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When Luffy opened his eyes again, he found himself lying on a bed, his entire body wrapped in bandages.
Pain coursed through him, leaving him weak and immobile. From the surroundings, he guessed he was on a Marine ship.
Recalling the events before he passed out, Luffy didn't feel relieved to have survived. Instead, a heavy sense of despair weighed on him.
His recklessness had caused the Straw Hat Pirates to fall apart. Zoro had been taken away by Dracule Mihawk, the former world's greatest swordsman.
His father had taken Usopp from the Red-Haired Pirates. Nami and Luffy himself had fallen into the hands of Marine Admiral Byakuya.
What troubled Luffy the most was the stark contrast between Shanks' actions and the ideals he had once shared.
To escape, Shanks had been willing to sacrifice the lives of tens of thousands of innocent residents in Loguetown.
To Luffy, such a thing was unacceptable. Staring at the ceiling, he silently wondered: Was Shanks lying to me about freedom and the camaraderie of pirates who care for one another?
"Creak." The door to Luffy's room opened, and Nami walked in. Seeing Luffy awake, she exclaimed with relief, "Luffy, you're awake!"
"Nami!" Luffy's mood brightened considerably at the sight of his crewmate. He quickly asked, "Are you okay? Byakuya didn't do anything to you, did he?"
In Luffy's simple mind, he assumed Nami, like himself, was a pirate and must have faced the same fate he did—brutally defeated by Byakuya.
Nami's face turned bright red at Luffy's question, and she stammered, "N-No… Byakuya didn't do anything to me."
Her thoughts drifted to what had happened that night, and her blush deepened. She seemed fidgety as if she still felt the lingering soreness in her body.
Luffy, puzzled, asked, "Huh? Nami, why is your face so red?"
"The room's too hot!" she blurted out.
"Oh, is that so?" Luffy glanced at the thick blankets covering him and pondered for a moment.
To avoid more awkward questions, Nami quickly changed the subject. "How are you feeling? Are your injuries any better?"
Gritting his teeth, Luffy forced himself to sit up despite the pain, wincing as he felt the full extent of his wounds.
"Ouch… Byakuya went all out. Injuries like these will take me two or three more days to recover. Plus, the crew's all scattered now. Who knows when we'll see each other again?"
From Luffy's tone, it was clear he didn't hold a grudge against Byakuya despite the harsh defeat.
Hearing Luffy's complaints, Nami didn't know how to respond, so she offered some comfort.
"Look on the bright side. At least everyone survived. One day, we'll meet again."
Nami had already explained to Byakuya that while Luffy was a pirate, he hadn't harmed innocent civilians during his journey.
Even so, as a pirate, Luffy couldn't escape the fact that he had resisted Marine capture and fought back.
This was why Byakuya wouldn't kill Luffy but wouldn't let him go so easily.
Sensing Nami's unease, Luffy grinned through the pain and said, "You're right."
"We'll all see each other again someday. By the way, do you know where we're headed now?"
"Byakuya mentioned we're going to his birthplace—Ski Island," Nami replied, recalling the conversation.
"If it weren't for a Marine named Captain Vaughan from Ski Island, Byakuya would've died at the hands of pirates long ago. That's why he's using this break before officially assuming his admiral duties to visit Captain Vaughan."
"Byakuya's birthplace, huh…" Luffy muttered, memories of Windmill Village, Ace, Sabo, and his "annoying" grandpa flashing through his mind.
While Luffy and Nami were talking, Byakuya was in another part of the ship, making a call to Garp.
When Garp answered, Byakuya said bluntly, "I have your grandson in my custody. What do you plan to do about it?"
The Marines nearby couldn't help but feel awkward at Byakuya's straightforwardness.
We captured a pirate who attacked us—it's a legitimate operation. So why does it sound like we're kidnappers holding Garp's grandson for ransom?
On the other end of the line, Garp's voice boomed with irritation.
"That brat? How is he nothing like his father? His dad's managed to evade capture all this time, but this fool gets himself caught already!"
"In less than two months since he set out to sea, you have already caught him. This kid is making me lose face!"
Garp's loud voice boomed through the transponder snail, stunned the Marines around Byakuya.
Vice Admiral Garp's way of thinking is truly incomprehensible.
As the Marine hero, his grandson becoming a pirate should have been the embarrassing part.
Yet Garp found Luffy being captured by the Marines to be the real shame. It was utterly absurd!
In truth, Garp had anticipated this situation since he saw Luffy's bounty poster after the boy went to sea.
He'd considered countless scenarios for what to do if Luffy fell into Marine hands.
But no matter how much he thought, he couldn't develop a good solution.
Ultimately, he decided not to think about it—after all, Luffy hadn't been caught yet.
Who would've expected that Luffy would be captured so quickly and by none other than Admiral Byakuya?
