Waves tapped the sides of the small boat in a slow, steady rhythm. At the bow, Luffy lay curled up, snoring like a dying engine, drool pooling on the planks. Coby rowed on autopilot. His arms moved; his mind drifted. The horizon shimmered, his reflection wobbling over the blue. The water rippled as Alvida's face stared back at him. He still heard her iron club crashing down. That twisted grin. The crack of the whip. Two years of terror as a cowardly chore boy. Bruises. Humiliation. At night, he cried himself to sleep. Then, cutting through it, Luffy's fearless smile.
Coby's grip tightened. He blinked hard and leaned over the edge again. This time, he saw only his own face. He staggered to his feet and climbed to the bow, lifting his chin to the blazing sky.
"I AM GOING TO BECOME A MARINE ADMIRAL!" The words ripped out of him. Seagulls burst from the water, shrieking as they scattered.
"What's an admiral?" The voice came from right behind him. Coby shrieked and collapsed back into the boat. Luffy sat up, rubbing one eye, hair sticking up like seaweed. Coby scrambled upright, frantically fixing his glasses. "N‑Nothing!"
Luffy leaned in until their noses nearly touched, eyes narrowed. "You're a terrible liar."
Coby's heart lurched. He really sees right through me… Lying to the man who had just saved his life felt wrong in a way.
"I — ahem… It's the highest rank in the Navy!" The confession exploded out of him. His face burned, but he straightened his back, nudging his glasses up. "An Admiral commands thousands of Marines, holds authority over the seas, and carries out absolute justice across the world!"
Luffy dropped onto the bench, chin on his knees, listening. He blinked once. Twice. "So… is being an Admiral the same as being the King of the Pirates?"
Coby almost swallowed his own tongue. "N–No! Not at all! They're complete opposites! Marines catch pirates! His hands flew everywhere, then slowed as he thought it through. "But… in terms of strength, respect, standing at the very top of the ocean… It's kinda similar."
A huge grin split Luffy's face. He threw his head back and laughed, loud and wild, his voice booming across the water.
"Shishishi! I like that!" He snapped forward and jabbed a finger into Coby's chest. "Then you'd better do it, Coby! You gotta become an Admiral!"
"Ehh?! Me? An Admiral?! Coby jabbed a thumb at himself, eyes bulging. "B‑But I'm just a cowardly chore boy! I don't even know if I can join the Navy, let alone—"
"Then why'd you scream it?" Luffy trailed his fingers through the sea, sending small ripples outward. "You don't shout stuff like that if you don't mean it." The simple line hit harder than Alvida's club. Coby's eyes widened. His hands clenched into fists as he stared at the planks. Luffy leaned back, folding his arms behind his head for a pillow.
"You can do it," he said, a lazy smile tugging at his lips. "And when you do, maybe we'll meet again out here on the sea."
Coby gripped the gunwale, speechless. A future Marine Admiral and the future Pirate King facing each other on the open ocean—it sounded insane. But looking into Luffy's bright, unshakable eyes, he felt something hot ignite in his chest. The fear that had chained him for two years under Alvida began to melt, replaced by something sharp and fierce.
"Yeah…" The word came out small. His back straightened. A real smile—steady and strong—spread across his face. "Yeah! I will!"
Luffy's laugh rolled up to the sky. "'Cause I'm gonna be the King of the Pirates. That's a promise." He rolled onto one hip and raised ten fingers. "But first… I need a crew. I'm thinking ten people oughta do it."
"Ten?!" Coby's jaw dropped. "Luffy, you don't even have a real ship! You're in a rowboat! Finding one person crazy enough to join a pirate crew is hard enough, but ten? That's insane!"
"Shishishi! It'll work out." Luffy turned toward the horizon, grin as steady as the tide. "We'll find 'em. One by one."
Coby could only shake his head, a helpless chuckle slipping free. Somehow, with Luffy beside him, "insane" didn't feel impossible anymore. Then, the boat lurched. The sea swirled beneath them. A dark shape coiled under the surface like a snake about to strike its target.
