"I will become a pirate!" A little child raised a knife in the air.
"I'm not kidding!" A seven-year-old Luffy raised a knife with one hand up while standing at the end of a ship.
"I'm being serious here! Just watch me!" He yelled at a young Shanks.
"I wonder what you'll pull off this time! Though I don't know what it is!" An excited Shanks smiled expectantly.
"Knowing Luffy, it's probably something childish." Uta rolled her eyes while the rest of Shank's crew laughed out loud.
"She sure is right about that!"
Shanks was expecting something funny or childish, but his smile immediately dropped when he saw Luffy pointing the knife at himself and looking at it dangerously, small drops of sweat forming on his forehead.
"OWW!!" Luffy then stabbed himself under his left eye and cried out in pain.
This action of his caused everyone to yell at him while Shanks looked at him with widened eyes.
"YOU IDIOT!! WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?!!" Shanks yelled at him and immediately rushed to his side.
Uta stared in shock and worry, but she quickly gained an angered expression and rushed over to Luffy's side as well.
"It hurts!" Luffy began to wail in pain while the entire crew started panicking.
"What's wrong with you?! Why would you do that?!!" Uta yelled at him.
"Sorry..." Luffy rubbed his head with tears in the corner of his eyes. He then gave Uta and Shanks a shaky smile. "It didn't hurt!"
The rest of the crew was celebrating Luffy's courage and bravery for
actually doing something that crazy.
"That's a lie! Don't ever do that again!" Shanks yelled at him.
"I'm serious! I'm not worried about getting hurt or anything!!" He then excitedly stood up on the stool. "Take me on your next journey, Shanks! I want to be a pirate too!"
"Like you could become a pirate." Shanks laughed at him. "It's a fatal flaw for a pirate to sink like an anchor."
This made even Uta laugh at him while Luffy just stood up in anger and yelled, "I'll be fine as long as I don't fall off the ship! Also, I can fight! I'm well-trained! My punches hit as hard as pistols!!"
"Pistols? Really ?" Shanks looked at Luffy with his usual smile, like he had heard this a million times already.
"What's with that look?!"
"Hey, Luffy!" Three big dudes with three beers all hugged.
"Have fun, whatever you're going to do!" He stuck his tongue out at him.
"Yes! Becoming a pirate is fun!"
"The sea is beautiful and vast!"
"We journey to different islands!"
And most importantly, we are all free!!" They all exclaimed at the same time, causing Luffy to look at them with stars in their eyes. Uta sighed, but she agreed with them all.
"Guys don't teach him such silly stuff." Shanks facepalmed at their antics.
The big man took a bite out of the meat. "But it's true!"
Yassop then threw his hand over his shoulder. "Riiiiiigght ?"
A man in the background leaned against his chair and asked, "Why don't we take him on a voyage ?"
"Great idea! Let's do it!"
But Shanks was entirely against that idea. "Then one of you trades places with him."
Everyone went back to what they were doing, much to Luffy's surprise. "Weren't you all on my side?!"
"In short, you're too much of a kid. I'll consider it when you're ten years older." Shanks ruffled Luffy's hair.
"But Uta is almost the same age as me! How come she can go but not me?!" He pointed at Uta, much to her surprise.
"Uta is my daughter. I must take care of her. But if she wanted to stay here with you, I wouldn't mind." He looked at Uta, who stared at him in surprise.
"Wait, really ?"
"Great idea! Come on, Uta! Why can't you stay back at least?!"
"Because I want to go on a voyage with Shanks!" She retorted.
"Sorry, sorry. Here, have some juice." He reached out for the juice and placed it in front of Luffy, who smiled and sat back down on the stool, completely forgetting his anger.
"See! You are a kid!"
"That's not fair, Shanks!" Luffy complained. He jumped down and began to walk away while pouting.
"Luffy. You gotta try to understand how the boss feels." Shank's first mate, Benn, spoke up.
He lit his cigarette and took it out before puffing out some smoke. "He's the head of a pirate group. He knows better than anyone how dangerous it is to be a pirate. He's not trying to demotivate you or anything."
"No! Shanks is just making fun of me!" Luffy huffed while crossing his arms.
Shanks then smiled a bit while looking at him. "Anchor~"
"See!" He, Luffy, pointed at Shanks while Makino walked in and giggled slightly.
