A New Spin on an Old Tale

Gold, Fame, adventure….These were what spurred hundreds of thousands of pirates and aspiring adventurers to sail the seas following the execution of the world famous Pirate King Gol D. Roger. Everyone who witnessed him at the gallows and around the world heard that his famous treasure; the One Piece that was accumulated over his entire lifetime had been hidden deep in the recesses of the Grand Line for anyone who had the unrivalled will to steal it for themselves and take his spot as the next Pirate King.

However in this story; some things change as an argument between two brothers turned into a fight and then go their own ways in life with one kid turning towards a life in the Marines and the other picking up his own dream to become a martial artist.

"You can't turn your back on Shanks, I though you were gonna join him on his crew with me when we're old enough?" a young kid with tousled brown hair would say to a slightly taller black haired child with a stitched scar on his cheek and a shirt that said "Anchor" threw a straw hat to the ground with a frustrated grunt that only an angry child could muster.

"But he's weaker now because he lost his arm…Grandpa is too tough to lose anything for that." the taller kid would gripe as he looked at the younger kid with a new sense of pride in the old man.

"Luffy, that geezer is the reason we got thrown around in that forest for his "training" and he keeps on trying to get us to join him in the Marines….you might like your grandpa more but he's literally trying to brainwash us!" the younger boy argued back at the boy called Luffy.

"How else do you think he got tough enough to throw cannonballs like they were pebbles? if we follow his example then who knows how much more stronger we can get if we keep going in the Marines! I could do a lot more with this." Luffy would say excitedly as he started flicking an elastic arm back and forth like it was a rubber band.

Unamused by Luffy's antics and disappointed in his attitude change following what happened; "So you're okay with becoming a Marine? you saw what happened to Sabo when he was taken back….the Marines guard people like that, y'know?" He would point out as he watched Luffy distractedly playing with his Rubber Powers.

"Yeah…but think about it Moggy! We can be the awesome Marines, like Grandpa…the kind that kick pirate butt and once we get high enough then you, me AND Ace can call the shots and do whatever we want!" Luffy argued in his fervour; "Plus Grandpa said that the Marines also have people with weird powers too so maybe I can stand out with the best…..and maybe even get a fruit that gives you and Ace powers too!" Luffy added, trying to convince his friend to go along with it.

"Just having powers from a possessed fruit doesn't mean that you're gonna be the best one, Luffy….Besides, I already know who I wanna be and I can bet you that Ace does as well…" the young boy known as Moggy would say as he finally decided to back off.

"Alright, well….if that's the case then I'm gonna go with Grandpa when I'm old enough and tell him I WANT to be a Marine…." Luffy would snap as he got angry about it and started to rant furiously, however for Moggy; his words were slowly fading out as the sound of waves started to fill his ears and the smell of seawater stung his nostrils.

When he woke up; he could see the waves shifting back and forth as a giant head rose out of the water and revealed a gigantic Sea King that roamed the waters, the same one that had claimed numerous ships and taken Shanks's arm when he saved Luffy; "So you're the big bad serpent that swims here…." He would say as he got to his feet with a devilish grin, only to be replied to with a gigantic roar and a rear of it's ugly head as it was ready to eat him for lunch.

With a deep inhale, he took his stance with his right open palm facing toward the beast and his body lowered in preparation to jump; "Focus your mind…..remember the energy flows THROUGH you…." he recited to himself with the exhale as he felt the flow of Armament Haki pulse in sync with his heartbeat before jumping up from his boat and rearing his leg back with the moment; "Swift Style Kenpo: Crow's Flight!" he would yell out as he swung a powerful kick spinning upward, catching the Sea King under the chin with the heel of his boot and making it's head snap back from the sudden force. After he landed back down in the boat, he snickered to himself as he watched it stare him down dumbfounded before it's aggression rose enough to attack once more.

"One more should do it while I'm in the rhythm." he shrugged as he took on a new stance, lowering himself but his body scrunched inward to take on a boxer's stance, "Strong Style Kenpo: Destructive Current!" He yelled out once more as he thrust both fists forward and struck into it's snout; using the momentum of both his arms and the sea monster's lunge to collide with a powerful smash like he had rammed against a cliff face. 

