Makino's Bar!
"Cheers!"
"Wahahaha..."
The bar once again returned to its cheerful and lively atmosphere, with everyone raising their glasses for an endless banquet.
At the bar, Luffy and Shanks sat together, with Uta beside them, silent as if she were sulking.
Uta was extremely displeased with the fact that she had been so scared she lost her strength.
No one bothered her, letting her recover on her own.
"sugei!, Luffy! I didn't expect you to have already mastered Conqueror's Haki."
Luffy's displayed ability was still vivid in Shanks's mind; a seven-year-old child so skillfully mastering Conqueror's Haki left Shanks genuinely shocked and amazed.
He believed that even his former Captain, the previous Pirate King, Roger, did not possess such terrifying talent.
"Mm! It seems I awakened it when I was born."
Luffy recalled his Conqueror's Haki suddenly awakening when he was born.
The Haoshoku he unconsciously released back then was much more powerful than it was now.
It was a pity that awakening and actual mastery were different.
The power displayed upon awakening represented his potential, but as for now, he still needed to constantly grow and improve his spirit.
Shanks's eyes flashed with shock upon hearing this, and he thought to himself, "Is he truly a born King?!"
There was a significant difference between awakening Haoshoku and mastering Haoshoku.
To master Haoshoku to the point of complete control required years of training.
So, when Shanks learned that Luffy had already skillfully mastered Haoshoku, he speculated that he was a born King.
And he was certain that Garp's careful guidance was what allowed him to grow so quickly.
"Sogga! So, that means your Haki was taught by Mr. Garp, no wonder you can control it so skillfully."
At this moment, some of the pirates nearby also chimed in with exclamations.
"As expected of Hero Garp, to be able to train a seven-year-old child to be so strong."
"That's Hero Garp! He once defeated the Captain of our Boss..."
"Hey! Don't talk too much, you're drunk..."
Just as the pirates were making noise, a light sentence floated out of Luffy's mouth.
"No! Grandpa never taught me; he always left after only a few days whenever he came back."
As soon as he finished speaking, the bar suddenly became incredibly quiet.
The pirates' eyes were filled with obvious shock, staring at Luffy in disbelief, falling into a daze.
Even Shanks was shaken; his slightly calmed mood was once again stirred by Luffy.
Shanks said with some disbelief, "Luffy, do you mean that your current strength is all from yourself...?"
Luffy nodded silently.
Immediately, the expressions of Shanks and everyone in the bar became even more shocked.
A child of only seven years old, not only was he a born King, but he had also cultivated Conqueror's Haki to perfection without any guidance from anyone.
This terrifying talent, let alone Shanks, even Garp and Roger probably couldn't compare.
Shanks's gaze involuntarily shifted to a box placed beside his hand.
His heart began to struggle.
Bang!
Just then, a loud noise suddenly came from the entrance.
Everyone looked over, only to see the bar's door kicked open.
A man with a topknot and a cross-shaped scar above his right eye walked in with a group of subordinates.
Luffy naturally recognized the newcomer.
Higuma, the Bandit King, rumored to have annihilated 56 Emperors.
"Excuse us!"
Higuma coldly uttered a sentence, then scanned the pirates inside the bar with his gaze.
He immediately let out a disdainful snort, then continued, "Is this what they call pirates? All of them have a foolish look on their faces."
Seeing that guests had arrived, Makino immediately greeted them, maintaining her politeness even though the newcomers were hostile and had kicked open the bar door.
"Welcome!"
Higuma had now arrived at the bar counter, standing on the other side of Shanks.
"We're mountain bandits, but we're not here to cause trouble."
"Quickly sell us some alcohol, about 10 barrels."
Makino responded with an apologetic expression, "I'm sorry, all the alcohol has just been sold out."
Higuma glanced at the beer mugs on the pirates' tables around him and said, feigning confusion, "That's too strange, isn't it?! Are these pirates drinking plain water or something?"
Makino continued to patiently explain, "Because the alcohol that's been sold out is all there was."
Upon hearing this, Higuma immediately frowned, looking very angry.