Upon hearing the news, Garp could already imagine how smug Zephyr's reaction would be.
Gritting his teeth at the thought, Garp wanted to land a couple of punches on Luffy's head.
"Byakuya, boy, how do you plan to handle this?" Garp threw the dilemma back at him.
Byakuya, unfazed, replied casually, "Considering he's your grandson, I'll send him straight to Impel Down."
Garp cursed inwardly. This brat is deliberately trying to provoke me, isn't he? Not giving me even a shred of leeway.
Back then, I was the one who brought him to Marine Headquarters. Now that he's an admiral, he's turning on me so quickly?
But Garp couldn't outright ask Byakuya to release Luffy, so he cleared his throat awkwardly and said,
"Uh... Luffy's just started his pirate career, and his bounty isn't enough to warrant sending him to Impel Down."
"How about keeping him on your ship and giving him a proper lesson for me?"
Before Byakuya could respond, Garp hung up decisively, not giving him a chance to argue.
Byakuya sighed after hanging up, muttering, "Am I supposed to give Luffy the 'fist of love' now too?"
Over the next few days, Byakuya witnessed Luffy's extraordinary recovery—one of his "Child of Destiny" traits.
The injuries Byakuya had inflicted, which would've been fatal to most rookie pirates with bounties of over 100 million berries, barely kept Luffy bedridden for two days.
By the third day, he was already up, demanding grilled meat before Byakuya.
Of course, Byakuya didn't indulge him. With Garp's blessing to discipline Luffy, Byakuya wasn't about to hold back.
When Luffy shouted for grilled meat, Byakuya punched so hard that Luffy nearly swallowed his head. That blow sent Luffy back to bed for several more days.
It didn't take long for Luffy to realize that Garp's reputation could save his life but wouldn't spare him from Byakuya's beatings.
Humbled, Luffy became much more subdued around the admiral.
As the ship approached Ski Island, Captain Vaughan, and Coby were already waiting at the dock to welcome Byakuya.
With his signature pink hair, Coby had grown significantly in two years. Though still shorter than Vaughan, he was no longer the small, timid boy from before.
"Captain Vaughan! We're about to meet Admiral Byakuya. I'm so excited!" Coby exclaimed.
Becoming a Marine admiral had been his lifelong dream, and Byakuya was the role model who inspired him to work tirelessly over the past two years.
Now, seeing his goal realized, Coby couldn't contain his excitement. Vaughan smiled warmly at Coby's enthusiasm.
He remembered recommending Byakuya for the elite Marine training camp, thinking that the young man's talent might secure him a position as a high-ranking officer.
He never expected that, in just two years, Byakuya would rise like a rocket to become a Marine admiral. This meteoric rise left Vaughan astonished.
When Byakuya first showcased his strength, Vaughan even tried implementing Byakuya's training methods with his soldiers.
But after six months, the results were underwhelming, and Vaughan abandoned the idea.
Now that Byakuya was returning to Ski Island as an admiral, Vaughan was determined to revisit those training methods.
Perhaps, with Byakuya's guidance, Ski Island could produce another Marine admiral.
Just as they were about to disembark, Luffy emerged from his room, struggling to move, and called out to Byakuya, "I want to go ashore!"
"No," Byakuya replied coldly. "You're a captured pirate. You have no right to make demands."
Nami, intrigued by Byakuya's hometown, tugged on his arm and said sweetly, "I want to see where you grew up!"
"Of course. I'll even introduce you to Captain Vaughan," Byakuya replied with a smile, pinching Nami's soft cheek playfully.
The sensation was so pleasant that, if it weren't inappropriate, Byakuya might've indulged longer.
Seeing how easily Byakuya granted Nami's request, Luffy protested, "Why can Nami go ashore, but I can't? I want to go, too!"
"Do you need another lesson?" Byakuya raised his fist menacingly, silencing Luffy instantly.
Feeling sorry for Luffy, Nami whispered in Byakuya's ear, "If you let Luffy go ashore, I'll agree to that... request of yours."
Her cheeks flushed a delicate pink, making her look irresistibly charming.
"Really?" Byakuya asked, his interest piqued.
Nami nodded shyly, and Byakuya, delighted, turned to Luffy. "Since Nami pleaded on your behalf, I'll let you go ashore. But you'll have to follow my rules."
"I promise! I'll follow all the rules!" Luffy exclaimed eagerly.
Byakuya gestured to a nearby Marine, who promptly cuffed Luffy with sea stone handcuffs. Luffy's body went limp when they locked in, sapped of all strength. He couldn't even lift a finger, let alone protest.
The Marines placed Luffy in a specially designed wheelchair, ready to push him onto the island.
(T/N: Damn! The author makes Luffy Ntred. True be thought, I did not expect this. I tried my best to edit it out, making it not so cringe, but some content cannot be edited because it affects the story flaw)
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