Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

*Hey, guys. Sorry for not updating a lot of my other stories throughout the summer. I wanted to write more, but I got a lot busier IRL than I expected. However, throughout all of August, I did manage to read all 1,124 chapters of the One Piece manga and now, I'm officially a huge fan of the series! I liked it so much, in fact, that it gave me the inspiration to come up with this new, highly ambitious Dragon Ball/One Piece crossover. This will be the last fanfiction I ever write due to how many ideas I've come up with for this story. So from now on, I'll continue to write my other crossovers and this one for the foreseeable future.

I hope you the enjoy the first chapter. Like I said, I came up with a lot of story arcs and ideas, so I put a ton of effort into this. I wanted to do the concept of a One Piece/Dragon Ball crossover justice and hopefully, it'll work out that way.

Also, I have to give a big shoutout to my friend, Dontus - not Donut - Powerus. He helped me come up with a lot of new ideas and character interactions for this story, so I'm really grateful for his help. Thanks a lot as always, man!

Wealth, fame, power; Gold Roger, the King of the Pirates, had achieved it all on his years long voyage across the entire globe. Right before he was executed for his crimes as the legendary Pirate King, Roger challenged a new generation of pirates to find his hidden stash of treasure, the One Piece.

"My treasure?" He chuckled with a large smile on his face. "Why, it's right where I left it. It's yours if you can find it… but you'll have to search the whole world!"

It was then that, with his final beheading at Loguetown, the Great Pirate Era was born. Hundreds upon thousands of new pirate crews would follow in the Roger Pirates' footsteps and enter the Grand Line in search for adventure, greed, or, in some odd cases, fun.

For nine long years, the World Government would have their hands full apprehending this new generation of plundering criminals. They dispatched the Marines, military officers trained with the express purpose of maintaining peace and order along the high seas.

Unfortunately, not everything was as black and white as the government's leaders made it out to be. Corruption, violence, and slavery, in fact, were quite commonplace around the entire world. Anyone who stood up against these inhumane acts either became pirates or joined the illusive Revolutionary Army that began to form not too long ago. Either option, however, did not always bring forth as much change as the downtrodden would prefer.

Nevertheless, a sense of hope did still exist. To some slaves, it was the mysterious Sun God, Nika, who they prayed would sound the Drums of Liberation for them, but there also existed another… similarly influential being.

They did not originate from this world per se, but their presence, at some point, would cast a light upon the world's innermost darkness, much like the Moon did every night.

Sailing across the empty, vacuous seas of outer space, a single gray pod presided. It was circular in shape and had a red window situated in its center. The being in question was a young infant with spiky black hair and a bushy brown monkey tail wrapped around his small legs. He gurgled a little, barely being able to keep his eyes open as the Attack Ball kept flying to an unspecified location.

The baby could vaguely recall the last words his parents said to him, but it was a fleeting memory at best. It wouldn't be long before he forgot what the two even looked like or how their voices sounded.

If Bardock is overthinking the matter, we'll come and get you right away, okay? His mother said with tears in her eyes.

Listen, you survive, no matter what! You have the blood of a strong revolutionary flowing through you, Kakarot! Make us proud.

Be brave! We'll see you later.

KAKAROT!

He reached out his hand, attempting to touch the loving parents who were no longer there… and never would be. Tears streaked down the baby's puffy cheeks as he began to cry in sadness.

"WAAAAAAH!"

These cries fell on deaf ears. They continued to go on until the Attack Ball entered Earth's upper atmosphere and prepared to land somewhere in its vast, incredibly massive ocean. Multiple islands of varying sizes were strewn about the surface, either being part of the East Blue, West Blue, North Blue, or South Blue. East and West were separated from the other two sections by a ring-like continent known as the Red Line, making it impossible for there to be one, all-encompassing body of water, or All Blue. It had been this way for centuries, yet no one knew where this piece of red earth even came from. It was likely yet another mystery being covered up by the World Government and those who ruled it on the Holy Land, Mary Geoise.

Rocketing through some clouds and a few miscellaneous sky islands, young Kakarot's pod plummeted toward a small island in the West Blue called Paozu Island. Located due north of the infamous island, Ohara, it was a mostly tropical environment home to Mt. Paozu and a slew of different prehistoric creatures, including dinosaurs, sabretooth tigers, giant fish, and more. In a way, its habitat was somewhat similar to the Grand Line's Little Garden, but with a few notable differences here and there. The general climate and cycle of seasons were two of them.

Stationed close to Paozu's shore was an old Marine Ship that had been through its fair share of intense naval battles. It was dark green with two masts that had large white sails attached to it and a third mast with a lateen sail near the back. Six cannons were also located on either side of the ship's hull. Multiple other cannons were placed above the bow as well. Each sail was additionally painted with the blue, wing-like symbol for the Marines on it and, of course, the actual word, 'MARINE', written in bold lettering.

A unique feature that made this cruiser stand out from the others, however, was its immense size and the white, foxlike creature that was its figurehead. It had pointy ears, red eyes with circular black pupils, and a small snout with whiskers on its cheeks. A set of paws were also placed near the bottom of the ship's bow. These animalistic features were reminiscent of a mask its owner once wore into battle.

His name was Vice Admiral Son D. Gohan, an elderly seventy-nine year old man known to many as the great Hero of Heroes and, in more extreme cases, the God of the Marines. His skill in combat was impressive enough to take down many dangerous pirates in his heyday, including Rocks D. Xebec himself during the infamous God Valley Incident of 1486. He was asked to take on the role of Admiral or even Fleet Admiral many times over, but Gohan would always decline such offers. He preferred to not be made into a puppet for the Celestial Dragons to control. They had already caused enough sorrow and destruction in this world, and he wouldn't be made into a blind supporter of those acts no matter what orders were given out. Justice could not be properly held if that were the case.

Wearing a tattered white coat along his sleeves, he was a short, yet quite muscular individual standing at 5'2 and weighing 112 pounds. He had beady, almost fierce black eyes and had a bushy white mustache that sat above his upper lip. His main outfit comprised of a navy blue suit with a fedora of the same color on his head and small black slippers. This was the set of clothing he usually wore when going on missions as a Vice Admiral, but those days, sadly, were long past him now.

He had retired in 1502 after witnessing indescribable horrors take place on Ohara. It had been a year since that dreaded incident, yet the deaths of Professor Clover, Nico Olvia, and the other innocent archaeologists living there did not escape his mind. He was grateful that Olvia's eight-year-old daughter managed to survive, even if a target was now placed on her back by the Five Elders.

He could only begin to wonder what an innocent young girl could do to warrant such cruelty and malintent. Nevertheless, despite what his pupils said to convince him otherwise, Gohan took a more hands-off position and focused on training new recruits after that day. He still retained the rank of Vice Admiral, but would no longer be seen in the line of duty anytime soon.

Since retiring, Gohan set up a little hut for himself on Paozu Island and spent most of his downtime living there. Sometimes he'd take a few students to train there per Fleet Admiral Sengoku's permission, but more often than not, he paid visits to Mt. Paozu by himself.

Yawning aloud, he held his trusty bo staff, the Nyoibo, in one hand and used it as a walking stick of sorts. While red in color, the aptly named 'Power Pole' had seen so many battles over the years that it began to turn black from the effects of his Armament Haki. It could even become comparable to a Black Blade at this rate, even if it wasn't a sword at all.

"Hmph. A bit boring, but I suppose it's as good of a retirement home as any." Gohan muttered to himself. He continued walking, traversing the rocky cliffsides of Mt. Paozu at a steady, even pace. "Wonder how Garp, Sengoku, and Tsuru will fare without me around. I'm not worried about Tsuru per se, but the other two…"

The old Marine then froze, sensing an unknown object with his Observational Haki. Seeing a brief glimpse of the future, he could tell it was going to crash straight into Mt. Paozu any moment now.

What could it be? It's falling from the sky, yet… this Haki doesn't feel like anything that would originate from Skypiea or any similar location…

Keeping his eyes focused on the sky and nothing else, Gohan finally caught sight of the object in question. The metallic spacecraft rocketed straight into the ground, emitting a massive explosion of energy that roughly shook Paozu Island from side to side. He dashed straight toward it as soon as the resulting smoke cleared.

There was now a deep crater in the ground, which contained nothing, but some shattered pieces of rock and the spherical flying machine of sorts. It was somewhat damaged from the crash, yet pretty much fully operational, nonetheless.

"Hm. Could it be one of Dr. Vegapunk's experiments perhaps?" Gohan wondered, referring to the Marines's current head scientist and a close friend of his.

This presumption would be proven wrong as soon as the Attack Ball's hatch popped open. To his growing astonishment, a baby with spiky black hair and a monkey tail slowly crawled out of it.

"A little boy? With the tail of a monkey of all things?!"

The mysterious child looked around before beginning to cry their eyes out once again. Being an infant, he was scared, tired, hungry, and lonely all at the same time. Gohan sympathetically gazed at the boy and walked up to him with a small grin on his face.

"How'd you end up in a place like this, little fella?" He gently scooped up the boy in his arms and took a better look at the monkey tail. Oddly enough, he also appeared to have faint traces of Haki flowing through his body. "You're a strange one, alright. No Devil Fruit in sight, yet you still have a tail attached to your body. But don't worry, kiddo. I've been called a little odd myself, believe it or not."

The Vice Admiral wasn't certain what to do. This child obviously had no home, family, or even people to call his own, so something needed to be done to help him. He'd rather die than let the Celestial Dragons get their greedy hands on him, at least. They'd either sell him into slavery or experiment on him due to his odd, alien characteristics alone.

Considering how lonely living on this island could be at times, Gohan finally came to a decision. He'd help raise and train this boy, much like what he did for all sorts of young, promising Marines in the past.

"Looks like you're staying with me, little one. How does that sound?"

The young boy's tail twitched about as he giggled happily at Gohan's smiling face. The old Marine couldn't help, but join in and laugh the same way.

"Hoho. I'll take that as a yes then." He said. "Now, what should I call you? Gohan Jr.? No, that's not right…"

He then thought back to his former student, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, and suddenly came up with an idea. They didn't always agree on everything, but he did care about him, Garp, and Tsuru much more than any one of them realized. Those three might as well have been his children in all, but blood, to be honest.

"How about… Son D. Goku? Or Goku for short?"

The boy started to laugh even louder in response to his new name, much to the old man's sheer delight.

"Oh, you like that, huh? Alright then! Goku, it is! Hahaha! Goku! What a good little boy!"

It was then that a void in Gohan's heart was slowly, but surely filled. This child, whatever or whoever he was, may not erase all the atrocities Gohan had witnessed in his life, but he could definitely bring some much-needed hope for the future. That's what he wanted to keep in mind when raising Goku, anyway.

Holding the boy in his arms, the old man took another look at the Attack Ball in puzzlement. It was likely a piece of advanced, extraterrestrial technology, so Dr. Vegapunk was really the only person he could call to deal with it. He'd need to contact him on his Transponder Snail before anyone else, namely the other Marines, caught wind of Goku's sudden arrival.

"Alright, Goku. Let's get you inside now. Grandpa's gonna need to talk with an old friend of his."

Right as he resumed climbing up Mt. Paozu, a massive orange Tyrannosaurus Rex leapt out of the jungle in a blind rage. It would have bitten down on Gohan's head if not for him glaring directly at the beast, sending out a powerful shockwave of Haki that knocked it out cold. All the poor T. Rex could do now was foam at the mouth and remain unconscious for who knows how long.

"Hmph. My Conqueror's Haki must be getting a bit rusty…"

Goku then roughly tugged down on Gohan's mustache while he wasn't paying attention.

"Yowch!"

"HAHAHAHA!" The monkey-tailed boy giggled in amusement.

"My goodness. You're quite a handful, aren't ya?"

After about another half-hour of walking, Gohan finally made it to his hut. It was a small, one-room building with a triangular blue roof and red-white bricks. Its doors were also green and made from some special type of wood.

He looked down at the child, who was now fast asleep in his arms. After everything that just happened, he couldn't believe how calm and peaceful Goku looked.

"Poor little guy. You must have been through quite a lot today."

He then quietly walked into his home and set Goku down on the bed. Apart from that, there was a table, a blue countertop with drawers, and a single vase in the corner. There was also an orange ball with four red stars on it, but even Gohan himself didn't quite know what it was or what it could do. It had been on Paozu Island even before he first set foot on it.

The Vice Admiral then walked over to his own Transponder Snail, or Den Den Mushi. It was a rare white member of its species that had an exact duplicate of Gohan's eyes and mustache. He personally found this type of snail in secret, so his conversations couldn't be wiretapped by the Marines or World Government. This tactic was necessary when dealing with such confidential topics like Goku and his 'origins'.

He quickly dialed Dr. Vegapunk's number and waited for him to pick up. Once he did, the scientist's emotions and mannerisms were copied by the very snail transmitting his call.

"Well, this is a surprise. What seems to be the trouble, Gohan?"

"I was wondering if you could pay a quick visit to Paozu, Vegapunk. There's something here you may be… interested in."

Several hours later…

Standing to the side with his new grandson, Gohan watched as Dr. Vegapunk carefully examined the boy's pod in sheer awe. He was a short, eccentric-looking man with an elongated forehead that towered above everyone else's. This peculiar appearance resulted from him eating the Brain Brain Fruit, a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit that allowed his mind to contain a near-infinite amount of knowledge and ideas. Such an ability, although problematic in certain aspects, allowed Vegapunk to be dubbed the Smartest Man in the World and create technological marvels that the world once considered impossible. Or, at least, this current version of the world, anyway.

He also had a brown mustache, bushy eyebrows, and spiky, unkempt hair that wrapped around his bulbous head. His eyes were covered by purple sunglasses and, most peculiar of all, his long tongue was almost always sticking out from his mouth, even when speaking. Wearing a black suit and pants, Vegapunk enthusiastically hopped from one place to another to get a better look at Goku's Attack Ball.

Despite his nigh-incomparable intellect, the forty-three year-old Special Science Group founder had never seen anything quite like this device before. It made him weary, yet incredibly fascinated at the same time.

"Pepepepeh! And just when I thought the world of science couldn't advance further, you bring this beauty to me, Gohan! Astounding!" Dr. Vegapunk chuckled aloud. He then crossed both arms behind his back and nodded. "It was quite wise for you to re-quasar my help."

"You have an infinitely expanding brain, my friend. No one is more qualified to deal with a contraption like this one."

Vegapunk tentatively rubbed his chin, glancing from the monkey-tailed baby to the pod in quick succession.

"A mere 'contraption' doesn't even begin to describe it. Based on the calculations I made mere seconds ago, I suspect that this transportation device was able to fly across outer space in record timing. If it were traveling at a normal speed in lightyears, this child would be much older than he appears to be."

Gohan frowned. "But how is that possible? Are you implying that Goku comes from a race of people even more technologically advanced than—"

"Than that of what was suspected to be found in the Void Century? Precisely." The scientist gravely nodded. "Which is why the Five Elders must not discover your grandson's existence. Otherwise, he could be enslaved by the Celestial Dragons like many exotic species before him… or worse…"

"End up like the denizens of Ohara…" The retired Vice Admiral scowled in dismay. He then softly brushed some hair off of Goku's forehead and smiled down at him. A new sense of determination now burned inside his very soul.

"I won't let that happen, Vegapunk. I may have failed to save Professor Clover and the others, but I won't fail with Goku. As long as I'm around, he'll be safe with me here."

Dr. Vegapunk blew out a sigh and lightly patted Gohan on the back.

"Do not place the blame solely on yourself, you old fool. The so-called Devil Child, Nico Robin, would not have survived without your efforts, correct? As long as she continues to live, the archaeologists of Ohara will not have died in vain. And their work has also been brought over to Elbaf, so that, in a sense, is a triumph for them too."

At the brief mention of Elbaf, home of the giants, Gohan felt a sense of relief wash over him. His fellow Vice Admiral and friend, Jaguar D. Saul, must have been able to survive, after all. He hoped Robin was doing alright too.

"So you promise not to reveal any information about Goku to the rest of the world?"

"Contrary to what Monkey D. Dragon said about me a few months ago, I am not a lapdog who blindly follows the government's orders. There are still good, reasonable people to be found in the Marines and you, of course, are likely the most trustworthy of them all. I have no reason to jeopardize the life of this child; mainly because his species – whatever it may be called – brings about all sorts of new discoveries to the table. And that all starts with the very device he traveled to Earth in."

Gohan gratefully beamed at the scientist and nodded his head.

"Thank you, Vegapunk. I'll make it up to you somehow."

"Don't make promises you can't keep, my friend. Pepepepeh!" The former MADS leader laughed. "All I re-quasar in return is the pod and a sample of Goku's DNA. I'd like to study them further at Punk Hazard to get a better understanding of the boy's species and what sets it apart from other species we already know about."

The old man then plucked a single hair from Goku's monkey tail and handed it to Vegapunk. The scientist deadpanned at this action, but accepted the DNA sample, nonetheless.

"That'll do, I suppose…"

Afterwards, Gohan picked up the Attack Ball and safely placed it inside the Vegatank-08, a spherical vehicle that used wheels made from Island Clouds to fly across the sky. Its cockpit was a bubble that Vegapunk could easily enter and exit with ease. He did just that and sat at the wheel, giving his friend one last handshake before heading back to Punk Hazard, the island in the New World where his current laboratory presided.

"Take care, Gohan. I'll be sure to give you any updates about my research when they come. Until then, keep an eye on the boy and make certain that he doesn't leave this island! There's no telling what could happen if the World Government catches wind of his arrival here."

"Hohoho! Don't worry, Vegapunk. He'll be right at home on Mt. Paozu."

The esteemed Marine scientist, appreciating Gohan's ever-present enthusiasm, took flight in the Vegatank-08 and began the trip back to Punk Hazard without another word. Now, Gohan and Goku were left alone with a deep, vacant crater in the ground.

Goku curiously reached his small hands out to the parting vehicle, an somewhat adorable action which his new grandpa smiled at. The little boy was already quite good at bringing out that side of him, apparently.

"I'm sure we'll see him again. He's always seeking new sources of information wherever it can be found… and that, I'm afraid, now includes you, my boy."

Goku blankly tilted his head to the side in confusion, but began to giggle once Gohan placed his blue fedora atop the child's head. He took a liking to it almost immediately.

"Let's get you back home. I'll need to figure out what you like to eat."

From that point onward, the once-acclaimed God of the Marines would take his retirement in stride and spend each day raising the alien child he chose to adopt as a grandson. They'd explore, sleep, eat, and, eventually, train together throughout all of Paozu Island's surrounding ecosystem. This would continue for the next six years thanks to some assistance from Dr. Vegapunk and Gohan's three proteges. Tsuru, in particular, took a shine to the young boy, but given her serious nature, she didn't like to show it all that often.

Unfortunately, these moments of happiness were unable to last forever. There existed a monstrous power hidden inside Goku's body that not even his own grandfather could anticipate.

And it was that very power which would change his life forever.

Six years later – May 9 th , 1509

Earlier that week, Sengoku had pulled a few strings as Fleet Admiral to visit his old mentor at Paozu Island. Marineford's current Commander-in-Chief, Kong, allowed it, but only out of respect for Gohan, whom he held in high regard as former rivals and partners. Kong's upcoming birthday might have had something to do with his better mood as well.

It took several days to travel from the Marine headquarters to the West Blue, but eventually, Sengoku, Monkey D. Garp, and Tsuru all reached Paozu on their own ships. This meeting was planned ahead of time, so they traveled alone without any officers or shipmates to accompany them.

This was mainly for Gohan's benefit than their own since even Sengoku understood that Goku's identity needed to be kept top secret. Otherwise, all hell would surely break loose and the Five Elders would do everything in their power to capture him by force. The Fleet Admiral was as loyal to the World Government as they come, but he still couldn't bring himself to be that cruel to an innocent child.

Currently, he was sitting at a wooden table outside Gohan's hut with him, Garp, and Tsuru. At sixty-four years old, Sengoku was an exceptionally tall man standing at 9'1 with black spectacles, a black afro that covered his entire head, and a thin, long goatee that extended down from his neck. His light purple suit was paired with a white naval jacket that had red and yellow shoulder-pads on both sides. He kept his gaze calm, serious, and composed, yet was unquestionably happy to be in Gohan's presence again.

Garp was similar, yet different at the same time. The sixty-three year old 'Hero of the Marines' stood a bit taller than Sengoku at 9'5, and was far more muscular and bulky in terms of overall physique. He had short black hair with some gray parts growing in on the side and a black beard. Since his jacket currently hung along his seat, he wore a black and white suit with dress pants of the same color. A large, toothy grin was almost permanently placed on his lips in that moment too.

Great Staff Officer Tsuru, in contrast to her two colleagues, was sixty-one years old and stood at a marginally shorter 6'8. She had a few wrinkles on her once-beautiful, stern face and her gray hair was tied into a bun. Her main outfit comprised of a red collar shirt with rolled up sleeves, a maroon tie with white polka dots, and brown gloves. She also wore maroon pants and brown, high-heeled boots.

Each one of Gohan's students were significantly taller than him, but in terms of raw power and influence alone, he continued to remain supreme. The old man, however, was far too humble to accept such praise.

They all watched the six-year-old Goku gorge down on piles upon piles of food in sheer discomfort. Tsuru could only sigh and focus on drinking her cup of tea while Garp laughed amusedly alongside his old mentor.

"Sometimes I wonder why you named this… animal after me, Master Gohan."

Garp slapped his knee and said, "BWAHAHA! He probably got the idea from you devouring those fried rice crackers all the time, Sengoku!"

Sengoku glared at his old friend and rival in outrage.

"Ergh! Like you have any right to talk, Garp! You've been gorging on the entire assortment since you first walked in! Save some for the rest of us, you glutton!"

"Seems like you two will never change…" Tsuru, known practitioner of 'Clean Justice', grumbled in annoyance. "You're going to be a bad influence on the poor child."

Finishing off his last bowl of food, Goku set it down and let out a pleasant sigh of relief. The young boy was now wearing a blue gi with red wristbands, blue slippers, and a white sash tightly wrapped around his waist. His monkey tail poked out from behind his pants as always.

"Don't worry, Granny Tsuru. Grandpa already taught me not to act too much like Garp and Sengoku."

The two rivals stopped arguing to gawk at such a remark.

"Eh? The hell's that supposed to mean?!"

Sengoku adjusted his glasses. "You have some nerve, brat."

Tsuru smirked in amusement at Goku's naïve, carefree attitude. That type of behavior would likely get him killed one day, but she was certain he'd grow out of it sooner or later. At least, that's what she hoped if Gohan was, in fact, raising him properly.

She then noticed the amount of food staining Goku's shirt, face, and pants. Grimacing, she slightly raised her hand and held it towards him.

"You're filthy. What did I tell you about cleaning up after yourself?"

Using her Paramecia-type Devil Fruit, the Wash-Wash Fruit, Goku's body became covered in soap and water as he was laid out against his chair like a pair of freshly clean clothes. Normally, this ability would also be able to cleanse the evil in a person's heart, but due to the boy already being as pure as can be, all it did was give him a short bath. The sensation was somewhat pleasant for Goku, yet weird at the same time.

"Hehe. I like it better when you clean me, Granny. It's more fun that way!"

Seeing the almost motherly smile on Tsuru's face, Gohan couldn't help, but laugh from his seat at the table. He was eighty-five years old and showing some hints of fatigue on his wrinkled face. Nonetheless, the former Vice Admiral didn't change all that much from how he was six years prior. He just needed to take it easy here and there.

Tipping his trademark, blue fedora, Gohan addressed his former Marine proteges with a smile. "Ohohoho! I'm glad you three are getting along so well with my grandson. Truly warms this old man's heart."

Garp snorted and kicked back in his seat.

"Feh. I still think you're too soft on the brat, Gramps. You should have thrown him into the jungle for a few months like I suggested. Only then will we know how strong he can truly become."

After Tsuru's cleaning session was over, Goku sat back in his seat and looked up at the Vice Admiral in puzzlement.

"But I did that before. One time I fought this big, ugly dinosaur for a giant fish and—"

Garp narrowed his eyes and comically socked him across the face using the dreaded Fist of Love technique.

"That isn't enough, dammit!"

As a result, the young boy went flying uncontrollably into a nearby tree. Goku managed to shrug this attack off and massaged his aching cheek.

"Owwww! No fair, Garp-Pa! I wasn't ready yet."

Sengoku massaged his chin. "Goku appears to be quite resilient, at least…"

"Hmph. Resilience isn't gonna make him a powerful Marine! He needs that extra push to become the greatest sailor this world has ever seen!" Garp proclaimed determinedly. "Him and Luffy are going places. You'll see."

Goku scratched the back of his head, regarding the Vice Admiral's description with a prominent lack of interest.