"Luffy…" Coby stared over the side, his voice trembling. "Something's moving down there." The water exploded. A massive serpentine eel burst from the sea, towering over their tiny boat. Its long body shimmered with scales, jagged teeth bared, a single red eye burning like fire. Luffy jolted fully awake, took one look—and grinned as he'd just found dessert.
"Oh hey! It's you from Foosha!" The beast roared in his face, and its saliva came flying into his face. Coby shrieked and rowed with everything he had, arms flailing more than paddling. The eel lunged, jaws gaping for the boat. Luffy's arm snapped out, stretching across the gap. His fist sank into the beast's eye with a meaty thud.
The monster thrashed, churning the ocean into a raging whirl. A towering wave nearly flipped the boat. Coby went flat, clinging to the boards like they were the last solid thing on earth. Luffy's arms whipped out again, wrapping around the eel's snout like a rope. "Giddyup!"
The creature dove, dragging the boat in a wild, bucking ride. Spray hammered their faces. The world blurred into blue and white. Coby's screams trailed uselessly behind them. As the eel tore through the waves, the mist ahead thinned. Two enormous stone structures rose from the fog like chimney-stacks turned into towers. Behind them, the outline of an island slowly emerged. Luffy's grin sharpened. With one brutal tug, he yanked the eel's head toward shore. Still bound by his rubber arms, the beast surged straight for the island. As they neared the harbor, Luffy let go with a final snap. His arms whipped back into place, echoing like a gunshot. He hopped onto the bow and flung his arms wide to the sky.
"We're here!" Only silence greeted him. Luffy turned to find Coby sprawled flat on the floorboards, eyes spinning, pink hair plastered to his forehead like a dead jellyfish.
"What are you doing there? Come on!" Luffy laughed, hauling the boy up by his collar and tossing him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes before leaping onto the wooden pier. The port is usually the same. It smelled of fish and sea salt, wafting into the air along with the scent of ink and paper. Ahead, a massive, imposing stone checkpoint choked the entrance to the main avenue. Above it, a painted wooden banner read: SHELLS TOWN MUNICIPAL ENTRY & MARITIME HARBOR CONTROL.
Dockworkers moved like scarecrows swaying in the air. Their movements were no different from one another as they hoisted crate after crate, while white-capped Marines stood every twenty paces, clipboards resting against their chests. As they passed through the docks, wooden barrels overflowed with the morning catch, brimming with crabs, oysters, and mounds of harvested seashells.
"Uh, excuse me!" Coby groaned, untangling himself from Luffy's grip and wiping the sweat from his face. He trotted up to a dockworker lugging a barrel. "What island is this?"
"Shells Town," the man grunted, not stopping. "If you're pirates, you're either stupid or suicidal. The base is over there." He flicked his chin toward the towering marine fortress looming over the rooftops, then leaned in slowly towards the young boy's ear, lowering his voice. "Watch your step on the pier. The Commodore doesn't like loose change or loose talk—"
"HEY! THAT BARREL ISN'T STAMPED! MOVE IT!" A Marine cadet snapped, stepping into the aisle. He wore a crisp, off-white long-sleeved uniform accented with dark blue shoulder piping, a knotted navy neckerchief, and a cap stenciled with MARINE above a CADET chest patch. Beside him, an officer in a similar, dust-grey uniform sat behind a wooden harbor desk right on the dock. He blew on a brass stamp, slammed it onto a ledger page, and shoved a receipt toward a trembling merchant.
"Next!" the seated Marine called out, as dried as a barrel scorching under the sun. "Fisherman Goro. You have three bushels of silver mackerel and four crates of assorted shells. That's a Crustacean Landing Duty of four hundred belly, plus the Harbor Dredging Surcharge." An old fisherman wiped his forehead as he began to pull an old parchment out of his worn-down jacket.
"I'd like to use this pass for a Safe Harbour Voucher, sir",As the marine officer picked it up and stamped it with green ink, behind him, a heavy cargo captain was currently surging. His voice was booming despite the noise of the waves and the scraping of wood against the wooden floor, arguing with another officer.