Seeing this, Shanks tried to smooth things over.
"Oh, I'm truly sorry!"
"It seems we drank all the alcohol here, my apologies!"
"If you don't mind, this bottle is for you; it hasn't been opened yet."
Shanks offered an unopened bottle of alcohol.
Higuma slowly raised his hand, making a gesture to take it.
But unexpectedly, Higuma suddenly clenched his fist and shattered the wine bottle in Shanks's hand with a single punch.
"I'm an 8 million Berries bounty criminal! One bottle of alcohol isn't even enough for me to gargle; don't underestimate me too much."
Seeing this, Uta, who had been silently fuming, immediately gritted her teeth, her eyes filled with anger.
As for Shanks, his clothes were already drenched in alcohol, but he seemed completely unconcerned.
Instead, looking at the equally wet floor and the shattered glass everywhere, he said to Makino with deep apology, "The floor's all wet, I'm so sorry, Miss Makino. Do you have a rag?"
As Shanks spoke, he began to squat down and clean up the broken glass on the floor.
Seeing this, Makino hurriedly ran out from behind the bar.
"I'll do it."
But at that moment, Higuma suddenly drew the sword from his waist and, with a sweeping motion, shattered the plates and glasses in front of Shanks onto the floor.
"It seems you really like cleaning, so now you can wipe to your heart's content!"
Shanks allowed himself to be drenched in alcohol, sitting on the floor without saying a word.
Seeing this, Higuma became even more disdainful, then said to his subordinates behind him, "No alcohol, no fun. Let's go."
Before leaving, Higuma didn't forget to mock the surrounding pirates once more.
"Goodbye, cowards!"
After all the bandits had left, the pirates, who had been silent and unmoving, burst into laughter.
"Wahahahahaha! The boss was really bullied badly!"
"That's so embarrassing!"
Shanks also laughed loudly, appearing completely unconcerned.
Watching the pirates' strange behavior, Uta, who had been suppressing her anger, finally erupted.
"Why are you still laughing?! Don't you think this is humiliating?!"
"You could easily defeat those bandits, couldn't you?!"
"Shanks, why didn't you fight back?!"
Uta had been sailing with the Red Hair Pirates for seven years since Shanks found her at the age of two.
For seven years, wherever they went, they were a presence that other pirates feared.
When had they ever suffered such humiliation?
So, when she first saw her father, Shanks, being bullied like this, Uta could no longer hold back.
Shanks gently comforted Uta, "It's just being splashed with alcohol; there's no need to mind it at all!"
Uta still looked uncomprehending, her face filled with anger.
"Don't bother with those mountain bandits, Uta. Mmm... Mmm... Mmm... They're just a bunch of frogs in a well."
Luffy's voice came from behind him, speaking while eating.
At the same time, in Luffy's mind:
"Your comprehension is heaven-defying; through personal experience, your spirit has been enhanced."
"Your spirit has been enhanced; your Conqueror's Haki has been strengthened."
Conqueror's Haki was strengthened again.
Luffy was secretly pleased.
Shanks's face lit up with surprise when he heard Luffy's words.
"Exactly, Uta! Listen to what Luffy says..."
As he spoke, Shanks turned his head, preparing to give Luffy a grateful look.
But when he clearly saw what Luffy was eating, Shanks was instantly shocked.
"What are you eating, Luffy?!"
At this moment, Luffy was holding a purple fruit with strange patterns, eating it in large bites.
Hearing Shanks's question, Luffy pretended to be unaware and said, "You mean this? I thought it looked delicious, so I couldn't help but eat it."
"But after eating it, I realized this fruit is truly unusually disgusting!"
Despite saying that, Luffy still finished it.
Can't waste it.
"That's not an ordinary fruit; that's the rubber fruit that turns people into rubber men if they eat it."
Shanks explained loudly.
He instinctively wanted to rush over and make Luffy spit out the fruit, but then he suddenly remembered the legendary saying.
Devil Fruits consciously seek out their owners.
Connecting this to his observations of Luffy these past few days, Shanks suddenly felt relieved.
Luffy, perhaps, was the person he had been searching for all along.