Ryuji sat quietly at the edge of the boat, looking out at the endless expanse of the sea. He still hadn't gotten used to the idea of being at sea, especially with Luffy, a captain with unpredictable behavior.
"How the hell did he manage to fall into a barrel and get picked up by a fish?" he muttered, shaking his head slightly. Why, of all things, did I choose to follow him by sea?
While he was thinking about all this, his eyes fell on a large ship floating not far away. Suddenly, he noticed a person who had been thrown from the deck of the ship. Approaching with the boat, he found that Luffy was already there, smiling widely, and next to him was a visibly scared pink haired boy.
Luffy immediately noticed Ryuji and started waving enthusiastically at him.
"Hey Ryuji!" I made a new friend!
Luffy and the pink haired boy got off the wreckage they were in and got into Ryuji's boat. He looked at them both with a raised eyebrow, curious.
- Who is the boy? he asked calmly, not letting it be seen that the situation already seemed strange to him.
Luffy laughed and patted the boy on the back, though he seemed to be shaking even more.
"His name is Koby!" He told me that his dream is to become a sailor!
Ryuji turned his head to Koby, who immediately backed away and hid behind Luffy, trembling.
"Sailor, right?" You don't really look like one…" Ryuji murmured, his calm expression not changing.
Koby tried to say something, but he was too scared to make a coherent sound. Luffy laughed again, completely oblivious to the boy's shyness.
Ryuji turned to look at the ship the two had come from.
"And who was the person I saw flying off the deck?"
At this, Koby managed to swallow hard and answer shakily:
"Uh-it was the pirate captain Alvida... And Luffy... Luffy sent her flying..."
Ryuji raised an eyebrow, looking at Luffy, who was grinning from ear to ear.
- What? I just did the right thing! She was mean and I didn't like how she talked to Koby! Luffy said, trying to sound innocent.
Ryuji sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He can already tell that together with Luffy, he would not suffer from the lack of ordinary events. Looking at Koby, who was still shaking, he tried to keep his composure.
"And now what do we do with this boy?" Ryuji asked, looking at Luffy.
— We help him fulfill his dream, for sure! Luffy said excitedly.
Ryuji sighed again. It was becoming clear that the journey with Luffy was going to be full of surprises.
Ryuji calmly turned his gaze to Luffy, who was sitting relaxed, looking up at the sky with no worries.
"Where do you think we should take him?" Ryuji asked.
Luffy shrugged without looking too concerned.
"I don't know," he answered simply.
Koby, still trembling, timidly intervened:
"There's a-there's a Navy branch nearby!"
Ryuji looked at Koby briefly and nodded in agreement.
"Then we should go there."
Luffy, this time, nodded in agreement. But before he could add anything else, Koby continued:
"But... that's where the pirate hunter Roronoa Zoro was last seen..."
Luffy's eyes instantly lit up and his interest piqued.
"Roronoa Zoro?" Is it strong? he asked, jumping to his feet.
Koby, startled, quickly nodded.
- Yes! It is extremely powerful... and very dangerous!
Luffy, excited, started to laugh.
"Then I'll convince him to join my crew!"
Koby suddenly stopped and gaped in complete shock.
- What?! are you crazy Zoro will kill you! I can't do this!
Desperate, Koby turned to Ryuji, hoping to convince him to stop Luffy.
- Please! Tell him something! Tell him to quit!
Ryuji, calm as usual, shrugged.
- It's useless. Once he sets his mind on something, he doesn't stop. You should get used to it.
Koby thought, swallowing hard, but said nothing more.
Ryuji began rowing, steering the boat in the direction Koby indicated.
"Next stop, Shells Town," he murmured as the seas guided his way.
Luffy was standing on the side of the boat looking ahead with a big smile. Koby sat cross-eyed, trying to muster up his courage, and Ryuji calmly stared at the horizon, wondering what madness was about to happen next.