Luffy vs. Alvida

Nami had finished looting Alvida's ship and left in style. There was nothing left here worth staying for.

She was as free as the wind, with no tenderness to spare.

She came as lightly as she left, taking only a bag of treasure with her.

The Cat Burglar's life of thievery was about to begin again.

Meanwhile, two underlings were blocking the exit, reporting to Alvida that they had encountered an enemy.

But the enraged Alvida knocked them both unconscious with a single swing of her Spiked Club, then stormed toward the hold with her underlings.

But just then—

"Ahh!" Two terrified cries rang out.

With a thump, Luffy leaped up, gripping Moya and Koby by the collars.

Moya's legs immediately gave out, and he was still trembling.

That had been intense—more intense than freaking bungee jumping. His heart was pounding so fast that it took ages to calm down.

When Alvida saw Luffy, she demanded loudly, "Who are you?"

Luffy looked at Alvida and scratched his head.

"Huh? Who's this rude old lady? I'm the man who's going to be King of the Pirates!"

The pirates around them instantly tensed up. Their eyes widened, and snot even dripped from their noses.

That was because Alvida hated being called ugly and rude more than anything. Anyone who said such things was invariably smashed to pieces by her.

Sure enough, Alvida flew into a rage and raised her Spiked Club to bring it down on Luffy.

But Luffy didn't dodge. He let Alvida's Spiked Club hit him, cracking the floor beneath him.

Then something astonishing happened: Luffy was completely unharmed.

Moya had seen how powerful Devil Fruit abilities were in the anime.

But seeing Luffy's whole body get pounded out of shape and then spring back, right before his eyes, nearly blinded Moya.

For the first time, Moya yearned so fiercely for power—for all kinds of Devil Fruits, for all kinds of bizarre and astonishing abilities.

Luffy rubbed his nose with a finger and grinned.

"Hehe, I'm a Rubber Man who ate the Gum-Gum Fruit. Blunt attacks don't scare me."

Luffy had revealed his trump card right off the bat.

It was hard not to complain about how foolishly Devil Fruit users in the One Piece world blurted out their abilities.

Alvida said in shock, "So the treasure of the sea—the Devil Fruit—is real!"

Alvida attacked Luffy even more frantically. Wood splinters flew everywhere as Luffy nimbly leaped around, dodging every blow.

"Everyone, get him! Take him down!"

The underlings rushed forward, surrounding Luffy and attacking him all at once.

Luffy finally gave in to his urge to fight. His hands blurred into a flurry of fists as he shouted, "Gum-Gum Gatling!"

The underlings were all sent flying in an instant. Knives, guns, swords, clubs, and splinters went flying everywhere.

Fortunately, Moya and Koby had already found a place to hide. Otherwise, they might have been hit by the flying weapons.

Alvida gritted her teeth, a few beads of cold sweat trickling down her forehead. It was as if she sensed an unprecedented threat from Luffy.

But Alvida was, after all, a pirate captain. Faced with a rookie who had just set out to sea—and still smarting from Luffy calling her "rude"—she lost her temper all the same. The angrier she got, the more tightly she gripped her Spiked Club, then charged at Luffy.

Alvida's courage was admirable, but Luffy was far stronger than she was, and he had the protagonist's plot armor. One punch sent her flying.

As Alvida fell, the pleasure boat's captain and sailors finally came rushing out, one after another.

They pressed their advantage, beating the pirates while they were down and driving them away. They looked like heavenly soldiers descending, no longer the cowards they had been moments earlier.

On the pirates' side, seeing their captain Alvida defeated, they hurriedly retreated and scrambled back to her pirate ship.

Seeing this, Moya and Koby came out too.

Moya ran toward Luffy, imitating what he thought was the Japanese-accented way people spoke in the One Piece world, and shouted like a loyal underling.

"Luffy, Luffy! King of the Pirates, King of the Pirates!"

Sure enough, Luffy broke into a big, carefree grin and gave a thumbs-up, flashing a textbook toothy smile.

Just then, a Marine warship appeared in the distance. It seemed the pleasure boat's captain had already used a Den Den Mushi to call the Marines.

Seeing the Marine ship approaching in the distance,

Luffy hurriedly called for Koby to find a small boat so they could escape, and didn't forget to bring a few packs of food.

Moya quickly followed Luffy, ready to leave with him. He had to stick close to the protagonist.

However, it seemed the bad luck that had plagued Moya since he crossed over was still with him.

Luffy pulled Koby and Moya toward the small boat and leaped down.

When Moya saw that the boat was more than ten meters above the sea, his heart lurched, his breath caught, and his head began to spin.

A little afraid of heights, Moya instinctively took a few steps back. Before he knew it, he had let go of Luffy's hand.

Luffy and Koby were already on their way down with the boat, leaving Moya pale-faced on the deck.

Out on the sea, Luffy and Nami passed each other. It was a fateful encounter.

Luffy and Nami exchanged a glance without speaking, and Nami hurriedly rowed away.

Seeing that Moya wasn't there, Luffy raised his head and shouted, "Jump down!"

Moya looked at the height of more than ten meters, and his legs began to tremble.

He cursed inwardly. He was just an ordinary person, not even as tough as Koby. If he jumped, he might die on the spot!

Even if he didn't die on the spot, there was a very good chance he'd break his arms or legs, rupture his organs, suffer internal bleeding, or get a concussion.

But in that instant of hesitation,

a young man with green hair shouted at Moya.

"Isn't that the mysterious guy who appeared out of nowhere on the ship before the pirates attacked?

"He must be a pirate too. And that beautiful lady just said he was a pervert, so everyone be careful!"

After he said that, the passengers moved away from Moya, even though they hadn't understood what the green-haired man had said.

But when Moya saw the passengers' expressions and behavior,

he guessed that they had misunderstood him, but there was nothing he could do to defend himself.

Because he really didn't freaking speak the language of the One Piece world.

Moya was afraid these people would accuse him without bothering to learn the truth. He gritted his teeth. Screw it!

He was about to jump down beside Luffy. Sticking close to the protagonist was the wisest choice for Moya.

He needed to learn the language and pick up skills by staying close to the protagonist. That was the only way he could survive better. Who knew, maybe he could even become the "right-hand man of the King of the Pirates."

However, disaster struck.

Seeing Moya hesitate, Luffy couldn't tell whether this new acquaintance, his "little fanboy," was refusing to become a pirate.

The Marines were closing in, and they were firing cannons.

With the situation so urgent, Luffy quickly rowed away with Koby, leaving Moya behind just after he had steeled himself.

Moya ran both hands through his hair, his scalp prickling, as he stared in despair at Luffy sailing away.

But just then, the green-haired man and several sailors began closing in on Moya from different directions, blocking his way.

They didn't trust this stranger whose origins were unknown!

They needed to restrain Moya, whose identity was unclear. Luffy had already left with Koby, and the powerful Luffy could no longer protect him.

Luffy and Koby hadn't seen Moya being surrounded on the ship. They only watched the approaching Marines as Luffy urged Koby to row faster.

It was as if they had forgotten all about Moya, who had hesitated out of fear and didn't want to become a pirate!

Meanwhile, as Moya watched the sailors closing in, he cursed the heavens a thousand times over. He was so unlucky that even a drink of water would make him choke.

He knew Luffy had the Rubber Fruit. Even if he jumped, he probably wouldn't fall to his death. Luffy could definitely catch him.

His damn instincts, his damn fear—they'd landed him in a hopeless predicament.