Luffy's Descent into Madness

"Lin Qi, remember to come to my house for dinner tonight."

After leaving him with a meaningful look, Bellemere followed the others out.

"Damn, I forgot to ask where Luffy and the others went now that Nami is back."

It was only after Nami and the others had gone far away that Lin Qi suddenly remembered.

Meanwhile, in the Imperial Capital of the West Sea.

Luffy walked alone down the streets, occasionally muttering to himself. The people around him cast sympathetic looks his way.

Poor kid. So young, yet already suffering from mental illness.

"Joy Boy, you said the West Sea is so wonderful. Everyone has enough to eat and warm clothes to wear, with no oppression. Do we still need to step in and rebuild the D Nation?"

Over the course of half a day, Luffy had calmed down and quietly wandered all around the Imperial Capital. To his surprise, he found that the residents' happiness far exceeded his expectations. Nearly everyone wore a joyful smile.

Since childhood, Luffy had never seen the people of any country live so happily.

The garbage Kingdom where he had grown up maintained its outward splendor by throwing all its commoners and garbage beyond the city walls, leaving them to fend for themselves in the junkyard.

As children, Luffy, Sabo, and Ace had practically grown up in that junkyard. Every day, they watched commoners spend more than sixteen hours scavenging for food, only to starve to death anyway.

Those lucky enough to survive would still die from disease outbreaks and other causes. It was difficult for anyone there to live past the age of twenty-five.

After growing up, Luffy had gone on adventures across the world. In Nami's village, even without Arlong's arrival, people who relied on growing oranges still often starved