Yo Ho!

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Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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"Thank you Mr. Hood."

I didn't speak, I never did. I only handed the small bag through the door, and waited for them to take it. The people of this town were always so hesitant to take it from me. Their hands always shook when they touched mine. But once the 'illegal' deed was done, they were always thankful.

I turned around, with my next destination in mind. Whispers reached my ears as they always did.

"Thank you so much."

The hood over my face, concealing my identity, was the reason they called me 'Mr. Hood'. How ironic that it turns out to be my real last name?

At least, my last name in this life.

I didn't freeze up when I thought of my past life, and the family I left behind. It had taken me a month to move past those memories. Far too short, but I was slowly killing myself, holding on to the past. I drank myself into a stupor the first 20 days straight. I've never felt so bad in my life. So I decided that I would live this new life I had been granted for them. For the ones I left behind.

What better way to do that, then to do right by the people of Shells Town.

My feet walked down the familiar streets and paths of Shell Town. It was dark, and the moon was high in the sky, casting very little light for me to see. I was used to it though. I soon found myself at the local pub, the only one still open. This was one of my easier drops, as I knew the owner quite well. There was music and many voices inside, the sign of a happy townspeople. I smiled as I realized the people of this town were celebrating more often.

'Maybe I am doing some good.'

Axe-hand Morgan had bled them dry and I was doing my best to return the extra 'taxes' he was implementing.

I peeked through the window of the pub. Ririka always had a sharp eye, and her eyes locked onto mine. I swore she had Observation Haki, with how quickly she always found me. I didn't expect to see a few of my fellow marine's inside. The townsfolk normally kicked them out, due to Morgan's actions.

I moved around the side to the back of the pub, and ignored the rowdy crowd inside. There were stacks of empty barrels and wooden boxes. I found a very specific one, and reached behind it to shove many many stacks of beri into it, hidden. Ririka always paid more than everyone else in the town, and she was known to even pay the taxes of the poorer members of Shell town.

She had the most money returned to her.

Of course, I knew she gave it away to the families that needed it. I always suspected she had some treasure buried around here somewhere. Maybe Rika's father was a wealthy pirate at some time. I could never understand where her money came from.

I couldn't get everything back to the people, only enough that Morgan wouldn't notice.

I grabbed the half-drunk bottle of whiskey that Ririka always left me on a barrel. I turned around and began heading back through the back alleys of the town. I found my normal stash spot in a very tight space behind the general store. The dark green, almost black, cloak I wore for these excursions came off and I folded it before shoving it in a barrel of corn that never seemed to move.

I reached further and grabbed my short sleeve white Marine button up. It had the additional red and blue epaulets on the shoulder, a new addition that was added the past week.

'My strength is becoming known, even to Morgan.'

It didn't take me long to reach the gates to base. Two marine sailors stood there with rifles in their hands. They took one look at me and immediately moved to open the gates.

"Petty Officer!" They greeted, while standing at attention for me.

"At ease sailors." I told them as I handed the one on my right the bottle of whiskey in my hands. "Finish this off, but I expect to see you in the training fields in the morning, Paul!" I told him with a wink.

They both relaxed, but the one I handed the bottle to gulped loudly. "I'm still bruised from a couple of days ago, Petty Officer Hood!"

"I've told you to drop the title multiple times." I berated with a playful tone. "You've got to be tough in this world. There are people that will take advantage of their strength, and it's up to the rest of us to put them in their place." My tone turned a little more serious at the end of my sentence, and I met both of their eyes.

We all knew what I was talking about. I had been speaking to the men about such ideas for a while now. Their respect for me has been rising constantly for the past few months since I had been in this world.

I picked them up when they were down. I taught them how to wield the cutlass on their waist. I taught them how to workout properly. I taught them how to throw a punch. I taught them how to aim the rifles in their hands. I taught them how to clear a building, although that need was very small in this world.

In a world where all the good male role models were pirates, dead, or in another part of the world, they looked up to me for that.

"Why haven't we then, sir?" Paul asked as his own tone sobered up.

The question was like a punch in the gut. I had been asking myself that question as well. More and more frequently.

Why hadn't I dealt with Morgan myself?

"It's not time yet. Soon though…" I told him the same thing I always told myself.

'Where are you Luffy?'

