Eiichiro Oda and Toei Animation Studios own One Piece Manga/Anime respectively. I'm honestly glad I don't own them. I am no match for Oda's greatness.

The Dark King's Apprentice

This story will be minor AU. Luffy will not know Ace or Sabo in this fic. For the most part though it will closely follow canon. Luffy will be very strong In this fic. He will also be more serious, being as well trained as he is. I will try to keep him reasonably within character though. Hope you enjoy.

Somewhere in East Blue. An old man with white hair reaching his shoulders, as well as a bushy goatee. He had vertical scar across his left eye. He was wearing round wire-frame glasses, an orange shirt, tan shorts with black spots all over them, and sandals. He also has a sword on his side.

He is currently resting in a small boat. Looking like an easy target for the many threats that inhabit these dangerous waters, from pirates to sea kings. But should anyone or anything attack this seemingly harmless old man they would likely find themselves dead in a matter of seconds. This old man is none-other than the legendary Dark King, Silvers Rayleigh. The first mate of the even more infamous Gold Roger, The Pirate King. Rayleigh is one of the last few remaining members of that once powerful pirate crew. Rayleigh had decided to take a vacation from coating ships in Sabaody Archipelago. He also wanted a breather from his friend Shakky who owns the bar he rooms at.

Three hours later, Rayleigh's boat had jerked suddenly and Rayleigh opened his eyes, looking around he observed that his boat had taken him to an island. He disembarked his boat and walked to the nearest dock worker he could find to ask where he had ended up.

"Excuse me, my fine gentleman. Might I ask you a question? Where is this town? I had fallen asleep in my boat and it took me here of it's own accord." Rayleigh asked, a kind smile on this face the entire time. The man looked at him oddly 'Who falls asleep on a boat and lets it go where it will? That is not safe!'

"Well sir, you're docked in Foosha Village, in the Goa Kingdom. I hope that helps you, I have to get back to work. Good Day." The man said, as he left to return to his duties. Rayleigh waved the man off.

"Thanks a lot, that's all I needed to know." He continued walking through the town, enjoying its peace and quiet. What he really wanted right now was a nice drink. He found a little bar called "Party's Bar". He walked in and took a seat at the bar, waiting for the waitress to come and offer him a drink, the waitress walked up to him with a mug in her hand.

"How can I help you sir? Would you like a drink, food, or both?" The woman asked. She was a pretty young woman, with greenish hair, orange checkered shirt with black sleeves as well as bandanna in her hair.

"I'll have a mug of ale, thank you my fine young lady." Rayleigh thanked her. Makino blushed a little at the praise from such a handsome older man.

"Oh I'm sorry, where are my manners? My name is Makino, and I own this bar." She answered his unspoken question.

As soon as she finished that statement a young boy of about six years old jumped up on the bar and pointed his finger into Rayleigh's face. "You better not be hitting on Makino-chan! She's too good for you, Old Man!" The boy accused. Rayleigh looked at the boy, then the finger inches from his face, then at Makino who had an apologetic yet slightly embarrassed look on her face.

"HAHAHAHA! Don't worry my boy. I'm too old for your friend here, I just get overly friendly some times." Rayleigh said trying to ease the small child's suspicions. The boy nodded and got back into his seat and went back to drinking his juice.

"You better not! I have my eye on you!" Luffy said. Glaring at the old man one more time for emphasis.

The boy was average height for a child of his apparent age, he had black hair, and black eyes. Wearing a white shirt with the image and word Anchor on it. As well as some blue knee-length shorts. He seemed to be very friendly with the bartender here.

"You know kid. It takes a lot of courage to do what you did to someone like me. What's your name kid?" Rayleigh asked.

"Me? I'm Monkey D. Luffy! I'm gonna be Pirate King!" Luffy said. Stating his ambition and dream with absolutely zero inhibitions. He did not care if this old man laughed. He'd make it, or he'd die trying and he would be happy with it either way. Stroking his beard Rayleigh looked into the boys eyes and asked.