The Sea King roared in agony as the empowered fists damaged it's face and made a couple of teeth fall out of it's maw, knowing that it's intended prey wasn't going to stop if it kept going. It sank back into the water with a groan of defeat as the boat returned to setting sail out of his village. Meanwhile the boy who had the strength to do this ended up collapsed backward on his seat as he felt the Haki slip away. "It's getting better….but I doubt it'll be capable in longer periods…..but Shanks did say that to be the best, you had to push yourself. So that's what I'm gonna do." the teen would say to himself as he sat up and pulled on the sail to catch the winds onward; "Because my name is Morgan D. Ford…..and I'm gonna become the World's Strongest Martial Artist!"

Meanwhile a neighbouring leisure cruise had engulfed itself in throes of panic as the nasty crew of pirates belonging to the equally nasty Alvida had swarmed aboard and started to shake down it's terrified passengers, while a redheaded cat burglar who had snuck aboard was after something more then a ring or two from a rich fop.

"Come on, let's get the loot back to the Captain before she gets impatient." One of the higher level goons would urge on their minions to load up their chests on Alvida's gaudily painted ship, "C'mon Coby, get your act together….a good cabin boy helps with the lifting!" the Goon said as he grabbed a smaller pink haired boy and shook him roughly.

The pink haired boy known as Coby would whimper and yelp as he was shook in the much larger man's hands; "I-I wasn't even meant to be here, Alvida kicked me on board after you!" he whined in discomfort before getting dropped down.

"Get back on board Coby and start scrubbing the floors, if all you're good for is being a cabin boy then get that done at least!" the Goon barked at him before everyone climbed back on board Alvida's ship while mentioning Alvida's beauty when she was outside to greet them because they'd rather not run the risk of their heads getting caved in with her giant mace.

With the crew below deck save for a few stragglers and Coby washing the floors were still busy keeping an eye out for any Marine ships or other potential treasure troves…to the point that no one noticed a single speck floating and bobbing in a carefree manner towards the hull of Alvida's ship.

Coby would see some of his fellow pirates grabbing a rope and starting to lift something up towards the top rung of their ship and as he left his mop near the guard rail, Coby jumped to the side as a barrel that seemed to come up to the chests of the two pirates who lifted it came rolling onto the deck.

"So….what's in it? think that ship we robbed before wanted to leave us a gift?" One squat looking pirate with a squashed in face would ask as he slapped the barrel; "Pretty full too, they must've really liked us!" he would say and laugh obnoxiously before getting slapped on the back of the head.

"Shut it, you idiot….maybe it fell overboard or maybe a ship nearby got sunk and this floated here….'Ey Coby! go roll this thing down to the galley, if it's got food or booze in there…then Captain Alvida's definitely gonna wanna see it." the second Pirate would order Coby as they headed down below to get drinks and leave the younger cabin boy to heave and push the barrel downstairs to get it with the rest of the food.

"Why'd I have to get stuck on a pirate ship….all I wanted was to be a Marine….now I'm just a cabin boy for a pirate like Alvida for the rest of my life." Coby took the chance while he was alone to lament his situation; he propped up the barrel with all his strength and was about to leave it to go get pushed around more when he heard a low groan coming from the barrel. "H-Huh?" Coby squeaked to himself before adjusting his glasses and slowly stepping closer; grabbing the closest thing he could as a weapon…which in Coby's case was a small piece of wood that he could brandish like a truncheon.

"I-I know you're in there….you better sh-show yourself right now! you…you….whatever you are!" Coby tried to come across as brave however this was the furthest thing as he was a small child and his shaky voice barely scared off a tiny mouse in the corner, tentatively rapping the piece of wood against the barrel and then pressing his ear against the side. He could hear slow breathing before another more human sounding groan reverberated through the barrel; out of concern for safety and to see what he was dealing with, Coby broke open the top and peered inside.

What he saw was a teenage boy with short and dark brown hair, his skin looked drained of colour and from his position, Coby could see that this boy was folded like a pretzel inside the barrel…thinking that this was his chance to score points with Alvida or at the very least get the other pirates to leave him alone; he tipped the barrel over and watched this boy spill out of the barrel and flop on the floor like a freshly beached fish.

Said boy would stretch himself out as he was starting to wake up, gingerly pushing himself into a sitting position and found himself staring face to face with Coby who was close enough to headbutt him; the boy blinked for a brief moment and when he realised what was staring at him, he yelled out in surprise which caused Coby to scream in fear and then swing the wood at him in a fight or flight instinct: clocking him square in the jaw and making his head snap back and hit a shelf.

"OW! OOOOOOOW! WHAT THE HELL'S YOUR PROBLEM, SHORTY?!" The much older boy would yell at Coby as he tentatively nursed his bruised jaw and winced as he felt his head ache from the bounce. With the shrill attempts at an apology from his attacker and the sudden slam of the door to make them alone bringing him back to focus with Coby.

