Chapter 2- Growing Up With Windmills...

7 years later...

"997, 999 oh shit I miscounted, 998, 999, 1000!" I dropped the boulder that was in my hands onto the floor and let my arms fall to the ground to rest, it has been seven years since my father and mother died, and it weighs me down, but I put that weight into every single one of my punches and every one of my lifts, there was nothing on this island left that hasn't bowed down to me, except for an elusive tiger, that for some unusual reason avoided my presence at all times. Ace is 10 years old now. He has grown, I'm not sure about maturity though, as that seemed to have skipped this generation.

Despite our brotherly bond, I was never able to give Ace the attention he needed, I was too caught up in the aftermath of those events, and Ace has always been lonely. So have I. So close yet so damn far, this all changed however after the arrival of that boy, the one with the hat, the straw hat. 

I always forgot his name, he was of little significance in my plans, Ahh, there it is, Monkey D Luffy, the kid follows Ace around wherever he goes, it seems to annoy him, but I could swear as I watched them one day that I could see a small smile on Ace's lips as he ran ahead of Luffy. 

A few weeks later, an unexpected event took place that brought the two together, Ace and Luffy were quite close now, I was told they were attacked by a bear and Ace went back to rescue him, forging a new bond between them. 

I ventured out every morning, but this one was quite different, and for the first time in forever, Ace walked up to me as I stuck a knife into my belt, "Onni-san! Can Luffy and I come with you today!" 

I was taken back by Ace's suggestion and I nodded in approval, I went into my little room and opened up a box full of these projects that I like to do in my spare time, I pulled out a sort of Bisento, I focused my designs on the wielder, I was no expert blacksmith and I used boulders in the forest to forge my weapon and flames from the source I discovered many years ago, much to the distaste of my "grandfather" Garp. 

<Flashback >

I was out on a hunt about three or four years ago, Dadan was bored of eating veg and to be honest, so was everyone else, so I went to the river to catch some fish, but nothing I caught was enough, eventually I came across a crocodile wading in the murky water, I dove on top of it as it climbed onto shore and snapped its mouth shut with my hands, it tried to shake me off, but I took of one of my hands and reached for a knife, it was too blunt but I stayed and sawed through the crocodile's tough skin. 

I remember sitting down on the shore tired, battered, bruised, and more hungry than I've ever been, sure I hunted for fun back then too, but the crocodile took a lot out of me, I also remember turning my head to reach for my fallen knife when I noticed a weird fruit sitting on the floor, it was pitch black with red spirals on it in a circular form, the fruit kind of resembled a pineapple. 

I was so hungry that I gulped it down in an instant, I was only aware of the horrible taste after I had swallowed the whole thing, I remember filling my mouth with water to get the taste off my tongue. 

I told Garp about this, which earned me a few fists of his so-called love, eventually, we discovered that I could make fire, Garp said it was a devil fruit and explained the fruit classes to me, he said it was a logia but got surprised when he watched me sprout wings from my back, we haven't discussed it since and no one knows other than the old man and me. 

It was this ability to create high-temperature fires that made me get involved in the blacksmith business, I've sold swords and axes in the village and some of my work has even found its way into the Goa Kingdom, I sold my stuff in the gray terminal too, a quick way to make a few bucks. 

<End OF Flashback>

I laid the bisento made for Ace onto my bed and began rummaging in my bag for a weapon that Luffy could use, I know he took after Garp in the way of the fist but I wasn't going to let a seven-year-old follow me around on my exploits without something to protect himself. Eventually, I found a short-style sword, a little longer than a knife but not as long as a proper sword or katana. 

I closed the box and walked to one of my walls where I had put some nails in and rested a sheath on top, this was my best creation, it may not be a great-grade sword as Grandpa Garp told me, but he did say it could rival a skillful grade sword, which was good enough for me, I may not have seen the world but I was told numerous times by Gramps that this was the weakest sea, skillfully grade is overkill in the east blue.

I walked out, throwing Ace his bisento and handing Luffy his blade, he immediately smiled and handed the blade back to me, "I don't use weapons Ani!" 

"Oi Oi, Luffy If big bro gave you a weapon, he probably has a good reason, just keep it with you!"

Following Ace's warning to Luffy, we walked out and into the forest, for a while it was silence, even Luffy for a while was admiring the tranquility of the forest, we walked for an hour or so until Luffy finally gave in and broke the silence

"Onni-san! Ace! I'm hungry!" 

"Shut up Luffy, it's only been an hour!" 

I turned and smiled at the two bickering younger brothers of mine and smiled at them, "Ace it's alright, I'm quite hungry too!" 

I held up my hands and all the bickering stopped, there was no notice as Ace clamped his hand around Lufy's mouth to silence him, footsteps were falling, but they were muffled, and no shoes. Bushes were rustling and there was a low purring sound, not a human then...

I moved my hand to the hilt of my Katana, its name, Akuma no Ha (Devil's tooth). 

Its silverish hilt glistened in the sunlight and I assumed my stance, I had trained for a while in the art of swordsmanship alongside, Garp's assistant Bogard, we sparred, and of course, he beat me nearly every time but still, I learned valuable lessons.

The footsteps were getting closer there was no point hiding our presence now, we would have to fight anyway, so I brought my foot back and took my blade out of its sheath, its sharp edges glowing in the afternoon sun, the footsteps stopped, it was here...

There was an ear-shattering roar and I spun about, jumping into the air as I did so, 

"Ittoryu, Yuuhi, Setting Sun!" 

I brought my blade down in a vertical, downward slash, and he blade met the neck of the beats, a bear, twice the size of me, Akuma no Ha cut through it like butter and it's head rolled to my feet, I lifted it up and stroked it's head, "Arigato Gozaimasu, for giving us your body!" 

And that night we ate like kings with Dadan and co, but we clearly didn't eat enough for the surprises that were going to take place the next day. 

As the three of us woke up and treated ourselves to yesterday's leftover bear meat, there was a pounding on the door, I got up and opened the door being the oldest and I was surprised to be knocked back several meters, "HYAHAHAHAHAHA! EUCE! LOSING YOUR TOUCH ARE YOU? Don't lose shape or they won't take you in as a marine!?" 

And in walked, Monkey D Garp, hero of the marines, and also the man who brought about the execution of Gol D Roger, my father also my adoptive grandfather, the world works in weird and wondrous ways eh?