Noon.
Ross was lounging on the deck, sunbathing, when a strange kid, riding a barrel, suddenly leaped onto the ship from the sea. Looking at this kid who had appeared out of nowhere, Ross's face was full of bewilderment.
"Hey, brat, who are you?"
"I'm Luffy!" The straw-hatted kid forcefully pointed at his own chest. "The man who will become King of the Pirates!"
"The heck? What king do you want to be?" Ross dug a finger in his ear, suspecting he had misheard.
"Hehehe." Luffy didn't answer, just grinned foolishly at him, then started wandering around the ship.
"Hold on, what are you doing?!" A stranger running amok on their ship; Ross's expression immediately turned serious. "Brat, get off my ship right now!"
Luffy, that scatterbrained fellow, seemed to have not yet realized the gravity of the situation. "No way! Let me look around a bit longer!"
"This ship is so big!"
"Soldiers, seize him!" At Ross's command, the ten Clone Soldiers on board immediately sprang into action.
Luffy's foundation had been personally laid by Garp. Growing up, he had also spent years running wild in the mountains and forests. He wasn't an adult yet and couldn't fully unleash this strength. However, his agility was no less than that of an ape. Luffy weaved continuously through the gaps between the Clone Soldiers, sometimes ducking under an arm, sometimes leaping over a head. For a moment, these ten Clone Soldiers were actually unable to do anything to him.
Ross instantly realized this peculiar kid wasn't going to be easy to deal with. "If that's the case, then don't blame me for not being polite." Having followed Bellamy for so long, he was no longer that ordinary street punk.
"Shave!" Ross stomped rapidly on the deck dozens of times. The next second, his figure abruptly appeared behind Luffy.
"Finger Pistol!" One finger jabbed out, shooting straight for Luffy's chest.
In both movement and attack, Ross's power and speed far exceeded Luffy's limits. Luffy didn't react at all before he was sent flying by the blow. But not long after, he climbed up from the ground. "Wow, that hurt!"
"What a strange tactile sensation." Ross looked at his finger. When he had poked the kid just now, it felt like it had slipped a bit. "It's somewhat similar to the Boss's Iron Body: Steel Balloon." Of course, the strength was far inferior. But after that finger strike, there wasn't a single mark on the kid. If it had been an ordinary pirate, that finger would have poked a large hole in their chest.
"This kid, where did he pop out from?" He hadn't expected to encounter such a strange enemy in such a small place.
Luffy clutched his chest and rubbed it vigorously a few times, and it seemed like it didn't hurt anymore. "Hey, why did you hit me?" It was clear he was a little angry. Just then, Luffy suddenly remembered Bellamy hadn't caught up yet. "Sigh, Bellamy is so slow." The anger he had just mustered immediately dissipated.
"???" The moment Ross heard his Boss's name, he froze. "You know our Captain?"
"Huh? Is that guy the Captain?" Luffy grinned foolishly. "So this is his ship then!"
"Great! I'm going to explore every inch of it!"
Ross was momentarily unsure of the situation and had the Clone Soldiers stand down. "What a strange kid. But he seems to know the Boss." Since he might be an acquaintance, it wouldn't be right to attack. But this kid was also too reckless. Couldn't he have explained a bit when he came aboard? What if he had accidentally killed him?
By the time Bellamy returned to the ship, Luffy had surprisingly already hit it off with Ross. Guys with such carefree personalities always found it particularly easy to gain the goodwill of strangers. Not long after, the others returned one by one. Upon seeing Luffy, they initially thought a new recruit had joined.
"Captain, is this a new companion you've taken in?" Muret couldn't help but ask. Her own brother hadn't even managed to join the pirate crew; on what grounds could this kid?
"Of course not." Bellamy certainly couldn't recruit Luffy, nor would Luffy join his pirate crew. "His name is Luffy. He's just here for a visit."
Here for a visit? Everyone was rather surprised to hear that. What was this kid's status that he could come aboard their ship for a tour?
"Ahem, that's about it." Bellamy didn't quite know how to explain it to them either. He couldn't very well say, "This is the future Fifth Emperor of the Sea," could he?
"Stinking brat, have you had enough fun yet?"
"If you're done, then scram."
Luffy grinned at Bellamy. "I'm hungry! What are we having for lunch?!"
"You little rascal…" This guy got familiar way too quickly. Well, treating him to a meal wasn't a big deal.
"Mia, go prepare a banquet."
The crew members exchanged glances, all noticing something unusual about Bellamy. The Captain's attitude towards this kid was a bit too good. Bellamy had always been known for his cruelty and domineering nature; when had he become so easygoing?
Mia pulled Muret into the kitchen and began to gossip furtively. "Hey, do you think Luffy could be the Captain's illegitimate son?"
"What!"
"No way, they don't look much alike."
"It's definitely possible! Look at the way the Captain looks at Luffy; it's different!"
"Impossible! How old is the Captain anyway?"
"Besides, how could the Captain's illegitimate son appear in the East Blue?"
"Listen to me, it's possible that…" The two women secretly cooked up over a hundred chapters' worth of outrageously melodramatic soap opera plots. If Bellamy heard them, he would undoubtedly string them up and whip them.
Drake didn't have such convoluted thoughts. Once the others had dispersed, he directly asked Bellamy, "Captain, this kid is?"
"You actually know this kid." Bellamy glanced at Drake. An old Marine hand like him, even if he didn't know Luffy personally, would surely have heard some rumors.
"His name is Monkey D. Luffy."
The surname "Monkey" might be common, but the "D." initial was not something just anyone could possess.
"Monkey D. Luffy!" Sure enough, upon hearing this name, Drake was visibly stunned. Because Garp's full name was Monkey D. Garp. Drake couldn't help but swallow hard. "He's actually Vice Admiral Garp's grandson!"
"He's also Dragon's son," Bellamy added casually from the side.
Drake was simply at a loss for how to describe his current shock. This little brat wearing a straw hat had such an incredible background.
"If you knew the origin of that straw hat, you'd probably curse out loud on the spot." Bellamy was actually quite keen to see Drake curse. However, regarding Luffy's straw hat, Bellamy thought about it and decided not to tell Drake. There was no need for everyone to know about such things.