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The boy stands atop the hill overlooking the pier, silently watching as the grand ship approaches. He recognizes the Jolly Rodger emblazoned across the black flag. The entire world knows to shudder at the sight of a straw hat perched atop a grinning skull.
He does not move as the ship comes to an effortless stop next to the largest dock. He could run down the hill, screaming at the top of his lungs to alert the village.
Pirates are here! Pirates are here! Run for your lives!
The boy does not move. It would, after all, be useless in the end. He has heard the stories. He's seen pictures of the destruction. He has seen terror fill the faces of hardened soldiers at the mere mention of this particular crew.
Marine killers. The Straw Hat Pirates earned this name.
X
They say the Pirate Hunter used to lose his way.
Oh, he was always a figure that struck fear into the hearts of anyone who crossed his path. People used to whisper that he must have been born with a sword in his hand.
Two arms but three swords. Rumors that he could conjure a third hand out of his back, for no matter how far the swordsman would wander, no one could ever take him by surprise.
It's an odd thing, people would say to each other in the dark corners of a bar. How did a pirate hunter become one of the Worst Generation? When did the hunter become the prey?
The Pirate Hunter no longer ends up lost in back alleys, drawn away from his crew at the slightest distraction.
The boy watches the tall green-haired man as he is the first to step off the gently rocking ship. He waits as the seven others join him on the dock, and without a word, they turn as one towards the village.
The Pirate Hunter remains in the back of the group. The boy watches as the man’s head slowly turns one way and then the other, eyes tracing the backs of his crew.
It’s almost as though he is counting, the boy thinks. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.
The man remains steady, tracing the footsteps of his companions. His feet remain steadfastly forward. He does not waver.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.
X
They say the Cat Burglar used to be obsessed with money.
The boy has moved, creeping silently down the hill to follow the Straw Hat crew from a short distance. He hoped they weren't aware of his presence. He can only wish that a ten-year-old child isn't worthy enough to draw their deadly attention.
It shouldn’t be. He’s no Marine.
As the crew crosses under the archway of the town’s plaza, a glimmer catches in the corner of the boy’s gaze, and he winces. The town’s antique dealer has a bad habit of leaving some of his goods outside the store to entice customers. Townsfolk tell him he is asking for trouble, but he always waves them off.
A thief is a thief, he would say. If they want something, they’ll just take it, whether locked up in a vault or standing proudly on a street corner.
Today, an arrangement of old golden statues lines the street in front of the shop. The boy watches apprehensively as the beautiful Cat Burglar pauses at the sight of them. She tilts her head, orange hair sweeping across her shoulders.
And then - nothing. A woman once famous for her greed turns away from the unguarded gold as though it was merely garbage.
“Come on,” the woman says, the first words the boy has heard anyone in the group speak, as the others briefly glance at the unguarded treasures as well. “We have work to do.”
The crew moves on.
X
They say the Sniper used to be a coward.
Thin shoulders, frail legs, and a long nose. Out of all the Straw Hat Pirates, the stories of the Sniper used to be almost comical. How did he become part of the crew taking the world by storm?
Watching him now, the boy struggles to imagine how this man could possibly be the same as the one from those old stories.
The Sniper stands tall, eyes constantly darting about to access their surroundings. A giant strange-looking slingshot is strung across his back, and the boy watches as his hand twitches, as though aching for an excuse to release it from its bindings.
There is a group of men gathered around the central water fountain, and the boy’s heart skips a beat.
Bad timing. The group is well-known around town for being troublemakers. They are still fairly young, so they’ve always escaped real jail time for their petty crimes, but even the boy can recognize the reckless danger of their actions.
Only people who have yet to see what the world has to offer can sit upon so high a horse.
The boy watches as the group notices the Straw Hats and is suddenly hit with the knowledge that he’s the only one in the town square that saw the group sail in on their infamous ship. He’s the only one who knows who they really are.
On the outside, one could mistake the pirates for a hapless group of travelers, easy targets for some quick cash.
The boy knows better.
