"Bwahahaha! This is the brat I was talking about! Wants to be a swordsmith."
I am sat, kneeling on the floor of a very Japanese-style house- Sliding paper doors, tatami mat flooring, pagoda-like roofing tiles.
The man in front of me is... quite old.
He has a single large greyed unibrow, his face is slightly gaunt, he has grey hair tied up into a ponytail behind his head and wears a green kimono.
"I don't know, Garp... does he have the aptitude?"
"Bah! Who cares about aptitude! The kid's willing to break his body down to come do this. Took down a bandit worth eight million Beri to do so as well! That's more than any Marine recruit can say for themselves so I'm going to cut the brat some slack and let him do what he wants!"
He turns, eyes glowing. "But if he ever slacks off on his training..."
He raises a fist ominously.
The swordsmith gazes down at me. "What drives you, brat... why do you want to be a swordsmith."
"I want to make the greatest sword in the world." I declare simply. "I want to make a sword that its mere presence can cause armies to falter. A sword that can cleave through mountains like paper and rip holes in the air with a single halfhearted swing."
"Follow me." The old man simply states. "Show me what you can do."
"Well, I've got to go stop Luffy from being eaten by a tiger." The marine hero stands up, and promptly exits the door.
He's gone before I can even blink, there one moment, then with a rush of displaced wind he disappears.
I follow the old man as he leads me behind his house towards a small forge. There's a barrel of ore, charcoal, anvil, racks with numerous katana lining the walls.
"Let's see what you can do."
[Split]
"This is atrocious." The man huffs, gazing over a mildly bent and uneven blade the size of a kitchen knife.
"I apologize." I bow my head slightly. "I don't know how to blacksmith yet."
He flips the knife around.
"Hn... the handle's relatively good. I like the woven leather strips you used. You're not a lost cause, but it seems I have my work cut out for me."
"Your grandfather said that you said your devil fruit would help you with this?"
"I have the fuse-fuse fruit, so I can take two items and add them together, combining all the good traits. So, if I get some rubber and a steel ingot, it'll have the durability of metal with the flexability of rubber."
"But I can also combine two of the same item to make something stronger. So two steel ingots into steel that's twice as durable... but I can only fuse any item once and I can't un-fuse them."
"And you didn't use it?" The old man asks.
"I'd be a shit swordsmith if I just relied on a crutch like that." I frown.
A wry smile slowly crosses the old man's lips. "That's some spirit! Good! If you had used your devil fruit without truly learning to smith a blade I would have sent you back to wherever you came from."
"But. In this world. Much like swords. Some people have greater gifts than others. I will not say you should never make use of this fruit, but you shall not use it on a weapon until you make a passible sword with your own two hands."
"Yes!" I nod excitedly.
"Your grandfather told me to run you into the ground. Make you work yourself to exhaustion each and every day... and I plan on it. This old body cannot do all the things it used to. I cannot create blades with that innate desire to kill that I once did in my prime. However. What I still retain is experience. And said experience shall be imparted to you in time... now follow me. We are starting immediately."
"Okay! What are we doing, Master?"
"Bah. Don't call me master. Call me Shimotsuki-sensei."
"Yes, Shimotsuki-Sensei." Quickly agree with an enthusiastic smile.
"Tell me, brat... what is the origin of any blade?"
"The ore?" I mutter.
"Correct. And what is needed to smelt the ore down into usable ingots of potential?"
"Fuel." I supply simply. "Some sort of heat source given a lot of air."
"Charcoal." He states. "This first week... you are going to be learning how to make charcoal."
"Question... if I used my devil fruit on two charcoal would that make a piece of charcoal that lasted twice as long and burned twice as hot?"
"How would I know, damned brat... but it is something we could test, I suppose. Some metals are too durable to melt into ingots. But first. Charcoal."
[Split]
Ash is lightly smeared over my forehead as I crack open another clay mound of charcoal. My muscles ache, I'm sweaty, and overall just exhausted.
