then usual," Sanji admitted.

Y/N turned his attention back to the rest of the Straw Hats, "I drank everything that waiter gave me and managed to gain a sufficient amount of control. When I noticed the waiter coming to ask about payment I threw an Explosion Ball to create a cloud of smoke and fire then blasted a hole in the wall with the eye. I slipped the eye patch on, dove out of the hole and sailed off in a ship that a customer had come on."

"I guess I would've been worse if you ended up killing people," Sanji reasoned, "it would've been bad for business. A hole in the wall isn't that big of a price to pay."

"Glad you see it my way," Y/N replied, "Here's another weakness of the eye just in case...it can only use its powers on things it can see. If it's covered, it can't see anything so it can't use its powers on anything."

Sanji, Zoro, and Luffy all nodded, any advantage they could get over 'Psycho-Y/N' was a good thing.

"I was still shaken up after everything I had been through during that year," said Y/N as he resumed his story, "I needed a place to lay low and figure out what I was gonna do. I ended up in Shell Town where I met this little girl."

-x-

Y/N and Rika:

-Flashback pt XIII-

Y/N docked his ship in the harbor outside of Shell Town, he sat up and leaned back against the mast of his boat. His long red hair fell down passed his shoulders and was covering his face and his eye patch. For some strange reason, he couldn't grow facial hair. He hadn't cut his hair in a year but he was still completely clean shaven. His clothes were filthy and had dried blood all over them. He had ditched his cape a while ago not wanting to be recognized by anyone who happened to have been in the Baratie and had seen his 'death'. "I could use a bath," Y/N said to himself, and with that he rolled off the side of his boat and dropped down into the water, SPLASH!

Y/N pulled himself up onto the dock and noticed a small girl with dark brown hair wearing a green dress standing on the dock watching him. She looked to be about eight years old. "Hi!" the girl greeted him.

"Uh... hi," Y/N replied, before he shook out his long hair like a dog to dry it. He enjoyed the fact that he wasn't trying to kill her like he had with plenty other children over the last year.

"Heehee," he girl laughed. "You're silly. What's your name?"

"I'm Y/N."

"My name's Rika. Are you a pirate?"

"I'm a Treasure Hunter."

"Isn't that the same as a pirate?"

"No. Pirates are violent and do anything to get anything they want. Sometimes there'll be a pirate demented enough to attack and kill people just for the fun of it. A Treasure Hunter searches the world for unique treasures that no one's before. Piracy's illegal, treasure hunting isn't."

"So what are you doing here? Are you looking for some amazing treasure?"

"I just got through a... personal crisis and I'm still trying to recover from it."

"Can I help?" Rika offered, she looked like she genuinely wanted to help him, which confused Y/N.

"Why would you want to help me? You just met me."

"You look like you need it."

Y/N reached behind his head and tied his hair into a long pony tail that went down to his mid back. He desperately needed a haircut. His eye patch had been revealed and he noticed the girl looking at it.

"What happened to your eye?"

"A pirate cut it out because I had a treasure he wanted."

"That was mean. He sounds like Captain Morgan."

"Who?"

"Captain Morgan. He's the ranking officer in the marine base. He makes everyone pay taxes, we barely have any money. He and his son are big meanies."

"You're right, that doesn't sound very nice. Do you know somewhere I could get something to eat? Possibly some clothes?"

"My mommy runs a tavern. Come on, I'll take you there."

-x-

Y/N found himself sitting in a tavern with Rika sitting at a table with him. There was a bag beside his chair that contained some money, his sword, and his air-tight tin of explosion balls. The Devil's Eye hadn't exactly taken him shopping during its rampage, so all he had to wear were the wet clothes on his back. He had finished his meal and had spent the last ten minutes telling Rika some of his treasure hunting stories. Oddly enough, the other customers in the tavern were listening too.

"...the pirate didn't like the idea that I was keeping the treasure away from him so he attacked me and slashed my eye out. I'm not gonna show you cause there's an ugly 'x' shaped scar there. I never really stood a chance. I still don't know how I survived but I did and I just managed to get back here to the East Blue. I grew up on an island near here so I figured this would be a good place to recover."

The customers seemed relieved that he wasn't a pirate or a wanted criminal, Captain Morgan would probably think they were 'harboring' him and that would cause huge amounts of trouble.

"So what are you gonna do now?" asked Rika.

"My younger brother is about to set sail on his own journey, I figured I'd wait around and see if he comes by. All I need is a place to stay maybe something to do."

Rika turned to her mother, Ririka, who was standing behind the bar silently listening to her daughter talk with the treasure hunter she found. "Mommy, do you think he could work here?"

"Rika, you know we don't have the money to hire anyone."

"In that case, you'd only have to pay me with two meals a day and I'd pay you weekly rent for the room," Y/N offered, "For six years I was raised by my Aunt who ran a tavern, I know what to do."

"He can have my room mommy," Rika suggested, she seemed determined to help her new friend. "I'll sleep with you."

