Expanding Dawn

Genesis
The year was 1575, and piracy had grown to an all time high. Day after day, young men and women were leaving their hometowns, claiming to chase the most ambitious dream - to become a Pirate King. Like Monkey D. Luffy had, and before him Gol D. Roger, and gain complete freedom and power over the seas. This very dream was one that even some children in felt like they should set themselves, although none of them were ‘’crazy’’ enough to go after it.

But what if one of those kids did have a dream? Perhaps, not as ridiculous as becoming Pirate King, but something close enough. This was the case with Bell Q. Dan, a privileged boy compared to most in Kyuka; son of two hoteliers that co-owned one of the most luxurious hotels in the vacationing spot. He tiptoed out of his house with the stealth skills that only a child could develop through years of sneaking away but as he opened the door, making that unavoidable creaking sound which make him cringe, he remembered that he just couldn’t leave, not without saying goodbye first.

Grabbing a nearby pencil, and a leftover napkin from dinner that night, he scrabbled on the material, his fingers moving quickly as he wrote what would be a heartfelt message to his parents that would explain his decision to leave home.

''Sorry Mom, Dad, I’ve just turned 16 and this place has nothing left to offer to me. I need something different, change from this town where all people do is relax and vacation, I need change. And most importantly, I need to prove to myself that I wasn’t just fated to spend the rest of my days on Kyuka and succeed you guys. No, I want to be able to do something that I’m proud of. And that’s why I’ve decided to set sail, and ultimately reach the hidden island that only Pirate Kings could reach. Don’t worry about me, say goodbye to everyone for me and please, and stay safe! Will miss you.

(P.S, I might’ve stolen some food from our kitchen, and remember, I have no interest in becoming a pirate. You guys taught me better than that, I just want to accomplish the impossible!)''

With a smile on his face, he left the message on the table, grabbed his bag, filled with some provisions and left to the nearest dock, closing in through the tropical climate and many trees until he eventually made it to the coast. Due to the hour, the beach nearby was empty, and there was nobody to be seen, except for a single older woman, waiting for Dan with a smile on her face.

"G-grandma! What are you doing here?" He said in a loud whisper, cupping his hands over his mouth.

"GEHEHEHEHE, you were planning on leaving without saying goodbye?"

Shocked at first, Dan leaned in closer to his grandmother, giving her a powerful hug. "I'll miss you, grandma."

"Wait!" she said, as Dan got closer to the small boat. "Take this!" The older woman pulled out a mysterious fruit from her bag, it was akin to a banana, except for the strange, swerving patterns and orange color that the fruit had. “You’ll get hungry on the seas.”

“What’s…this?” Confused at the strange fruit, Dan reluctantly grabbed it, before looking at his grandmother.

"It’s just some fruit in case you get hungry, it’s your father’s favorite."

"I see…he has some strange tastes."

"GEHEHEHEHE, go on now, before I go running off to your mother." Dan nodded, as he got on the boat, and got rid of the knot that allowed it to stay in place. “When I come back, I’ll have reached the ends of this world!” He said as the boat got farther away from the dock. It was sad, to be away from his family, but at the same time exciting. He was motivated to grow into a new, better person. Just what adventures would unfold?!

"What the fuck is this….? Honey, what the fuck is this?!" The man screaming, Bell Q. Vaughn, a large man with a toned build, dark skin and black hair grabbed a rumbled, used up napkin that had found its way onto the kitchen table. He called his wife loudly, as if her arriving would clear his doubts.

From inside the house, a short brunette woman, with fair skin, and dark eyes appeared, wearing her navy pajamas. Her hair, slightly curly, was a mess and her usually full of life eyes were red. “Just what now…Vaughn” she said approaching the man, who handed her the paper reluctantly.

It read:

''sori mom, dad, i turn 77 place offer me nothing. Need different, change from this town were relax and vakasion. Important, I prove to myself that I wasnt fated to spend days on Kyuka and follow. No, I want to be able to do something proud of. And why I decided to set sail, and reach island only Pirate Kings reach. Don’t worry about me, say goodbye to everyone for me and please, and safe stay. Will miss…''

The post-note was unreadable. Grace reread it a few times, her eyes trying to decipher the message, although she knew what it meant at heart. "He’s left us Vaughn, he’s left…" her face was visibly sad, but not a single tear could be seen.