Old man doesn't fuck around when it comes to charcoal. He made me dig five absolutely massive pits, cut down nearly five separate trees, then chop each into firewood... with a sword...
'if you make swords, you should know how to use swords' he said.
I'll admit. It's a pretty damn good sword. Although the edge has been dulled a bit.
He set it aside for a 'future lesson'. Which will no doubt involve re-sharpening it.
I begin shoveling heaps of charcoal into a large basket, if I can finish this last pit I'll be done!
It's taken me about two days to get this far.
I'll admit. The old man knows what he's doing. My muscles are being pushed far beyond whatever I could achieve on my own.
Muscles I didn't even know I had are hurting. Which is probably a good thing considering the bullshit I'll be forced to face in the future. Better to get strong now than hit a wall I can't overcome in the future.
[Split]
It has been five days since my grandfather dropped me off. Shimotsuki luckily lets me live with him.
He's an utter slave driver...
But kind...
He always has an extra bowl of meat and rice for me after I spend all day running around.
He hasn't even hit me once.
If gramps tried training me like this there's no doubt that I'd have a broken bone by now. But with Mr. Shimotsuki? He just makes me think my arms are going to fall off! That's a massive improvement!
"Grandpa!" I blink twice, mid swing of the hammer as a girl bursts into the forge. The old man sitting behind me turns. "Ah! Kuina!"
Saywhatnow?
He turns to look at me. "Oi. Brat I didn't say you could stop."
With that I return to hammering at the metal in front of me, heat blasts against my face from the nearby superheated forge. Sweat clings to my brow as I swing the hammer down, beating the metal into shape.
"Who is this?" I can hear the girl slowly ask.
"Bah. Some kid who's grandfather I owed a favor. I'm taking him on as an apprentice as he's not a complete lost cause."
Whythefuckisshehere?!
Zoro... and Luffy... came from the same island?
h-huh?!
CLANG
'No! Have a mental breakdown later. Right now focus on this.'
The girl continues speaking with her grandfather as I tune the both of them out, my mind is solely on the forming bar of steel in front of me as I slowly hammer along the edge, flattening it into a thick rectangle.
[Split]
"Brat, this is my granddaughter, Kuina." The old man introduces the black haired girl who looks over me with scrutiny.
"It is a pleasure to meet you." I bow my head slightly.
"You want to... make swords?" She frowns.
"Yes." I nod once.
"You're not training to be a swordsman?"
"Bah! All blacksmiths should at least have a little talent in the blade. He has enough."
Her lips thin at that. "I see..."
"I challenge you to a duel!" She points, rising to her feet.
"I've literally only ever held a sword for chopping wood, but whatever. Sure." I sigh.
My knees are slightly weak as I raise to my feet, the girl rushes outside as I roll my shoulders. 'haah this is going to be a pain in the ass.'
I step outside to see the girl holding two shinai. She tosses one forwards, it clatters to the dirt in front of me as I reach down and pick it up.
I give it a few swings. It's kind of unwieldy for my current age so I'll be forced to use two hands if I don't want to accidentally drop it.
"I'll give you the first hit." The girl notes, eyes refusing to leave my own.
"Whatever. Let's get this over with." With that, I rush forwards, lashing out with a horizontal slash which the girl effortlessly blocks with the side of her shinai.
There's a slight twinge in the back of my head as he fist clenches around the handle of the sword.
I lean just out of the way of a downward swing, the edge just barely ruffles my shirt as I strike upwards.
The girl leans back avoiding the swing and trying again.
There's another twinge as I duck down, narrowly avoiding the sword again.
This time I stab forwards, the side of her weapon tapping into my own and causing my blade to pass under her armpit.
Even with my budding observation haki... I can't dodge what's coming next... a shinai strikes my chin as I stumble backwards.
A glancing blow, but it signifies my loss.
"..."
"Hn. You're good enough. Don't disappoint my grandpa." The girl declares pointing at me.
"I'll certainly try not to." I hum.
[Split]
And that. Is how I met a soon to be victim of Down D. Stairs.
