Cursed Seas and Slashing Tides

In a rowboat, two teens could be seen drifting. One, wearing a straw hat, leaned on a barrel, holding an oar casually. "What a great day! The weather's so nice! Who'd have thought our adventure would end in disaster so soon?"

The other, however, was frantically panicking. "Dammit, Luffy! Stop yapping, and help!"

"What am I supposed to do? It's a giant whirlpool!" Luffy exclaimed.

"I don't know, start drinking the ocean! That should stop it!" The other teen, Ryomen, retorted sarcastically.

Luffy's eyes lit up. "Do you think that would work?"

"... We're doomed." Ryomen muttered.

At that moment, the whirlpool began to pull their rowboat in. Their final words echoed as they were sucked into the vortex. "Aaaaaaaah!"

…

On a distant, uncharted island, a pink pirate ship sat docked, bearing the flag off a skull with a heart.

"Why is there dust on my bulwark?" A massive, imposing woman demanded, glaring at her subordinate.

"I'm so sorry, Lady Alvida! I thought I cleaned everything! I'll do it again! So please-!"

"Please what?" Alvida growled.

"Please don't kill me!"

With a quick swing, the man was struck by her iron mace."Koby!" Alvida barked.

A young boy with short stature, pink hair, and glasses rushed to her side. "Y-Yes, Lady Alvida?"

"Who is the fairest throughout all the seas?" She asked with an eerie smile.

"You are, Lady Alvida!" Koby replied, trembling.

"Correct. And I won't tolerate filth on my ship!" Alvida snarled. "Remember, Koby, if it weren't for your knowledge of the seas, you'd be shark bait by now. But don't push your luck."

"Y-Yes, that's very generous of you."

"You're worthless otherwise! Here–shine my shoes!"

"R-Right away, Lady Alvida!" Koby hurried to polish her boots, only to receive a swift kick to the face.

"That's enough! You're pathetic!" Alvida scoffed. "If you've got time to grovel, you've got time to scrub the toilet!"

"Yes, Lady Alvida…right away." Koby mumbled as he hurried off.

…

Inside a small warehouse on the island, a wooden chest creaked slightly. Inside, Ryomen was stuck, fuming.

"Dammit! How am I supposed to get out of this? I could try kicking it open, but there's no space to move!" He stopped when he heard footsteps approaching.

'Someone's coming?' He thought.

The chest opened, revealing a girl, no older than eighteen, with short orange hair, wearing a blue-and-white shirt and an orange skirt. She stared blankly at him, then shut the lid again.

""Hey! Let me out!" Ryomen yelled, only to hear more footsteps approaching. 'Was she trying to hide me?' he thought. 'I need to help her!'

With a grunt and a few kicks, the chest finally gave in. He stumbled out, only to see the girl standing over two unconscious men.

'Guess she didn't need any help,' Ryomen thought, wide-eyed.

The girl turned toward him with a grin. "Couldn't you have stayed there a little longer? Laughing at you might have improved my mood."

"Huh? Didn't you leave me in there cauze you heard those guys coming?" Ryomen asked, baffled.

She snickered. "Pfft, as if! You're not some damsel in distress. I thought I'd hit the jackpot with that chest, but instead I find…you. Closing the lid was payback for the emotional damage you caused me."

"Y-You! I was actually worried about you for a second!" Ryomen fumed.

"I don't need your concern. Anyway, I've wasted enough time. Here's a piece of advice. You should leave right now. Alvida, the pirate lady, is on this island.",

"Hm. Whatever." He replied, unimpressed.

"Don't say I didn't warn you!" she called over her shoulder, flashing him a teasing grin. For a second, her eyes lingered on him, a flicker of curiosity crossing her features before she sprinted off into the distance.

…

Meanwhile, Koby lugged a large barrel into a small cabin where three pirates were lounging.

"What's that, Koby? A barrel of rum washed up on shore?" one of them asked.

"Yeah, and it's not empty! I wasn't sure what to do with it…" Koby replied.

"Well, I know what to do! Let's drink it all!" another pirate suggested, grinning.

"But if the Captain find's out we're dead!"

"She'll never know!!" The third pirate chimed in.

Just then, the barrel shook, and out popped Luffy with a big yawn. "That was a great nap! I thought I was going to puke from all the spinning!" He looked around. "Who are you guys?"