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I stepped out of my room, feeling refreshed.

My back and legs were tight from the grueling workouts I subjected myself to this morning. However, I felt good despite that. There was nothing like pushing yourself and going through hell to start the day off properly.

Something in the back of my mind itched, and immediately I knew that something was wrong. I looked around, and found that there weren't any marines running around the base. That was odd.

"Sir!"

I turned to find Paul, the same marine that was guarding the gate last night sprinting down the hallway to me. The look on his face told me the severity of the situation.

My stomach sank.

'What has he done?'

"It's Ririka. He's going to execute her in town square! Says she's been skimping out on paying taxes!"

And there it is. The thing that I had been dreading for the past six months. The consequences for my actions. I knew why I hadn't gotten rid of Morgan yet, despite my confidence in being able to do so. It was the start of Luffy's journey. It was crucial to get Zoro on to his crew, wasn't it?

Should I interfere? I knew this would happen. I knew that my actions might cause a ripple effect. Could I let her die, just for the sake of canon?

Ririka's daughter, the one that would eventually feed Zoro rice balls to keep him alive during his bet with Helmeppo, flashed across my mind's eye. She was quite possibly the cutest little girl I had ever met. I had pinched her cheeks many times since I had been here.

"Uncle Robert! I've told you not to do that! I'm a big girl!"

Hearing her voice in my head solidified my choice.

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Despite having the memories of Robert Hood, a man that had joined the marines in hopes of bringing justice to the cruel world I knew of as One Piece, I knew that the uniform on my chest was temporary.

I could not work for the World Government. I could not support them, morally. The Celestial Dragons enslaved, murdered, and raped the people of this world. The World Government allowed, and even aided them. The Marines worked for the World Government. This is something that I cannot overlook. I would rather be labeled a criminal and live on my own terms, than be beholden to tyrants.

If the anime One Piece had shown me anything, it's that you can be a hero and a Pirate at the same time. After all, you can do nothing but help people unconditionally and still be labeled a pirate in this world.

So fuck 'em.

I arrived at the town square, and dust kicked up from the wind I had created along the way. Paul would only be getting to the gates by now. There was a massive crowd of people already there. There was a fountain of a mermaid in the middle, flowing as if nothing important was happening. As if there wasn't about to be a murder before her.

Marines surrounded the crowd, I recognized all of them and they recognized me. Most were eyeing me with the same pleading eyes that the townspeople were. They were wondering if today would be the day that I finally did something about Morgan. Paul was one of the more vocal sailors. The others were too afraid to do anything themselves.

'…when good men do nothing…'

I spotted Morgan standing proudly on the podium he had built for occasions just like this one. Ririka was standing there with her hands bound behind her, and two marines that stayed in Morgan's good graces standing on either side of her. They held a smug look on their face.

She was staring at where her daughter was being held back by another one of the townsfolk. Rika was crying and holding her arms out to her mother.

"Robert! You have to hel…"

I held a hand up to the local old man of Shell town. Mr. Poplar was shaking with rage. His hands were balled up on his waist. He stopped talking when he saw the look in my eyes. I made my mind up

"We are gathered here today…"

I walked forward, and slowly pushed myself through the crowd as Morgan made his speech. People turned to look at me before parting and letting me through. I had made a name for myself in the half year that I had been here. I began to suspect that the nickname 'Mr. Hood' wasn't a nickname at all.

'Had they known it was me giving them their money back the entire time?'

"Robert please." They whispered as I passed. "You have to do something!"

I reached up and undid the blue bandana on my neck before yanking it off and throwing it on the ground. A gasp ran through the crowd. They knew that I was here to stop this from happening. Now they were wondering if I was capable of it.

'Time to test all the training I've been doing. How do I stand in this world?'

"He's going to do it." Another whisper, as they watched me.

"…to witness the execution of a traitor!"

I didn't bother unbuttoning the uniform on my chest. I just reached up with both hands and yanked. Buttons popped and the shirt parted as I ripped it off of my frame and threw it on the ground beneath me. I regretted not wearing an undershirt at that moment. But at least I had gotten in great shape and looked good due to my intense anime-like workouts for the past six months.

I cannot describe how weird it is to be able to overhead squat a thousand pounds for reps and still be built like a swordsman. This world may be my new reality, but it was not animated, and it was still weird to see basic biology being thrown out the window in ways only Oda can.

