25 Chapter 24

At an unknown island, Dracule Mihawk was walking amidst a group of pirates who were trembling in his presence. Those pirates have all sailed in the New World and could not be considered weak. He was just that strong. Eventually, he reached a group who were not scared, but they looked annoyed at his presence.

"Hawkeyes? Well, you are a rare guest. Have you come for a duel? I'm hungover, and I'm not in the mood." One of the people there remarked. He had red hair with three scars across his left eye and looked irritated.

"I have no desire to fight someone with only one arm like you Shanks. But I do carry some interesting news." Mihawk threw him a newspaper and a bounty poster.

"LUFFY! DAHAHA, you finally started your journey." Shanks exclaimed after seeing the poster.

"Did you guess from the hat?" He asked Mihawk.

"No, I met him when as I was passing by East Blue. He told me that you gave him the straw hat. He has found a skilled swordsman as a crew member and declared his wish to become the Pirate King."

"DAHAHA, that's Luffy alright. Time to party guys! Get the booze we have to celebrate Luffy's first bounty!" With no sign of being hungover, Shanks announced to his crew.

Meanwhile, on the Moby Dick, a young man who greatly resembled Luffy, was running with a poster in his hand. He reached a giant man standing almost seven meters tall with a big white mustache. The giant was attached to several medical machines with a few nurses checking up on him. Despite needing special medical attention, he was considered the strongest man alive. Edward Newgate or more commonly referred to as Whitebeard.

"Pops, look my brother just got his first bounty! It's even higher than my first bounty! Isn't he amazing?" With a proud look on his face, the young man told the giant.

"So you and Shanks have been telling me stories about the same person? Gurarara, I can't wait to meet the grasshopper." Whitebeard smiled seeing the bounty poster.

[Luffy POV]

The girls were amazing. They tried on so many different clothing and put an incredible show for me. Nami walked into one of the changing rooms with a few lingerie in hands and asked me to help her put them on. The girl is very daring and didn't even try to hide her moans.

"You guys are like bunnies during mating season. You do it whenever and however you can, sight." Nojiko remarked once we exited the changing room, while Aisha was emitting steam.

"Are you jealous, my dear sister?" Nami asked her, which caused Nojiko to blush.

We went to a few different clothing stores, and they even picked a few outfits for me. Nami had mentioned that a storm is coming and we should probably leave before the end of the day. I had the girls get back to the ship, with a clone I discreetly made to keep them safe.

Ever since stepping foot on the island, I felt something weird. Like there is more to this town than meets the eye. I also wanted to check the Execution Platform, so I made my way towards there.

While walking through the town, I noticed a bar named Gold Roger which surprised me. I didn't expect there to be a bar named after the Pirate King. That interested me, so I went in.

The bar looked like it had seen better days. There were cobwebs, the floor was unclean, the furniture was full of dust, but there was an aged man behind the bar. He was wearing a purple hat, a white, red-hemmed shirt paired with sunglasses and golden earrings.

"Get out boy. I'm closing the bar." He looked displeased once I entered the establishment.

"Ahh, don't be like that. I just wanted to ask about the name and if it was misspelled on purpose or not." He had a dark, gloomy aura, but when he heard me, his eyes shined brightly.

"Someone here remembers him by his full name? I can't believe it. My name is Raoul. What's your name boy?" He took a closer look at me, but his eyes lingered on the straw hat.

"Monkey D. Luffy, the future Pirate King," I told him without a doubt in my voice.

Raoul burst out laughing when he heard me, but he looked happy.

"Come sit boy, for you I will keep this place open a bit longer." He beckoned me with his hand to a stool in front of him.

"This was Roger's favorite drink. He always ordered it when he came to visit and tell me his stories." He placed a glass of whiskey in front of me. Like the glutton that I am, I picked it up and gulped it down. That wasn't the best idea since I nearly choked. The drink was bitter, but I liked it.

Raoul started telling me stories about Roger. Some of the sounded outrageous, but I knew that they were all true. Zeff has also told me stories about him, Garp and Whitebeard, the three strongest humans.

