Joyous Pirates

As the group ate dinner, Orion looked at his father and said.

"Dad, do I really have to wait till I turn 5 before I can start training?"

Marcus looked at Orion, surprised slightly by his sudden question.

"Your uncle and I had spoken about it earlier as well, I wanted to bring it up with your mother before I told you but by the rate you're growing, you should be able to start training properly in a years' time when you turn 3."

Orion was slightly upset as that wasn't the answer he wanted to hear but he knew that being able to start 2 years early was better than nothing, so he nodded his head, albeit somewhat dejectedly.

Looking at his son's mopey demeanour, Marcus chuckled as he said.

"Even though you can't start training properly, over the course of the next year we can still do some basic training to help develop your body building a solid foundation for future practice!"

As he heard that, Orion looked up in excitement. His father smiled at his son's excitement as he said.

"As long as your mother agrees, we can start tomorrow!"

Hearing that, Orion almost strained his neck as he spun to look at his mom.

"Haha I have no problems with you doing light exercises. But if my baby comes back with any injuries... Snort!"

Although she started off talking to Orion that last bit was definitely targeted towards Marcus who could only smile wryly at his wife's threat.

"Mum, I'm not a baby. I'm the man who's going to be the next king of the pirates!"

As they heard that, everyone on the table couldn't help but laugh at the adorable child who said something so mature but was still sporting baby fat.

After a very cheerful dinner the group went to the port to see Rayleigh, Shanks and Buggy off.

The 3 pirates had said their goodbyes to almost everyone. When Buggy and Shanks reached Roger, they were at a loss for words.

It was only now did it hit them that there was a good chance they may never see their Captain again. Understanding what was running through their mind Roger put his hands on both their shoulders.

"Nyahaha, why the long faces?!"

As they realised that this was their last time seeing Roger, both men couldn't help but well up.

"Captain…"

Before Shanks could say what he wanted, Roger cut him off.

"Thank you for everything, the both of you are a big part of the reason I was able to accomplish what I did!

As members of the Roger Pirates, I know both of you are going to make incredible pirates one day going on your own adventures with your own crews. When you do I hope you remember where you started and do right by the name of being part of the king of the pirates crew!"

As they heard his words both Shanks and Buggy burst into tears as they nodded sincerely.

Seeing their answer Roger put his hands on their shoulders as he smiled.

"Nyahaha, good luck!"

Roger took his hands off their shoulders and walked towards Rayleigh.

"It's been a hell of an adventure hasn't it?!"

Rayleigh smiled lightly as he replied.

"That it has!"

"Do you regret any of it?!"

"Not one bit! Do you?"

"Not one bit!"

As he said that Roger raised his fist as he smiled fiercely. Seeing that, Rayleigh replied in kind bumping fists with the man the world considered his captain but who he thought of as a brother!

"Take care of yourself Captain!"

"Take care of yourself brother."

After saying their goodbyes, the 3 men boarded the ship and set sail.

Watching them setting sail without him Rogers eyes started tearing as he muttered silently.

"Today marks the end of an era!"

Back on the ship, as they slowly lost sight of the island, Shanks turned to Rayleigh and asked.

"Rayleigh, where are we exactly?"

Rayleigh smiled lightly as he replied.

"On a special island on the Red Line. Don't bother asking how to return, as it's impossible unless a member of those 2 families grant you entry in advance. Without it you'll only end up eternally lost or if they see you as a threat…

You can forget about keeping your life!"

Hearing that, both Buggy and Shanks couldn't help but shudder at the thought. After regaining his composure Buggy finally asked the question that he had been wondering about all day since they arrived.

"Rayleigh… About Uncle Marcus and Uncle Walter… Who are they exactly? If they were really as powerful as captain Roger said, there's no way we wouldn't have heard of them!"

Rayleigh couldn't help but let out a chuckle as he said.

"The last time they were on the ocean was a little over 5 years ago, which was just about the time you had joined us. And they were a crew who always wore masks and never used their real names and referred to only by their code names!"

"You mean…"

"Haha right. Portgas D. Marcus is the captain of the Joyous Pirates, The Joyous Sword King! Gol D. Walter was his right hand man Joyous Spear! And Gaia, that monstrous woman is the little sister of the current Empress of Amazon Lily Gloriosa, but only a small few knows that she's also a member of the Joyous Pirates, code name Joyous War Lord."

Hearing that, both Shanks and Buggy were shocked beyond words!

Although they had seemed to go into hiding over the past 5 years, the whole world had heard of the Joyous Pirates. It was commonly believed that at the time they were the most powerful pirate crew in the world and they stood the best chance of conquering the seas.

That was until they had supposedly single handedly fought their way onto Mary Geoise for reasons unknown. The results of that world shaking battle were unknown to most but most thought that the Joyous Pirates lost as they were never seen or heard from again since then.

Realising they had just met 3 living legends who were arguably no less famous then their own captain, their blood boiled in excitement.

Shanks realised that the only person who Rayleigh didn't mention was Mira. Knowing what Shanks wanted to ask, Rayleigh said.

"As for Mira. Before meeting Marcus, she was a world noble. In fact even amongst the other nobles her status was like royalty, she was referred to as Saintess Mira."

Shanks suddenly had a crazy thought.

"The reason the Joyous Pirates stormed the gates of Mary Geoise…"

With a nod Rayleigh Replied.

"She was the catalyst that sparked a great war between the world government and the Joyous Pirates."

Shanks and Buggy couldn't lift their jaws from the floor after hearing that.

Rayleigh ignored the 2 shock stricken men as he muttered to himself.

"A truly epic yet tragic love story!"