"Who the hell are you!" all three pirates shouted in unison.

"What were you doing in there!?" One of them tried to grab Luffy but before he could Alvida stormed in, smashing her mace down. And sending the barrel Luffy was in flying.

"Back to work, you dogs!" Alvida said.

"You lazy bums! Who's the fairest throughout all the seas?"

"You are, of course!"

"And you dared to defy me?" She questioned them.

"Never! Not in a million-"

They get interrupted by Alvida." Don't play dumb with me! I could hear you talking all the way from the ship! Which one of you had such a great nap!?"

"Captain! It was an intruder!" one of them said.

"Yeah! Koby brought him here!" another one reaffirms.

"What!? Could it be a bounty hunter…Damn that traitorous runt!"

…

Elsewhere, Koby and Luffy sat somewhere in the forest.

"Are you okay?" Koby asked

"I'm fine, just a little surprised, that's all. My name's Luffy! Where am I?"

"This island is the hideout of iron mace Alvida, the lady pirate. I'm Koby, her cabin boy."

"I see…we'll none of that really matters to me.

"Oh…"

"Hey, have you seen my friend?"

"Uh, who?"

"My crew mate! He also has pink hair and these marks right under his eyes." Luffy tried to imitate the marks with his fingers.

"No, I didn't see him, sorry." Koby said with an apologetic look.

"No worries, he'll find me soon!" Luffy replied confidently.

" As long as he doesn't run into Alvida…" Koby muttered.

"By the way, you got a dinghy I can borrow? Ours got wrecked by a giant whirlpool."

"What!? How are you still alive!?" Koby asked in bewilderment.

" I don't know, shishishi."

"Well if it's a dinghy you want, I have one…sorta."

…

They arrived at a poorly built rowboat.

"Luffy stared at it, confused. "Is this a coffin?"

"I built it myself! It took me two years…" Koby said, a little embarrassed.

"Two years!? And you don't need it?"

" I don't really need it now. I planned to escape with it, but I don't have the courage. Guess I'm destined to be a cabin boy." Koby sadly said.

"Why don't you just escape?"

"N-No way! If Alvida catches me…I can't risk it. I'll never forget that day. I wanted to go fishing but boarded a pirate ship by mistake. That was two years ago. In exchange for my life I started working as their cabin boy."

Luffy tilted his head. "You're kind of clumsy and dumb. And gutless, too. You really are worthless!"

"You don't have to be that frank…" Koby replied awkwardly. "But you're right. I don't have the courage to go at sea like you. Luffy, why did you do it anyway?"

"Because I'm gonna become the Pirate King!" Luffy said what a confident grin. Leaving Koby in complete shock.

"The Pirate King!? But you'd have to make the whole world kneel to you! Wealth, Fame, Power–you'd have to achieve it all! Don't tell me you're after the One Piece! Every pirate is after that!"

"And so am I."

"But it's Impossible! It'll never happen!" At that comment, Luffy instantly hit Koby in the head. "Hey! What was that for!?"

"You were acting hysterical."

"Oh. Well it's okay, I'm used to it. Heheheh…"

Luffy stared for a few moments at the younger boy and said "I'm not afraid to die, Koby!"

"Huh!?"

"I've decided to become the Pirate King…And if I die while trying… Then at least I tried!" Luffy words left the cabin boy in complete surprise.

'What guts… What determination!' "Y-You're not even afraid to die!?"

"And I believe I'll succeed too. Or am I deluding myself…"

Koby started crying. 'I never looked at it like that before!' "Maybe I can be like that! If I'm willing to risk my life trying…"

"Huh?" Luffy looked confused.

"Maybe it's possible! Do you think I can join the navy!?"

"The navy?" Luffy blinked

"We'll end up being enemies… but I want to join the navy and fight the bad guys! It's been my dream since I was a little kid!" Koby exclaimed with tears in his eyes. "Luffy, do you think I can do it!?"

"How should I know?"

"Well, I'm gonna do it! I'll join the navy and capture Alvida!" Just then the woman appeared right beside Koby and destroyed his boat with her mace.

"Who are you gonna capture, runt!?"

"My boat!"

"You bastard. Did you really think you could escape from me!?" Alvida growled.

"Is that the bounty hunter? Well, he certainly isn't Roronoa Zoro… So I'll give you one chance to repent…Who is the fairest throughout all the seas? Answer me!"

