The cafeteria at the construction site hummed to life in an instant.
Workers who'd been laboring through the morning heat started settling in with their meals, one by one.
Ever since the Merchant Association had rolled into island, everyone could count on their own hard work to bring in wages and fill their bellies with solid food, no more of those lean days when hunger gnawed at them constantly.
Life had turned around for all of them.
And they owed that fresh start to the Association, plain and simple.
"I'll never understand where you put it all, kid," a burly man grumbled, setting his tray down across from a boy with a straw hat. In front of the boy sat a bucket-sized bowl, piled high with a mountain of food. "You're the reason our team eats the most and has the cleanest plates in the whole camp."
Just about every leftover on site had somehow ended up crammed into this kid's stomach, not a crumb in sight.
"Shishishi." Luffy looked up, his cheeks puffed out with food, and gave the man a wide grin. "I'd never waste food!"
"That's not a compliment! Besides, who around here would dare to waste it?"
"Hahaha, Foreman, you know that's not gonna get through to him," another worker called out from a nearby table.
"Luffy probably thinks you're praising him!"
"You've got to be direct! Just tell him he eats too much!"
The man they called the Foreman just stared at Luffy with speechless exasperation as the cafeteria filled with good-natured laughter.
"Alright, all of you, shut your traps and eat," the Foreman barked, though there was no real heat in his voice. "This kid might eat a lot, but he works harder than any of you." He knew they were just teasing, but he cut the chatter short anyway.
He turned back to Luffy, who didn't seem to have noticed the commotion at all. The boy's head was practically buried in his bowl as he shoveled in another mouthful.
"If you didn't work so hard, and if the boss wasn't so generous, you'd have been fired from any other job by now." The Foreman chuckled and shook his head, a wistful, almost sad look in his eyes. "Your folks must really care about you. Any other family would've gone broke trying to feed a kid like you."
No, it wasn't just regular families. Kids who could chow down like this one? In this endless sea, it took something special to keep going.
Parents ditching their little ones over a scrap of food happened all too often out here.
It couldn't be helped, hunger was everywhere, and if they didn't cut loose, the kids starved right alongside them.
But with the boss here now, tragedies like that felt like a thing of the past.
"Speaking of which, where's your dad?" he asked Luffy. "I haven't seen him on the site. He get a better job in the Goa Kingdom?"
"Dad?" Luffy looked up, his chewing slowing for a moment. He swallowed and went right back to eating. "Never met him."
The Foreman's teasing smile faltered. "Oh. Well, what about your mom?"
"Mom?" Luffy echoed, then shrugged. "Never met her either."
"..."
No dad. No mom.
Luffy had laid it out so plainly, like it was the most normal thing in the world, and the foreman just stood there, piecing it together. It fit, in a heartbreaking way.
A kid who ate like this? No normal family would've hung on that long.
The realization settled in as he watched Luffy keep eating, oblivious and steady, head down in the bowl. Against his better judgment, the foreman's eyes stung a little.
The laughter in the cafeteria had died down. The men who had been joking just moments ago were now silent, their own eyes growing misty as they looked at the boy in the straw hat. The teasing mood was gone, replaced by a thick, shared sympathy.
"You poor kid," the Foreman said, his voice thick. "Why didn't you ever say anything?"
"Huh?" Luffy looked up again, a grain of rice stuck to his cheek. "What's there to say?"
"You're a real optimist, aren't you?" The Foreman looked into those wide, innocent eyes and had to cover his own for a moment. To be abandoned and still hold onto so much hope for the world...
He gritted his teeth, made a decision, and pushed his own barely-touched plate across the table, scraping the contents into Luffy's bowl. "I'm full. From now on, you eat my share for me, you hear?"
Before Luffy could even react, another man stood up.
"That's right! I'm full, too! Here, it's all yours!"
"Keep that smile on your face, Luffy!"
"We're your family now!"
One by one, the men came over, their eyes red, and dumped what was left of their meals into Luffy's bowl.
Luffy just stared as the nearly empty bowl filled up again.
'What's gotten into everyone?' he wondered. 'Why are they all giving me their food? They're such nice people!'
He let out a loud, satisfied burp and happily dug in again.
The men who had just given him their food were left speechless.
'Wait... was he already full?'
Apparently not. Even if he was, he just kept eating. They watched in stunned silence as the mountain of food in the bowl shrank at a visible rate, while Luffy's stomach seemed to expand to match.
If they'd known, they wouldn't have given him their food. They were still hungry.
"Slow down, kid," the Foreman said with a helpless smile, shaking his head. "I'll tell the cooks to make a little extra for you every day. Don't you worry. As long as you're working here, you won't ever go hungry again."
Watching Luffy, who was now burping between bites, reminded him of someone. His gaze grew distant.
"You know, you remind me of another kid who used to work for me. Not as big an eater, mind you, but just as stubborn. He was a demon with three swords, could do the work of ten men when it came to chopping wood. Fastest, cleanest cuts I'd ever seen."
"So cool!" Luffy paused his eating, his eyes wide. "He uses three swords? Where is he?"
"Who knows." The foreman sighed, shoulders slumping a bit. "He swore he'd sign on for the next gig, but we waited all day at the docks and he never turned up."
He shook his head, a flicker of concern in his eyes. "Come to think of it, I still have his last month's pay. He was saving up for a new blade, said it would make him work even faster, and then he just vanished. We all looked for him, but couldn't find a trace. I just hope nothing bad happened to him. It's not like him to disappear without a word."
"He's missing?" Luffy asked, holding his bowl. He grinned. "I wanted to meet him! But it's okay. I bet he'll come back. Nobody stays hungry when they work here!"
"Hahaha, well, when he does, I'll introduce you. I think you two would get along great."
"Really? Hey, what's his name?"
"Him?" The Foreman smiled faintly, lost in the memory of the proud young man. "His name is Roronoa Zoro. Said he was going to be the world's greatest swordsman one day. Spirited type, full of life."
--**--**
Meanwhile, on an island somewhere in the East Blue...
"Roronoa Zoro, swordsman, proficient in logging, three months experience. Here for the logging crew?" the registrar read from a sheet.
"Yes."
"Alright, I've got your info. You can board the ship and wait." The registrar glanced at the green-haired young man, noting the way he clutched his stomach. "There's food on the ship if you're hungry. Help yourself, it's free."
He looked up when Zoro didn't move. "Is there an issue? If not, please board the ship."
"Um..." Zoro hesitated, his face reddening in anger, before finally asking, "Can I ask a question?"
"What is it?"
"Where is the 18th Construction Team now?"
"The 18th? Let me see." The registrar flipped through a small notebook. "Looks like they're in the waters near the Goa Kingdom. We'll be stopping there to pick up more workers." He looked at Zoro, puzzled. "Why do you ask?"
"Why?" Zoro's face twisted into a snarl, his teeth grinding together. "That bastard Foreman... He ran off with my pay!"
===============
Dear Readers and Fans,
For those eager to dive into next chapters earlier before others, I invite you to join us on Patreon. By becoming our Patron, you not only gain access to exclusive advanced chapters but also help us continue this endeavour and expand it further.
https://www.pat reon.com/8Ashes8
(no space)
You can read upto 7 Chapters in advance.