New Adventure Arc

Unknown Location
"Freak!"

"Demon!"

"Kill him!"

Zero ran as fast as his little seven year old legs could carry him. He kept running not even looking back. "Come to me, and I will make them go away," whispered a soothing voice. "Who said that?" said Zero as a beer bottle hit the ground right in front of him. He surprised himself as he was able to jump a clear foot into the air over the glass and continue running. "Trust me. If you release me then I will make sure no one ever bothers you again. You will be free, trust me," said the voice.

"It's a dead end up ahead!"

"That demon has nowhere to go!"

"Ok, ok I Trust you. Please help me get out of here!" shouted Zero. His body froze as dark Purple Mist swirled around him. "Ah!" The little boy screamed as his body was ripped to pieces by the vile Mist. That is all he could remember before everything went black.

Zero slowly opened his eyes and found himself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. He blinked a few times wondering where he was. Strange, he couldn't remember anything except for his name. Zero Spade. Nothing else. Not what he was doing here, how he got here, or anything else for that matter. 'I wonder what happened to me?' he thought as he stared down at his heavily bandaged chest. Strange, he didn't feel hurt or anything.

He hopped out of bed and grimaced a bit. Ok maybe he is injured a bit. Still, he wanted to find out where he was. Like all children his age, he had the in ability to stay still and a huge deal of curiosity. Opening the door, he headed into the next room. It was a nice living room area. A curious look appeared in his eyes as he realized no one was home. Did he live here? The sounds of something coming outside made him turn around just as the door opened and in walked a tall handsome man wearing a white jacket. Naruto tilted his head curiously as the man had short black hair, a bit on the thing side, and brown eyes. "Oh, I see you are awake," smiled the man, "I am Doctor Higurashi. I don't think you should be out of bed with the type of injuries I found on you. Tell me, were you attacked by a wild animal?"

"I don't know," blinked Zero scratching the back of his head.

Doctor Higurashi frowned as he pulled out a small flashlight and walked over to Naruto. He gave the boy a reassuring smile before kneeling down. "Keep your eyes open for me and follow the light," Zero blinked a few times uncomfortable before doing as he was told. "Hmm, it seems you are fine, mentally. I think perhaps you are suffering from amnesia not surprising taking into account how you were found." A confused look appeared in Zero's eyes. "Forgive me. Amnesia means that you are suffering from memory loss. Do you remember anything at all?" smiled Doctor Higurashi.

Zero shook his head, "I remember my name. Zero Spade."

"Well, that is a start. I shall ask around to see if you have any relatives within the other town on the island. It may take a few days so until then you can stay here," smiled Doctor Higurashi.

"Arigato," smiled Zero brightly. A loud grumbling sound came from his's stomach and Doctor Higurashi chuckled before brining the boy over to the kitchen to get something to eat.

Three Years Later
The door to the tavern swung open and in ran a small eight year old boy. He had short blonde hair with light red streaks in it. His eyes were a sparkling ocean blue. A large fox-like grin graced his face as he ran past the patrons and jumped onto a stool. "Hey old man, have you seen pirate-san around?" grinned Zero.

"My name is Grim, not old man," grumbled a tall fat man with a frown. Grim owned Grimm's Tavern in Shimaki Town. A man who was known to not care who he catered to as long as they followed his rule of no violence. "Bob is over there." Grim pointed to a booth wear an man in his early sixties sat drinking down a pint of rum. He had a white beard that fell down to his chest and a faraway look in his eyes. The old man wore a red pirate outfit and had a sword hanging from his wait along with a pair of pistols.

Zero hopped off the stool and over to the booth, "pirate-san! Can you tell me another story about the Grand Line? Please!" Bob raised his tired old eyes and smiled slightly as he looked upon the grinning Zero. Ever since he had came here two weeks ago, the boy had been hounding him for stories of his adventures. Especially when he had told the boy that he and his crew had traveled through the first half of the Grand Line.

"Don't you have anything better to do then bother me? How about friends or school?" grunted Bob pretending to be annoyed by Zero's presence.

"Meh, school is boring. My friends just want to play. I want to become a pirate! And travel the world just like you! This place is so boring," pouted Zero.

A hearty laugh escaped Bob. So young, so full of life. "Being a pirate isn't easy lad. I know my stories sound fun and full of adventure, but the danger out there. Talking the talk is easy, walking the walk, now that's the hard part. So many of my friends and I were unprepared for the Grand Line and many of us were lost. A hard life a pirates life is," said Bob seriously.

A look of understanding appeared in Zero's eyes. "Hai. I understand. I watch people die all the time from illnesses or injuries that doctor-san can't heal. But I don't want to worry about things like that. Hehe, we all die, I just want to enjoy it while I can. I dream of going on the greatest adventure ever. Meeting tons of new people, fighting strong opponents, and kicking their butts," grinned Zero.