"Lady Alvida, you–" Koby then gets interrupted by Luffy.

"Who's that old hag?" Koby quickly grabbed Luffy by the shoulders and said "Take it back! Throughout all the seas, Lady Alvida is… She is… The ugliest old hag off all!!!"

"Hahahaha!" Luffy laughed, as Alvida's face twisted with rage.

"You little–!!!" Alvida swung her mace at Koby, but Luffy put himself between.

"Good for you Koby!" He said.

"Luffy!" The straw hat boy heard a familiar voice and quickly turned toward it.

"Ryomen!" He shouted happily, but in his negligence he got hit in the head by Alvida's mace.

"This is the price you pay when facing–what!?

How are you still alive!?" She exclaimed in confusion and surprise.

"That didn't hurt! Cause I'm made of rubber!" He said with a smirk, then quickly retreated toward his crew mate with Koby in his arms.

"Hm!? Another one!? No matter, I'll just kill all of you!" Alvida shouted in anger.

" Luffy, what's going on? I heard a lot of screams, so I came here as fast as I could." Ryomen questioned.

" I don't really know, that old lady just suddenly attacked us." Luffy replied, rubbing his head.

" I see. So it's alright to fight her, right?"

" Yeah!" Luffy grinned.

The two boys split up, flanking Alvida from both sides. She swung at Ryomen, but he dodged under her attack.

" Dammit! Just die already, you bastards!" She exclaimed, frustrated.

Ryomen smirked, his eyes cold. "I didn't really expect to find a strong enemy early on, but fighting someone as weak as you? Honestly it's a little embarrassing." His taunt hit hard, his voice dripping with mockery.

Alvida roared with rage, but before she could make another move, her eyes widened in horror as deep slashes suddenly appeared on her arm. She looked down, finding it covered with cuts that seemed to appear from nowhere

"What the…!? What is this!?" she screamed in pain and confusion.

Ryomen smirked, standing calmly a few feet away, his hands casually in his pockets. "You like it? I call that attack Dismantle."

"You—!!" Alvida shrieked, her veins bulging in fury. She swung her mace at Ryomen again, but before the weapon could make contact, Luffy's elastic arm shot out.

"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!" Luffy's punch landed squarely on the mace, sending it flying from Alvida's grip.

The pirate captain stood there, stunned. "How… how are you two still alive!? What kind of monsters are you!?"

Alvida's face contorted with rage as she lunged toward Ryomen, but her attack was stopped mid-charge. She gasped, feeling a sharp pain in her neck. Blood trickled down her skin as a deep, precise cut appeared across her throat. Her eyes widened in disbelief.

"W-What…" Alvida tried to speak, but her voice was choked as the life drained from her body. She collapsed to the ground, dead before she could even finish her sentence.

Her crew, who had been watching from the sidelines, was frozen in shock. "They… they killed Lady Alvida! They're not human!" one of the crew members yelled, his face pale with fear.

Luffy turned to them, his carefree grin not fading for a second. "Now give Koby a boat! He's gonna join the Navy!"

The terrified crew members scrambled, nodding frantically. "Y-Yes, sir!"

Koby stood there, tears welling up in his eyes. "Thank you…" he whispered, overwhelmed with gratitude.

…

On the sea, the three boys sat on the ship given to them.

"So both of you ate Devil Fruit's…that's incredible!" Koby said.

"Yep, shishishi!" Luffy grinned. "Hey Ryomen, was that your Devil Fruit ability!?" Luffy asked excitedly.

"Yeah. I ate the Surasshu-Surasshu no Mi." Ryomen replied with a nod. "It lets me attack with invisible slashes."

"That's so cool!" Luffy exclaimed, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

Koby, however, looked a bit more concerned. "You guys are really planning to go to the Grand Line? You know that's the Pirate Graveyard, right?"

Luffy's grin only grew wider. "Hmhm, that's why I'm going to assemble the strongest crew! And Ryomen here is my first crewmate!"

Ryomen crossed his arms, giving a small smile. "Been there since day one."

Koby stared at the two in awe. "You're both insane…" he muttered, though there was admiration in his voice.

"Shishishi!"

"So, where to next?" Ryomen asked.

"To the nearest naval base! So Koby can follow his dream!" Luffy replied with a wide grin.

"Alright!" Koby exclaimed, determination shining in his eyes.