"Being a Marine doesn't sound very fun, though. Grandpa said it's not the type of group he wants me to be part of…"

Hearing this disrespectful comment, Garp grabs Goku by the scruff of his shirt and glares at him dangerously.

"Lies! Your Grandpa taught the three of us everything he knows as a Vice Admiral for the Marines! Why in the hell would he not want that path for his own grandson?!"

Sighing, Gohan crossed both arms behind his back and got up from his seat.

"What the boy says is right, Garp. I do not wish for him to join the Navy."

An incredibly awkward silence permeated throughout the air. Sengoku, Tsuru, and Garp were stunned speechless by what they were hearing. The latter, in particular, was absolutely pissed off. He dropped Goku onto the floor and tightly clenched his fists, struggling to hold himself back from getting even more furious.

"Have you gone senile? If not a Marine, what other path for Goku is there, Gramps?!"

"That's for Goku to decide when he's older, not you, myself, or anyone. I may have loyally served the World Government for decades, son, but… I've come to realize that it follows a flawed sense of justice. The Five Elders, Marine Admirals, Cipher Pol, the Celestial Dragons; every single one of them is corrupt and has no value for human life beyond their own flawed interpretation of it." Gohan replied in a darkly serious, adamant tone of voice. "A young, innocent boy like Goku… would be eaten alive in such an organization. I do not want the hopeful light that he represents to be extinguished by cold, bitter darkness… like mine eventually was…"

Garp scoffed. He didn't want to admit it, but Gohan was technically right. The World Government's corruption and brutality was what led to his own son, Monkey D. Dragon, forming the Revolutionary Army, after all.

Sengoku shook his head. If any other Marine had said this, active or retired, he would have had them punished almost immediately.

"Look, I hold more respect for you than even Kong, Gohan. But this? I cannot stand by it. Such a foolish, blasphemous statement would get you killed on sight! Don't you realize that?!" The current Fleet Admiral snarled. "And if Goku is not groomed into a strong, loyal Marine officer, he'll become far too dangerous to be left alive. His… unique nature can be used to achieve true justice in this world… if you don't wish to let that happen."

Goku wasn't really following along with this conversation, but for some reason, it made him feel uncomfortable. He scrunched up his face a little in concern.

"Too… dangerous?"

Tsuru walked up to the boy and softly held him in a comforting embrace. She glared at Sengoku in disapproval.

"Remember who you're talking about, Sengoku! Have you lost all sense of compassion?"

"I am the Fleet Admiral of the Marines, Tsuru! I will not let this boy become a filthy, despicable pirate like Gol D. Roger! I've already gone through enough trouble trying to purge his spawn from this Earth! I refuse to do that for someone I actually hold… an attachment to."

The female Vice Admiral continued to clutch Goku's shoulders in discomfort. Garp, meanwhile, thought about Portgas D. Ace and his familial connection to the Pirate King. He'd be damned if Sengoku found about that fact somehow, so he wouldn't say anything about it for his new adoptive grandson's sake.

Tsuru then took a deep breath and broke the silence.

"The world isn't so black and white anymore, Sengoku. It'd be naïve of you to consider all pirates evil while ignoring the atrocities committed by our people in Marines. We're as guilty of causing injustice in this world as any known criminal…"

Gohan solemnly nodded in agreement. "Like the Ohara Incident…"

"You still blame yourself for that, don't you? I gave CP9 permission to trigger that Buster Call, Gohan! The blood of those people is on my hands! I just gave you orders from the World Government to follow." He scowled in a softer voice. "I never intended for it to cause your retirement. Maybe I should have done what that traitor, Jaguar D. Saul, suggested and questioned the Five Elders's specific animosity towards that place…"

"Well, you didn't, my boy. And now some poor fifteen-year-old girl has a 70,000,000 Berry bounty placed on her head… thanks to your blind complacency. The same will likely happen if the World Government sets their sights on Goku. He could be enslaved by those Celestial Dragons or worse, experimented on and turned into a weapon of some sort. That is not the life I wish for Goku to have!"

Walking over to his grandson, he affectionately ruffled Goku's hair and smiled. The young boy giggled, oblivious to the serious, downright awful topics being discussed.

"I want Goku to be free; free to explore the world, meet new people, and, of course, grow stronger as a person. And if he must become a pirate to achieve that level of freedom, then so be it. It's his choice to go down whatever path he wishes." Gohan proclaimed. "Who knows? Maybe he could even set out to find the One Piece someday. Ohohoho!"

Goku snickered at all of the things his grandpa just described.

"Hehehe! That sounds like fun, Grandpa! Not sure what a One Piece is, but I want it!"

Garp, despite the boy's clear disinterest in becoming a Marine, suddenly broke out into a loud fit of laughter.

"BWAHAHAHAHA! Yup! That's your grandson, alright!"

Sengoku bared his teeth in frustration.

"How absurd. The One Piece won't be so easily obtained, boy. You'd best gain more sense than your aging grandfather and reconsider becoming a Marine. Your freedom will be more guaranteed that way. A pirate's life does no such thing."

The spiky-haired boy stuck out his tongue at Sengoku and drooped his eyelid.

"Nyeh! We'll just see about that, Old Man!"

"Arrogant little brat…"

Goku then pumped up his fists in newfound determination. "I'm gonna become the strongest pirate in the world and find that One Piece thing one day! Just watch me, you guys! I'll make you proud, Grandpa!"

Gohan and Tsuru giggled at the young boy's confidence while the other two grunted in dismay. Sengoku was especially displeased with his similarities to the King of the Pirates himself.

Even a boy foreign to this world… has the Will of D. guiding his actions…" He thought. Gohan won't be able to protect him forever. I hope he realizes that before I have no choice, but to force my hand.

He then grimaced at the sight of Goku childishly yawning and rubbing his eyes. It was a bit past the child's bedtime.

"Grandpa… I'm getting sleepy…"

"We'll go to bed soon, my boy. I assume Tsuru, Garp, and Sengoku won't be staying much longer."

"Yes," Sengoku muttered while looking over at his ship. "A Fleet Admiral's tasks never truly stop piling up, I suppose."

"Why do you think I didn't want the job?" Garp grunted.

Tsuru glanced at him. "Because you're reckless and have no respect for authority… or even property for that matter."

"Hey! I can be serious when it counts, Tsuru! Lay off."

As they incessantly bickered with each other, Goku noticed a bright, white light coming from the sky. It was a full moon, something he was, to his knowledge, never up late enough to really see or notice. He stared straight at in sudden curiosity.

"Wow. The Moon sure looks nice and big tonight, Grandpa. Does it always look like that or—"

He then froze as a shockwave of energy entered his subconscious mind. His eyes were now glazed over as well.

"Goku?" asked Tsuru.

A chill went down Gohan's spine as he spun around to look up at the moon. He hadn't even been paying attention to what time of day it was.

"O-Oh no. Not now…"

Goku's heart then began to beat repeatedly to the rhythm of his slowly changing body.

BADUMP!

BADUMP!

BADUMP!

After collapsing onto the floor in pain, he took deep, shallow breaths and began to transform from a small child… into a giant, ape-like monster.

"What the hell is happening, Gohan?! You never mentioned anything about this!" Garp yelled.

Gohan and the three Marines jumped away from Goku to create some distance between them. Within seconds, Goku's eyes now glowed a bloodred and his enormous body was covered in brown fur. He clenched his sharp teeth and let loose a relentless onslaught of Haki with one single roar.

"GGRAAAAAAAGHHHH!"

The four Marines were almost flung back from the resulting shockwave. Anything else, in close proximity, was either knocked out from shock or crumbled into tiny pieces.

Sengoku couldn't believe what he was seeing. "The Color of the Supreme King… at only six-years-old…"

Garp stood helplessly as Great Ape Goku went on a rampage atop Mt. Paozu. He slammed his fist down on Gohan's hut first, destroying the entire building instantly.

"This is insane! Was he part-Mink this whole time?!"

"There's no way. This may resemble their Sulong forms, but… none of them have been able to achieve this level of power so suddenly!" Tsuru choked out. "It has to be something far different from that."

Gohan sadly grimaced. "You'd be right, Tsuru. This form… is what results from Goku's monkey tail. When I first witnessed him look at the full moon about a year ago from now, Dr. Vegapunk classified it as the Oozaru, meaning Great Monkey or Great Ape. It increases Goku's power tenfold whenever he transforms into this… thing. I barely survived the last time it appeared… and I'm not so sure I'll be as fortunate again."

Sengoku narrowed his eyes into slants and tracked Goku's movements via Observational Haki. His energy was above average in size, but incredibly unrefined compared to theirs. The main issue would be attempting to take him down without killing the child.

"Then we'll protect you this time, Master Gohan. Just focus on knocking that tail off, so your grandson will go back to normal."

Nodding, Gohan smiled and transferred Armament Haki into his Nyoibo. It changed from crimson red to black and gold in color.

"I intend to do just that, Fleet Admiral Sengoku."

Garp smirked excitedly and slammed his fists together, coating each one in a black shell of Armament Haki. Red and black bolts of lightning surrounded him at the same time.

"WAHAHAHA! Just like the good old days, eh?"

Tsuru smirked and stood in a fighting stance. "When were they ever good, Garp?"

With that last remark, the four went to attack Great Ape Goku from different directions. Gohan, with an aura of bright blue Haki, flipped into the air and directed the Nyoibo towards his grandson's monkey tail.

"Power Pole, Extend!"

The black staff grew exponentially in length within Gohan's hands. He then slammed it down like a blade, attempting to slice off the tail through force alone. Unfortunately, Goku subconsciously tapped into Observational Haki and sidestepped away from the Nyoibo's sudden strike, seeing it coming before it even happened.

"Shoot! He used the Color of Observation to dodge!"

Narrowing his eyes, Great Ape Goku clasped both fists together and slammed them down on Gohan's body. Sadly, the old man was too frail and weak to suppress the counterattack's more severe damages. He coughed up blood and was sent crashing into the ground.

"Gohan!" Tsuru cried.

Using the Wash-Wash Fruit's abilities, she waved both her hands and drenched Goku with soapy water. His anger subsided for a moment, but more so out of confusion than actual control over his emotions. His body was far too huge to experience any real changes to his appearance like earlier.

"Are you alright? What's wrong?"

Gohan suddenly struggled to breathe as he clutched his aching chest. At eighty-five years old, his age was finally starting to catch up with him… at the worst possible moment.

"My heart is giving out a little… but I can keep going, Tsuru. My grandson needs me."

Tsuru's frown deepened ever-so-slightly. "But—"

Her response was interrupted by Great Ape Goku brushing off the Wash-Wash Fruit's effects. He then opened his large mouth and gathered bright red Haki into it.

"A-A blast of Haki?!"

"Much like Admiral Kizaru's…" Gohan whispered in confirmation.

The Haki was then released as a red, dome-like field of energy. It would have obliterated Gohan and Tsuru instantly if not for it being deflected by a large golden hand at the last second.

This hand belonged to Sengoku, whom had used his rare Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit, the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Buddha. As the name implied, the Fleet Admiral transformed into a massive statuesque version of himself known as a Daibutsu or, in other words, a Golden Buddha. He was now bare-chested and rotund with glowing white eyes that emanated an incredible amount of divine power. His afro was now comprised of multiple golden orbs too.

Narrowing both eyes in rage, he tightly grabbed onto Goku's simian wrists and forced him down with his own golden shockwave. The output of clashing energies was so immense that all of Paozu Island began to uncontrollably shake from side to side.

"Know your place, you lowly monkey! You're standing before Sengoku the Buddha himself!"

Great Ape Goku's feet caved deep into the ground, struggling to withstand Sengoku's newfound strength. He then roared in frustration and unleashed a few more bursts of red Haki from his mouth. Sengoku was pushed back a little, but still managed to shrug off the attacks without a single scratch on him, regardless. Their difference in strength and skill was just far too immense.

"Get on with it, Garp! What are you waiting for?!"

"You can't rush greatness, Sengoku, old friend!"

The Hero of the Marines sprinted up to Goku's legs from behind and let loose haymaker after haymaker against them. His knees buckled from the resulting implosions of energy, but that only served to make the young Oozaru even more furious than before.

Tapping into Conqueror's Haki once again, Goku freed his hands from Daibutsu Sengoku's strong grip and let out another, even more powerful roar.

"GGRAAAAAAAGHHHH!"

An impressive aura encompassed Goku's body, temporarily pushing Garp and Sengoku away from him by a few meters at most. He also repeatedly beat on his chest like a gorilla, projecting multiple bursts of soundwaves against the two legendary naval officers.

"DOWAAAH!"

Sengoku pushed his palm into the ground and grinded his heavier body against it. This managed to stop him from moving any further. "Dammit!"

Seeing the level of destruction Goku was causing, Gohan knew what needed to be done. He gently pushed Tsuru away from him and propped himself up with the Nyoibo. The old man then coated his chest with a sliver of Armament Haki to help alleviate the pain in his heart.

"Stay back, Tsuru. Goku's my responsibility…"

The Great Staff Officer could tell something else was off about her mentor, but didn't say a word. Her skills in Observational Haki were high enough to notice that Gohan's own energy was falling… fast. It was either due to the stress caused by this dire situation or something else entirely.

Either way, the potential outcome of this fight didn't seem too good.

"Okay. I understand."

Hiding her true emotions, Tsuru helplessly stood behind as Gohan spun the Nyoibo around and got into the Turtle School of Martial Arts fighting stance. Throughout his long life, he was the prized student of the Turtle Hermit, Master Roshi, and now, he'd die as one.

"Here I come, Goku."

It was then that Gohan would show the skills that made him known as the God of Marines and the Hero of Heroes. With a single swing of his Nyoibo, a burst of highspeed wind pushed Oozaru Goku off of his feet and caused a huge chunk of the entire island's surface to spontaneously combust.

"Graaagh!"

He then flexed his fist forward, using an advanced Haki technique from Wano, Ryou, to land multiple invisible blows on the giant monkey's chest. Goku's nose and mouth gushed with blood as a result.

I'm sorry, my boy. This will all be over soon.

Directly afterwards, Gohan dashed from one area to the next using Shave, a technique that made the body vanish due to moving at exceptionally high speeds. He caught sight of Goku's tail and went in for the kill so to speak. He leapt into the air and spun his Nyoibo around, using its lengthened size to cut the tail clean in half.

Unfortunately, this plan didn't work a second time either. Goku stood back up and stamped his foot straight down onto Gohan's body. The pain was indescribable, but Gohan, miraculously, held him back before all of his bones and muscles could be crushed.

"God Bind!"

Channeling golden Haki into his own two hands, a massive ring was released from Gohan's palms and stopped Goku's entire Great Ape form in its tracks. Now, neither of them could move a single inch, much to the young boy's clear chagrin and anguish.

"GRAAAAAAGH! GRAAAAAH!"

I know it hurts. It hurts me too, Goku. More than you realize.

As blood oozed from his lips, Gohan glanced at both Garp and Sengoku in frustration.

"What are you waiting for, boys?! Take him down… before it's too late!"

Daibutsu Sengoku noticed Gohan's current position and his usage of the legendary God Bind technique. Its power was noteworthy for being used against Rocks D. Xebec and his infamous pirate crew at God Valley many years ago.

"But, Master Gohan! If your grandson moves even a single inch, you'll—"

"DON'T HESITATE! JUST DO AS I SAY! EITHER OF YOU!"

Garp toothily grins, hiding his own conflicted feelings towards the situation. "As you wish! We have to live in the moment… for the sake of the future! That's what you taught us, right, Gramps?!"

Gohan nods. "That's right, Garp! Show me what you've learned!"

Building up more and more Haki around himself, the Hero of the Marines rocketed into the skies above Paozu Island. His fist was now coated in a star-like burst of red energy as he ascended further.

"WAHAHAHAHAHA!" He laughed. "Goku, you damn brat! I'll show you the true power of the Marines… and what you could one day surpass! WATCH CLOSELY!"

The entire island was now illuminated by a blinding flash of red, fiery light. Sengoku and Tsuru had to cover their eyes just to get a closer look at it.

"THIS IS ALL FOR YOUR FUTURE! SON D. GOKUUUU!"

"GRAAAAAAAGH!"

Goku continued struggling to break out of the God Bind, but Gohan's hold was far too strong. The old man, with tears in his eyes and a heavy heart, smiled at the one thing that brought him true happiness in life.

"Don't blame yourself for what happened tonight, my boy. Until the very end, it was an honor to be your grandfather and watch you grow…"

After Garp's attack reached its zenith in the air, he gathered more Haki into his hand and seemingly became one with the night sky's many stars.

"GALAXY…"

His speed was now so fast that his entire body descended back to the Earth like a falling meteorite. However, rather than the ground, he'd be landing right on top of Goku's head as a Great Ape.

Sharing one last look at Goku, his grandfather thought about all of the times they spent together these past six years. He lived a long, sometimes painful life, but those days were, by far, the most worthwhile for him. That even included the day he fell down and hit his head.

Sadly, he wouldn't be able to say any of these things to Goku himself.

"…I love you."

…IMPACTTTTT!"

Garp's fist rocketed downward, sending out a singular, combustive burst of Haki that exploded upon direct contact with the young Oozaru. Galaxy Impact instantly shattered Gohan's God Bind as well, causing his body to be crushed underneath Goku's foot as they were both forcibly pushed into the ground without any room for resistance.

Like a nuclear warhead, the resulting shockwave exploded everything situated around Mr. Paozu and beyond. Sengoku, thankfully, stood over Tsuru in time, so neither of them would be victims of the masterful attack's power. Garp's other nickname, Garp the Fist, was unquestionably well-earned in this case.

"GRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

"GOHAAANNNN!" Tsuru screamed with some stray tears in her eyes.

"No. It wasn't supposed to end this way!" Sengoku lowly growled through his clenched teeth.

For a few moments, the entirety of Paozu Island continued to be leveled by Garp's signature move. He remained afloat, gritting his teeth with fresh tears building in his eyes. He held no sense of victory over what took place.

Dammit! Why didn't I go for the stupid tail?!

Everything at Paozu, overtime, went back to normal once a few stray clouds cast themselves over the full moon. The mountain and its surrounding jungles were ravaged beyond foreseeable repair, but nothing else was harmed. All that could be seen when the smoke cleared were Goku's small, naked body and Gohan's barely conscious form.

His arms, legs, and chest were crushed to bits due the Oozaru's excess body weight. His head, including the navy blue fedora he always wore, were the only parts that didn't experience any damage or injury.

Fresh blood trickled down his chin as he quietly tried to continue breathing. His grandson rested atop his stomach, yet he couldn't even move his body around to see if the boy was alright. He was, unquestionably, crippled by all senses of the word.

Thankfully, his Nyoibo didn't experience any notable damages either. It was far too durable to be destroyed, even by the strongest of Haki-based attacks. In fact, it might have even absorbed some of the Haki put into Garp's Galaxy Impact.

"G-Goku…" Gohan softly croaked. Although burnt to a crisp, the child's monkey tail still remained intact. "… I'm so glad… you're safe. I can… rest now…"

Garp immediately descended back to the surface and ran to his mentor's aid. Sengoku did the same after reverting back to his normal, human form. Tsuru, however, couldn't bring herself to look at the old man in such terrible condition.

"Tsk! Stay with us, Gohan! It's not your time to go yet, dammit!" The Hero of the Marines cried while powerfully slamming a fist into the ground.

"O-Ohoho. Don't you go blaming yourself too, Garp. That's what Sengoku's specialty…"

"Why shouldn't I blame myself?! IT WAS MY DAMN TECHNIQUE THAT DID THIS TO YOU!"

Tsuru bit her lower lip. "Garp, you fool…"

"The only fool here is him, Tsuru!" Sengoku glowered and glared down at Gohan's face with tightly clenched teeth. "You reckless, stubborn old man! If you had just used the God Bind a few seconds earlier, Goku wouldn't have been able to crush your fragile body to this extent. Why did you hesitate?! TELL ME!"

Gohan paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. He was expecting this kind of reaction from the three, but not for this situation, in particular.

"To tell you the truth, my health was already deteriorating at a rapid rate, Sengoku. I likely wouldn't have much time left in this world… even if Goku's transformation never took place."

Garp, admittedly, looked a bit taken aback.

"What?! How could you keep that from us, you stupid geezer? We could have given you treatment! Sengoku's the Fleet Admiral and has access to those resources!"

"Wouldn't have mattered, Garp. A part of me died that day back in Ohara. I would have given up on this life a lot sooner… if not for my little boy showing up here." The old man replied with a small grin. "So what better way for a former god to go out… than in a blaze of glory involving my own student and grandson? Quite a poetic passing of the torch moment, don't you think?"

Passing… of the torch?!

Pondering over these words, Garp gripped his palms tight enough to draw blood and looked down at him in anger.

"You… You idiot!"

Gohan's heartbeat then slowed to an almost nonexistent pace. It was difficult to keep his eyes open at that point. He used what little strength was left to acknowledge his three students.

"Garp… Tsuru… Sengoku… There's not much else I can say… but…" He chokes back a bit with tears in his eyes. "… please… do everything in your power to raise Goku in my place. All I ask is that he remains free… to become a great force for good in this cruel, sorrowful world we live in. And when the time comes for the boy to set off on his own… at seventeen or a little older, make certain he does it… as a pirate!"

The three widened their eyes in shock. As marines, this final request would go against everything they stood for. It was hard not to be against it.

"A-A pirate?! You're asking us to become his enemy in the future, Gohan! How could we possibly let that happen?!" Sengoku yelled.

Tsuru then picked up Goku's sleeping form and gently cradled him in her arms.

"True freedom, as much as it pains me to admit, lies in piracy, Sengoku. Goku's life… will be under constant supervision if he joins the Navy. I do not wish for a boy this innocent, caring, and warm-hearted… to be held back by such restrictions. It may be best for us to respect our mentor's dying wishes and… wait for the future to decide his fate."

The Fleet Admiral grimaced. "What fate?! As a pirate, he'll have no future! His death might as well be preordained!"

Gohan shook his head in disagreement.

"Don't be so certain, Sengoku. You may not think much of the boy now, but with time, I know he'll achieve great things in this life and… grow far stronger than ever before. One day, he may even bring about some much-needed change to this world and become the light… shining down on a brand new one…"

The retired Vice Admiral then shared one last smile before definitively closing his eyes for good. His time on this world had reached its end.

"…a new world where everybody… can be free."

Upon collapsing onto the floor, Gohan blew out his last breath and passed away. His body looked peaceful, yet numb at the same time. A few stray tears built up in Goku's eyes as he continued to remain unconscious.

"Wake up, Gramps! We weren't done talking! GRAMPS?!" Garp yelled in a mix of rage and anguish. "MASTER GOHANNNNN!"

Tsuru couldn't bring herself to say anything at all. She used the Wash-Wash Fruit to cleanse Gohan's body of its injuries and officially laid his body to rest. She then did the same for Goku and gathered his grandfather's blue fedora for him. That single hat, along with the Nyoibo, were all the boy had left to remember him by.

The Great Staff Officer then brushed Goku's black, spiky bangs away from his forehead and frowned.

"What should we do now?"

Sengoku sighed, struggling to pull himself together emotionally. "We simply do as Gohan asked and respect his wishes. In honor of everything he's done for the Marines, we owe him that much. Keep the staff and hat with Goku, and we'll—"

"Hand him to me, Tsuru. I'll take care of him from now on." Garp interjected from the sidelines.

"You? What kind of joke are you trying to pull here, Garp?"

He boldly jerked a thumb at himself in response and stood his ground. There was a fierce glint in his black eyes.

"In case you need your ears cleaned, Gramps passed me the torch to raise and train Goku! I'm partly responsible for causing his death, so I have to make up for that fact in any way I can! And if you don't like it, Sengoku, then tough crap!" Garp fumed. "I'll be bringing him over to Foosha Village in the East Blue. My grandson's already living there, so he'll be safe… for the next several years, at least. There's plenty of spots where he can continue his training too."

Tsuru raised an eyebrow. "On Dawn Island? But that's so far."

Sengoku adjusted the position of his glasses, not even having the strength to rebuke Garp's idea. He felt tired and hollow after experiencing this whole, tragic situation firsthand.

"Do as you wish. There's nothing left for the child here. It'll only serve to be a bad memory for him." The Fleet Admiral murmured aloud. "I'll continue to keep Goku's existence unknown to the World Government. If Gohan's death gets out somehow, I'll create a bounty for… The Beast that crushed him… and leave it that. No other details will be shared. You have my word on that."

Garp clicked his tongue. He didn't expect Sengoku to act this complacent.

"And will your pride as the Fleet Admiral even allow you to do that?"

"My pride as… as…"

Sengoku's body then started to tremble as he finally broke down crying in frustration. Liquid continued to leak from his eyes and nostrils as a result.

"M-My pride as Son D. Gohan's student… is far more important now!"

Garp sported a neutral expression and closed his own watery eyes. "I see."

