Chapter 1: The Pirate King

Gold Roger. The Pirate King. The only person who conquered the Grand Line and found the One Piece. Just before his death, Roger proclaimed that if anyone were to find the legendary treasure, it would be theirs for the taking.

Spurred by his words, pirates quickly formed and sailed towards the Grand Line, eager to find the Pirate King's treasure. This resulted in what is currently known as 'The Great Age of Pirates'.

In what was supposed to be the end of piracy, it instead got a jump in popularity instead. Men left homes, women slaughtered, and children orphaned. No one was safe from what happened during this age, not even the coats of justice were exempt.

While the war continued on all fronts, all that was left was destruction. Cities were destroyed, and villages were razed with nowhere to go but empty fields of death.

Hell has come loose over the world and no one can stop the onslaught that would follow.

Well, maybe one person can.

___

(West Blue, Sundrew Town)

It has been one year since the execution of Gold Roger. The seas were restless, pirates filled every land and the Marines were stretched thin. Despite boasting the largest soldier population on the planet with people enlisting every day, resources were constantly scarce to deal with the pirate threat.

As a result, poor or weak villages were left to their own. With no one to protect them from the looming threats of the ocean.

Despite this, people still tried to move on with their lives. Working to the brim and earning money to survive in the new age. Constantly praying that they would be safe and no pirates would raid their town.

Unfortunately, pirates appeared.

No one was spared in the raid that happened. Men were shot down, women were raped for pleasure, and all remaining food, water, and money were stolen by the filth of the sea.

Most would call this action disgusting. But in the new age, this was everyday news so nobody cared for the people that lived here.

Why would they? As long as pirates don't raid their villages, they move on without a care.

After the pirates left, the village was left in shambles. The buildings were raved and some were destroyed. Nothing was left. Corpses littered the street, as well as broken weaponry and steel musket balls.

And so, the village of Sundrew was no more. Its inhabitants were killed by the Forked Pirates, who would later be killed by a stronger pirate crew in the Grand Line.

And our story begins here, as the only survivor of the village who was protected in the basement of a house. Who was knocked out by the fire and smoke when pirates burned it down. Who was thought to be dead by suffocation.

Has now lived.

___

CREAAK...

Underneath a burned house, a trap door opened. A small hand came out of the hole and pulled itself up with its diminutive strength. The hand belonged to one of the many kids who were born in the destroyed village.

As the kid climbed out of the trap door of his house, the kid revealed himself to be a boy no younger than 4 years old.

He has steel-gray hair that remains frazzled from the heat with emerald eyes looking around slowly. Despite the burning embers on the ground, the boy took no note of it and continued his investigations.

'Where... am I? What is this place?' The boy thought, appearing in a daze of sorts. 'What happened to this place? It looked like it was razed to the ground.'

As he continued to walk through the burnt remains of the village, the boy came across a harrowing sight. Dozens of bodies are at the center, all burnt and charred black. His green eyes widened in shock and fear at the sight, especially when he took note of the various injuries on their charred skeletons.

'Wh-what happened to these people? They look like they were murdered before being set on fire. What the hell happened here?'

Determined for answers, the boy continued searching. Being careful of his surroundings, should the building collapse on top of him, the grey-haired boy searched nearby for any clues as to what had happened.

Until he saw something odd beneath the rubble of a large house. The fire had long since been extinguished and allowed the boy to pick apart the destruction with his small hands safely.

*Brush, brush...*

What he saw surprised him. It was a black piece of cloth with the signature Jolly Roger for pirates. It looked a little different than what he knew but there is no denying the skull and crossbones look.

'Why is there a pirate flag here? Did pirates live here? Were we raided by pirat-' "GAH!" As the grey-haired boy strung his thoughts together, a great wave of pain flowed into his mind. A dam suddenly burst forth repressed memories that allowed him to view what had truly happened that night.

That night: Pirates attacked.