"I see you're having fun." She placed some wine down near him.
"I just like teasing him."
"Luffy, do you want some food ?" Makino asked, and he instantly smiled at her.
"Yeah! Put it on my treasure tab!"
"Treasure tab again? That's a fraud, y'know!" Uta remarked.
"No, it's not!" Luffy glared at her while sitting down with a knife and fork. "Once I become a pirate and get my treasure, I'll pay for it myself!"
This made Makino giggle at him. "I'm counting on it!"
"How long will you stay in the village ?" He asked Shanks.
"Stay in the village? Well, we have a couple of voyages to go to, then we'll leave and go to the north." Luffy seemed to be satisfied with that answer and started to eat the food Makino gave him.
"I'll practice swimming until you get back!"
"Knock yourself out." Shanks and Uta replied at the same time.
That's when the door burst open with a kick, and it fell, revealing a group of bandits wearing confident smirks. "So these are pirates? Look pretty damn dumb."
While they entered the tavern, Luffy's attention was stolen by a certain small chest that Shanks kept beside him. He took it and began to look at it, seeing two different colored fruits.
"We're mountain bandits. Be we ain't here to wreck the place." The bandit leader assured. He then sniffed the air and smirked. "Smells like booze."
Makino then looked at him nervously and apologised. "I'm sorry, but we just ran out of alcohol."
This made the bandit leader scowl. "These pirates seem to be drinking something.... What is it, water ?"
"No, they're drinking the last of it." She told him.
"My apologies. It seems we drank the place dry. Sorry." Shanks offered him the bottle he was holding. "You can have this if you'd like. It's not open yet."
The bandit leader smirked and smashed the bottle on Shank's head, shocking Makino, Uta, and Luffy. "Bastard. Who do you think I am? One bottle ain't gonna cut it!"
"Aw, man, the floors are all wet now." Shanks frowned, completely ignoring the bandit's existence.
"Look over here." He brought out a wanted poster. "I have a bounty of eight million berries on me. I've killed a total of 56 people, and they are all impudent like you. So you better watch yourself."
His words and actions were starting to anger Uta and Luffy, who began to take a tiny bite of the fruit. "Ugh! That tastes horrible! Maybe the otherone won't taste that bad."
"We're mountain bandits while you're from the sea. So I doubt we'll ever see each other again." The bandit leader smirked, but it quickly dropped when Shanks picked up the glass pieces on the floor and handed them over to Makino.
"Sorry about the floor, Makino. Do you have a rag ?"
"Oh no, I'll do that!" She was about to reach out for him, but the bandit leader unsheathed his sword and swung it at Shank's head, narrowly missing him. This action shocked Luffy and Uta even more.
"Seems like you like to clean. Then get to it." He laughed and began to walk out.
"Hey! What the hell is wrong with you?!" Uta yelled at the bandit.
"Huh? Who's this stupid brat ?"
"Excuse me?! How dare you barge in here and hit Shanks like that, you stupid ape! Go back to the mountains where you stinky pigs belong!" Uta sneered, making the bandit leader mad.
"Oh, listen here, you little brat." He reached out to her, but Shanks stopped him.
"That's enough, Uta. There's no point. I'm sorry about her." He apologized, and the bandit leader begrudgingly left.
After he left, Makino went over to Shank's side. "Are you alright, captain-san ?"
"Yeah, I'm alright, Makino."
After this, the entire crew began to laugh at him. "That was so lame! He got you good, Shanks!"
"That's so uncool!" They all looked at an angry Luffy. "Why didn't you guys fight?! You guys aren't men or pirates if you laugh after something like that!! You're all cowards!"
"Hey! Don't be mean to Shanks!" Uta yelled at him.
Shanks was surprised by Luffy's outburst, but he then smiled at Luffy. "He only spilled some booze on me. That's no big deal."
"I'm leaving! I don't want to be a coward like you!" Out of anger, he pushed the entire second fruit into his mouth and down his throat.
This action caused Shanks and his entire crew to look at Luffy with widened eyes when they realised what Luffy just done. Unfortunately, Luffy forgot to chew because of the anger, and the fruit got stuck in his throat, causing him to start choking, and he fell to the floor.
"LUFFY!!" Uta rushed to his side, and Makino quickly went and got water for him.