Afterwards, while Tsuru watched over Goku and wrapped him in a blanket, her fellow marines dug a proper grave for Gohan. It was situated next to the damaged remains of his hut. A single cross made from two thin, wooden planks was built atop it. The three gave him a moment of silence before preparing to go their separate ways.

Tsuru and Sengoku would return to Marineford in the Grand Line while Garp would take the long, tedious trek back to Dawn Island in the East Blue. Goku still hadn't woken up yet, so he'd likely still be asleep once they reached Foosha Village.

"Take care of him, Garp." Tsuru said while handing the boy over to her fellow marine. She glared at him to make her remark extra serious. "I'll make you sorry if anything happens to him!"

"Yeah, yeah. I get it already."

Sengoku then walked up to him and tossed an orange ball into his free hand. Garp looked at in confusion.

"What… is this, Sengoku? A toy?"

"Not too sure myself. But whatever this ball is, Gohan must have wanted to know more about it. It's all that remains of his home." The Fleet Admiral explained. "Give it to Goku when he wakes up. I doubt it'll have much use for the World Government, so his grandson may as well keep it… as a memento of sorts."

Garp got a closer look at the ball with four red stars on it. It vividly glowed with yellow energy for a few seconds before becoming inactive again.

"Odd-looking thing, but Gramps was an oddball himself, to be fair." He shrugged his shoulders. "I mean, that whole damn speech about Goku creating a new, free world was kinda cryptic, don't you think?"

Sengoku pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Focus on what's actually important, Garp! Just get Goku to Foosha Village and resume his training as soon as possible." He ordered in an authoritative tone. "And maybe get rid of those thoughts about committing piracy if you can. Gohan may have wanted the boy to forge his own path in life, but that doesn't mean it can't be molded and changed for the better…"

"No need to state the obvious. I intend to do just that!"

Nodding his head, Sengoku and Tsuru officially set off on their own ships, and left Paozu Island behind. All that remained were Garp, the sleeping Goku, and the strange four-star ball.

He then wrapped the Nyoibo's holster around his shoulders and temporarily wore Gohan's blue fedora. They'd both be left in Goku's care once he came of age and completed his training as a Haki-user.

Garp looked over at his face in uncertainty. The boy was a completely separate species from him, yet acted just like any normal child. It made him wonder what this Oozaru form exactly was. It wasn't the result of some unknown Devil Fruit, at least.

"Ace, Luffy, and now… Goku. I'm sure as hell going to have my hands full soon. BWAHAHAHA!"

Letting out one last hardy laugh, the Hero of the Marines walked back over to his boat with Goku in tow. It was a larger than average Marine Ship with multiple snails and an obvious dog theme going on. A dog with a bone in its mouth was the figurehead, its crow nests were shaped like doghouses, and each sail has masts shaped like dog paws. The front sail also had the name, 'HQ-03', written in bold black text.

Garp carried Goku into this boat, set him on one of the beds contained inside it, and, finally, set sail for the East Blue. It would take a while to traverse the Grand Line from west to east, but by doing so, a new part of the young monkey-tailed boy's life would begin.

There, he'd inevitably meet Garp's two grandsons and find out about their own similar goals to become great, strong pirates one day.

*And that's the end of Chapter 1! As you can tell, I really love the lore of One Piece, so I wanted to include as many important characters and events in this chapter as I could. Dr. Vegapunk, of course, was one of them. Here are some details about the plot that I should point out:

1. Goku is 2 years older than Luffy, so he'll grow up alongside him, Ace, and Sabo on Dawn Island. Their bond as 'sake brothers' will mainly be shown through flashbacks in later chapters, but I will show Goku's first interactions with Luffy in Chapter 2.

2. Ki will be replaced with Haki for this story. Since Goku won't have a Devil Fruit ability, he'll mainly become a master of Haki like Shanks and Garp are. He'll also obtain more Saiyan-like abilities later on (including some transformations similar to Luffy's Gears).

3. Goku will have his own pirate crew separate from Luffy's. They'll collaborate with the Straw Hats several times throughout the crossover, but Goku will also go on his own original adventures too. This will come in the form of original story arcs based on locations in Dragon Ball.

As far as pairings go, the main pairing will be Goku/Robin for the most part. Nami and Hancock might also be additional pairings, but Robin will have the closest bond with Goku emotionally. A few other female characters may develop an interest in Goku too, but I won't spoil who those characters are. You can even suggest some if you want.

With that being said, leave a comment to tell me what you think. I'll be updating my other crossovers alongside this one, so stay tuned for those updates when they come. I'll be writing Chapter 2 as soon as I can, so see you next time!

Chapter Text

*Thanks to everyone who's read and enjoyed the story so far! Chapter 2 end up being shorter than the first, but I hope you'll still enjoy it. It establishes a lot of important information that will come into play later on.

Approximately a week later – May 16th, 1509

Garp, using his ship's Sea Prism Stone lining, managed to successfully enter and traverse the Calm Belt from Paozu Island. This strange, diamond-like material was similar to the sea itself, so any Sea Kings, or Neptunians, would be less likely to attack while swimming underneath. It took a number of days to reach Mary Geoise, but Goku, oddly enough, still hadn't woken up yet. The Vice Admiral wondered if it was a result of the excess force put into his Galaxy Impact's Haki. That or, perhaps, the subconscious trauma he felt over Gohan's death.

Either way, Goku was going to be in for a rude awakening sometime soon. He was thankful it didn't happen while they were in the World Government's capital, or else some arrogant Celestial Dragons would have tried making the monkey-tailed boy their pet. He simply gained permission to enter the other half of the Grand Line and went on his merry way. That was one of the many perks of being a powerful, law-abiding marine. Anyone else, namely pirates, would need to sail underneath the Red Line and visit Fish-Man Island to cross over. It was a pain, but the expected cost of going against the side of justice.

Hours continued to pass on until, finally, Garp steered his Marine Ship toward the East Blue. He then sailed northward in the direction of Dawn Island, where Foosha Village, his original home, would be found.

The winds weren't too violent or erratic at this time of day, so Garp sat in a chair and sighed aloud to himself. It was still hard to believe that Gohan finally died. As a kid, he once thought the former Vice Admiral was invincible; someone who could never be defeated in battle. It was, in hindsight, a rather naïve way of thinking to have.

"BWAHAHAHA! I sure was a little dumbass back then." He lightly chuckled in a self-deprecating way. "Wonder if Goku thought that about his grandpa too... before all of this happened."

Grimacing in vivid recollection of the past, Garp heard some noise coming from the ship's quarters. He turned around to see Gohan's six-year-old grandson walk outside. Yawning, the boy rubbed his eyes and looked around from side to side in confusion. He appeared to have no memory of what took place on Paozu Island.

"Hmph. Look who's finally awake."

"Garp-Pa? What's going on?" Goku groggily asked. His monkey tail slightly twitched about to match his current mood. "Why aren't we on Mt. Paozu? Where's Grandpa?"

Garp clenched down on his teeth, trying to remain strong for both the boy's sake and his own. He got up from his seat, got down on one knee, and clasped Goku's shoulders. He took a deep, almost shallow breath before speaking.

"Your grandpa... Gohan is gone. He left you in my care due to unfortunate circumstances, so I'm afraid you won't be seeing Paozu again for quite some time. Sorry."

Goku tilted his head to the side. He didn't seem to understand what the old man was getting at.

"Oh, so he's sick, right? Grandpa said his chest was hurting yesterday. Granny Tsuru and Old Man Sengoku must be doing something to make him all better! That's it!" He assumed with a hopeful smile on his face. "Not sure why you have his hat and Nyoibo, though. Is he coming back for those when—"

The Hero of the Marines could no longer contain his emotions. He powerfully slammed a fist into the ground, causing Goku to flinch in surprise.

"G-Garp-Pa?"

"Your grandpa is gone, brat! Don't you get it?!" Garp glowered as his body began to shake. "HE'S DEAD! And he's never coming back!"

Goku's eyes widened. His worst nightmare was taking place and he didn't even know how it happened or why.

"D-Dead? No... you're lying, Garp-Pa! Grandpa said he'd always be there for me! He wouldn't leave me like... like..."

Garp roughly pressed his forehead against Goku's. With fully narrowed eyes and clamped teeth, he showed the boy that he was being one-hundred percent honest about this news.

"I'm sorry, Goku. We couldn't... couldn't save him. There's nothing you, me, Tsuru, or even Sengoku could have done. Gohan's gone..."

It was then that fresh tears built up in the child's eyes. They streaked down his cheeks and hit the Marine Ship's floorboards like falling rain. A dark shadow was cast over Garp's face as he could nothing to comfort him.

Even as the Hero of Marines, he felt almost completely powerless in this situation.

"No. Why, Grandpa? W-Why'd you have to go?"

Goku then stood in place and bawled his eyes out. The once-joyful smile on his face was nowhere to be seen at this point. It was anyone's guess when he'd be able to smile like that again.

"WAAAAAAHAAAA! GRANDPAAAAAA!"

For the next several minutes, Goku continued to mourn his beloved grandfather's death. It felt like a piece of his heart had been ripped out and shattered to tiny pieces. It was a traumatic experience no six-year-old should have had to deal with.

To stop these tears from shedding any further, Garp placed Gohan's blue fedora atop his grandson's head. It didn't quite fit yet, but nonetheless, Goku hung it over his face and gripped its brim with both hands.

"Dry your eyes, brat. Would someone who wishes to become the strongest pirate in the world... break down and cry like this?!"

Goku sniffled. "N-No, but—"

"But nothing! Any strong warrior worth a damn – whether they be a pirate or marine – laughs in the face of despair! BWAHAHAHA! Like that!" Garp proclaimed with newfound vigor. "That's what the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, was like, anyway... before and after he found the One Piece! He even faced death with a smile!"

The monkey-tailed boy's slightly wiped away his tears.

"The Pirate King? Really?"

"So if you want to make you grandfather proud, keep fighting, brat! Use what happened to drive you even further towards your dreams! After all, the One Piece isn't going to find itself, is it?"

At this point, Goku had long stopped crying. He lifted up Gohan's hat and wore it with renewed confidence. It even fit around his head a little better too.

"You're right, Garp-Pa! I'll become the strongest pirate in the world no matter what! And I'll do it all for Grandpa!" The boy proclaimed with utmost determination. "I'll just laugh when things get extra tough too. No more crying like a baby. BWAHAHAHA!"

"That's the spirit, Goku! BWAHAHAHA!"

As the two took some time to laugh and reminisce over their time spent with Gohan, Garp suddenly realized an important detail. He looked down to see that Goku, unfortunately, still wasn't wearing any clothes.

"You might want to change before we leave the ship..."

Goku stroked his cheek in slight embarrassment.

"Oops. I didn't even notice..."

The Vice Admiral then gave him gave an exact copy of the outfit he wore before transforming into an Oozaru. It was torn in a few places, but admittedly, that was all that could be salvaged from Gohan's destroyed hut.

Once he finally got changed, Goku hung along the side of the ship in curiosity.

"Wow. This is really the East Blue, huh? Never thought I'd get to see a whole other part of the world so soon."

"Well, get used to it. It'll be your new home as soon as we reach Foosha Village."

'Foosha' sounded like a funny name to him, but he didn't say anything in case Garp decided to lash out and perform another Fist of Love. Those 'love taps' ended up hurting far more than the technique's name implied.

"What's it like there, anyway, Garp-Pa?"

"Rather peaceful. It's a small port town known for its many windmills, hence the name, Foosha, which roughly translates to that." Garp described from memory. "Mt. Corvo is a lot like Mt. Paozu too, so who knows? You may enjoy that part of the village.

"Sounds nice, but... I don't know if it'll be as good as home was, though..."

"Don't think like that, idiot! A true home... comes from the people you form a close connection with. Give it some time and maybe Foosha Village will be that way for you, eventually. That's how it worked out for my brat of a grandson, at least."

Goku's face perked up a little in response to this statement.

"Eh? You have a grandson, Garp-Pa?"

Garp smirked. Thinking about Luffy and Ace was enough to make him smile even wider. He had a feeling they'd both get along with Goku just fine.

"Well, technically... I have two."

Approximately a few hours later...

The two slowly, but surely managed to reach Foosha Village's port with relative ease. Located due east of the Goa Kingdom's capital, the village, as Garp described, comprised of multiple windmills and many wooden, rural-style houses. It was also quite spacious and filled with many green pastures that matched Mt. Corvo's appearance rather nicely.

Not much happened in Foosha overall, apart from some attacks by mountain bandits living in Colubo itself or visiting pirates. Such events, though, were not common by any means. The villagers didn't seem to mind living there, regardless.

As soon as Garp's ship was parked near the harbor, everyone in the village immediately recognized it. He had visited multiple times to check in on Luffy and Ace every so often, but this particular appearance came to them by surprise. He originally wasn't going to stop at Dawn Island for another few weeks or maybe a month.

Garp sighed and motioned for Goku to follow him off the boat. The boy curiously looked at Foosha Village's residents in awe. He had never seen so many people living in one place before. All Paozu Island really had was his grandpa, some dinosaurs, and other animals who lived nearby. There were also the occasional visits from Sengoku, Tsuru, Garp, and, every so often, Dr. Vegapunk too, of course.

"Wow. You were right about there being a bunch of windmills here, Garp-Pa! The name really does fit."

"Hmph. That's all this lukewarm village has going for it, I'm afraid." Garp snorted. He then inspected the large group of Foosha Village's townspeople. "Alright. Where's Woop Slap? Tell him to get his wrinkly old butt out here!"

"Keep your shirt on, Garp! I'm coming."

The mayor of Foosha Village, Woop Slap, was a short, skinny old man with yellow spectacles, a cleft chin, and gray hair. His hat and pants had beige-burgundy stripes while his tropical T-shirt was a golden yellow color. In addition to wearing green shoes, he used a wooden cane to help him walk around with.

He slowly hobbled himself over to Garp and glared up at him in annoyance.

"What is it this time? Planning to send Luffy into the jungle by himself again?"

In response, The Vice Admiral smirked and simply jerked a thumb down at Goku. Woop Slap quirked a brow in puzzlement. Garp didn't mention anything about another kid being put under his care.

"Who's the boy? And what's with that fuzzy brown thing sticking out of his back?"

"Oh, that's just my tail, sir. I was born with it." Goku, much to everyone's shock, then slightly pulled on the monkey tail to show that it wouldn't come off. "See?"

The mayor's eyes practically bulged out of their sockets upon seeing such a spectacle take place. He had seen a lot of weird stuff happen on Dawn Island, but this really took the cake.

"IS HE SOME KIND OF FREAK?!"

"My name's not 'Freak'. It's Son D. Goku." The boy obliviously said. "You can just call me Goku for short, though, old-timer."

Everyone, including Woop Slap, gasped after hearing his full name. Even a secluded area like Foosha Village was aware of the great Vice Admiral Gohan's various exploits and achievements. Garp not being able to shut up about his old mentor helped with that too.

"T-Then is this kid—"

"Yep. He's Gohan's grandson, alright." The Hero of the Marines affirmed with a single nod of his head. "Don't ask me where the monkey tail comes from, but the brat wasn't lying about him being born with it."

He then leaned close to Woop Slap's ear with a more somber, serious expression on his face.

"Gohan just died not even a week ago, so I need you to do me a favor and take care of Goku while I'm gone. I'll visit occasionally to help train him and Luffy when I have the time."

Woop Slap sympathetically glanced over at the young boy as he smiled and waved at the other villagers without a care in the world. It was hard to believe that Goku could overcome such a traumatic event so quickly.

"I don't know, Garp. I feel bad for the kid, don't get me wrong, but Luffy's already a handful as is. Not to mention how Ace has gotten under Dadan's care..."

"Goku's well-behaved for his age. Although he's kind of a punch-drunk, moron, Gohan raised him well and taught him proper manners... whatever that may be." Garp replied offhandedly. "Speaking of which, where is my grandson, anyway?"

As if speaking of the devil himself, four-year-old Monkey D. Luffy ran out of a local tavern, Partys Bar, with some excess food in his mouth. He had short black hair reminiscent of Garp's, wore a white T-shirt with the word 'ANCHOR' written in its center, and had a red pair of shorts. His feet were covered by peach-colored sandals as well.

The boy rudely chewed with his mouth wide open and swallowed the food in one single gulp. He then looked up at his grandpa with a blank, neutral expression.

"Eh? When did you get here, Gramps?"

Garp then proceeded to bonk him on the head, causing Luffy to cry out in pain.

"Is that any way to greet your dear old grandpa, you little idiot?!"

"Owww! You didn't have to hit me so hard! You're so mean."

Goku blinked a few times in surprise. Apparently, he wasn't the only one Garp punished with his Fist of Love-type punch. He couldn't tell if he should relieved by that fact or the exact opposite.

"Sorry about that, Garp! Luffy caught a glimpse of your ship and thought some pirates were paying a visit."

Following close behind Luffy was Partys Bar's owner and waitress, Makino. She was a beautiful, kind-hearted sixteen-year-old girl with brown eyes and long dark green hair tied down into a ponytail. She had a light orange kerchief with orange stripes, a blouse of the same color with black sleeves, and a long white dress that covered her legs. She also wore orange sneakers with white laces and soles.

Makino blew out a sigh and shook her head at Luffy's behavior.

"I don't know what I'm gonna do with him."

"I ask myself the same question, Makino." Garp grumbled to himself. He then grabbed ahold of Goku's arm and shoved him forward. "This is Goku, in case you're wondering. He's my mentor's grandson."

Gulping a little at Makino's youthful appearance, the young martial artist bowed to her in a respectful manner. This action, unintentionally, caused Gohan's blue fedora to cover the upper half of his face due to its larger size. It'd take a while for him to grow into it.

"Nice to meet you, miss."

The bartender giggled at Goku's goofy, yet polite attitude. She then crouched down, so she could be eyelevel with the short, pudgy child.

"You can just call me Makino, Goku. No need to be so formal." She said kindly. "But I'm glad you have such good manners. Your grandpa must have raised you well."

"Hehe. Yep. He always taught me to treat girls with kindness and respect." Goku chuckled while holding both elbows up behind his head. His expression then soured somewhat, remembering a certain childhood friend of his. "Although, before now, the only girls I met were Granny Tsuru and... ugh... Kujaku."

Makino tilted her head to the side. "Kujaku?"

"Tsuru's granddaughter. She's a bit of a wild child... especially around this dense knucklehead. BWAHAHAHA!" Garp laughed in amusement. Kujaku wouldn't leave the boy out of her sight the last time she came to Paozu Island, despite her grandma's many protests. She had a fascination with whipping him for some reason.

"Not too surprised by that. You seem like quite the charmer so far, Goku."

"You think so?"

Luffy carelessly picked his nose while looking at Goku from top-to-bottom. He didn't look that impressed to say the least.

"He looks kinda dumb to me."

Garp proceeded to slam a fist on top of his head. This time, he used even more force.

"You're the last one who should be calling anyone else dumb, Luffy!"

Luffy winced and held the now-pulsating bruise where Garp's fist landed. Goku merely laughed at this rude comment and brushed it off without getting upset.

"Hehe. You're right. I am pretty dumb," He bluntly exclaimed with a grin. "But that won't matter once I get stronger and become the best pirate ever! Smarts won't matter when I'm free to do whatever I want! Hehehe!"

Luffy's mouth hung agape. "The best pirate? And free to do whatever you want?"

Garp facepalmed. "What kind of backwards philosophy is that?! Even the strong need to be intelligent, Goku! You're besmirching Gohan's whole damn legacy with that kind of talk!"

"Am not! Grandpa wanted me to have as much freedom as possible. That's what being a pirate leads to!"

Luffy, now changing his opinion of Goku, smiled from ear to ear and laughed aloud.

"Shishishi! That sounds like a lot of fun! I wanna be a pirate too, Goku."

"Really? Great! Then we can do it together, Luffy!"

Afterwards, the two boys shook their hands and goofily smiled at each other. Makino couldn't help, but grin at how fast they became friends. She had a feeling they'd be good influences on one another.

Woop Slap, meanwhile, pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. He bared his teeth, pointing at Goku and Luffy accusatively.

"Ergh! Do something about this, Garp! If Goku really is staying here, we can't allow both of them to become pirates! That'd make the village look bad!"

"Don't you think I know that?! Ace and them could become the greatest naval officers in history if they set their mind to it! But now, they're corrupted with thoughts of committing piracy like damned suicidal fools!" The Hero of the Marines sighed in defeat. "But unfortunately, to honor Gohan's wishes, I encouraged Goku to keep that pipedream alive. It's the only way I could get him to stop crying back on my ship..."

Makino held a hand over her mouth. "You mean... he's all alone?"

"Yes. Gohan was the only family he ever knew or had. Thus, having Goku live here with Luffy... was all I could think to do with him. Any other option could lead to him being treated like an outcast... due to his monkey tail."

Partys Bar's owner grimaced. Since she had some prior experience taking care of Luffy, doing the same for Goku wouldn't be too much different. The six-year-old was likely in desperate need of some emotional support at this point.

"Don't worry about it. I'll look after him, Garp."

Woop Slap didn't expect her to say something like that. "B-But you're only sixteen, Makino! And you have a business to run!"

"I don't mind, Mayor. If there's any major issues around the bar, I can get Goku to help me out. I'm sure he's a fast learner." Makino beamed while ever-so-slightly winking at the small boy. "Plus, it'd be nice to have some extra company while Luffy's... off doing whatever he does in the jungle."

"It's called training, Makino! You don't get the type of hard work men like us do!" Luffy snapped with puffed up cheeks.

"Huh? We're both still kids, Luffy..."

Makino giggled. "Guess I don't understand. Teehee."

Garp slumped his shoulders. Despite Foosha Village's peaceful, mundane environment, he was banking on Goku helping Luffy train in the jungles near Mt. Corvo. He had already survived Paozu's prehistoric wildlife just fine, so the animals native to Dawn Island would be a cakewalk.

However, Garp's main concern was training Goku to take control of his monstrous Oozaru transformation. The Vice Admiral wasn't certain how he'd go about it, but it'd be necessary for his future adventures as a pirate (or marine if he was coerced into changing his mind somehow). Being able to transform into that beast at will would do wonders for his proficiency as a Haki-user later on.

He'd just have to keep the boy's involvement with Gohan's death a secret. Goku wouldn't be able to forgive himself for killing the closest thing he had to a father. It'd be better for him to find out years later, rather than now.

I wonder if I should lie and say his 'powers' are a result of some rare Devil Fruit. Maybe the Monkey Fruit, Model: Sarugami. His Oozaru form was big enough to be mistaken for that type of creature, at least.

He then shook his head and stood up straight. He'd need to report back to the Navy's headquarters, Marineford, before doing anything else. Sengoku and Tsuru would likely want to know how Goku is doing.

"Welp, I'll have to get going now. The life of a Vice Admiral doesn't leave too much room for rest. BWAHAHA!"

After laughing, Garp cleared his throat and handed the boy two items. One was the Nyoibo, or Power Pole, while the other was Gohan's mysterious orange ball.

"Take these with you, Goku."

Gleefully smiling, he wrapped the Nyoibo's holster around his right shoulder. The strange ball, meanwhile, was securely resting in his left hand.

"Oh, the Nyoibo... and whatever this four-starred ball thing is."

Luffy stared at the glowing orb in bewilderment. He also played around with his reflection in its glossy surface, much to Garp's dismay. "Any idea what it is, Gramps?"

"Not a clue. I didn't even know Gohan had it in his possession until recently."

"Grandpa always used to pray to it every night for some reason. Never understood why, though."

Luffy scratched his head like a monkey. "Maybe he liked how shiny it looked?"

Goku then instinctively repeated this same gesture.

"I don't know. Guess it's a mystery then..."

"It's a mystery that you two buffoons weren't raised by apes..." Woop Slap grunted under his breath. "You've really got our work cut out for us this time, Garp. Luffy was one thing, but now you brought us another kid who acts just like him! It's like they're looking in a mirror!"

"I'd say that's a good thing. Luffy will be less inclined to cause trouble if he has a friend like Goku to hang out with." Makino pointed out.

"Hm. Quite true, but... they could also be double the usual trouble... and have even double the appetite."

"No use complaining, Woop Slap. He's your problem now! BWAHAHAHA!" Garp buoyantly laughed in an almost sadistic tone. "But in all seriousness, please look after Goku and keep Luffy out of trouble. I'll be back to resume their training as soon as I can."

He then boarded his Marine Ship again and, with little time left to spare, set sail away from Foosha Village's port. Goku, Luffy, and the villagers all waved him farewell.

"See ya, Gramps! Don't die out there."

"Bye, Garp-Pa! Thanks for the help!"

Taking one last look at the blue fedora resting on Goku's head, Garp could have sworn he saw Gohan's spirit bidding him goodbye one last time. It then vanished as soon as it appeared, causing Garp to bite down on his own teeth in greater sadness. He wouldn't let anyone, especially Foosha Village's inhabitants, see the great Hero of the Marines get emotional like this.