"I won't be here for long just until I get back on my feet," Y/N added. "I have some money on me so I won't cause problems with Marine Captain Morgan."

KRATA-KRASH! The customers dove behind their tables and cowered in terror at the sound of the Captain's name.

"Do they do that every time someone says Captain Morgan?"

KRASH! Apparently they did.

"You can have the job if you promise never to do that again," Ririka decided.

"I'll promise never to say it on purpose," Y/N agreed. "I'll call him 'that marine' if it'll help."

"I guess that's all I can hope for. But before you started, get cleaned up a little bit. I can't have you scaring the customers away. You look like a pirate."

"Come on Y/N!" Rika chirped as she grabbed Y/N's hand and pulled him out of his chair. "We can get you some new clothes."

"I thought it was teenage girls that liked shopping," Y/N commented as the eight year old pulled him out of the tavern.

-End Flashback part XIII-

"That girl helped me so much, and had absolutely no reason to do it," Y/N continued. "That's why I'm so disgusted with what I've done... the eye made me kill girls just like her. I cut my hair short, bought my sunglasses and worked at the tavern so I could lay low. The island was out of the way but close to a Marine Base so I could keep with the times. A week later I saved Rika from the Captain's son's pet wolf only for Roronoa Zoro to get involved and agree to some month-long test of his manhood. I was perfectly willing to fight off any marines that came after Rika and her mother but I guess its best that I let things go the way they did."

"They looked like they needed you," Zoro said. "I thought you were actually her older brother and I didn't want to see your family get broken up. Although... I probably wouldn't have survived if you hadn't snuck me all that food late at night."

Y/N nodded and continued, "Three weeks later a pirate with a straw hat showed up and announced to the tavern that he was going to ask 'Pirate Hunter' Roronoa Zoro to join his pirate crew."

-Flashback part XIV-

"I'll take three steaks," said a pirate with a Straw Hat. "Hey, what's with that eye patch?"

"Blunt... eats a lot of meat... doesn't realize how much things cost ... straw hat... scar under his left eye... that's gotta be Luffy." Y/N said to himself.

"Uh... a pirate cut my eye out," Y/N answered as he turned away from the table and hurried off. "I'll get your food."

"Say, I wonder if Zoro is still being held at the Marine Base," Luffy's voice boomed through the restaurant. KRASH! Y/N stared as the customers all jumped behind their tables and hid.

Y/N surveyed the room with mild amusement. "If only they knew the truth."

The boy that was with Luffy whispered something to Luffy while the customers pulled themselves back up. "I saw a notice on the streets that said Captain Morgan is at this base," said the boy that was with Luffy. KRATA-KRASH! Y/N shook his head as the customers all dove behind their tables again.

"That's still fun to watch but at least I didn't do it this time," Y/N said to himself. Y/N turned to face Luffy and shook his head. "Not that I mind but you should probably stop that," Y/N suggested. "If all the customers get scared away I might lose my job."

Luffy just shrugged and went back to his meal and the customers pulled themselves up off of the floor. Y/N glanced at Luffy's straw hat then walked off to intercept his boss before she found out what happened from someone else. But when he came back, Luffy and the boy with him were gone.

"He didn't pay," Y/N realized as he stared at the empty table piled up with empty plates that had once held meat on them. Y/N grinned slightly and shook his head, "some things never change."

-End Flashback pt XIV-

"Despite the fact that I was paying for Luffy's meal," Y/N continued, "seeing Luffy again made me realize something. He was just setting out, ready to achieve his dream of becoming King of the Pirates. I knew that he'd get really far, but would be off to a rough start. Thinking about Luffy fulfilling his dream made me remember mine. I thought about my dream of finding the One Piece the rest of the day."

- Flashback part XV (This is the last one)-

"Is there anything else I can do for you?" Y/N asked the pretty orange haired girl sitting at the table. He'd been distracted most of the day and wasn't really paying much attention.

"Oh, you're sweet," the girl cooed. "I'll be fine for now. You can just bring me the bill."

"Alright," Y/N replied as he turned around and went off to the back. But when he came back the girl was gone. Y/N glanced out the window and saw the girl strutting down the street looking proud of herself. "What the heck... THAT'S TWICE!" Y/N couldn't help laughing, "Hah-ha, this is just not my day."

-End Flashback part XV-

Nami smiled and still looked proud of herself, she was happy that she had pulled it off especially now that she knew how much of a swindler he really was.

"That was actually the first time I've laughed since I got my new eye," said Y/N. "After everything I've seen and done on the Grand Line and after all those people I killed, there's not much that surprises me anymore. Luffy and Ace always ran off without paying so I expected that sort of thing from him but seeing someone with that kind of spirit... it really brought back memories of how things used to be. Those good memories from my past overrode the year-worth of bad ones. I don't think I'd have considered restarting if it wasn't for that," Y/N looked Nami directly in the eyes, "Thank you."

