Chapter 1 - [Prologue]

===[o Author's Notes o]===

Okay, Mysterium Tremendum does not own One Piece, nor does he have the ingenious brain of Eiichiro Oda.

Hooray! I've finally finished the first chapter of my very first story! This calls for a celebration, if anyone is willing to donate cake and donuts, we'll have a party to celebrate this momentous occasion. Until then, on with the story. To begin with, I've seen the some other Goro Goro no Mi stories and I'm hoping to top them if I can. I'm a patient writer and more used to school than anything so forgive me if my writing may lack some common elements since I've never written anything that didn't have a whole lot of parameters set for it. Such as, it must be this length, in this format, and must explain this or have these works cited for 100 points.

Do not worry, Luffy will not be completely overpowering and making it ZAP-ZAP-Die, No No No, I have a much more grandiose scheme in mind.

Now than...

BANG! - [Sound]

"Perhaps I should've..." - [Thought/Thinking]

===[o End of Author's Note o]===

Our Story begins...

The night breeze on Fusha Island blew gently throughout the thick of the dense forest. The leaves rustled lightly while the shadows danced to and fro amidst the beauty of the glowing full moon. In the middle of a small clearing in the deepest parts of the jungle, surrounded by towering trees, a little boy with short black hair, clad in a torn white shirt and short blue trousers, lay collapsed on the cold hard ground.

"Baka jii-chan!"(1) cried out the 6 ½ year old Monkey D. Luffy, "Why did he have to throw me into this stupid jungle!"

Luffy stayed on the ground fuming at his troublesome elder as the stars sparkled brightly amidst the darkness of the night.

A loud grumbling noise broke Luffy's rant, twisting Luffy's face into a pained expression, "I'm hungry. I haven't eaten in hours. Those mushrooms I ate a few hours ago didn't last long." Luffy held his hand to his stomach with his tongue hanging from his mouth.

Luffy rose slowly and looked around for a few seconds. "There must be something I can eat around here!" Luffy thought while he scanned the area he'd stopped at. He didn't recognize the clearing and the he couldn't find the way that he'd come. With no idea where he was, Luffy shrugged and set off further into the depths of the forest in search of food.

Luffy wandered through the dark and foreboding forest for several minutes, scanning the dark shadowy surroundings for anything he could eat. His stomach groaning loudly while Luffy held his hand to his stomach and continued searching and walked further into the forest, remembering how he'd ended up in such a place.

[[[ - Flashback - ]]]

"Luffy, you're going to be a marine!" the ever eccentric Garp the Fist said with confidence as he pointed dramatically at the entrance to the deepest forest on Fusha island, while Luffy sat cross-legged beside him. The shadow of the forest looming over them. The sun on Fusha Island bathed the island in a rich golden light as it slowly set over the horizon. Luffy stared at the forest oddly before turning his gaze to his troublesome elder.

"But jii-chan, I want to be a pirate! Why do you keep trying to make me a marine and what are we doing here?" Luffy answered and stubbornly crossed his arms over his chest, pouting at Garp. Luffy always hated how his jii-chan kept trying to get him to become a marine. Garp the Fist however, would not yield to his stubborn grandson.

"You WILL become the strongest marine! Even if I have to throw you back into that ravine a hundred times to ensure it!" Garp exclaimed as he grabbed Luffy and lifted him up to face-level by the scruff of his shirt. Luffy struggled against the powerful grip, "You wouldn't..." Garp smiled widely, "I would, and it is why you will be spending a few nights in this forest. A marine must always be ready to withstand hardship in the name of duty. Now..." Garp wound his arm back as Luffy yelped and struggled, "Withstand it!"

With a large yelp, Luffy was thrown into the depths of the forest. He rolled and turned, bouncing in the dirt and finally sliding to an abrupt stop as he rolled upside down and slammed into a large tree. Gritting his teeth, Luffy slumped down on top of his head, dazed. Regaining his composure, Luffy rubbed his head and dusted himself off. Amidst angry mutterings, Luffy before walking straight down the path, further into the forest.

[[[ - End Flashback - ]]]

Luffy's thoughts snapped back and he continued walking through dark forest, looking for mushrooms, or anything that he could eat.

He scanned the sides of the dirt road, when a sudden rustle of leaves came from a nearby bush, startling Luffy. He shakily turned his head towards the disturbance. The rustling quieted after a second, but it made Luffy more than a little anxious to find out what had caused it. Slowly and silently, he crept toward the sound and reached his hand into the thick brush of leaves.