"Do you think you can do it? There are dangers out there in those seas you couldn't imagine, not even in your worst nightmares. Do you think you can conquer those seas?" Rayleigh asked, patiently waited for the boy to answer.

"Conquer? I don't want to conquer anything old man! I just believe that the Pirate King has the most freedom on the seas!" Luffy said, smiling like an idiot the whole time. Rayleigh was honestly surprised. He could almost see his old captain standing behind the boy with his hand on his shoulder. Rayleigh knew what he had to do. He had to take this boy under his wing, help him reach his ambition.

"You know Luffy. I think you can do it. You've impressed this old man. That is not an easy thing to do, let me tell you." Rayleigh said as he put his hands on the boys shoulder. "How would you like to sail the seas with me and learn the ways of the pirate? I'll teach you everything you need to know and then some! You will be a powerful man when I am done with you." Rayleigh asked, giving Luffy time to consider.

"Hey! Hold on a minute here! Just who are you? I don't think the boys Grandfather would like you just up and taking Luffy away!" Makino shouted. Causing the few heads in the bar to look their way.

"Hmm..." Rayleigh stroked his beard in thought. "His grandfather is Monkey D. Garp yes?" Makino nodded. "I figured they were related when the boy told me his name. I don't have to worry about him. I know how to evade that man. You don't have to worry either, Makino-san. I just want to help the boy survive to reach his dream. How about it Luffy, you want to go?" Rayleigh asked Luffy again.

Luffy looked from Rayleigh to Makino then sat up and said "I'm sorry Makino-chan, you know it's my dream to become a strong pirate! He can help me! I gotta go!"

Makino sighed. She knew she couldn't change the boys mind when it was set, and she knew she couldn't physically stop this man from taking Luffy away. She doubted anyone here could. He seemed to have an aura about him that screamed power. And she did not want to test his patience.

"I suppose I have no choice. I can't win when Luffy has his mind set on something. You better keep him safe old man! You hear me?" Makino said, she knew it was a threat as empty as Rayleigh's current mug of ale.

"Don't worry Makino-san, I will protect him as if her were my own blood. This I swear to you" Rayleigh promised.

"Ready to go Luffy? We can leave shortly. I just need to buy a bigger boat and supplies for the voyage." Rayleigh said, leading Luffy out the door. Luffy turned and waved goodbye to Makino the last time. Makino waved back forcing a smile on her face. She would have to tell Garp about this, she thought to herself as she wiped her tears away.

Rayleigh led Luffy to the docks where he found a fishmonger and boat salesmen and bought a nice fishing boat that could easily support them. He bought some food and water that would last them a few weeks. Then he and Luffy boarded the boat and Rayleigh started rowing out to sea when he sensed a rather large life form approaching the boat. He turned around and seen a large eel-like sea king glaring at them hungrily.

"It's the Lord of the Coast old man! We're gonna die!" Luffy was panicking. He had seen this creature end many a peoples adventures and lives.

"Is that any way for the future Pirate King to act Luffy?" Rayleigh asked. He could understand though. This had to be frightening to a child of his age. "Don't worry, I will take care of it." Rayleigh said with an air of finality.

Rayleigh stood up and locked eyes with the beast as it was about to attack it suddenly felt an incredible sense of impending doom. Its pupils dilated and it dived back into the water with a haste Luffy had never before seen in the monster.

"What did you do old man? How did you make it run away? I've never seen it so scared in ever!" Luffy asked, excitedly. Rayleigh sat back down and grabbed the oars and began rowing away from the coast again.

"That my boy, is just one of many things I will be teaching you as my apprentice. So just relax, it's going to take us a while to get to where we're going." Rayleigh said.