I reached up and pulled the standard issue marine hat on my head off, displaying my dirty blonde hair, and threw it to the ground.

'At least I'll be able to grow a beard now.'

"Place her down!" Morgan commanded towards his two cronies.

They moved forward to obey just as I made it to the front of the crowd.

'12345678910'

To the naked eye, it looked like I stomped on the ground before disappearing and reappearing 30 yards away. In reality, I had trained Soru, one of the Rokushiki, so much in the past six months that it was finally battle ready. I cannot describe the giddiness that I felt when I had performed the technique properly 3 months ago. It was like having superpowers, something I used to daydream about in my last life. Now it felt as easy as jumping.

I appeared in front of Morgan's two goons, back to back with Ririka.

"I'm afraid I cannot let you do that." I told them as I put both of my hands on their chest and shoved them so hard they flew off of the back of the podium 20 yards. Already, I knew my strength training was proving itself.

"Raaahh!"

The same sensation as earlier when I was in the Marine base, tickled my brain. Morgan had reacted much faster than I expected and was swinging his infamous Axe-hand diagonally at me and Ririka.

I knew that I couldn't just dodge the strike, as Ririka would be hit. Luckily for me, I had been training with the standard issue cutlass just as much as I had been training with the Rokushiki.

I would be considered tall in my last life. Six foot three inches was a respectable height in my past life. However, Morgan was 9 foot 4 inches and fucking massive. I knew that I couldn't just block his strike. I doubted my strength when it came to that. So I did the next best thing.

I drew my cutlass and with significant effort I deflected Morgan's strike over my head and away from Ririka. My muscles protested but held up to the strain, a result of my intense training the past half year.

I wasn't done there, and I refused to let Morgan dictate the pace of our fight. So I jumped and sent a kick towards his literal steel jaw. I didn't expect it to hit, but apparently I was giving the man too much credit. It hurt like a motherfucker and sent a spike of pain lancing up my leg, but his head jerked back and he stumbled away from me.

I turned and grabbed Ririka before I picked her up and jumped off of the podium towards the crowd. I set her down and let the townsfolk begin to cut the ropes off of her.

"Petty officer Hood! What is the meaning of this treachery?!" Captain Morgan roared towards me after he recovered from my kick. He was pointing his axe-hand at me accusingly. It was almost like he was only now recognizing me.

"You abuse your power and rule like a tyrant over this town. I won't allow it any longer." I told him as I confirmed that Ririka and Rika were reunited and safe.

"It is my right as Captain!" He replied, still yelling.

'Your entire persona is a lie.'

How odd it is to realize that the person in front of me is the way he is as a result of a lie, and a little hypnotization.

"The only 'right' you have is because the World Government has a monopoly on violence. Sometimes though, someone is willing to stand up to that monopoly. You are about to experience that first hand." I replied as I flicked my cutlass and readied myself to fight.

Just like that, the townspeople began backing up and giving us space for what they knew was coming.

"You're defecting then." Morgan said calmly before jumping off of the podium and walking towards me. "There is only one punishment for that, marine!"

'Actually, there are multiple, but I wouldn't expect you to know that.'

Morgan was the one to attack, and it was so predictable I was almost surprised. It was a simple overhead strike with his axe-hand. Only this time, I didn't have anyone near me that I had to protect.

'Kami-e'

I turned to the side and to the casual observer it looked like my body bent around the blade as it passed close to me. I was not as proficient with Kami-e as I was with Soru, but it would work with a simple attacker like Morgan. He relied too much on his stature and strength. Skill was a non-factor in Shell Town. What skilled threats would come here, after all?

His axe crashed into the dirt beside me, leaving himself open for a counter attack.

I used the momentum of Kami-e and swiped with my cutlass as hard as I could. I had spent many nights sharpening this blade. It was sharper than any other in the base, without a doubt. I hardly felt any resistance as I finished the simple cut.

At the end of my attack, I was behind Morgan holding a cutlass with blood dripping onto the ground from its tip. For a moment, I felt like a proper swordsman even if I knew I wasn't.

Morgan attacked me again once he realized I was behind him. He didn't even allow my first cut, that went into his right side on his ribs, to register. It was a blind horizontal slash, telegraphed and slow. I didn't have to use Kami-e to dodge it. When I counterattacked this time, I aimed higher.