Life became fairly normal after that... the days blurred together, I went from learning to make coal to how to smelt ingots, then how to beat carbon into metal and make steel.
Turns out, making swords is extremely difficult, but I kind of expected it. I have a long way to go.
I collapse onto the futon, eyes almost instantly closing the second my head meets the pillow.
"Marine Code... Zero. One. Seven. Four. Six. Rosinante. Commander from Hq..."
I sit up abruptly, eyes widening. 'wh-'
"Op Op Fruit- Law Ate it right up."
I can see a flash of crimson and a small boy in a white hat, then a blonde man get kicked in the face by a glasses wearing man with a bowl cut, there's a piece of... squid on his cheek?
"..."
Whatthefuckwasthat?
That is-
I remember that...
How did I-
Did I just see that happen?
Didn't that happen in another blue entirely?! Did I just- did I just feel something happen in another sea with observation haki?!
I shake my head, slapping my cheeks as I grab a piece of paper and a charcoal pencil I was using to draw a basic design for a sword I was going to try and make and begin drawing what I just saw.
I'll bring it up with gramps the next time he shows up-
I stand in front of a man in pink with a purple-ish blue afro, pointed chin and mascara. He has a massive head.
That- that was... downstairs?
"..."
Well, they'll probably make better use of it than my grandfather.
Besides. Fuck them celestial dragons!
[Split]
"The blade has microfractures. Another failure." The old man observing the katana I had just forged notes only to pause and tap his hand about a third of the way up the blade. "Hrm... everything past roughly this point is actually fairly well-done. If you snapped off everything past this you'd have a half-decent knife."
It has been about four months since I arrived in this village.
Two weeks since I had that damn dream-slash-haki vision.
Once more... I really don't know what I can do with it.
If it was a vision of the future, it has definitely passed. I sincerely doubt I could see more than maybe minutes in the future if it functions like some sort of seer's bullshit.
Yeah. I've had some thoughts on that.
Seeing the future IS possible with observation Haki... it's apparently an advanced technique. However. Anything more than roughly five seconds is seemingly impossible. There's also apparently some mermaid- I think she's the sister of Arlong if I remember correctly- who can view the future like some fortune teller. Who's fortunes come true in like a year?
That could also be another use of advanced observation haki. Perhaps not in the same direction of combat precognition. Less controlled. But offering greater foresight for something.
Though, I mean, that one girl can control emotions with paint and that's not a devil fruit.
I should see about getting her on my crew in the future. That ability should be explored a bit more.
I watch as my teacher abruptly pauses, his gaze strays to the wall. "Hn... Boy, maybe you should go out and explore.
My eyes stray across his body as a frown appears on my lips... he's going to meet someone... isn't he?
"Alright. I'm going to go change, then."
I quickly change out of my sweaty clothes, briefly wiping my body down as I collect a few things.
If he's kicking me out for some probably very suspicious observation haki shit, who am I to decline. But... what could he possibly have sensed-
"Muuufufufu! Kouza-boy! You might say your talent is gone, but these swords will be put to good use!"
"..."
For some reason I feel like I can see a giant blue afro and a man in fishnet stockings.
Ah.
This village has connection to the revolutionary army?
Well, that explains why they're here at least.
This is good.
I grab several folded pieces of paper- everything I was able to gather with my 'seeing' ability. And trudge downstairs.
I walk through the living room where the old man is speaking with the 'Okama King'.
"Oh my! Who is this, Kouza-boy?"
"My apprentice." My teacher admits. "He's been learning for about three months now. Still can't make a proper sword."
"Eh. I'll get it eventually." I shrug before I look to the other man. My lips thin. "You... work for my father, right?"
"Hah?" The man blinks. "No?"
"Here." I hand him the folded papers. "You'll do more with this than grandpa Garp will. Read it. Don't read it. Just make sure it gets to my dad."
"G-G-GARP!?" The man shrieks.
"Mn." I hum. "I'm going now."
With that I turn and leave the house, heading into the forest to do some training.
