Chapter 2 First Feat, Being a Good Dad!

Looking at the little girl hugging my leg I can't help but feel conflicted. On one side I want to tell her that I'm not her dad, and another part of me doesn't want to break her little heart and roll with it. Watching the little girl with blonde hair and brown eyes full of tears looking up to me in desperation truly breaks my heart. Why couldn't I just start by beating up some pirate scum?

"You came back for me right? You wouldn't abandon me cause you don't want me, right?" She held onto my leg tighter, in fear that I might just disappear. It was at that moment I knew I couldn't just abandon her like it wasn't my problem. Some might question my decision of letting a kid join me on my journey. But I can't help but remember a certain character that would fight with a baby on him.

Picking her up I carried her little body on my shoulder, "That's right little one, I came back just to see you. I'm sorry I couldn't come sooner." I feel bad lying to her, but I've already resolved myself to be the best dad in all of One Piece.

"Papa! I have a name you know! Hmph. I'll forgive you since you came back for me. My name is Silk… I've been waiting, everyone said you wouldn't come back…" Sigh, this is heartbreaking, are most seafaring folks just terrible parents. To leave behind such a sweet kid, I wonder what her parents were thinking.

[*Ding!* First feat accomplished. You've adopted a child into your family like a certain white mustached strong man. You've earned 10 Infamy Gems!]

Ignoring the notice for the time being, I focused on Silk who I just adopted. She's currently only 9 years old, and has been raised by the people of the island thus far. It's a small island in the East Blue, there's only this town and the rest is just trees and wildlife. It's located between the Gecko and Conomi Islands. The next cruise ship will be coming tomorrow, but I need to find some cash…

We ended the day by returning into the small house that Silk has been living in from the townspeople. We also ate dinner given by a friendly housewife that often makes food for Silk. Afterwards I tucked her into bed until she fell asleep. Then I made my way downstairs to think about my next plan. In the newspaper I've been able to discover that I'm about 3 years ahead of when Luffy sets sail.

Downstairs I was met with a balding old man wearing glasses. "You're not really the girl's father are you?" He spoke to me with a grim expression on his face.

"No, I'm not. But that doesn't mean I can't be her father. What gave me away?"

"Fool! You look nothing alike! Anyway a brat like you looks too young to have a kid already. I won't say anything else if you've resolved yourself to take care of that little girl. But know this, if you ever hurt her all the citizens of Melisbay Island will hunt you down and make you pay."

"Ha! Well luckily for me I don't plan on hurting her, a whole island chasing after me doesn't sound all too pleasant. It's good that she had so many people care about her though, the life of an orphan can be a lonely experience…" People say that you should let the past rest, but if we forget about it we lose sight of who we are and how we came to be. But now isn't the time to reminisce about a previous life.

After saying his piece the old man left, leaving me alone to plan my next step to gain more infamy gems. It costs 100 IG to summon 10 times and 10 IG to summon once, also what I gain from it is completely random. There's no telling if I'll get what I need to increase my strength or just some useless knick knacks. I think I should head to the gecko islands first, there I can find the former captain Kuro to gain some more infamy gems. For now I'll just get some sleep and worry about the rest tomorrow.

-The Next Day-

"Papa, papa. Wake up!" I'm quickly woken up by my new daughter shaking me awake. I groggily get up while rubbing my eyes.

"Jeez I'm up already, aren't kids supposed to want to sleep in??" After coming to I pick up Silk so that we can brush our teeth. She changes out of her PJs and puts on her blue dress, then we sit down and have some bread for breakfast.

In the bathroom I took a minute to check out my appearance in the mirror, I must say I am once again a handsome individual. However, my messy hair is now almost white light blue, and my skin is a golden tan color. My height is roughly 6'1" and my body is full of compact muscles. The only inhuman trait about me are my electric ice blue eyes with small black slitted pupils. Unfortunately I have other things to think about, like breaking the news to Silk…

"Silk, I have to leave this island today…" The mood instantly dropped and Silk looked like she was about to burst into tears.

"Why?... You just got here, are you going to abandon me again? *sniff* Can't you just stay? We can be a family." She looked down unwilling to show her face as tears fell from her eyes.

"I can't stay here Silk, your papa has a lot of work to do. That's why I was thinking, do you want to come with me? It'll be dangerous but I'll make sure to protect you."

She grew quiet, but her tears had stopped now. She seemed to be thinking it over, which is understandable. She would have to say goodbye to everyone that took care of her since she was a baby. "You'll really take me with you? Then I'll go."

Running up to Silk gave me a hug, unwilling to separate from me. So I scooped her up and packed her things in a small backpack. It was essentially just her PJs, toothbrush and a small doll. Afterwards I helped Silk say goodbye to some of the islanders that had helped her. With that out of the way we made our way towards the docks to find the ship to take us to the Gecko Islands.

Once there I quickly found the cruise ship that would make a stop near Syrup Village. I also managed to convince the Captain to let us ride for free and I would act as a guard. However, this deal is also how I ended up in my current situation. In front of me is the guard captain, as a test to see if I was worth giving a free ride. This is ideal for me because now I can see how my strength stacks up.

"Alright for the rules of this spar, captain of the guard Josh will face Mr. Luciano in a friendly spar. No killing and no maiming." The Captain laid down the terms of the spar, Josh, my opponent, put on a serious expression. Meanwhile I simply took a boxing stance which I had seen used before.

Pulling out his sword Josh then pointed it towards me with an annoyed expression, "What are you waiting for? Draw your sword!"

"Go papa! Beat that mean looking uncle!" Not going to lie, having my daughter cheer me on is kinda satisfying, I wonder if Whitebeard feels the same?

"The only time to draw my weapon is when lives are on the line. For now this will be enough to face you." My words seem to be the last straw for his mood because he fiercely charged towards me with a cutlass in hand. But he was so slow in my eyes, my dynamic vision was far superior than I realized. Waiting until he went for a slash I simply sidestepped and shot a quick jab towards his face. To my surprise he was sent flying into a nearby crate unconscious.

There was a silence of shock afterwards, the spar was simply over way too quickly. It was broken by a cheerful voice, "Ya! My papa is the strongest!"

Silk then ran up and jumped into my arms for a hug laughing in giddiness. The wholesome scene was interrupted by the awkward coughing of the Captain. "Ahem. You are most welcome on my ship Sir Luciano. Feel free to help yourself to any food for you and your daughter."

While the ship left the docks and started sailing towards the destination, Silk and I watched the town disappear. On the docks you could see a few townsfolk waving Silk goodbye, telling her to visit again sometime. Meanwhile the girl in question waved back towards them with tears in her eyes.

"You know Silk, this isn't goodbye forever. Someday in the future we can come back here and you can tell everyone all the amazing adventures you went on. Think of it this way, goodbye is just another way of saying see you later." Then in a comfortable silence we watched the island slowly disappear.