Blue skies, white clouds.
A merchant ship drifted with the wind across the sea, with neither destination nor direction.
The entire ship was deserted, without even a single sailor aboard. It looked just like the legendary "ghost ship." Until:
Thud.
A barrel drifting along with the waves bumped into the merchant ship. From within came a faint voice:
"Huh? I hit a ship—"
"That's great!"
Bang!
A fist smashed open the barrel, and a straw-hatted figure eagerly stretched his upper body out from inside.
"That was such a nice nap~~"
"Well then,"
Whoosh—
The youth's arms suddenly stretched out like rubber bands, grabbing hold of the railing before pulling hard!
Smack!
He flew onto the merchant ship in one leap, and the straw-hatted youth burst into laughter.
"That was close, that was close. I thought I was going to get sucked down to the bottom of the sea by a whirlpool~~"
"My journey to become King of the Pirates almost..."
Creak.
The door on the merchant ship's deck opened, and Roman stepped out, coldly watching the "intruder" before him.
He was a youth with short, somewhat messy black hair and a scar beneath his left eye.
He wore a red vest, blue knee-length jeans, and straw sandals. Of course, the most eye-catching thing was the straw hat on his head and the confident smile on his face.
That outfit?!
Roman's gaze flickered, but quickly returned to calm.
Monkey D. Luffy.
The Chosen One of this world, a Rubber-Rubber Fruit user, the kind of person who constantly proclaimed, "I'm going to become King of the Pirates"—
An idiot!
What were pirates?
They robbed and plundered, gained without working, acted without restraint. They were scum among scum, villains among villains...
"Hey, hello—"
Seeing Roman emerge, the Straw Hat Youth smiled and waved.
"One hundred thousand Beli."
???
In an instant, the other party's smile froze on his face, as though a row of black question marks had appeared above his straw hat.
"Fare."
Roman continued calmly.
"One hundred thousand Beli. Three meals a day and lodging included. Extra charges apply after half a month."
"Ah... ah... um..."
The Straw Hat Youth's entire face instantly fell. He stammered for a long while before finally forcing out a sentence.
"I don't have any money..."
"No money?"
Roman glanced at the youth, who radiated poverty from head to toe. A straw hat, a vest, a pair of cropped jeans, a pair of slippers...
He did not even have a pocket anywhere on him. He might as well have had "dirt poor" written across his face.
"Then sorry—go back wherever you came from."
Protagonists were the worst...
"No, big brother~~"
The Straw Hat Youth was so shocked that his jaw dropped to his chest—literally. "I can't swim, and the barrel was just broken by me..."
...You were telling me this was the future King of the Pirates?!
"Sorry, this is my ship."
"If you ride a ship, you have to pay the fare. You understand that much, don't you?"
"I... I can work to pay it back. I can eat a lot... no, I mean, I'm very hardworking..."
The Straw Hat Youth suddenly slapped fist into palm, wearing the expression of someone who had come up with a brilliant idea.
"Right, you should become my partner!"
"If we become partners, then you won't have to pay the fare~~~ Hahaha, I'm so smart~~"
????
This time, Roman was the one with a head full of black question marks. You bastard, were you trying to get something for nothing? Were you?!
"I refuse!"
Faced with Roman's immediate answer, the Straw Hat Youth looked utterly shocked, as though saying, "How could that be?" "Wait, won't you think about it some more?"
"Right, my name is Luffy."
"I'm the man who'll become King of the Pirates!"
Facing the grinning Straw Hat Youth... no, Luffy, Roman lowered his head and sneered.
"A pirate?"
"Then that's perfect."
Rustle—
He spread his arms, and sheets of "paper" flew out of his palms from thin air before rapidly transforming into:
A Sailor's Knife and a shield!
"Since you're a pirate, then pay your bill the pirate way."
Roman narrowed his eyes at the youth named Luffy. Shield in front, long blade hidden behind it!
"Kill me, and this ship will be—"
"Whoa! That's so cool~~~"
Yet instead of reacting to Roman's battle stance, Luffy casually ran over and stared at the paper knife and paper shield in Roman's hands. He even reached out to touch them—
Bang!
"Are you looking down on me?"
Chilling killing intent spread from Roman's body. He had just smashed the other party onto the deck with his shield, even knocking the precious straw hat aside.
"Whoa, that hurts, that hurts~~~"
"Why can I feel pain—"
"Huh? I'm bleeding... how did you do that?"
Facing Luffy, who sat on the ground with blood all over his face yet only cared about why he had been injured, Roman stepped forward.
