"Hannah Montana said nobody's perfect, but here I am"
ROGER was on the execution platform.
He smiled and jokingly asked the executioners if they could remove his shackles.
This was a man who had achieved everything he wanted.
Someone who many people would be inspired by.
"HEY! PIRATE KING!" someone shouted from the crowd. "What did you do with your treasure? It's somewhere on the Grand Line, right? You have it, right? The greatest treasure in the world?!"
Despite the best efforts of the executioners to silence that spectator, they did not succeed. The Marines stationed in the square were too far away to see the man or stop him.
"Your only special treasure! THE ONE PIECE!" the man continued.
"My treasure..." Roger tried the word with a wide smile on his face. The same smile that all the D's in the world shared. If you want it, I'll give it to you. Go get it.
The swords pierced the chest of the greatest pirate of the time, but the smile did not falter. What the Marines and the World Government had tried to achieve with the public execution was turned upside down. The crowd applauded and all over the world men and women began to prepare to sail the seas.
The Great Pirate Era had begun.
Taiyo walked away from the square.
He absentmindedly observed Dracule Mihawk in the crowd.
Was he already the best swordsman in the world? Probably not.
The rain began to fall and the boy hurried to take cover. When he looked in the distance, towards the docks, he could see the two cabin boys of the Oro Jackson talking to each other before going their separate ways.
"I need a hat..." he murmured, putting on his hood to better cover his face. Hey kid, do you know any clothing stores open today?
A boy, around twelve years old, flinched at the sudden and direct question, before looking at Taiyo and his cloaked figure.
"Yes..." he nodded cautiously.
He probably had quite a suspicious figure wrapped in a cloak. The boy, on the other hand, was wearing a wine red shirt, a green jacket with rolled up sleeves, and blue jeans.
His hair was strangely white.
"Well, would you mind showing me the way?"
"Why should I?"
The boy had already started to walk away, obviously wanting to get as far away from him as possible. The Narrator followed him with a smile on his face.
He was a very funny child.
"Because I'm not a bad person and I asked politely."
"Anyone can say that", the boy snorted.
"Yes, but only a few really mean it.
"How do I know you're not a pirate? Surely there are enough here today.
"I'm not. I travel, but I don't look for treasures.
"Who are you, then?", the boy looked over his shoulder.
"... Just a vagabond. Now boy, guide me to the store and I will tell you a story as a thank you. I'm sure you'll like it. Talks about the Righteous Marine".
Some time later, Taiyo twirled his new hat in his hands and smiled at the sky. The hat was actually a black cap. He had found it in the store that had shown him the child version of the future White Hunter. In that store, the traveler boy had also found a nice pair of gold steampunk glasses and black leather gloves.
And prices dropped to celebrate!
The black man was leaning against a rock and holding a fishing rod firmly in his foot. The sky up there was a bright, clear blue and the wind blew gently across his face.
Everything was perfect...
"Hey, you promised me a story", the boy sitting next to him hit him hard between the ribs. Taiyo let out a whistle but otherwise he didn't react.
"I'll give you one... As soon as we have something to eat. I'm hungry but I don't know about you", the boy responded and let his hood fall, showing part of his dark hair.
"Why don't we go to a restaurant in the city?"
"I'm not going to pay for your food. And I am able to cook. And I want to fish right now."
The last point was the most important.
Smoker [it was strange to call the boy that since he didn't... well, smoke] collapsed defeated but didn't stop looking at him. The oldest chuckled. The look reminded him of another boy he was going to meet in the future.
One that would be born in about a year.
"Ah, fish!" The end of the rod was being pulled into the water and the Storyteller caught hold just in time before dinner was lost. "Come here, ocean dweller."
The fire crackled as the fish cooked. Grilled... Or simply burned.
"Here you go" Taiyo gave a stick with half of the fish to chibi Smoker.
Yes, it was easier to think of him that way.
"... thank you."
From the way the boy's stomach had turned, he was definitely hungry already.
"You're welcome", the Storyteller smiled as he bit into his fish stick.
And he burned his mouth.
"Aaaaah, it burns!"
Chibi Smoker snorted and carefully took a bite of his own food.
"Now... Do you want to hear a story?"
"Yes, about a marine."
"And not about any marines. This is the Righteous Marine with a true sense of honour."
"Aren't all marines like that?", the boy frowned, to which Taiyo looked at him thoughtfully before looking at the sea. The sun was about to set in the next hour or so.