"I-I'm sorry but you yelled out so suddenly and well….pirates are often attacked so I…..I'm sorry." Coby would explain as he realised that this guy was either not there to hurt him or hasn't noticed that he was on someone's ship yet. 

"Whatever, just….where am I exactly? Did I wash up in a restaurant somewhere?" the teen would ask as he looked around at the rather small galley and then started chowing down as he realised he hadn't eaten in days.

"Well, you were in that barrel there and you got taken up here…..so I guess you're our captive now…did you come here from that last boat?" Coby asked him in curiosity, surprised that he was watching someone who wasn't Alvida eat so much but also because he wasn't immediately jumping to hitting him like his "crewmates" did frequently.

"Look Kid, all I remember is that my boat got caught in a whirlpool…that barrel over there was probably the safest thing I could find outside of swimming and I wasn't gonna take my chances down there in the water…..oceans full of all kinds of beasties and I ain't gonna dangle the carrot." he would say bluntly as he munched down on an apple.

"M-My name's Coby….and right now you're on a pirate ship.....Alvida's pirate ship." The pink haired boy would say as he started to relax a little, though that wood block kept in hand's reach in case.

"A pirate ship? Awesome! Though I don't really know who Alvida is but you think they could drop me off at the next island? I could use more crew members." Morgan would say as he stood up after draining a pouch full of drinking water to rehydrate; "I'm Morgan….Morgan D. Ford,, also sorry about yelling at you earlier…a few days of starvation and getting cold clocked in the face doesn't exactly help your mood too much." He would say finally introducing himself and then dusting off: now that Coby got a better look at him, he was wearing a dark blue kung fu gi top with a fist symbol on the back, a white undershirt on the inside of it with brown pants and a pair of black boots.

"No! you don't want to see Alvida, she's a horrible person and if she finds you down here then she's gonna lose it." Coby would start to plead before there was the sound of creaking wood; the two would look up as that creaking turned into a loud Crack! and then finally the ceiling collapsed inward as a giant, hulking mass fell through to meet the pair with a pink hat and a giant mace in hand.

"Hey, Coby! I thought I told you to clean, not slack off an…..DID YOU EAT ALL OUR FOOD?!" Alvida would start off with a stern snap but quickly turned into an angry bellow when she saw the two boys and a lot of empty food shelves.

"I-I'm sorry, Lady Alvida! I was taking this barrel to the galley and it turns out it's a guy that got washed up and not food so I was gonna take him through to you." Coby stammered in an erratic motormouth function as the pleading from earlier rapidly devolved into fearful panic.

"A guy huh? so you decided to sneak aboard and beg to join a crew serviced by a beautiful captain like myself? well too bad! because I have enough idiots to look over and I don't like hang ons from my previous conquests!" Alvida would say with a smirk and started to act haughty when she realised she had him cornered and her men on standby for what was going to come next regarding his answer.

"Look, I'm not trying to start any trouble…so if you could be kind enough to drop me at the next port then I'll be out of your…..hair." Morgan would say, trying to choose his words carefully; considering that he was on this person's ship, this person was twice his size and his width plus the heavy looking club in her hand.

"You can flutter those baby blues at me all you want, but I'm not a cruise ship and I'm not a damn charity service! So unless you wanna get thrown overboard then you can join Coby in cleaning up…after you all tell me that I am the most beautiful woman on the sea." she crooned, thinking she had the upper hand over him and was ready to start ordering him around.

"Wait, that's a woman?" Morgan would ask in surprise as he looked up at Alvida who turned from haughty and loud to deathly silent and radiating killing intent.

Luffy and Morgan often tried to show how different they were to each other as kids but one thing that they shared was that they spoke their mind, it was honesty to a fault, which for some people was good but in this case: it was like lighting the fuse on a clogged cannon as most of the crew started to run away from the area; swearing that they heard Alvida's blood pressure rising by the second.

Coby could see Alvida's alabaster skin quickly flushing and erupting into a lobster red colour as the larger woman's arm raised with mace in hand and uttering a war cry that could make the most hardened of men in her crew turn into weeping messes.

Morgan instinctively began to run out of the door; his mind quickly caught up with the fact that he missed the important step of thinking before he spoke, though he was realising that he felt heavier then normal and then looked down to see a heavily screaming Coby clutching on to his leg as Alvida was shockingly fast for her size; swinging her iron mace like it was nothing while bellowing out a horrific slew of curses and threats that could make the ears of mountain bandits bleed.

