My Name Is Luffy

The Marines on deck thought this was merely a test. If danger arose, Colonel William would definitely step in. After all, if the warship were destroyed, not only they but Colonel William himself would be in serious trouble, especially since this warship was in the middle of a mission.

But they did not know that even if this warship reached the Sabaody Archipelago without a scratch, their mission would still fail. After all, the escort target had already been eaten by William. Though he had taken only one bite, the fruit had lost its original value.

"Keep the ammunition coming!" The Marines attacked the Sea King before them in an orderly fashion. They all hoped to earn merit. If they performed well and received Colonel William's personal guidance, their strength would surely rise to another level. Promotion and such would no longer be a problem.

"Fire!" Shell after shell shot from the cannons and exploded against the Sea King's body. One or two shells might not do much damage to a Sea King, but such a quantity was another matter entirely. Even minor damage would be amplified.

But where was Colonel William himself? He had already hidden away to prepare his escape. Everything had happened too quickly, so quickly that he had not prepared anything. Though escaping under a Sea King's very nose was extremely dangerous, this was a rare chance to flee. William did not want to miss it.

William slipped into the area where the lifeboats were stored and cut the ropes binding one of them with his knife, preparing to make his escape. All the Marines were gathered at the bow, fighting the Sea King. There was not a single soldier here, and no one would ever imagine that a Marine colonel could be a deserter.

Bang! The entire warship shook again, and William lost his footing, falling awkwardly into a lifeboat.

"Pain—!" Before William could finish the word, he discovered that the bottom of the warship was leaking. Clearly, the Sea King had been enraged by the warship's bombardment and had smashed through its hull.

If this continued, William felt that even if he got into a lifeboat, he would soon be swallowed by the enormous waves. The Marine soldiers aboard the warship were in no better shape. Quite a few had been injured by the earlier violent shaking or had fallen into the sea. All the soldiers cried out to Colonel William for help, but William himself was like a clay bodhisattva crossing a river—barely able to save himself.

But William had no time to consider his options. After another savage impact from the Sea King, huge cracks had appeared along the side of the warship. Through them, William could even see the badly injured Sea King outside.

This warship sinking to the bottom of the sea was only a matter of time. But if the Sea King before them struck again, no one would even have a chance to escape.

"Not good!" William saw that the Sea King was recklessly preparing to ram them again. Though the Sea King would suffer even worse injuries with its wounded body, everyone aboard the warship would die at sea.

Whether this Sea King could ultimately overturn the Marine warship or not, the waves it stirred up would surely capsize the lifeboats.

"Heaven never seals off all paths!" William's gaze fell upon an empty wooden crate. There was no time to think; he had no other choice.

William's face turned pale as he jumped into the crate, but the two swords at his waist got stuck, preventing him from closing the lid.

"Fire!" The soldiers aboard the warship were not fools. They knew the Sea King was trying to take them down with it.

"Colonel William!" Many soldiers cried out in panic. But no matter how they called, their powerful superior never appeared.

Everyone was injured now, and the warship was damaged. Why had Colonel William still not appeared? How could they know that William would never appear, nor did he have the strength to fight the Sea King?

William, however, had already been frightened pale by the Sea King's suicidal actions. He frantically jumped into the crate, only to find that the two swords at his waist were caught outside, leaving the lid unable to close.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Under the Marines' continuous bombardment, the Sea King, which had only one breath left, finally lost its life. Yet its enormous body showed no sign of stopping.

Bang! Carried by inertia, the lifeless Sea King slammed heavily into the warship. Though the impact had weakened considerably and did not split the Marine warship in two, it still overturned it. The immense force sent most of the Marine soldiers flying through the air in the final moments of their lives.

Crack! After being overturned, the Marine warship snapped apart along its cracks, splitting into two halves and slowly sinking to the bottom of the sea.

Year 7 of the Sea Circle Calendar:

The World Government was established, and the kings who founded it moved to Mary Geoise atop the Red Line as world nobles, though only nineteen actually went. Their descendants regarded themselves as "the descendants of the creators" and called themselves "Celestial Dragons."

