Moving On

Aaron looked at the newcomer and flashed a dazzling smile. "Hello, would you like a beer?"

"Yeah, with ice, thanks." The red-haired uncle walked in, scratching his head with a smile.

Only then did Aaron notice that the man's right sleeve hung empty. His arm was clearly gone.

"Shanks!" Luffy greeted the newcomer happily.

Well, with his mouth stuffed full of food, Luffy's speech was a little unclear. Still, it was a good thing Luffy was made of rubber—otherwise, that many burgers really could have burst someone's stomach.

"Hm? Luffy, is he someone you know?" Aaron asked curiously as he poured a beer.

"Mmghghgh! Haa!" Hearing Aaron's question, Luffy hurriedly forced down the food in his mouth, but the huge bulge stuck in his throat made Aaron shudder.

Still, he managed to swallow it.

"Yeah, his name's Shanks. His Straw Hat is staying with me, and I always carry it around." As he spoke, Luffy pulled out the Straw Hat hanging behind his back.

"You still have the Straw Hat?" Aaron handed Shanks his beer and stared at Luffy in surprise.

"...You only noticed now?" Even Luffy, whose intelligence was never online, could not help repeating the question Sabo had asked last month.

"HAHAHAHA! The beer here really hits the spot!" Shanks suddenly burst into hearty laughter.

"Well, Luffy, aren't you going to introduce us?" Shanks looked at Aaron and asked Luffy with a smile.

"This is Aaron. He's Makino's nephew," Luffy answered. Then he asked, "Shanks, why did you come back again? Where are your crewmates? Are they outside?" As he spoke, Luffy tried to run out.

"They didn't come." Shanks grabbed Luffy by the collar and pressed him back into his seat. Looking at Aaron, he stroked his chin. "I never knew Makino had a nephew."

"Hey, Shanks! What did you come back for?" Luffy did not resist and obediently let Shanks hold him while he kept asking.

"Came back to take a look," Shanks replied briefly.

Of course, that was not the truth, Shanks thought.

Three months ago, something had happened that shocked the pirate world: the body of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, had been stolen!

As a former member of the Pirate King's crew, Shanks was deeply grateful to his old captain. He had even left his pirate crew alone and, after some investigation, narrowed his target down to a luxury cruise ship headed for the East Blue.

But one month ago, before Shanks could make a move, a sudden massive storm destroyed the cruise ship. It sank to the bottom of the sea, leaving Shanks with almost no leads.

Yet Shanks always felt that the extraordinary storm had not been a natural phenomenon. He searched the East Blue for a long time afterward, but ultimately found nothing.

"Huh? Shanks? What are you doing here?" A gentle voice interrupted Shanks's thoughts, and he turned around.

Outside the door, Makino stood with a basket in hand, looking into the room with slight surprise.

"Ah, I had something to take care of," Shanks explained vaguely.

"Would you like a beer?" Makino did not press the matter. She walked behind the bar and asked with a smile.

"Your nephew already gave me one." As he spoke, he raised and shook the beer mug in his hand.

"Um... would you like a burger?" Aaron looked at Shanks and interrupted him.

Since he was Luffy's friend, he should be treated to burgers, right?

Well, do not ask why Aaron had concluded that guests should be treated to burgers.

"Hm? Sure." Shanks smiled.

Aaron went back into the kitchen. Five minutes later, he came out carrying another plate of burgers.

Smack! Aaron slapped away Luffy's sneaky hand. "No, Luffy, these are for Shanks. Besides, haven't you finished yours yet?" More than half the burgers on Luffy's plate were still left.

"They're ready that fast?" Shanks asked in surprise. He picked up a burger and took a huge bite.

Silence!

After nearly half a minute of silence, Shanks suddenly wolfed down the burger in two or three bites. Then he picked up another, finished it in another two or three bites, picked up another, finished it in two or three bites...

Seeing Shanks behave like that, Luffy also sped up his burger-eating. One, two, countless burgers were crammed into his mouth, making him look like a hamster guarding its food.

