Chapter 5 - Kuina.

[Chapter Size: 2021 Words.]

Monkey D. Luffy's Point of View

Somewhere in the sea, East Blue.

...

...

"Relax, just make sure we don't deviate from the route. Meanwhile, I'll check some things here. Don't bother me for a while," Luffy said as he settled on the other side of the boat, muttering to himself.

While the boat sailed through the sea at a speed thirty times faster than before, Luffy decided to take a rest. He opened his system and started examining it.

-----SYSTEM-----

[Crew] (Locked)

[Shop]

[Inventory Cards]

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"It's a rather simple system. There's the crew screen, but it's locked because I don't have anyone under my flag yet. There's a shop where I can buy anything from this world with some conditions. The currency is in berries and gold, but I'll need a lot more for it to be useful. I only have 2 million that I got from the commercial ship, which is practically worthless right now. And lastly, the inventory of cards with four cards. This option will disappear once I consume them all." Luffy went through the entire system. He wanted to check the shop, but it would be a waste of time at the moment. He decided to look into it later.

Luffy glanced at Koby after he closed the system screen.

"Well, talking to this kid is quite boring. Despite his potential, he's so timid right now... I guess I'll take a nap to pass the time!" Luffy reasoned and spoke to Koby.

"Koby," Luffy called him, making the boy quickly look at him.

"Yes!" He replied nervously, and Luffy sighed.

"Keep guiding us to the island. In the meantime, I'll take a short nap." Luffy said to the boy, who was relieved by the brief interaction.

Hours passed, and Koby finally spotted the city with a large naval base at its highest point.

"Should I wake up Mr. Luffy now or when we reach the port?" Koby mumbled as he looked at the view of the island.

"No need to, Koby, Hahaha!" Luffy suddenly appeared behind Koby, laughing happily after a short nap. He put his straw hat back on his head and looked at the island, lost in thought.

Koby was startled by Luffy's sudden awakening.

"Mr. Luffy?" Koby couldn't help but be surprised by the abrupt change and was curious about the man's actions, thinking that he might be planning something at this moment.

"Koby, I'm going ahead. We'll meet later!" Luffy declared.

Before Koby could respond, Luffy's appearance began to change. His hair suddenly started growing, and incredible black wings sprouted from his back, leaving Koby in shock.

"What is this?!" Koby couldn't help but shout.

"Hm? I'm a Devil Fruit user, didn't you know?" Luffy said with a strange expression.

"I thought those things were just legends of the seas!" Koby exclaimed but quickly covered his mouth with his hands, fearing that his loud outbursts would anger the man before him.

"Hehehehe. Now you see that it's real. If you ever want to defeat me someday, be aware that it won't be easy!" Luffy simply declared with a big smile. He then flexed his knees as his wings slowly lifted to gain altitude.

"Anyway, see you later. Goodbye!" Luffy said, and with a burst of strength in front of Koby, he took off into the sky. The boat swayed, and Koby almost fell. The boy watched in amazement as the man soared into the sky, leaving him alone in the boat heading for the island.

"Incredible!" He couldn't help but marvel. As he tried to stabilize the boat, he realized that it was losing speed.

"Am I losing speed?" He noticed that the boat no longer had the speed it had before, realizing that it was another ability of Luffy's Devil Fruit.

While Koby was admiring the sight, Luffy was flying 300 meters above the sea toward the island, increasing his speed. He quickly arrived at the location after a few minutes.

He spotted a deserted beach outside the city and headed in that direction to avoid drawing too much attention. Luffy landed gently, his wings kicking up sand. He took his first steps on the island as his wings began to dissipate, and his hair returned to its normal length.

"It seems like I'm alone here... This should be a good place for what I'm about to do," he said as he looked around the deserted area a little away from the city.

"I just hope I can convince them," he sighed and then opened the system again, clicking on his summoning cards in the inventory.

'My first card can bring someone back from the dead, and it can't be someone strong; in fact, it has to be someone weak. Fortunately, there is a person for this, and even though they are weak, I recognize their potential.'

[Summon a resurrection card?] [Yes] / [No]

"Yes!"

"Think of who you want to summon!"

"Understood. Come forth, Kuina!"

Luffy had always wanted to meet Zoro's old friend, Kuina, who had the same potential as or even more than the swordsman after the time skip.

A bright light appeared on the beach, powerful and dazzling. It didn't take long for it to start dimming and, suddenly, a woman stood in the place where the light had been. She had dark blue hair, long and flowing, resembling Tashigi after the time skip, minus the glasses. She had the body of an adult in her early twenties. Observing her, Luffy couldn't help but comment.

"And to think I can't believe I actually managed to do this—bring someone back from the dead with this card!" Luffy exclaimed as he watched the woman regain consciousness, taking in the surroundings and trying to orient herself.