Two long arduous months at sea, only stopping when absolutely necessary for supplies. They finally seen their destination on the horizon. A small relatively safe island in the new world. This island lies in Red Haired Shanks turf, a 'Yonko', that was almost like family to Rayleigh. So there should be no problems with him and his apprentice camping out here for the foreseeable future. The island was probably about 5 miles in diameter, the weather was relatively stable by New World standards.

The boat had finally beached and they both disembarked feeling grateful to finally be on solid land. Rayleigh ordered Luffy to pull the boat as far onto land as he could. Luffy nodded and grabbed hold pulling as hard as he could, making it surprising far up the beach. Rayleigh had made it crystal clear to Luffy that when he gave an order it was to be followed, that is if he wanted to be taught. So Luffy decided it was in his best interest to obey his commands.

Rayleigh watched, 'The boy has good strength for a child of his age. I will turn that into monstrous power given enough time and dedication.' Rayleigh thought to himself.

At about the same time that Rayleigh and Luffy had set foot on their Island.

A large Marine boat was mooring in Foosha Village. When it was finally docked, a large man with a Vice Admiral's marine coat with the word "Justice" emblazoned on the back. He had short cut gray hair and matching goatee. He had a visible scar down the left side of his face. He walked through town, nodding or waving at the locals. He found the place he was headed to and entered Makino's "Party's Bar" taking a seat in front of the bar he called her over.

"Makino-chan! How are you doing! Where's my grandson hiding now?" Garp asked.

Makino gave a soft sob as she ran over to Garp. "I'm so sorry Garp-san! I couldn't stop him! The man took Luffy away two months ago! But I had no way to contact you, so Luffy could be anywhere!" Maniko was nearly in tears. Both at loosing Luffy and fearful of Garp's anger.

Garp had frozen. He couldn't even begin to believe what he just heard. 'Luffy has been kidnapped? Who would do it? Who even know who Luffy was? Two months ago?! What the hell have I been doing all this time!?' Garp was seething in rage, his teeth grinding, the mug in his hand exploding under the undue pressure of Garp's cannonball crushing grip. Makino was backing away, fearing the worst.

Garp spotted this and attempted to calm himself down. "I'm sorry Makino-chan, this isn't your fault. If it was someone after Luffy, then I doubt you could have done anything. I should have given you a Den-Den Mushi to contact me in case something like this happened... Can you at least tell me what this man who took Luffy looked like?" Makino nodded. Five minutes later, Garp was back on his boat. They were heading back to Marinford. The military headquarters of the Marines. One of the most powerful and secure buildings in all the world.

Fleet Admiral Sengoku, also known as Sengoku "The Buddha". His had a black afro under his hat, which curiously had a statue of a seagull, the symbol of the marines. A thin black mustache, and a tightly braided beard that hung down to his waist.

The man was busy fighting the greatest foe of any powerful leader. Who is this foe you ask? Is it Whitebeard? No? Is it Kaidou? No... It's.. Paperwork! The eternal undying foe of any great leader. Sengoku looked up from his paperwork sensing Garp storming to his office. The next moment his door was blown to splinters by an extremely angry Garp.

"Garp. What is what is it now? Can't you see I'm busy?" Sengoku sighed in frustration. Garp was always so emotional.

"This is no goddamn joke! I'm not here to mess around, Sengoku! I need your help on a personal issue!" Garp shouted slamming his fist into Sengoku's desk cracking the fine wood.

"What's wrong Garp? It seems important if you're this upset, and actually want help on a personal issue." Sengoku asked, giving Garp his full attention.

"My grandson, Luffy. He's been kidnapped... By the Dark King. That's what my damned problem is!" Garp growled at Sengoku. Sengoku's eyes widened in shocked.

"This is bad indeed. How did Rayleigh even learn about your grandson? I mean it's not exactly common knowledge where you had him hidden?"

"I don't know, but it happened two months ago. What can I do at this point?" Garp asked, sliding down into his seat. The stress finally getting to him.