Shanks stood next to him and yelled. "Luffy! Oh no! He's going to die! Don't you dare die, Luffy!"
He then looked at the rest of them. "What are you all standing there for?! Get over here! He's choking!"
"Here!" Makino gave Shanks the cup of water, and he looked at Luffy. His eyes widened as Luffy began to slowly swallow the fruit, and he managed to entirely swallow it. After doing so, he collapsed back on the ground tiredly.
Shanks sighed in relief, and Uta hugged Luffy. "Baka! Don't scare me like that!!"
"Luffy ?" She looked at him as she didn't get a reply from him.
Doom-dut-da-da~ Doom-dut-da-da~
His heartbeat... It was different. It was beating in a specific pattern. The rhythmic heartbeat completely caught Uta off guard.
Luffy then looked up with a massive smile etched across his face, his entire appearance changing. His eyes turned dark pink, and his hair became white and cloud-like. What looked like a yellowish-white cloud floated around his shoulders and neck. On seeing this, Shanks looked at him in shock, his jaw hitting the ground and his eyes bulging.
Uta looked at him in shock. "L-luffy ?"
"Yes?!" He suddenly turned to face her with a large smile, scaring the crap out of Uta, who punched him on reflex.
"Kyaa! Sorry, Luffy!" All the while, Shanks was looking at him with widened eyes.
"Luffy? Is that you ?"
"Yes! What's the matter ?" Luffy innocently asked him.
"You look different," Uta told him.
Luffy blinked a few times as Uta handed him a mirror. He checked himself in the mirror, and his eyes widened when he saw his new look. "HUH?! WHAT'S HAPPENED TO ME?!!"
"THAT'S WHAT I WANT TO KNOW!!" Uta yelled at him.
"But I look really cool though!" This made Uta fall on the floor, but she smiled when she realised that he was still the same Luffy she always knew.
"Luffy," Shanks called him.
"Huh? What is it, Sha?" He was cut off as Shanks chopped him in the head and began scolding him.
"Did you seriously just eat those devil fruits?! And you awakened one already?!! You nearly died, Luffy! Why did you do that?!"
"What do you mean, Shanks?" asked Luffy.
"The devil fruits you ate are special. Both are powerful Devil Fruits that the world government has been after for a long time! They'll hunt you down when they find out that you could eat both of them! It also means that you've lost the ability to swim entirely!!" He revealed, and Luffy stared at him in shock.
"EEH!! NOW WAY!!"
"YOU DUMBASS!!!"
This revelation also shocked Makino and Uta, both of whom became extremely worried for Luffy when they heard of it.
The mountain bandits were gone, as were Shank's crew. It's been about a day since their encounter. Shanks told Uta to stay put in the tavern while they went to get supplies before leaving.
Uta sighed while waiting in the tavern with Makino, cleaning the bottles.
"It's so boring. Luffy, are you sure you'll be– huh?!!" She looked to her right and saw that Luffy was gone!
"Hah!! Luffy is gone!" She abruptly stood up and looked around. "Grrgh! Where did he go ?! He was right here a few seconds ago!"
Makino sighed softly as a small smile formed on her face. "You know how Luffy is always so full of energy."
"I know Makino, but he's also a big idiot! But... I'm worried about him." Her words piqued Makino's interest as she stopped doing her work and looked at the little girl.
"Shanks said Luffy will be hunted down, and he doesn't even have to be a pirate for it. I don't want anything bad to happen to him!" Uta exclaimed in frustration, and Makino also gained a look of worry.
"It's alright.... Luffy is strong, and Shanks is there. He... He will be fine. You just have to trust in him a little more." Makino smiled, making Uta let out a massive sigh. She rubbed her face, but she did smile regardless.
"I guess you're right...."
Suddenly, the door slammed open, startling both of them. "Make way for us!"
The mountain bandits from yesterday had shown up at the tavern yet again. The leader looked around with a smirk on his face. "Those pirates aren't here this time, huh? Must've scared 'em off."
He sat down and slammed his foot on the table as the others followed suit and demanded drinks. "We were walking by again, so we thought we'd stop by."
Makino was quiet, but she served them their drinks and waited for them to leave. Uta was seen glaring at these pathetic people with a massive frown on her face. Unfortunately for her, this was not left unnoticed.
