From the moment he began cleaning up the mess, the straw-hatted kid—
Luffy—
stuck to him like glue.
He followed Mox everywhere, never leaving his side.
One moment, Luffy would crouch down and poke curiously at Mox’s Slime Form.
The next, he would chatter nonstop.
“Hey!
What does this piece of wood taste like?”
Luffy even picked up a piece himself and stuffed it into his mouth.
“Blegh!
Blegh!
It’s awful!”
“Why does it disappear whenever you touch it?
How do you do that?”
At first, Mox patiently answered him a couple of times.
Eventually, he couldn’t even be bothered to respond.
This kid had an absurd amount of energy.
The undisguised curiosity in his eyes made him look like a child who had discovered a fascinating new toy.
He stared at Mox with burning interest, as though afraid Mox might suddenly disappear the moment he looked away.
Mox even suspected that if he walked a little faster, Luffy might simply pounce on him and hug him.
“Whew…
finally clean.”
Mox returned to his human form and dusted off his hands despite there being no actual dust on them.
Looking at the courtyard, now completely restored to order, he nodded in satisfaction.
Although Luffy had driven him half crazy throughout the process, seeing the filthy mess return to spotless cleanliness relieved much of the irritation caused by his cleanliness obsession.
With a thought, two neatly stacked piles of Berries suddenly appeared on the stone table in front of him.
Exactly 20,000 Berries.
“This is to cover the cost of the damaged furniture.
Old Man Garp has treated me pretty well, so I’ll pay for it myself.”
Mox was hardly short on money.
He currently had the savings he’d taken from two pirate crews—more than a million Berries in total—along with the 100,000 Berries he had won from the tournament.
He could now be considered a small-scale “rich man.”
“Huh?
Where did that money come from?!”
Luffy’s eyes widened.
It was as though he had just discovered the greatest secret in the world.
He immediately leaned toward Mox, his nose almost touching Mox’s face.
“Are you a magician?”
“Can you use magic to make money?”
“Or…
are you a magic slime?”
“SUUGEEE!
That’s so cool!”
Seeing Luffy’s astonished expression, Mox suddenly felt an urge to show off.
If this kid is this easy to impress, wouldn’t it be a waste not to show him a few more tricks?
And I happen to need some lumber to repair the bar!
He deliberately turned toward the open space outside and communicated with the system in his mind.
“System, synthesize the existing wood at a five-to-one ratio and produce high-quality lumber.”
“Command received.
Beginning synthesis…”
The system’s cold notification echoed inside his mind.
Mox quietly activated his Observation Haki and carefully “scanned” the surrounding open space, making sure there were no obstacles or bystanders nearby.
Once everything was ready, he lightly waved his hand toward the empty ground.
“Appear!”
In an instant, a black ring flashed with dazzling white light before exploding across the open space.
The intense brilliance forced anyone nearby to squint.
Luffy gasped in amazement, but stubbornly kept his eyes wide open, refusing to miss a second of the spectacle.
When the white light faded, the previously empty clearing was suddenly filled with neatly stacked piles of high-quality lumber.
The wood had clear grain and a warm, lustrous color.
Anyone could tell at a glance that it was excellent material.
There was more than enough to repair the damaged portions of the bar.
Mox slowly turned around.
He raised his chin slightly and wore a faintly arrogant expression.
His presence was practically overflowing with style.
He glanced sideways at the completely stunned Luffy, as though silently saying:
This is nothing.
That was exactly the effect he wanted.
If he was going to show off, he had to do it properly.
Luffy didn’t disappoint him.
His mouth had fallen open wide enough to swallow a fist, while his eyes sparkled like countless stars.
His expression of shock and delight was almost identical to the look he had in the anime when he first saw Franky’s post-timeskip modifications.
“This…
this-this-this…”
Luffy stammered incoherently.
He pointed at the lumber, then at Mox.
He repeated the motion several times before finally managing to squeeze out a sentence.
“Th-that’s amazing!”
“Mox!
You really can use magic!”
Just as Luffy was about to jump for joy, a calm yet authoritative voice suddenly interrupted him.
“That’s enough, Luffy.”
Garp had arrived at some point.
He looked at the pile of high-quality lumber that had seemingly appeared from thin air and nodded.
“Kid, that’s a pretty useful ability.”
“When I head back, get me some high-quality lumber too.”
“I accidentally broke the beds at Headquarters…
Ahahaha!”
Garp stroked his chin thoughtfully.
Devouring things and then reconstructing them?
The Gum-Gum Fruit?
No…
This kid can’t be hit at all without Armament Haki.
A Logia?
What a strange ability.
First, he glared at Luffy, who was still making a fuss.
Then he turned toward Mox and forced a smile that could hardly be described as friendly.
He pointed at Luffy.
“This is my grandson, Monkey D.
Luffy.”
“Don’t let his appearance fool you.
He’s been receiving plenty of ‘Fist of Love’ since he was little.”
“He’s fifteen this year, so he’s practically a man already.”
“From now on, he’ll become an outstanding Marine just like you.”
“No!”
