The sky was blue. The sea was vast. And a boy in a straw hat stood on a tiny boat, his smile as bright as the sun.
Monkey D. Luffy had officially begun his voyage.
"Freedom is the best!" he yelled, stretching his arms wide as if to embrace the entire world.
The small wooden boat, just big enough for one person, glided over the tranquil surface of the sea. A gentle breeze blew, carrying the scent of salt and the promise of adventure on the horizon. He had no sea chart, no compass, only a burning dream and an unshakable belief.
His destination? Wherever the boat took him.
His mission? To find a crew and become the King of the Pirates.
Everything seemed perfect.
But the sea, much like life, is never gentle for long.
Suddenly, Luffy felt the boat begin to shudder abnormally. The gentle lapping of the water turned into a deep, ferocious growl.
He looked ahead.
The flat surface of the sea was now torn open by a massive, dark hole. The ocean water was swirling into it at a terrifying speed, forming a deadly whirlpool.
"Whoa," Luffy said, not with fear, but with curiosity. "What's that?"
His tiny boat was caught by the immense pull. It tossed and turned violently, like a leaf in a hurricane.
Any normal person would have been screaming in despair.
But Luffy was not a normal person.
He looked at the approaching vortex, then glanced around his boat. His eyes landed on an empty wooden barrel he'd brought along for storage.
An idea popped into his head.
"Well, looks like the trip is ending a bit early," he said to himself, then grinned from ear to ear. "Might as well get some sleep!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Luffy jumped into the barrel, pulling the lid shut just as the boat was swallowed whole by the whirlpool.
Inside the darkness of the barrel, he was tossed and turned, but the smile never left his face.
"I wonder where I'll be when I wake up?"
Many nautical miles away, on Goat Island, a completely different atmosphere prevailed.
This was the base of the Alvida Pirates. Their ship, the "Miss Love Duck," was painted a garish pink and had a hideous, giant duck figurehead. Contrary to its seemingly cute appearance, the ship was filthy and foul-smelling, much like the heart of its female captain.
Alvida, a large, heavyset, and brutish woman, was pacing the deck. She wore a white shirt that was far too tight, revealing her bulging stomach, and a blue bandana over her stringy black hair. In her hand, she carried a massive, spiked iron mace, her favorite weapon.
She glanced around the deck, her narrow eyes squinting. She ran a finger along the railing.
Dust.
Her face darkened. She turned to a trembling crewman standing nearby.
SMACK!
A vicious slap sent the crewman sprawling.
"YOU LAZY BUM!" Alvida shrieked, her voice grating. "I told you to clean everything! Are you trying to tarnish my beauty?!"
The crewman held his face, stammering an apology.
Alvida paid him no mind. She turned to a small, skinny boy with round glasses standing nearby. The boy was shaking like a leaf.
It was Koby.
"Koby," Alvida said, her voice sickeningly sweet. "Tell me, who is the most beautiful woman in all the seas?"
Koby swallowed hard. He looked up at Alvida's freckled face and pouting lips. Fear rose in his throat.
He knew the correct answer. It was the answer that had kept him alive for the past two years.
"I-it's you, of course, Captain Alvida," he squeaked, his voice trembling.
Alvida let out a cackle of delight, revealing a set of yellowed teeth. "Very good. That's the only thing you're useful for, Koby. Your knowledge of navigation is the only reason I keep you around. Otherwise, you're a useless, weak, and cowardly little boy."
Each word was a knife in Koby's heart. He looked down at the deck, clenching his fists.
"Now," Alvida commanded, thrusting out her filthy boots. "Polish them."
Koby knelt, tears welling in his eyes. He began his slave's work, his heart filled with resentment and humiliation.
Two years ago, he was just a boy from a fishing village. One day, he'd gone fishing and had accidentally stepped onto the wrong boat. That boat, unfortunately, belonged to the Alvida Pirates.
Since then, he had been their chore boy, their errand runner, their slave. His life was a series of humiliations and beatings. His dreams, his aspirations, all had been crushed.
Despair gnawed at his soul.
A short while later, after Alvida had gone to her cabin, Koby was tasked with moving barrels of ale into the storeroom.
