Chapter 4: The Birth of Kings & The Tragedy of the Bandits
A Fateful Discovery
A week had passed since Shanks and his crew arrived in Foosha Village.
Luffy and Lucky spent every moment they could hanging around the pirates.
Luffy pestered Shanks non-stop.
"Shanks! Let me join your crew!"
"Nope."
"Please?!"
"Nope."
"Pretty please?!"
"Still nope."
Meanwhile, Lucky had a different approach.
He silently watched the Red-Haired Pirates.
He studied how they moved, how they talked, how they fought.
Whenever he sparred with Luffy, he experimented with his new abilities.
He could already feel it—his powers were growing.
But something was missing.
He just didn't know what.
---
The Devil's Fruit
One afternoon, the pirates returned from a long journey.
They brought back supplies, gold, and a mysterious-looking chest.
Inside… was a strange purple fruit.
Luffy stared at it. "Whoa! What's that?"
Shanks chuckled. "That, my friend, is a Devil Fruit."
The room went silent.
Shanks leaned back. "Anyone who eats one gains incredible powers, but they'll never be able to swim again."
Luffy's jaw dropped. "No way…"
Lucky, standing nearby, frowned. So that's what my fruit was…
His grip tightened.
He never knew about the swimming part.
Shanks took a sip of his drink. "This one's the Gomu Gomu no Mi. It turns you into a rubber man."
Luffy tilted his head. "Rubber?"
Shanks nodded. "Yep. Your whole body would stretch like a rubber band."
Luffy grinned. "That sounds awesome!"
Shanks smirked. "Maybe. But you'd be useless in the sea."
Luffy shivered. No way. That's scary.
Lucky remained quiet.
He was thinking.
What exactly did I eat?
…What else can I do?
The room burst into laughter as the pirates drank and partied.
Nobody noticed when Luffy reached into the chest…
And took a bite.
---
Luffy's Mistake
The moment he swallowed, Luffy's face turned pale.
His whole body shivered.
Something felt weird.
He dropped the fruit, coughing.
Then—
"GAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"
His arms stretched across the room.
The entire bar froze.
Shanks' drink fell out of his hand.
Benn Beckman blinked. "No way…"
Yasopp choked on his beer.
The pirates slowly turned.
Luffy's eyes widened.
"What… the…?!"
His arms snapped back into place.
He stared at them.
Then he stared at Shanks.
"…I messed up, didn't I?"
Shanks' eye twitched.
"…You little brat."
---
A Rubber Idiot & A Furious Emperor
Luffy ran for his life.
"AAAAAHHHH!! I'M SORRY!!!"
Shanks chased after him.
"GET BACK HERE, YOU LITTLE—!!"
The Red-Haired Pirates laughed their asses off.
Even Lucky was holding back a smirk.
Luffy dodged behind tables, chairs, and pirates.
But no matter how hard he tried—
His new rubber powers just made him trip over himself.
At one point, he stretched his leg too far—
And accidentally slapped himself in the face.
"OUCH!"
The pirates roared with laughter.
Shanks grabbed him by the back of the shirt, sighing.
"Well… guess there's no helping it now."
Luffy pouted.
"Shanks… am I still gonna be strong?"
Shanks looked at him.
Then, he grinned.
"Of course, you are."
Luffy's eyes lit up.
"Really?!"
Shanks nodded. "Yeah. But you better train hard. Devil Fruit powers are nothing if you're weak."
Luffy grinned.
"Then I'll train super hard!"
Lucky chuckled. "You better. Because I'm still stronger than you."
Luffy glared at him. "No, you're not!"
Lucky smirked. "Wanna test that theory?"
Luffy pouted.
Shanks laughed, ruffling Luffy's hair.
"You're gonna be fine, kid."
Luffy beamed.
He had no idea just how much this moment would change everything.
---
Trouble in the Mountains
A few days later, everything changed.
The Mountain Bandits came to town.
Their leader, Higuma, barged into the bar like he owned the place.
"Give me some booze."
Makino, the bartender, smiled politely. "I'm sorry, sir. We're all out."
Higuma's eye twitched.
He looked around.
Dozens of barrels of booze were stacked behind the counter.
Luffy and Lucky, sitting nearby, immediately didn't like this guy.
Higuma grinned.
"Ahhh… I see how it is. You gave all the booze to those damn pirates, huh?"
Makino looked nervous. "Please, sir, I—"
CRASH!
Higuma smashed a bottle on the counter.
"You think some lowlife pirates are better than me?!"
The entire bar went silent.
Luffy clenched his fists.
Lucky narrowed his eyes.
Higuma turned. "Where's the boss of those fools?"
Makino hesitated. "They're… out at sea right now."
Higuma smirked.
"Heh. Typical cowards."
Then—
He kicked Luffy's chair over.
The little boy hit the ground hard.
Lucky immediately stepped forward.
But Luffy stood up first.
He wiped his mouth.
Then—
He glared.
"You shouldn't have done that."
Higuma laughed. "Oh? And what's a brat like you gonna do about it?"
Luffy cracked his knuckles.
Lucky smirked.
"You just messed up, old man."