He crossed his arms and quickly replaced his grimace with a wide, toothy grin.

"LUFFY! GOKU! YOU BETTER NOT SLACK OFF WHILE I'M GONE, YOU DAMN BRATS! DON'T FALL BACK ON YOUR TRAINING AND KEEP GETTING STRONGER!"

Goku and Luffy both nodded their heads in determination. Gohan's adoptive grandson, in particular, was more eager to train and break past his limits than ever before. He knew his grandpa wouldn't tolerate anything less.

"I will! I'll even surpass Grandpa one day! You'll see!"

Luffy, despite not knowing much about Gohan himself, raised his arms up and cheered.

"YEAH! What he said! We're both gonna be super strong pirates! And way stronger than any boring old marine could ever be!"

That comment only served to pinch a nerve inside Garp's head. He ever-so-slightly exuded a bit of Conqueror's Haki and launched it from his ship in the form of highspeed winds.

"You idiot! Don't make me come back there and beat some sense into you, Luffy!" His anger was then, once again, replaced with laughter. "BWAHAHAHA! Take care, you two!"

Once Garp's Marine Ship was officially out of sight, everyone in the village went back to what they were doing beforehand. Woop Slap, Makino, Luffy, and Goku were all who remained at the ship's wooden dock.

Luffy glanced down at Goku's backside in childlike amazement.

"So your tail's actually real? It doesn't come off?"

"Yup! Grandpa said I was born with it, so ripping it off... would kinda be like ripping off one of my arms, I guess. Hehe."

"Man, I wish I had one..." Garp's grandson muttered disappointedly.

Hearing this odd response, Woop Slap sighed and made his way back to the village himself. He'd probably need to lay down for a while to cope with Foosha's new citizen.

"Well, looks like they're your responsibility now, Makino. Make sure those two little rascals behave themselves."

"Easier said than done, Woop Slap, but I'll try my best. Hehe." The young bartender exclaimed with yet another smile etched on her lips.

Continuing to groan over his unfortunate luck, the elderly mayor went back to his own home without another word. Makino rested a hand on her chin and glanced from Luffy to Goku.

The two kids shared the same neutral, doe-eyed expression, much to her amusement.

"You must be hungry, Goku. How about I cook you boys something to eat at Partys Bar? It'll be my treat!"

"MEAT!" Luffy simply cried out.

Goku smiled the same way. "That sounds great! Thanks, Miss Makino!"

"My pleasure! I'll show you the way there."

The three walked through another part of Foosha Village until they reached Partys Bar. The bar was a large building with its logo written in painted, sky blue text and its swaying doors styled like that of a western saloon's. A sculpted white beer mug was additionally placed outside the entrance and right next to some small planets.

"Looks neat." Goku beamed. He then noticed the funny look Makino was giving him. "Is there something on my face?"

"It's your hat. Until it fits around your head, you may need to wear it some other way."

Goku took the blue fedora off his head to inspect it. Even he could tell it wasn't meant to be worn by a six-year-old.

"Hm. Guess you're right..."

"Yeah, she is. It might fly off if you decide to fight anyone tough." Luffy nodded. "And it's your grandpa's, so I don't think you wanna lose it, eh?"

The boy pouted a little and clutched the brim of his grandpa's hat forlornly. Makino's heart was about to break seeing how sad he had gotten, so she came up with an idea.

"Wait right here, boys."

The sixteen-year-old then brushed her dark green hair and walked inside Partys Bar. Luffy and Goku were surprised to hear a few loud noises coming from inside.

"What do you think she's doing?"

Luffy shrugged his shoulders. "Beats me."

After a few short minutes, Makino came back outside with a sewing needle and a spool of black string. It matched well with Goku's fedora.

"Can I borrow your hat for a second?"

Goku held it away from her at first. "I don't know..."

She gazed at him with loving, empathetic brown eyes and smiled at him.

"You can trust me with it, Goku. I just want to help."

Giving her statement some thought, the boy blushed a little in embarrassment and slowly gave the fedora to her. She then carefully sewed a long piece of string into the hat and tied each end together. The hat, thankfully, wasn't damaged at all by this process.

Exuding pride over her handiwork, Makino placed the string around Goku's head and neck. He could now wear the old fedora without needing to place it on his head. It was a temporary solution to this issue, but a helpful one, nonetheless.

"There. Now, you can keep it by your side anytime you want. Pretty nice, hm?"

The boy was stunned speechless. Overcome with happiness, Goku leapt toward Makino and hugged her body as tight as possible.

"Thank you so much! You're the best, Makino!"

Luffy chuckled. "Shishishi! Yeah, she is."

The bartender, admittedly, was taken aback by this hug, but she didn't mind returning in it. She simply closed her eyes, patted Goku's back, and smiled from ear-to-ear.

"Hehe. You're welcome." She then parted from their embrace and gestured to the entrance. "Enough talk, though. Let's get some food in your bellies, okay?"

"Don't have to tell me twice. You can put the bill on my Treasure Tab!" Luffy said.

Goku quirked a brow. "Treasure Tab? What's that?"

"Don't worry about it. Your meals are on the house, boys. I'm the owner, so it's no problem for me."

Luffy and Goku both proceeded to smile excitedly. They couldn't wait to satisfy their near-bottomless stomachs with any food Makino was willing to cook.

"ALRIGHT!"

At the end of the day...

By nightfall, Makino was exhausted. She had underestimated how much food it would take to fulfill Goku's ravenous appetite. He ate so much that even Luffy couldn't keep up with him. That was a feat she never expected anyone to pull off, let alone a boy only two years older than Garp's grandson.

Despite Partys Bar being deprived of all its cooking supplies and ingredients by the end, she wasn't upset by it. Makino, in fact, enjoyed cooking for Goku and Luffy. Their goofy banter and eating habits were too adorable not to like.

She also felt happy that Goku was starting to cheer up. The poor boy had gone through so much in one day's time; from his grandpa's death to being moved over to some place far different from his original home, Paozu Island. If anything, it was a miracle that he even had the strength to keep smiling. She certainly couldn't do that, at least.

Now getting somewhat emotional, she stood at the bar and poured a glass of water for herself. She drank it and then caught sight of the two boys. Both of them had fallen fast asleep at the table earlier that night.

To her delight, some drool leaked out of Luffy's mouth while snoozing away without a care in the world. Goku, unfortunately, did not look as peaceful. Stray tears fell from his eyes as he appeared to have a bad, yet quite somber dream about a certain someone.

"Grandpa... don't go..." He tiredly whimpered. "Don't leave me alone..."

Makino's eyes drooped. She then took some time to grab two spare blankets and pillows from the back of the bar, and set them down. After picking up Luffy and gently tucking him into one of them, she stared at Goku again. His condition, sadly, was starting to get worse.

"Grandpa... please..."

Taking a tentative step towards him, Makino scooped the monkey-tailed child in her arms and hugged him close to her chest. She also thought it best to rub his back, much like her own mother used to do many years ago.

"Shh. It's okay now, Goku. I'm here."

Although fast asleep, Makino's soft, soothing voice brought up a suppressed memory inside Goku's subconscious. He couldn't make out her face or identity, but she had long, spiky black hair, black eyes, and a monkey tail like his own. It was likely a vivid recollection of the past that would dissipate by morning.

Nevertheless, a single word was uttered from Goku's lips that he had no control over. Makino's caring nature simply had that effect on him.

"Mama..."

The dark green-haired girl lightly gasped. She didn't know what to make of such an unexpected response, but it, in some way, made her smile. Even before turning sixteen, she always thought of being a mother one day.

Maybe with Goku – a boy who recently lost his father figure – around, she'd have that chance. It could give her more a reason to spend time with him and Luffy, at least.

Her smile deepened as she carefully tucked a blanket around Goku's small body. He was now sleeping right beside Luffy, albeit with some distance between their respective pillows. And to her relief, the tears in the young fedoraed boy's eye were fading away.

They look so peaceful...

Makino then planted a soft kiss on Goku's forehead and Luffy's cheek. They both simultaneously rubbed it away in their sleep. She would expect no different from young boys their age.

"Hard to believe both of them want to be pirates someday," She whispered to herself. Before heading to bed herself, she smiled back at them one last time. "Sweet dreams. I hope you two succeed..."

That rather eventful day was then brought to a close. For the next two years, Goku would continue to grow accustomed to his new home and his close friendship with Luffy. His bond with Makino, Woop Slap, and the other inhabitants of Foosha Village would also grow all the more strong with time.

Apart from his semi-annual training with Garp in the jungles of Mt. Corvo, everything else remained quite peaceful. Things would change, however, with the appearance of legendary pirate captain, Red-Haired Shanks, and his equally infamous crew. Other members included Benn Beckman, Lucky Roux, Yasopp, and Shanks's adopted nine-year-old daughter, Uta.

By the year, 1511, they would all decide to establish Foosha Village as their new base of operations for the foreseeable future. This event, in turn, would change the course of Goku and Luffy's own futures forever.

*And that's a wrap for Chapter 2! Like I said, it's a lot shorter than the 1st chapter, but I mainly wanted it to focus on Goku's first meeting with Luffy and the people of Foosha Village. Makino, in particular, will serve as a maternal figure for Goku during his early childhood. Dadan will also interact with Goku in the future, but she won't directly take care of him like she did with Luffy, Ace, and (in a way) Sabo. I hope Goku's first interactions with her, Woop Slap, and Luffy were written well enough so far.

I also had Garp lie about Goku's Oozaru transformation by calling it a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit, the Monkey, Monkey Fruit, Model: Sarugami. Sarugami are giant monkey yokai from Japanese Mythology who kidnapped women and fought heroes (a.k.a. the Marines in this story's case), so I thought it was a fitting coverup until Goku discovers his true origins.

Here's a rough timeline of events as well (I'm going by The One Piece Timeline made by The Library of Ohara. It's been incredibly helpful imo)

1509: Goku arrives at Foosha Village and meets Luffy.

2 years pass...

1511: Shanks and the Red Hair Pirates arrive on Dawn Island for the first time. Goku and Luffy both befriend him, and Uta.

1512: Uta disappears due to the Elegia Incident.

1512: Luffy eats the Gum Gum Fruit and gets his Straw Hat from Shanks.

1512: Luffy is taken in by Dadan and meets Ace. He also meets Sabo a months after that.

Due to this timeline, Goku (at 9) and Luffy (at 7) will basically interact with Shanks a lot in Chapter 3. So expect that to be a long chapter where some important stuff happens. I may also include Goku's first meeting with Ace and Sabo, but I'll have to see.

Anyways, please let me know what you think. Chapter 3 won't take as long to write and post, hopefully.

Chapter Text

*Sorry for the slight delay, but here's Chapter 3! Thanks to everyone who has read and enjoyed the story so far. I appreciate the support.

Chapter 3: A Captain and his Crew

Two years later…

Goku didn't change much since he first came to Foosha Village. Continuing to wear his grandfather's blue fedora, the nine-year-old boy now sported white T-shirt, small brown boots, and jade green shorts held up by a belt. The Nyoibo's holster was also hung along his right shoulder via a short, tangy piece of rope.

He would have preferred to keep wearing his old martial arts gi, but Makino, unfortunately, insisted that he wear a nicer variety of clothes. Its tattered appearance and strong smell were also factors that contributed to this decision. The eighteen-year-old bartender taking on more of a maternal role in Goku's life didn't hurt either. She tended to dote on him more than Luffy, in fact. Even the monkey-tailed child himself was confused by said behavior. However, he, of course, didn't seem to mind when Makino's delicious cooking was involved.

Currently, Goku and the now seven-year-old Luffy were brought to a secluded part of Dawn Island by Garp. It was a single gray rock surrounded by the waters of the East Blue, having just enough room for all three of them to stand on. The Vice Admiral wore an orange, collared shirt with white and red flowers spread throughout, and black dress pants. His short hair was still black, but was starting to turn gray along his sideburns.

He crossed one muscular arm over the other, observing the boys' actions in evident dismay. Goku was in the process of pulling his shorts down, so he could stick his monkey tail in the water. It was rather embarrassing, yet Garp didn't expect anything less from his mentor's grandson. He wouldn't be surprised if Gohan taught him how to do that personally.

"Hey, Luffy. Watch this!"

"Okay!" Garp's own grandson replied. He was wearing a white T-shirt, red shorts, and peach sandals. This shirt had a yellow 'X' in its center, rather than the word, 'ANCHOR', like before. "I'm watching, big bro!"

Garp couldn't help, but smirk hearing this response. As expected, Luffy had taken quite a shine to Goku over these past two years. They hung out together almost every day, much to Woop Slap's chagrin. The amount of mischief and damage they caused to Foosha Village was practically indescribable at this point, yet everyone cared for them a great deal, regardless. Makino, of course, displayed those type of feelings the most. Partys Bar, to her, wouldn't be anywhere near as lively without their presences.

"Alright. Here it comes…" Goku muttered aloud.

Using his tail as a lure, a giant piranha-like Sea King swam up to the surface and bit down on the furry appendage. Right as it clamped its fangs shut, the boy, while instinctively utilizing Observational Haki, anticipated the giant fish's attempt to consume him whole and kicked it in the side of the face.

"HYAAAAH… UNGH!"

Its eyes bulged out of their sockets from pain as it grew limp and laid down on the rock, dead. Luffy looked upon this spectacle in complete awe. His eyes widened while repeatedly glancing from Goku to the fish and back.

"Woah! Awesome! How'd you do that, Goku?!"

"Hehe. I call it Tail Fishing. I used to do it all the time back at Paozu Island." Goku explained. "Pretty useful, huh?"

Garp was equally impressed, but for a much different reason than his grandson. Even if its usage was accidental, he didn't expect an nine-year-old to pick up on Observational Haki so easily. It showed that his efforts to train the boy were bearing fruit, albeit at a slower, steadier pace than anticipated.

If he keeps this up, gaining control of that giant monkey form of his may not be so impossible, after all. Too bad predicting the arrival of a full moon is a giant pain in the ass…

Scoffing to himself, the Hero of the Marines glared over at Luffy. The seven-year-old had just plopped down on the rock and pouted in an exaggerated manner.

"Really useful. You're so lucky to have a tail. Wish I had one…"

"Eh, don't be like that, Luffy. There's enough of this little Sea King for the both of us, anyway! It's gonna be pretty darn tasty once Makino cooks it! Hehe."

"Shishishi! You're right about that one, bro!"

Garp powerfully stomped down on the ground to get their attention. A small series of cracks appeared in the rock's surface as a result.

"You're not eating anything until I say so, brat!" The Vice Admiral shouted. "You'll never become a great Navy soldier if you keep skimping out on your training."

Luffy frowned. "Who I said I'm gonna become a Navy soldier?"

"Tch! Damn idiot. You're becoming the strongest Navy solider in the world, whether you like it or not!"

"No way! I don't want to!"

"The two of us are going to be pirates, not marines. Just accept it already, Garp-Pa." Goku blankly stated whilst grabbing onto his fish. "I mean, how else would I honor Grandpa's wishes and live as freely as possible?"

Luffy enthusiastically nodded his head in agreement. He then jerked a thumb towards his chest.

"Exactly! If we can't live free, we might as well be dead!"

"I agree, Luffy!"

Having enough of their idiotic responses, Garp speedily bonked each boy on the head with as much force as possible. He made sure to infuse some Haki into his fists just to make this 'punishment' even more painful.

"ERRGH! YOU'RE GOING TO END UP DEAD WITH THAT KIND OF LOGIC, MORONS!"

Goku and Luffy, as always, grabbed onto their fresh bruises in pain. They both cowered away from Garp in an attempt to support one another.

"Gah! Why do your punches always hurt like this, Grandpa?!"

"Hmph! Because the truth hurts, Luffy. One day, you two will understand that joining the Marines is the right path to take. Gohan may have lost faith in the World Government, but you, Goku… you could bring great changes to it as a marine. You already have a high enough potential to do so!" Garp proclaimed in an almost pleading tone. "All of you do! Both of you and Ace… could be the strongest marines who ever lived… if only you set your minds away from being criminals! Pirates, after all, rarely live enough to even reach my age!"

Goku slowly rubbed the back of his head and winced. No matter what the old man said, he would never change his mind and go back on Gohan's wishes. The world's strongest marine, in truth, could never be able to obtain the same amount of achievements or privileges as the strongest pirate. Gol D. Roger may have ended up living a shorter life than Garp, for example, but by finding the One Piece and becoming the legendary Pirate King, it was a great one, nonetheless. It was no wonder he, supposedly, died with a smile on his face.

The monkey-tailed boy wanted him and Luffy to gain that same level of fulfillment one day. It was a goal – no, dream – that he wouldn't ever think of giving up on.

"I mean, I wasn't expecting to get that old, anyway." He muttered with a carefree shrug of his shoulders. "As long as I explore the entire world and achieve everything I wanna achieve, it doesn't matter when I'll end up dying."

"That's not the damn point! Don't you even realize what you're saying right now?!" Garp snarled.

Luffy gave a thumbs up. "It makes sense to me!"

The Hero of the Marines pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing lowly in defeat. In his old age, there was only so much stupidity and arrogance he could tolerate in one day. He'd have to go with another approach later on.

"I'll get it through your thick skulls one day, brats. You'll come around, eventually. Mark my words." Garp stubbornly grumbled. He then shook his head and glanced over at Goku's fish. "Well, I'll be leaving Dawn Island any moment now. Take that Sea King over to Makino's bar and keep an eye on Luffy for me, alright?"

"Yep! You got it, Garp-Pa!" Goku said.

Hanging the large fish along his shoulder, he expertly hopped from one rock to another until he reached a path leading up to Mt. Corvo's jungles.

"I'll meet you back at Partys Bar, okay, Luffy? I'm gonna look around the jungle for a little bit. Tell Makino not to worry too much while I'm gone."

Luffy snickered. "Hehe. Easier said than done. Be careful, big bro!"

Goku then smiled back at him and slowly dragged his new fish against the ground. Garp, meanwhile, deadpanned at this abrupt departure. He would have smacked him upside the head if the boy didn't leave so fast.

I tell him to keep an eye on Luffy and the first thing he does is leave him alone. That's a level of density only Master Gohan could pass onto him.

Rolling his eyes, he grabbed ahold of Luffy's arm and tossed him across the water. The boy soared into the air and flopped back onto dry land with a firm, somewhat painful smack. He wasn't seriously injured or anything, but the careless action still caught him by surprise.

"Owww! What was that for, Gramps?!"

"Tough it out and find your own way back! The strongest marines shouldn't be given any handouts!"

"But I'm not a marine! I'm gonna live more freely than that!" Luffy insisted.

"Tsk. Stubborn little dumbass…"

The Vice Admiral then powerfully bounded off of the rock's surface and made his own way back to Foosha Village's port. As a part of their training, he had left him and Goku alone many times before, so this particular moment would be no different. Luffy, in fact, was used to it at this point.

Scrunching up his face in annoyance, the seven-year-old climbed up a tall tree and sat down on one of its branches. He narrowed his eyes, mulling over Garp's blind determination to make him join the Navy as a sailor.

"I'm never becoming a Navy solider!" He repeated to himself. He then hopped from one branch to another and hung from one like a monkey. "I'm gonna get out of this village and do something big! Being a pirate's the only way that'll happen!"

While continuing to limply hang down from the branch, Luffy saw something in the distance. It was a large, wooden pirate ship with multiple white sails and a figurehead, which resembled a red dragon with horns along its ears. The most notable feature of this ship, however, was its Jolly Roger, or emblem. The symbol was a detailed skull with a red stripe along its left eye and two swords crossed directly behind it. It was placed over a black flag that ever-so-slightly flapped with the passing winds.

The boy squinted his eyes in newfound curiosity and excitement.

"Is that a pirate ship?"

Jumping out of the tree, he then ran in the opposite direction of where Goku was heading and prepared to check out who this mysterious pirate crew was. It'd be the first time he actually saw a genuine pirate in-person.

Meanwhile…

Goku continued to aimlessly explore the jungles of Mt. Corvo on his own. Oblivious to the dangerous animals living there, he dragged his new Sea King across the ground and hummed to himself. This part of the mountain felt nostalgic due to its similarities to Mt. Paozu and everything that considered it its natural habitat. He, however, still missed seeing dinosaurs every so often, even if most of them were quite hostile towards him.

The boy smiled, looking from side to side without so much as a single care in the world. If Makino hadn't agreed to raise him two years ago, Goku honestly wouldn't mind camping out at Mt. Corvo. The whole area felt a little more like home to him than Partys Bar did.

"This should last me and Luffy til' dinner! Hehehe."

He then heard some scuffling take place in a deeper part of the jungle. It sounded like an argument between three or more people.

"Huh? What's that noise?"

Making sure to keep his fish hidden underneath a bush, Goku walked closer to the source of the noise and quietly took a look from behind some trees. Two boys – both around one year older than him – were, to his shock, being harassed by a gigantic brown bear. He was quite menacing in terms of appearance, sporting a red mohawk and a deep scar over his left, pupilless eye. Underneath his red pirate's coat were black shoulder pads, purple-golden armor tied down by a green sash, and large purple boots. Each of his wrists were coated with similarly colored gauntlets as well.

This so-called "creature" went by many names around Mt. Corvo and the rest of the neighboring Goa Kingdom, but his most popular name, by far, was Kuma the Bear Thief. Looking visibly annoyed, he held both boys by their shirt collars and glared at them as if they were two fresh slabs of meat waiting to be eaten.

A bear… wearing clothes? Goku thought in confusion.

Poking his head out a bit more, he studied the two kids being attacked by this bear. One of them had short, curly blonde hair that was covered by a black top hat with blue goggles wrapped around its brim. He also wore a blue jacket, a white cravat that stuck out of his undershirt's collar, and cyan shorts with small black boots to match. He could have easily been mistaken for an aristocrat if not for the dirt and grime covering his pale skin. His missing tooth wasn't fancy or proper either.

The other ten-year-old kid, in contrast, had short, curly black hair and freckles underneath his eyes. He wore yellow shorts and an orange tank top, which, interestingly enough, sported two lines of kanji that translated to "innocence" and "violence". Along with wearing two dark brown, slipper-like shoes, an elbow guard of the same color was attached to his left arm.

He also held a long gray and black pipe in his right hand. Goku assumed he had tried to use it as a weapon earlier, but failed to inflict any sort of damage. That didn't stop this kid from fiercely glaring back at the bear, though.

"Alright, brats! Hand over all the treasure you stole from me or you're dead!"

The blonde-haired boy grit his teeth, refusing to give in to Kuma's demands.

"T-This is why we should have met up at Gray Terminal like I told you to, Ace! What were you thinking?!"

Goku's eyes widened. He had never met Ace personally, but Garp talked about him multiple times over these past two years. The marine mentioned that he lived with some mountain bandits led by Curly Dadan, a notorious criminal who was protected from the World Government in exchange for her services.

The boy could see the physical resemblance between Ace and Luffy, but he wasn't sure if they were actual brothers by blood. Nevertheless, he felt obligated to meet and, if all went well, befriend Garp's second grandson. He'd just have to make sure this bear monster didn't kill him first.

"I needed help loading all that loot, Sabo! How was I supposed to know some third-rate bandit would transform into a freaking bear and come looking for it?!"

Kuma chuckled at their irksome little banter in amusement. Some drool could be seen trickling out of his open maw.

"Third-rate? HA! Cute coming from two obnoxious rugrats who stole from the Kuma Mercenary Clan and thought there wouldn't be any consequences!" The bear thief sneered while licking his lips. "No matter. The taste of human flesh may give me heartburn, but for you morons, I'll make an exception. A little cannibalism didn't hurt anybody, after all. Kumamahahaha!"

Sabo and Ace collectively gasped in unison. They expected to be killed for stealing, of course, but not that way.

"YOU'RE GOING TO EAT US?!"

"Of course I am! With you boys gone, I can take back my treasure and then add all the treasure you've saved up in Gray Terminal as additional compensation! Sounds like a fair deal, don't you think?"

Ace tightly clenched his fists. For almost five years, both he and Sabo had gathered as much money as they could find on Dawn Island. It was tough sometimes, but they assumed that with enough hard work, they'd be able to achieve their dreams and buy a nice pirate ship for themselves. Such an ambitious goal made their miserable lives worth enduring.

Now, all of it was going down the drain because of a random, good-for-nothing bear thief. The whole situation wasn't fair in his eyes. Not in the slightest.

"Ergh! DO IT THEN, YOU UGLY BASTARD! MY LIFE WOULDN'T BE WORTH SHIT WITHOUT SABO AROUND, ANYWAY, SO YOU CAN CHOKE ON IT FOR ALL I CARE!"

"A-Ace…" Sabo sniffled with traces of tears in his eyes.