Whitebeard is considered the stronger human even now in his old age. But a big part of it is due to his Tremor-Tremor Devil Fruit. Some people view it as the strongest Paramecia. I don't believe it is the strongest, but it could be the most destructive.

Garp and Roger, on the other hand, are monsters. The only people to have not eaten a Devil Fruit, yet are considered as the strongest. Boasting strength greater than Giants and incredible mastery of Haki, they were unmatched in their primes. Zeff believes that Roger would still be reigning as Pirate King if he didn't get cursed with his disease.

I stayed at the bar for about half an hour listening to Raoul's stories. After drinking one more glass of whiskey, I bid him goodbye.

When I saw the Execution Platform up close, it didn't look like anything special. I jumped on top of it and looked around. The view was incredible, especially with the people looking up to you from down below.

A particular building, which was straight in front of me caught my attention. I noticed a cloaked person, behind a slightly opened window. I was about to jump away from the Execution Platform, but someone pushed me down, and I felt my strength leaving me.

"CP-0 agent Maru at your service. I was sent to take your head by the World Government. Please forgive me, but I have no other choice. As an apology, I would allow you to say your last words, before killing you." I head a man behind me say that. Turning around, he was very tall and lean. Maru was wearing a yellow jumpsuit with black spots and a tiger mask. He was also holding a weird looking weapon. It was a big tooth with a handle stuck to it.

I turned around and made sure I was looking straight towards the window I saw the cloaked man.

"I AM THE MAN WHO WILL BECOME THE PIRATE KING," I yelled it with all my might. The crowd surrounding the platform stood stupified from my statement.

Maru didn't seem fazed at my words and was about to pierce my neck with his weapon. Unfortunately for him, lighting struck the execution platform before he could do it. It destroyed the Execution Platform and the Seastone cuffs, which were holding me down. Maru was left twitching on the ground, with his clothes burned.

The crowd surrounding us had removed a safe distance away, and there was now a large group of Marines surrounding the platform. Leading them was a muscular, white-haired man smoking two cigars.

"With Captain Smoker here, you have no chance of escaping." One of the Marines declared.

"Oh really?" Using Soru combined with Second Gear, I disappeared from the spot I was standing.

Within seconds I reached the window from earlier and entered inside. The room was empty, except for a man standing two and a half meters tall. He had long, spiky black hair with a red tattoo on the left side of his face.

"Dad!" I exclaimed with happiness.

"I'm proud of how much you have grown. It seems I don't have to worry about your safety that much." Dragon smiled gently. He sat on the floor, and he motioned for me to sit next to him. He listened to me speak about my adventures so far and my crew.

"Hahaha, your mother will kill me if she learned that." He said when I told him about my relationship with Aisha and Nami.

"Mother? How is she?" I got all jumpy hearing him mention her.

"To the world, she is dead." That was all I needed to hear.

"I believe it is time for you to go. I can guarantee you, that the winds will be in your favor." Dragon stood up and opened the window.

"Make sure to send my regards to mother and Sabo." He looked surprised when I mention Sabo, but smiled at me and disappeared.

I exited through the window and rushed towards the Going Merry. On the way, I noticed that there were unconscious Marines on the streets, with civilians trying to help them up.

It took me a moment to reach the ship with my full speed. The whole crew had already gathered and were preparing to leave Lougetown. They didn't look worried but annoyed that I was late. Since they were only waiting for me, we immediately set sail towards the first part of the Grand Line.

Zoro said that a group of Marines was chasing him before they dropped unconscious. So my father can use Conqueror's Haki, or he brought someone with him, who could. The person who used it was someone extremely skilled, considering only the Marines were taking a nap on the streets.

I was slightly disappointed that I didn't have enough time to explore the island. I wasn't able to discover what made me have a weird feeling about the place.

It took us a couple of hours before we saw the lighthouse, known as the Light of Guidance.

Sanji took out one of the bigger barrels of alcohol that we had and placed it on the main deck. He gathered us all around the barrel to celebrate us entering the Grand Line.

"To find All Blue."

"To become the Pirate King."

"To become the greatest swordsman."

"To become the greatest swordsman duo."

"To travel the world with Luffy."

"To draw a map of the world."

"To keep my sister safe."

"To become a brave warrior of the seas."