"Luffy..." The gruff voice of Marine Vice Admiral Garp growled.

Monkey D. Luffy. At 7 years old he wanted the same thing every 7 year old wanted. He wanted to live his life like every day was a new adventure. To see a new dawn and wonder 'What kind of fun can I have today?". Further, like all 7 year olds, Monkey D. Luffy was highly impressionable. So when a group of pirates arrived in his village and regaled him with tales of all the grand adventures they've had, living freely on the high seas, doing whatever they pleased, he was awestruck. From that alone, he knew exactly what he wanted to be when he grew up. He wanted to be a pirate.

Those very same pirates saving his life not a few days later certainly didn't hurt.

So when his grandfather – a marine and the one to capture the most infamous pirate to ever exist – returned and saw the change that overtook his grandson... Well...

"I'M GONNA BE KING OF THE PIRATES!", Luffy yelled in his grandfather's face.

"LIKE HELL YOU ARE, BRAT!" Garp immediately yelled back, slamming a fist into the top of the boy's head.

Suffice to say, he wasn't taking it well.

It seemed there would be no changing the boy's mind, but that wouldn't stop Garp from trying. There was no way Garp would let his grandson be as much of a disappointment as his son had been. As such, he blackmailed the Dadan mountain bandit clan into taking care of the boy and beating some discipline into him. Teaching him the values of hard work and working for the benefit of others. Perhaps in another story the bandits might have succeeded in doing those things, though there really was no stopping the newly rubberised boy from realising his new dream, no matter how much tough love he was shown.

This, however, is not that story.

For in this story, only one month later, another group of pirates came calling to Windmill Village.

-(-)-

The village was burning. The smells of smoke, ash and blood mixed in the air. A scent so sickening it would leave bystanders choking on it, were their minds not occupied by the terror of the scene. Men with wicked grins and more wicked blades were ransacking the small fishing village, searching homes for any valuables, killing any who resisted and – if they felt particularly vindictive – putting it all to the torch afterwards.

The Captain of these monsters with the faces of men whistled a jaunty tune to himself as he walked down the main road back to the docks. It was an decent haul for such a small town. They must have done trade with that city on the hill. Fish, most likely. The whole place stank of it, though being a pirate it was a scent he was used to. He was particularly glad of his own 'catch of the day'. Some entertainment for the crew so they'd stop bitching at him for a while.

The familiar click of a flintlock pistol being cocked stopped him mid-stride. Slowly, he turned to face his assailant but when he got a good look at him he couldn't hold back a chuckle. "Really? Is this the best defence this village can muster? An old man with an antique pistol?" Looking more closely, he amended his description. "A terrified old man, at that."

The Mayor of Windmill Village, Woop Slap, continued pointing his gun at the invader. He had purchased it after the Red Haired Pirates had shown up, hoping he wouldn't need to use it but fearing the day he would. That day had arrived. "I'm the mayor of this village. I have t-to p-p-protect these people." He put his left hand on the gun to steady his shaking. "Y-You let her go, you take your spoils and you leave. And you'll have no more trouble from us."

The captain's expression and tone suggested he was holding back more laughter. "O-oh, is that so? Hm, sorry I can't do that, friend. See, my crew need Miss... Err, sorry what's your name, love?", he asked the green-haired woman slung over his shoulder. She was unconscious and didn't move or respond. "Hm. Well anyway the crew need her help with some stress relief and she was eager to lend a hand."

"I-I'll shoot! I will!" the mayor warned, not sure himself whether it was true.

The captain shrugged with his free shoulder, "Alright then." before turning to resume his walk back to the ship.

Mayor Woop Slap wasn't overly surprised that this man would just walk away from someone pointing a gun at him. Especially when the man was Woop Slap, unintimidating at the best of times. But he couldn't, he refused to let them hurt his people and get away with it. Desperation warred with fear and in the end it was a draw. As he squeezed the trigger with shaking hands he couldn't keep his eyes open to watch the result.

A resounding bang rang out in the thoroughfare of Windmill Village.

