Aria jumped up from her seat, the chair scraping against the floor with a harsh screech. Her hands shook as she grabbed the poster, pressing it flat against the table so she could see it properly.
Her knees threatened to give out beneath her.
"That kid with the straw hat?"
An older guy at the counter turned around, adjusting his glasses with one hand.
"Been causing trouble all over the East Blue. My cousin in Cocoyashi Village saw the whole thing—said he took down Arlong himself!"
"No way. A kid beating a fishman? Come on, that's impossible."
Another customer argued through a mouthful of rice, grains sticking to his chin as he spoke with his mouth full.
"Those East Blue stories get crazier every day. Next you'll tell me he fought a marine battleship with his bare hands."
"I heard he's ten feet tall and breathes fire! And he's got this whole fleet of ships following him around!"
A third guy waved his chopsticks enthusiastically, nearly flinging noodles across the table in his excitement.
The rumors were so ridiculously wrong that she couldn't help herself. The words tumbled out before she could stop them.
"What about the rubber thing?"
The entire table turned to stare at her in unison. Conversations stopped throughout the restaurant, creating an uncomfortable silence.
"Rubber thing?"
The man with glasses leaned forward across the counter, his interest clearly piqued by her comment.
"You know..."
She mimed pulling her arm out in an exaggerated stretching motion. "The stretching arms? Like this?"
"See! I told you!"
The man with glasses smacked the counter with such force that his cup rattled dangerously in its saucer.
"My cousin said the exact same thing! Said the boy stretched his arm across the whole village square when he punched that fishman!"
"Your cousin's been drinking too much sake, that's what I think."
Aria sat back down heavily, her legs too unsteady to support her weight any longer.
'This isn't a dream or some kind of hallucination. I'm really here, in the One Piece world.'
"Your food, miss."
The old man returned with a bowl of rice and fish, setting it gently in front of her with care. Steam rose from the bowl, carrying the rich scent of perfectly cooked food that made her stomach growl despite her anxiety.
Her stomach growled insistently, reminding her that whatever bizarre situation she was in, her body still needed fuel.
She took a bite of the fish, barely registering the taste. The flavors were better than anything she'd experienced before, rich and perfectly seasoned, but her mind was elsewhere.
'How many nights did I stay up reading these chapters? Following every adventure, every fight, every arc?'
She'd spent countless hours analyzing the story, discussing theories with other fans online, debating character motivations and plot developments. And now she was here.
"Tell me more about the rubber pirate!"
The voice made her jump in her seat, nearly choking on her rice. She coughed hard, eyes watering from the sudden obstruction.
Taro had appeared at her table like magic, his excitement barely contained as he bounced on his toes.
"How does he stretch? Is he really as strong as they say? Can he fight a hundred pirates at once?"
She put down her chopsticks carefully, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
"Well, he ate this special fruit called a Devil Fruit that turned his entire body into rubber. He can stretch his arms, his legs—he can even stretch his neck if he wants to."
"For real?"
Taro's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, his jaw dropping open in amazement.
"What else can he do? Can he fly? Can he turn invisible?"
A small smile tugged at her lips.
"Check this out—he's got this move where he pulls his arm way back like this."
She demonstrated the motion, pulling her arm behind her head with exaggerated movement that made Taro's eyes follow intently.
"Then BAM—he shoots it forward super fast. He can hit bad guys from really far away, farther than you'd think possible."
She punched the air with a satisfying whoosh, making Taro giggle with pure delight.
"Sometimes he even uses both arms at once for extra power!"
"Can he do other stuff? Besides punching bad guys?"
"Oh yeah, definitely. He can stretch any part of his body, which makes him really tricky to fight against."
"Like a monster! That's how he beat Arlong, right? Everyone keeps talking about it!"
"Let's just say Luffy surprises people who underestimate him." Her expression grew more serious as she thought about what really made Luffy special. "They look at him and see some skinny kid with a weird power. But he's got something most pirates don't have."
"What's that?"
Taro leaned forward eagerly.
"Heart. He doesn't fight for fame or money like other pirates do. He fights for his friends, to protect the people he cares about."
Taro's face lit up with pure wonder at this revelation. He spun around and burst toward the kitchen, his feet barely touching the floor in his excitement.
"Papa, can she stay? Please? She knows awesome stories about the rubber pirate!"
He nearly collided with his father, who caught a sliding plate with one hand just before it could crash to the floor.
"That's not up to me, son." The old man's eyes crinkled with amusement at his son's enthusiasm. "But she's welcome here anytime she wants to visit."
The restaurant door opened with its cheerful bell, bringing in new customers along with the sounds from the busy village outside. The morning rush was beginning in earnest, and Aria could see more people filtering in.
