I shrugged as I walked past the wall trying to see the conversing duo. As I walked past the cracked walls I came upon a pudgy looking boy, barely five foot in height. His round boyish face shone with a child-like innocence while his inflated hands seemed to play with the hem of his tattered s.h.i.+rt.

"No. No more. I shouldn't have volunteered to care for you in the first place!" the exasperated voice of the shopkeeper echoed as he motioned with his hands towards the fat man, obviously in an attempt, to get rid of the fat man.

"sigh... go away brat I have many customers to feed, go to the pier or something." the shopkeeper said, before decidedly ignoring the young pudgy man and hurrying to his humble restaurant. "But boss......." the fatty moaned, before slumping to the ground in a defeated and melancholy manner.

"Am I going to die just like this…..? A virgin, and starving??" he bemoaned as he looked up at the sky in an attempt to curse G.o.d for his misfortune. His smile melting off of his face as a sad frown took its place.

"Lil' brother what might you be doing here?" I asked as I walked over to him and patted his dispirited back. "Uncle...." the fatty replied. "Oh! its uncle john! Shopkeeper boss, my uncle is here! He has money! Give me some foooood!!!" He shouted loudly as he got to his feet and raced toward the shopkeeper, who by now had settled into a pearly ap.r.o.n and was working hard at the kitchen.

I did not know whether to laugh or cry, as I made my way forward hurriedly in an attempt to explain myself to the man before I too would be forcefully conscripted into the fatty's little scheme to fill his stomach.

"What uncle? Which unfortunate soul has sinned so much so as to gain you as a nephew?" The shopkeeper replied as he looked up from the food he was making, which now that I noticed turned out to be a round and aromatic dumpling, albeit half complete.

As he looked at me, I could see a vast amount of pity that seemed to dot his face. "Young man….I pity you…to have such a glutton as a nephew….. Hais what can be said, maybe G.o.d has cursed you for the sins of your ancestors.." He said to me as he made his way over, obviously in an attempt to fleece me of the little coin that my pockets jingled with.

"What uncle?!?" I said glaring at the fat man. "I am not your uncle, you must have me mistaken with someone else.." I said as I looked pleadingly towards the kindly old shopkeeper, whose face had again fallen as he dispiritedly muttered about an awful loss of money.

"uncle don't abandon meeeee!!!!!!!!!!!" the fatty screeched as he fell to my feet, his snot falling all over my black shoes. "I know I ran away from home, but you cannot disown me like this!" he cried.

"Brat... you win, get up ill pay for your food…" I said as my heart bled. "Uncle!" the fatty said with an obviously fake happiness. "Thank you…" He said as he ran into the kitchen while I emptied my pockets into the old shopkeepers hand.

"Can his bill be covered with this..? if not ill have to go get some more from a friend nearby" I said as I remembered the sn.o.bbish n.o.ble man who I had previously stolen from. " it ...........should be enough" the man said with a thoughtful expression as he meticulously counted the coins in his hand. "Infact, it should be slightly more than enough" he said as he tried handing me back some coins, "Keep it, I am hungry too" I said as I made my way inside and sat at the table with the fatty who was happily chomping away at the dumpling in his hand.

"So brat, what are you doing here and why did you have to drag me into your games..?" I asked questioningly as I waited patiently for my food. "Heh, sorry uncle, but I was hungry and you looked like a rich man" The fatty replied as he continued to eat, not even looking up to see my face. "What uncle, I am just ten years old, if anything I need to call you uncle.. This older brother is gonna be the strongest pirate in the world!" I said grumbling. "Call me Lore, that should do" I said as I waited for him to acknowledge my statements.

"Of cource, your ten ye wait What!!!?????" the fatty exclaimed as he stopped looking at his food and, finally, looked at me. "You're saying, that uncle here," he said motioning at me with his greasy hands, "is only TEN YEARS OLD!!!??!?!" his loud voice resonated in the empty restaurant.