One of the men nudges his friend and takes a step forward. An unpleasant smile stretches across his face as he steps up alongside the group of pirates. The boy grimaces as he catches sight of the gun at the man’s belt.
“Hey, strangers,” the man says, sickly sweet. “You’re not from around…”
He trails off, all color draining from his face. It was the Sniper’s side that he’d stepped up to, and though the boy hadn’t even seen him move, the slingshot had vanished from the Sniper’s back and reappeared in his hand. The tip of it rested upon the troublemaker’s throat.
The Sniper tilted his head, considering the young man before him, as he stared wide-eyed down at the weapon.
“We hear a retired Navy Commander lives in this town.” The Sniper’s voice is ice crawling up the boy’s back. “Any idea where we could find him?”
As the man swings his hand erratically in the direction of their village’s sole bar, the boy is left to wonder how anyone could have even thought the Sniper to be a coward.
X
They say Black Leg used to protect his hands.
It makes sense. A cook needs his hands after all. From what the boy has heard, the cook has earned his name. Those legs are practically legendary.
Hands, though. Hands are precious to a cook.
This is why the boy finds it odd to see Black Leg wringing his hands together as he looks out across the square. It seems unconscious, a nervous tick maybe.
The cook picks at the skin around his nails, and the boy notes that it’s already red and peeling. Definitely a habit.
Black Leg’s attention is caught by one of the many market stalls lining an alleyway. He sways in its direction as if pulled by an invisible force.
Incredibly attuned to each other, they watch each other almost obsessively, the rest of the crew stops and observes as the cook stumbles over the stall.
A good choice, the boy musses. It’s his favorite food spot in the whole village, the best grilled meat you could find anywhere on the island.
The woman behind the counter cheerfully greets the blond man, but he doesn’t acknowledge or even appear to hear her. His attention fixated on a large slab of meat grilling away on the hot surface. His eyes trace the juices sizzling down its sides.
The woman blinks and tries to ask Black Leg if he would like to buy anything. Again, the man says nothing, but the boy notes with some alarm that the notorious pirate is shaking.
In an instant, the Cat Burglar is at Black Leg’s side. She gently takes his hand, and the cook allows himself to be led away.
The hand that is not firmly grasped by his crewmate is clenched so hard that the boy can see small trails of blood running under his bitten nails.
X
They say the Doctor used to be timid.
When the boy first heard that the doctor of the Straw Hat Pirates was an animal, he thought it was a joke. When he heard the pirate doctor treated everyone without prejudice, he wasn’t entirely sure what to think.
As he watched the large furred figure, the boy wondered how such a striking creature could garner a reputation for being timid and gentle.
He stood tall among his crewmates, beady black eyes swinging from side to side.
The Sniper leaned over and whispered something into his ear. The Doctor tilted his head down and took a long, deep breath. He held it for a long moment, as though tasting its messages.
When he turned back to the Sniper, the Doctor shook his head. The boy was just close enough to hear his soft murmur.
“If he’s here, he’s the only one.”
The Sniper snorted. “I trust you. The Marines stink. In more ways than one.”
“Yes,” the Doctor replied, and the boy shuddered at the steel in his voice.
A doctor he may be. He was also a pirate better left uncrossed.
X
They say the Devil Child used to be emotionless.
Perhaps it was foolish of the boy to think his shadowing act went unnoticed. Who was he kidding? Of course it was. These were the Straw Hat Pirates, after all, famed for adventures with their captain and mayhem without him.
Still, as the boy tried to slip into the bar after the group, the feel of a hand on his shoulder made his heart leap into his throat. He held his breath as he looked up into dark eyes.
The famed Devil Child stood over him, watching the boy with something close to amusement in her eyes.
“I understand the curiosity.” Her voice was smooth as silk, and the boy couldn’t help gaping up at her. The woman was undeniably beautiful, but something about the coiled way she held herself sent a shiver down the boy’s spine. The image of a snake poised to strike flashed across his mind.
“I’m afraid this is not going to be a conversation for childrens' ears.” The Devil Child’s voice was firm as she gave him a gentle shove back out the door.