She pushed her empty bowl away with a soft scrape against the wooden table.
"Thanks for the food. It was really good. I wish I could pay you back somehow for your kindness."
"Stories are worth plenty around here, especially good ones."
"Most people don't take time to entertain my son the way you just did. You've made his whole week."
"Still, I feel bad about taking your food when I can't—"
"Nonsense, don't worry about it."
He waved off her concern.
"Sharing food brings its own kind of luck. My grandmother used to say that. Though if you're planning on staying in town for a while, you'll need somewhere to sleep tonight. The Maple Inn has nice rooms, and Maya is a good woman. Tell her I sent you and she'll take care of you."
"I can show you where it is!"
Taro reached for her sleeve eagerly.
"No, son, let her be. Our guest needs rest after her journey."
Aria stood from the table.
"Thanks for everything you've done for me."
She gave Hiroshi a grateful smile before stepping outside into the morning air.
Following Hiroshi's directions carefully, she found the Maple Inn after a few minutes of walking. It was a cozy two-story building with flower boxes under every window, their blooms bright and cheerful against the wood.
She pushed the door open, and a small bell announced her arrival with a gentle chime.
A woman with gray hair tied in a neat bun looked up from her ledger, setting down her pen.
"Good morning! How can I help you today?"
"I need a room for the night. Hiroshi from the restaurant sent me here."
"Ah, any friend of Hiroshi's is always welcome here. He's a good man, that one."
She reached under the counter and pulled out a brass key.
"How long will you be staying with us?"
"Just tonight, I think."
Aria hesitated, her hand moving unconsciously to her empty pocket. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she realized she'd have to explain.
"About payment though..."
"Don't worry about it one bit."
"Hiroshi's sent me many travelers over the years. I trust his judgment completely, and if he sent you here, that's good enough for me."
She followed Maya up the wooden stairs, each step creaking softly under their feet.
Maya unlocked a door at the end of the hallway with a soft click of the mechanism.
"Take all the time you need to settle in. There's fresh water in the basin for washing up, and I'll have dinner ready downstairs around sunset if you're hungry."
"Thank you so much for this."
The door closed behind her with a gentle sound, and Aria was finally alone with her thoughts.
The room was simple but clean and well-maintained. A narrow bed with a patchwork quilt that looked handmade dominated one wall. A washbasin and mirror sat on a small table, reflecting the afternoon light that streamed through the window. A desk and lace curtains danced gently in the sea breeze.
She sat heavily on the bed, and the mattress creaked under her weight.
'Okay. Think about this logically. What do I actually know for certain?'
She pulled out the wanted poster, smoothing it carefully on her lap.
"His bounty is thirty million berries. They talked about Arlong like he's already been defeated. This is definitely Syrup Village."
"Which means he's probably heading to the Grand Line soon, if he hasn't already left the East Blue."
She set the poster aside and pulled out the mysterious fruit, turning it over slowly in her hands. "But this thing... this is something else entirely different."
The designs seemed to shift and dance when she wasn't looking directly at them, making her eyes water if she stared too long at the patterns.
'It has to be a Devil Fruit. Nothing else looks like this. But what kind? What power does it give?'
She thought carefully about everything she knew from years of reading the manga and watching the anime. Devil Fruits were incredibly rare and valuable, worth literal fortunes on the black market. Each one granted unique powers that defied the laws of nature, but they came at the cost of never being able to swim again.
'If I'm going to survive here, I need power of some kind.'
Regular training would take years she didn't have, not with the dangers approaching. Haki was a mysterious force that only a select few could master, and she had no idea how to even begin learning it. Building connections and acquiring resources would be difficult without money, reputation, or any kind of standing in this world.
The fruit represented an immediate path to power, a shortcut that could give her the means to protect herself. But the cost was steep and permanent.
But the alternative was remaining completely powerless while knowing exactly what horrors were coming. The corrupt World Government with their twisted justice, the Celestial Dragons who treated people as toys, pirates who destroyed entire towns for entertainment or profit. Without power of her own, she would be completely at their mercy.
"Well then."
She looked down at the fruit in her hands.
"No point in waiting around and overthinking this. This might be my only real chance at survival."
She brought the fruit to her mouth.
"Here goes nothing. Down the hatch."
The first bite was absolutely horrific beyond anything she could have imagined. It tasted like rotten meat mixed with spoiled milk and moldy bread.
Her throat tried to reject it immediately, every instinct in her body screaming at her not to eat something so violently foul. Her gag reflex kicked in hard, trying to force the bite back up.
She forced herself to swallow through sheer determination and willpower, tears streaming down her face.