"Where am I..." she said, frightened, finally regaining consciousness after her last experience, which shouldn't have been a pleasant one, as she had died. Luffy could understand why she seemed so agitated in front of him.

Seeing the lost woman, he opened the system and spent some of his meager money to buy a cloak from the shop.

"Who are you?" she asked quickly, realizing that she was alone on this strange beach with only this man in front of her. He seemed distracted, gazing off into the distance.

"First, put this on." Luffy snapped out of his reverie and held out a cloak that had magically appeared in his hand, throwing it over her naked body for the time being.

Seeing the cloak thrown over her, she took it out of habit but soon realized how her body was without clothes.

"What do you think you're doing, you pervert?" She shouted, quickly covering her body with the cloak and her face turned red.

"I just brought you back from the dead, and that's the first thing you say about me?" Luffy couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at this clueless woman. She might be beautiful with an adult's body, but he wasn't interested in a girl who should have the mindset of an 11-year-old.

"Hm? So I really was dead? That wasn't a dream?" She murmured in shock, forgetting for a moment that she was naked, which was quite understandable, as knowing that she had died and was now alive again should be a shock.

"Yes, you died 11 years ago. I managed to give you a second chance," Luffy said calmly. He didn't want to beat around the bush and chose to tell her the truth directly.

"What? 11 years... it can't be..." She covered her mouth as tears began to form in her eyes.

"I know it's hard to grasp, but what matters is that you have a second chance now," Luffy said calmly to her.

"But how did you bring me back? Is my father still alive?" Her first questions came with tears.

As for how, I can't say. I can only do this once with the help of a divine artifact, but it broke as soon as I summoned you," I lied, not wanting to explain the function of the card. But I wasn't entirely wrong, as there was only one card that could do something like this, and it had already fulfilled the wish I hoped for. Luffy looked at her and continued to answer her questions.

"And yes, your father is still here in East Blue, still running that dojo."

She fell silent at my words but then looked back at me.

"Why bring me back here? Why me? I don't think you knew me 11 years ago." Her world was crumbling with this information, so she wanted to know why I used this "Artifact" on her. She actually believed my story, as her death was real, and she was now alive again.

"I chose you because I know about your history. Don't ask me how, just understand that I know. I'm starting my adventure on the sea and need people with great potential by my side. I believe you have it, just like your friend Zoro. I believe you can reach the pinnacle of swordsmanship in this world, even as a woman," Luffy spoke his mind.

Despite her death being a necessary plot point in Zoro's story, Luffy always felt that she deserved something better. He wasn't even sure if she would accept his proposal, but he still wanted to give her a second chance, as she was someone who could match Zoro's potential, and this world would be more interesting with someone like her. She might even be able to defeat his old friend in the future, whether as an enemy or an ally.

"Do you really believe in me?" She couldn't help but ask, forgetting that she had just come back from the dead.

"Yes, I won't lie. I want you to join me. I'm a pirate, and you would be my first crewmate," I said to her.

"Pirate? You want me to be a pirate like you?" She asked a little scared. Of course, she didn't like the idea of being a pirate, as she had a negative opinion of them.

"Yes, I am, and I want you with me. But I won't force you if you don't want to. I knew there was a chance this would happen, and I summoned you anyway. I won't force you. I can be a jerk in many ways, but I won't force anyone who doesn't deserve it to join my crew," I said.

"If you want to live at the dojo and return to your father, I won't stop you, but I think it's a waste of your potential. You can make your father eat his own words that he said once, as you gain a name in this vast sea and see the world!"

I finished my little speech. I really didn't want to force her. I won't restrict people's freedom like that. There are some plans to force some people, but she's not one of them. I might have summoned her using a precious card, but I'm more like the original Luffy with a desire for freedom at sea. Even if she doesn't accept joining my crew, I hope she doesn't waste her life here in East Blue. I'd like to see her name resonate throughout the world in the future, and she might even give me a good fight in the future, whether she's an enemy or an ally.

"I... I don't know... Can I think about it? Can I see my father before deciding anything?" She asked a little uncertainly.

"All right, let's go to your island then. But I have to do some things. You can accompany me before returning to your father?" I asked.

"Yes, I think so. It's the least I could do after you brought me back from the dead..." She mumbled, but her eyes viewed me quite favorably now, which wasn't surprising after what I had done and said to her.

"All right, now I'm going to summon other people, not anyone who's dead this time, so stay in that corner and don't worry, I'll buy you some clothes later," I said, and she watched me for a while as she adjusted the cloak on her body and moved away, wondering what I was going to do next.

[Summon a card?] [Yes] / [No]

"Yes!"

"Think of who you want to summon!"

"Come forth, Trafalgar D. Law!"

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