The Dawn of Betrayal
N/A: The time has come to show why this is an alternate universe, where pirates are villains"including Shanks and his crew. Mwahaha. In this world, Shanks is evil, manipulative, and a tactical genius. I'll have to tweak his power a bit so these improvements don't make him too OP.
....
"Pirate? You're still here? Have you been cleaning up the whole village?" said a man dressed as a bandit while holding Luffy by the neck. His men sneered mockingly.
But the red-haired man he was addressing ignored him with a smug smile.
"Luffy, didn't you say your punches were as strong as a pistol?" Shanks asked as he calmly approached.
"Shut up!" Luffy growled, barely able to breathe.
"I don't know why you came, but you'd better leave before I hurt you," the bandit spat with disdain upon seeing Shanks advance without fear. "If you take another step, I'll cut off your head, Gallian."
One of the bandits raised his gun and aimed at Shanks' head with an arrogant grin.
"He told you not to come any closer," the bandit threatened. "I'll blow your head off if you do."
The others laughed mockingly, confident in their advantage.
Shanks sighed.
"Are you betting your life?"
"Huh?"
"By pointing that gun at me, you're betting your life," Shanks continued, still smiling.
"What the hell are you talking about, bastard?" the bandit growled, confused.
"This isn't child's play," Shanks murmured.
Before the bandit could react, a gunshot rang out. His skull exploded into pieces.
A fat member of Shanks' crew kept eating with one hand while holding a smoking pistol in the other.
Silence took over the village. The people watched in shock. Seeing a murder in that place was not normal.
"What the hell, you unfair bastards?! That was a cowardly attack!" another bandit shouted, outraged.
"Don't talk nonsense," one of Shanks' pirates mocked. "We're pirates."
"Ah… ah… how interesting," suddenly said an unfamiliar voice.
The bandits turned with their guard up.
In front of them stood a beautiful young woman dressed in white with black gloves, watching them with a smile.
The young woman frowned and touched her shoulders, realizing something was missing.
"Damn, I lost my cape again. Well, whatever," she muttered to herself before turning her attention back to the others.
"And who the hell are you?" one of the bandits asked.
"Kara!" Luffy exclaimed, surprised to see his sister.
"Well, the brat you're holding is my little brother," Kara said with an icy smile. "So now, I'll have to hurt you a lot for what you did to him."
"What the hell are you talking about, bitch?!" the bandit leader roared.
Before he could say another word, Kara vanished from his sight.
"AAAAH!"
"HELP!"
"MY HANDS!"
The leader turned and saw his men on the ground, their arms and legs twisted at impossible angles.
A searing pain shot through him. He looked down and saw his own arm lying on the ground.
"AAAAAH!" he screamed, clutching his bleeding stump. "Who are you?!"
Kara smiled.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't introduce myself. I'm from the Marines."
And with a swift strike, she knocked him unconscious.
Holding Luffy by his shirt, she lifted him in front of her.
"Luffy, what did I tell you about getting into trouble? Grandpa's idea of having you live with Ace doesn't sound so bad now."
"Let me go, Kara!" Luffy kicked and squirmed.
Kara sighed and looked at Makino and the mayor.
"Please, stand behind me."
The villagers obeyed, but their eyes lingered on Shanks and his crew, who were watching the scene with interest.
"Hey, even though we look suspicious, we're not the bad guys, Miss Marine," Shanks said with his classic friendly smile.
"That's right, Kara. Shanks is my friend," Luffy chimed in.
Kara narrowed her eyes.
"I may be very distrustful of pirates… after all, a friend of mine recently told me something unsettling."
Shanks tilted his head in curiosity.
"Oh yeah? And what was it?"
"A group of pirates in the East Blue used a little girl as bait to earn the trust of villages. People thought they were good and let them in. But in reality, the girl was just a distraction while the pirates looted everything before fleeing, leaving the villages in ruins."
Shanks smiled indifferently.
"That sounds terrible."
Kara continued:
"A few days ago, the girl discovered the truth. She told the villagers of a rather nice town, and they tried to help her escape. But the pirates realized their plan had been exposed… and they killed everyone, including the girl."
Makino and the mayor paled.
"A severely wounded girl managed to reach a Marine base and gave the name of the responsible pirate crew. She described their Jolly Roger… a skull with three scars over one eye. She said the captain's name was… Shanks."
Silence fell over the scene.
Luffy clenched his fists.
"That's a lie!"
Shanks let out a soft chuckle.
"Wow… an interesting story," he said calmly. "But I doubt there's any proof of it."
His eyes flickered with a calculating intensity.
Kara stared at him intently.
"Oh, there is proof... The injured girl you brought... seems to be the same one the pirates kidnapped years ago when she was just a baby. A tool for their manipulations." Kara spat with disdain, but her gaze reflected a shadow of doubt before hardening again. "Though... I can lower my contempt a little knowing that, at least, they treated her well. As if she were really part of their family."