I watched my blade connect with the left side of his neck, opening the artery there.

This time, Morgan realized the severity of his injury and his hand went to his neck immediately. Blood poured out of the wound, through the gaps in his fingers. The crowd around us gasped. I flicked my blade and the blood splattered off of it and onto the ground beside me. I almost resheathed it.

Something told me not to.

'Click'

My eyes widened as I recognized the sound of a rifle's hammer being cocked. White hot fire poured into my right shoulder blade, before I heard the sound of the gun firing.

'BANG!'

I rolled with the momentum forward onto the ground.

"Robert!" Someone screamed from the crowd.

'BANG!'

Another gunshot echoed throughout the clearing. I didn't feel anything immediately and made the assumption that it missed and impacted the ground next to me. I rolled to my feet and turned to the two cronies I had shoved off of the podium at the beginning of the confrontation. I mentally berated myself for forgetting about them.

Then I saw them begin to load the rifles again. Thank God they were muskets. They didn't get anywhere close to finishing the reload.

'Soru'

I crossed the distance between us in the blink of an eye. The two cronies couldn't even react in time and they soon found themselves trying to hold their chest together from the cuts I gave them.

I quickly looked around to see if there were any more people like Helmeppo that would object to what I had done. He was a brat and a coward, but a bullet from a coward could kill just as good as a trained marksman. More marines poured into the town square. They were too late.

"Robert! You're bleeding." Suddenly Ririka was behind me with her hands on my back. I could feel the blood from the bullet dripping down my back.

'Gotta learn Tekkai. Better yet, armament Haki.'

With the thought of Tekkai, I wondered how anyone would be prepared to use it in time to stop a bullet. But I quickly realized that Haki would be the answer to that as well. Observation Haki would allow me to be able to sense when someone was aiming at me. I would need to train that as well. Not that I knew how.

"I'll be fine." I grunted at the woman behind me. I knew that the bullet didn't hit anything important. I could feel it rubbing against my bone in my shoulder. The adrenaline was still flowing through my veins, and numbing what was sure to be a painful injury.

"We need to get you to a…"

"Petty Officer Hood!" A familiar voice caused me to turn towards the newcomer. I identified him as the highest ranking officer in Shell town, now that Morgan was dead. He was also a good man, if only a weak one. He was a paper pusher and he was damned good at it. Although he wanted to climb the ladder of the Marines, going against Morgan wasn't an option for him.

"Commander Ripper." I greeted, without saluting him. I was no longer a marine, and no longer had to be held to their standards.

"So it's true then? You've killed Captain Morgan." He said as he moved past me to where Morgan's still body laid on the ground. His hands had fallen from his neck and he was staring at the sky with dead eyes.

'I just killed someone…'

I hadn't even pondered the fatality of my actions. Or rather, I accepted them so fast that I was only now realizing what it meant. The other two goons laying on the ground holding their hands to their bleeding chests would most likely live, as the cuts were intentionally shallow enough to only scar and take them out of the fight.

"Yes sir." I answered, as my vocabulary fell back into routine. Even with my big talk earlier about not having to abide by marine rules, it took a long time to kick certain habits.

Ripper moved from the dead body over to me and grabbed me by the back of the neck. "God damn it son! You should have done it in private, where we could cover this up. Blame it on a passing pirate or something. Not where the entire town could see!" All of this was violently whispered in my ear. So violent that I was sure everyone heard what he said.

"Yea well it wouldn't matter. I am leaving tomorrow either way it goes." I told him as I peeled his hand off of my neck.

"You're deserting?" Commander Ripper asked as he stepped back for a moment. He looked at me as if I had just turned into a criminal at that moment. It was odd to watch.

"I can't serve such a corrupt system, Commander." I told him simply. "The World Government…"

"Is the best we have for order, son! Don't let one bad apple ruin your perception of the Marines!" Ripper interrupted, trying to reason with me. Unfortunately for him, I already had my mind made up.

"You won't be able to convince me, Ripper. You could spend your whole life being a hero, but when a Celestial Dragon comes along and orders you to massacre this town for their enjoyment, you'll have to comply or die. I can't live like that." I retorted. Ripper was a good man, the marines didn't deserve him.

