Bluebeard? The Birth of a Legend!

In a small dusty town in the middle of nowhere, a group of children gather in the town center. They have all come with various fruits, vegetables, even eggs in their hands, though they all seem to be rotten, certainly no longer in eating condition. They all came to stop in front of the Mayor's office, looking up eagerly at the small cage hanging from the town clock. Inside the cage, actually a gibbet, a tiny old man can be seen sleeping. The kids begin shouting and laughing as they start throwing tomatoes, eggs and numerous rotten food stuff at him. At the same time they shout out at him, calling him "Demon", and "Monster" and other such names. The old man, now awake, simply smiles down at them, ignoring the foodstuff splattering against he cage, spraying him with the rotten vegetables.

Finally, all out of food and tired of not getting any reaction from the man, the kids slowly drift away, leaving the old man alone once more. But not quiet all alone, as a tall young man, wearing a straw hat on his head, emerges from the shadow and walks idly towards the gibbet. He had been there all along, having walked into the town but recently, having arrived in the town center just in time to see the children having their cruel fun. Having waited patiently for them to leave before stepping forward. Standing below and a little ahead of the gibbet, he looked up at the old man as he picked up a rotten tomato from the side of his cage and after examining it began eating it. Suddenly a growling sound emerges from the young man's stomach, as seeing the old man eat reminds him how long it has been since he himself had a decent meal. The old man, noticing the sound, looks down to see the blue haired young man looking up at him.

"What are you looking at? Never seen a man eat?"

"No. I mean yes," the young man's stomach growled once more as he fumbled around with his word. The old man burst out laughing, and tossed a similarly rotten apple down to him.

"You must be really hungry if looking at this made your stomach cry out like that. And doesn't look like you have any money to buy food. You're new here, aren't you?"

"Thanks old man!" He begins gobbling the apple down, in his hunger the rotten apple tasting like the sweetest fruit he had ever had. "Yes," he spoke from behind a full mouth, "I just arrived. How did you know?"

"You don't look from around here. Besides, the folk of this town, their eyes are all the same. Your eyes are far too kind for you to be one of them. Tell me, what brings you to this little piece of heaven?"

The young man finished eating the apple and tossed the core back over his head. Wiping his face on the back of a palm, he began speaking, "I'm looking for something, and I have a feeling I'll find it here."

"Looking for something? What do you expect to find here?"

"A boat, I'm a pirate you know."

"A pirate? Bwahahaha!"" The old man burst out laughing once more. "Then you are an even bigger fool than me. Take my advice kid, get out of here as soon as you can, there's a Marine Captain in the town right now. And if he get's whiff of you then you'll be in trouble."

"A Captain huh? That's must be why there were so many marines patrolling the outskirts of the town. Say, old man, why're you in that cage?"

The old man leaned back in the gibbet, his small size allowing him some measure of comfort that most occupants of the cage were rarely afforded. "I used to be a pirate as well, but the term retired seems to mean nothing to these people. So they put me in here." Once more he would burst out laughing.

"A pirate?" His excitement is now apparent in his voice. "Wow! But, but you must be weak then, if they caught you so easily."

"Weak? Me? If I hadn't been in this cage I would have beaten the truth into you, you fool."

"So you're strong then? Why stay in the cage?"

"Of course I'm strong. But this cage is made of, there isn't much I can do against it."

Once more the young man's voice becomes excited, "Kairoseki? So you're a Devil Fruit user?"

"Oh, you know about Devil Fruits? I didn't think they were common in these backwaters."

"They aren't but I have been around. Say, old man, if you're strong, want to join my crew?"

"Your crew, you already have a crew?"

"Well not yet, but if you join then there'll be two of us. And that's a start." A wide smile is now plastered onto his face, as the old man looks down at the young man with amusement.

"Bwahahaha, you're a funny one. But tell you what, get me out of this cage and then we'll see."

"Alright, deal!" The young man would take off his hat, and holding it in a hand raise the other on to point its palm towards the gibbet. Suddenly a faint white glow would surround the cage, but then just as quickly vanish. "Ah, well was worth a try."

"You're a Devil Fruit user as well?"

"Mhm. Well on to plan B. Go and find the key." He begin moving away from the gibbet when the old man shouted at him. "Wait up, the key's with the Marines, how're you going to get it back?"

"Donno, will think up of something as I go." He starts ruinning away, coming to a stop at the edge of the square, "By the way, what's your name?"

"Durin, my name is Durin."

"I'm Jim, Jim Hawkins. Nice to meet you."