Chapter 3: The Straw Hat Appears, the Style Changes.
Blue sky, white clouds.
A merchant ship drifted aimlessly on the sea, with no destination or direction.
The entire ship was empty, not a single sailor in sight, like the legendary "ghost ship." Until:
Thud,
A drifting barrel bumped into the merchant ship, and a faint voice came from the barrel:
"Huh? Hit a ship—"
"Great!"
Bang!
The barrel was smashed open by a fist, and a figure wearing a straw hat excitedly stretched out his upper body.
"That was a good nap~~"
"Well then,"
Whoosh—
The boy's arms suddenly stretched out like rubber bands, grabbing the ship's rail, and with a pull!
Snap!
He leaped onto the merchant ship, laughing heartily.
"That was close, I thought I'd be sucked into the whirlpool~~"
"My journey to become the Pirate King almost..."
Creak,
The door on the merchant ship's deck opened, and Roman walked out, his eyes coldly fixed on the "intruder."
It was a boy with messy black hair and a scar under his left eye.
He wore a red vest, blue knee-length denim shorts, and straw sandals. But the most striking feature was the straw hat on his head and the confident smile on his face.
That outfit?!
Roman's eyes flickered for a moment but quickly returned to calm.
Monkey D. Luffy.
The chosen one of this world, the Rubber Fruit user, who always said, "I'm going to be the Pirate King":
A fool!
What is a pirate?
A pirate is someone who robs, takes without working, acts recklessly, and is the scum of the scum, the villain of villains...
"Hi, hello—"
Seeing Roman walk out, the straw-hat boy waved with a smile.
"100,000 Berries."
???
In an instant, the boy's smile froze on his face, as if a row of question marks appeared above his straw hat.
"Ship fare,"
Roman continued calmly.
"100,000 Berries, three meals a day, accommodation provided, extra charge if you stay more than half a month."
"Ah... ah... this..."
The straw-hat boy's face fell instantly, and after stammering for a while, he finally squeezed out a sentence.
"I have no money..."
"No money?"
Roman glanced at the boy, who exuded an aura of poverty. A straw hat, a vest, knee-length denim shorts, and flip-flops...
He had no pockets, looking like he had "penniless" written all over him.
"Then I'm sorry, please go back to where you came from."
Protagonists, the most annoying...
"No, big brother~~"
The straw-hat boy was so shocked that his jaw dropped to his chest (literally), "I can't swim, and I just broke the barrel..."
...You tell me this is the future Pirate King?!
"Sorry, this is my ship."
"You have to pay the fare to ride a ship, you understand that, right?"
"I... I can work to pay it off, I'm a hard worker..."
The straw-hat boy suddenly clapped his hands together, looking like he had a great idea.
"Right, you can be my crewmate!"
"If you become my crewmate, you don't have to pay the fare~~~ hahaha, I'm so smart~~"
????
This time it was Roman's turn to be full of question marks. Is this guy trying to get something for nothing?
"I refuse!"
Facing Roman's firm answer, the straw-hat boy looked shocked, as if he couldn't believe it, "Wait, won't you reconsider?"
"By the way, my name is Luffy."
"I'm the man who will become the Pirate King!"
Facing the smiling straw-hat boy... no, Luffy, Roman lowered his head and sneered.
"A pirate?"
"That's perfect."
Whoosh—
He spread his arms, and sheets of "paper" flew out of his hands, quickly transforming into:
A sword and a shield!
"Since you're a pirate, let's 'pay' the pirate way."
Roman squinted at the boy named Luffy, shield in front, knife hidden behind!
"Kill me, and this ship is yours—"
"Wow! So cool~~~"
However, facing Roman's stance, Luffy just ran over carelessly, circling around Roman's paper knife and shield, even touching them—
Bang!
"Are you underestimating me?"
A cold killing intent spread from Roman, as he had just smashed Luffy onto the deck with his shield, even knocking off Luffy's precious straw hat.
"Wow, it hurts, it hurts~~~"
"Why do I feel pain—"
"Huh? I'm bleeding... how did you do that?"
Facing Luffy, who was sitting on the ground with a face full of blood but only puzzled about why he was injured, Roman stepped forward.