[Split]
A man with indigo hair blinks down at a set of three letters in shock.
They're less letters, more... drawings with scribbled words littered around it.
There's a drawing of a glasses-wearing man with a bowl cut- kind of unflattering- he has a piece of food stuck to his cheek; large letters are scribbled under the portrait. "MARINE TRAITOR."
There's a wider picture underneath, showing a hastily drawn man in a feathered coat- that wouldn't look out of place on his home island- looming over a second.
There's the word 'Celestial Dragon?' With an arrow pointing at the looming man, the words 'String Powers' underneath alongside the word 'Puppeteer' which is underlined a few times.
Under the man crumpled on the floor is a little spatter of assorted notes. The first a little speech bubble "Marine Code... Zero. One. Seven. Four. Six. Rosinante. Commander from Hq..."
The others appear disjointed. Clearly the thoughts of another person. "Undercover? Betrayed Brother? What is a celestial dragon?"
Ivankov swallows thickly at the next words. "North Blue? Minion Island?"
The next page is all about some boy in a white hat. This portrait is noticeably more carefully drawn. Black hair, white hat, splotches of some kind on his skin.
The notes on this page are even more intense.
"Ate Op-Op Fruit. Can make someone immortal at cost of his life. Can cure all diseases?"
That last sentence was quickly amended. "Needs medical skills to use fruit to full potential."
"Sick. Amber Lead Poisoning. Was force-fed devil fruit to save his life."
"Left minion island to nearby island. Walked over frozen sea for three days. Swallow Island? Old scientist finds in cave?"
This... is not something that boy should have.
Ivankov can tell what this is. Even from a mile away.
Observation haki.
But for a child to see something that happened in the north blue? And not just hear or feel, but see it SHOCKINGLY clearly?
That. Is kind of frightening.
Dragon-boy's boy is going to be an absolute monster when he grows up a little. Not even ten years old and already sensing events happening on the other side of the planet.
Honestly, he wasn't even aware Dragon-boy had any children...
The Op Op fruit...
A fruit which can make someone immortal at the cost of the user's life... and also cure any disease should the user have adequate medical knowledge. There were some mutterings in the underworld that it had been found and was being sold, but nothing concrete... nor was the fruit truly worth the amount of contacts they would need to burn in order to locate and take it.
But a young wielder who has a reason to despise the Celestial Dragons?
More specifically a young wielder who's location just got dropped into their hands?
This is certainly some actionable intel.
The final page is... strange...
It's a picture of a small girl with a bear hoodie. She seems to be wearing... some sort of monocle eye-patch?
The words 'Danger' is written across the paper several times. To a frightening almost maddened degree.
Next is the word "Immortal" but that has been crossed out and the word 'Ageless' is written beside it. Under that are the words "Kills with a touch. Enslaves with a touch. Erases with a touch. Lover forgets lover. Son forgets mother."
Massive words are scratched across the bottom messily.
"TOYS ARE PEOPLE! ERASED PEOPLE!"
Ivankov's lips thin as this is getting... kind of spooky.
he... will probably need to test the validity of the other pieces of paper... but he will absolutely keep this in mind.
Boots thud on the deck of the Wind Granma as the big-headed man turns. "Ah. Dragon-boy. You kept me waiting- HUH!?!"
Clutched within the cloaked man's arms is a brutalized boy with blonde hair, about the same age as the boy who just offered up some truly juicy information.
"Sorry. I ran into a bit of trouble." The black haired man frowns.
"WE NEED A DOCTOR HERE!" Another man on the ship shouts as the deck of the ship erupts in movement. The cloaked man hands off the injured boy to one of his shipmates and trudges over to the big-headed man. His face drawn in a serious scowl.
"Every Moment I see one of those bastards it pisses me off to no end." He growls.
"The celestial dragon... did... did you kill them?" Ivankov slowly asks.
"No." The ex-marine sighs. "If I did... the marines might call down a buster call on this island. One celestial dragon is not worth the lives of all these people. Nor the destruction of one of our key suppliers of weapons and resources."
