"It's already too late for that, old man," Higuma growled, pressing the cold steel of his sword against Luffy's neck. "This brat insulted my pride. And no one insults Higuma the Bear and lives to tell the tale."
Luffy gritted his teeth, his face bruised and bleeding, but his eyes were filled with an unbroken, stubborn fire. He wasn't going to apologize.
"So this is why no one was at the harbor to greet us."
Higuma froze. The Mayor gasped.
Walking slowly out of the dusty shadows of the village street was Red-Haired Shanks. His straw hat shadowed his eyes, and his long, black cape billowed gently in the wind. Behind him, standing shoulder-to-shoulder, was the entire, imposing crew of the Red Hair Pirates.
They weren't laughing anymore.
"Pirates?" Higuma scoffed, hiding his sudden flash of fear behind a sneer. "Still playing around in this village, cowards? This is none of your business. Walk away before you get hurt."
Shanks didn't stop. He took another slow, deliberate step forward.
"I said stay back!" one of the bandits yelled. He drew a flintlock pistol and shoved the barrel directly against the side of Shanks' head. "One more step and I'll blow your brains out, red-hair!"
Shanks didn't even blink. He didn't look at the gun. He just looked at the bandit. "Are you prepared to risk your life?"
"Huh?" the bandit stammered.
"I said, now that you've drawn your pistol, are you willing to use it?" Shanks' voice was terrifyingly calm. "Guns aren't for threats. They're for actions."
BANG.
The sound of a gunshot echoed through the square. But Shanks was still standing.
The bandit's eyes rolled back into his head, and he collapsed to the dirt. Standing right behind him, with a smoking pistol in one hand and a giant piece of roasted meat in the other, was Lucky Roux.
The bandits recoiled in absolute horror. "He... he just shot him! Without even hesitating!"
"These guys play dirty!" another bandit screamed.
"Play dirty?" Yasopp chuckled darkly, racking his rifle. "Don't be naive. We aren't a bunch of saints. You're looking at a crew of pirates."
Shanks finally looked up, his eyes locking onto Higuma with an intense, suffocating pressure.
"Listen to me, bandit," Shanks said, his voice carrying the weight of a king. "You can pour alcohol on me. You can throw food at me. You can even spit on me. I'll just laugh that off. But..."
The air itself seemed to grow heavy.
"...nobody hurts a friend of mine and gets away with it."
Higuma swallowed hard, stepping back. "Kill them!" he shrieked at his men. "There's fifty of us and barely ten of them! Wipe them out!"
The bandits roared, charging forward with their swords raised.
"I'll handle this, Captain," Benn Beckman sighed, taking his cigarette out of his mouth.
The First Mate stepped forward alone. He didn't even bother firing his rifle. Holding it by the barrel like a club, Beckman moved like a blur of sheer violence. In less than ten seconds, the sounds of cracking bone and agonized screams filled the square.
When the dust settled, all fifty bandits were unconscious on the ground. Beckman exhaled a cloud of smoke, casually resting his rifle on his shoulder. "If you wanted to fight us, you should have brought a battleship."
Higuma was trembling violently. He was the only one left standing.
Realizing he was entirely outmatched, the bandit leader threw his hand to the ground. POOF! A massive cloud of thick, black smoke erupted into the street, completely blinding the pirates.
"He dropped a smoke bomb!" Beckman coughed.
When the wind finally cleared the air, the street was empty. Higuma was gone.
And so was Luffy.
"CRAP!" Shanks screamed, his calm, cool demeanor instantly vanishing into utter panic. "HE TOOK LUFFY! WHAT DO I DO?! OH MAN, I BLEW IT!"
Out on the open sea, the small wooden rowboat bobbed violently against the waves.
Higuma stood over Luffy, breathing heavily. "They'll never look for us out here. I've gotta say, it was a good plan. Who would've thought a mountain bandit would escape to the sea?"
He looked down at the bruised, rubber boy and scowled.
"I'm done with you, brat," Higuma spat. He reared back his heavy boot and violently kicked Luffy over the edge of the boat.
"AHHH!"
SPLASH!
Luffy hit the freezing water. Immediately, his strength vanished. The curse of the Devil Fruit took hold of his body. He was paralyzed, sinking like a literal stone into the dark depths of the ocean. I can't breathe... I can't move...
Above the surface, Higuma laughed. But his laughter was suddenly cut short.
The water behind the rowboat began to bubble. A massive shadow darkened the ocean. Bursting from the depths with a deafening roar was the Lord of the Coast—a gigantic, terrifying Sea King, a sea monster with razor-sharp teeth and scales the size of shields.
Before Higuma could even scream, the Sea King lunged forward, snapping its massive jaws shut and swallowing the bandit whole, shattering the rowboat into splinters.
Beneath the water, Luffy watched the monster turn its terrifying, glowing eyes toward him. It opened its massive maw, preparing to swallow the boy next. Luffy closed his eyes. This is it. I'm going to die.
SPLASH!
Suddenly, strong arms wrapped around him. He was violently yanked upward, breaking the surface of the water and gasping for air.
SNAP! The Sea King's jaws clamped down right where Luffy had just been floating.
Luffy opened his eyes, coughing up seawater. Holding him tightly was Shanks.
The Sea King loomed over them, roaring in anger at missing its prey. It reeled back for a second strike.
Shanks didn't draw a sword. He just glared up at the massive, terrifying monster. His eyes hardened, releasing an invisible, overwhelming wave of pure willpower.
"Get lost."
The Sea King froze. Its eyes widened in absolute, primal terror. With a whimpering cry, the giant monster turned and fled as fast as it could back into the dark depths of the ocean.
Silence fell over the waves.
