One Piece: The Legendary Pirate

Darvy didn't know how long it took. Digging pits, dragging the decomposing corpses into those, and sealing them close—it was probably one of the most intense exercises he's ever done.

Nonetheless, at the end of his endeavour, Darvy saw an area of many small bumps, the so-called graveyard of pirates.

Now, sweaty and tired, Darvy lied down on a hard ground and stared at the sky.

"...How fun."

The whole surrounding now seemed ominous. No sign of life and full of burnt things with the exception of those crawling bugs... clearly, this island was now anything but survivable.

He still couldn't believe it though. In a span of a day, the shit-hole of a life that he already had has taken a turn for the worse.

Nonetheless, he decided to ignore those negative thoughts.

Gritting his teeth, Darvy struggled to stand back up. Grabbing a hold of a broken blade, he put all his strength into his bony body so much that it trembled as if about to break any second.

Alas, he succeeded. Even though he was in a state of hunger, thirst, fatigue, and his body's natural disposition, he persisted.

"I have to leave this island."

Outside the island lied the harsh sea, so harsh that even these now-dead pirates couldn't dare to sail out or fish. Furthermore, Darvy himself barely knew anything about navigation; going out to the sea without any form of guide to follow meant death.

However, staying on this island would also mean death—a certain one at that. With nearly all the vegetation and animals burnt to crisp, he would manage to survive less than a month via scavenging.

As his body leaned on the broken blade that trembled just as his body did, Darvy looked up.

For some reason, though many things were burnt, one thing remained standing even in this adversity along with him—

—the jolly roger, the flag atop a wooden pole. Though the wooden pole was charcoal black and looked more brittle than ever, it stood proudly.

The jolly roger... there was the skull, grinning as its hollow holes of an eye gazed right into Darvy's crimson pair.

It's time for an adventure.

The skull seemed to be saying to Darvy.

Become a pirate.

Darvy thought he was hallucinating, and probably was.

"Pirates...?"

He growled.

His entire life was filled with no one else but pirates. He disliked them. He loathed them even.

Why did they let him live if this was the life they were going to give? Grown like a cattle than a human, betrayed by the only friend he had—

...but it was true, at the same time, that being a pirate was the only thing he knew of.

"I just..."

He didn't want to be a pirate. However, he did want that one aspect of being a pirate: freedom.

Darvy glared at the jolly roger.

"...Let's make a bet."

Though his body seemed about to fall at any second, his eyes, bloodshot with a hint of insanity, held determination.

"The bet is about whether I will live or die upon sailing out."

Darvy clenched his fists so hard that nails dug into his skin and drew blood. However, he didn't seem to notice.

"If I die, I die. However, if I live... then fine."

Darvy vowed with a growl,

"I will become a pirate—an incredibly strong one at that."

And the night faded, signaling the start of something new, something different.

__________

Three days passed. Though Darvy wasn't nourished, he managed to mitigate some of the fatigue in him—though a good amount of it still lingered, for it was nearly impossible to get a good rest in the current environment.

"Huff... huff..."

Dragging his body, Darvy scavenged what he could: a couple of planks that were still sturdy enough, pieces of the wrecked ship, preserved food that was yet edible, ropes, and a couple of weapons.

Darvy was currently aiming to build something akin to a boat, something he could ride to sail.

He wasn't aiming high. As long as the rideable creation was floating on water, that was his cue to leave.

Darvy gauged the size of the planks he had before digging holes in them with the weapons at his disposal. Huffing and sweating, he slammed, twisted, and went through a variety of motions to achieve his goal.

It was shoddy. It was inferior in quality. However, he did it in the end.

There now lied a moderate-sized wooden plank with a small, poorly made sail attached to it in the middle.

Pushing it into the water with difficulty, Darvy saw that it floated.

Without hesitation, grabbing the bag that contained edibles, Darvy boarded the plank and let the wave guide him out into the vast and harsh sea.

Then, at the next second, the huge wave arose, engulfing him entirely with the plank.

And interestingly, right before Darvy was engulfed, his eyes contained relief instead of fear, for he was finally free from the accursed island that he spent his whole life on.

'Goodbye.'

Then, as the water crashed into him, his vision went black.

__________

__________

"Huh?"

Seated at the edge of an island, one fisherman revealed his confusion as his fishing rod suddenly met a resistance.

Immediately, his eyes widened in delight. Grabbing the handle with both hands, he yanked it with all his strength.