"And... you have people you care about on this island, don't you dragon-boy?" Ivankov winks with his freakishly long eyelashes. The black haired man's face flattens into a pointed glare. "No. Don't speak that aloud."
"I see..." The okama king smiles.
"Do we have everything?" Dragon bluntly questions.
"We do. Food. Drink. Medicine. And weapons... in fact... on that last bit, it seems old Kouza boy has finally gotten an apprentice." Ivankov continues as he gently wafts the letters he had received like it's a hand fan. "And he seems quite... knowledgeable... and some juicy knowledge at that. Perhaps some actionable I.n.t.e.l.~"
"You probably wouldn't know him, though, just some boy named Shota."
"..." Dragon stares for a long moment before holding out a hand. "Let me see that."
Ivankov offers the papers as the black haired man flicks through it. His frown seems to grow even more sour.
"Minion Island is in the north blue." He notes.
"Yes, siree Dragon-boy~" Ivankov winks.
"Do we know who this is?" Dragon frowns, tapping the paper with the two cloaked men with the back of his hand.
"There's some rumors of a man in a flamingo coat that's making waves in the underworld. I believe they call him 'Joker'. He looks quite serious, though... so if we sent out any feelers... they would likely die..."
The black haired man inhales deeply then exhales. "Set course for the north blue. Swallow Island. There is something I need to check."
[Split]
"WAHAHA! The great pirate queen Uta has returned!" A girl puffs her chest out proudly as she stands on the railing of the Red-haired pirates ship, the Redhawk. "Balk in despair, Landlubbers!"
"Uta!" A black haired boy down below grins.
The girl with white and red hair gazes to the land only to pause, her lips pull down into a frown. "Where's Shota?"
She watches as Luffy's face seems to deflate slightly. "It's that damn gramp's fault! He said that 'You're strong enough to be a carpenter' or whatever and I haven't seen him SINCE! That was MONTHS ago!"
"Oi Oi... Luffy, Who the heck are these pirates?" A black haired boy walks over. He looks a little older than Luffy, probably close to Uta's age, actually.
"Well well, if it isn't little Luffy." Her father leans on the rail to her left. "Who's that with you?"
Uta's face flattens slightly, eyebrow twitching. "WHO THE HELL IS THIS?!"
"Huh? Oh! That's Ace... Gramps stole him from his parents or something." Luffy nods sagely.
"Ace?" Shanks asks slowly, Uta blinks as a she can see a brief flicker of emotion on her father's face. One she doesn't think she has ever seen before...
Pain.
Now, she's seem him happy- he's mostly happy- angry... he very rarely gets angry. Not at her but mostly at others. And other times he's serious.
But... Uta has never seen him look... vulnerable for a moment... so sad...
The girl casts a suspicious glance between her father and the boy. It just doesn't make any sense why some child's sudden appearance would hurt her father.
Unless... of course... he knew the boy.
But... they've never been to Foosha before. Meeting Shota and Luffy was the first time they've EVER been here. And she knows for a fact that her father rarely left the bar after they got here.
There's no way he should know this kid... because she also knows for a fact that he wasn't here the last time they were here a few months ago. So why did his face hurt shank's feelings...
Unless... of course it wasn't his face... it was that his face looked similar to someone Shanks knew. Shanks was the one who wanted to go to dawn island in the first place. She didn't really want to because she heard they had this massive trash heap right outside the city. But they still came anyways. Thus. Shanks was LOOKING for this kid!
But who could hurt Shanks like that? That doesn't make sense. He's very strong. He has no weaknesses... except for probably Makino... a pretty girl...
Conclusion. Shanks knew a girl who had features like that boy.
Further conclusion. Shanks knew that boy's mother.
Further FURTHER conclusion. SHANKS. IS. THAT. BOY'S. FATHER.
She's an elder sister...
Uta's face screws up slightly as she leans over the railing, pointing down at the black haired boy. "I DON'T LIKE YOU!"
"Why the fuck would I care what you like or don't like?" He shoots back.