"What do you mean, denied?!" the merchant yelled, staring at the massive red ink dripping on his manifest. "Tonnage Tax was short five belly," the Marine responded
"Your entry permit is revoked under Imperial Statute 404. Leave the island immediately, or your vessel will be seized, your cargo impounded, and your crew jailed for administrative non-compliance. Next!" Before the captain could scream, two Marines gripped his arms and forcefully marched him back toward his ship. The surrounding crowd didn't even turn to look; they simply shuffled forward in line, moving their eyes back to their own paper forms.
"Whoa," Luffy muttered, picking his nose as he strolled right past the velvet rope boundary, ignoring the long line entirely. "The place looks busy. I wonder where the food is."
The quill stopped mid-stroke. The bustling noise of the pier instantly dropped into a dead silence.
The Marine officer slowly tilted his head up, staring straight ahead with an utterly unblinking, deadpan look. His forehead crumpled into deep, exhausted wrinkles, his dark eyes wide and completely devoid of emotion as he looked at Luffy as if his brain had hit a total wall. For a long, awkward five seconds, he just sat there frozen. He didn't reach for a sword; instead, he picked up a wooden caliper and a fresh, long form.
"Recuit Maritoy, could you please measure the unnamed vessel on the dock?" The man handed a sheet of paper, a pencil, and an expandable ruler. The marine jogs into the ship and begins to measure it, and every five seconds, he writes it down on the paper.
"Unregistered wooden dinghy with a width of 52 inches, a length of 120 inches, and a height of 27.25 inches in total. No flag. One passenger," as the man handed the paper to the man at the table.
"That's a Maritime Entry Fee of two hundred belly, a Straw Hat Material Import Levy of twenty belly, and a declaration tax for… whatever that is." He shoved a thick paper form into Luffy's chest. "Fill out pages one through four." Luffy blinked at the paper. Then he reached into his pocket, pulled out a cold, half-eaten fish tail he'd saved from yesterday, and slapped it directly onto the Marine's clean white ledger.
"I don't have money," Luffy said brightly. "You can have this!"
"L-LUFFY! NO!" Coby shrieked, his soul leaving his body. The Marine officer stared at the slime oozing into his fresh inkwork. His jaw twitched. "Attempted bribery of an officer. Defacing municipal ledgers. Resistance to state taxation." He slammed his hand onto a brass bell on the desk. CLANG! CLANG! "GUARDS! Arrest these—"
"WAIT! WAIT! WE CAN PAY!" Coby lunged forward, thrusting his hand into his coat pocket. Desperation giving him superhuman speed, he snatched out a heavy, gleaming object and slammed it onto the desk right over the fish tail. It was the solid-gold, jewel-encrusted navigational compass he had secretly swiped from Alvida's quarters before her ship went down. The sun caught the polished gold, casting a bright glare across the Marine's face. The officer stopped. The four Marines approaching with iron handcuffs froze in their tracks. The officer picked up the compass, turning it over in his gloved hands. He inspected the heavy gold casing, the rubies set into the dial, and the delicate needle. He cleared his throat, pulled a small magnifying glass from his chest pocket, and peered at the base.
"Pure gold," the Marine murmured softly. He set the compass down, picked up his stamp, and slammed it onto a fresh white slip of paper. STAMP.
"Port Entry Tax, Asset Valuation Levy, and Pier Security Surcharges… settled in full," the Marine said, his voice instantly returning to its flat, administrative drone. He slid a green paper receipt over to Coby. "Welcome to Shells Town. Keep to the right side of the street, keep your noise levels below sixty decibels, and do not step on the cobblestones undergoing municipal restoration. Next!" Coby let out a breath he felt like he'd been holding since they left Alvida's ship, grabbing the receipt with trembling hands.
"See?" Luffy beamed, already walking toward the main street without waiting. "Told ya it'd be fine! Now let's go find that Zoro guy!"
"That was NOT fine!" Coby squeaked, jogging frantically to keep pace while clutching his chest. "They didn't even care that you said you were a pirate! They just... took the compass! What kind of Marines run a town like this?!"