Luffy exploded like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
He jumped up, planted his hands on his hips, and shouted in protest.
“I don’t wanna be a Marine!”
“I’m gonna be the man who becomes the Pirate King!”
“What did you say?!”
“Damn you, Shanks!”
Garp’s face instantly turned livid.
The veins on his forehead bulged as an invisible pressure erupted from his body.
Dust scattered across the ground, rippling outward like waves beneath the force of his presence.
The moment Luffy saw Garp’s expression, all the color drained from his face.
Without another word, he turned and ran.
Unfortunately, his speed was completely meaningless against Garp.
Garp’s body blurred.
In almost an instant, he appeared directly in front of Luffy.
That was the Marine Six Powers technique—Soru.
What happened next was fortunate enough to take place outdoors.
Otherwise, the entire bar probably would have been torn apart by the old man.
“BANG!
BAM!
THUD!”
A series of heavy impacts rang out, accompanied by Luffy’s miserable howls.
Before long, Garp returned carrying Luffy by one arm.
Luffy hung there limply like a dried fish.
“You two should get to know each other better.”
Garp dropped Luffy in front of Mox.
“I’ll be staying here for five days.”
“After five days, I’m returning to Marine Headquarters.”
“During these five days, the two of you will properly undergo some ‘Fist of Love.'”
“Understood?”
Luffy’s head drooped.
He looked as though he was about to fall asleep.
Garp immediately became furious.
He raised his fist.
“Luffy!
You dare fall asleep?!”
“WAAAAH!”
The punch jolted Luffy awake.
He clutched his head, bit his lip, and wore an incredibly aggrieved expression.
His eyes were even slightly red.
He looked like a child who had suffered the greatest injustice in the world.
After disciplining his grandson, Garp’s stomach suddenly growled.
His eyes swept around.
He spotted the enormous 800-jin wild boar Luffy had brought back earlier.
Garp walked over, hoisted the entire wild boar onto his shoulder, and headed toward the warship without looking back.
“This wild boar can count as your offering to your dear old grandpa!”
“Hahaha!”
Only Mox and Luffy remained.
Makino had gone inside to fetch the first-aid kit.
Mox’s eyes fell upon the Straw Hat lying on the ground.
The hat was covered in dust and mud, making it look rather battered.
He bent down and picked it up.
With a thought, a gentle white light enveloped the hat.
It softly swept across the surface.
In moments, every speck of dust and stain disappeared.
The Straw Hat was restored to its original clean and pristine condition.
Mox held out the cleaned hat to Luffy.
Then he began introducing himself.
“My name is Mox.
I’m fourteen years old, and I ate a Logia-type Devil Fruit—”
Before he could finish—
Luffy took the hat from him and put it back on his head.
He pressed it down firmly.
Then he looked up at Mox with an unusually serious expression.
“None of that matters.”
“I wanna become the Pirate King!”
“But I can’t become the Pirate King by myself!”
“I promised Shanks that I’d find even stronger companions than his crew, surpass them, and become the Pirate King!”
“With you around, I can have clean water, a clean place to live, and lumber to repair the ship…”
“So!”
“Come out to sea with me in a year!”
“Mox, be my crewmate!”
“…”
Mox froze.
That easy?
They had barely known each other for ten minutes!
And this kid was already inviting him to become his crewmate?
This kid’s heart is way too big.
But surprise aside, Mox remembered something from the manga.
As long as you hit Luffy’s interests, you could get along with him almost instantly.
Just look at Brook!
Luffy had barely known him for a minute before inviting him to join.
Of course, Mox was delighted.
But he couldn’t let go of his cool image.
He cleared his throat and deliberately put on a slightly arrogant expression.
“My dream is to taste every delicacy in the world.”
“And I’m also someone who values cleanliness very highly.”
“Since you’ve invited me…”
“Captain Luffy, I’ll take care of the logistics on your ship.”
The moment Luffy heard that answer, all the grievances from being beaten disappeared into the heavens.
He was so happy that he practically looked ready to fly.
He grabbed Mox’s arm and shook it enthusiastically.
“YES!
Makino!”
“I already have such an amazing crewmate before we’ve even set sail!”
“Mox is so cool!”
“He can use magic!”
“And he can turn into a slime!”
At that moment, Makino returned with the first-aid kit and gently applied medicine to the places where Luffy had been hit.
Hearing Luffy shouting excitedly, she helplessly smiled.
She gently patted him on the back.
“All right, all right.”
“If you shout any louder, your grandpa might hear you saying you’ve stolen Mox away from him.”
“And then he’ll come back to teach you another lesson.”
The moment Luffy heard the word “grandpa,” he immediately shut his mouth like a car slamming on the brakes.
His excitement subsided considerably.
He warily glanced in the direction Garp had left.
Then he grabbed Mox’s arm and lowered his voice.
“Mox, come on!”
“I’ll show you my secret base!”
Before Mox could answer, Luffy had already poured his strength into his grip and started dragging him forward.
Mox suddenly felt an enormous force.
His feet instantly left the ground.
His entire body was swept along like a leaf caught in a hurricane as Luffy raced toward the mountains behind the village.