"That dumbass…" Vaughn said, placing his head on his right hand. "Don’t worry though, he’ll be fine, he’s our son after all!" He told his wife with a smile, before proceeding to embrace her.

Then, the main door opened, and following the creaking sound, Grace’s mother appeared, quickly closing it behind her. "Oh, it seems you’ve found out."

"What?!" They both asked, veins popping from their forehead.

"Yes, I saw him leave, and I gave him that Devil Fruit you got all those years ago."

"W-WHAAAAT?" The entire house rumbled, and Vaughn found having to take a deep breath not to punch the living shit out of the table in front of them.

"Don’t worry that way he’ll be able to protect himself." the grandmother said.

"Or you know, fucking drown to death!" Vaughn responded.

This fighting continued through the rest of the day, and conflict had never been so loud in the Bell Household.

Meanwhile...

"Maaaan, it feels like it’s been forever!" Dan said, his tan skin dazzling in the sun. His black, slicked back hair felt dry due to the sun’s rays, and while he was tempted to hydrate himself by throwing himself in the sea, that wasn’t the best of ideas. He was slouched down on the boat, his stomach exposed to the sun’s rays. His clothes, a brown coat with gold linings, black baggy pants, and boots were all weary already.

The calming sound of the ocean waves was contrasted by the sounds of his stomach, and Dan knew he had to act on it. Reaching into his bag, he pulled the strange fruit his grandmother had given him, having already eaten the majority of the normal provisions in just one day. "This better not be crap grandma…" he said wearily, as he swallowed the fruit whole in two quick bites. He chewed it, not even thinking of savoring the food, and it was only after it going down his throat that he realized what he had just eaten. It was awful, no, in fact, it was fucking disgusting. And Dan found himself grabbing to the edges of the boat, ready to puke the contents of the fruit, although nothing came out.

Reaching for his water bottle, which he smartly, only utilized for moments of extreme thirst, he chugged it down like a drunk does with a barrel of alcohol, although it had little effect on removing its tastes from his mouth. After a few minutes, the taste slowly disappeared, although that would be the least of his worries.

Still slouched down, with his eyes barely open, Dan felt his head somehow becoming heavier. His neck felt the tension and it nearly killed him to stop leaning back. It was almost as if he had grown in size. "What the fuck…" the part of the boat where his upper body was, began to slowly fill with water. Dan brought a hand to his face, and it definitely felt…bigger than usual. Then, it instantly grew smaller, and next was his leg. This time he was able to see as it became exponentially bigger in seconds, and once he touched it, another one of his body parts followed. His hand, then his arm, his buttocks, and it destroyed the small banana boat he was in.

"What the FUCK is happening to me, also what the fuck, the boat’s leaking!" He screamed to himself, as he tried to save the boat, but to no avail, it didn’t seem to work.

All the while this was happening the boat, had reached the coast of an island. With Dan, barely hanging on, his body felt entirely weakened as his lower body was submerged in it, while he grabbed the frontal part of the boat, the only one that remained. However, the weird expansion had stopped, and it eased Dan to know that, as he managed to slowly get out of the boat. He utilized only his upper body, as he left prints on the sand, attempting to get closer to the forest that he witnessed with his eyes almost closing.

"I knew this was a bad idea…." He said, as he suddenly stopped moving completely, his face pressed against the sand. He had gone unconscious.

A few hours later

The skies had darkened intensely, the sun’s rays dissipating into the cold winds that the moon seemed to bring, and Bell Q. Dan had not moved a single inch since arriving at the island. Well, at least not willingly. Somewhere between this huge time frame, ‘’something’’ had seemingly moved the boy into the inner depths of the island.

So when he woke up, tied to a palm tree, he was immediately alarmed. "Ugh…" were the only words that could be heard from him as he was hit by the sudden realization. He looked to his sides, green life surrounding him everywhere.

"Where am I…?" He asked himself, as he remembered what had happened previously. He was on that small banana boat when his body went all fucking berserk on him, and he luckily managed to reach land. But…how did he get from the coast to inland? And why was he tied? So many questions, and nobody to answer them.

Suddenly, ringing in Dan’s ears, were loud tremors, akin to what one would feel from low seismic activity. Although it wasn’t a single tremor, no, they were constant, following a pattern almost. Instinctively, he looked up, and behind the many leaves that nearly covered the dark sky, Dan could swear he saw a figure, an animal perhaps of massive proportions.

