“Ahahahahaha!!!”
“Welcome to the crew, Karl!”
Luffy had absolutely no clue what a Machine-Machine Fruit was, and the mention of “gods” flew right over his head as well.
Still, he clearly understood the meaning behind Karl’s last declaration.
“Then let’s go flip this whole world upside down together!”
Three days later.
The pair had completed a small vessel and gathered all the supplies necessary for their voyage.
Karl stood before the humble cabin he had called home for more than two months.
A faint trace of attachment surfaced in his eyes.
Yet he understood that the time had come.
Drawing in a slow breath, he threw the torch in his hand without the slightest hesitation.
In only a few moments, flames consumed the wooden structure.
The snapping and crackling of burning timber echoed through the air like a grand symphony, a ceremonial fanfare celebrating the beginning of a legend.
“Time to go, Captain.”
“Oh!
Right behind you!”
Adjusting the Straw Hat on his head, Luffy quickly caught up, strolling forward with his hands clasped behind his head.
“Why’d you burn the place down?”
“Because nobody’s going to live there anymore.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to leave it?
After our adventure’s over, we could come back and see it again!”
“If nobody takes care of it, it’ll fall apart within a few months anyway.”
“Seriously?”
“And besides, keeping it standing would only leave me with something to look back on.
If I ever feel tempted to return, I don’t want an easy path waiting for me.”
“Huh?
I don’t really understand.”
“That’s okay.
It isn’t important.”
“So we’re leaving everything behind?”
“We already took everything worth bringing.”
“What about those statues?”
“The statues?”
“The funny-looking people!”
“Oh, those.
They’re gods from my homeland.”
“Gods?
Can you eat them?”
“No!
Definitely not.
And even if you could, they’d probably taste terrible.
Back home, people pray to them whenever they face major decisions.
It helps calm their hearts.”
“Then why not take them with us?”
“Because they can’t save this era.”
“Even then, you didn’t have to burn them.
Aren’t you worried they’ll be angry?”
“No.”
Karl smiled and glanced over his shoulder.
His eyes seemed to look straight through the sea of flames, toward the statues standing amid the blaze.
For some reason, they all appeared to be smiling back.
“Why?”
“Because they’ve already done everything they could do,” Karl answered.
“What comes next belongs to us.”
Then he laughed softly.
“Actually, I should probably thank them.
They’re the reason I managed to get on your ship in the first place.” This chapter was copied from novelping.com without permission.
“Really?
Then I ought to thank them too!”
“They don’t need that.
But if you become Pirate King someday, maybe you can build a giant statue for them.”
“A giant statue?!”
Luffy’s eyes sparkled immediately.
Knowing exactly where Luffy’s thoughts had gone, Karl hurriedly added:
“Of course, you can build one for yourself too.”
“I can?”
“Obviously.
By then, we’ll be the gods of this world.”
“The gods who save it.”
Luffy’s eyes shone even brighter than before.
“Then I’m gonna make the biggest statue anybody’s ever seen!”
“That depends on whether you’re capable of it.”
“I’m gonna become the strongest man in the whole world, Karl!”
“I’ve never doubted that for a second, Captain.”
“But, uh…
Karl…
doesn’t it feel really hot all of a sudden?”
Luffy suddenly asked.
“Hm?”
Karl wiped the sweat from his brow.
“Now that you mention it…”
He turned around.
The instant he did, his expression changed completely.
“OH CRAP!
WE STARTED A FOREST FIRE!”
Seizing Luffy by the wrist, Karl immediately broke into a sprint.
He tossed Luffy into the boat, yanked the release lever connected to the launch rails, then leapt aboard himself.
Two excited screams echoed through the air as the tiny canoe shot skyward.
Behind them, the blazing wildfire resembled an enormous fire deity waving goodbye.
At some point, Luffy had climbed onto the bow.
Raising a fist high above his head, he shouted toward the heavens at full volume:
“Wahahaha!
We’re setting off!”
“Woohoo~~!”
“SPLOOOOSH~~~!”
The boat crashed onto the ocean surface, sending a towering spray of water into the air and soaking both boys completely.
Neither cared in the slightest.
They looked at each other.
Then both burst into laughter.
“Ahahahaha~~!”
“Ahahahaha~~!”
“Karl!”
“Yes, Captain!”
“Full speed ahead!”
“Aye, Captain!”
Karl answered instantly.
Using the power of his Devil Fruit, he activated the propeller attached to the stern.
It spun rapidly like a mechanical engine, driving the vessel forward across the sea at astonishing speed.
From this moment on, a fresh page in legend had been turned.
A new tale had begun.
East Blue—we’re coming!
Standing on the boat with a sorrowful expression, Karl recited poetry to vent the despair in his heart.
“Karl, you’re saying weird things again!”
“You don’t get to say that!”
Karl exploded immediately.
“This is entirely your fault!
You’re the genius who pointed us straight into a whirlpool!”
“Uh…
I was kinda just pointing randomly…”
Luffy scratched his head awkwardly.
“We’re finished.
My power can’t pull a boat out of a whirlpool.”
Karl slumped over miserably.
“And both of us are Devil Fruit users.
Neither of us can swim.
We’re absolutely doomed.”
“It’s okay, Karl!
I already prepared for this!”
Luffy proudly pointed at two oak barrels sitting inside the boat.
“That’s how I survived before!”
“Before?”
Karl instantly caught the important part.
“Whirlpool?”
“Wait, I never told you?”
“What do you think?”
“My first boat got destroyed by this whirlpool!
Then I came up with a brilliant plan and hid inside a barrel.
That’s how I survived!”
Luffy puffed out his chest proudly.
“Pretty smart, right?”
Karl stared at him expressionlessly.
“Let me make sure I understand this.”
He spoke slowly, emphasizing every word.
“You already knew there was a whirlpool here.”
“You’ve already had a boat destroyed by it once.”
“And then…
you intentionally sailed our boat right back into it just so you could experience it again?”
“Ah?
Uh…
well…
um…”
Luffy’s danger instincts immediately sounded the alarm.
As he desperately stalled for time, he hurriedly opened one of the barrels and stuffed every bit of stored food into his mouth.
Before Karl could stop him, he jumped into the now-empty barrel and slammed the lid shut.
“Huh?
What was that, Karl?
I can’t hear you!”
“You can use the other barrel!
Just hide inside and everything will be fine!”
“Fine my ass!”
Karl roared, veins bulging across his forehead.
Marching over, he ripped the lid open and dragged Luffy back out.
“Do you think I’m you?!”
“If I lock myself inside a barrel alone, I’ll suffocate to death!”
“Then let’s squeeze into one together!”
Luffy flashed a grin.
“You’re a Rubber Human.
You should be able to squish yourself down, right?”