A single Devil Fruit isn't enough to make the Red-Hair Pirates feel bad, but this means Luffy's prized swimming skills are essentially useless.
Shanks still cares about this—he used to have a friend who was an amazing swimmer, but because of him, the friend ate Devil Fruit and never liked him afterward...
However, what's done is done; Luffy has already become Rubber Man.
However, Luffy recovered faster than Shanks had imagined. Because he was "unable to swim," he was only sad for a few days before Luffy "fully recovered."
The Foosha Village was filled with a festive atmosphere. The New Year of 1509 was approaching, and the Red-Hair Pirates, unsurprisingly, held a New Year's Eve party.
As an "unofficial member of the banquet," Luffy naturally arrived on time to attend.
And because it was New Year's Day, Shanks and Makino made an exception and didn't urge him to go back to sleep. They even gave him a red envelope to tease the little brat.
Perhaps because he can no longer swim, Luffy hasn't been talking about becoming a pirate for the past few days.
At this moment, Shanks did not feel disappointed. On the contrary, he felt much more relaxed because Luffy was no longer pestering him to "take him to sea".
At the New Year's banquet, Luffy mustered up his courage and secretly drank a few sips of wine, only to be scolded by Makino. Shanks, who had been "unsupervised," was also reprimanded and made to stand aside as punishment.
A helpless-looking Shanks and a flushed Luffy stood in the corner... After looking at each other, they started laughing at each other.
Then Shanks asked, half-sarcastically, "Oh, right, kid who can't swim, your previous wish can't be fulfilled... want to try another one?"
Luffy scoffed, "Who said... who said my dream has to be to be a pirate? My dream... my dream..."
"Are you making this up on the spot?" Shanks keenly noticed Luffy's shifty gaze.
"No way! My dream is... to throw a grand banquet that everyone in the world can attend!" Luffy said through gritted teeth as he looked at Red-Hair and his crew who were having a banquet.
Perhaps he made it up on the spot when he said it, but after he finished, there was a firm longing in Luffy's childish eyes.
Sig, who hadn't been paying much attention to the two who were being punished, looked over at this moment, because even though Sig wasn't using his Observation Haki, Shanks's surging emotions were already overwhelming Sig.
Shanks' gaze flickered as he watched Luffy broadly...
"Captain..." Shanks moved his lips silently.
Sig walked over and patted Luffy on the head, saying, "Kid, do you know how difficult it is to get the whole world to have a banquet together?"
"Hmph! I have a plan. The first step is to find the One Piece's treasure, the second step is to buy all the wine and meat in the world, and the third step is to hold a banquet!" Luffy said with great confidence.
"Hey, Luffy," Shanks called out to him.
Luffy looked over with some surprise, sensing that Shanks seemed unusually serious compared to his usual self.
"You know what? If we find the One Piece's treasure... then we'll become the new One Piece King," Shanks warned.
"Huh? Is that so? In other words, he's much, much, much stronger than Shanks?" Luffy his head.
"Yes, a ton," Shanks said confidently.
Sure enough, Sig discovered that Shanks had begun to deliberately Luffy.
This is completely different from the previous attitude of simply favoring "energetic children"!
"Luffy." Sig called out to him, Luffy turned around, looking at this "very strong boxer" from the Red-Hair Pirates with a puzzled expression.
"Your first two steps are relatively simple, but a banquet attended by people all over the world isn't something you can just pay for," Sig reminded him.
Shanks watched this scene with a smile, not believing that Sig could explain the deeper issues to Luffy. Sometimes... such a pure person doesn't need to think so much.
"Huh? Is it possible that someone wouldn't even come to a banquet?" Luffy asked, puzzled.
"Yes, there will be. Some people... they just like being able to host banquets themselves. When they see everyone else hosting banquets, they get uncomfortable... after all, if everyone is hosting banquets, no one will be there to be waiters," Sig said matter-of-factly.
"Huh? Do banquets always have waiters?" Luffy's face was full of confusion.
"Hey, Sig, you're too serious." Shanks came over and punched Sig in the chest.
However, Sig didn't let Shanks change the subject. Instead, he continued, "But I have a good idea that can get everyone to sit down and have a banquet together!"
"Tell me, tell me!" Luffy asked eagerly.
Shanks looked at Sig with surprise and unease, sensing that the guy wasn't about to say anything nice.
"It's simple, just take all the guys who don't want to come to the banquet..." Sig said, gently locking the "petite" Captain's throat, then making a "smear" motion on his neck with his thumb, and continued, "... kill them all! Then we can have the banquet together! Hahaha..."
"Huh?" Luffy's face fell.
Shanks then nudged Sig with his elbow. "Seriously, don't say such scary things to a child!"
"It's just a banquet... does it really need to go to this extent?" Luffy looked troubled.
"No, no, no, Luffy, if it's a truly joyful party, no one can refuse... Joy is the key to attracting everyone to the party!" Shanks encouraged Luffy.
"Yes!" Luffy was clearly more accepting of this explanation.
The phrase "to host a banquet that people from all over the world will attend" was imprinted in Luffy's heart.
It also stirred up memories deep within Shanks' heart...
Whitebeard once asked Captain Roger what he would do after finding the treasure of Laugh Tale, and Roger's answer was the same: to hold the happiest banquet in the world!
Of course, Roger, who was already quite old at the time, was laughed at by Whitebeard for saying such a thing.
Now, Shanks hears the exact same words from a child, and the memories deep within him are completely stirred up.
Twelve years ago, Roger, who "arrived too early," was unable to host the banquet and was executed in Loguetown, East Sea, after surrendering himself to the authorities.
But looking at Luffy now, Shanks seemed to see the grand banquet that would be held later, and he seemed to see Captain Roger's smiling face...
Shanks had just hosted a "completely disastrous" banquet, felt this even more acutely!
Sig curled his lip in disdain. This guy who'd just hosted a "completely disastrous" party was actually trying to teach others how to throw one...
Dongdong: Regarding Shanks and Rayleigh's statement that "Luffy and the Captain said the same thing," which refers to Sabo's ultimate dream as mentioned by Luffy and Ace, as well as Roger's dream in front of Whitebeard and Kozuki Oden... Although it leaves a suspense, most online speculations lean towards the "grand banquet theory," and this book also adopts that setting.