Luffy had been drifting quietly above the sea for a while, letting the cloud move at a steady pace while he watched the horizon. The wind was calm, the water below almost unnaturally smooth.
Then something changed.
A sharp pressure ripple brushed against his senses, followed a moment later by the unmistakable boom of a cannon.
Luffy turned his head toward the sound.
"…Cannon fire?"
He shifted from his relaxed posture and guided the cloud in that direction. As he drew closer, a thin plume of smoke became visible, curling upward against the sky.
Then the ship came into view.
Luffy stared.
For a long second.
"…That's the ugliest ship I've ever seen."
The vessel was enormous and painted an aggressively bright shade of pink. Four sails rose above the deck, one towering higher than the others, each marked with a large heart symbol. More hearts were painted along the hull, as if the ship's owner had been afraid to leave even a single surface undecorated.
At the front of the ship stood a swan-shaped figurehead, polished to an absurd shine.
And flying proudly above it all was a pirate flag — a skull drawn from the side, defaced with a pink heart stamped right across it.
Ahead of the pink monstrosity, a civilian passenger ship struggled to escape, its hull already damaged as another cannon fired.
Luffy exhaled slowly.
"…Yeah. That's not happening."
He guided the cloud lower and angled it carefully, letting it drift beneath the pirate ship's hull where shadows and sea spray concealed it from view.
"I wonder," he thought calmly, "if any of you are worth a bounty."
The cloud stopped.
Luffy stood.
His body dissolved into pure electricity — not violently, but cleanly, precisely — and vanished.
A heartbeat later, a bolt of lightning slammed into the pirate ship's deck.
The thunder followed.
The deck exploded in light and sound. When the glare faded, a single figure stood calmly at the impact point.
A young man.
A black-and-gold captain's coat hung loosely from one shoulder. A straw hat shaded his eyes. The air around him crackled faintly with restrained energy.
No one moved.
Pirates froze mid-step. Civilians stared in disbelief. Even the waves seemed to hesitate.
Luffy didn't rush.
He let his Observation Haki spread outward, sweeping the ship in a controlled arc. Panic. Fear. Greed. And near the lower decks, a single presence moving carefully — someone taking advantage of the chaos to steal from pirates who were too distracted to notice.
He almost laughed.
Efficient.
The silence stretched until a massive figure forced herself upright.
"WHO ARE YOU?!" a woman shouted, gripping a spiked iron club as she stepped forward. Her voice was loud, aggressive — but her heart was racing fast enough that Luffy could feel it. "WHY ARE YOU ON MY SHIP?!"
She was enormous, sweat glistening on her skin, eyes darting nervously despite her bravado. Her crew watched her desperately, clinging to her presence like it would save them.
Luffy turned toward her slowly.
"I was curious," he said calmly, "what kind of captain builds a ship like this."
The woman bristled.
"Are you the pirate hunter, Roronoa Zoro?!" she demanded.
Luffy raised an eyebrow.
"…No."
Then he tilted his head slightly. "Who are you?"
She straightened, lifting her club proudly.
"I am the most beautiful woman in this ocean," she declared. "The one and only Iron Club Alvida!"
Luffy stared at her.
Then he burst out laughing.
Not mockingly. Not cruelly. Just honest laughter that echoed across the deck.
"You?" he said between laughs. "The most beautiful?"
He wiped a tear from his eye, still grinning.
"Sorry, old hag," he added casually, "but that title definitely doesn't belong to you."
Alvida's face twisted with fury.
Luffy looked at her again, expression neutral. "Do you have a bounty?"
That question made her grin instantly.
"Five million berries," she said proudly.
Luffy sighed.
"…That's low."
Before she could react, the air shifted.
Luffy's presence expanded — not explosively, but like a storm settling over the deck. Invisible pressure crashed outward.
Pirates collapsed instantly, bodies hitting the planks unconscious.
Only two remained.
Alvida dropped to her knees, gasping.
And a thin boy with pink hair trembled violently, barely managing to stay upright.
Luffy turned toward him.
"…You've got will," he said mildly. "Most people don't stay standing."
The boy looked up, eyes wide but determined.
Alvida snarled and tried to shout—
—but Luffy was already moving.
One step.
One punch.
His fist crackled faintly as it struck her jaw.
Alvida flew backward and slammed into the deck, unconscious before she hit the ground.
Luffy knelt beside her.
"Bind."
From his palm, three thick strands of condensed electricity snapped outward, weaving themselves into solid restraints that wrapped tightly around her body.
The pink-haired boy's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
"H-how did you do that?!"
Luffy glanced at him and smiled.
"Devil Fruit," he said simply. "Goro Goro no Mi."
Lightning flickered briefly across his fingers.
"Makes me a lightning man."
The boy swallowed.
"I-I'm Koby, sir."
Luffy nodded. "Nice to meet you."
He adjusted his straw hat and spoke clearly.
"Monkey D. Luffy," he said.
"And I'm going to be the King of the Pirates."
The ship creaked quietly as the sea rolled on.
And Alvida lay bound — five million berries closer to her cell.