"Oh, so you’re awake!?" the deep voice boomed, as its steps suddenly stopped. Dan could only think of how was it possible that an animal could speak. Perhaps it was an enhanced gorilla thing, he’d heard stories about that.

However, that wasn’t the case, as it crouched down, destroying several trees as he did so, his face became visible. It was…a man. A man of gigantic proportions. His head was probably bigger than Dan’s entire body, and he stared at the ant of a boy warily, a frown covering his face. His entire body was built, almost destroying his simplistic attire of a tank top and pants. He wore no shoes, and aside from his height, his graying hair and beard were the most apparent. This was a giant.

"Oh, you’re awake, little human." the giant said, as several roars could be heard in the background, something the giant showed no preoccupation over.

"A giant…" Dan gulped loudly before hearing the same roars the giant did, his reaction being way different. "Don’t you hear that?!"

"Hear what?"

"I don’t know, fuckin’ tigers or something." Dan remarked.

Scratching his head with his bigger than life finger, the giant extended his hand outward, grabbing the neck of one of the roaring creatures, before showing it to Dan. "This is a dinosaur, they’re quite apparent in Little Garden." He said strangling the creature as it fell with a loud thud. "And they’ll be my dinner. You, my appetizer, unless you give me a reason not to."

Dan began to sweat profusely, his eyes widening. "WHAT? No, no, no, no! Don’t eat me!"

"Then tell me, little human, what are you doing in Little Garden?"

Dan sighed, it was unavoidable, if he was going to die, he might as well be honest about it. “I left home because I was tired of the same boring life, but on the way out, after I ate this strange fruit, my body began to…expand, and my boat was destroyed, so I ended up here.”

The giant looked at him, his face completely blank.

"He probably thinks I’m bullshitting."

"I believe you. It seems you’ve eaten a Devil Fruit."

"Devil Fruit...so that’s what grandma gave me! That-" he was stopped by the giant’s loud, echoing stomach.

"Well..that still doesn’t change anything, I’m still starving for a new taste.: he extended his hand out, slowly, as he grabbed Dan entirely between his thumb and index finger, opening his mouth as he brought the boy closer to his face.

Dan, on the other hand, struggled to escape from the giant’s graph. "Damn it! I’m sorry but..." suddenly his right hand expanded to the size of the giant’s own, and the sudden change in weight, distracted the giant for a single second. Taking advantage of this, Dan jumped and swung his entire body, aiming a powerful punch across the giant’s jaw.

"UGH-" it connected, and the giant fell straight into the ground, the loud thud scaring off any nearby animals as dirt and sand filled the air around them.

Falling to the ground, Dan dusted himself off painfully, and looked at the giant, now lying on the floor. "Oh shit...I did that! I’m a fuckin' god!" he said, his fist still expanded, and painfully heavy as he dragged it across the ground. "Let’s see if I can get out of he-"

"KRAHAHAHAHA" the giant laughed loudly, standing up as he massaged his right cheek. It was definitely a powerful blow, but from the giant’s laughter it could be inferred that it was no more than child’s play to him. "That’s what I’ve wanted in a while! Someone who can deliver a strong punch! Reminds me of Elbaf!" He said, turning his head around at the sneaking Dan. "Hey, small one! What you have is a devil fruit and it appears that you can’t control its powers. I have one myself so I’ll be able to help you."

Dan turned around, a fake smile on his face. "I-I’m sorry but seconds ago you were trying to kill me..."

"That’s in the past, small one! Besides, you won’t be able to get out of Little Garden for a year, that’s just how things work here! You do have a Log Pose...right?"

Dan stared at him in confusion.

"KRAHAHAHA, how about this, if you survive in this island for a year, under my tutelage, you can leave Little Garden. It’s either that or struggle helplessly."

"Well, I would learn how to control these strange powers..." Dan looked at his left hand, tightening into a fist.

"You won’t be able to reach Raftel with your current powers. What do you say? However in exchange, you have to do something for me too?" the giant said with a wide grin.

"As long as you don’t make me your whore, sure." Dan responded bluntly, laughing at his own joke. He extended his gigantic hand to meet the giant’s. "My name is Bell Q. Dan, let’s hope I survive."

"My name is Groff, a giant from Elbaf, let’s have fun, little Dan!” The giant replied, before he began to laugh loudly. Little did they know that would be the first of many laughs in that island, and later down the line, screams. It would be a tough year for Bell Q. Dan.

Fin.