Her expression darkened, fury igniting her golden eyes.
"But that tiny consideration disappears when I learn that the very man who claimed to be her father tried to stab her in the heart. Maybe he failed because of some last unconscious trace of love..."
The atmosphere became suffocating. Then, Shanks' mask began to crack.
"So... is Uta alright?" he asked seriously, though something else slipped into his voice.
"The girl, of course. Right now, she's under Vice Admiral Tsuru's care and her squadron." Kara spoke calmly, not taking her eyes off the redhead.
Luffy, who had been silently watching until that point, felt a chill run down his spine.
"Shanks, that's a lie, right? You wouldn't hurt Uta!"
Kara wouldn't let him continue. With a swift move, she tossed him toward the village chief, who barely managed to catch him.
Shanks let out a low laugh.
"Well, Luffy… we're pirates. We needed easy money without massacring villages. And when we found Uta, everything became simpler."
Makino's blood froze. The village chief felt his body tense.
"What… what are you saying...?"
Shanks continued, his voice now devoid of the warmth Luffy had known.
"Because of her, we were discovered. So now they're after us, dead or alive." His eyes sharpened. "We have no choice but to head into the Grand Line before Garp or some powerful marine comes for us."
Luffy's stomach churned.
"My grandfather?"
Shanks raised an eyebrow.
"Wow... so you're his grandson? You would have made a good candidate to join us. What do you say, Luffy? Want to become a pirate? I'll train you. After all, thanks to me, you ate the Gomu Gomu no Mi."
Before Luffy could respond, Kara spoke, her voice filled with anger.
"I'd prefer you didn't try to recruit my little brother for your gang of criminals."
Shanks' smile faded.
"What a pity. We actually planned to take you with us. Uta was starting to suspect, so we needed to replace her. But now it's pointless." The redhead's eyes glinted with dark determination. "We'll just kill the witnesses and leave."
The air grew heavy.
Makino paled, the village chief felt his legs give way.
"Shanks..." she whispered, shaking her head, unable to believe what was happening.
But there was no time to process it.
The pirates drew their weapons and fired without warning.
Makino and the village chief closed their eyes in terror, waiting for the impact.
But the sound of gunfire never came.
They only felt dust hitting their faces.
They opened their eyes to see Kara in front of them, both hands extended. Her black gloves had disappeared.
"I remember you now..." muttered one of the pirates, a mix of recognition and fear in his voice. "She's the new supernova from the Navy..."
"A supernova and Garp's granddaughter. Interesting." Shanks drew his sword.
Kara was no longer interested in talking.
She launched herself at him with fury.
The clash was brutal. Her punch was stopped by the redhead's sword. Kara tried to break it with her ability, but the blade held firm.
"An advanced Meitō...?"
Then, she heard the whistling of a bullet approaching. She ducked just in time and saw Yasopp holding a weapon.
She gritted her teeth.
With a quick spin, she threw a punch with all her strength at Shanks' face.
But the redhead barely tilted his head, his mocking smile intact.
"Do you really want to fight here?" he mocked. "There are too many people around."
Kara barely had time to react before a kick to her stomach sent her flying several meters.
Before she could hit the ground, a rain of gunfire fell upon her.
With a swift move, she raised both hands and turned the bullets into dust.
She gritted her teeth. Shanks was right. If they fought seriously, the village would be in ruins, and there would be many casualties.
She didn't like using these kinds of tactics, but she had no choice.
"My grandfather is on his way." Her voice echoed with contained fury. "Disappear."
Shanks' face darkened.
Garp.
That man who had forced his former captain to flee countless times.
He gritted his teeth. He wasn't ready to face him. Maybe he never would be.
He clicked his tongue.
"We're leaving. It's time to head into the Grand Line."
He turned to Luffy, who was looking at him with a mix of rage and pain.
Then, he smiled in a dark way.
"You're weak, Luffy. Even your sister had to come and save your life. What a shame. And you want to be a pirate like this?"
Luffy's hands trembled.
"I..."
"I'm heading for the sea of the strong. And you're just a whiny kid. That's the difference between a real pirate and someone who just pretends to be one."
Kara frowned.
But before she could do anything, Luffy shouted:
"I don't care! I'm going to be a pirate! And if necessary, I'll defeat you!"
Shanks smiled.
"I could kill you right now, Luffy. But I'll give you a chance."
He threw his straw hat.
"When you're ready to face me and be killed by my sword, come give it back."
The pirates' mocking laughter echoed as they withdrew.
Kara stood motionless, forcing herself to hold back the rage.
She knew she couldn't risk the people of the village.
And Shanks knew it too.
He had used her weakness against her.