"You have to understand that even pirates and marines are human. And like any human being, they can be good or bad or even both. Just as the definition of Justice depends on the person who interprets the word..."
"..." chibi Smoker continued eating without taking his eyes off the Storyteller.
"Then you must understand that there are two types of pirates in this world. Peace main and morganeers. The Peace Main sail the seas in search of adventure and freedom, while the morganeers plunder cities and deliberately cause damage and chaos. These two groups of pirates often clash with each other since the peace main prefers to steal their money from the morganeers and the morganeers, on the other hand, do not consider the peace main as real pirates... Well, actually the peace main neither They consider morganeers to be real pirates... In any case, many times people don't see the difference between those two types. The marines might even offer a reward to a person who beats up pirates just because they are pirates too...", the one with golden eyes opened his fist and released the tiny suns into the darkening night.
The boy in front of him looked at them in amazement.
"At first, the Righteous Marine did not see the difference between the pirates. He hunted down all those who set foot in his territory and came to his city. He thought all pirates were the same. But he also knew that the orders that came from above were not absolute although he had to obey them to the letter. He trusted no one but himself and the men he had under his command."
"However, it changed. One stormy day, a pirate, a liberation warrior by nature, set foot on the ground of the marine's town. As usual, the Righteous Marine tried to capture him. But it failed. Circumstances were against the soldiers of Justice and the young pirate got his way with his crew. But not before leaving his mark on the Marine. No, it wasn't anything physical. The Marine was not injured in any way. It was an impression. A strong impression of freedom that the marine could not understand. His entire life and career had labelled pirates as the scum of the earth, but now... A teenager shouted that he would become the next Pirate King, miraculously surviving the attempt in which two other pirate crews tried to take his life."
"So the crew of the Free Child escaped, as if nature itself wanted them to survive. But the marine was not going to give up. He wanted to capture that Free Child and his crew. Maybe he had a feeling that the Free Child would turn this world upside down. Or maybe he wanted to better understand the very nature of being a pirate. Nature made some of them true pirates and others simply bastards who were no better than common thieves and murderers."
"The Righteous Marine gathered his trusted men and set sail to pursue the pirates. He finally caught up with them. In a kingdom on the brink of war. War between a king and his subjects. One side believed something while the other thought something else. And behind all this there was another pirate. A strong and infamous pirate with the protection of the World he carried on his shoulders like a cape. No one could stop that man. Except the Free Child. The Free Child who went and beat up the Sandy Pirate."
"That night, Marine Righteous' right-hand found the Free Child's crew lying in the streets of the capital city, exhausted from their fights against the Sandy Pirate and his subordinates. The Young Swordswoman ordered the marines to leave the crew alone. It was because the pirates had accomplished something that the marines should have done. And despite all this, it was the marines who got the honour and glory of saving the kingdom. It was the day that the eyes of both the Righteous Marine and the Young Swordswoman were opened to the truth of the system they served. They also settled in peace to contemplate the enigma that was the crew of peace main. The young captain had declared in the midst of the fights that he did not hate the Righteous Marine for doing his job."
"The Righteous Marine continued his pursuit. Even when the pirate boy disappeared for two years, the marine was waiting, knowing that the Free Boy would not die or surrender. He waited and when the crew of the Free Child reassembled to continue their journey, the Righteous Marine was ready for them. He is ready to go after them again, this time for his own Justice, not anyone else's."
The story ended and the Suns met again. Taiyo had already eaten his fish. Chibi Smoker was falling asleep with half of a half-eaten fish in his hands. The Narrator chuckled.
"Become a good marine, White Hunter Smoker..."
...
Righteous Marine: Smoker.
Free Child: Luffy.
Young Swordswoman: Tashigi.
Sandy Pirate: Crocodile.
~~~
In the quiet corners of our humble town,
Lurks the Storyteller with eyes of golden crown.
Through the four Blues and Grand Line he roams,
Carrying tales from distant lands, far from home.
Known by different names, yet one in essence true,
His words hold power, shaping destinies anew.
"Do you want to hear a story?" he'll gently ask,
A question with answers to unveil, to unmask.
Never decline, for his stories hold might,
Guiding us through darkness, leading to light.
In each tale lies a thread of past and future,
Binding us to fate, like a silent suture.
But heed this warning, in every rhyme and line,
The Storyteller's words hold a divine truth.
For in the whispers of his tales, we find,
The power to shape our destiny, intertwined.
So gather 'round, and listen with care,
To the Storyteller's words, beyond compare.
In small-town echoes, let his legend be,
But remember his truth holds the key.