A baby fish-man had just been born. The child looked as if he was a human-shark hybrid with his blue-grey skin, a set of 3 gill-like markings on each side of his face, and a set of gills on each of his shoulders.

As soon as he left his mother, the child began to cry and let all of his tears out. The nurses and doctors thought this was strange at first since they had not even spanked it but just thought that the child was strong enough to breathe on its own. But even when the child's mother tried to breastfeed them, the child refused and kept crying. The doctors tried to calm the child down but it would just not stop crying. Many different doctors came and went, all trying to figure out what was wrong with the child. The child finally stopped crying after 3 days after it had completely exhausted itself and passed out.

None of the doctors knew what was wrong, whether they were merman or fish-man. They decided to keep the child in the clinic for observation along with his mother to make sure that the child could get the nutrients it needed.

When all the doctors had set them both up with IVs, the mother and son were left alone in the room. The fish-woman looked down at her son with a helpless smile on her face.

"Such a problem child, just like your father. That bastard ran off to be a pirate so long ago but didn't even return for his own child's birth. Little shark, what do you think your name should be?"

The baby was sleepy soundlessly in his mother's arm and did not hear a word of what she said but the woman did not mind. She knew her child was exhausted from its few days of crying and screaming.

'Not as tired as I am from my 9 months of keeping this child inside of me, the pain of giving birth, and then also staying up with him for those 3 days though.'

"How about Kisame? You are causing so much trouble so early so you are definitely my little demon haha."

Again, no response from the sleeping child but the mother decided to pretend as if he agreed.

"Good so we agree. You are so troublesome so your name is now Kisame Hoshigaki. My little shark, I'm sure that you will grow up to do great things," she said before planting a kiss on her son's head and falling asleep with him in her arms.

--- 13 Years Later ---

Several large tigers that would dwarf most men were charging towards a young fish-man. Even though his facial features made him look barely into his teens, the boy was already over 180 centimeters tall.

Seeing the approaching figures, he had a bored look on his face. With a claymore in hand, the boy charged towards the approaching tigers and swiftly cut them each down in one, no more than two blows each. Once he was finished, there was nothing left around him but the dead bodies of those tigers as well as all the bones from the various animals he had been killing over the past year.

'Looks like this place no longer has any powerful creatures for me to fight. I need to find a new island I guess.'

Kisame walked past all the corpses as he made his way to the beach. The young fish-man had been training by himself for the past year ever since his teacher, Fisher Tiger had left on an adventure. With no one left to train him, Kisame had to practice his skills on his own.

Once he reached the beach, Kisame jumped into the water. Once he was inside, began to rapidly swim back towards the Fish-Men District. It would be over an hour to return even with his body but if he was any closer, Kisame would have had to deal with the other fish-men.

Ever since he was a child, Kisame had been a prodigy. Whether it was his physical prowess, learning ability, or combat perception, Kisame was innately talented with all. With his talent, he was taught by Fisher Tiger began teaching him when the boy was only 5 and was astounded by the monster that he had brought up.

When he was only 9, Kisame had already gotten a blackbelt in fish-men karate. At 11, he was able to even use the fish-men jujutsu that only those who had mastered the karate variant could use. After he had mastered both, the body decided to take up the blade. If there was anything that could be called a 'weakness' for Kisame, it was his skill with weapons. He learned them at a much slower rate than he could learn his other skills.

'That island is out. Can't go there because Neptune will kill me if he finds out. That one's not a good choice either, too many slave traders.'

As he swam, Kisame was thinking about his next location where he would receive training when his senses tingled. Ever since he was young, Kisame had been able to innately tell how powerful some people were or know another's location by 'sensing' them. And just then, he had sensed something. The most powerful person he had ever sensed. More than Fisher Tiger and Neptune. Even more than than the marine admiral he had seen once before.

Kisame swam to the top of the water and looked at a boat that looked to be on its way to the Ryugu Kingdom. That was where he sensed the powerful presence. Feeling a calling, Kisame swam towards the boat as fast as he could. Once he arrived next to it, the young man climbed up the side of the boat until he landed on the deck.

All the people on board were surprised by the appearance of Kisame. A few pulled out their guns but did not point them at the young man. They wanted to test his intentions.

"What are you doing onboard our ship, fish creature?" the first mate asked.

