One Piece: Blood & Gunpowder

(A/N: Sorry for disappearing, I had a bad cold that lasted two days, and I didn't feel like writing or getting my head in order to do so.)

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The day passed peacefully, Boothill's mood improved much more than he expected. Having food and a real place to sleep made him feel much better. His boat eventually went into production, thanks to some help from the local navy, he managed to get a small compensation. "Huh... What are you doing?" The rubber boy was confused about what Boothill was doing. "Playing with a kite, you know, a flying paper thing?" Boothill looked at the boy with pity, playing with a kite was a basic thing for any child.

Luffy's eyes shone as he looked up at the sky, a small white kite was flying while being attached to a kite, and the local children were gathered together watching the kite fly through the skies. "Ah...fine, kids, bring me paper and some wood sticks, I'll make some for you all." After such words left the cowboy's mouth, the children disappeared in the blink of an eye, they all ran off in search of the materials. "Damn, these kids know how to run. They would have a great future as soccer players...wait, soccer? Hmm... I wonder if they know about it." Boothill fell into thought but quickly had it broken by Luffy and the kids bringing all the materials.

"Well, I have glue and plenty of thread, so wait here, okay? The old man here will do the kites." He felt like an old man doing charity work for children, but it wasn't too far from reality for him; after all, he was already in his 30s. Minutes passed with the hopeful children; they brought several colored papers, which allowed Boothill to give them each one with different colors. The children ran to the open field with Luffy. "Wait there, kiddos, I will help put it on the sky." Sighing, Boothill walked over to the kids and Luffy, helping each one get the kite up in the air.

He felt much happier than he wanted to admit; seeing all those happy children brought a smile to his face. The children's parents watched from afar with looks of... envy? "Hmn...do you guys...want a kite too?" They nodded quickly; Boothill burst out laughing, seeing adults so hopeful to play with something as simple as a kite.

The scene now looked like a kite festival, everyone with their kites up high playing and laughing, parents helping their children and playing with them. Luffy was doing maneuvers with the kite, using its elasticity to make crazier movements. "Ay ay...Hey, do you know a place that sells a ball? The kind that can withstand strong kicks, I was thinking of teaching the kids about soccer tomorrow." A tall, bearded man playing with a kite was thinking since he didn't know what soccer was, but an idea came to him. "We have a toymaker on the island." The answer was enough for Boothill, he went in the direction the man spoke.

Walking through the city on the island, he observed everything, it was a beautiful and charming place. For him, this was the dream of any retiree who wants to live in a good place. "Dawn Toyshop? Huh, quite a simple name." Boothill looked at the sign above him, it was simply carved into the wood. He entered the store, being greeted by a young man. "Hello, What can I do for you?" He said cordially, bowing his head respectfully, which took Boothill by surprise. "Hey, no need for that, champ; I'm here to see something." Boothill would look at the products and find some balls, but they didn't all look very sturdy.

"Hey, do you have a more sturdy one? For kicking, I was thinking about showing the children some ways to play, a little game from my home hometown." The conversation continued, and then a request was made by Boothillfor the production of the ball, he just went out exploring more of the city, looking at the wanted posters on the walls. "Damn, how many pirates are there? Wait...is that a clown? What the hell...15,000,00? Did he make a bad joke with the king or some shit?" The price of this pirate buggy was impressive, it was worth much more than those simple pirates he captured.

A smile appeared on Boothill's face; if he hunted down this pirate, all that money would be his, plus he would be helping everyone by getting rid of someone like that. "Heh, I'm going to put an end to your circus; just wait until I find you." He licked his lips, thinking about how much fun it would be to shoot that red nose.

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• One month later •

The boat took a while to build, but it was finally ready. Boothill looked at the children playing in a makeshift field. The goal was made of thick wooden branches, and Luffy was in the middle as always. "This is the kid dreaming of becoming king of pirates? He looks more like a fruit seller." Boothill laughed, but Luffy wasn't deaf, hearing what the cowboy said, turning around quickly. "Say that again, come on!" Luffy prepared one of his favorite attacks, but Boothill escaped the place laughing, he loved to irritate that rubber boy, after all, he had the most fun reactions. "Well, I will miss this place." He said with a certain tone of sadness that he started to like the place, but he wanted to explore this world and mainly hunt every pirate he found.

Boothill went to the island's dock, heading towards the large boat, using his rope to tie it to one of the edges and use it to jump. "Hey, I'm ready." He studied how to sail with a boat of course he was an amateur, but at least he knew how to turn or stop the boat. "HEEEEY WAIT!" Boothill was surprised by the familiar voice, it was Luffy running to the dock. "Are you leaving already? Without even saying goodbye?" Luffy was accompanied by the children, who looked sad, and their parents accompanying them. "Come on, Luffy, I knew it would be kind of hard to say goodbye...but hey, since you're here...see you in the future!" He took off his hat, waving goodbye, and before he left he noticed the adults carrying several bags and boxes, handing them to some men who worked on the docks who took them onto Boothill's boat. "This is a goodbye present! Don't forget to write letters!" One of the children screamed, eyes shining with tears, Boothill just smiled as the boat pulled away.

"An adventure, eh? Heh, I hope my old bones can handle the journey." He was arranging his weapons while having a wide smile on his face, he was going to demonstrate what his aim was capable of. "Time to settle the score." He said to himself, if pirates liked to torment people, why shouldn't he torment pirates?

Boothill took his revolver out of the barrel and aimed it at the sky, changing the ammunition. When he shot it at the sky, an explosion occurred, which was purple, If he left, it would be in style. The children watched the explosion in amazement.