The Rubber Idiot and the Red-Eyed Magician

"Who was that?! Who dared to cause trouble on my ship?!"

"I am the most beautiful woman on these seas—Miss Alvida!"

Accompanied by a roar loud enough to shatter eardrums.

A massively obese, freckle-faced woman charged to the center of the deck, swinging a huge spiked iron mace.

With every step she took, the deck seemed to groan in pain.

"Which bastard hurt my men just now? Was it you, you little runt Koby?!"

Alvida's tiny eyes, squeezed into slits by her fat, darted around before finally locking onto the trembling Koby.

"N-No, it wasn't me! Miss Alvida!"

"Obviously, it wasn't me!"

Snot and tears streamed down Koby's face as he desperately shook his head and pointed at Luffy and Victor.

"It was those two weirdos who climbed out of the barrel!"

Alvida abruptly turned her head, glaring viciously at the two culprits.

One wore a straw hat and was picking his nose, while the other was a black-haired, red-eyed boy who tilted his head and smiled at her.

These two brats!

They weren't taking her seriously at all!

"You little punks!"

Alvida felt that her dignity had been gravely challenged.

She raised her spiked mace high and viciously brought it down on Luffy, who looked like he had the most punchable face.

"Since you dare provoke me like this, turn into minced meat!"

The howling wind sent Koby and the surrounding pirates scrambling away in terror, clutching their heads.

"Hey, uh... Auntie, who are you?"

Luffy looked up blankly at the descending mace without even trying to dodge.

"Thud—!!"

A dull, heavy impact rang out.

The expected spray of blood never came.

Alvida felt as though she had struck an incredibly tough sheet of rubber. The enormous recoil numbed her hands and nearly made her lose her grip on the mace.

Luffy's head was deeply dented by the blow, then suddenly sprang back into shape.

"Ow, ow, ow! That hurt! What are you doing, you barbaric old lady?!"

Luffy clutched his head and shouted.

"Y-You're fine?!" Alvida's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "Are you a Devil Fruit user too?!"

Victor, watching from nearby, had a faint red glint flash in his eyes.

"The Gum-Gum Fruit... It really is strange seeing it in person."

He analyzed it rapidly in his mind.

Although he possessed the Sharingan and chakra, his physical abilities were still only at an ordinary person's level. He was not even as sturdy as these pirates who had made their living at sea for years.

A body like Luffy's, immune to blunt force, was practically a natural meat shield.

"I don't care what kind of ability you have! In the East Blue, defying Alvida is a capital offense!"

Humiliated and enraged, Alvida swung her mace again, preparing to launch an even fiercer attack.

"Gum-Gum—"

Luffy also assumed a stance, stretching his arm back as he prepared to retaliate. "Pistol!"

However, just as his fist was about to fly out.

"Grrrrrrrrr—"

A rumble louder than Koby's crying earlier came from Luffy's stomach.

Luffy's extended arm instantly drooped limply like a deflated balloon.

His entire body collapsed to the ground like a salted fish that had lost its dreams.

"Ah... I can't do it. I'm too hungry. I don't have any strength left..."

Luffy lay sprawled on the ground and spoke weakly.

The entire deck fell silent.

Even Alvida's hand, still holding the raised mace, froze in midair as the corner of her mouth twitched wildly.

"Are you messing with me, brat?!"

Victor helplessly rubbed his forehead and sighed.

Of course, he couldn't count on a single-celled organism like Luffy.

But according to his memories, shouldn't Luffy have punched her flying with one blow?

"Hey, you red-eyed brat over there!"

Feeling thoroughly toyed with, Alvida redirected all her rage toward Victor, who looked more like a normal person.

"Since you're in the same group, you can die in his place!"

The spiked mace swept toward Victor's waist with a piercing whoosh.

The blow was incredibly powerful. If it landed, an ordinary person would definitely be broken in half.

"Mr. Victor! Run!" Koby shouted desperately from behind a barrel.

Victor stood still, completely unmoving.

The single tomoe in his scarlet Sharingan slowly turned, and the world slowed once more in his eyes.

Alvida's seemingly ferocious attack was riddled with openings in his view.

The points where her muscles exerted force, her unsteady footing, the shift in her center of gravity... nothing escaped his notice.

"Too crude."

Just as the mace was about to touch the corner of his clothes, Victor moved.

Instead of retreating, he stepped forward, slipping into Alvida's blind spot like a phantom.

The mace swept past his back, and the gust it generated made his clothes flutter wildly.

"What?!"

Alvida's strike missed. The immense momentum sent her massive body stumbling uncontrollably forward.

"Gum-Gum, Pistol Leg!"

"Whoa! Isn't that the name of my move?!"

Victor appeared at her side, drove his right foot forward, and kicked precisely into the hollow behind the knee of Alvida's supporting leg.

"Crack!"

A crisp snap rang out.

"Ahh!!"

Alvida let out a pig-like scream as her massive body instantly lost balance and toppled to one side.

Before she could hit the ground, Victor's figure flashed again and appeared in front of her.

Alvida's defenses were wide open. Terror filled her face as she stared into those emotionless red eyes.

"It's over."

Victor clenched his right hand into a fist, gathered chakra around its edge, and mercilessly drove it into Alvida's fat chin.

"Bang!"

A dull impact echoed out.

Before everyone's horrified eyes.

Alvida, who weighed at least three hundred pounds, was actually knocked off her feet by this seemingly frail boy's single punch.

Her entire body spun two and a half times through the air before crashing heavily into the main mast.

Her eyes rolled back, foam spilled from her mouth, and she lost consciousness completely.

A deathly silence fell over the deck, broken only by the sound of the sea wind.

The pirate underlings who had been about to charge forward now stood petrified, their weapons clattering to the deck.

The female pirate known as the most terrifying in the East Blue... had been defeated in an instant?

And by a seemingly weak boy, barehanded?

Victor slowly withdrew his fist and lightly shook his wrist. The red glow in his eyes gradually faded, returning them to their original black.

He let out a breath. This was no easy feat for him yet, given his lack of familiarity with it.

"S-So amazing..." Koby gaped so widely that his glasses nearly fell off.

"Whoooooa!!!"

Luffy, who had been lying on the ground, somehow found the strength to suddenly spring up like a coil.

His eyes turned into sparkling stars again as he excitedly rushed in front of Victor.

"You're really amazing! Those red eyes, and that punch just now—it was so cool!!"

Luffy grabbed Victor's shoulders and shook him frantically.

"Hey, Victor! Be my partner! Join my pirate crew! Let's go find One Piece together!"