"So what? You're going to become a pirate then? Travel the sea's murdering, raping, and pillaging as you please?! You're not thinking straight, Petty Officer!" Ripper yelled at me. I hadn't expected him to be so passionate about the situation. His hand was still wrapped around my neck and he was starting to piss me off.

"Of course not!" I responded as I shoved him off of me and out of my face. I took the moment to sheath my cutlass, now that I was confident there would be no violence. "But at least I'll be free…"

"You think I'm going to let you just walk out of here? With no consequences?!" Ripper asked as his frown deepened on his face. He was getting prepared to do something.

'Actually, yes. I was hoping you would give me the same conditions that you gave Luffy…'

"He just saved my life, Ripper! When your men stood by and watched! You would have made my baby girl an orphan!" Ririka yelled as she moved in front of me. She was no longer tied up, and her tears had turned to fuel for her rage.

"There are still consequences!" Commander Ripper retorted. "You think the higher ups aren't going to ask questions?! You think they care for his transgressions? They don't! They want to know who to put in Impel Down, that's it!"

I reached forward and grabbed Ririka before she could continue to get in the way. I didn't want Ripper to turn his anger towards her. He was obviously not the man that I thought he was. I would have to handle this a little bit differently than I expected. She looked like she was going to protest, but I wasn't taking no for an answer. She wasn't strong enough to stop me from calmly putting her behind me.

"I'm not going to Impel Down. And unfortunately for you, nobody here is strong enough to make me. I'm leaving in the morning, one way or the other." I told him with my threat clear. If I wasn't allowed to walk out of Shells Town, I would fight my way out.

Ripper's face hardened before he looked over my shoulder and waved his hands at someone behind me. "I thought you would say that. Bring him here boys."

I turned to see what his next play would be. I genuinely didn't expect what it turned out to be. The marine that guarded the gates at night. The marine that was a talented fresh recruit I had been training myself for the past month since his enlistment. A native of Shells Town himself, Paul. Or Paulie as the locals called him.

He was tied up in cuffs, and his lower lip was swollen from an obvious confrontation. One marine drug him forward by his arms, and there were two behind him with rifles pointed at his body.

I was calm before, but my anger began to boil in my skin.

'When did he have the time to get him? It hasn't even been five minutes since Morgan bled out…'

"Ripper, you bastard!"

"Paulie!"

"First Morgan, and now Ripper!"

"We'll never be free!"

The townsfolk were not happy, and they were making it known to Ripper. I was equally as shocked as I was angry, and my decision to leave the organization was swiftly confirmed. There was too much corruption.

None of the rifles behind Paul were cocked. I could take them down before they hurt him anymore. But there was still a crowd of marines surrounding the town square. What was I going to do, murder every single one of them? In time not to be shot? What if they accidentally shot someone in the town?

"Put your hands behind your back, Petty Officer." Ripper told me as he reached to his waist and drew two things. One was his pistol, and the other was a pair of cuffs just like the ones currently restraining Paul.

I clenched my jaw in anger. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. But in the end, I had no choice. I couldn't endanger the townsfolk anymore than they already were.

I slowly turned around and put my hands behind my back.

"You can't do this Ripper!" Ririka exclaimed as he moved forward and clamped the cold iron on my wrists.

"Enough Ririka." I told her in a mean tone of voice. She didn't need to continue to put herself in danger. I wasn't sure what Ripper was capable of anymore. She wisely kept her mouth shut after that.

I felt Ripper shove me forward. Plans on how to escape from the Brig ran through my head as I heard Ripper give me another command.

"You know the way Petty Officer. To the Brig!"

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A/N: Boom!

Yo! What's up everyone? This is something that I've been thinking about for a while now. Venturing into One Piece is not something that an author should take lightly, and it might be the most difficult world to operate inside of.

Cause what are you going to do? Be a strawhat and go on the exact same adventure? No, that is boring and nobody wants to read that.

So you need a completely new story with its own plots. On top of that, you need to think about what it does to Luffy's journey and the ripple effects it might have. So that means maybe becoming a Pirate captain, and then having a crew that is interesting enough to read about. Then do you do OC's or maybe pick some known characters up along the way? It is not easy, let me tell you that! Much harder than other fanfictions I've done in the past!

Anyway, let me know what you guys think!