"I guess I could order CP-9 to look into it, they may be able to find him. But you know as well as I that they could never take him back from someone like Rayleigh." Sengoku offered.

"NO! No way! You keep that assassin squad away from my grandson. They would be more likely to kill him then they would be to save him. That Lucci guy especially. He's broken. He kills innocent people as easily as he kills criminals. And you wonder why my son does what he does." Garp said, adamantly.

"AH Don't get me started on that bastard son of yours! He and his army took another island in South Blue last week."

Back with the protagonist.

A few hours landing. The sun was just reaching high noon and the two had finished eating their lunch. A nice meal consisting of cooked wild boar.

"Luffy. Now that you have had a good filling meal I want to start your training. You showed good strength from what I can tell, seeing how far you pulled that boat up. That was not an easy task for one so young." Rayleigh complimented the boy, Luffy smiled a radiant smile.

"I'm going to start with physical training since you are too young to actually learn any of the more advanced skills I have to teach you. Understand?" Rayleigh asked. He wanted to make sure Luffy understands everything he teaches him before moving on with the next thing on the list.

"Sure old man! I need to be stronger to learn your cool powers!" Luffy answered the question. Rayleigh nodded with a bright smile on his face.

"Yes, You're exactly right my boy. So we are going to start with endurance training. Get to running around this island. I want to see how long you can run before you have to stop." Rayleigh ordered. Luffy nodded and began running. Luffy ran for roughly two hours before having to stop and rest. Rayleigh nodded, it was a good starting point. After a short rest Rayleigh stood up.

"How do you feel, are you too tired to continue training Luffy? Do you need water?" Rayleigh asked.

"No way, old man, I can go on. But water would be nice please!" Rayleigh handed him a glass of water and he gulped it down. "Ok, enough playing around Luffy. I want you to give me one hundred reps of each of these exercises. Push-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, pull-ups." Rayleigh showed him to a good tree branch for the pull-ups. "I also want you to punch and kick this tree one hundred times each. Understood?" Rayleigh asked. Luffy nodded.

A year has passed since Luffy started training with Rayleigh. Luffy is now seven years old and looks like a boy three or four years older. Lean, strong. His fists calloused and tough. Luffy was becoming self sufficient so Rayleigh allowed him to hunt his own food more often. It was good practice for when he was out on his own.

Rayleigh was standing on beach watching the ocean, when he seen a large red and gold boat. It had a large Jolly Roger across its front sail. A skull with a red eye patch over its left eye. And two crossed sabers.

"What are we doing captain? This Islands deserted. Why the sudden interest in this Island?" Benn Beckmann asked his captain.

Benn Beckmann is the first mate of the Yonko, Red Haired Shanks. Second in command of the Red Force and her crew. He has shoulder length black hair worn in a pony tail. Wears a black shirt with green pants, and a yellow sash around his waist. Has a long rifle on his waist as if it were a sword.

"If you look closely, you can see a boat there, I'm just curious who's calling one of our islands home. That is all. If they're not here to cause trouble they can stay, hell we may even party with them!" Shanks answered. Benn nodded his understanding.

Shanks is a tall man of moderate build. He has short red hair as is his namesake. Three vertical claw marks going over his left eye. And a light goatee. He's wearing a loose fitting white button up shirt only half buttoned, purple calf-length shorts, a red sash and a long black captains coat. He also has a relatively plain looking saber on his hip.

"Let's go Benn." Benn nodded. "Hey! Yasopp, Lucky! We're going ashore!" Shanks shouted. He received a chorus of "Aye Captain" and "Hooray!" as the selected men and Shanks piled into the small landing boat. About ten minutes later they were beaching their boat. Shanks got serious as he looked into the tree line and called out.

"I know you're there, there is no use in hiding from us. Show yourself now." Shanks called out hand resting on his saber's handle. Shanks may be a relatively calm and friendly guy, but until he was sure this person was not a threat he was going to be serious.