Nami smiled at him and shrugged it off as if it was no big deal. "Don't mention it, I was just being myself," she replied.

"I spent that day remembering who I was," Y/N continued. "I was Y/N the Treasure Hunter. I knew Luffy was on the island, an opportunity to start over had fallen right in my lap. Captain Morgan's son came in for his daily visit and the next thing I know the little bastard was decked with one punch. I decided to give being a pirate another shot and ended up becoming the First Mate of the Straw Hat Pirates."

"Hahaha!" Luffy laughed. "Good thing you lost that game of rock-paper-scissors!"

"Yeah," said Y/N. No one noticed him rolling his eye.

"But then, when you fought Arlong how did you stay in control enough to get your eye patch back on after the fight?" questioned Nami. "If you didn't have control wouldn't the eye have killed all of us?"

"As soon as I got in the chart room I took over. I had complete control over my body and the Devil's Eye's powers. In the process of killing Arlong, I lit myself on fire. The eye was caught off guard and didn't know what I was doing but when the flames went out I was covered in burns. The Eye knew that I wouldn't be able to kill anyone else in the state I was in. It let me stay in control long enough to get my eye patch back on. It swore to kill you all as an act of revenge, by the way."

"But then... why didn't you kill me?" asked Usopp. "After you killed Chew, you had me in a choke hold but you spared me."

"I wanted to," Y/N admitted, much to the shock of Usopp. "Well, the Eye wanted to. It took some doing on my part, but I managed to intervene and keep it from finishing you off. You're Nakama, that gave me the motivation I needed to fight off some of its control. I didn't stop the Devil's Eye from killing those fishmen because I knew it would piss off Arlong. The longer I use the Eye the less control I have... until I eventually lose it completely."

"You couldn't help all those things you did," Luffy commented, he looked serious. "You wouldn't have thrown up if you weren't disgusted about it, I won't hold that stuff against you. Y/N, you're my brother, you were there for me when no one else was. You'll always be Nakama to me."

"I've done a lot of horrible things," Y/N reminded them, "but I'm trying to make up for that. I'd like to stay on the crew and go to the Grand Line but that's only if you want me to. If you feel it's too risky to keep me here I'll understand and I'll leave. Hopefully you'll never see me again."

Y/N paused and glanced around him at the different reactions from the crew, Luffy wasn't listening, Zoro rolled his eyes, Sanji's face was noticeably blank, Usopp looked frightened, while Nami looked horrified by the idea of never seeing Y/N again.

"I already told you," Luffy reminded him firmly. "But I guess you could ask them too."

"You saved Kaya," Usopp stated. "You helped defend my village from Kuro and you stopped the Eye from killing me. You only made the one mistake of putting the eye in your socket. I would've done the same thing in your situation so I can't hold it against you. You're a valued member of the crew."

"You were a member of the Whitebeard Pirates," Sanji pointed out, "And before that you were the Jack of Spades. You've explored all five of the world's oceans. That kind of experience will be helpful when we get to the Grand Line. We'd have to be stupid to throw you away."

Y/N nodded, that was three for and none against but he wanted a unanimous decision. He turned to the Navigator, "Nami?"

Nami threw her leg over Y/N and straddled his lap then stared him directly in the eye. SWACK! Nami slapped Y/N clear across the face, "OF COURSE I STILL WANT YOU ON THE CREW!" Nami shouted. But then her expression softened. "We're Nakama. Remember what you told me back on Commi Island? 'People make mistakes but when you're Nakama no one holds them against you. You learn to look passed the mistakes and forgive your crewmates because those people are precious to you.' The only mistake you made was putting that thing in your eye socket. You deserve forgiveness as much as anyone else does."

Nami smiled at him, "Besides, if we kick you out, who's gonna help me keep these idiots in line?"

Y/N smiled and glanced over at Zoro who was still awake, "What about you?"

"Just shut up and let me get back to sleep," Zoro grumbled then he promptly went back to sleep.

"Well it's unanimous," Y/N commented. "You guys are stuck with me."

"Yup, stuck with you until we reach the Grand Line and I become King of the Pirates," Luffy agreed.

"Then I'll do everything I can to make sure you achieve that dream, you can count on that." Y/N smiled slightly. "You know, if there's one good thing about all this, it's that I don't have to wake up in the middle of the night to find Nami standing over me trying to pull my eye patch off."

The orange-haired girl that was still sitting on his lap flushed slightly, "I DID THAT ONE TIME!" she snapped.

"And you got caught," Y/N reminded her. "With my hearing and some of the bad memories I have, I'm a borderline insomniac. Now... I know we're heading to the Grand Line but I think there's a stop we should make first."

"Really? Where?" asked Luffy. "Where could we go that's better than the Grand Line?"

"Well, if the navigator gets off of me I'll get the chart and show you," Y/N answered. Nami sprang up and backed away causing Y/N to give her a slightly amused smile as he stood up. At least things were never boring on the Going Merry.

-x-