That day, for some reason, Shanks decided to confirm something that had been bothering him while he was in this Foosha village because his goal so far in Foosha village was to find someone and give that person a will that was previously entrusted to Shanks.
Shanks learned that the person he was searching for was on a small island in East Blue, and on that island, there was a small kingdom called Goa. Nevertheless, while Shanks was in the midst of his search, he came across a boy who resembled the person he admired so greatly.
Shanks was always surprised by how this boy had dreams and a personality similar to the man he had always had in mind. The boy's wide smile always made him feel nostalgic, especially when the two of them talked further.
"Look, Luffy, I gave you a chance, and now I will leave it to fate. Do you deserve to carry that will?" said Shanks to himself silently as he looked over at the boy with the dark hair who was sitting not too far away from him.
Several hours passed, and Luffy, who was still upbeat while busy eating, did not stop asking Shanks about his pirate adventures. In particular, he frequently asked about a man named Gol D Roger, which caused Shanks to be unable to remain silent and begin telling stories.
Makino, who was working behind the bar counter, would occasionally pay attention to what was being said if something caught her interest. But, she spent most of her time looking at Luffy's face and occasionally took the opportunity to feed him affectionately.
Luffy, who was confused, said, "He's a great man, but somehow there's something strange in your story," to which Shanks, who was curious, just smiled and replied:
"Which part does not make sense? tell me."
"I don't know. As a pirate king, this man seems to be hiding many things even at the end of his life."
Hearing that, Shanks couldn't help but remain silent for a moment, but after it was said, he responded with a tone of melancholy in his voice, saying, "yes, he is a strange man. Indeed, he even hides a lot of things from those closest to him, and he'll only tell them when he's about to die. Really selfish, man."
Makino, who had been eagerly feeding Luffy just moments earlier, looked over at Shanks, who now somehow looked weak, different from how he usually appeared, but then Luffy hurriedly asked:
"Hey, Shanks, you seem to have a very close relationship with this pirate king. Are you a former member of his crew or something?"
Shanks, who was taken aback by the question, could only give a stifled laugh before nodding his head and getting up from his chair. "I dunno, considering I didn't contribute much on his ship. I guess I'm only half the crew," he said as he walked away from the table.
The sight of Shanks walking to his crew's table to joke around as if he wanted to forget the conversation from earlier caused Luffy's face to break into a small smile. In the meantime, Makino, who had just heard the shocking fact just now, stood there blankly with eyes that widened.
"Wake up. Why are you so surprised," Luffy said to Makino as he patted her cheek before she was finally awake, but she still appeared as though she couldn't believe it.
D-didn't you hear that, Luffy? Shanks turns out to be the former crew of the pirate king, Gol D Roger."
"Yeah, I heard it, these two men are indeed legends, and if only they weren't bound by their duties, I believe people like them would already be the freest men in this sea."
Then, Luffy turned his attention to the wooden box next to him. His hands occasionally tried to reach it, but for some reason, there was an unexplainable sense of worry. In the end, Luffy asked Makino for a glass of orange juice.
When no one was looking, Luffy just kept staring at the box, and for some reason, he felt that the box, or rather the contents inside, were also staring back at him. Finally, without further ado, Luffy worked up the courage to open this ordinary-looking wooden box.
*Click
Luffy let out a sigh of relief as he watched himself easily open the wooden box, and he could feel his heart beating faster and faster as he slowly opened the lid to the container.
'I heard that every Devil Fruit has an awareness or will that is predestined to choose the right user. That is why I was afraid that the fact that I took over Luffy's body would make this Devil Fruit reject me,' thought Luffy, but what he saw next left him speechless.
Inside this small, old-looking wooden box that looked normal at first glance without anything eye-catching was an object that looked like a fruit.
This thing is a spherical fruit with a violet hue, a stem that grows out of the top, and swirls that go in a curly "S" like pattern. This fruit seems to be one of a kind, and there is most likely only one in the world.
Luffy's entire body was shaking, and he even stopped breathing for a few seconds out of shock. But, after he regained his composure, he focused more on the peculiar fruit in front of him.
"I didn't see wrong, right? This is the famous Gomu Gomu no Mi, or you could now say Hito Hito no Mi, model: Nika," Luffy muttered excitedly, and for some reason, this fruit reacted to what Luffy said.
"Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, I know you're looking for a suitable person, and now you've found it because I can carry on the Will that was passed down for 800 years."
The longer Luffy talks about the secrets that have been concealed by the World Government, the more violently the Devil Fruit in front of him shakes as well. Finally, Luffy mentions a name that only a handful of people know about it.
"Let me inherit Will from Joy Boy."