In this world, monsters were a common sight, and when it came to pure strength, Luffy knew he was still far behind. His brief sense of pride was shattered in an instant.
Oh well, I'm still just a kid.
Holding a pair of two-ton dumbbells, Luffy wandered out of the training room, feeling a bit deflated. He plopped down in the corridor, lying on his back, casually lifting the weights above him, hoping for a comforting word from a certain someone.
"Luffy, the floor's dirty, you know."
Shanks noticed him and walked over, picking the boy up by his collar.
"It's fine. I'm going to take a bath tonight anyway."
"Still, it's best to stay clean on a ship. Catching a cold out here could be trouble." Shanks remarked.
Wait, I can get sick? Luffy wondered. With my abs and all these muscles, there's no way a little virus could take me down.
"Shanks, are we really heading back to Foosha Village?" Luffy asked.
"You've been away from home for a while now. It's time to take you back safely. I'm sure your grandpa is worried about you."
Shanks leaned against the ship's edge, gazing at the water rushing past the hull.
"Gramps? Worried about me? He's probably off checking on some other kid by now," Luffy said, rolling his eyes.
Whenever Garp returned to Foosha Village, he would visit Luffy, train him, and then mysteriously disappear for a while. Luffy had his suspicions that Garp was checking in on Ace somewhere near the bandit hideouts beyond the village.
"Is that so?" Shanks' gaze shifted back to Luffy.
"Shanks, let's not go back so soon! I want to visit more islands," Luffy said, not ready to return just yet.
Without Shanks' ship, who knew how long it would take him to sail the seas on his own? And now that he thought about it, he was surprised he even had a childhood friend like Uta. He'd always thought the movie versions were like alternate tales, with timelines and characters that didn't quite fit into the main story.
Speaking of which, Zoro had a childhood friend, but… she died from a fall.
Poor guy… Maybe I should help him out.
Since I have my own childhood friend now, it's only fair that my first mate has one too.
Luffy started thinking about how he might convince Shanks to visit Zoro's village, but… what was that village's name again?
Zoro was the first crewmate he picked up, after all. Other than his sense of direction, the guy didn't have many weaknesses.
"Well, if you really want to sail and explore…" Shanks mused, a glint of mischief in his eyes. "Why not become a pirate?"
"Pirates are free…"
"They can go wherever they want…"
Yasopp, Lucky Roo, and a few of the crew stumbled over, arms slung over each other's shoulders, their breath heavy with alcohol as they laughed and chanted, trying to tempt Luffy.
"Hey, don't fill his head with nonsense," Shanks said, shaking his head at his drunk crew.
"But it's true, right?" The pirates laughed, spilling their drinks as they swayed.
"Yeah, Shanks! Let me join your crew, and we can visit more islands!" Luffy's eyes lit up, joining in with their idea.
"That way, I don't have to go back to Foosha Village."
Shanks felt a shiver run down his spine, already picturing himself running from Garp's wrath across the seas.
"No way!" Shanks waved his hat to cool himself off, trying to laugh it off.
"Come on, Boss! Bring Luffy along. Imagine the fame we'd get for stealing Garp's grandson for our crew!" Lucky Roo snickered.
"Yeah, Captain! Luffy's not some helpless kid. Besides, he can keep Uta company," the crew added, egging Shanks on.
"If you're that excited about it, then let's see one of you switch places with him on the crew," Shanks said, throwing up his hands.
Immediately, the crew quieted down, muttering, "Forget it!"
"Back to drinking!"
The line of pirates, still draped over each other, staggered off in unison, leaving Shanks and Luffy alone.
"Shanks, you're so stingy. You won't let me join, and you never taught me any real swordsmanship!" Luffy complained.
"I did teach you some things about swordsmanship," Shanks said, steering the conversation away from joining the crew.
"That hardly counts as teaching! I didn't learn anything from it."
"Hey, I taught you. If you didn't get it, that's not on me. Maybe when you're older, you'll understand," Shanks replied with a shrug.
"Why do I have to grow up to understand? I don't even want to grow up that fast."
Luffy wasn't as easy to fool as Uta.
"Besides, there's no real difference between kids and adults, right?"
"Kids sure are a handful…" Shanks sighed, shaking his head.
"It's been so long since I first picked up a sword…" Shanks unsheathed Gryphon, admiring the blade's reflection as it caught his gaze.
Luffy noticed that Shanks held the sword in his left hand.
"Want to try it? The sword of an adult," Shanks said, his usual cheer replaced with a serious tone as he turned the sword, offering the hilt to Luffy.
Without hesitation, Luffy reached out, but as soon as Shanks released his grip, Gryphon's weight nearly dragged him down.
So heavy!
Even with Haki, Luffy could barely keep it from slipping through his fingers.
The sword fell, embedding itself in the ship's deck with a loud thunk.
Luffy's hand remained on the hilt, but even with Haki, he hadn't been able to hold onto the weight of the famed blade.
What kind of sword is this?
"It's heavy, isn't it? That's the world of a swordsman," Shanks said, lifting Gryphon with ease and sliding it back into its sheath.
"Why do you want to learn swordsmanship, Luffy? Your fists are strong, aren't they? If it's just about beating people, guns and fists should be enough."
"To look cool, of course!" Luffy replied, crossing his arms.
With a serious look, he answered, "A sword flourish before sheathing—it's just so stylish!" He
gave Shanks a thumbs-up, grinning wide.
Whether he was being dramatic or just showing off, it was undeniably cool.
-Support me in Patreon for more chapters 35+ chapters in there
patreon.com/LegendaryTL
Thanks!