"YOU GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW, YOU LIPPY LITTLE SHIT!" Alvida screamed after him as she huffed and stomped after him, gouging a hole in the wall on one of her backswings before the three of them ended up on the upper deck, nowhere to run and thanks to Alvida's rampage: nowhere to hide.

"Why couldn't I have been on a Marine ship instead of here!? I wanted to be a Marine! Not a Pirate!" Coby said between heavy sobs as he had come to accept that with Alvida was going to end the both of them since she was angry enough.

"You better start praying, kid….because I'm not accepting apologies from you or the brat!" Alvida growled as she readied her mace.

"I can understand you being pissed at me but Coby didn't even say anything, he's not exactly standing up to you and he's spineless enough to go along with everything you say." Morgan pointed out to Alvida; granted the whack to the face hadn't endeared him to Coby but he at least understood that he didn't deserve this.

"Well, Coby's a useless case and he's you're right, he ISN'T going to stand up to me or do anything because that little sea slug does not and will never have the guts to even say anything bad….just listen; Coby! Who is the most beautiful woman on the sea?" She would ask and held her hand to her ear so she could emphasise her point.

"They're both right, I've had dreams and I never once fought for them….If neither of them think that I don't have the guts, then I'll prove them wrong!" Coby thought to himself before he saw Alvida gesturing for him to say the one thing she had him parrot all those times before and found his chance to prove himself; he clenched his fists and eyes shut, took in a deep breath before screaming out to the heavens and to anyone at sea who could hear them: "ALVIDA IS THE UGLIEST AND MOST HORRIBLE PIRATE ON THE SEA!"

Alvida was shocked when she heard Coby's sudden bout of courage and even Morgan looked at Coby with an approving smirk; "Good job in speaking your mind Coby, but now I gotta stop the both of us from dying!" Morgan would say as he stepped between Coby and a now rabid looking Alvida roaring like a bear and raising her Mace to strike them both.

"SCREW THE BOTH OF YOU, I'LL SMASH YOU UNTIL YOU'RE MULCH AND THROW YOU BOTH OVERBOARD WHEN I'M DONE!" Alvida would be crimson in the face and swinging her mace down to smash the two into paste.

Morgan then moved into his Kenpo and breathed deep as he let the Haki flow through him; "Strong Style Kenpo: Runaway Boulder!" He yelled out as he weaved under her swing in a boxer's stance and with a twist on his heel; he used the rotation to drive his shoulder into her stomach before following it up with a quick spinning elbow from the side to knock her in the jaw. He still managed to get a good hit in as he saw Alvida stagger backward but was shocked to see that it did very little and was caught in the side by her mace, the heavy club made his side erupt in pain as he crumpled to the floor like a wet paper bag.

"HA! you think that's all it'll take to knock me down?!" Alvida laughed in his face as she then felt her body ache a little; "But still….that one hurt….and I don't hurt easy, I'm one of the toughest around and I'm not gonna let some up jumped Martial Artist get the drop on me!" She would gloat as she rotated her arm, ready for another go.

"Fine then, if you want it that way…then don't complain." he warned her with a wheeze as he closed his eyes and readied his stance once more when he was on his feet; this one looking more flowing then before, Alvida rounded on him with the intent to hit him head on in the torso. Morgan was intent on using the adrenaline and the pain from her last hit to trigger his Observation Haki and he could see her blurry outline with her ready to swing straight for his chest; "Swift Style Kenpo…." He said with a deep breath as he felt the blood pumping through his body, the sound of Coby's frantic yelling and Alvida's heavy footsteps inching closer.

Once her Mace was close enough, he swung his palm around to hit her wrist and force her club to change directory into the wood. Once her body had shifted forward and she was now stumbling, Morgan's body then twisted with the momentum with his leg swinging around so that he spun in the air and his foot then connected with the back of her head before pushing her downward: the crew and Coby watched as Morgan's foot pushed Alvida's head down into the mace and knocking her out: "Scorpion's Fevered Sting!" He would finally finish it as Alvida lost consciousness and Morgan had lost his flow of Haki and collapsed backward onto the floor.

"Morgan!" Coby would rush over and check he was okay, save for the heavy blow to his side, he looked okay except for some cuts, bruises and a black eye.

"So…..How about that boat?" Morgan would ask the shaking crew as they were still processing that their behemoth of a captain was taken down by someone like him.