Kisame paid him no heed. Instead, he was staring at a man surrounded by several women. The man specifically. He had grey hair that was blonde at the tips. The man also looked like he was starting to grow a beard. But this is not what Kisame saw. All he saw was a giant, dark figure wearing a crown that gave off so much pressure and such a feeling of danger that Kisame could barely stand. The man looked back at the young fish-man with interest in his eyes.

'That isn't water but sweat. And he has been looking at me the moment he jumped on board, no even before that. He came here specifically for me.'

The man looked closely into the fish-man's eyes and saw a little bit of light around the edges of it.

'This kid can use Observation Haki? But it does not seem like he knows what he is doing. Is this innate talent?'

When he thought about that, he smiled at Kisame and introduced himself.

"I'm Rayleigh Silvers. You are?"

Rayleigh repeated it several times. Kisame tried his best to look past the dark demon wearing a crown. It took all his strength and willpower to see Rayleigh and hear what he said.

"K-Kisame Hoshigaki. Y-Y-You are too strong!"

Without saying another word, Kisame collapsed on the deck. All of the other people let out sighs of relief when they saw the fish-man holding a huge blade passing out. Some wanted to rush up to tie him up but Rayleigh got to him first. He lifted the boy and brought him to his cabin. None of the other passengers stood in his way.

'His body is even better than I thought it would be, even for a fish-man. I was feeling a bit itchy. This kid has so much potential with his body and perception.'

Rayleigh let out a laugh before throwing Kisame on the extra bed. He lay down on his own bed before going to sleep.

---

By the time Kisame woke up, he realized that he was underwater again. In fact, he was in his own bed. Kisame could hear his parents laughing as well as the voice of a man that he did not recognize. Looking around the room, he was glad to see that his sword was still there. He walked out of his room to see what was going.

When Kisame appeared in the dining room, he saw both of his parents sitting at the table with an old man that he could not recognize. With a puzzled expression on his face, Kisame sat down at the table and began to dig in while ignoring the adults.

Seeing her son ignore them and only go for the meats, Kisame's mother could not help but reprimand him.

"Little brat! This man was nice enough to bring you home after you went looking for a fight and you dare to not say a word of thanks. And I have told you to not only eat meat but to have a balanced diet."

Kisame nodded at her words but did not say anything and continued to eat.

'No matter what I say, she's gonna keep going on anyway. Might as well fill my belly while I listen.'

And just like he expected, she continued.

"Ugh, eating like a slob. I really wonder if I raised you or not."

His mother continued to speak as Kisame ate while his father and Rayleigh drank at the side and watched. After 5 minutes, his father finally spoke up.

"That's enough, honey. We have to give him the news now."

Hearing what her husband said had reminded the woman of what they were discussing earlier. She shot another glare at her son before moving on to the main topic.

"This man is Rayleigh Silvers. He is a famous pirate or something. You are gonna be studying under him for a while, understood?"

Kisame looked shocked at his mother's declaration. Even though she knew he always wanted to be a pirate, she was too worried about his safety to ever let him be one. She said that he had to be strong enough to beat Fisher Tiger in a battle if he wanted to leave. For her to let him study under someone, a human, was something he would never imagine.

Rayleigh was also shocked for a different reason. No one had ever dismissed his status of being the right-hand man of the pirate king before. Kisame's father looked embarrassed and sent silent apologies to Rayleigh with his eyes. He knew better than to correct his wife, especially when he had just barely gotten her permission. Even though the fish-man was a pirate himself, he knew that the person he feared most was not the 4 Yonko but his wife.

Kisame's mother kept speaking for another hour or so telling her son about what to look out for, telling her husband about how he would be turned into shark-fin soup if her son ever died, and telling Rayleigh that he may have worked with the pirate king but he had never been confronted by an angry mother before.

Once she was done speaking, Kisame was sent to his room to pack all the items he would need on his journey. The boy was going to be gone for a few years at least. When he was in his room, Kisame's mother looked straight at Rayleigh with no fear in her eyes.

"If you're going to make him a pirate, make him one of the greatest pirates ever."

Her words were solemn and her gaze was firm. Even Rayleigh had to put away his playful smile when he saw her.

"Don't worry. If I can't turn this boy into another Yonko at least, I will personally take all your wrath myself."

The woman nodded at his words. When Kisame walked out of his room, he saw that all of them were smiling and laughing once again. Both his parents walked Kisame to the door before his mother kissed him on his forehead while his father gave him a strong pat on the shoulder. Kisame walked out the door behind Rayleigh and officially took his first step on becoming one of the greatest pirates to ever live.