"Makino, could I have breakfast, please?"
In the morning, Luffy ran into Makino's bar, calling out to her as she was cleaning up.
Already prepared, Miss Makino brought him a plate with hot milk, eggs, meat, and fruit.
"Where's Shanks and the others?" Luffy asked.
Makino's bar was the only entertainment spot in the village, doubling as a place to eat. Outsiders like Shanks and his pirate crew, when not cooking for themselves, would come here for meals.
"They're pirates, you know, Luffy. Come back around ten," Makino replied warmly, familiar with the pirates' late-rising habits.
"Must be nice; I can't sleep in at all."
Luffy sighed.
Maybe it was because he was a kid, but he found it hard to sleep in. This young body was so full of energy that he had to find ways to burn it off.
"That's because you're a child, Luffy. It's perfectly normal for kids to be full of energy."
After finishing breakfast, Luffy began his daily routine of expending energy—first, a jog around the island, followed by push-ups and frog jumps. Then, he picked up a basket of fruit from the fruit store and set out to find his animal friends.
Outside the fruit shop, Uta was in the middle of a transaction with a stack of Beli.
"Good morning, Uta," Luffy greeted her as he picked up a basket and began filling it with fruit.
In the world of One Piece, island climates never changed. Spring was always spring, and summer was always summer.
As a result, the fruit variety here was eclectic. Grapes, mangoes, dragon fruits, lychees—all sorts were laid out on display.
There was no such thing as seasonal fruit here, nor did they need to worry about the climate.
"You…" Uta took a step back from Luffy, wrinkling her nose.
The guy was drenched in sweat first thing in the morning. Not exactly pleasant.
Cleanliness-loving Uta was slightly repulsed by Luffy.
"See you later, Uta."
Luffy, unfazed by her reaction, simply turned around with his basket and set off to find his animal friends.
"Hey, wait… Aren't you going to pay?" Uta's eyes widened as she called out, reminding him that he'd skipped an important step.
"I don't have any money," Luffy replied innocently.
"No money, and you're taking that much fruit?" Uta couldn't believe it.
"You're worse than a pirate!"
Scoffing, Uta passed the Beli she held to the shop owner while throwing Luffy a disapproving look.
"Pirates pay for their stuff?"
"Of course! The Red-Haired Pirates always pay for their things. Actually, most pirates do. Only the lowly, broke ones rob civilians."
Uta said this with pride, holding her crew in high regard.
When she looked back, Luffy had already walked off with his basket.
"Hey! Were you even listening to me, Luffy?"
She shouted, frustrated.
"Does he have no shame?"
"Oh, all of Luffy's expenses are billed to his grandpa, so don't worry," the shop owner cheerfully explained to Uta.
"Oh, I see." Realizing this, Uta quickly grabbed her own fruit and ran after Luffy.
"Wait up, Luffy! Let's have a rematch today. I totally beat Shanks yesterday…"
She still remembered how badly Luffy had beaten her in tic-tac-toe.
"I'm busy today—I'm hanging out with Tyson."
"Who's Tyson?" Uta asked, keeping pace with him. Her nose had begun to adjust to Luffy's sweaty smell, and she no longer minded it.
After all, she was a pirate. Even if she preferred cleanliness, there were plenty of times on the ship when she had to endure the surroundings.
Soon, Uta got her answer. Tyson was a large gorilla who greeted Luffy with a display of strength on the forested cliffside.
The gorilla pounded its chest with fists the size of sandbags, looking imposing.
It then stretched out its hand toward Luffy's basket, tilting its head in a "gimme" gesture.
"Same rules as always, useless gorilla."
Luffy set the basket on the ground and gave the gorilla a mischievous smile.
"This is Tyson?"
Seeing Luffy's friendly expression, Uta's face softened with sympathy. She realized that he didn't have any human friends.
She could almost picture him talking to animals every day.
Well, I suppose I could be his friend…
With that thought in mind, Uta watched as the gorilla took a swing at Luffy, who dodged and countered with a punch to the gorilla's eye.
Uta saw a tear form in the gorilla's eye.
After a few rounds, Luffy ended up straddling the gorilla's chest, smirking with satisfaction. "Oh my, out of steam already? You really are a poor, useless gorilla…"
Luffy flexed his arms. Though they were far from muscular, they were still filled with an unexpected strength that delighted him.
After sparring with his animal friend, Luffy shared some of the fruit with the gorilla.
Uta sat nearby, forming a triangle with them as they ate.
The young girl struggled to understand why Luffy would fight an animal and then share food with it.
Once the fruit was finished, the gorilla, as if on cue, climbed a tree.
Then, the ground began to shake as the wild boar knight charged toward Luffy.
"Luffy, look out!"
The boar's sudden appearance startled Uta. She jumped up, grabbing Luffy's arm, ready to pull him to safety.
But Luffy stood firm. "Tekkai!"
Uta watched as Luffy was launched through the air, landing deep in the ocean.
"Luffy!!!"
"One, two, three…"
"Come on, my strongest backup, Marine Hero!"
Luffy counted silently, waiting for a bear-like man to pull him from the water.
Where's Garp? Where's my Garp when I need him?
Unable to hold his breath, Luffy let out a stream of bubbles.
Then, a red-and-white-haired girl dived into the water and pulled him up.
"Cough, cough…"
Luffy lay on a rock, coughing up water, stunned that his safety net had failed him.
"You live by the sea, and you can't even swim?"
Uta wrung out her clothes, looking at the rescued Luffy with curiosity.
Swimming was as normal a skill as eating or drinking, something everyone learned. Only kids in big inland cities might not know how.
But Luffy didn't seem like that kind of kid.
"If you eat a Devil Fruit, you can't swim, so I'm debating whether or not to learn," Luffy replied, lying back to soak up the sun.
"What does eating fruit have to do with swimming?"
"And besides, if a cute big sister doesn't teach me, I'll never learn to sw
im."
Luffy added.
Swimming, after all, was a skill that could come in handy for bonding with girls in the future—so he had no plans to learn it just yet.