One Piece : The Silent Reaper

16 years later

East Blue

A man is currently lying on the crow's nest of a pirate ship. This man has messy black hair, poorly tied, with strands sticking out in every direction. A scar runs down his face and continues along his arms. He wears a provocative grin and has golden, childlike eyes. He's dressed in an open green jacket with a zipper, black samurai-style pants, and black Geta sandals. Resting across his chest is a katana with a red hilt.

The man is Kazan D. Rei, now 28 years old...

Rei: Pfffff... what a peaceful life for a young guy like me.

BOOOOOOMMMMM

????: AHHHH his limbs are stretching!!!

????: Kill him... he called Alvida a whale!

????: Watch out.... BOOMMMMM!

????: W-Who is that guy?

????: SHIHIHIHIHI... I'm Monkey D. Luffy! And I'm gonna be the King of the Pirates!

Rei: D...

Upon hearing that, Rei dropped to his knees with only his head poking out to watch the fight happening below. Luffy stretched his arms back.

Luffy: Gomu Gomu no... BAZOOKA!

He launched his fists forward, sending the big woman and her crew flying into the sea.

Rei: Oh, I missed the whole fight. I should've canceled the effects of my power earlier.

Rei stood up and jumped down from the crow's nest, katana in hand, landing right in front of Luffy and a pink-haired guy.

Luffy (raising his fists): Huh... Old man, you wanna fight?

Rei: I'M NOT OLD! I'M ONLY 28, YOU BASTARD!

Luffy (still raising his fists): ...Okay... so you wanna fight?

Rei: No... I just saw your attack and— [ducks] WHY ARE YOU ATTACKING ME?!

Luffy, after pulling back his stretched-out leg to continue attacking, launched a punch with his right arm. Rei dodged it by jumping backward. He unsheathed his katana and began blocking all of Luffy's attacks using the back of the blade.

Rei: ... Stop... (dodges) ... I... (dodges) ... don't... (dodges) ... want... (dodges) ... to... (dodges) ... fight... (dodges) ... YOU IDIOT! (dodges)

After another parry, Rei stepped on a loose plank of wood and lost his balance, falling backward. But before Luffy could land a punch on him, Rei planted one hand on the ground, doing a one-handed handstand and spun his body—kicking Luffy and sending him flying.

Rei: Man, you're forcing me to fight... pffff...

Rei then took a stance, leaning forward, his hand ready to draw his katana from his side.

Rei: ...Silent Murder...

A red aura bubble formed around Rei, perfectly outlining his body. Luffy stared at him—his eyes widened as Rei's own began to glow. In an instant, Rei vanished without a trace.

He reappeared directly in front of Luffy, katana drawn, the blade halted just an inch from Luffy's throat.

Luffy: ...Huh... I almost died—SHIHIHIHIHI!

Rei (sheathed his katana): Huh... you almost kept up with me—SHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Rei casually walked over to a nearby crate and grabbed an apple.

????: AHHH! LUFFY, ARE YOU OKAY?!

Luffy: Yeah, don't worry, Koby!

Koby: But... but he could've killed you!!!

Luffy: Don't worry... I saw it in his eyes—he didn't intend to kill me. SHIHIHIHIHI!

Luffy then walked over to Rei, who was casually eating apples without a care in the world, not even paying attention to their conversation.

Luffy: Hey! What's your name?

Rei (briefly paused his eating, then resumed): Rei... Kazan D. Rei.

Luffy: SHIHIHI... I'm Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm gonna be the KING OF THE PIRATES!

Rei: Yeah, I heard you... but you're too loud. And I'm eating. (raises a finger) Silence.

A red bubble appeared around Rei, completely cutting off all sound from outside, and preventing any noise from inside from leaking out.

Luffy: ...

Rei glanced at him while chewing his apple.

Luffy: ..... (waving his arms dramatically)

Rei kept watching him silently.

Luffy: ...

Rei made the bubble disappear and looked at Luffy.

Luffy: JOIN MY CREWWWWWWWWWW!!!

Rei: AHHHHHH! Don't scream, I took the bubble off!

Luffy: Huh?

Rei: You really are an idiot. Just like you, I ate a Devil Fruit... the Silence Fruit. That red bubble you saw during my attack and just now lets me...

Luffy: WOAH, THAT'S SO COOL! JOIN MY CREW!

Rei: I DIDN'T EVEN FINISH EXPLAINING... pff, whatever. Why do you want me to join your crew anyway?

Luffy: Huh...? I dunno... I'd say... destiny! SHIHIHIHIHIHI!

Flashback

On a small hill, an old man is sitting on a wooden chair while a 12-year-old boy lies flat on the ground nearby.

Old Man: Rei, did you know I met the Pirate King when I was young? HAHAHAHAHAHA!

Rei (glancing sideways): Yeah, yeah... sure you did, old man...

BOOOOMMM 

Old Man: It was the day he first set sail. He looked at the man who would become his first mate—who was lying on a boat—and said: "It's destiny that we met here. Join me, and let's shake the world!" HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Rei: Yeah, yeah... (rubs the top of his head)

End of Flashback

Rei looked at Luffy, who wore a wide smile on his face, while Koby stood beside him, warning him not to invite dangerous people.

Rei (smiling): Alright, I'll join your crew, captain. SHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Luffy: SHIHIHIHIHIHI! Great! Let's grab a small boat and head to the next island! SHIHIHIHIHI!

Luffy ran and leapt off the pirate ship, landing on a small boat. Rei grabbed Koby by the collar and jumped after him, landing gracefully on the boat as well. The three of them then set sail across the sea, heading toward their next adventure.

Out at sea, the three of them began discussing their next destination.

Luffy: So Koby, what's the next island?

Koby: The next island is Shell Town. It's a city with a Marine base under Captain Morgan. That's where our paths will part.

Rei: Shell Town, huh? Do you think we could find a third crewmate there, Luffy?

Luffy: I sure hope so! SHIHIHIHIHIHI!

Koby: Th-There's someone over there who was captured by the Marines… Roronoa Zoro, the Pirate Hunter. They say he's a bloodthirsty demon who kills everything in sight… and that he's incredibly strong!

Luffy: He's strong, you say? SHIHIHIHIHI!

Rei: A demon, huh? Sounds like the perfect third crewmate for the future King of the Pirates! SHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Koby: You… You didn't listen to what I said! He's a demon! Having him join your crew would be way too dangerous… It's impossible! Impossible! It's—

BOOM!

Koby: Ouch! Why did you hit me, Luffy?!

Luffy: I just felt like it! SHIHIHIHIHI!

Rei: Don't worry about us, Koby. Just focus on your own goal! SHAHAHAHAHAHA!

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Hello everyone, sorry if it took me a while to write this chapter, but I was thinking about the development of the character — whether he should create his own crew or join Luffy — and about his personal growth.

There will be a lot of flashbacks throughout the story to cover the 20 years that weren't shown. I also thought a lot about the development of the Devil Fruit, and from what I've learned about silence, this fruit can be insanely overpowered.

Like, if I make it so that it can silence the opponent's thoughts, they could literally turn into vegetables. Or if it can silence a heartbeat, that would basically shut down the heart valves, leading to death within minutes. And I've got plenty of other ideas, especially for the awakened form of the fruit...

And for my Fairy Tail book, I'm going to start again too. I was literally in Impel Down in real life, so it was impossible for me to write during those few months. I'm going to resume next week for Fairy Tail.