"I have no reason to explain my methods to you. So—"
Swish.
The snow-white Sailor's Knife pointed at the other party's face as Roman looked down at him with icy eyes.
"Get up!"
"If you beat me, this ship is yours."
"If you lose, prepare to walk the plank."
Faced with the paper knife inches away and Roman's utter lack of mercy, the youth merely sat casually on the deck, seriously studying the corner of Roman's eye.
"I won't fight you."
"Then you're planning to go feed the fish?"
"I won't die here either."
"Wait until you defeat me before—"
"I won't fight you."
Bang!
The white shield in his hand smashed viciously into the other party's nose, driving the youth's entire head into the deck! At the same time, Roman stepped forward and brutally pinned him beneath himself.
"You won't fight, and you won't leave!"
"What exactly do you want?"
"I..."
Luffy, his face covered in blood and half-sunk into the deck, raised his head and looked directly at Roman's furious face.
"I told you, I want you to be my partner."
"Partner..."
"Hahahahaha~~~"
Roman, who had pinned him beneath his body, laughed. He laughed so wildly that tears came out.
"And then my ship becomes your ship?"
"And my life becomes your life?"
"Are you stupid, or do you think I'm stupid!"
Faced with Roman's questioning, the youth named Luffy merely answered seriously once more.
"I want you to be my partner."
"Hey, listen when people are talking—"
Bang!
The shield smashed into his face again, knocking Luffy's whole head sideways and spraying more blood!
"Why should I be your partner? Don't just decide that on your own—"
Bang!
Another shield strike.
"Still not planning to fight back?"
Bang!
Blood splattered.
"Partner? Let me tell you the truth—I'm a Paper Person who ate the Paper-Paper Fruit!"
"I got this Devil Fruit by killing my captain. Do you still want me as your partner—"
"Yes!"
From within the shattered deck and a huge pool of blood mixed together, Luffy's voice remained as steadfast as ever.
"I want you to be my partner."
A lunatic... an idiot...
He was clearly someone Roman had been beating without pause, yet the seasoned killer unconsciously leaned his upper body back. Then:
Rage born of humiliation!
Unreasonable—
Rustle—
The shield and Sailor's Knife in his hands rapidly changed shape, combining into a sharp Executioner's Sword aimed at the youth's neck!
"I know you're a Devil Fruit user. You're made of rubber, right—"
"Don't underestimate the paper in my hands. Its hardness is no less than steel. One slash and..."
Yet in the face of Roman's threat, the youth in the pool of blood turned his head to meet his eyes, without the slightest wavering in his gaze.
"You won't kill me."
"I want you to be my partner."
Damn it—
"Are you a broken record or something?!"
"I'll kill you!!"
The Sailor's Knife in his hand rose high, then came crashing down—
Splurt!
"Hmph."
Roman turned the helm, guiding the merchant ship across the calm sea and leaving a long wake behind it.
"Such a naive idiot deserved to die."
On the deck behind him, there was only shattered wood and bloodstains. As for the youth named Luffy:
He had already disappeared.
"You think you can survive in these seas with nothing but 'guts'? What an idiot—"
Bang!
The cabin door was suddenly flung open, and a youth with his head wrapped like a dumpling came out shouting.
"Roman, I'm starving~~~"
"Why is all the meat in the storeroom frozen solid? I can't bite through it~~~"
"You tore open the freezer I made?!"
"I was about to starve to death..."
Faced with his aggrieved expression... who knew how this guy could still make an "aggrieved" face with his entire head wrapped in "healing paper bandages"??
"Alright, alright."
"You take the helm. I'll go cook—while I'm at it, I'll restore the freezer..."
"Roman, I don't know how to steer."
???
Roman sucked in a sharp breath. His scalp tingled so badly that stars began dancing before his eyes!
"Then tell me, what the hell can you do?!"
Faced with Roman's gritted-teeth fury, Luffy answered without hesitation.
"I can become King of the Pirates!"
"Come on, stand here—"
Like a punctured balloon, Roman personally showed Luffy how to hold the wheel, then instructed him.
"Just keep that posture. Don't let the ship wander off."
"I'm going to cook—don't you go slacking off!"
As Roman walked past him toward the cabin, he shook his head helplessly.
"Honestly..."
"Looks like I'm just an idiot too..."
Talking about being some sinister, ruthless pirate... in the end, hadn't he still become someone else's 'crewman'...?
Forget it.
Youth was wasted without a little adolescent delusion.
That was all Roman could use to comfort himself. But if there had been a mirror—
The upward curve of his lips would have had something to say.
Before you continue