The captain turned and looked at the ground a few feet in front of him to the right and saw a smoking spot where the bullet had struck. He turned further to look back at Woop Slap who still had his eyes shut. "Well, I'll give you points for manning up. But you lose more for your aim. Not to mention you might've hit this pretty thing." he admonished as he patted the woman's head. "Well, there is a method to this sort of thing so..." Slowly he pulled a slim dagger from his belt with his left hand.

Terrified, out of ammunition and faced with his own demise, Woop Slap ran. He got twenty feet before the dagger buried itself into the back of his skull.

"Hm.", the captain mused aloud as he resumed walking. "Double twenty. Not bad for my non-dominant hand."

-(-)-

Luffy was crying. He didn't care about the judgemental looks Ace was giving him as the older boy left to... do whatever he did in the forest when Luffy failed to keep up. It didn't matter to the heartbroken boy.

They hadn't hidden the truth from him, no matter his age. They told him exactly what had occurred and what had happened to Makino and the grumpy old man who yelled at Shanks' crew. When he tried to somehow deny that pirates would do such a thing, a young man walked up to him and dropped a slim, bloodstained dagger at his feet.

They were cursing Shanks' name alongside these other pirates, at the same time thanking the gods that the Red Haired Pirates just weren't in a killing mood.

Luffy knew that wasn't right. Shanks had saved him! He gave up his own arm to do it! There's no way someone who would do that could do what these other pirates did! But his innocent, idealistic words fell on deaf ears.

And so Luffy ran to his room in the Dadan family's home and cried. His innocence stolen, his dream ripped to shreds, he tore Shanks' straw hat from his head and threw it in the corner. It felt like a betrayal to wear it after his new resolution.

-(-)-

Garp had been in a good mood when they were sailing into the docks of Windmill Village. Hopes of Dadan's tender loving care changing his grandson's perspective a little left a grin stretched across his face. That vanished instantly on seeing the state of the village. It had been a bustling fishing village. Dozens of houses and businesses strewn around, people working happily day after day, helping each other, laughing and living together.

That village was now gone. Replaced with a shell of its former self. Half the village was in ruins, clear evidence of it being burned to the ground was visible. Now homeless citizens huddled together under makeshift shelters, lifeless eyes staring out at nothing. Others continued to go about their lives to make ends meet, though those capable of it were working on building new homes for the now disenfranchised folk. As Garp walked through town, reactions to his presence were mixed. Some smiled with obvious relief, knowing an attack couldn't happen with the marines there, especially one of Garp's notoriety. Others looked on with scorn, doubtless blaming the marines for only showing up after the danger had passed, long after they were needed most.

Garp sent his Lieutenant to find Woop Slap. He wanted to know how this happened. A few moments later the Lieutenant returned with a young man with a pencil moustache and a cleft chin much like the mayor's. "Sir! This man says he can point you to Woop Slap, sir."

Garp stroked his beard as he looked at the young man, recognition flashing through his eyes. "I remember you! You're Woop's nephew, right? Loop, was it?"

"Loops." the young man nodded, correcting him. "You were looking for my uncle? He's over there." he said, pointing towards the market square, specifically a a statue that Garp was certain hadn't been there before.

As he approached it was obvious that the statue was made in a rush. It was around four feet tall and not overly detailed. Regardless, it was plain that it was a depiction of Woop Slap in a surprisingly heroic pose for the old mayor, pointing an old pistol at an unseen enemy with determination in his eyes. The plaque beneath it read 'Here lies Mayor Woop Slap. Died defending our home. Never forgotten.'

"I see.", Garp sighed, before adopting his aura of command. "Who's in charge here then?"

"Unofficially, that would be me.", Loops answered.

Garp nodded. "Lieutenant, inform the crew, both you and they are under this man's command for the purpose of getting this village back on its feet. They need lumber? Chop down some trees. They need help with carpentry or construction? You better grab a hammer and nails. Am I understood?"

"Aye aye, sir!" the lieutenant answered immediately with a salute before returning to the ship.

-(-)-

When Garp went searching for Luffy, he found him huddled in the corner of his room, sobbing. "Luffy.", he called out quietly.

