An old ragged man sat in a corner of the alley overlooking the main street, his wispy black beard lay in an unruly knot, and his stormy grey eyes stared emotionlessly at the otherwise jolly street. His grey hair hung loosely to his pale head and his spindly limbs hung at his side like dead seaweed in a tumultuous tsunami.

His chest was wrapped in an ugly bandage, that by now should have been replaced. In front of him lay a browning sheet that seemed to camouflage against the dusty pavement.

Around him sat equally unfortunate souls that all seemed to share his unflattering misery. His cold eyes regarded the residents of his alley as he hobbled to his feet, a tattered paper clutched in his bony hand.

He reached toward the cloth before him as he placed the sheet. It would serve as a message, a message that 'he' was still alive.

The man only hoped that the description he had been provided served aptly as a judge for character, if not then all would be lost.

The colorful chatter seemed to swamp the silent alley as he feebly looked toward the street outside, he was here to find someone, someone he hoped would be able to tell him how his father died…

{Lore}

My arms hurt as my heart bled, yes you guessed it, we were at a restaurant. The fatty sat next to me as he inhaled his food, barely taking time to taste the delicacy place before him. Loud noises accompanied his chewing as spittle flooded the table.

My eating had been dwarfed by that of my companion and I did not know whether to feel offended by his blatant disregard for the appet.i.te of a D.

The shop owner looked on with amazement at the horrifying scene that had been placed before him, not daring to stop his cooking fearing that the monstrous glutton that had found itself into his store would swallow him whole, unless he managed to satiate his world-ending hunger.

I hoped that this would not be a common event (Who was I kidding, the fatty joined my crew only cause I brought him food!) as I finally finished my own meal and decidedly hauled the Fatty away from the restaurant. The owner looked at me as one would look at their savior with tears of grat.i.tude that seemed to be enough to raise the level of the sea by a few inches.

As we continued our journey we came across many shameless merchants who all wanted to swindle us of some money, and it was up to me make sure that the little fatty would not be fooled by these bespoke and legal thieves.

As the sun reached the height of its course, finally we finished our needlessly arduous and tedious adventure through the markets and at end finally reached what I could only a.s.sume to be the slum region of the town of Minnon.

It was quite funny really - no, not the poverty itself, but the contrast that society seemed to weave itself into regardless of the situation or world. At least in that aspect, humanity was sc.u.m.

My senses was brought toward a wheezing noise that seemed to originate from a dark alleyway. The pavement grew progressively dark as the air turned solemn. Even fatty, who had been grinning away to kingdom come, retracted his effervescent smile, adopting a more solemn look that seemed to rightly define the otherwise forbidding atmosphere.

As I made my way to the alley way, the fatty begun to whimper and clutched tightly at my yukata sleeve, you had to realize for all his strength and shamelessness, he was only a twelve year old boy. (A/N yes I know, I haven't iterated enough how old he is)

His eyes darted around as he looked about attentively, this was the slums of the one piece world after all, an almost jungle-ion aura a.s.saulted all that had not gotten used to it, keeping away annoying visitors which I believe we were.

A ticking noise overwhelmed my senses as I looked at the mouth of the alleyway. Not many people filled the alley, but those who did, either looked ill, or were straight up fainted. From among them a poor old-man stared back at me, his eyes seeming to bore through my very being as I returned his gaze. His storm-grey eyes reminded me of the look that old army veterans possessed back on Earth. It was the look of a warrior and a survivor. A look that I had only recently adopted after long and grueling hours of Tanken senpai's Spartan regime.

A glimmer of light seemed to swamp his plain face as he slowly pointed toward me, an unknown feeling kept me grounded in place as continued to vehemently point toward me, a feeling that seemed to bid me to come closer, and a feeling that seemed to force me to help up the old man.

A cold gleam arose in my eyes as a tiny vein of Haoshaku burst out from me, I had awakened my conqueror's Haki very early so it only made sense that I was able to control it.

In response to my Will, another Will seemed to be birthed rising higher into the noon air. All the residents of the Shady alley had long fainted and even the fatty tethered on the brink of consciousness, but the momentum still continued to rise - not in opposition, but in alliance, an alliance between kings arose between us, me, and the old man.

Our Wills seemed to rise into the air, as a solid windstorm seemed intent on buffeting the nearby blocks of Minnon.

As the winds swished more than ever, I finally noticed the tattered piece of paper that lay unmoving in the storm that had been conjured up, on it lay a jumble of words, a jumble of words that only barely made any sense. But what it said, sent me staggering backwards - 'he' was alive!