"Huh? Aren't you the kid from yesterday ?" The bandit leader smirked as he saw Uta. He then started looking around in confusion. "Didn't you have another little brat with you yesterday? Where is he now ?"
Uta gritted her teeth, and the bandit grinned. He got up and looked down at her. "You're that stupid beast that insulted me yesterday, aren't you? Calling me a stupid ape, huh? You think we're stinky pigs, do you ?"
He grabbed Uta by the back of her collar and lifted her off the ground to face him.
Uta struggled to make the guy let her go, but to no avail. He was simply too strong for her. "Ugh! Let go!!"
The bandits all laughed, seeing the struggling child. The bandit leader smirked. "Or what? You're gonna cry?"
Visibly angered by his words, Uta bit his hand, making him yell in pain, and he let her go, making her fall down to the ground. Uta rubbed her back in pain and slowly got up, only to notice the bandit glaring at her like she was dirt.
"You little brat!!" He grabbed her and threw her out of the tavern. Makino, noticing this, immediately called for help.
Uta tried to do something, but the bandit leader stomped on her, his foot smashing her face into the dirt. Uta tried to pry his foot off, but he kept it firmly in place. He removed the cigarette from his mouth and smirked.
"We can sell her for good money." Uta's eyes widened at his words, and the other bandits laughed while agreeing with their boss.
"Yeah, let's do it, boss!"
"Tch! Scum!" Uta spat while still being pinned to the ground.
"Huh? You have a problem with me beating you?" The bandit leader asked.
"As a matter of fact, I do! Now get your dirty foot off me, you pig!" Her words made the bandit seethe in anger.
"Stop it!" Makino ran to the scene with the mayor of the town.
The mayor went on his hands and knees and bowed down to the bandits. "Stop it, please! Let her go. I don't intend to fight you, I'll even pay you if you want!"
"Please, let her go! She's just a child! You can't treat her like that!" Makino also begged, slightly angered at their actions and desperate to help Uta.
"Too late for that." The bandit leader said. "She made me angry."
"I've changed my mind! This brat is too mouthy. We won't sell her, we'll just kill her instead!" He unsheathed his blade and pointed it at the child, making Makino yell. "Stop it!!"
"I was wondering why there wasn't anyone in the tavern...." Makino and the mayor gained a look of surprise as Shanks appeared behind her.
"So this is why... Oh, it's the mountain bandits." Shanks calmly stated and stared at the bandit, forcing Uta to the ground. The sight made him feel like something was burning inside him. He was angry.
"Captain-san!" Makino exclaimed.
"Shanks!" Uta exclaimed.
"Uta. I told you not to mess with them, didn't I ?!" Shanks scolded, making Uta grumble.
"Shut up! You wouldn't do anything, so I did!"
"Oh, look, it's the pirates." The bandit leader said while smirking. "Step any closer, and he'll blow your head right off, you hear me, wimp ?"
One of the bandits stepped forward and aimed his gun at him, but Shanks ignored him and simply stepped forward. "Didn't you hear him? A step closer and I'll blow your head off!"
"Now that you've drawn your pistol out, put your life on the line," Shanks told him, making the bandit frown.
"What the hell are you talking about ?"
Shanks pointed at the gun being aimed at his head with a smile on his face. "I'm saying that these aren't for threatening people."
The very next second, a gun was put up to his head and-
*BANG!*
Everyone looked on in shock as the bandit fell dead. A fat man in a green shirt had shot him in the head with a shotgun, making him fall dead.
"Now they've done it!"
"These bastards fight dirty!!"
"Dirty? Cut that crap!" Benn said. "You think you're dealing with saints or something ?"
"You're looking at pirates!" Shanks finished his sentence.
"Shut up!" One of the bandits yelled. "You've got nothing to do with this!"
This only made Shanks raise an eyebrow. "Nothing to do with this? Listen here, bandit. Whether I'm splattered by alcohol or food, I'll just laugh and forget it."
"But hurting my friend is unforgivable. Especially so when you mess with my daughter!!" Shanks expressed anger, taking over his expression.
"Shanks...."
"Daughter?" The bandit leader questioned and looked at the little girl. "This one? Even better! She's the daughter of a pirate, so nobody will care if she does anyway!"
"Lousy pirates! Kill them!" Many bandits charged at them, but Benn strapped forward.