Miles inland, on the high ground overlooking the island, two colossal towers rose like industrial chimneys against the sky. Behind the high arched window of the main spire stood a giant, broad-shouldered man looking out over the seaside town below. He wore a pristine dark blue suit vest pinned with a cluster of military medals gleaming over his left chest. His long sleeve was tucked tight into his arm, but his left arm, to be precise, was half as long as his other, while a white officer's coat draped over his broad shoulders like a cape. A metal jaw guard was strapped tight across his lower face, and sharp eyes narrowed beneath cropped blonde hair, a thick plume of cigar smoke trailing from his lips. Above the window was a heavy iron housing of a mechanical battle-axe, resting on some metal supports like a sword with a wooden frame behind, painted in rusty bark color.
Meanwhile, resting on the mahogany desk before him was a milky white parchment. Etched in black was a text referring to an official dispatch from Marine Headquarters. On the lower side, a text states a routine notice for the upcoming regional inspection scheduled for next month. Morgan picked it up with his flesh hand, his gaze sweeping over the red-stamped seal once. Without a flicker of hesitation, he set it down, dipped his fountain pen into black ink, and penned a response at the bottom.
Rescheduled: Pending local administrative backlog and harbor maintenance.
He adjusted the date to three months out, then signed his name and rank in heavy, deliberate strokes: Captain Henry Morgan, 153rd Branch.
He didn't break protocol; he managed it. The bureaucracy at Headquarters was vast, slow, and predictable—and as long as the paperwork flowed, no desk admiral in Marineford would bat an eye at a minor delay. He had been fine-tuning this machine for years.
"Captain Morgan…" Lieutenant Ripper spoke up, stepping forward with a leather-bound clipboard. "The Marine report suggests Vice Admiral Garp will be conducting the routine inspections in this sector. Based on their trajectory, Headquarters requested an immediate update, as his warship could arrive as early as—"
"What time is it?" Morgan interrupted, his voice dropping into a low, heavy rumble that vibrated through the glass.
"It's… nine-thirty-four in the morning, sir." Morgan blew a quiet ribbon of smoke against the windowpane.
"The headquarters demands efficiency, yet they flood the East Blue with unannounced audits that disrupt the local revenue." his shoulder was etched. "Order and stability require capital, Ripper. Taxes, customs, labor—these are the pillars that keep this branch afloat, not a surprise visit from an old house dog who hasn't filed a budget ledger in twenty years." he turned his looming figure. His eyes lowered as the iron guard on his jaw looked like a shark's mouth, with small lights reflecting off it. His giant feet shuffled across the floor, echoing like a giant log hitting the floorboards.
"But sir," Ripper hesitated, pointing his shaking hand to the paper. "Altering an inspection window for a Vice Admiral... if Headquarters cross-references the logbooks with harbor traffic, they might notice—"
The sound stopped, replaced by the faint noise of Juvenia's heartbeat and his breathing as it escaped through his chest. He rotated his head, his unblinking eyes locking onto the Lieutenant with a stillness that can suffocate a man to death.
"Are you questioning my authority, Lieutenant Ripper?" The question came out unnaturally calm, smooth, and quiet like cold oil poured over slate. Juvenia froze, the blood instantly draining from his face.
"O-Of course not! Captain!" Ripper swallowed hard, his composure straightened like an iron bar, his gaze fixed on the ceiling. "The backlog entry has been filed, sir. I'll prepare the harbor reports for your signature and the other Lieutenant."
"Good," Morgan grunted, turning back to the window. He blew a dense ring of smoke against the glass, blurring his reflection over the sunlit harbor below. "Ensure the central plaza is cleared by noon. My statue will be erected at the summit by precisely ten o'clock tomorrow. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Captain."
"Dismissed. Also, inform all barracks to retrieve the statue in the penitentiary. I will be there also." Morgan turned and strolled back toward his desk. Ripper didn't wait for a second telling; he saluted briskly, turned on his heel, and bolted out the heavy double doors. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he hurried down the stone corridors of the garrison, his breath coming in ragged gasps, his fingers clutching the bundle of papers against his chest like a shield.