{Kill all and take all!}

{No mercy! No mercy!}

{No! Have mercy!}

{Stop this! Please!}

{DAD!}

{What a joke you were...}

{NO! Don't leave me! Don't leave me here!}

{Burn down their house! Burn it all down!}

{Mom! Don't go!}

{I love you, Felix. with all my heart. Be well, my son.}

"AAAAAAAHHHH!!!" The repressed pain of it all, the shock that came after, and the emotions he felt all took too much energy for the young boy to handle and passed out in the middle of the road.

___

Night had settled in the village, yet no fire or light was made. Only the light from the moon made it possible to see. And what we saw, is a massive gravesite just nearby from the remains of what was once Sundrew Village. Graves for nearly every village that was killed by the pirates who ransacked their entire livelihood and left without a care in the world.

The one who dug those graves for the lost and anguished souls was none other than Felix, the grey-haired green-eyed boy who cried all night the day his family was murdered.

He had just finished pilling on the dirt on the makeshift coffin for his deceased mother and burned father. His eyes were devoid of life and his hair was drenched with ash and dried blood.

Felix simply stared at the two gravesites of his parents. He didn't know what to do next, other than to grieve for the loss of his family as well as the villagers who treated them nicely as a kid.

"Mom, Dad. I..." Felix felt his throat swelling up. What could he tell his parents? What should he tell his parents? The answer was nothing short but a simple: "I love you."

That night, Felix slept near the graves. The nightly wind blew by him, yet Niko was filled with the warmth of sleeping near his parents. For the last time in his life.

It was at this moment that something odd happened to Niko. Not physically or mentally, but spiritually. The young boy didn't understand this feeling but what he didn't know was that from this moment forward.

The birth of the Devil Slayer had just been born.

___

["Hey kid."] Felix stirred in his sleep, unwanting to wake up. ["Kid, wake up."]

The grey-haired child ignored the voice and continued to sleep. And that proved to be a mistake.

["WAKE THE FUCK UP!"]

"Ahhh!" Now awake and startled, Felix spun in fear to who was near him only to find no one at all. "Did... did he leave? Was it a dream?"

["Nope it's real, kid."] "Ahh!" ["Calm down already. Jeez, first thing in the morning and you are already screaming like a banshee."]

Felix couldn't understand what was happening. A disembodied voice was talking to him and no one was nearby. What is going on?

["Don't know what to tell you, kid. I'm in the same boat as you are right now."] Felix replied back. "What do you mean? Who are you? What are you?"

["Let me answer in reverse. I am a Guide for you. I don't know my name. And I also don't know what the hell happened to me or why I am like this. So let's get this out of the way and start this shit."]

Before Felix could reply, a pop-up screen appeared before him. The brightly colored screen made him look to see something odd.

[Devil Slayer Template: 5%]

"Wha- what is this?" Felix muttered to himself. "What's going on?"

["Short answer. Congrats, kid. You have been chosen as a user for the Devil Slayer System. Complete the tasks I give you and receive power in return."]

"And the long answer?"

["Nah, too lazy. Now, I hope you don't mind me poking around in the old memory hole and noticing that hate for pirates."]

Felix flinched at hearing that name. That familiar hate began bubbling within him and clenched his fist tightly. "What about it?"

["That's good. This means you have a goal and a reason to get stronger. Remember that and it will keep you straight on your path. Now, I don't know much about myself but what I do know is how to make yourself stronger. I'm basically your life trainer right now."]

"A what? No, never mind that. You said you could make me stronger. How?" Felix wanted revenge. He wanted revenge against all pirates that murder and rape. No one shall suffer the same fate he had. Not one child.

Felix doesn't know why but he can tell this mysterious man gave a wicked grin. ["That's easy. All you have to do is follow these simple steps."]

Something appeared on the screen before Felix as he took a gander.

[Becoming a Devil Hunter.]

[Devils are let loose in the world and are wreaking havoc. Which means business is at an all-time high demand right now. Train your body to ungodly levels and enact your revenge against demon scum.]

[750 Push-Ups]

[750 Pull-Ups]

[750 Punches]

[750 Kicks]

[3K Run: 0/3000]

Felix wasn't very bright but he knew how to count up to the hundreds and dreaded the list before him. "Wha... WHAT IS THIS?!"

