East Blue
In the middle of the open sea, a small boat sailed without any clear direction. It had already been seven days since Luffy began his journey, and so far, he had not seen a single piece of land.
He was beginning to wonder if he had actually gotten lost. His food supply in his inventory was still enough for another two weeks, but if every voyage ended up like this, it was entirely possible that he would starve to death in the middle of the sea without ever reaching anywhere.
It seemed he needed to find his navigator, Nami, as soon as possible. As far as he remembered, that woman should still be wandering somewhere in the East Blue right now.
Luffy fanned his body with his straw hat, his tongue hanging out as sweat covered his entire body. The sun shone mercilessly, its light reflecting dazzlingly off the surface of the sea.
"It's so hot!" he complained while continuing to fan himself. He took a bottle of cold drink out of his inventory and gulped it down in one go.
"Ahh, much better." Luffy resumed rowing while looking around. "But where the hell am I, anyway?"
"Damn, I should've learned at least a little navigation before setting out."
"I guess I have to find Nami quickly. But where is she?"
Before he could continue grumbling, his eyes caught sight of two silhouettes of ships in the distance. His eyes immediately widened. "There it is!"
He hurriedly rowed his boat closer, hoping he could follow the ship until he found the nearest piece of land. But once he got close enough, he realized that the situation was not that simple. One of the ships was a passenger ship, while the other was a pirate ship, and the passenger ship was currently being attacked relentlessly.
Even so, Luffy did not turn around. He continued rowing forward because he had caught a faint glimpse of an orange-haired woman on the deck.
After pulling alongside the ship, he tied his boat to the hull so it would not drift away with the current, then stepped into the air as though there were invisible footholds beneath the soles of his feet. He climbed onto the deck and began exploring the ship, searching for the orange-haired woman he had seen earlier.
After checking several rooms, he arrived at a kitchen. Without hesitation, Luffy pushed the door open hard, causing one of the pirates who happened to be standing near the door to tumble onto the floor.
"Excuse me!"
BANG!
The dull sound of impact echoed through the room. Luffy turned around and saw a pirate sprawled on the floor. "Huh, why is he lying there?" he asked in confusion.
"It's because of you!" shouted two other pirates standing near their fallen companion.
"Ah, sorry, sorry," Luffy said while scratching the back of his head. He looked around the room. It was indeed a kitchen, and there were four people inside, three pirates and a pink-haired boy.
Luffy raised an eyebrow slightly. 'I think I've seen this kid before,' he thought for a moment, but he could not match that face with any of his memories. In the end, he ignored the thought and began opening the cabinets, searching for food supplies.
Even though his own food stock was still enough, there was no harm in getting more.
Feeling completely ignored, the two pirates who were still standing began shouting angrily.
"Bastard, how dare you ignore us!"
"Who the hell are you?!"
"I'm Luffy. Monkey D. Luffy, the man who's going to become the Pirate King. Nice to meet you," Luffy answered casually as he briefly turned around to introduce himself before returning to putting the food he found into his inventory.
The two pirates trembled with anger, feeling as though their pride had been trampled on. They drew their respective weapons. The pink-haired boy from earlier took a step back in fear, but still mustered the courage to warn him.
"Bastard, how dare you ignore us!" The two pirates leaped toward Luffy, swinging their swords.
"Watch out, be careful!" the pink-haired boy shouted.
Luffy turned around and casually swung his arm. Although the warning had come too late, he had actually already sensed the intentions of the two men long before they moved.
"Dismantle!"
Blades of wind shot from his arm, sending both pirates crashing into the wooden wall of the ship and smashing it into pieces. Dust scattered everywhere, and their bodies continued being dragged all the way onto the deck before finally coming to a stop, each with a deep slash wound across his chest.
Alvida, who happened to be standing not far away, immediately approached her two subordinates with an angry expression. "What happened to you two? Who did this?"
"Ca-Captain... there's... an intruder..."
"Th-That might be... Roronoa Zoro..."
"Co-Coby... was the one who brought him onto the ship..."
Alvida frowned. "Roronoa Zoro? Isn't he currently being held at Marine Branch 153?"
...
Meanwhile, in another room, Coby stared at the shattered wooden wall with his mouth hanging open, his face deathly pale. Luffy simply walked past him and headed toward the storage room in the back.
"Wow, there sure is a lot of food in here." Luffy took an apple from a wooden crate and immediately bit into it while continuing to put all the supplies in the room into his inventory.
Coby, who had just recovered from his shock, saw Luffy walk out and immediately ran after him.
"Luffy-san, you have to leave this place immediately! If you don't, Alvida might kill you!" Coby tried to warn him.
Luffy turned around, only then realizing the boy's presence. He tilted his head in confusion. "Who are you? And aren't they your friends?"
"I'm Coby, and they're not my friends. What's important now is that you have to leave quickly!" Coby tried to stop Luffy, who was already moving toward the deck.
"Then why are you here?" Luffy asked while continuing to walk, dragging Coby along as he still tried to stop him.
"I got on the wrong ship, and I've been forced to work here by Alvida for two years."
"Heh, so that means you're a coward, huh?" Luffy laughed. "I hate people like you, hahaha."
Those words struck Coby like an invisible arrow. Without realizing it, his grip on Luffy's arm loosened. "You didn't have to be that honest..."
Luffy ignored him, continuing to laugh as he walked. Coby hurried after him again, warning him once more. "Luffy-san, you have to leave quickly. If Alvida sees you, you might-"
Before he could finish his sentence, a familiar voice echoed from behind them. Without realizing it, the two of them had already reached the ship's deck.
"Might what, Coby?" Alvida asked in a threatening tone.
Coby turned around, then screamed in fear. "Hiiii!"
"Coby! How dare you betray me!" Alvida glared at him, filled with anger.
Coby took a step back, swallowing hard.
Alvida then shifted her attention to Luffy. "So you came here to take my head, not Roronoa Zoro."
'Roronoa Zoro? Does she mean me?' Luffy thought in confusion.
"I heard that you were being held at Marine Branch 153," Alvida continued, "but it seems you managed to escape."
"Hey, Coby, who the hell is this fat woman?" Luffy asked casually.
"Fa-Fat, you say?!" Veins began appearing on Alvida's forehead.
Her other subordinates immediately panicked, screaming hysterically as they ran away.
"What?!"
"He actually said the forbidden word!"
"We're going to die! Alvida is going to be furious!"
"Quick, run away from here!"
Alvida's face turned pale, her teeth clenched tightly. "You... what did you just say... SAY THAT WORD AGAIN!"
"Fat," Luffy repeated casually, without a care in the world.
"ARGH! I'll kill you right here, you damn brat!"
Alvida's face turned bright red, the veins on her forehead becoming even more prominent. She leaped into the air, swinging a gigantic spiked iron club toward Luffy. Luffy blocked the attack with just one hand.
"WHAT?!" Alvida tried to push harder, but the club did not move forward at all. The veins in her arms became even more prominent as she strained with all her strength.
"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!"
Luffy pulled one of his arms far backward, then released it, landing a direct blow to Alvida's stomach. The woman's body was sent flying, crashing into the ship's main mast and knocking it down, then continuing to slide into the wooden railing before finally falling into the sea with a towering splash.
"O-One punch! Alvida was defeated with just one punch! Run!"
The remaining pirates immediately dropped everything they were holding and fled in a panic toward their own ship, quickly sailing away as fast as they could.
"Well, now..." Luffy suddenly turned around. He swung his arm, stretching it rapidly, then caught something suspicious.
"Kyaaa!"