And... instead of fish, he saw the form of a boy flying in the air, with the fishing hook locked on the edge of the boy's shirt.

"AHHH!!!"

Shocked, the fisherman screamed. As the boy crashed on the ground, he hurriedly ran to check on the boy.

Red-haired, eyes closed. Skin so pale and cold. No movement. There it was, Darvy.

Yet, when the fisherman leaned in and checked, he felt it—Darvy's pulse.

Somehow, the boy persisted and remained alive.

"...Just who is this kid?"

Whispering in disbelief, wondering how someone in a corpse-like state like this is alive, the fisherman hurriedly lifted the boy up and ran into the village.

"WE HAVE AN EMERGENCY!!!"

...

Everyone gathered around Darvy who was now wrapped in warm clothes.

"...Once again, you bring the weirdest thing ever. I told you not to fish!"

"Saving someone is considered weird?!"

"If this... guy-thing is not weird, then what is? Dude's a literal zombie!!"

As one boy jabbed his finger at the unconscious Darvy, the fisherman deadpanned at the former.

"Feel his arm! It's so cold, as cold as our doctor's heart!"

"Hey! He didn't give you the permission to touch!"

"He's unconscious! We treat this as an assumed consent!"

"Ha..."

Seated next to Darvy was a girl who wore a doctor's gown. Adjusting her glasses, she then stood up and shooed off the people,

"Get out!! You're bothering me!!"

"Waa! She's angry!!"

"Run, everyone!!"

Upon the yell, people all rushed out as if afraid of her. Sighing, the doctor sat back down and looked at Darvy with a conflicted gaze.

"...Who are you?"

If anything, Darvy was the strangest case she had ever met.

Judging by the overall structure and quality of the body, she could tell that Darvy was born weak inherently. In addition to that, his condition told her that he was malnourished and not taken care of for a long while.

Someone like this won't even be able to win a fight against a child younger than him.

"Were you thrown out of the ship perhaps? A pirate maybe?"

Pirate. Upon mumbling that word out, the girl frowned.

History said that there always was a period where the number of pirates boomed from time to time. Primarily, this was because of the so-called 'golden dream'.

The pirates claim that within this vast sea, there lies the countless number of treasures of the past. Hoping to exploit all for themselves, they set sails without any sense of morality.

Wherever they go, they plunder and wreak havoc. They were the embodiments of destruction, the trauma for many.

"...No, probably not."

Shaking her head, the girl mumbled,

"There is no way that someone as weak as you can be a pirate. Rather, you were probably a slave of some sort, thrown out after becoming useless to an owner."

Taking her eyes off Darvy, she looked outside the window.

The village, small in size, looked quite peaceful. Considering how chaotic the sea outside was, she, to some extent, considered this view a miracle.

"I hope that whatever you may be, you won't disturb this peace."

Or else...

The girl held in her words and grimaced.

__________

"Darvy."

Turning, Darvy saw Xebec in sight, friendly as always.

"How's your progress so far?"

Darvy shook his head,

"Not that great, unfortunately. Even one is calling it too much."

Raising his arms, he dryly remarked,

"...If anything, my body is cursed, it seems."

Xebec seemed to have been disappointed, with his grin having died down.

"Is that so? Too bad, especially when considering that your brain is quite reliable. If only you were a little stronger..."

Then, Xebec revealed a pistol, aiming straight at Darvy's head.

"...Xebec?"

Darvy's eyes widened right before the gunshot was fired.

That was the cue for him to wake up, breathing heavily. Placing his hand on his head, Darvy tried to calm the dizziness. As he did so, he lifted his body by pushing the surface with his other hand—

'...?'

The surface was soft and bouncy.

Looking around, Darvy found himself in a room, an intact one at that. With a foreign smell of medicine that he never experienced before, he found himself more confused than ever, wondering what he was doing here.

'...That's right. I sailed out, and then—'

The wave. It crashed into him and he fainted...

"I... lived?"

Darvy couldn't help but let out a dry chuckle, unable to believe that after letting him down for all his life, fate decided to save him.

"You're an asshole, you know that?"

As Darvy muttered to no one in particular, he saw a door opening.

"...Oh?"

And entered, the blonde girl wearing round glasses that seemed a little large for her face. Adjusting it such that it didn't fall out from her face, she looked at Darvy with her green-coloured eyes that contained a surprise.

"You're awake... already."

There were many questions to be asked and answered, from both sides.