"Kumahahaha! Have it your way! Die if you want!"

Just as Kuma prepared to bite their heads clean off, Goku suddenly ran up to the large bear and kicked him square in the shin. The human-turned-bear cried out in pain, and accidentally released Ace and Sabo from his tight grip. They landed a few feet away from their adversary, looking at each other in sheer disbelief.

"What the heck just happened?"

"Who even is this kid?!" Ace gaped.

Goku protectively stood in front of the two boys as Kuma massaged his aching leg. He lowly growled, narrowing his one good eye into a slit. Its gaze was kept squarely focused on the monkey-tailed boy's face and nothing else.

"I don't think these two would taste very good, Mr. Bear. They'd just make your tummy ache."

Sabo tipped his top hat and sighed. "That's all you could think to say?"

"Ah. You think you're real cute? Don't you, Monkey Boy?" Kuma laughed. "That kick hurt, I'll admit, but it's nothing compared to the power of my Bear-Bear Devil Fruit! You might as well run while I resume digesting my current meal."

Goku tilted his head to the side. Although Garp said his monkey tail came from a Devil Fruit, he still had no clue what it actually was or even looked like. Perhaps he ate one as a baby, but didn't retain any memory of doing so. Those odd circumstances, however, obviously didn't apply to this bandit standing before him. The Bear-Bear Fruit's changes looked more potent than his monkey-based one.

"Devil Fruit? Is that why your breath smells so bad?"

Irritated by the child's boldness, Kuma took out a large sword from its scabbard. It had a golden, rectangular cross-guard and a hilt wrapped in red bandages. He wound it up with both of his hands like a baseball bat.

"Don't you dare mock me! GRAAAAGH!"

The bear slammed his blade into the ground, causing Goku to jump back a few feet in response. Despite the weapon's sharp, metallic appearance, he looked relatively unfazed by it and stuck out his tongue.

"Nyeh! Ya missed me!"

Ace and Sabo were practically stunned speechless at this point. They had no idea who this guy even was, yet he blindly faced Kuma in combat, anyway.

"Does he have a death wish or something?" The blonde thief whispered under his breath.

Ace, meanwhile, scoffed in growing anger. He bared his teeth and gave Goku a fierce, hostile glare. It wasn't out of gratitude or kindness by any means.

"Hey, you! Mind your own business, kid! We don't know you or owe you anything, so butt out!"

Goku glanced back at him with a goofy, carefree smile.

"The name's not kid. It's Son D. Goku, or Goku for short," He corrected him. "And yeah, I may not owe you a favor or whatever, but I still want to help. It wouldn't be right to just stand back and let you guys die… Ace."

Ace was taken aback by this response. Although short and to the point, it was rare for anyone to care if he lived or died. He was used to being considered a 'demon child' due to his late father's identity and reputation.

"Son… D. Goku? And wait a second, how did you know my—"

Their brief conversation was interrupted by Kuma slashing his sword at Goku's head. Tapping into small traces of Observational Haki, he anticipated this attack and bent his body back to dodge it.

"Woah! We can talk more later, Ace! Hehe."

"Tsk! Little simian fool! You should have saved your skin… while you had the chance! GRAAAAAH!"

Kuma repeatedly thrust, slashed, and slammed his sword in various directions, but Goku avoided them all with relative ease. He kept jumping and ducking before the blade could even touch his body. The Bear-Bear Fruit user got even angrier the longer he failed to wound him.

"Hold still, dammit!"

Upon hammering his sword downward once again, Goku somersaulted above his head and performed multiple different flips in midair.

"Hehe. Missed me again!" The monkey-tailed boy then expertly landed right behind Kuma, much to the thief's outraged. "Over here, bear-breath!"

The other boys' mouths hung agape from sheer amazement. They had never seen a kid their age move that fast before. It was far too impressive of a feat to accept at face value.

"He's… He's incredible!" Sabo stammered. "Could you imagine how much treasure we could get with his help?!"

Ace nodded his head in a comparatively less enthusiastic manner. "Yeah. A lot…"

As Goku's fight with Kuma continued, the bear thief let out a threatening, almost pitiable laugh. Even he couldn't hide the slight nervousness laced within his tone.

"Kumahahaha! You've got spunk, kid. I like that. Your remains will make a fine 4-course meal once I kill you! DIEEE!"

With a pleasant grin on his face, Goku suddenly vanished into thin air and stood atop the blade of Kuma's sword. He crossed his arms and laughed.

"Yoohoo! Hahaha!"

The boy then decided to finish this fight once and for all. Without even giving Kuma a chance to retaliate, Goku hopped onto his bear-like snout and stood in a fighting stance. He squatted down, holding one hand in front of him and the other along his right hip.

"What the hell are you—"

"One, two…" The boy said calmly. "THREE!"

He then punched Kuma's forehead three times, putting more and more power into each consecutive blow. The bear thief felt a surge of indescribable pain go through his skull, brain, and the rest of his entire body. Eyes now bulging out of their sockets, fresh blood spurted from the spot where Goku punched him as he came tumbling down to the ground, defeated.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

Ace and Sabo's eyes also cartoonishly widened in response to the impossible moment that just took place.

"HE BEAT HIM?! JUST LIKE THAT?"

While Kuma fell to his unexpected death, Goku leapt off the bear's snout and held out a 'v' sign for victory with his fingers. He seemed incredibly pleased with the outcome of this fight.

"Yay! I did it!"

Brushing his hands together, he reconvened with Ace and Sabo to check how they were doing. The two boys were, much like before, stunned by everything that took place, but overall fine, nonetheless.

"Are you guys okay?"

"Are you okay? You… you just took down a giant, cannibalistic bear-man without a single scratch on you! That's insane!" Sabo yelped.

He scratched the back of his head and took another quick look at Kuma's corpse. A mixture of blood and saliva was now trickling from his tongue. He didn't want their fight to end that way, but considering his overly violent nature, it had to be done. Protecting Sabo and Ace's lives was more important, after all.

"Hehe. Yeah, I guess that is kinda crazy, huh?" Goku chuckled.

The blonde-haired boy then stuck out his hand and grinned.

"Goku, was it? The name's Sabo. Thanks for saving my and Ace's skins back there. Anyone as strong and brave as you is worthy of our respect."

Goku happily returned this kind gesture and shook hands with him.

"No problem, Sabo! It was the least I could do."

Ace, in contrast, hung back a little and crossed his arms. He glanced toward the other side of the jungle, frowning. Then, without looking Goku in the eye, he paused for a moment and took a deep breath.

"So you meant it, right? When you said you didn't want to let us die?"

"Well, duh. Of course I wouldn't let you die. If neither of you were alive, how else could we become friends?" The monkey-tailed boy replied. "Garp-Pa told me a lot about you, so it's nice to finally meet you in person, Ace! You too, Sabo!"

Ace narrowed his eyes. He had a feeling Garp was connected to Goku's current level of strength somehow. To what degree, however, was another matter entirely.

"So the old man's training you, huh? For what? To become the strongest marine?"

"That's what he says, but I don't want that. I'm gonna become the strongest pirate in the world! My grandpa told me to achieve that goal before he died! And I won't stop training until it happens!"

This sudden level of enthusiasm broke through Ace's cold exterior and caused him to smirk. He was starting to like this kid's bold, can-do attitude.

"Heh. Guess the three of us have that in common then, Goku. I stole some money from that Kuma guy to help buy me and Sabo a pirate ship one day." The freckle-faced boy informed. He then displayed a more downcast expression. "All of those plans would have been for nothing if you weren't here, though, so… thanks. I mean that."

Goku, Sabo, and Ace then all smiled at each other. It would, hopefully, be the start to a long, close friendship between them.

"You're welcome! From now on, how about the three of us help each other become great pirates in the future? I think it could be a lot of fun!"

Sabo tipped his top hat over in agreement. "Sounds like a plan. But let's do our business near Trash Mountain next time. That way, none of bear-face's friends in the Kuma Mercenary Clan can come looking for him… or us."

"I said there was a lot of loot to carry. Gimme a break." Ace grumbled. He then rolled his eyes and grabbed onto his metal pipe, pointing it at Goku. "Keep our treasure's hiding place a secret, by the way. If you blab it to anyone, we'll have to kill you. Got that?"

"Pfft. Like we'd even be able to…" Sabo snorted. Given their luck, his head would probably be dense enough to bend their metal pipes if they tried to whack him with them.

"Don't worry, guys. Your secret's safe with me! I'm not sure what this Trash Mountain place even is, so—"

A loud gurgling noise then came from Goku's stomach. He then rubbed it, causing him to think of food and nothing else.

"Oh man. That fight really made me hungry all of a sudden!"

Remembering that Luffy was left alone at Partys Bar, Goku grabbed his Sea King from the bushes and dragged it across the ground again. He waved at both Ace and Sabo in slight disappointment, yet still kept smiling, regardless.

"Welp, I gotta go now! I'll see you guys later!" He said. "Let's hang out again soon."

"Wait, Goku!"

Ace's cries, unfortunately, fell on deaf ears. Goku abruptly sprinted out of Mt. Corvo's jungle toward Foosha Village. They barely even caught a glimpse of his small, chubby body before it disappeared in mere seconds.

"Was… that a giant fish he was holding onto?" asked Sabo.

"Doesn't matter. Let's focus on getting that treasure back to the Gray Terminal for now. We'll catch Goku up to speed… if he manages to find his own way over there." Ace said.

"Considering what he did to Kuma the Bear Thief, it's more like when than if to me. Haha."

Ace nodded, sharing a brief smirk with his best friend as they navigated Mt. Corvo's hidden pathways together. Part of him was looking forward to seeing what else Goku had at his disposal. It'd be something he and Sabo could work towards, so one day, the three of them could be equal in strength as soon-to-be legendary pirates.

And little did he know, that number would be increased to four in only a year's time.

Back in Foosha Village…

Once Goku successfully dragged his Sea King all the way back to Partys Bar, he took a moment to rest. He wiped some sweat off his brow and then, to his astonishment, saw a large pirate ship resting along the village's port. It must have reached Dawn Island sometime after Garp had already left. Otherwise, there likely would have been more of a commotion taking place between the powerful Vice Admiral and an entire crew of pirates.

Inspecting the ship's trademark Jolly Roger, figurative stars appeared in the boy's eyes.

"No way! Real pirates?! I have to tell Luffy!"

He then quickened his pace and ran straight through Partys Bar's swinging, saloon-style doors. His Sea King flopped onto the wooden floorboards with an abrupt, yet firm slap as he excitedly grinned from ear-to-ear, looking for his little brother and best friend.

"Hey, Luffy! Guess what I just saw outside the—"

An awkward silence then permeated through the air as Goku caught sight of everyone inside the bar. Based on their quirky, unusual appearances alone, he could tell all of them belonged to that same pirate ship's crew. There were about eleven members give or take, including their infamous captain, Red-Haired Shanks.

He was a tall, muscular twenty-seven year old man with, as his epithet implied, short crimson red hair. Wearing a yellow straw hat passed down to him by the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, himself, his left eye was also marred by a claw-like scar with three lines going across it. His main outfit comprised of a white dress shirt with rolled up sleeves and brown pants tied down by a red sash. He additionally wore a pair of black sandals on his feet.

Luffy excitedly tugged on Shanks' pant leg and pointed over at Goku.

"Look, Shanks! There's my big bro over there! He wants to be a pirate too." The boy beamed. "He's really strong!"

"Hm? Really strong, you say?"

Finishing up his beer, the pirate captain turned around to see Luffy's "big brother" for himself. He rested his elbows along the bar and smirked down at the monkey-tailed boy in amusement.

"Well then, Goku. How strong are you? Miss Makino here holds you in high regard, so you must be something special."

Makino scoffed at her new friend's statement. The eighteen-going on nineteen-year-old bartender was now wearing a red kerchief, a yellow blouse with green sleeves, and a long gray skirt. Her brown eyes lit up upon seeing Goku return safe and sound.

"No need to tease him, Captain Shanks. He just got home…"

She walked away from the bar for a moment to greet Goku with a soft, affectionate grin. The girl was, admittedly, a bit concerned when he didn't come back to the village with Luffy as planned. For that reason, she knelt down to the boy's level and rested both hands on his shoulders. Her grin turned into an ever-so-slight frown.

"Did you wander off on your own again? You know how worried I get when I have no idea where you are, Goku."

"Sorry, Makino. I—"

She narrowed her eyes a little and continued frowning.

"Remember what I told you about calling me by name, mister. Don't make me go over it again."

"Huh? But Luffy doesn't have to—"

"Goku…"

The boy then slumped his shoulders in defeat. He felt somewhat embarrassed having to say this in front of a bunch of tough, cutthroat pirates, but it couldn't be helped. He knew calling her a certain name would make Makino happy, as it did many times beforehand.

"Fine. I'm sorry… Mama. I wanted to explore Mt. Corvo a bit before bringing this giant fish over here." Goku said while dragging the Sea King closer to Makino. "But then I had to protect these two kids, Ace and Sabo, from some bandit jerk who turned himself into a bear. He was kinda tough, but I ended up beating him up pretty good. Hehe."

Makino's eyes widened in surprise. Admittedly, she didn't expect Goku to meet Garp's eldest grandson so soon. She wondered if Sabo could possibly be a close friend of Ace's or perhaps another boy Dadan took in.

"Ah, I see. You saved Ace's life, hm?"

Luffy stamped his foot in frustration. "No fair! Why do you always to get to fight all the strong guys without me, Goku?! Fighting a bear would have been really fun!"

Shanks chuckled in amusement and tipped his straw hat to get a better look at Goku. Even the boy's hair, from his perspective, was rather unique and befitting of his peculiar nature. Part of him also felt a sliver of recognition for the name, Ace, but he didn't pay much attention to it. As a kid, his old pirate captain once had a legendary sword of the same name.

"Bwahaha! You've got guts, kid. A boy your age taking down a Zoan-type Devil Fruit-user is mighty impressive. There's some pirates who couldn't even pull that off."

Shanks' Vice Captain, Benn Beckman, nodded whilst smoking a fresh cigarette. He was a tall, muscular man with black hair tied down into a pony tail. He wore a black, V-neck T-shirt with a yellow sash wrapped around his waist, baggy green pants, and a pair of black boots. An intricately designed rifle was also tucked into the right side of his sash.

"You can say that again, Captain. Who knew a little mama's boy could be so tough?"

Everyone in the Red Hair Pirates broke out into a fit of laughter, causing Goku to glare over at Beckman in embarrassment. Makino, meanwhile, placed a hand over her mouth and giggled the same way.

"Hey, take that back! I am not a mama's boy!"

"Pfft. Yeah, you are." Luffy laughed.

"No, I'm not! Whose side are you on, anyway?"

The faint blush on Goku's cheeks caused everyone in Partys Bar to laugh even harder. Makino, although finding the boy's childish pout rather adorable, stood back up and gently patted him on the back.

"Don't take their teasing the wrong way, Goku. Shanks and the others mean well, believe me." She assured him. She then boldly kissed him on the forehead, much to his further embarrassment. "And thank you for catching that fish. Just let me know before you start risking your life again, okay?"

The monkey-tailed boy quickly rubbed the spot where Makino kissed him and nodded. He then sported a fierce glare in order to make himself seem tough and no-nonsense.

"Okay, Mama. I will."

The Red-Hair Pirates' sniper, Yasopp, then chugged down a mug full of sake and smirked at Goku. He was a tall, thirty-four year old man with long, wavy blonde hair, big lips, and some stubble on his chin. His forehead was also covered by a blue headband that had his name written out in bold, light blue text. The rest of his outfit comprised of a dark blue shirt, jade green pants, and blue shoes with white buckles on them.

"No need to be ashamed, kid. You remind me a bit of my son, Usopp. I bet he's just as close to his mother as you are with Makino."

Sitting close to him was Lucky Roux, the Red-Hair Pirates' cook. Balking at Yasopp's ironic comment, he bit down on a fresh slab of meat and toothily grinned from ear-to-ear. He was an overweight, bald twenty-three year old man wearing yellow goggles with crimson red lenses. He wore a green T-shirt with white vertical stripes going down it and a matching bandana on his head. He also had white shorts, a dark green sash wrapped around his waist, and green shoes with white laces on top.

"Wow, Yasopp. I'm surprised you even remember you have a wife and son to come home to, you old dead beat. Hahaha!"

The sniper winced. A few years ago, he had left his wife, Banchina, behind in Syrup Village to continue traveling with Shanks and the others. In fact, he wasn't sure what she and Usopp even looked like right now. There were times where he felt guilty and wanted to see them, but other times, being a pirate was far too much fun to even think about such things.

"Oh, shut up! I'm just… not ready to face them again, alright?"

Lucky Roux rolled his eyes and proceeded to chug down an entire barrel of sake. It was no surprise where his impressive weight came from.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say," He grumbled mid-drink. He then inspected Goku's Sea King from afar and started grinning again. "Good work catching that Sea King, though, lad. There should be enough for all of us, if it's cooked by yours truly, of course."

Goku and Luffy both looked up at him with stars in their eyes. For those two, anything food-related was more than enough to pique their interest.

"Really? You can do that?"

"Would I be the Red Hair Pirates' cook if I couldn't? This big ol' fish is nothing compared to the stuff we've beaten down and eaten as a crew. Bet your asses that it'll still be delicious, regardless, though! Haha!"

Hearing this statement, the boys were now officially excited to eat the Sea King once it was cooked by Lucky Roux himself. They wondered if the fish would have a special "pirate-like" taste to it.

"Oh man! I can't wait to have a cook on my crew." Goku beamed.

"Me neither. I'd be able to eat whatever I want… whenever I want to! That'd be the best!" Luffy said in agreement.

"You two want to become pirates? In those tacky outfits? I highly doubt that."

From the bar's entrance came a soft, feminine voice belonging to a young nine-year-old girl with long red and white hair. It was tied down into two pony tails; a red one on the right side of her face and a white on the left side. Her left purple eye was also covered by white bangs while the other still remained visible. Additionally, her ears were concealed by a pair of sky blue headphones that each had her name, UTA, written in black text. She wore a golden yellow dress with long lemon-colored sleeves and brown shoes as well. Her collar was also tied down by a piece of mahogany string whose strands hung down on either side.

The girl narrowed her purple eyes and glanced from Goku to Luffy in annoyance. Goku, in particular, wasn't sure what she meant by 'tacky', but it sounded like an insult to him.

"Tacky? Who are you calling tacky?" He asked.

Luffy grimaced and said, "Yeah. There's nothing tacky about what we're wearing!"

"Wrong. You children have no sense of fashion whatsoever. I won't let you get so close to Shanks in those tacky old rags."

Shanks blew out a sigh. Knowing an altercation like this one would happen, eventually, he leaned over from his seat and acted as a neutral party between the three kids.

"Don't mind Uta, boys. As you can tell, our little diva is quite fashionable."

Goku quirked a brow. "Diva?"

"Mmhm. I'm a diva. I'm the musician of the Red-Hair Pirates and Shanks' daughter." Uta revealed with a proud smile on her face.

"Huh?! We're like the same age, yet you're already a pirate? How does that work?" The monkey-tailed boy gasped.

Shanks shook his head, trying to explain Uta's circumstances as simply as possible.

"I'm afraid she's a… special case, Goku. Pirates and singing are inseparable, so her talents help build morale amongst the rest of the crew." The redheaded pirate explained. "You and Luffy, on the other hand, don't have any skills beyond fighting, so you'd just be little anchors weighing us down on our ship. DAHAHAHA!"

Makino shrugged her shoulders. "I'm afraid he has a point there, boys. You're just not ready to be pirates yet."

Luffy bit down on his lower lip, not wishing accept that reality. He balled his fists tight enough to leave a mark.

"But pirates are really strong, fun, and free! Me and big bro can be that way too, if we're given the chance!"

Beckman blew out some a puff of smoke from his cigarette.

"Being a pirate isn't all fun and games, brats. Attaining true strength for yourself is what grants such privileges." Shanks' first mate glowered. He then almost glared directly at Goku when speaking. "And a true pirate… is only as strong as the crew they belong to. If you don't understand that yet, neither of you are worthy enough to survive the high seas. It's a simple as that."

"Well said. The bond between a captain and his crew is sacred amongst pirates. Even the most powerful pirates will fail without the company of trustworthy allies and friends to back them up. After all, Gol D. Roger never found the One Piece by himself, right?"

"A captain… and his crew…"

Goku silently looked down at his feet, ruminating over Shanks' wise words. Beforehand, he only thought about becoming the strongest pirate alone, rather than building the crew that would lead to him achieving said goal. It'd be a much more difficult task, but if all pirate crews were as fun as the Red-Hair Pirates, he wouldn't mind gathering a similar group of people for himself to lead.

"Yeah, you're right. Guess I'll have to make the best pirate crew ever then! You guys better look out when that happens!"

"Not if I make an even better crew than yours, big bro. Shishishi!"

"Sounds like a challenge I can get behind, Luffy. Hehe."

Uta crossed her arms and let out an overdramatic sigh laced with disbelief.

"Tsk. How childish. Your crews won't even reach the Grand Line with that attitude."

Goku and Luffy crossed their arms in a similar manner, staring her down.

"Wanna bet?"

Shanks then got up from his seat at the bar and pushed the three kids closer together with his arms.

"You three are practically the same age. How about you be friends instead of arguing?"

Uta puffed up her cheeks in frustration.

"Don't group me together with two nine-year-old and seven-year-old kids. I'm far too mature for them."

Goku scratched the back of his head. "Uh… we're both the same age, so you can't even make that excuse."

"Enough, kids. Go show Uta around Foosha Village, you two. Lucky Roux should be finished preparing that Sea King by the time you get back."

The red and white-haired girl then began crying in an overly exaggerated way. As a diva, she always did this to get her way.

"B-But Shanks! I don't wanna—"

Her whining was interrupted by Luffy and Goku practically dragging her outside Partys Bar in excitement. She couldn't even manage to react or fight back in time.

"Let's go, Luffy! The faster we leave, the faster it'll take for that yummy fish to be ready!"

"Right ahead of you, Goku!"

"Wait a minute! Shaaaaanks!"

Once the three kids were gone, Lucky Roux hoisted the Sea King into Makino's kitchen with a wide grin on his face. It would likely take a number of hours to prepare, especially when taking Goku, Luffy, Uta, and the rest of the Red-Hair Pirates into account. It'd be around nightfall by the time everything was ready, if he were to hazard a guess.

While the pirate cook got to work, Makino rested a hand on her cheek and smiled.

"Looks like those three will be friends in no time."

"If Goku and Luffy don't drive my daughter crazy, that is. Haha." Shanks laughed. He went back to the bar and finished his drink. "Though, I'm curious, Makino. You're only eighteen-years-old, yet aren't bothered by Goku calling you, Mama. Why is that? Doesn't that make you feel old?"

The young bartender stood behind the bar and rested her elbow atop it. She now sported a soft, almost melancholic grin.

"It's a long story, but when Goku came here two – almost three – years ago, he had no one. His grandfather, Gohan, had passed away and Garp, of course, didn't have much time to raise him… beyond training, of course." Makino vividly recalled. "Ever since then, he's been a positive presence around myself, Luffy, and the entire village. One thing then led to another and now, I insist on him calling me his mom, even if he's still embarrassed to do so. Hehe."

Shanks then sported a more serious expression. One part of Makino's statement genuinely caught him by surprise. It was a single name synonymous with the God Valley Incident all those years ago; the very event that led to him being adopted by the Roger Pirates as a baby.

"I see. So Goku's grandfather is… Son D. Gohan then? The God of the Marines himself?"

"That's right. He was Garp's mentor."

An uncomfortable silence then permeated within Partys Bar. The only sounds that could be heard were from Lucky Roux's knives chopping the piranha Sea King into several pieces.

"Sheesh. No wonder he took down that mountain bandit's Human-Beast Form so easily." Yasopp brushed his blonde hair back in nervousness. "He's been training under the top marines this whole time!"

"Feh. Ironic that he wants to become a pirate instead. Gohan must be rolling in his grave." Beckman muttered.

"Actually, Goku said his grandpa wanted him to be a pirate. Something to do with him gaining as much freedom as possible."

"Interesting. Perhaps the Marines's greatest hero wasn't so loyal to their cause as they once thought." The Vice Captain massaged his chin in thought. "It's news to me, anyway."

Another member of the Red-Hair Pirates, Limejuice, then chimed in. He was a thin, muscular man with blonde hair and a black beret that contained a Jolly Roger in its center. He wore a red shirt, blue pants, and a pair of unique white gloves.

"Then where do you think that monkey tail of his comes from? For a second, I thought he was related to Monster somehow."

Limejuice jerked his thumb towards a large monkey with small, beady eyes and brown fur. The top of his head was also tied up into a topknot. Smiling from ear-to-ear, Monster beat on his chest like a gorilla and made some loud noises.