His hand wandered through the mass of leaves until it rubbed against something hard and boney, causing Luffy to voice out a small "Heh?" until he grabbed the object and pulled it. The object didn't budge at Luffy's tug. Furling his eyebrows, Luffy pulled on it again but to no avail. Frustrated, Luffy kicked the inside of the bushes with his foot until it struck something hard.

Luffy yelped in surprise as a boar about as large as Luffy himself suddenly rushed out from the bushes. Luffy grabbed onto one of its tusk as it rushed by and further into the dark forest. Luffy hung on to the boar's tusks as the entire forest whished past him in a complete blur.

They raced on for several minutes, Luffy holding on to the young boar's tusks, yelling loudly until the boar slammed into a wayward tree. The impact sent Luffy's small body rolling across the ground into a nearby tree while the boar's tusk lodged into the trunk of the tree. Luffy groaned as the impact jarred his small body, causing his vision to go blurry. Before he passed out, Luffy caught sight of a large body of water lurking just beyond the wraith-like trees.

It was a little while before Luffy came to. His eyes opened slowly as his vision returned. Although blurry, he began to make out the large tree with holes in it where the boar had crashed into as well as the rising dawn that lingering over the horizon. Luffy's nose suddenly caught a strong whiff of sea salt and he dazedly got to his feet, and turned around slowly as the beach he'd seen before caught his eye.

Dizzily, Luffy lumbered down the slope overshadowed by the thick trees that separated him from the sight of the vast ocean with his eyes half-opened and his vision blurry. His stomach growled loudly as the smell of salt enticed him further down the slope toward the ocean.

A few minutes later, Luffy gazed out into the vast ocean as the salty wind reminded his stomach of food and caused it to grumble loudly. Still a little dazed, Luffy moved his head from left to right, looking over at the sandy coast while waves gently crashed down upon the beach

A minute passed where Luffy just examined the coastline and his vision slowly began to return while his drowsiness and fatigue subsided.

With his vision becoming clearer, Luffy turned his head when he heard a slight noise off in the distance and stopped when he saw a small object lying on the sand a few feet from him. His eyes snapped open as he further gazed at the small object and his brain began to work again.

The object was a small fruit, covered in squiggly marks as if someone had drawn on it with a thin marker and shaped like a bushel of blue-colored grapes. It also had a wavy green stem coming out of the top.

As soon as Luffy's brain registered this, a large grin appeared across his face. He dashed over the sand, yelling "FOOD!" at the top of his lungs and swiftly grabbed up the small fruit. Opening his mouth wide, he swallowed a large bite and continued to eat ravenously, even though the vile taste of it nearly had him gagging on it.

Despite the horrid taste however, Luffy viciously gobbled up the fruit within a matter of seconds. Swallowing the last of it, Luffy slumped to the ground as his hunger subsided marginally. He laid down on the ground for a few minutes while the rising sun slowly started to coat the sky in a magnificent hue of bright orange.

Smiling brightly as the sun began to rise; Luffy stood up and promptly headed back into the forest for the final day.

The day passed uneventfully, he hunted for food when he was hungry and chased wild animals whenever he felt like it or found some other distraction until the next morning when he was scheduled to leave the forest.

Luffy walked down the forest path, where he saw Garp sleeping soundly up against a large tree. Luffy quietly tiptoed up to his grandfather and looked at him curiously. His nose bubble blowing from his nose while drool spilled out from his mouth. Luffy waved a hand in front of his face before deciding to wake him up.

"Jii-chan, Wake up!" Luffy shook Garp's shoulder slightly, but received no response. Agitated, Luffy shook harder and when that still produced, he frowned at the old man and kicked him as hard as he could. This time though, Garp lurched and quickly swung an unconscious fist forward. The fist hit Luffy hard in the face, sending him flying across the grassy plain. Garp blinked for a few seconds while the sleepiness cleared away. His eyes widened when he saw Luffy lying down a few meters away.

Garp's anger raged and he promptly marched up to his grandson and grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt.

"LUFFY! THIS IS NO TIME TO BE SLEEPING!" He shouted and shook Luffy roughly before striking him hard on the back of his head with his hard fist.

"OUCH! Jii-chan why did you do that?" Luffy complained, waking up while Garp stood clutching him by his shirt and staring at him with an angry expression.

"This isn't the time to be asleep! Navy Marines must be awake 24/7 and be constantly aware of their surroundings!" Garp exclaimed loudly.