"I have no reason to explain my methods, so—"
Swish,
The white sword pointed at Luffy's face, and Roman looked down at him with cold eyes.
"Get up!"
"Beat me, and this ship is yours."
"Lose, and get ready to walk the plank."
Facing the paper knife so close, and the merciless Roman, the boy on the floor just sat casually on the deck, seriously looking at the corner of Roman's eye.
"I won't fight you."
"Then you're ready to feed the fish?"
"I won't die here either."
"Wait until you defeat me—"
"I won't fight you."
...
Bang!
The white shield in Roman's hand struck Luffy's nose hard, smashing his entire head into the deck! At the same time, Roman stepped forward and pinned him down.
"Won't fight, won't leave!"
"What do you want?"
"I..."
Luffy, buried in the deck with a face full of blood, looked up, meeting Roman's angry gaze.
"I said, I want you to be my crewmate."
"Crewmate..."
"Hahahahaha~~~"
Roman laughed wildly, tears streaming down his face.
"Then my ship becomes your ship?"
"My life becomes your life?"
"Are you stupid or do you think I'm stupid!"
Facing Roman's question, the boy named Luffy just seriously answered again.
"I want you to be my crewmate."
"Hey, listen to me—"
Bang!
Once again, the shield smashed into Luffy's face, twisting his head and bringing out a spray of blood!
"Why should I be your crewmate? Don't just talk to yourself—"
Bang!
Another shield strike.
"Still not planning to fight back?"
Bang!
Blood splattered.
"Crewmate? Let me tell you the truth. I ate the Paper-Paper Devil Fruit and became a paper man!"
"I got this Devil Fruit by killing my captain, and you still want me to be your crewmate—"
"That's right!"
Amidst the shattered deck and a pool of blood, Luffy's voice remained as firm as ever.
"I want you to be my crewmate."
Madman... idiot...
Even though he was being beaten down, Luffy made the battle-hardened Roman unconsciously lean back. Then:
Anger and shame!
Unreasonable—
Whoosh,
The shield and sword in Roman's hands quickly transformed into a sharp executioner's blade, aimed at the boy's neck!
"I know you're a Devil Fruit user, rubber, right—"
"Don't underestimate my paper, its hardness is no less than steel. One slash and..."
But facing Roman's threat, the boy in the pool of blood turned his head to meet his gaze, unwavering.
"You won't kill me,"
"I want you to be my crewmate."
Damn—
"Are you a broken record, huh!"
"I'll kill you!!"
The sword in Roman's hand rose high and then came down sharply—
Swoosh!
---
"Hmph,"
Roman turned the ship's wheel, letting the merchant ship carve a long wake on the calm sea.
"A naive guy like that, he deserved to die."
On the deck behind him, there was only a scene of destruction and blood, and the boy named Luffy:
Had disappeared.
"Did he think he could survive on this sea with just 'guts'? What an idiot—"
Bang!
The cabin door was suddenly flung open, and a boy with his head wrapped like a mummy came out shouting.
"Roman, I'm so hungry~~~"
"Why is all the meat in the storage frozen solid? I can't bite into it~~~"
...
"You dismantled my freezer?!"
"I'm starving to death..."
Facing Luffy's pitiful expression... who knew this guy could look pitiful even with his head wrapped in 'healing paper bandages'??
"Alright, alright."
"You take the helm, I'll cook. And restore the freezer while you're at it..."
"Roman, I don't know how to steer."
???
Roman took a deep breath, his scalp tingling so much that he started seeing stars!
"Then tell me, what can you do?!"
Facing Roman's gritted teeth, Luffy answered without hesitation.
"I can become the Pirate King!"
...
"Come, stand here—"
Like a deflated balloon, Roman taught Luffy how to hold the ship's wheel, then instructed him.
"Just keep this position, don't let the ship drift."
"I'm going to cook, don't slack off!"
As Roman walked past Luffy towards the cabin, he shook his head helplessly.
"Really..."
"Seems I'm just a fool too..."
Talking about being a cunning and ruthless pirate... in the end, I still became someone else's 'crew member'...
Oh well,
If you're not a bit foolish in your youth, what's the point?
Roman could only comfort himself this way, but if there was a mirror,
His upturned mouth would have something to say.