"Ook! Ook! Ook!"

"It's probably some kind of Devil Fruit. I doubt Goku even remembers eating it, so there's no use thinking too much about it or bringing it up." Shanks knowledgeably presumed. He grinned over at Makino. "What we should be thinking about, however, is Makino here calling herself old. Barely an adult and she wants to be called a mom. DAHAHA!"

The Red-Hair Pirates then almost immediately moved on from their discussion about Goku and began laughing it up again.

"Oh, shut it! It's not like that."

"Careful, Makino. I think I see some gray hair on your head. Haha." Yasopp joked.

The green-haired bartender rested both hands on her hips and smirked.

"And I see all of your drinks' bills starting to rack up."

While the other pirates backed away in visible fear, Shanks was undeterred and kept laughing. He, on the contrary, found Makino's attempt to act strict quite entertaining.

"Yes, Mom. Whatever you say!"

"Keep it up and I won't be serving you any more drinks at all."

"Okay, okay! No more! That was the last time, I swear, Makino!"

"I'll hold you to it then. Hehe."

After that, the Red-Hair Pirates continued drinking, conversating, and, in more extreme cases, brawling with one another as they waited for Lucky Roux to finish cooking. Goku, Uta, and Luffy, meanwhile, would explore the area surrounding Foosha Village for the next few hours or so. Neither of the boys got along with Shanks' daughter at first, but overtime, she'd come to be one of their closest childhood friends.

This moment, unfortunately, would not happen that very same night. They'd be too busy competing with one another over certain tasks like climbing, running, shouting, arm-wrestling, and more.

Later on…

After hanging out inside one of Foosha Village's many windmills, the three raced each other back to Partys Bar. Goku, of course, won this particular competition with relative ease. He dashed toward the bar's entrance, appearing as an almost invisible black streak to the other townsfolk.

Taking a small breath, he then snickered and held up a 'v' sign for victory with his fingers. Uta and Luffy brought themselves to the brink of exhaustion just attempting to catch up.

"Ha! I told you I was going to beat you guys there!"

"You… You cheater!" Uta panted. She held both hands on her knees and sighed aloud. "How can someone with a tail be so fast?!"

Luffy smiled amusedly and crossed his own arms behind his head.

"See? I told you big bro was strong, Uta! You can beat me, but you sure can't beat him at anything important. Hehe."

The Red-Hair Pirates' musician scowled and lightly stomped her foot.

"Nonsense. I have both of you kids beat in height, cuteness, intelligence, and, of course, singing. Who cares if I can't match Goku in brute strength? He's obviously not human, anyway."

"Hmph. I can sing, too! It's not that hard."

Goku's eyes widened in nervousness. "W-Wait a minute, Luffy. Don't—"

Unfortunately, the boy was too late to stop his little brother. The seven-year-old proceeded to sing at the top of his lungs in a scratchy, obnoxious way that everyone, namely Uta, felt a great deal of pain listening to. It was even bad enough to scare an entire flock of seagulls away from Foosha Village's port.

"The sky in the east is up early! The weather is so fine, there are only fools there! The island in the east is…"

Uta clutched her ears in sheer agony and fumbled herself back into Partys Bar by accident. Everyone, including Shanks, turned their heads to see what was going on with their young musician. To be honest, they didn't expect to see her, Goku, and Luffy come back soon. Lucky Roux was just about done splitting the Sea King into individual pieces.

"Ennaggh! That was horrible. You suck! You're off pitch! The Red-Hair Pirates' IQ would drop listening to that!"

Luffy looked over at Goku in confusion. Due to having more sensitive hearing, the monkey-tailed had to cover his own ears for safety reasons.

"Eh? Was I that bad?"

"Yes! Never sing again!" Uta snapped.

"I might have to agree with Uta here, Luffy. My poor ears…"

"Whatever. Like you could do any better, Goku!"

Giggling at the trio's banter, Makino made her way to the entrance to greet them properly. She crouched down to address each child with a wide, inviting smile on her face.

"Thank you for keeping an eye on Goku and Luffy, Uta. Hope they weren't too much trouble."

The young singer shrugged her shoulders. "Like I had a choice. These two are unbelievably persistent about becoming pirates! They'd be hounding Shanks if I wasn't there to protect him."

"Teehee. I see."

At the mere mention of his name, Luffy yelled at the Red-Hair Pirates' captain from across the bar with a fierce, determined glare.

"Shanks, let me board your ship! I'm ready to sail the seas!"

Uta facepalmed and shook her head.

"Case in point…"

"I thought we were supposed to be building our own crews." Goku said while quirking a brow in puzzlement. "Wouldn't being part of Shanks' crew get in the way of that goal?"

"That's for later! I'm thinking about now, big bro! We need to build experience before going out on our own."

Displaying a small smirk on his lips, Shanks turned around to playfully wag a single finger at Luffy.

"I'd listen to your older brother, Luffy. You're simply not cut out to board my ship, so the answer is still no. And no, as always, means no."

The boy ground his teeth in growing frustration.

"Errgh! Cheapskate Shanks! Let me aboard! Let me—"

Before he could try latching onto Shanks' body like some kind of irksome little monkey, Lucky Roux walked out of the bar's kitchen with multiple plates in his arms.

"Enough talk! Let's chow down while this Sea King's still hot, everyone!"

"Aye, aye!"

Once everyone got their hands on some cooked Sea King, they began to eat. It was absolutely delicious, but Uta, admittedly, lost her appetite as soon as she saw how many pieces of fish Goku and Luffy were stuffing into their mouths. They didn't even take a moment to breathe and chew their food, much to her visible disgust.

Minute after minute continued to pass until the Sea King was all, but skeletal remains. The two boys rubbed their now-rotund stomachs and belched together in unison. Makino would have normally been as disgusted as Uta was, but she had gotten used to their immense appetites many years prior.

"Ah! That was good!"

"I agree, big bro!"

Satisfied with this meal, Shanks and the Red-Hair Pirates suddenly raised their mugs in the air. The redheaded pirate directed his drink toward Goku, in particular.

"Here's to Goku for catching such a delicious Sea King for all of us! And to Foosha Village for showing us such good hospitality!"

Each pirates clanked their mugs together and complied with Shanks' courteous gesture.

"Aye! To Goku and Foosha Village!"

Goku sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Hehe. Aw, it was nothing, guys."

"Now how about we close this night off with a song. Got any in mind, Bonk Punch, my friend?"

The man in question was a fellow musician like his monkey companion, Monster, and Uta. He was a bald, muscular man with dark rings around his eyes and tan skin. He wore a blue shirt with white stripes, orange pants, and a dark blue sash wrapped around his waist.

Bonk Punch gave the question some thought before snapping his fingers in realization.

"Ah! How about Binks' Brew, Captain? You can never go wrong with that classic."

"That's a good one, Boss. It'll be just like old times!" Lucky Roux chuckled. "What do you think, Uta?"

The nine-year-old girl tapped her foot to Binks' Brew rhythm and smiled.

"Sounds great to me. It'll show these amateurs what real singing is like."

Beckman smirked. "Heh. I'm sure you'll blow them away as usual."

Right as the entire crew prepared to sing, Goku and Luffy curiously stared at one another. They had never heard of this song before. Even Makino seemed to have some familiarity with it, which took them both by surprise.

"Uh… I don't get it. What's Binks' Brew, Shanks?"

Uta deadpanned. "You two want to be pirates, yet never heard one of the most famous pirate songs? I feel sorry for you."

"Come on. No need to be so mean about it," Shanks muttered. "It's an old song that I first learned as a boy around your age. Listen closely to the lyrics and you should both be able to sing along just fine."

"Okay then."

With that, the Red-Hair Pirates moved some tables and chairs around to huddle closer to each other. The crewmembers then stomped their feet and clapped their hands together, moving in tandem with the jolly, yet somber beat of Binks' Brew as they began to sing.

Yo hohoho, yo hohoho!

Yo hohoho, yo hohoho!

Yo hohoho, yo hohoho!

Yo hohoho, yo hohoho!

Goku and Luffy immediately found themselves singing along. It sounded like something a pirate would write, yet also had an even greater universal appeal to it deep down inside. Neither boy could even begin to put their thoughts into words in that moment.

Gather up all of the crew, it's time to ship out Binks' brew.

Sea wind blows, to where, who knows? The waves will be our guide.

O'er across the ocean's tide. Rays of sunshine far and wide.

Birds they sing, of cheerful things, in circles passing by.

Bid farewell to weaver's town, say so long to port renowned.

Sing a song, it won't be long, before we're casting off.

Cross the gold and silver seas, a salty spray puts us at ease,

Day and night, to our delight, the voyage never ends.

Makino smiled and clapped along as the Red-Hair Pirates swayed from side to side, getting more into it. This portion of the song, from Goku's perspective, reminded him of the freedom that comes with sailing the seas as a pirate. Ideally, a never-ending voyage filled with fun and adventure sounded like a dream come true to him. He wondered if Gohan expressed similar sentiments as a boy his age.

Gather up all of the crew, it's time to ship out Binks' brew.

Pirates, we eternally are challenging the sea.

With the waves to rest our heads, ship beneath us as our beds,

hoisted high upon the mast, our jolly roger flies.

Luffy beaming with a hopeful glimmer in his small black eyes. Challenging the sea onboard a pirate ship was all he could ever ask for in life. It would certainly be a better use of his time than wandering around Foosha Village all day.

Somewhere in the endless sky, stormy winds are blowing by,

waves are dancing, evening comes, it's time to sound the drums.

But steady men, and never fear, tomorrow's skies are always clear.

So pound your feet and clap your hands 'til sunny days return.

Now, Goku found himself getting a little emotional. This portion of the song, although vague, reminded him that there were still positive moments to look forward to, even after his grandpa's death. All it took was to continue smiling and remember the good times spent at Paozu Island.

Lucky Roux wrapped his arms around Yasopp and Limejuice's shoulders, laughing gleefully like a madman while continuing to sing. He then gestured his hand toward Uta.

"Take it away, Uta!"

Beckman then placed her atop a nearby table, giving the diva a chance to use Partys Bar as a makeshift stage. She then, as was done many times before, sang along to her heart's content with the voice of an angel.

Yo hohoho, yo hohoho!

Yo hohoho, yo hohoho!

Yo hohoho, yo hohoho!

Yo hohoho, yo hohoho!

Closing her purple eyes and resting a hand on her chest, Uta resumed singing while swaying from left to right. Goku and Luffy both couldn't believe how beautiful, yet somewhat haunting her voice was. They could only wonder how she got that talented at nine-years-old.

Gather up all of the crew, it's time to ship out Binks' brew.

Wave goodbye, but don't you cry, our memories remain.

Our days are but a passing dream, everlasting though they seem.

Beneath the moon we'll meet again, the wind's our lullaby.

As soon as Uta softly smiled over at them, Goku wiped his tear-filled eyes and grinned the same way. Somehow, he hoped to see his grandpa again one day and make him proud; proud of the powerful pirate he's managed to become.

It was this last though that gave him the strength to sing Binks' Brew as loud as everyone else. Luffy wasted no time in doing the same thing.

Gather up all of the crew, it's time to ship out Binks' brew.

Sing a song, and play along for all the oceans wide.

After all is said and done, you'll end up a skeleton,

so spread your tale from dawn 'til dusk upon these foamy seas.

Yo hohoho, yo hohoho…Yo hohoho, yo hohoho…

Yo hohoho, yo hohoho…Yo hohoho, yo hohoho…

For a brief, ever-so-slight moment, time seemed to stop. Goku took a look at the Red-Hair Pirates, seeing how happy and proud they were to be in each other's company. It was the type of comradery he never understood until now.

Here, while singing Binks' Brew amongst new and old friends, Goku understood the true appeal behind becoming a pirate. It wasn't just the freedom to grow as strong as possible. It was also, in fact, the freedom to form bonds all across the entire world.

Yo hohoho, yo hohoho…Yo hohoho, yo hohoho…

Yo hohoho, yo hohoho…Yo hohoho, yo hohoho…

As the song came to a soft, yet gradual close, Goku shared one last smile with Luffy. He then placed Gohan's blue fedora in front of him and nodded down at it.

I understand now, Grandpa. This is why you wanted me to become a pirate, isn't it?

He then placed the fedora atop his spiky black hair, using its larger size to cast a shadow over the stray tears streaking down his cheeks. However, unlike two years ago, these tears were out of happiness, rather than despair.

"So what'd you think? Pretty catchy, right?" Shanks asked.

Goku quickly wiped his eyes and sniffled. "Yeah. I really liked it…"

"Let's sing it again!" Luffy said while slamming a fist against the table. "I wanna memorize all of it!"

After laughing at this enthusiastic response, a beam of luminescent moonlight was then cast through Partys Bar's window as Shanks, Uta, and the Red-Hair Pirates left to sleep inside their ship, the Red Force. Goku, Luffy, and Makino, meanwhile, stayed behind, dreaming about the pleasant night that, now, came to a close.

*And that's the end of Chapter 3! Most of this chapter took place in the year, 1511, so I had a lot to cover this time around. I decided to have Goku rescue Sabo and Ace from the Bear Thief (an old Dragon Ball villain from Episode 3 of the anime) in order to establish his future friendship with them. Hopefully, that scene was written well enough. I tried my best to write those two as faithfully as possible.

I also included Shanks, Uta, and the Red-Hair Pirates into the mix. Uta's other interactions with Luffy and Goku will be saved for flashbacks in future chapters; mainly because I wanted to focus more on their first meeting than anything else. Due to not seeing One Piece Film: Red yet, I based her portrayal off the two Uta-focused episodes of the One Piece anime. The scene where they sing Binks' Brew, however, was included in order to give Goku and Luffy some familiarity with that song (Luffy mentions learning it from Shanks in the Thriller Bark Arc, so I think it works).

Originally, I was going to have Chapter 4 be the start of Goku's journey as a pirate, but for pacing purposes, I'll start that chapter with a loose adaptation of One Piece Chapter 1, where Luffy will eat the Gum-Gum Fruit, get his Straw Hat, etc. Hope you guys are okay with that.

But until that chapter is posted, please let me know what you think. I'm looking forward to writing Goku's solo adventures in the East Blue, so Chapter 4 should be posted as soon as possible.

Chapter Text

*Sorry for the delay on this chapter. This basically serves as the conclusion to this story's prologue, so I wanted to take my time with it. Hope you like how it turned out. :)

Approximately a year later in 1512...

Since establishing it as their base in the previous year, the Red-Hair Pirates continued to visit Foosha Village every so often. Uta's bond with Goku and Luffy grew with each subsequent visit, yet it wasn't strong enough to prevent her from mysteriously disappearing one day. The two boys had no idea what happened to the girl and were, unsurprisingly, frustrated when Shanks wouldn't explain anything about it. All he would say was something about Uta being left in a place called Elegia, which either boy had never heard of before.

Luffy was upset enough to never speak with Shanks again, but through some coercion from Goku and Benn Beckman, he slowly forgave him overtime. Regardless, the two boys would continue to think about their lost childhood friend, and hoped that she was doing well. Maybe someday, they'd be able to reunite and talk about the New Genesis phenomenon she wished to create.

However, with Uta gone, Luffy was more determined to join Shanks' crew than ever before. The boy even went as far as to stab a knife underneath his left eye to prove how tough he had become. It was a borderline insane action that ended just as badly as any normal person would expect.

"YEOWWWWW!"

Not long after that, Makino quickly put a bandage over Luffy's wound to help stop the bleeding. The Red-Hair Pirates ended up declaring a toast to honor Luffy's courage and bravery for doing something so extreme. It might have just been done as an excuse to drink more booze, though. That's what the owner of Partys Bar herself assumed.

Goku blew out a sigh. The nine-year-old boy was wearing an orange collared shirt with green triangles spread throughout, and a white tank top underneath it. He also wore tennis shoes and blue jeans, which had a hole cut out for his tail. His grandpa's blue fedora was still hung along his neck as well.

"Did you really have to cut yourself with a knife, Luffy?"

"Well, yeah. It was the only way to show them I'm as tough as they are, big bro." Luffy grumbled while massaging his cut face. "And as tough as you too..."

"That's just dumb. Hehe."

"I don't care! That knife didn't hurt one bit. I'm ready to go on Shanks' next voyage and be a pirate!"

"LIAR! That was a foolish thing to do!" Shanks growled from his seat at the bar. He then snorted at the thought of Luffy becoming a pirate in his current condition. "And you can't even swim! What good is a pirate who sinks every time they touch the water? That's why you'll always be an anchor, unlike your brother there. DAHAHAHA!"

Goku quirked a brow at this comment. It seemed inaccurate, given how many pirates have achieved great success without even touching the water themselves.

"But aren't there a load of famous pirates who ate Devil Fruits and lost the power to swim? That's what Garp-Pa told me."

The pirate captain blinked a few times in surprise. Admittedly, he didn't think the boy was smart enough to catch onto his bluff. He wondered if that was Makino's influence rubbing off on him.

"True, but those pirates need to be incredibly powerful fighters to make up for such a weakness. And Luffy, at his age, is just nowhere near close to that level yet."

Luffy slammed a fist on the table in abject protest.

"But I am a strong fighter. I've been training with Goku and Grandpa these past few months! My punch is as powerful as a pistol now!"

Shanks rested a hand on his cheek, looking a bit disinterested in the seven-year-old's proud boast.

"A pistol, eh? Is that so..."

"ARE YOU DOUBTING ME?!" Luffy barked like some rabid dog.

The rest of the Red-Hair Pirates grabbed each other's shoulders and heartily laughed in amusement while partying. Lucky Roux stood in the middle while Yasopp hung along his left shoulder and their crew's doctor, Hongo, stood to the right. He was a lean man with dirty blonde hair that tied back into a ponytail and a few missing teeth. His outfit comprised of a striped black-brown shirt, blue shorts, and orange sandals.

"Calm down, Luffy!" Bonk Punch cried.

"Let's just have a good time!" Yasopp happily added.

"Yeah! Pirates always have a good time!" Lucky Roux continued.

"The sea is vast and there's a lot of islands to explore!"

"And best of all, pirates have FREEDOM!"

Both Goku and Luffy were in complete awe of this description. It was the type of carefree life they had always dreamed of and more.

"Wow!"

Shanks let out a sigh of frustration. He was holding a spoon in between his teeth. "They're still kids, guys. Stop filling their heads with such crazy ideas."

Lucky Roux and Yasopp glanced at each other in confusion. They weren't sure why their captain was acting so dismissive about the lives of the average pirate.

"But it's true!"

"Right!?"

The infamous pirate captain groaned and went back to eating his meal.

"Oh, c'mon, Cap'n. Let's take the lad just this once. Even Goku can come along and get some benefit out of it." One of the other Red-Hair Pirates suggested. "They did want to gain more experience as pirates, after all."

His fellow shipmates nodded their heads in agreement. "Aye."

The two boys glanced at each other in surprise. Even Goku was getting more excited at the mere idea of boarding an actual pirate ship, let alone one operated by a person as powerful as Shanks.

"Yeah!"

"Seriously?! You mean that?"

Shanks didn't even turn around to address this suggestion.

"Okay, but two of you will have to stay behind to make room on the ship..."

Not wishing to be left behind on a place as boring Foosha Village, the pirates immediately changed their opinion and went back to partying. It was as if their prior approval of Goku and Luffy's inclusion didn't even happen at all.

"Sorry, lads. You've just been beached! Let's drink! HARHARHARHAR!"

The seven-year-old boy snarled. "Hey! Whose side are you on?!"

"You're just too young, boys. Maybe in ten years or so, I'll give you another chance, Luffy..."

Goku quirked a brow. He didn't find Shanks' use of the word, 'maybe', all too convincing. From his experience with Grandpa Gohan, that was another way to say 'don't get your hopes up' or flat out 'no'. He knew Luffy, however, would never accept that answer.

He clamped down on his teeth with fully narrowed black eyes.

"Erggh! Cap'n Shanks! I've already told you... I'm not a little kid!"

Shanks slyly grinned and gave Luffy a small glass to drink from.

"Hey, there's no need to get upset now. Have some milk."

"Oh boy! Thanks!"

The redheaded pirate captain then proceed to burst out laughing in amusement. The bait, as expected, was taken hook, line, and sinker.

"See! A real pirate would never drink milk! HARHARHARHARHAR!"

"Grrr! THAT WAS A DIRTY TRICK!"

Goku shook his head in confusion. He supposed there were some things he still had yet to learn about pirates and what they considered normal.

"Makino told me milk is pretty healthy, though. Why wouldn't it be alright to drink it?"

"Because milk doesn't have the special kick that a fresh brew of sake does, Goku." Beckman said while lighting his cigarette with a match. "Not that either of you would be mature enough to understand that yet. Like I told you before, being a pirate isn't all fun and games, you know..."

The two brothers looked up at him in curiosity.

"How so, Mr. First Mate?"

"As a captain, the safety of the entire crew and ship rests on Shanks' shoulders. Then, in return, the crews' duties include pillaging, hostage taking, heavy drinking, and... in most cases, swimming!" Beckman continued. "And the captain, especially, knows all about the dangers of the sea, too! It can kill you in a thousand ways! It's not that he wants to crush either of your dreams of becoming a pirate. He's just doing what's best for everyone, including you two brats."

Luffy grumbled in response. "Hmph! Well, I'm getting tired of it. I stabbed myself in the face and he still won't take me with him."

"Maybe Shanks just likes messing with Luffy too." Goku added.

Beckman blew out a puff of smoke from his mouth.

"How do you figure?"

"Hey, anchor! HARHARHAR!" Shanks childishly giggled. "Ho boy... I just love making fun of this kid!"

Luffy then pointed over to the man, causing Beckman to contemplate whether his previous description was accurate or not.

"Hmm... Maybe you do got a point there..."

Coming from the back of the bar, the now-nineteen-year-old Makino walked in with a large barrel of beer in her hands. Goku immediately smiled and ran up to help her carry it with a single hand.

"I can help you with that, Mom!"

"Aw, thanks! I can always rely on you, sweetie. Place it next to Lucky Roux's table, please." The bartender beamed affectionately. She then smiled over at Shanks. "I'm glad to see you and your crew are enjoying yourselves, Captain Shanks! Hope the boys haven't been giving you too much trouble."

"Hmph. You should be telling him that, Makino..." Luffy snorted.

Knowing how to speak his and her adopted son's language, Makino smiled at both kids with even more enthusiasm.

"How about I make you and your brother something to eat, Luffy?"

"Really? Alright! You're the best, Mamakino!"

The young proprietor of Partys Bar playfully wagged her finger in mock annoyance.

"Just 'Mama' or 'Mom' is fine, mister. I won't accept anything different."

Goku rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I know..."

The monkey-tailed boy then sat at the bar right next to Luffy. The seven-year-old was holding a fork and knife in each hand, respectively.

"You can put the bill on my treasure tab, Makino! I'll pay you back in gold and more once I'm a pirate!"

"Treasure tab? Don't try to swindle the lady, boy." Shanks said.

"I'm not! I'm gonna become a pirate, find lots of treasure, and then I'll come back and pay her. You'll see."

"Hahaha! Not if Goku gets back to me first." Makino giggled. "When that time comes, we'll have to celebrate together once both of you return."

"Hee hee! Definitely!"

"And I'll make sure to pay you back for everything too, Mom."

The bartender, although grateful for Goku even suggesting that, shook her head.

"That's sweet of you, kiddo, but there's need for there to be two treasure tabs around here. Helping around the bar is all the payment you'll need to give me, okay?"

She then winked, causing him to blush ever-so-slightly.

"Okay..."

"Still a mama's boy! HARHARHARHARHAR!"

"SHUT UP!"

After the Red-Hair Pirates had enough fun laughing at Goku's expense, Makino served a fresh plate of steak for him and Luffy, respectively. Some other parts of their food included potatoes and fresh pieces of bread. They each gorged down on the meal as soon as it was given to them, filling the entire bar with loud chomps and munches.

While biting down on his steak like a dog, Luffy looked over at his role model curiously.

"Shanks..."

"Yeah, kid?"

"How much longer will you stay at this village?"

"Hmm... Let's see. We've been using this village as our base for about a year..." Shanks recalled whilst striking his spoon into the plate's surface. "So I'd say after two or three more voyages... we'll leave here for good and head north."

Luffy, with his mouth full of meat and bread, looked somewhat dejected by this information.

"I see. Two or three more trips, eh? Hmmm..."

Makino sympathetically blew out a sigh and took Luffy's empty plate without saying a word. Goku, meanwhile, was still busy finishing his second helping.

"I'm gonna learn how to swim by the time you leave!"

"That's good, kid. Do whatever you want."

"Don't worry. I'm sure you'll swim just as good as I do once—"

Before the boy could even finish speaking, one of Partys Bar's doors was roughly kicked off its hinges. The perpetrator was a tall, forty-six year old man with unkempt black hair tied into a bun, a black goatee, and an X-shaped scar located above his right eye. He wore a long red coat draped over a white shirt and black trousers with two matching shoes. A golden necklace was additionally wrapped around his tan-skinned neck.