...Maybe he thought Shanks would steal his food after finishing his own?

Soon, Shanks finished the burgers. He let out a long breath and looked at Aaron with an extremely strange expression. "Come aboard my ship. Be my crewmate."

"Hey, hey, Shanks! He's my crewmate! How can you steal him away?" Before Aaron could answer, Luffy voiced his dissatisfaction.

"When did I ever agree to be your crewmate?" Aaron rolled his eyes and replied irritably.

But Shanks seemed not to hear Aaron's question. He examined Aaron carefully, then smiled. "Is that so? What a pity."

Aaron said unhappily, "So, when did I..."

Bang! The front door was smashed open!

"Luffy!" The one who rushed in was Ace. But unlike usual, Ace was not wearing a mischievous grin. Two streams of tears ran down his face.

"Sabo... Sabo was taken away by his family!"

"What?!" That was not Luffy—it was Aaron.

Then Aaron burst into tears with a loud "Waaah!"

Well, so he did not pay attention to what happened afterward.

Aaron disconnected...

Shanks looked at Ace without moving, occasionally sipping the beer in his hand.

"What? Hurry up and chase after him!" Luffy was shocked. He immediately grabbed his hat and burgers, then ran toward Ace. The two quickly disappeared from Shanks's sight.

Shanks quietly watched them leave. Young eagles always had to fly on their own, and Shanks believed that Luffy would get through this ordeal.

Then he turned to Makino and asked, "This kid... is he always like this?"

Aaron's eyes were pouring out tears like faucets.

Well, that was not an exaggeration. They really were like faucets! Aaron's tears had soaked the bar counter.

Makino said helplessly, "Yes. This child's tear glands seem to have been this developed since birth."

"It's probably more than just overdeveloped tear glands..." Shanks watched the still-crying Aaron with interest, drained his beer in one gulp, and stood up. "I should be going."

"Have a safe journey," Makino said with a smile.

"Waaah..." Aaron cried as he waved goodbye. So he was still conscious after all.

Time flew by, and before long... who knew how many years had passed. Anyway, Luffy set out to sea.

As for Sabo's disappearance, well, since this book was going for comedy and snark, there was no need to talk about something so heavy. Everyone knew that brat Sabo was not dead anyway.

Luffy kicked open the door to Makino's bar. "Aaron! Let's go! Sail with me!"

"So," a handsome blond, blue-eyed young man sighed helplessly at the bar counter, "when did I ever agree to go to sea with you?"

"Hurry, hurry! If we don't leave now, the village chief will dismantle the boat!" Luffy ignored Aaron, grabbed his arm, and ran outside.

"Hey, wait, wait, wait! Let me bring my spatula first!" But Aaron was not dragged away. His arm stretched out bizarrely long... just like another rubber person's.

"Let go of my hand first, will you?"

"No! If I let go, you'll run away!" Luffy refused righteously.

"...How did you know what I was planning?"

...In this regard, idiot Luffy was actually pretty sharp.

With no other choice, Aaron went into the kitchen, carefully tucked the spatula into his arms, then retracted his arm and let Luffy drag him away.

This was another unusual thing Aaron had discovered over the past few years. His body could stretch like Luffy's, but he could not do it voluntarily. It only stretched when he did not want to move.

...Well, this ability had made Luffy shout excitedly for several days. He had thought he had found his biological brother.

What the hell, Devil Fruit abilities could have biological brothers too?!

"Here we go!" Luffy hooked one hand around the doorframe, held Aaron with the other, pulled himself back several meters, and then let go, launching himself forward.

Well, Luffy could carry Aaron because Aaron had barely changed over the years. He still looked eleven or twelve years old.

"Hey, hey, hey! Aim properly! The boat is over there! Ah, save me!!!!" Aaron screamed.

Splash!

They fell into the sea.

And just like that, Luffy's road to becoming the Pirate King and Aaron's adventure began.