Luffy looked up, tear and snot streaked face plain even in the shadows as he sniffed instinctively to clear his nose. "I don't understand.", he whimpered.

Garp leaned against a wall and slid down it to sit next to his grandson. "I didn't want you to know about this, you know. I could've just shown you photos of the aftermath of pirate attacks. The things I've seen..." he trailed off, old buried memories floating to the surface before he shook them away. "I could've made you think twice about this pirate nonsense just that easily. But... A man should have the right to choose his dream."

"I don't care about that." Luffy muttered. "Just... Why? They're pirates like Shanks! They could do whatever they want and they use that to hurt people! I DON'T UNDERSTAND!"

Garp sighed. "Never tell anyone I said this. Especially any marines. Red-Haired Shanks... Is probably one of the best men on the seas. I could never thank him enough for saving you that day. But that's not why I think he's a great man. I respect him because he has all that strength and the freedom to do whatever he wants – he could have levelled this village in an hour – but he never let it go to his head. There are some high-ranking marines for whom I can't say the same." He paused. "Again, don't tell anyone I said that."

"The point is," he continued, "in that way, Shanks is one in a million. Gold Roger inspired a generation to live free on the open seas but if people want that freedom, they have to defend that freedom by force. So these men who decide to live outside the law, they learn to fight. And all of a sudden they not only have freedom, they have power. And then that freedom gets twisted into a mockery of the concept. 'No laws' is joined by 'no morals', and then, well in their minds they really can do anything. Because no one can stop them."

"That's what the marines are for, Luffy." Garp explained. "Not to deny men freedom. It's to put down the men who prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that they don't deserve it."

"I could be a good pirate then. Like Shanks is." Luffy said, though it sounded like his heart wasn't in it.

"You could." Garp nodded. "I'd still love you if that's the path you chose. So now that you've seen a bit more of the real world, is that the path you want to follow?"

There was a long, pregnant silence. Garp didn't push, didn't move or say anything. Just let his grandson come to his own conclusion. A man should have the right to choose his dream.

"Grampa. Will you teach me to be a marine?" Luffy asked near inaudibly.

Garp put an arm around him before ruffling his hair. "The finest in the world." He grinned and lifted his grandson to his feet without warning. "Now go get yourself cleaned up. You're coming down to the village with me!"

"What for?" Luffy asked as he wiped at his eyes and nose.

"We're going to rebuild it."

-(-)-

It had taken three days. Loops was astonished.

The marines had proven to be tireless workers and they sped up the reconstruction a great deal. But when Vice Admiral Garp returned with his grandson he took it to a whole other level. One of the carpenters said they saw him chop down a tree with his bare hand and drag it to town himself! They don't come like that in East Blue! The man was a monster!

It wouldn't bring back those they'd lost, but at least the people left behind could mourn their loss in warmth and safety.

On the ship, Luffy was looking over the rail, out to the open sea, holding the straw hat given to him by his hero. He couldn't wear it anymore. He knew that. But at the very least, he could return it to its rightful owner.

-(-)-

A/N: Two years of thinking about it I finally get this down on (metaphorical) paper. So I read a story called Turnabout a long time ago. Basically a similar concept only without the defining moment for why Luffy would choose the opposite side. Also it clung to canon like a limpet. By the basic plot alone, that should be impossible.

So (assuming I actually get to writing this one again) this will be going in a different direction by necessity. The crew will need to be different. You can't have Usopp the pirate's proud son as a marine. Sanji likewise would be a difficult proposition (if someone has an idea to make it work I'll consider it). And Robin for a multitude of reasons is an impossibility. On the other hand, Zoro and Nami would be easy to include (one hunts pirates anyway and the other loathes them). And Luffy being a marine allows him to recruit characters that would be impossible for a pirate. So Smoker, Tashigi, Hina, Fullbody, even the CP9 agents could be possible. Also Coby. But nobody likes Coby.

Really, with all of these possibilities, why would anyone imitate canon?

So... That's that. I'll get back to it when I can.

Thanks for reading.