Known by the name, Higuma the Bear, this man had made quite a name for himself at one of Mt. Corvo's most dangerous bandits. He would mug, threaten, and outright kill anyone who so much as looked at him the wrong way. Even the company of pirates wasn't enough to throw off his bloated ego.

"Make way for the Scourge of the Mountains!" He shouted, cockily smirking while darting his beady black eyes from left to right. "Huh. First time I've seen pirates... you look like a sorry lot to me."

The Red-Hair Pirates remained almost completely silent. They watched as he walked up to the bar with his fellow bandits following closely behind him.

"We mountain bandits of the legendary Kuma Mercenary Clan are looking for a boy... with the tail of a monkey. You see him anywhere?"

Makino gulped and broke out into a somewhat nervous sweat. Whatever they wanted with Goku, it couldn't have been any good.

"Y-You... must be mistaken. There's no boy like that around here..."

Luffy didn't catch onto her tactic, however, and slammed a fist on the table in anger. He then stared the mountain bandits down without a single ounce of hesitation.

"That's my big brother you're talking about! What's it to you, you big, ugly—"

Beckman then placed a hand over the boy's mouth before he could say anything else.

"Shut up, Luffy! This is serious!"

Higuma's smirk slightly widened. Upon locking eyes with Goku, he recognized the monkey tail and spiky black hair right away. A villager had described the boy as such before he snuffed out their insignificant little life.

"Big brother? That must be you, eh, pipsqueak?" The bandit asked. "Gotta tell ya... we've been spending a long time looking for you. We almost thought we'd never be able to avenge our boss's humiliating demise... until now, that is."

Goku didn't have the slightest clue what this man was talking about. He simply gulped down the rest of his food and tilted his head to the side in puzzlement.

"Avenge who now?"

"Kuma the Bear Thief, you irksome little brat! You can't even remember the man you murdered in cold blood?!"

It was then that Goku vividly recalled everything that took place several months ago. The bear thief was so weak that he didn't even bother thinking about him again, apart from his attempt to kill Ace and Sabo.

"Ohhh! That guy was your boss? You must be bad people then. He would have eaten my friends if I hadn't decked him one."

Higuma grit his teeth in annoyance.

"I don't give two shits about who your friends are! They're worthless scum compared to Kuma and all he's done for our clan."

To Goku's confusion, he then proceeded to bring up a wanted poster. There was a large number of berries in bold black text located below his picture.

"See this? My head's worth 8,000,000 Berries. I'm a wanted man. I've killed fifty-six people... and I'm willing to kill again, especially an insignificant maggot like you, boy."

The monkey-tailed boldly stuck out his tongue, much to Higuma's clear infuriation.

"Nyeh! I'd like to see you try, you big bully!"

Makino gasped aloud. "Goku!"

The current leader of the Kuma Mercenary Clan clenched down his teeth and brought out his sword. He then positioned it close to Goku's face, ready to slice or stab him at any moment.

"Big mouth for such a tiny waste of space. I'd watch what you say in front of me... if you're fond of breathing." He then glanced over at the bar's wide collection of alcohol and other beverages. "But look, before you start wetting yourself in fear, I'll cut you a deal, kid. Have that bar wench sell us ten bottles of grog at half the usual price... and we'll only give you the bare minimum amount of torture to help even the score. Sound like a deal?"

In concern, Makino stood behind Goku and clutched his shoulders protectively. She, ironically enough, resembled a mama bear protecting her cub from harm.

"I'm sorry, sir. We just ran out of liquor." She said while gesturing to the Red-Hair Pirates. "I served the last of it to these gentlemen here."

"Hmm. How coincidental... and unfortunate..."

Shanks then kindly smiled and brought his own bottle of booze. There was zero ounce of fear in his expression or body language.

"I guess we drank up all the liquor. Sorry about that." He showed the bottle to Higuma. "But hey, why don't you have this? It's still unopened."

The bandit, after saying nothing in reply for a brief moment, grabbed the bottle and smashed it against Shanks' face. Makino placed a hand over her mouth in shock while Higuma's toadies chuckled sinisterly. The Red-Hair Pirates, however, stood silent.

Shanks was now drenched from head to toe with the bottle's contents. He, once again, didn't take it all that seriously.

"Oh my... What a mess..."

This action caused Goku to angrily clench his fists. He was more furious than words could even describe.

"HEY! WHY'D YOU DO THAT?!"

"What this fool deserved. One bottle of grog isn't worth anything." Higuma sneered, looking down at Shanks condescendingly. "If you even have half a brain, you'll sail away from here, so I never see you again! Got that, coward?"

Shanks ignored him and began gently picking up the damaged bottle's contents from the floor. Luffy couldn't believe what he was seeing. He didn't think his role model, even after Uta's disappearance, could stoop so low.

"Sorry about this mess, Makino. Give me a rag and I'll clean it up."

The bartender shook her head. "No, it's okay. Don't worry about it."

Annoyed, Higuma slashed his sword against some bottles along the wall and drenched Shanks' body even further. Makino shut her eyes and clutched Goku's shoulders a bit tighter in response to this moment.

"So, you like to clean? That ought to keep you busy for a while..." The mountain bandit snickered. His cronies proceeded to laugh the same way. "Now, it's time for your torture, monkey boy. Come quietly and you'll only lose a limb or two... maybe even that freakish tail of yours."

Higuma then thrust his sword forward in an attempt to slice Goku's arm, leg, or both. After pushing Makino away from him, he, with little hesitation expertly deflected this blade with the Nyoibo.

"Eh? A red stick... blocked my sword?!"

Goku then spun around his staff and powerfully jabbed Higuma in the stomach. To add even greater insult to injury, the boy additionally wacked him across the chin and sent him flying toward one of Partys Bar's nearby walls.

"HYAAAH!"

"DWAAH!" Higuma spat. The force of the impact was so great that a large, rather deep imprint was imbedded into the wall where his body hit it.

Afterwards, Goku stuck his staff into the ground and nodded in satisfaction.

"Hmph. That's what you get for messing with Shanks, dummy. And for wrecking my mom's bar too."

Try as he might, Shanks could not contain the large smile threatening to break out on his face. He was more so impressed by the faint traces of Armament Haki being imbued into the Nyoibo's surface.

This kid is really something else...

The other members of the Kuma Mercenary Clan attempted to help out their boss, but to no avail. With fresh blood trickling down his lips, Higuma stood back up and massaged his aching jaw. He wasn't used to his opponents fighting back like that.

"Well, looks like you have more balls than that so-called pirate there, brat. I respect your bravery." He then glared daggers at Goku in ever-present rage. "But being brave has its costs. There may be no grog in this village now, but once there is, we'll be back to take all that... and your life."

Goku boldly jerked a thumb at his chest.

"Bring it then! Just call for Son D. Goku and I'll be there to kick your butt as many times as I need to!"

"YEAH! You tell him, Goku!" Luffy shouted.

"Your funeral then... Son D. Goku."

Higuma and his fellow then exited Partys Bar with confident, almost bloodthirsty smirks on their faces. Once they were gone, Shanks let out a sigh of relief.

"Phew! Thought he'd never leave..."

The rest of the Red-Hair Pirates then broke out into a fit of laughter. They had, in fact, been struggling not to laugh the entire time Higuma was there.

"HAR HAR HAR! HE GOT YOU GOOD, CAP'N!" Lucky Roux chuckled.

"No surprise Goku stepped in with his Power Pole! That was mighty impressive, lad!"

Makino, however, was not so amused. Shaking with anger, she bopped Goku on the head as hard as possible. It surprisingly hurt more than one would expect from a woman her age.

"And completely stupid! Why do you always have to worry me like that, Goku?! You should know better!"

"Sorry, Mom," The boy muttered. "I just didn't like how he was talking to Shanks! He's way stronger than that jerk will ever be."

The Red Force's captain took off his straw hat and waved it like a fan.

"I'm fine, kid. It's not like I was hurt at all. Hahaha!"

"Erggh! You... YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY?!"

"Huh?"

"Big bro's right! You're a thousand times stronger than that idiot, yet... you let him make you look like a weakling! Why didn't you fight him?! Sure, they outnumbered you, and maybe they looked pretty tough, but what kind of man lets himself be treated like that, then laughs about it?! You're a disgrace to all pirates!"

"Exactly. You could have done what I did to him in seconds, Shanks! I mean, what would Uta think of you right now?!" Goku added in confusion.

Shanks paused for a moment. He didn't take either of their comments to heart and simply smirked at them.

"You'll understand when you're older, kids. Uta, no doubt, would say the same thing." He replied in a calm, almost wise tone. "He just got some grog on me. That's all. Needless killing doesn't make you a man. It's protecting what's most precious to you that does."

He then put his straw hat back on before speaking again.

"And you did just that, Goku. Higuma was after you, so it was your fight to take part in, not mine. Knowing when and when not to fight is all part of growing up."

While the nine-year-old slowly began to comprehend his point, Luffy, in contrast, acted stubborn and looked down at the floor in annoyance.

"Whatever! You're still a joke as far as pirates go!"

It was then that Goku and Luffy noticed a brown treasure chest in the corner of the bar. Inside was an unusual purple Devil Fruit with swirl-like patterns drawn into it. Both boys felt hungry enough to eat their emotions away.

Shanks and Makino were too distracted to notice what the two boys were staring at.

"That's a weird-looking fruit, but... using the Power Pole did make me hungry."

"I saw it first, big bro! I'm angry and I need it more!"

"Hey, don't be like that. We can share it!"

"No, it's mine!"

Staring each other down, both Goku and Luffy then leapt for the wooden chest. They proceeded to wrestle each other for the Devil Fruit until Luffy, surprisingly, thought fast and latched onto Goku's monkey tail.

"Shishishi! Got ya!"

Due to this action, Goku plopped down onto the floor in newfound exhaustion. He couldn't even move normally if he tried.

"T-That... was a dirty trick, Luffy..."

Smiling from ear to ear, the seven-year-old victoriously chowed down on the fruit. These loud munching noises caught the attention of Shanks, Makino, and everyone else.

"Huh? What are you kids—"

The red-haired captain's eyes widened in horror upon seeing the Devil Fruit in Luffy's hands. He stood up straight and ran towards him before it could be fully digested.

"W-WAIT, LUFFY! DON'T EAT THAT!"

"Huh? What's the big deal?"

"Did you just eat the fruit in that box?! Spit it out before it's too late!" Shanks yelled.

Snorting, Luffy ignored these orders and swallowed the rest of the fruit's contents down his throat. The Red-Hair Pirates gaped at the boy's sheer audacity in utter perplexment.

"Hmph! Why should I listen to you? You're not my role model anymore!"

"Wait, Luffy! Listen to me before it's—"

Grabbing onto Luffy's arm while he walked away caused it to stretch from one part of Partys Bar to the next. Makino placed a hand over her mouth while Shanks' shipmates either spit out their drinks or had their jaws drop low to the floor.

"Oh no! He couldn't have!"

"His arm's stretching!"

Goku's eyes practically bulged out of their sockets from shock. "EH? WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED, LUFFY?!"

"AAAAH! I DON'T KNOW! WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME?!"

Lucky Roux broke out into a nervous sweat upon seeing the empty treasure chest.

"The fruit from we took from that enemy ship... gone! Just like that!" He stammered. He then pointed at a picture of the Devil Fruit and showed it to Luffy. "You did eat that fruit, right?!"

"Yeah, I did. I eat when I'm upset and Shanks kinda pissed me off. Too bad it didn't taste all that great..."

In anger, Shanks grabbed onto the sides of Luffy's face and yelled at him.

"That was the Gum-Gum Fruit! Because you ate that Devil Fruit, you'll become a rubber man and lose the ability to swim for the rest of your entire life!"

"WHAAAAAAAAT?! NO WAY!"

"YOU DUMBASS!"

Hearing this, Goku was almost grateful that he hadn't eaten the Gum-Gum Fruit in Luffy's place. He wiped some sweat off his brow and blew out a sigh.

"Good thing I don't have one of those Devil Fruit thingies. Not being able to swim would be a pain." He said. "And make Garp-Pa pretty angry too."

Beckman quirked a brow. "Not that it'd do anything. According to Garp, you already ate the Monkey-Monkey Fruit, Model: Sarugami, right?"

The monkey-tailed boy scratched the back of his head in confusion. Even when the Vice Admiral explained it to him, he couldn't recall a day in his life where he actually came across that Zoan-type Devil Fruit.

"Huh? I did?"

The Red-Hair Pirates spit out their drinks again. Goku and Luffy really were cut from the same cloth in terms of stupidity.

"YOU FORGOT?!"

A few weeks later...

Despite his prior chagrin over not being able to swim anymore, Luffy quickly grew to love being made of rubber. It made his training with Goku and Garp a lot easier than before, even if his new proportions would still take some getting used to. It didn't do much to change his personality or past convictions, at least. If anything, the powers of the Gum-Gum Fruit increased his chances of becoming a successful pirate later on. He might even be able to increase the force of his normal punches and kicks with enough practice.

Neither he or Goku knew how Shanks got their hands on such a fruit, but much like with Uta's disappearance, such information was kept private by the Red-Hair Pirates. They had left for another voyage quite some time ago, and were getting closer to leaving Foosha Village altogether. The two boys tried their best not to think about it, however.

Instead, the both of them sat in Partys Bar and ate their meals. Makino – being observant as ever – could tell that Shanks' absence was taking a slight toll on them emotionally.

"You really miss those pirates, huh?"

Goku drank from a glass of milk and nodded. "Eh, Shanks said he'd be back soon, Mom. I just dunno how much longer him and the others we'll be staying here..."

"Tch. After the way those dumb mountain bandits humiliated them?! Not at all!" Luffy spat.

"Oh, come on, Luffy. You don't mean that. Shanks said it wasn't his fight to take part in, remember?"

The seven-year-old 'anchor' rested his chin on the bar in annoyance.

"That's the problem! I thought he was brave and tough... but he's really just a big wimp who makes bad excuses like that. Same with everyone else!"

Makino smiled whilst polishing a wine glass in her hands.

"Are you sure about that? Maybe sometimes it takes more courage not to fight."

"But a real man stands up for himself, no matter what. Big bro did just that and showed that bandit who's boss!"

Goku awkwardly scratched the back of his head. The damage to Partys Bar's wall was still being repaired as they spoke. Higuma's imprint remained visible to anyone in close proximity to it, including themselves.

"To be fair, he did end up getting away..."

"You're right. Letting me, the Terror of the Highlands, escape was the worst mistake of your life, Son D. Goku!"

To the three's shock, Higuma busted his way through the front entrance with multiple Kuma Mercenary Clan bandits in tow. He smiled in satisfaction upon seeing that there were no longer any pirates around to protect them.

"Wha..."

"You!"

"I'm here to uphold our end of the bargain, kid. Hope you didn't forget." The mountain bandit plopped himself down on a nearby seat. "Well? What're you waiting for, bar wench? We're customers! SERVE US DRINKS!"

Makino froze in place, uncertain if she should protect the boys or serve them like any normal customer. Before she could even reply, Goku and Luffy stood protectively in front of her.

"Get out of here! Makino doesn't serve scum like you!"

The nineteen-year-old bartender winced. "Luffy!"

"HAHAHAHA! I'm scum? What about that loathsome pirate? I broke a bottle over his head, and there wasn't a single word of protest. How pathetic! HAHAHAHA!" The thief chuckled with a condescending smirk on his face. "Spineless cowards like that make me sick. I would have killed him if given the chance. Ol' Kuma would do it in a heartbeat."

Hearing this remark, Luffy's suddenly exploded with anger.

"TAKE THAT BACK!" He yelled. "TAKE BACK WHAT YOU SAID ABOUT SHANKS! HE'S NOT A COWARD!"

Panicking, Makino tried her best to hold Luffy back, but to no avail. The kid was far too angry at this point to calm down.

"Luffy! Stop!"

"STOP TALKING BAD ABOUT SHANKS!"

He then, to Higuma's surprise, charged at the bandit and wound up his arm, hoping to create a punch as powerful as a pistol.

"Ahhhhh! Gum-Gum Pistol!"

He, unfortunately, failed to do so. The boy, instead, stretched his arm too early, giving Higuma the ample opportunity to grab onto it and toss him outside Partys Bar. Luffy went careening outside the door and landed on the ground with a firm, painful smack.

"Gah!"

"LUFFY!" Goku cried. He then took out his Nyoibo and stood in a fighting stance. "You jerks are gonna pay for hurting my little brother!"

Higuma, with a barely audible snort, snapped his fingers and pointing towards him.

"Take this brat down, men, but... keep him alive. I want to honor Kuma by making his demise extra slow and painful."

"Hehe. With pleasure, boss."

While some bandits followed Higuma outside, a select few brandished guns and swords as they began to corner Goku's position in the bar. The monkey-tailed child, of course, wasn't afraid of them at all.

"Duck for cover, Mom!" He cried aloud. "POWER POLE, EXTEND!"

Glowing with red energy, Goku increased the size of his bo staff and spun it around the entire room. It made direct contact with the bandits' bodies, knocking them out instantly from its sheer force alone.

"A-Amazing..." The boy's adoptive mother murmured. Her kerchief had fallen off after ducking down behind the bar, revealing short green hair underneath it.

"Go tell Mayor Woop Slap what's happening. I'm gonna help save Luffy!"

"B-But Goku! You can't just—"

Unfortunately, her adopted son, as always, had made up his mind before any arguments could be made. He bolted outside, leaving her alone to do what was asked of her.

"Please... be careful, sweetie..."

Outside, Higuma and his remaining mountain bandits beat down on Luffy's rubber body. The boy's cries of pain and anguish were music to their ears. The townspeople of Foosha Village wanted to help, but they were too afraid of being killed themselves.

"You've got a strange body, boy. Our punches and kicks aren't hurting you at all."

He pulled on Luffy's cheek, causing it to stretch and contort in a way that wasn't normal.

"Damn you! You'd better take back what you said!" The seven-year-old boy tried to punch him in the face again. "YOU JERK!"

"There sure are some weird creatures in this world. Eh, rubber boy?"

With one hand in his pocket, Higuma clutched Luffy's lips and roughly flung him across the ground. He bounced like a stone in water, causing blood to trickle down from his mouth and forehead. His front tooth seemed to be missing as well.

"Dammit! I'll make you sorry for this!"

"Maybe after I slaughter your brother, I'll sell you to a freak show. I bet they'll pay good money for you."

Undeterred by the man's taunts, Luffy grabbed a stick and charged Higuma full throttle.

"YAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

"You stubborn little... BRAT!"

The mountain bandit would have slammed a foot on Luffy's face if not for Goku blocking it with his fist. Blood spurted from the boy's knuckles, but he didn't care one bit. All he cared about, on the contrary, was beating this criminal to a bloody pulp.

"I told ya... you'd pay!"

"What?!"

Grabbing ahold of the man's foot, he used his superhuman strength to spin Higuma's body around and leave him open to another attack. He tilted his Power Pole at a certain angle, preparing to launch himself forward.

"Power Pole, Extend! HYAAAH!"

He held onto the staff as it grew and, shockingly enough, managed to knee Higuma straight in the face. The mountain bandit careened uncontrollably towards his followers and crashed into them like a set of bowling pins.

"GAAAAGH!"

Goku took advantage of this moment to help up Luffy off the ground. He smiled at him with a prominent sense of relief.

"You okay, little brother?"

"Y-Yeah... thanks, Goku..." Luffy grunted. "ERGH! SERVES THAT MOUNTAIN APE RIGHT FOR BADMOUTHING SHANKS!"

"Who are you calling ape, you little rubber-spined freak?!"

Looking over towards the Kuma Mercenary Clan, their leader began to develop a similar man-beast form to his predecessor. He grew larger and more muscular in size while develop a bear-like appearance. Even his clothes adjusted to this new form without any issue.

He narrowed his bloodshot, almost glowing yellow eyes and glared at the two boys. Fresh blood oozed from the spot where Goku struck him beforehand.

"My name is Higuma the Bear for good reason! And as the new owner of the Bear-Bear Fruit, you've done the unpardonable by attacking me. No one can save you brats now."

Goku grimaced. He had the same Devil Fruit as that bear thief from several months ago. It was something he didn't think would be possible until now.

"Whatever. I beat one bear already. Another one is no problem at all!"

Higuma, unlike Kuma, got on all fours and held his sword tightly in one paw.

"It's too late for mercy now. I'M GOING TO KILL YOU! GRAAAAGH!"

Before he could commence his next attack, Makino and Woop Slap appeared with looks of horror on their faces. They expected to see a murderous bandit, not an actual monster.

"I-Is that—"

"LEAVE THOSE BOYS ALONE! We had no intention of ever fighting you people! I don't know what they did to make you hate them so much, but if it's money you want, you'll get it! Just don't hurt them!" Woop Slap cried out in desperation. "Have some common decency!"

Luffy was surprised by the man's words. "Mayor..."

Higuma lowly snarled in his bear form. The mayor's pleas meant less than nothing to him. Back at Mt. Corvo, showing sympathy for a victim's plight was beyond pathetic.

"Nice try, old geezer, but Son D. Goku struck me more than once thus far. Fool me once, shame on him. Fool me twice, shame on me. And fool me three times, he's as good as dead." The bandit said. "It's been that way since he first screwed with the Kuma Mercenary Clan! Nothing can rectify that error in judgement!"

At incredibly fast speeds, Higuma leapt toward the two boys with his sword wound up, ready to strike down any moment now.

Makino gasped. "GOKU! LUFFY!"

"PLEASE! FORGIVE THEM!"

The Bear-Bear Fruit-user then, all of a sudden, stopped in place. A cold chill went down his spine due to some unforeseen force coming from behind Makino and Woop Slap. He didn't know what it was, but this power certainly felt far stronger than his own by a large margin.

"Nobody came to greet us at the harbor. I was wondering what was going on..."

Higuma's eyes widened upon seeing Shanks appear with a black cloak wrapped around his shoulders. He smiled, yet was secretly exerting a bit of Conqueror's Haki without anyone else's awareness besides, of course, the mountain bandit in question. Even Goku couldn't detect it all that easily.

"Shanks! You're back!" Luffy happily shouted.

"So, those mountain bandits came back again, huh? Looks like their leader had a makeover of sorts."

Goku lightly tugged on Shanks' cape and pointed over at Higuma's body.

"He has the Bear-Bear Fruit! The Kuma guy I beat had the same thing, yet he died! How did this guy get it too?!"

The redhead captain blinked a few times before stroking his chin in thought.

"Hm. Well, it is possible for a Devil Fruit to reappear whenever their original user dies. These guys must have found it somewhere near Kuma's corpse."

"Wow, really?! I didn't know..."

Regaining his lost composure, Higuma burned figurative holes into the pirate captain's head. He wasn't expecting him to interfere like this.

"I don't know what you pirates want, but you'd better back off before you get hurt. Come any closer or we'll have to kill you cowards..."

"Funny. I should be saying that to you." Shanks said.

A mountain bandit then boldly walked up to him and pointed a gun at his head.

"Didn't you hear him? Don't come any closer... or I'll blow your head off! Hahaha!"

"I don't know. Didn't you hear my warning?"

Suddenly, Lucky Roux emerged from behind Shanks and shot the bandit's head with his own pistol. He ate from a slab of meat while doing so, showing that typical pirates weren't opposed to killing at all.

Higuma and his bandits were stunned speechless. One of their own was brutally murdered within seconds, yet they could do nothing to stop it from happening.

"Wha—"

"Like I said, don't come any closer to these boys... or there will be hell to pay." Shanks glowered. "Look, you can pour drinks on me, you can throw food at me...you can even spit on me. I'll just laugh that stuff off, but as a pirate – good reason or not – nobody hurts those who are friends of mine!"

Goku's eye lit up in response to this statement. He perfectly lined up with the advice Shanks gave him and Luffy after Higuma left Partys Bar.

He's fighting to... protect those precious to him!

Higuma guffawed, showing off his sharp teeth and longer tongue.

"HAHAHA! Nice speech! Very intimidating!" He said, pointing at them accusatively with one claw. "You pirates spend your time floating around in your little ships. And you think you can stand up to the Kuma Mercenary Clan?! Don't make me laugh! Kill them!"

The remaining mountain bandits then charged the Red-Hair Pirates all at once.

"ARRGGGH! DIE!"

Benn Beckman brought out his rifle and frowned.

"Cap'n... I'll take care of this."

"Not if I do it first, Beckman!" Goku chuckled.

Within moments, Goku and Beckman used their respective weapons to beat each bandit senseless. The boy smacked them with his Nyoibo while Beckman either burned their faces with his cigarette or used his rifle like a baseball bat. In any case, both succeeded in leaving Higuma completely defenseless and unguarded.

