"The only way to claim my throne is to find that island and it's hidden treasure! Go! Look past the eye of the beholder and claim your destiny!"
- The Previous Pirate King
-Luke POV-
Amazon is a wonderful website in my opinion. You can buy nearly anything off of it, from mugs to sex dolls. But in my case I didn't need a new mug, or a plastic girlfriend. No, what I needed was something epic. I searched high and low for the one thing I had left, the one thing that I so desperately needed to make the next upcoming comic-con that much better. The comic-con that is starting in but a few days.
What do I need you may ask?
What I needed was simple. It was not a fancy weapon, nor a large coat. It was the one defining feature for who I dressed up as. The one feature that gave the man his name. That large, white, crescent shaped, glorious mustache that fits the face of the strongest man in the world of One Piece.
Whitebeard.
I had the bisento. I had the coat. I had the pants, I had the shoes, I had the bandanna. I had everything except the mustache. I had no idea why the mustache was taking so long to get to my house. I ordered it at the same time I did the other parts of the costume and I was beginning to worry that it may not show up in time for the Con.
I bit my lip as I continued to pace in worry, my arms crossed behind my back. Fortune seemed to smile on me though when I heard my doorbell ring.
"Finally! That has to be the package!" I cheerfully said as I rushed myself to the door. I opened it and saw the UPS delivery man standing there carrying a package.
"Hello stranger." Said the, rather creepy, UPS man. "Got a package for ya. Just gotta sign here."
He held out one of the signing machines and I gleefully went to work with it. After that he handed me my amazon package, tipped his hat and said, "Have a good time."
I didn't question his choice of words when he turned around to head back to his UPS van. Instead I closed the door and set the box down on the living room table. I pulled out my pocket knife and cut the box open, nearly ripping the box apart as I rummaged for the mustache. I was greeted with a glorious sight when I pulled it out.
"It's beautiful." Was the only comment I could make when faced with true beauty. Smiling, I set it back down next to the box and ran to my room, changing into my costume as quickly as possible. I finished that with relative ease, the costume wasn't exactly time consuming to put on after all. I walked to the table and picked up the mustache before heading to the full body mirror in my bathroom.
Once inside the bathroom I set the bisento against the counter and worked the mustache in place, once satisfied I picked the weapon back up and struck a pose. I was a fairly well built guy, so I felt that I could pull this cosplay off rather well. The only thing I couldn't do was make myself three times bigger than an average human like the real Whitebeard.
I smirked at myself in the mirror and said, "Luke, you look amazing." My smirk quickly disappeared when I began to feel a bit dizzy. I stumbled around while clutching my head until I fell over. Luckily I caught myself on the counter and groaned from the strain. I was feeling weak and I was starting to breathe heavier. My eyes rolled back as everything went dark and I passed out.
-Unknown Amount of time Passing-
I awoke to the sounds of people making noise. I groaned and started to get myself up.
"Shit! He's getting up! Come on, grab the spear and let's get out of here!" Shouted an unknown voice. But if the spear was what I thought it was then I was not going to give up that expensive piece of my cosplay.
My hands slammed with a thud on the ground and I lifted myself up to my full height. My eyes shot open and I gazed down at the would be looters. I marveled at my newfound height for a moment before returning thought to the important area. There was at least six looters, most armed with cutlasses and a few had what looked like axes. Four of them were trying to lift my bisento, I once again marveled at it's size. It was not that big before.
I glared at the two holding a weapon to me.
"S-Stay back! Or I-I'l cut you down old man!" The looter on the right would have sounded threatening, if it weren't for the fact that he was shaking like a leaf. Also, old man? Please, I was barely into my mid twenties.
"Trying to take my stuff will you..." I growled, even my voice was different. My gaze turned hard, "Like hell you bastards!" I roared and I took a mere two steps before I my fist was in range with the shaking looter. My fist met his face with a mighty crash and the bastard was sent flying into the sky. The other looter's jaw dropped as they stared in the direction he was sent flying before they regained their senses and dropped everything to run off screaming.
I snorted at their cowardice and reached down to pick the bisento up. I looked around and took note of the fact that I was in the middle of a small banana plantation. After that I gave myself a once over to make sure nothing bad happened to me while i was unconscious. I paused and took another look at the banana tree surrounding me. They were not as large as I thought they would be. But on a closer look I realized that it was not that the trees were shorter... it was that I was larger.
My eyes widened and I patted myself down. I felt scars that weren't there before, I felt so much stronger as well. I gently raised my hand to my face and felt my mouth. I had a large, crescent mustache on my face and I confirmed it was real with a quick tug. I looked down at my hands and saw that they were significantly larger and much more calloused.
"I'm... Whitebeard." I said, with no small amount of reverance. "Bloody hell, this is amazing..." I grinned wildly. This was practically a dream come true for me. "Ah haha! Wow! This is so great!" I cheered and threw my arms up in the air. I could finally become a pirate you'd find in One Piece.
In the midst of my cheering I barely managed to hear someone calling out to me.
"Excuse me! Hey!" I turned around and saw someone waving their arms and jumping up and down, trying to catch my attention. "Over here please!"
Shrugging a bit I rested my bisento against my shoulder and started my trek to the newcomer. I crossed the plantation quickly thanks to my longer stride, but I was being more careful walking than usual. I had a new, much greater, height to get used to. But I think I would get over that pretty fast, I imagine I'll be doing a lot of fighting now.
