2 Volume 1 Chapter 2

It is said that some events in our lives are the turning points that determine who we truly are. This was one of the many wise words Old Man Hooks had shared with him on their journey. Ezra was sitting in the fishing boat with Old Man Hooks as they rode the waves further away from Amagus village until it was barely visible.

"Ezra, this Old Man can provide you with a place to live and teach you how to fish, if you are interested. It is not much but you will be able to earn some honest gold."

Ezra got up and bowed to the old man, "Thank you for doing this for me. But I would like to apply to the marines, it is as you told me once; this is a turning point in my life. I must become a hero that would make the village proud."

After saying that he sat down in a hurry as if he was trying to bury himself, due to the embarrassment of sharing his dream out loud.

"Hahahahah" Old Man Hooks laughed.

"Are you really serious about joining the marines? First of all, you are too young, all applicants have to be over 12 years of age. You want to be a marine hero, but you haven't trained a day in your life. Hmm; your dream is not a bad one, you should chase it wholeheartedly without ever looking back. No regrets, no doubts, just keep moving forward. The pain from now will indeed be the foundation of your struggle but let it also be your strength."

Over the past days of sailing together, Ezra had come to understand that Old Man Hooks loves to talk. It didn't matter if his audience was listening or not, the Old Man will just keep talking on and on.

Whilst Ezra was making plans of how to spend the next two years, Old Man Hooks started telling another story. this time Ezra was interested in what the Old Man was saying.

"Young Ezra, I may not look like much, but I trained to be a samurai when I was younger. I may not know how to train you into a marine, but I can train you into a decent fighter in two years. What do you say, would you like to be my student? I must warn you if you say yes there will be no turning back. If your answer is no, you will still be my fishing student." After saying all this he smiled at Ezra. "Young man time waits for no one, what will your answer be?"

It had been a month since that conversation happened on the boat, "old man I see an island up ahead" Ezra cried.

"Finally, we are here, it's been almost 30 years since I have been here. My last disciple left to join the Roger pirates; I believe people call him Red Hair Shanks. Half the things he knows now were not taught by me; I honestly don't even know how he got that strong."

'Red Hair Shank, Shanks, Ezra was trying to recall where he had heard about this pirate and also what captain he was under.'

"Don't get too hung up on this information, I will give you the same training as he received. Endure this hellish training of mine because this will be the foundation for your dream."