"I'll handle this. Should be easy enough." Benn quickly pulled out his cigarette and pressed it against a bandit's forehead, making him fall over. He then grabbed their guns with his hands and swung his weapon, knocking them all down and scattering their weapons.
"Don't get cocky, bandit." The leader grimaced while watching his bandits fall one by one. A few other bandits were left, but they looked fearful.
They all stepped back a little bit, drew out their blades to charge at them. Unfortunately, they never left their spot, as something was heard faintly from the distance.
Doom-dut-da-da~
Doom-dut-da-da~
They heard what sounded like drums beating down over and over again in a rhythmic pattern.
This sudden sound made them look around in confusion.
"Gomu Gomu no.... Pistol!!" A voice was heard from the air, making them all look up.
Suddenly, a long rubber-like arm was launched at the bandits and slammed onto the floor, making it bend like it was soft and knocking out all the bandits. This sudden attack surprised everyone, including the pirates, who looked up and couldn't believe their eyes.
Doom-dut-da-da~
"Is that...?" Makino widened her eyes.
"Luffy?!" Shanks exclaimed as Luffy's silhouette was seen in the sun.
"Hahahahaha! Uhahaha! This is fun!! Really fun!" He then spun in the air, and the air around him solidified and appeared to be stretching.
He then used it as leverage to send him flying at the bandit. "Gomu Gomu no Dawn Rocket!!"
He then crashed straight into the bandit, sending them both crashing down. The villagers, pirates, and Uta all stared in shock as Luffy began to laugh while swinging the bandit around like he was a toy.
"Hahahahaha! This is fun!! Hahahaha!" He completely ignored the fact that he might have just killed the bandit leader and his squad.
Uta sweatdropped at him while seeing this, and Shanks just laughed. "oh Luffy. That over-energetic little boy."
Doom-dut-da-da~ Doom-dut-da-da~
"Boss, we have to do something about him. He ate the Gomu Gomu No Mi, and he even awakened it." Shanks also went deep in thought about this and decided to walk over to Luffy.
Luffy grinned and threw the bandit away, and made his way over to Uta. "Are you alright, Uta ?"
Uta smiled and hugged Luffy, making him laugh even more. "See! I told you I'm strong!"
He then saw Shanks and got excited. "You see that, Shanks! I can take care of myself! I didn't lie when I said my punches hit like pistols!"
Luffy was happily jumping around, but then his hair turned back and began to droop as he let out a massive sigh of exhaustion. His skin began to droop down as well, and he fell on his knees, too tired to do anything else. Uta saw this and quickly grabbed Luffy and held him close to her.
The Drums of Liberation then stopped.
"Luffy?! Are you okay?!" She asked out of worry, making him grin.
"Hihi! I feel amazing! But I'm sooo tired!!" Then his stomach growled.
"I'm hungry!!! I want meat!" He whined while holding his stomach, making Uta giggle realising that despite the transformation and power increase, he's still the same Luffy she's always known.
"Luffy," Shanks called out to him, making him look at him.
Shanks smiled and kneeled. "Luffy, do you want me to train you ?"
When he said that, Luffy's eyes sparkled as he gained stars in his eyes. "Will you really train me! Does that mean you'll take me with you on your voyage?!"
Shanks chuckled. "Yes, I will, Luffy."
"Yosha!!" Luffy cheered happily, and Uta smiled on hearing Shank's words.
Shanks was going to train him. The world government would be after Luffy, and he isn't just going to sit down and let that happen. He would teach Luffy how to fight and use haki.
"But wait... I'll have to ask Gramps though...." He looked a little downcast.
"It's alright, I'll talk to him. Who is your grampa anyway ?" Shanks asked, curious about his family.
"His name is Monkey D Garp! He's a Marine, and he wants me to also become a Marine. But I want to be a pirate! No, I want to be King of the Pirates!!" Luffy exclaimed.
Makino looked at Shanks and saw that he was pale. He had cold sweat dripping down his face as even his crew was frozen in shock and fear.
'What am I going to do to tell him? Garp will kill me when he finds out his grandson will be hunted by the world government because I was careless, and he ate two devil fruits. ' Those were the thoughts running through Shank's mind right now.
"Garp-san is Luffy's grandfather?!!!"
Shanks looked like his soul just left his body and was about to collapse. 'I'm going to die....'