"keep it down there!!" the shopkeeper exclaimed as he scowled at me, as if I had committed a terrible error and would be judged by the divine light of G.o.d. "You are ruining the customers experience!"

"What customers, you don't have any.." the fatty grumbled as he settled back down. "So tell me more about yourself, why are you here alone?" I asked as I looked at the fatty. "My name is Sorren, and I am the son of a wandering sea healer." he said puffing out his chest. "My father is a famous pirate, you must have heard of him, he is part of a strong crew in the new world!" He said, his eyes glimmering. " I used to live with my mother, she used to teach me all about the human body!" He continued happily as he looked at me.

"We were all happy, my father used to visit sometimes. Every time he visited, he brought me cool presents and played with me! He used to get my mom flowers from all over the place, once he even got a stinky smelling one that he called the stinky beauty! On his last visit though... we knew he was worried about something, he kept talking about some terrible feelings he had, always muttering to himself…" the fatty said as his expression darkened.

"It was all well and good.. My father had gone out to get us our supplies, and mother was tending to her patients, that was when we saw him, a world n.o.ble, him in his s.h.i.+ny golden outfit looking full of himself. He took a fancy to my mother and ordered for her to be brought to him as a 'slave'. Luckily though father got back in time to stop them from doing anything too bad….. He saw her in chains and lost it… We escaped and father killed the n.o.ble, but it was too late, the marines had arrived. They were firing away like mad men, and one of the bullets. .h.i.t my mother- she died and our boat capsized, luckily some fishermen found me unconscious in the water...….. They brought me back here…and here I am" The fatty (Now known as Sorren) said as he sniffled softly into his food.

A gloomy aura surrounded him, as he continued to a.s.sault his food, 'if he did that on Earth, he'd probably get arrested for food a.s.sault.' I thought as I re-collected my thoughts and began my own meal.

"My food!!" he hissed as he slapped my hand away.

My eyes shone darkly as I regarded him menacingly, my aura already mounting as I prepared to fire off a concentrated blast of my conqueror's haki. "Who do you think paid for that food…?" I said, a hint of killing intent in my gaze, (never steal a 'D's food, or you'll regret it….)before s.n.a.t.c.hing the food off the table and munching on it.

The boy had become somewhat more docile as he regarded me with a wounded expression, "Uncle Lore, why are you so mean to me..?" he asked me with a fake sob in his tone. "You have so much money, why are you bargaining with me for this tiny crumb of food?" He continued. "You think this money is mine?" I asked him between mouthfuls, my expression had already settled down as I regarded him with a bemused smirk in the corner of my lips.

His eyes glimmered as he understood what I meant, before hauling all the food he had missed, during our brief conversation into his mouth and looking at me combatively.

"Brat you say your old man is a pirate, in the new world no less. So tell me, what weapon does he specialize in?" I asked as I let my jaw rest for a short amount of time before immediately returning my attention to my food.

"He's a swordsmen!!" he said as his eyes shone with the brilliance of a star, "but mother convinced me to practice martial arts instead she used to say, with enough training, every part of the human body would become a weapon, then I wouldn't have to waste s.p.a.ce to bring my own weapons, I could use the place for snacks instead!!" he continued as he finally inhaled all the food on his table.

My head spun with wonderment, as I regarded the little boy, I was feeling somewhat strange, my current mood hovered between exasperation and hilarity, I was positive that no martial artist would ever be motivated to train just to free up s.p.a.ce for some snacks! (good things need to be repeated twice)

"So brat, what do you plan to do now?" I asked as I tried to steer the conversation away from the awkward territory that it had just found itself in.

"I don't really know....... hey, hey uncle why don't I join your crew!?" he asked as he looked at me hopefully. "Then when we reach the new world, I'll be able to find my father and you can give me food!!!!" he said happily.

My head spun as I begun feeling faint, why, of all the people in North Blue did I have to be saddled with this GLUTTON???!!?!?!