"S-Shanks..." Luffy choked out, trembling in the pirate's grip.
"It's okay, Luffy," Shanks smiled gently, though his face was pale and slick with sweat. "I'm just glad you're safe."
Luffy looked down. The ocean water around them was turning a dark, sickening shade of crimson.
Luffy's breath caught in his throat. He screamed, tears bursting from his eyes in an unstoppable torrent. He grabbed onto Shanks' shirt, bawling uncontrollably.
Shanks had saved him. But his left arm... the arm that had just shielded Luffy from the monster's jaws... was gone. Bitten completely off at the shoulder.
"Don't cry," Shanks whispered, resting his remaining hand gently on Luffy's head. "It's just an arm, kid. I've got another one."
A few days later. Foosha Village Harbor.
The massive pirate ship was fully restocked and preparing to set sail. The morning sun shone brightly, reflecting off the calm blue sea.
Standing on the docks, Luffy looked up at Shanks. He wasn't crying anymore. His face was set with a mature, unshakable resolve.
"So, you're really leaving this time?" Luffy asked.
"Yeah," Shanks nodded, his empty left sleeve pinned up to his shoulder. "It's been a long stay, but it's time to head out. Are you gonna beg me to take you with us again?"
"No," Luffy said firmly. He wiped his nose and puffed out his chest. "I've realized that I'm too young right now. But I don't need to go with you anyway! I'm going to become a pirate on my own!"
Shanks smirked, crouching down to eye level with the boy. "Is that so? Well, there's no way a kid like you could ever become a pirate anyway."
"YES I WILL!" Luffy shouted, his voice echoing across the bay. "One day, I'm going to gather a crew even stronger than yours! I'm going to find the world's greatest treasure! And I am going to become the King of the Pirates!"
The crew on the ship paused, looking down at the young boy. Shanks' eyes widened slightly. He looked at Luffy, truly seeing the boundless, fiery potential burning within the boy's spirit.
A soft, nostalgic smile crossed Shanks' face. He reached up and took the worn straw hat off his own head.
"A crew stronger than ours, huh?" Shanks murmured. He gently placed the straw hat down onto Luffy's head, pulling it low over the boy's eyes.
"This hat means a lot to me, Luffy," Shanks said, his voice thick with emotion. "Take good care of it. And one day... when you've become a truly great pirate... bring it back to me."
Luffy reached up, gripping the brim of the oversized hat. He bit his lip, trying to hold back the tears, but he couldn't. He stood on the docks, sobbing with gratitude and determination, as the Red Hair Pirates finally set sail toward the horizon.
Ten Years Later.
"Alright! I'm off!"
A seventeen-year-old Monkey D. Luffy stood at the bow of a tiny, ragged wooden dinghy. He wore a bright red vest, blue shorts, and a very familiar, worn straw hat resting perfectly on his head.
He pumped his fist into the air, a massive, carefree grin stretching across his face. "Time to find a crew! Ten people should do it! First stop, the Pirate King's throne!"
The weather was perfect. The wind was at his back. His grand adventure had finally begun!
Ten minutes later, he was sucked into a massive, terrifying whirlpool.
"Uh oh," Luffy said, staring at the swirling vortex of death. "This is a problem."
Meanwhile, on a remote island.
"Who is the most beautiful woman in all the seas?!"
The shrill, booming voice echoed across the deck of a massive pirate ship. The speaker was Alvida, a terrifyingly large woman wielding a spiked iron mace that was as big as a cannon barrel.
"Y-You are, Lady Alvida! The most beautiful of all!" a small, trembling boy squeaked.
This was Koby. He wore oversized glasses and was currently scrubbing the deck with a toothbrush. He was terrified of his own shadow, and practically lived in fear of the monstrous pirate captain who had forced him into servitude.
"Exactly right, Koby!" Alvida laughed loudly. "And why do I keep a useless runt like you around?"
"B-Because I know how to navigate, ma'am!" Koby stammered, frantically shining Alvida's boots.
"That's right! Now scrub harder!"
Later that afternoon, Koby was miserably rolling a large, heavy wooden barrel toward the ship's storage hold. He had found it floating near the beach.
"Hey, Koby! What've you got there?"
Three of Alvida's burly, intimidating crewmates cornered the small boy. They grinned hungrily at the barrel.
"I-I found it washed ashore," Koby stuttered. "I was bringing it to the Captain..."
"Yeah, right," the biggest pirate sneered, cracking his knuckles. "We're thirsty. We're gonna drink whatever wine is inside this thing right now. And if you tell Alvida, we'll slice you to ribbons. Got it?"
Koby whimpered, nodding frantically.
The three pirates laughed, raising a heavy crowbar to smash the lid off the barrel.
Suddenly, the barrel began to shake.
CRACK!
The lid violently exploded outward. A young man wearing a red vest and a straw hat burst out of the barrel, stretching his arms high into the air with a massive yawn.
"WOW! WHAT A GREAT NAP!" Luffy yelled, completely oblivious to his surroundings.
His fist accidentally caught the biggest pirate square under the jaw, sending the large man flying across the room and crashing into a pile of crates.
Koby's jaw dropped. The remaining two pirates stared in absolute shock.
Luffy blinked, finally noticing the people around him. "Oh, hey. Who are you guys?"
Before anyone could answer, the wooden wall of the storage hold exploded inward. Splinters flew everywhere as Alvida's massive, spiked iron mace smashed into the room.
"WHO IS SLACKING OFF IN HERE?!" Alvida roared, stepping through the hole she had just created, her eyes locking furiously onto the intruders.
Luffy tilted his head, looking at the giant, angry woman.
"Hey, Koby," Luffy asked casually. "Who's the fat lady?"