"I think you're a hundred years too early to be threatening me, Shanks!" Rayleigh stepped out of the tree line, casually walking with his hands in his pockets, approaching his old crews cabin boy.

Shanks and his crew's jaws dropped. His crew shocked to see the legendary figure on one of their islands. They knew he generally stayed at Sabaody coating ships. Shanks was nervous, he just threatened his old disciplinarian. He lost count all the time this man beat the shit out of him for some mistake or other when he was a kid.

"I'm sorry! Rayleigh-san I didn't know it was you I swear!" Shanks shouted. His crew backing away from him in case Rayleigh wanted to punish him. Rayleigh's straight serious face quickly shifted into a smile as he started laughing at Shanks. "Haha, my boy you haven't changed since I last saw you!"

"Well Rayleigh. The reason were here, we just wanted to see who was on the island. Since it's you I'm fine with it. But we are kind of curious as to why you are here, not that it matters. You don't have to tell us." Shanks asked. Making sure to be respectful, he wasn't sure if he could take this man. Not that he wanted to fight the 'Dark King' in the first place.

"I picked up something interesting I found in East Blue. A kid, he said some interesting things. So I decided to kidnap him and make him my apprentice. He's working out well so far. You wouldn't believe who he is related to, haha." Rayleigh said.

"I'm afraid to ask... Who is he related to?" Shanks asked. Rayleigh would not bring it up if he did not at least half expect them to ask the question.

"Hmm... The kids name is Monkey D. Luffy. I'll let you figure it out." Rayleigh answered in a vague way, as if testing the man.

Shanks and his crew only took a second to figure it out. I mean who hasn't heard of the most wanted man in the world... That goes double for Garp "The Fist". They just stood there flabbergasted for a moment. Rayleigh laughing at their shock uproariously.

Shanks came out of his shock and laughed. "Dahahaha. You know how to pick 'em don't you Rayleigh-san? How about we throw a party on the Red Force. It'll be fun, I'm sure the rest of the crew would love to meet Luffy." Rayleigh did not even need to consider it. 'This is exactly what Luffy needs. He's been training hard for a year. A little rest is good for the spirit.'

"Sure, I think Luffy would like that a lot. Just don't tell him about his father. He knows about his grandfather but lets not talk about that either. I'll go collect my protege. See you on your ship soon." Rayleigh said as he walked back into the tree line.

A grand party was being held on the Red Force, pirates getting drunk and gorging on food. People dancing and generally having a great time. Luffy was telling some people about his training. They would tell him some of their adventures. Yasopp in particular would tell him about his son he had to leave behind in East Blue. Luffy promised that when he started building his crew he would make sure to head to Syrup Village and try to recruit the boy. Yasopp couldn't even put into words how happy that made him.

Luffy decided to look around a little. He went to the bar, remembering Makino's place. He saw a weird looking purple fruit in a box on the bar. He heard his stomach growl at the sight, so he climbed up on the stool and took the fruit in hand, taking a large bite out of it. He immediately began gagging and trying to spit the vile tasting fruit out of his mouth.

"Gah! What is this! It tastes so bad?!" Luffy shouted, attracting the attention of several of the crew, including Shanks. Shanks ran up to Luffy and pulled the fruit away. Looking at it he sighed.

'To late to do anything about it now. No need to cry over spilled milk so to speak' Shanks thought to himself. "It's alright, you'll be fine Luffy. Here have a drink." Shanks gave Luffy a glass of water. "You just ate a devil fruit. Do you know what devil fruits are?" Luffy shook his head in the negative. Rayleigh walked up to inform his student.

"It's a fruit that give you super human powers, but at the cost of being able to swim. Shanks, what fruit did my apprentice eat?" Shanks asked, glaring at the man for leaving a Devil Fruit out like that. Luffy was jumping up and down, shouting this and that about having super powers and how he was gonna be pirate king for sure now.