Beckman then lit another cigarette and smirked at his young, monkey-tailed friend.

"Nice work, mama's boy."

"Thanks... for the first part, anyway. Hehe."

Afterwards, Shanks' first mate cocked his rifle and aimed it at the still-standing Higuma.

"You were saying something about mountain bandits and pirates? If you wanna fight us, you better bring a battleship." Beckman muttered before jerking a thumb at Goku. "Especially if you're seeking to kill our little one-man army here."

Luffy was awestruck by Beckman's strength in comparison to his brother's.

"Wow, he's strong!"

"Wow..." Makino whispered.

"But... But the brat started it! He killed our leader! He didn't need to go that far!"

"None of that matters when I'm the one finishing it. There is a price on your head, isn't there?"

Breaking out into a nervous sweat, Higuma suddenly threw a smoke bomb on the ground. The ensuing chaos allowed him to pounce on Luffy and hurriedly flee with said rubber boy in tow.

"C'mere, kid!"

"HEY! LET GO!"

Once they were gone, it took a while for Goku, Shanks, and the others to regain their lost vision. They, as expected, freaked out in response to Luffy's kidnapping.

"Oh shoot! That jerk ran off with my little brother!"

"Dammit! I let him escape! We've gotta save Luffy!" Shanks screamed.

"Calm down, Captain! We'll all go out and look for him! We'll find him!" Lucky Roux assured him.

"No need, Lucky Roux. I'll find him in no time."

Closing his eyes, Goku took a moment to concentrate. He could hear the voices of both Luffy and Higuma somewhere in the distance. They sounded faint, but both were undoubtedly coming from the ocean near Dawn Island.

He then, despite Makino and Woop Slap's protests, extended the Nyoibo's size and used it like a pole vault. This caused him to slingshot himself straight across the sky at near- immeasurable speeds.

"I'M COMMMMING, LUFFFFY!"

The Red-Hair Pirates looked oddly impressed by this strange spectacle. Turns out the kid, even at nine-years-old, had a knack for thinking outside the box.

"Hmm. That kid really is something else."

"I better go after them!" Shanks replied.

Meanwhile, Higuma and Luffy were sailing away from Dawn Island in a small wooden boat. His appearance as a bear, of course, was rather distracting, but he could still remain inconspicuous for a short while. He would just need to dispose of this brat and his brother without getting caught.

"HAHAHAHA! What a brilliant escape! And nobody would ever expect a mountain bandit to hide out at sea!" Higuma the Bear chuckled. He then glared down at Luffy's face with little care. "I brought you along as bait, but now that Goku's coming for you, regardless, you've outlived your usefulness! I've already killed fifty-six people who were foolish enough to make me mad; what's one more?"

"Erggh! Die!" Luffy screamed in an attempt to punch him a third and final time. The mountain bandit dodged said attack and slashed his arm, causing some blood to burst forth from the wound.

"AAAAGH!"

"Tsk tsk. Goodbye, you—" Higuma's ear perked up. "Hm? What's that noise?"

Squinting his eyes, the man-turned-bear caught sight of a familiar speck in the distance. It was none other than Goku rocketing towards them like some kind of fast, heat-seeking missile. Gohan's blue fedora struggled to hang onto his neck as his spiky black hair trailed backward in the wind.

Luffy clutched his arm and beamed happily. "Goku!"

"I-Impossible!"

"LUUUUUFFFFFFFY!"

Unfortunately for him, Higuma turned around at the worst possible moment. Goku's head powerfully slammed into his stomach, causing an indescribable amount of pain to surge through the thief's body. He couldn't even stand up any longer, and hacked up a sizable clump of blood from his mouth in response.

"DWAAAAAH! Y-YOU DAMN BRAT!"

The force of their collision, however, also capsized the little boat and sent all three passengers flying into the water. While Goku could swim, the fatigue from smashing into Higuma's stomach drained him of his energy and left him nearly exhausted. The bandit and Luffy, on the other hand, couldn't swim at all due to their respective Devil Fruits.

"N-No! What gives?! Why can't I swim? Did Kuma's fruit—"

A looming shadow then emerged from the bottom of the ocean. It was a massive eel-like Sea King with brown, scaly skin and blue fins. Its eyes were bloodred and had pupils that narrowed into slits when furious. This legendary sea monster was known to the inhabitants of Dawn Island as The Lord of the Coast.

And it has eaten many people foolish enough to tread its waters. Higuma, much to his growing despair, would be no exception.

"AAH! GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

The Lord of the Coast proceeded to chomp down on Higuma and the remains of his boat, killing him instantly. Catching a glimpse of both Goku and Luffy, it swam towards them in a state of blind fury.

"L-Luffy... no..." The monkey-tailed murmured in exhaustion.

"YAAAH! SOMEBODY HELP US! YAAAAAAH!"

The two tried their best to huddle close together before The Lord of Coast made its move. As the Type-C Sea King attempted to swallow them whole, Shanks miraculously brought both boys out of harm's way. This action, sadly, would deal a significant cost to his body. He just didn't have enough to reach Luffy or Goku before the brown serpent clamped its jaws shut.

"SHANKS!"

The pirate captain was done messing around for that reason. He dangerously narrowed his eyes and stared the Lord of the Coast down without a single ounce of fear present.

"Get out of here!"

The eel-like Neptunian didn't take Shanks' demand seriously at first, but thanks to the man's intimidating aura and fierce glare, it decided to run away. Even this particular sea creature was smart enough to avoid death at all costs.

After that, everything was quiet in the ocean. All that could be heard were Luffy's cries of despair and Goku's faint breathing.

"Good job taking down that bandit, Goku. I'm proud of you." The pirate captain said with a smile. "And Makino told me you stood up for me at the bar, Luffy. Thanks for that."

Taking a look at Shanks' body, Goku flinched and felt small tears brimming in his eyes.

"W-Why are you smiling? Your... your..."

Hey, stop crying, boys! You're tough guys, remember?"

"B-But... Shanks... WHAT ABOUT YOUR ARM?!"

As Luffy stated, there was now a bloody stump where Shank' left arm used to be. He, nevertheless, endured this significant loss with a wide smile and held the two brothers close to him.

"It's a small price to pay. Just an arm. I'm just glad both of you are okay."

Goku choked back his own tears. "S-Shanks!"

"WAAAAAAAAAH! WAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAHHH!"

It was that day Luffy and Goku learned what a pirate's life could really be like. That included its positives... and its many negatives. Whether they'd, one day, be ready for the dangers of the sea was up to them.

They would just need to keep getting stronger and, hopefully with time, become as great of a pirate as Shanks was.

Many hours later...

It took some time for Makino to patch up Shanks' wound, but as soon as he recovered, the Red-Hair Pirates made preparations to set sail. They said their goodbyes to the villagers, gathered a few additional supplies, and, overall, took some time to unwind before setting off on another adventure. This next expedition, after all, would be their last near or on Dawn Island.

Goku and Luffy didn't how to react to Shanks' departure. Nonetheless, they tried to contain their own emotions as much as possible when in his company.

"So... this is really it, huh?" The monkey-tailed boy asked.

"You won't be coming back to the village after this voyage?" Luffy continued.

Shanks covered his missing arm underneath a black cape and took a deep breath.

"That's right. We've been using this harbor as a base of operations for a long time. Maybe too long. Are you sad?"

"Well, maybe not as sad as when Uta disappeared, but... yeah, a little. But I won't ask you to take me with you!" Luffy proclaimed with a content smile on his face. "I still want me and Goku to become pirates on our own... with our own crews, ships, and everything! It'll be awesome!"

Shanks playfully stuck out his tongue.

"Nyah! Maybe Goku has a chance, but not you. You're still too little. There's no way you can become a pirate!"

"Oh yes, I will! One day, I'll have a ship and crew better than yours! And we'll have the biggest hoard of treasure in the world! Even big bro won't be able to compete!" The seven-year-old boy replied with the utmost confidence and determination. "Since I won't be just any ordinary pirate... I'M GONNA BE KING OF THE PIRATES!"

"Sounds like a pretty big challenge, Luffy. Hehe." Goku laughed.

Shanks and the Red-Hair Pirates also regarded Luffy's ambitious dream the same way. Despite his small size, they could tell the boy meant every word.

"Hmm... you're gonna be better than us, huh? Well then..."

Shanks caught everyone by surprise and placed his famous straw hat atop Luffy's head. The boy hid his bitter, melancholic tears behind this yellow hat's shadow.

"Do me a favor... and keep this hat for me?" The Red-Hair Pirates' captain requested. "This hat means a lot to me. Promise that you'll give it back to me someday... when you've become a great pirate."

Luffy sniffled. "O-Okay... I will!"

After smiling back at him one last time, Shanks glanced over at Goku with just as much confidence and enthusiasm.

"You too, kid. Take care of Luffy while I'm gone and... become the most powerful pirate this world's ever seen. If anyone can do it, I sure as hell know you can. You've proven yourself time and time again." The redheaded pirate exclaimed. "All you'll need to do now is show that same fighting spirit... to the entire world. Got it?"

"Yup! I won't let you down, Shanks!"

Casually waving both boys goodbye while walking away, he boarded the Red Force and met up with Beckman on deck.

"I tell you what. Those kids are gonna make something of themselves one day."

Shanks closed both eyes and felt the wind brush past his face.

"Yeah... they'll be a very troublesome duo in the future. Makes me wonder how far they'll really go... in both the Grand Line...and the New World..."

With that, the Red-Hair Pirates' Jolly Roger hung high as they finally parted from Foosha Village on good terms. It would be a long time before they'd ever see it or Dawn Island itself again.

"WEIGH THE ANCHOR! RAISE THE SAILS! WE'RE OFF WITH THE TIDE!"

Luffy and Goku continued to watch Shanks' ship leave until it was nothing, but an invisible speck in the horizon. They then sighed in disappointment and sadness.

"Wonder when we'll see him again..."

"At least you have Shanks' straw hat to remember him by." Goku then placed Gohan's blue fedora atop his head again. "Now, we both have that in common. Hehe."

"Guess so... but mine is better! Shishishi!"

The monkey-tailed laughed along with him. "Have to admit, it does look pretty good on you, Luffy. Maybe even better than it does on Shanks."

"Eh, I wouldn't go that far. I still need to get stronger first! And then I'll be great enough for this straw hat!"

As they watched the Sun shine down on Foosha Village, Goku placed a single fist in front of Luffy and smiled from ear to ear.

"That's settled then. Let's keep training ourselves silly until we're both worthy of wearing our hats. Sound like a plan, little bro?"

Luffy eagerly nodded and bumped fists with the older boy.

"Sure! We'll both be great pirates in no time, big bro!"

"You said it! Hehe!"

Both of their stomachs then made loud, gurgling noises in unison. It was all the indication they needed to know that lunch was ready.

"We can't train on an empty stomach, though, so let's eat!"

"MEAT!"

Together, the two brothers scurried back to Partys Bar to eat some food with Makino. Years and years would then continue to pass until finally, it'd be time for Goku to leave Foosha Village at seventeen-years-old. That would mark the day his adventures as a pirate would officially begin.

Eight years later... in 1520...

A lot had changed since Shanks and his crew left Dawn Island almost eight years prior. For one, Garp decided to have Curly Dadan raise Luffy for training purposes while Goku, in contrast, stayed behind with Makino at Partys Bar. This further strengthened their bond together as mother and son, even if the boy still felt a bit uncomfortable with how overprotective she could be. There were even times where she yelled at him for training on his own the entire day. Those moments, however, still weren't enough to deter Goku from appreciating her affection when she showed it. He'd do anything in his power to keep her safe, in fact, and absolutely adored the meals she cooked for him each day.

Goku's bond with the two boys, Ace and Sabo, also improved significantly with time. The four kids, including Luffy, agreed to become 'sake brothers' in order to express their loyalty to each other and strengthen their resolve to become great pirates together. For a while, the four brothers would get into all sorts of big trouble with one another. They'd especially drive Dadan and Garp off the wall with their goofy, mischievous antics. Sabo was the worst in that aspect by far, even with his past as a former Goa Kingdom aristocrat in mind.

Unfortunately, those days wouldn't last. Sabo tried sailing off to sea on his own and was blasted to smithereens by a Celestial Dragon as a result. There was no sign of the body, yet Goku, Luffy, and Ace were all completely devasted by their brother's loss. It was just like the situation with Uta, but somehow, even worse by comparison.

All they could do to cope with this tragic loss was continuing to follow in his footsteps as future pirates. Ace, at seventeen, had left Dawn Island in 1519 to do just that and, now, it was Goku's turn.

He had eaten, slept, and fought for eleven long years on this island. Next to Mt. Paozu, it was the only real home he knew. It'd be hard to just leave it behind like this, but in the end, all successful pirates set off on their own journeys alone. He, as Vice Admiral Son D. Gohan's grandson, should be no different. Change was a part of growing up, after all.

"Welp, guess it's time to go."

At seventeen-years-old, Goku was a lot taller and more muscular than his younger self. He had the same basic facial features, but unlike before, managed to wear his grandfather's blue fedora without any noticeable issues. His main outfit comprised of a white dress shirt with rolled up sleeves and an brownish orange vest that accentuated his athletic physique. Wrapped around his waist was blue fabric tied down like a belt, which, at times, covered his monkey tail from certain people. He also had matching blue wristbands on each arm that functioned the same way. His pants, meanwhile, were black and were paired with similarly colored shoes. Blue fabric was also wrapped around the portions of his legs above them.

Once he secured the Nyoibo's holster on his back, the former boy – now man – with a monkey tail was about ready to become a pirate. He smiled at himself and took a good look at the Four-Star Ball left behind by his grandpa. Even years later, he still didn't know much about what it was or where it came from. Neither Garp or Shank were much help in that regard, unfortunately.

Nevertheless, he tightly clutched the orange ball in his hand, thinking about his grandpa and all that he achieved in his life as a marine. Being 'The God of the Marines' was a tough act to follow, but as a pirate, he intended to become stronger than Gohan ever was. Not being chained down by the World Government definitely gave him that extra advantage.

And deep down, he understood that's what his grandpa wanted for him. He wasn't sure Garp, Sengoku, or Tsuru would feel the same way, however. The man supposed he'd deal with that during his eventual reunion with those three. Considering how powerful and important they were, hopefully that wouldn't happen anytime soon.

Before leaving, he took a moment to pray to this Four-Star Ball. It was a pastime he got used to doing as a kid.

Don't worry, Grandpa. I'll make you proud of me. I promise...

Goku, with an eager smile on his face, then tipped his fedora upward and stood up straight. At the doors to Partys Bar, he saw a twenty-seven-year-old Makino standing there. She was wearing a white T-shirt with blue sleeves that read 'PARTYS BAR' on the front, and a mint green dress. Her kerchief was also yellow that day, which went with her hair's usual green hue.

She tried to act happy for her adopted son, but it was difficult to do so. An overwhelming feeling of sadness was washing over her, and she couldn't understand why. She never acted this way when Ace left one year ago.

"It's true then. You're really leaving, hm?"

"Well, I am seventeen now, Mom. That was kind of the deal I made with my brothers." Goku pointed out. He sighed a little thinking about Sabo's unfortunate fate. "Ace went on his own last time, so it's my turn. I've been waiting for this moment a long time. You know that."

Makino's smile is replaced with a deep frown. Her lip quivers, remembering all the times she cooked meals for Goku as a little boy or put him to sleep. He, to an even greater extent than Luffy, brought a sense of joy to her life that could never be replaced. It was hard to believe such moments were long past them now.

"Of course I know that! Your dream was always to become a pirate... and you're about to walk out this door to achieve it." Tears start to build up in the bartender's eyes. "I-I just... thought I'd be more prepared to say... goodbye..."

Goku was a bit surprised. By comparison, Makino was happy for Ace when he left Dawn Island behind. What made his departure so different?

"Mom... are you okay?"

"N-No... I mean, I want to be okay, but I can't help it! Y-Your... my son, Goku. And the world out there... is such a dangerous place that there's a chance you won't come back... and... and... I'll never—"

The young man immediately pulled her into a soft embrace.

"And you'll always be my mom, Makino. I know being a pirate will be dangerous sometimes, but... I'm pretty much used to all that stuff. I have enough strength to take care of myself." Goku calmly assured her. "So don't worry about a thing, Mom. I'll come back to you someday... whenever I finish sailing across the world, that is. Hehe!"

Makino felt a little better hearing these words. It still didn't stop her from worrying about him, but that kind of behavior came with being a parent. She hugged him one last time and lightly kissed him on the cheek.

"Well, wherever you end up going, just know that your mother will be thinking about you every day, Goku. And... she loves you so much."

"Okay. I love you too, Mom." The monkey-tailed man then came to a sudden realization and cried comical tears. "Oh man. I'm gonna miss your delicious cooking too..."

"Don't worry. I made you some spare lunches just in case." Makino giggled in amusement.

"Seriously?! Alright! You're the best, Mom!"

The bartender playfully stuck out her tongue and winked.

"Teehee. I know I am."

After he finished packing these meals and other miscellaneous items, Goku was given a small boat to start off with. It was a wooden vessel with a single sail and some paddles to move around with. It would definitely work as a placeholder for whatever ship him and his crew ended up owning in the future.

He tossed his backpack into it and nodded affirmatively. That was when he locked eyes with a taller fifteen-year-old Luffy. Still wearing Shanks' straw hat like before, he wore a red tank-top with yellow buttons, blue shorts that were slightly rolled up, and brown sandals. He still didn't quite reach Goku's height, but was getting close to it.

"I bet you're excited, big bro! Your training with Gramps is going to pay off and then some! Shishishi!"

Goku placed a hand over his blue fedora and laughed.

"You bet I am, little brother. I can't wait to see what else is out there." He then looked around the harbor in confusion. "By the way, where's Dadan? Did she not want to see me off?"

"Nope! She said something about her having a soft spot for you, so saying goodbye in-person wouldn't be necessary... I think."

Goku didn't buy that explanation, but decided to smile about it, anyway. Dogra, after all, told him she was bawling her eyes out when Ace left.

"Sounds like Dadan, alright. Well, tell her 'I'll miss her' when you can, Luffy."

"Hehe. Will do. Sure she'll be happy to hear that."

Before he could fully step onto his boat, Makino gave Goku one last, affectionate hug. Unfortunately, it was far longer and tighter than he expected it to be.

"Come on, Mom. You can let me go now. Everyone's watching..."

The bartender sniffled and tried to hold back her tears, but couldn't. When hugging him for dear life like this, it was too difficult not to picture Goku as the sweet, chubby little boy he used to be.

"Just a little longer, okay?"

"Mom..."

Makino then sighed in disappointment and let go her son while rubbing both eyes. This gave him an actual chance to breathe again.

"Promise you'll write letters to me every day. I'd like to know where you are, even if it's the same place for an extended period of time. It'll make me worry less."

Woop Slap listened in on this conversation with a few other Foosha Village townspeople. He crossed his arms with a look of displeasure on his face.

"Hard not to worry when he's bringing great shame to the village as a pirate..."

Makino deadpanned. "Not what I meant by that, Mayor."

Goku blushed a bit in embarrassment. He could tell Luffy was getting a kick out of Makino's overbearing nature, much to his slight displeasure.

"Well, I don't know about every day, but I'll... I'll try to write you when I can, Mom. Supplies are kinda limited in the middle of the sea, you know? Hehehe!"

Makino let out another small sigh before grinning.

"As long I know you're safe, that's all that matters to me."

Luffy snorted in amusement. "Shishishi! Some things never change. You may look different, Goku, but you're still just as much as mama's boy as you were before."

Goku let out an audible groan.

"Aw, man. Lay off, would ya?"

Rolling his eyes, he gave Makino a small kiss on the cheek and smiled.

"Thank you for everything, Mom. I love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart."

With those last farewells over and done with, Goku hopped into his first boat. He stood confidently inside it, giving Luffy a thumbs up.

"Take care of everyone while I'm gone, okay, Luffy?"

"You can count on me, big bro. These next two years will be smoothing sailing from here on out. Hehe."

"Well, don't talk about sailing just yet. I'm about to head out."

Hoping Luffy didn't jinx him, Goku moved his boat away from Foosha Village's dock and began to leave. The start of this new adventure brought back memories of the people he, unfortunately, lost over these past few years. One was unquestionably dead while the other two's fates were a mystery to him.

Grandpa... Uta... Sabo... wherever you three are, I'm doing this all for you. I won't let you guys down.

Smiling at the thought of their faces in his head, Goku took one last look at Foosha Village's departing form. He then held in his breath for a moment before letting it out as one loud yell.

"BYEEEEEE, EVERYBODY! SEE YA LATER!"

Apart from an irate Woop Slap, the denizens of Foosha Village and members of the Dadan Family – excluding Dadan herself, of course – all bade Goku farewell. Makino and Luffy, obviously, were taking his departure the hardest, but they didn't let it show.

"Take care, sweetie! Remember what I said!"

"Wait for me, big bro! In two years, we'll meet together at sea with our own pirate crews! Just like we promised!" Luffy shouted.

"I'll hold you to that promise, little bro! Keep getting stronger and work on perfecting the Gum-Gum Pistol!"

Hearing this, the rubber boy started to break down. "Y-You... got it..."

The two boys then start to both tear up with ugly looks on their faces. Memories of their time spent together came flooding back in one single moment. Despite their alternate paths as pirates, they would always be brothers no matter what.

"GOKUUUUUUU!"

"LUFFFFFFFYYYY!"

Concealing their tears through each respective hat, Goku and Luffy look at each other one last time before shouting one final goodbye in unison.

"TAKE CARE!"

No more tears could be shed from that point onward. Parting from Foosha Village for good this time, Goku beamed from ear to ear and clenched his fists together in excitement. The possibilities for him were now, in more ways than one, endless.

"Gentle breeze... Not a cloud in the sky..." He muttered to himself. "It's the perfect day to set off to sea!"

Goku then pulls out his Nyoibo, expertly spins it around, and poses with it by his side. He had an eager, almost confident smirk on his face.

"Time for me... to become the strongest pirate in the entire world!"

From then on, a new, hopeful light would be shone on Son D. Goku's destiny. Where his next destination would be was anyone's guess at this point. It would, no doubt, end up being a great adventure, at least.

*And that's the end of Chapter 4! It was mainly an adaptation of One Piece Chapter 1 (with some elements from the anime/manga versions since they're a bit different from one another), so hope things didn't feel too same-ish here and there. The main changes came from having Higuma be related to the Bear Thief that Goku killed in Chapter 3, which I thought was a nice touch due to Higuma's name translating to "Brown Bear" in Japanese. I also tried to make Goku a bit more active some of the action scenes this time around. More of that stuff will come in later chapters.

Goku's adult design for the pre-timeskip (as a 17-19-year-old), by the way, is based on Sanji's early concept art. That early design had elements of both Sanji and Luffy put into it, so I thought their clothes worked well with Goku. You can look up 'One Piece Beta Designs' if you want to check them out. Nami's early design with the giant axe will be my inspiration for Bulma's look too.

But anyway, not that Chapters 1-4 are over and done with, the main story will now finally begin. Goku's journey will start with him rescuing Turtle and being led to Kame House in Chapter 5, so I'm looking forward to writing my One Piece version of Roshi. He'll have a few notable differences from his canon counterpart here and there.

Until that chapter releases, let me know what you think. It should be posted a lot faster than this one, I think.

P.S. If you're wondering who Goku's pairings are, these are the four main ones I have so far:

Robin

Hancock

Nami

Vivi

TBA (To be revealed later... )

There will be a little more than that, but Uta is not one of them. She'll be Luffy's main love interest in this story.

Chapter Text

Hey, everyone. Just wanted to leave this quick message as an apology for not posting any new chapters in a while. With me being 25 now, I, unfortunately, don't have as much time to write as I used to and have other things going in my personal life too. I know that's not an entirely a good excuse or anything, but believe me, I'm not giving up on any of my stories. 

Starting in July, I'll be dedicating more of my free time to writing and posting new updates. This includes my original story, Spell Casters - which I continue to come up with new ideas for on a daily basis - and, of course, my crossover fanfics, including Goku and the Olympians. I hope you'll look forward to new chapters once I get around to posting them, in spite of the longer-than-intended hiatus as I mentioned above. 

Thanks to everyone who continues to read and support my work as well. Your feedback, whether positive or negative, means the world to me. Feel free to post any questions you have in the comment section for this post too. Consider this a sort of Q/A as well if that's something you guys are interested in. 

Hope all of you are doing well and enjoy the rest of your summer. Doodleboy out. 

P.S. I recently got a PS5 in March, so that's also taken up some of my free time outside of work. I'm enjoying it quite a bit and it's helped me come up with new story ideas. :) 

Additionally, this post will be deleted once a new chapter is written in its place. Just wanted to let you know.