I got to the guy calling to me and took in his features. To say that I was shocked would be an understatement. He had what looked like pony ears sticking up from his head, large eyes, a brown tail, and a small snout on his face. His skin was burnt yellow and his feet weren't even feet, they ended in hooves kinda like a satyr. He looked like a furry's wet dream.
He grinned up at me, "Hey there partner! I saw you chase those no good bandits off like it was nothin'! Mah name's Peelin''" He stuck a hand out to me, "What's yours?"
"So they were Bandits, not looters."
He seemed like a nice guy so I kneeled down and reached out to shake his hand with my thumb and index finger, "My name is Luke. But you can call me Whitebeard. So what's up with the bandits?" I asked, since this place didn't seem like a dangerous area.
"Pleasure ta meet ya!" He smiled then continued on to answer my question, "Anyway, those damned thieves have been terrorizing the town for the past few months, even stealing' mah crops. I'm sure glad ta see somepony not afraid to butt heads with 'em. I'd fight mahself but... I got family ya know?" He gave a depressed sigh, shaking his head. He perked up though and said, "Well since ya seem to be new here how about I bring you to mah home? Mah wife, Pink Harvest, is making something good tonight."
I sympathized with his reluctance to fight when his family's wellbeing is on the line. And free food sounded delicious right now. But there was a problem so I posed another question, "So how will I fit? I seem to be rather large and usually someone's house wouldn't fit me."
Peelin' just laughed and waved it off, "Don't you worry! I'm sure the family wouldn't mind eatin' outside under the stars!" Peelin' turned around and waved me forward. "Come on, mah house aint too far. And if ya need a place to rest I got a barn next door to the house."
I was getting food and a place to rest right off the bat, I must be lucky. I got up from my kneeled position and walked with Peelin' through the plantation. We made some idle conversation to make the short trip even shorter.
"And that's why this here plantation and mah family are the two greatest treasures in mah life." Peelin' practically beamed as we finally got to the porch of his house. "Now just wait here right quick, I'll go tell mah family we got company."
I gave a quick confirmation and watched Peelin' disappear into the house. Not long after he disappeared did he come back with extras. He was carrying a tray full of food, and a pink woman with green hair, who I assumed was his wife, set up a tray holder and gave me a warm smile. An older woman came out with a young girl skipping around while playing with a doll. The young girl stopped and simply stared up at me, jaw dropped.
She seemed to get out of her stupor and exclaimed with wide eyes, "Wow! You are huuuuuge! How'd you get sooo big mister?!"
"Sundae! Don't be rude!" Chastised her mother.
"Gurarara!" I laughed heartily, my head was filled with glee when I realized I even laughed like Whitebeard. "Eating healthy and plenty of exercise!"
"Really?!" Grinned the newly named Sundae. She rushed over to the food tray to grab the more healthier parts, which made the older woman roll her eyes in exasperation.
"Of course, the only way to git that girl to eat right is to say she'll be at least three times the size of a normal pony." The older woman turned to me and gave me a once over, "Now then... handsome. Mah name is Granny Zany, what's yours."
A cold shudder went down my spine, I really didn't want to go this route. I simply looked down at her and gave a nervous smile, "My name is Luke, but you can call me Whitebeard if you want."
Luckily it seemed that dinner was ready just in time to interrupt Granny Zany from further flirting. I gave a relieved mental sigh and got up to walk to the tray. Piling food high on my plate was a priority right now. Being bigger means I need to eat a lot more right? It seemed that Peelin' and his family also appreciated someone who can eat a lot. The night thereafter was filled with jokes, laughter, and general joviality.
Eventually though it was time to head to bed, even if I probably spent a good deal of time knocked out I was still feeling tired. After bidding good night to Peelin' and his family I opened the barn doors and entered the barn. I collapsed on a huge pile of hay, while on the hay I adjusted my bandanna a bit. While I did that a note seemed to fall from the inside of it.
Curious I picked it up and opened it. I examined the contents and it read as such:
Dear Luke,
As you may be aware of by now, this world you are currently in is not your world.
I snorted, this guy has a sense of humor.
And you may also be aware of the changes to your body. You may or may not have freaked out in some sort of fashion. But, let me assure you of just one thing. Even though you are in the body of Edward "Whitebeard" Newgate, you will not feel the effects of his advanced age. The original was getting old and sick, even though his power was still great. You will be as strong as he was in his prime, and thanks to a bit of tinkering by me, you will never age. Think of it as an "I'm sorry" for turning you from a young man into an old one.
But make no mistake my friend. You can still die, be it by weapon, poison, or even not eating. This is simply just a complementary heads up, and I don't normally do this. Now, I bet you are wondering why you are here correct? Well make no mistake! I did not send you here for any purpose at all! All you need to do is live life how you want to and be free like a pirate!
Best regards,
Your Mysterious Benefactor
I crumpled the paper and stuffed it into my pocket while talking to myself, "Seems like things are going to take an interesting turn in my life." I gave a humorless chuckle, "If the random world hopping and talking furry ponies weren't anything to go by I'd still have the fact that I'm now officially an anime and manga character."
I slumped down into the hay and closed my eyes.
"I'm going to miss my family." Was my last thought as I drifted off to sleep.