"It's the "Gomu Gomu no Mi" Rayleigh-san. We took off a crew we defeated after they thought it was a good idea to attack a Yonko's ship. Well it didn't work out so well for them. Sorry, we don't usually have kids on the ship, I kinda forgot it was there. We were simply going to sell it. So it's no real loss to us." Shanks said.

"Hmmm If I recall my fruit logic correctly, the Gomu Gomu no Mi should make Luffy highly resistant to blunt force trauma, that will help him greatly. This wasn't a disaster after all. I should be thanking for this blunder Shanks." Rayleigh said.

"Well Luffy, as long as you don't fall into the ocean or a large body of water, you should be fine. Though Kairoseki will always be a problem." Rayleigh sighed. 'This will help his future training, it is actually a great blessing.' Rayleigh thought.

Several days later. Luffy and Rayleigh were bidding their friends on the Red Force good bye. They had to head back out and patrol their section of the New World, and as much as they wanted to, they could not stay here forever.

Luffy ran to the landing boat and shouted loudly "I'm gonna be a better pirate than you, Shanks! The old man is making me strong! I'll go out and get a crew, and we will beat your crew to One Piece! I'm going to be Pirate King! Just you watch me!" Luffy caught his breath after that long tirade.

Shanks laughed, "Going to beat us, are you? You know kid. You just might!" He took his hat off his head, looked it it longingly before placing it on Luffy's head. "This hat is very important to me Luffy. I'm loaning it to you. You can return it to me when you are the Pirate King. OK?" Shanks smiled down at Luffy.

Luffy was crying his eyes out. His friend had just given him his precious hat, and told him he believed in him! This was one of the best days of his life. Luffy looked up to Shanks and nodded, he couldn't speak right now so he just nodded holding the hat tightly to his head. 'I'll never let this hat get hurt I swear it!' Luffy screamed in his own head.

"Well Luffy, now that shanks has left. I think it's high time we get back to your training. Do you agree?" Luffy knew it wasn't really a question but he answered "Hell Yeah!" Placing his hand protectively on his new hat. He wanted to get as strong as possible so he could protect his future nakama, and his hat when the time came.

"Ok then." Rayleigh pulled a strip of cloth out of his pocket. "We are going to work on unlocking your Kenbunshoku Haki this is also known as Observation Haki. It will allow you to see hidden enemies, and predict the next attack an enemy will likely throw at you. It is extremely useful in combat." Luffy was really excited about this mystery power.

"Ok! Old man what do I gotta do!?" He asked, excitedly. Rayleigh stepped up to Luffy and put the blindfold over his eyes. Luffy couldn't see a thing, no light at all traveled through the blindfold.

"Take a seat on the ground. Now I want you to relax your mind, ignore all the distractions and just remain calm. I know it's hard for you, as excitable as you are. But you must learn to do this if you are going to awaken your observation Haki." Rayleigh said. Luffy nodded and did his best to relax and open his mind to the world around him.

Two months have passed. Luffy was gradually getting better. He did not stop his physical training at all. He just did his Observation training at night a couple hours before bed. Recently he felt his first trigger of Observation Haki. Now we see Luffy once more blind folded and Rayleigh throwing small pebbles at him. Most if the time he would hit him. But Luffy was starting to evade the objects more regularly. It was a work in progress. But Rayleigh was happy with Luffy's progress.

Six months have passed and now Luffy was eight years old. Rayleigh had deemed his Observation Haki a suitable level to move on to his Armament Haki. So he called the boy over.

"Luffy, come here boy. It's time we moved on to the next phase of your training. The Busoshoku Haki, it is also called Armament Haki. With this ability you can coat any part of, or your entire body in an invisible armor. It will protect you from most damage, including your weakness to blades. It will also increase the damage output of your attacks. Be they fists, feet or weapon. There is one more key feature regarding this particular Haki." Luffy was giving Rayleigh his complete attention, when Rayleigh flicked him in the forehead. Knocking him to the ground where he rolled around crying in pain.