["That, my boy, is the training regimen you will follow for the rest of your life until I determine that you are strong enough to not care about it anymore. Since you are still young, I have made the deadline to only 1 month. Complete these tasks and you will receive quite the reward. If not, then..."]

"Then what?" Felix didn't receive a reply back. Which only added to more fear of the daunting task. "... I'm not gonna like it if I don't finish it, aren't I?"

["Smart, kid. Best to do them instead of facing the consequences and potentially losing your life. And since I'm bound to you, that would spell bad news for me as well. Now, are you ready for your path to become stronger?"]

___

Although pirates stole mostly everything Sundrew had offered, they still left behind some stuff to not get overburdened and get slower.

That included rags, clothes, jerky, and other miscellaneous items.

Felix's stuff was burnt down in his former home but within the shelter underneath his house was preserved food and clothes meant to sustain him for a couple of weeks. He changed into newer clothes and stuffed some more into his system, as well as the food and water.

The voice from before told Felix some features of this [Devil Slayer Template], such as having access to a sub-dimension with nearly infinite space for him to store. Another was a compass and a map that recorded all of his travel so he wouldn't get lost in the middle of the ocean.

His father's stories were told from real-life experience, he said.

After stuffing some more food, water, and clothes in the near-infinite sub-space. Felix stood at the same hill where he buried the townsfolk and his parents.

"Hey, Mom. Hey, Dad. I know it's gonna be a shock but... I've decided to become a Marine. Mom, you wanted me to become smart enough to run for mayor and help prosper the village. Dad, you taught me how to sail and fish so that I would never go hungry. But I wanted to follow my own path and enact my own Justice against the pirates who took you. It may be a while and who knows when I'll be back. I just wanted to say... thank you for raising me with love and care. I love you both so much and I miss you, even now."

Some tears were shed while Felix gave his speech. He quickly dried them off with his shirt. "I'll make you guys proud."

["Hey kid."] Felix nodded. ["Listen, I don't know much about all this but... just wanted to let you know that I'm here for you."]

"..." ["I took another peak at your memories and saw that they loved you with all of their heart and wanted nothing but the best for you. So... I wanted to be like that and will give you only the best from here on out."]

"Why?" Felix asked. ["Hmm? Why what?"] "Why are you doing this to me? I'm nothing but a nobody with no parents and a village. Why do all this for someone you've never met before?"

["... Good question. Why indeed you, a scrawny kid from a back-water town who should have been dead from pirates, picked to become a Devil Slayer? No doubt there are other people more gifted than you, more stronger or more powerful than you could ever be. So, why you you ask?"]

[" I ain't got a clue."] Felix sighed dejectedly. "What? You don't know? Aren't you supposed to be my guide?"

["Exactly, I'm your guide. Not the answers of the universe. I just got here with my sole role to train you, a random nobody into something great. So instead of wallowing in pity, why not take this opportunity and do something already? And no matter what you choose, I'll always be here to support you 100%. So, you dig, my guy?"]

Felix stared at the empty blue sky with the wind blowing. His eyes were getting some color back as he had indeed the opportunity to do something. What he needs to do right now is indeed get stronger. He was weak, too weak to do anything, and no more. He doesn't want to feel that way ever again.

"Will this training really make me strong?" Felix asked the voice. He should give him a name.

["The strongest. You do not just have a template for 1 Devil Slayer but all 3 of them. When you complete them with 100%, not even the strongest pirate can match your strength. You'll be on top of the world, kiddo. And I'm gonna make sure of that."]

Felix nodded. "Then I accept my training. I want to become strong. Strong enough to protect whom I love dearly. Can you help me, uh... voice in my head?"

["We'll workshop my name later but, of course, I will. Now, let's get out of here and start your journey to become a Devil Slayer. Mark my words kid, when they hear your name, the world will quake in fear."]

With that, Felix began his journey to become a Devil Slayer. The road ahead is tough, brutal, and unforgiving. Blood with be shed and bodies will fall like rainwater. But Felix will rise to the challenge and become the world's strongest Devil Slayer.