"But you were asleep jii-chan..." Luffy began before he was interrupted

"I was not asleep! I was awake the entire time I was waiting for you!" Garp exclaimed, shaking Luffy by his shirt while he hung down like a limp rag. Angry at his Grandson, Garp held his fist out and once again struck Luffy in the back of the head with his patented "Fist of Love"

The bumps on his head burned and thumped as Garp continued to rant. Luffy tried to struggle to be released from Garp's clutch and grasped his grandfather's fist to push off.

Something ran through his hand. A strange feeling that Luffy couldn't describe that seemed to flow from his palm. It tingled a bit before something happened that astounded Luffy. Sparks began to emit from his hand in the corner of his eye.

Garp's loud rant ceased and he began flash a bright yellow light, making odd noises and moving in an odd manner while Luffy remained unharmed, staring at him while still in his clutch.

"BWAH! AH AH!" Garp yelled out as electricity continued to flow from Luffy's hand.

The flashing stopped when Luffy removed his hand. Garp collapsed to the ground, briefly unconscious while Luffy sat down on the ground, staring at his right hand with a growing fascination. "What was that?" Luffy whispered silently to himself.

"A strange fruit with squiggly markings that tasted horrible." Garp said, his when Luffy finished recounting his tale about the horrible tasting fruit he'd eaten while in the forest.

Garp sat by the tree, his skin slightly burnt and smelling a little bit like he'd been smoking from his outfit getting charred. He looked over at his grandson, a look of seriousness plastered over his face.

"And you say you found it lying on the beach on the other side of the forest." Garp said to another nod from Luffy.

An air of silence filled the space between the two as Garp sat up against the tree, glaring intensely into the distance. In truth, Garp was overjoyed at this new development. Now it must be his absolute priority to make Luffy into a marine. With the Devil's fruit and his training, Luffy will undoubtedly be the strongest marine in history. It puzzled him how Luffy had gotten the fruit, but Garp began to smile widely as his desire to make Luffy a top-class marine flared up once again

"They're called a Devil Fruits. They're known as legendary fruits that grant whoever eats them a great power, at the cost of never being able to swim again." Garp said calmly while Luffy gave a large smile to it.

"Really! What power do I have than!" Luffy nearly jumped for joy.

"Now Now, let's not get ahead of ourselves, it's odd that you found one here in the first place. Devil Fruits are usually native to the Grand Line, but we're in the farthest part of East Blue." He stared intensely at Luffy, "I wonder how it wound up on the shore." Garp scratched his head, "Hmmmm…"

Garp thought for another second, picking his nose and staring at Luffy, before deciding to raise his hands above his head, "All well, it doesn't matter now. All that matters now is finding out what type you are." Garp said with excitement in his voice and a wide smile on his face

Luffy pulled his finger from his nose to stare questioningly at Garp, "Type?"

Garp nodded his head, "Yes, Yes, There are 3 different types of Devil Fruit; Zoan, Paramecia, and Logia." Garp held out 3 fingers for Luffy and counted down for each of them. "Zoans have the power to turn into animals; Paramecia gain a superhuman ability like being able to stretch themselves or causing objects to levitate. And Logia are able to turn into a distinct element, granting them invulnerability to attacks as well as complete control of their element. The three most powerful men in the navy are Logia fruit users." Garp finished while Luffy calmly stared at him.

Garp picked his ear with his little finger before turning away from Luffy to put his hand under his chin in a rare moment of thought, "I don't think there are any Zoan fruits that can generate electricity like you did, unless you're one of the special ones. So that leaves Paramecia and Logia. The chance of this being a Logia fruit however is extremely low so I doubt it. They're the second rarest type of fruit available, so that leaves Paramecia." Garp walked off towards the nearest town while Luffy ran close behind.

Well, the conclusion of the first chapter, hopefully I started off right. Don't worry, the fruits appearance will be explained later. Please review with positive comments. By positive, I mean have reasons behind whatever you say. That is always the difference between positive and negative comments. Positive comments always have feedback that has strong reasons behind them and gives meaning to what they're saying. I'm open to criticism and I encourage it, it will help me make this story enjoyable for you to read and help me make a better story. This is the first story I've written, so if I've done something else wrong, I apologize.

As for a pairing for this story, I'm undecided. I'm prefer not to write sappy romances and stay away from such things, which is why my biggest fear is getting to the Amazon Lily arc. As for Eneru...You'll just have to wait and see what I have planned for him. Do not worry your pretty little head.

(1) I will be trying to use Jii-chan for Grandfather whenever Luffy is speaking. I'm an avid watcher of the subbed version and I just find it better suited to Luffy's character than Grandpa. Any issues with this?

Next Chapter: Undecided. Maybe a day or maybe a week.