"What the hell old man! How did that hurt so bad! I'm rubber that shouldn't have hurt me!" Luffy shouted, angrily. Rayleigh just laughed at his pain.

"That's because I used a small amount of Armament Haki in my finger when I hit you. It bypassed your devil fruit power and effected you as if you were a normal human. This is the most important aspect of Armament Haki. It will allow your attacks to hurt devil fruit users as though they were normal humans. Understand?" Rayleigh asked.

"Yes I get it. Did you have to use it on me though! That hurt so bad..." Luffy wined. "You won't be forgetting it will you? Shut up you sound like a baby." Rayleigh chided.

"You are going to learn this ability by brute force. See this boulder?" Rayleigh was standing next to a rather large boulder. "Yeah! I see it old man, what you want me to do?" Luffy asked.

"Simple. I want you to start punching this rock until your fists are bloody and hurt too much to go on." Rayleigh instructed. Luffy nodded. And the pain began.

Five months have passed. Luffy never stopped his relentless training. Eventually Rayleigh had to make Luffy run laps with heavy rock tied to Luffy's back. He could run laps around the island all day and not get tired otherwise. Luffy did most of his exercises with this heavy rock tied to him. It yielded fantastic results.

It was shortly after the fifth month that Luffy was able to form a useful Haki shield around his fist, and when his fist collided with the boulder, well the boulder was no longer there...

Rayleigh patted Luffy on the shoulder and handed him a piece of meat. "Good work, I'm glad to see you finally got it. Let's take a break for now. You can relax for a few days and let your body recover." Rayleigh said. Luffy nodded, he did not want to stop but a short break sounded good to him.

Ten months have passed. Luffy is now nine years old. As his body matures it is allowing his muscles to grow at a faster rate. Rayleigh noticed that no matter how much muscle the boy gains his body does not grow bulkier. 'This must be another aspect of his rubbery body. It compresses his muscles to the highest form, keeping him slim and flexible. Yes, this is good. I don't think he will ever be too bulky to be fast.' Rayleigh thought.

"Luffy, get some rest. Tomorrow will be an important day for you." Rayleigh suggested. Luffy nodded and headed to his tent.

Rayleigh considered what he would do tomorrow. He might ruin their relationship. It will be brutal but it must be done to see if Luffy has it. Rayleigh decided to call it a night as well.

The next day, after Rayleigh and Luffy awoke. Luffy and Rayleigh were locked in a life and death spar. Well Life and Death for Luffy, no more than a light warm up for Rayleigh. Luffy's right arm was broken hanging limply at his side. His left eye swollen shut. Head bleeding from a scalp laceration. Luffy's vision was fading in and out. Rayleigh had him by the throat with one hand.

"Is this the best you got boy? All that time training you? And this is all you had to show for it? I've wasted my time! You are such a... Disappointment." Rayleigh was releasing small amounts of Haoshoku Haki hoping to spark something in the Luffy's psyche. "If this is truly the best you got then I guess I'll just end your adventure right now." Rayleigh began to squeeze on his throat harder, eyes locked on Luffy's

'No! This can't be it! I refuse to lose! I gotta be Pirate King! I promised Shanks! I REFUSE TO GO DOWN!' "LET GO OF ME NOW!" Luffy unconsciously released an enormously potent wave of Conquerors Haki. It actually startled Rayleigh to a small extent. Not that it was stronger than his but still Luffy was young, his spirit had nigh unlimited potential for growth.

'Amazing. That is stronger than some pirates sailing the New World could ever hope to produce. I know how to pick them indeed, Shanks. I think you go some competition in the future.' Rayleigh thought as he carried the boy back to camp. He had knocked himself out from over exertion.

Thank you for reading, if you wouldn't mind a review would be much appreciated.