East Blue, the modest village of Uxopia.

“Done with breakfast!” One of three boys yelled out in excitement and triumph. He had light brown hair and eyes that sparkled with a hint of freedom and adventure. His toothy smile could warm anyone’s heart, even though he was missing a few white ones. This child was Leon Akojii, the oldest of the three boys.

“I’m done too!~” Another giddy voice yelled out from a boy who finished his cereal roughly at the same time. He was younger than Leon, with jet-black hair and eyes that shone with a hint of heroic spirit. He was Kenji Akura, the second oldest of the young trio.

“Guys~! I’m almost done!” And the youngest of three, Hatsume Azelo, took the wooden bowl with his chubby hands and slurped down the rest of his cereal in a hurry. Once finished, he had a large milk mustache that made everyone burst out laughing.

“Wow, you little buggers finish quick.” This voice belonged to Anari, the caretaker of the three boys. She was a young lady wearing a bright yellow dress that highlighted her delicate figure. She had a motherly look on her, as she smiled at the three boys with love.

“Aunt Anari! Can we go to the beach?” Leon spoke up first, hopping out of his wooden chair in a hurry. The other two boys followed quickly, all looking up at Anari for her approval.

“Ah, fine. You guys did finish your breakfast..” Anari shook her head in hopelessness, opening the door for the three.

“We’ll be back for lunch, Auntie!” Kenji and the other boys rushed out the door, meeting the dirt road path. The sun had just gone up, and the rest of the village was still waking up. Still, Anari’s neighbor was already outside in his rocking chair.

“Going to the beach, eh?” He was a silver-haired old man with deep eyes that spoke of wisdom and experience. His entire history was unknown within the clan, and he would often sit in his rocking chair and look out to the skies. Even at night, he could be seen looking up at the starry sky. He was a mysterious existence indeed, but he had also watched the boys grow up.

“Uh-huh, Grandpa!” The three boys cheered in unison. They all went and gave Grandpa Satoru a high-five before turning to the path leading to the beach.

“Ready..set..” Grandpa Satoru began to countdown; the boys always raced to the beach. Whoever was last, typically Hatsume, was a rotten sea slug.

“Go!” All three burst out running, rushing down the beaten up path to the beach. Leon was pulling ahead, but Kenji was quickly following after. Hatsume, however, could only follow from a distance, calling for them to slow down.

The scenery quickly changed from wooden houses to the bright yellow grass of the plains. Hatsume had long ago fallen behind, though he didn’t stop running. The race was now just Kenji and Leon.

“I won’t slow down Kenji! Just quit now!” Sweat slid down Leon’s face, though he wasn't too tired. He looked back at Kenji, who was just a bit behind.

“I’m not gonna stop!” Kenji’s shirt was drenched in sweat, as he was pushing his ten-year-old legs to their limit. He was determined to win this race.

“Alright then! Watch and see the difference three years make!” And with those final words, Leon began to push forward with great speed. His pace was much faster than before, creating more of a difference between him and Kenji.

“Dang it!” Kenji could only keep at his own speed, watching the back of Leon’s shirt flutter in the wind. He had lost.

Eventually, Kenji and Hatsume arrived at the beach to see Leon sitting in the sand with a confident grin.

“Took you guys enough!” Leon’s triumphant smile was as wide as the sea: he remained undefeated in their races. Unless you include that one time they let Hatsume win out of pity.

“We’ll get ya next time!” The other two boys plumped down next to him, the trio all bursting into laughter. They all decided to lie down in the sand, looking up at the blue sky. There were clouds drifting above, ripe for pointing out.

“Leon, what do you want to be when you grow up?” Kenji broke the harmonious silence. He wanted to follow Leon when he grew up, doing whatever grown-ups do.

“Me? I want to be a pirate! I’ll sail the entire of East Blue, finding adventure on every island.” Leon’s voice held determination; this was his aspirations.

“A pirate? Why?” Hatsume’s childish voice followed. He wanted to know what it was pirates do.

“Yeah, someone who sails the sea in search of freedom and adventure. I’ll make my own crew, and you two will be my vice-captains.” Leon was all smiles as he thought of the bright future ahead.

“A crew?”

“Yeah! Like a family of some sort.”

“So will Aunt Anari be there?”

“Sure! I’ll just ask her to join.”

The boy's discussion went on like this, talking about their future crew. But it quickly got ruined.

“Leon, what’s that?” Kenji pointed at some distant shape in the sea. It looked like a ship, and something in the air was fluttering above it.

“T-that’s a pirate ship!” Leon squinted his eyes, seeing the flag of the ship. His eyes quickly widened, as the flag was a skull with crossbones, with an axe directly above the skull.

“Get up! We gotta hurry to the village! That’s the Viking Pirates!” Leon jumped up from the sand, urgency was evident in his actions.

“Vikings? The ones that have attacked people nearby?” Kenji had heard some adults talk about this infamous pirate group; who have raided nearby villages.

“Yes! We’ve got hurry and warn the village.” Leon lifted Hatsume and put him on his back.

“O-okay! Let’s go!” Kenji and Leon sprinted back to the village, though neither of them truly understood the threat they were about to deal with.

Pirates were no joke.