The boy allowed the banishment, for the choice was not really his. As much as he wanted to know what would happen inside the bar when the Straw Hats meet the retired Commander, he knew better than to tangle with pirates. Especially these ones.
The rumors about the Devil Child were perhaps the most frightening of them all. She’ll banish you to the depths of Hell without a flicker of emotion crossing her face.
The people who started those rumors must never have met her.
For when the woman turned away from him to fully enter the bar, the hatred on her face was nearly palpable. If she was trying to hide it, the Devil Child was not successful.
X
They say the Cyborg used to laugh at everything.
In the end, the boy didn’t need to wait outside the bar long.
The Cyborg exits first, and the boy gasps when he sees the battered man being dragged behind him. The boy only vaguely knew the retired Navy officer, who had only lived in their town for a few months, and he certainly didn’t have time for curious, bored kids running around in search of an adventure.
The boy always thought that man struck an impressive figure, but now he looked incomparably small as his entire head and neck fit into the Cyborg’s metal hand.
The boy had met a sailor once who had seen the Straw Hat Pirates in one of their many battles. He’d gone on and on about the incredible cyborg man who could change his body into a weapon, complete with a deadly grin and manic laugh.
“It was unreal!” the man had said. “You could hear the laughter clear across the town.”
The Cyborg wasn’t laughing now.
His face might have been made of stone instead of metal for all the emotion found there. The Commander struggles in his grip, but the boy knows the man has no chance of escape.
Even if the rest of the crew hadn’t followed him out of the bar, the Cyborg clearly didn’t need help with their prey.
X
They say the Soul King used to sing.
The boy used to ponder about such a thing. How could a living skeleton sing without lungs? It was hardly the strangest thing he heard about the Straw Hats, but one still had to wonder.
As the crew makes their way back through the town square, the boy’s attention is drawn to a lively violinist who has struck up a merry tune by the markets. People are beginning to gather around him, happy to have a moment of cheer on an otherwise humdrum day.
The other pirates don’t seem to notice, but the boy notes the Soul King tilting his head in the direction of the performer. For a moment his whole body sways, as if the music itself was tugging upon his coat.
The boy nearly jumped when the skeleton wrenched himself back around. The Soul King shuddered, gritting his teeth.
In the next moment, it was like nothing had happened. The Soul King’s steps were steady as he followed his crew away from the music.
X
The boy remembers getting the news nearly two years ago, bulky black words emblazoned on the newspapers that floated gently down from the sky.
War in Marineford: Straw Hat Luffy Meets His Demise
There were other details in the article. How Monkey D. Luffy died in his brother’s arms, Fire Fist Ace’s rampage, and the near-death of Whitebeard.
But it was the image of the young man’s grinning face staring up at him from the newspaper that always stayed with the boy.
He thought the young pirate looked joyful. Free. He wondered what that was like.
Now, as he silently followed the crew back the way they came to their shining ship upon the sea, he thought about what they all must have been like when their captain lived. Before their lives were torn apart from across the world, all of them far too many miles away from their captain’s fallen body.
Living in the Grand Line, the boy heard many stories of the Straw Hat Pirates. About their boy captain who touched lives wherever he went. About the crew who followed him faithfully, each trying to repay a debt that could never be covered.
How could you repay the debt of a new life, given by a boy with a straw hat and wicked grin who asked for nothing more than for you to follow him?
The boy felt the sting of sympathy as he watched the Navy Commander be dragged roughly up onto the ship. Over the last few years, stories about the Straw Hats had taken on a dark edge. Blood for blood.
Part of the boy didn’t want to believe these new stories. He wanted them to remain forever the crew that freed countries and tackled injustice.
But one can not wake up the same when their heart has been stolen.
The boy did not know what would become of the Navy Commander. He hoped he would be smart enough to tell the pirates whatever it was they needed to know.
Perhaps he was being foolish again.
A moment more and the anchor rose. The brilliant sunlit ship began to gently sail away.
The boy stayed on the dock for a long time after the visitors disappeared into the horizon.
People said many things about the Straw Hat Pirates.
They mourn, thought the boy. This was the truest of all things.