At the same time, for certain reasons, the World Government erased all historical records from the hundred years before its founding. Later generations called that period the "Void Century." Yet this history was ultimately preserved on indestructible materials, which historians called Poneglyphs.

Year 1496 of the Sea Circle Calendar:

After Gol D. Roger was told that he had an incurable illness, he decided to lead his pirate crew to conquer the Grand Line and head for Laugh Tale, the final island, in search of the legendary One Piece.

Year 1499 of the Sea Circle Calendar:

After three years of adventure on the Grand Line, the Roger Pirates finally conquered the Grand Line and arrived at Laugh Tale, the final island.

He became the first person to reach Laugh Tale since the founding of the World Government. Yet in the same year that Gol D. Roger gained the title of Pirate King, he disbanded his pirate crew.

Year 15 of the Sea Circle Calendar:

Pirate King Gol D. Roger suddenly turned himself in to the World Government. To warn pirate criminals across the world, the World Government decided to publicly execute the Pirate King in his birthplace, Loguetown in the East Blue.

"Want my treasure? You can have it if you want it. Go find it on the Grand Line! I left everything there." These were the final words of Pirate King Gol D. Roger, the man who had once possessed the world's greatest wealth, fame, and power, before his death.

Because of Gol D. Roger's words, all those who loved adventure began to set sail for the sea. The entire world thus entered the Great Pirate Era.

Year 15 of the Sea Circle Calendar:

Nineteen years after Gol D. Roger's execution, Roger's only blood relative, the seventeen-year-old Portgas D. Ace, set out on his own pirate adventure aboard his pirate ship, which was really just a boat flying a pirate flag.

"Luffy, I'll wait for you on the Grand Line!" Portgas D. Ace proudly told his younger brother Luffy as he set sail.

"Goodbye, Ace!" Standing on the shore, Luffy waved both hands to bid farewell to his sworn older brother Ace. He believed that the two brothers would soon meet somewhere on the Grand Line.

Year 15 of the Sea Circle Calendar:

Two years after Portgas D. Ace went to sea, the now seventeen-year-old Monkey D. Luffy also set sail aboard his own pirate ship, which was still just a boat flying a pirate flag.

"Ace, I'm coming to find you! Hehehe!" Unable to swim and knowing nothing about navigation, the rookie pirate Monkey D. Luffy set off alone to adventure aboard his "piloted" pirate ship.

"Huh? What's that? Could it be treasure?" Not long after setting out, Luffy suddenly spotted a wooden crate floating on the sea and immediately became excited.

"Gum-Gum Stretch!" Luffy's arm suddenly stretched out, grabbed the wooden crate, and pulled it over. In Luffy's eyes, salvaging floating objects at sea was also an adventure, something pirates had to do. In truth, aside from pirates, nearly everyone who sailed the seas had the habit of retrieving drifting objects.

"I wonder if there's meat inside?" Luffy carried the crate aboard, saying this excitedly. A normal pirate's first thought upon seeing a crate floating at sea would be treasure, but to Luffy, treasure was not that important. As long as he had meat and adventure, that was enough.

"So it's not meat?" After opening the crate and finding none of the meat he had hoped for, Luffy wore an expression of both disgust and disappointment. Then again, no normal person would put meat inside a treasure chest.

"Who?" A weak voice came from inside the crate. Curled up within was a gaunt, sallow-faced man. No one knew how long he had gone without food to become so emaciated.

"Me? My name is Luffy. I'm a pirate!" Hearing the weak question from the man in the crate, Luffy answered before smiling and asking, "Who are you? Why are you living inside a crate?"

However, the man in the crate had apparently not heard clearly before fainting away. Judging by his gaunt, sallow appearance, he had gone an unknown amount of time without food.

Pirate Knowledge: Luffy's surname, Monkey, happens to be the same as the English word "monkey." The name Luffy comes from the English word "luff," meaning "to sail into the wind."