He saw one large barrel, its seal still intact.
A thought sparked in his mind. A tiny glimmer of hope, a weak act of rebellion.
He wouldn't take it to the storeroom. He would hide it, push it to a secret spot on the island where he could drink it alone, to forget his cruel reality, if only for a moment.
With all the strength his frail body could muster, Koby began to push the heavy wooden barrel.
He pushed it off the ship, rolled it along the beach, heading towards an old, abandoned warehouse. Sweat beaded on his forehead, but there was a strange excitement in his heart.
For the first time in two years, he was doing something for himself.
As he neared the warehouse, three of Alvida's crewmen suddenly appeared, blocking his path. They were Heppoko, Peppoko, and Poppoko, three clowns who only knew how to bully the weak.
"Hey, Koby," Heppoko said with a sneer. "Where do you think you're going with that barrel?"
"Planning to drink it all by yourself?" Peppoko added.
Koby flinched, his face pale. "N-no! I... I was just taking it to the storeroom!"
"The storeroom is in the other direction, you idiot," Poppoko said, pointing.
They surrounded Koby.
"We'll be taking this barrel," Heppoko declared. "We're going to drink it. And you are going to keep your mouth shut. If Alvida finds out, you're dead. Got it?"
Koby nodded in despair. His small act of rebellion had failed miserably. He was back to being a cowardly slave.
The three pirates cackled with glee. They used their swords to pry open the lid of the barrel.
"Time for a drink!"
But instead of ale, something else flew out of the barrel.
WHOOSH!
A figure shot out, flying straight into the air.
The three pirates' jaws dropped. Koby's eyes went wide.
The figure landed on the ground with a thud, then stood up, stretching luxuriously.
It was a young man with black hair, a scar under his left eye, and a straw hat on his head.
"Ahh! That was a great nap!" Luffy said, letting out a huge yawn.
He looked around, bewildered. "Where am I?"
Everyone was frozen in shock.
A kid had just popped out of a barrel of ale.
Before anyone could react, an enraged roar echoed from the direction of the ship.
"YOU LAZY BUMS! I HEARD SOMEONE SHOUT 'GREAT NAP'! ARE YOU SNEAKING OFF TO SLEEP?!"
A giant figure was charging towards them. It was Alvida, her iron mace resting on her shoulder, fury in her eyes.
She hefted the mace.
"LET ME WAKE YOU UP!"
The giant club came crashing down on the old warehouse.
CRASH!
The warehouse exploded into splinters. Wood fragments flew everywhere.
"RUN!" Koby shrieked in panic, grabbing Luffy's arm and pulling him away.
Luffy, still not understanding what was happening, was dragged along reluctantly.
"Hey! What's going on?"
Alvida saw the two figures fleeing. She roared.
"Intruders! We have intruders!"
The three pirates scrambled to explain. "It wasn't us, Captain! It was a strange kid who came out of the barrel!"
Alvida wasn't listening. A sudden fear gripped her.
"Bounty hunters...?" she muttered. "Could it be him...? The Pirate Hunter, Roronoa Zoro?"
The fear was quickly replaced by rage.
"GET THEM! I DON'T CARE WHO HE IS, HE'LL PAY FOR DISTURBING MY SLEEP!"
Elsewhere on the island, in a hidden spot behind some large rocks, Koby and Luffy were catching their breath.
Koby was trembling, so scared he could barely stand.
Luffy, however, was just dusting off his shorts, looking completely unfazed. He looked at the cowering Koby.
"Hey, who are you? And who was that scary fat lady?"
Koby looked up at the strange boy in the straw hat. A boy who had just escaped a life-threatening situation without a hint of fear.
Who was he? And why... why had he appeared here, right at this moment?
Behind a stack of old wooden crates and rotting fishing nets, Koby huddled, his hands over his head, his body trembling uncontrollably. Every enraged roar from Alvida in the distance made him jump. He was a tiny mouse hiding from a giant cat, and he knew, sooner or later, that the cat would find him.
Beside him, Luffy sat cross-legged on the ground, completely at ease. He picked up a fallen apple, dusted it on his shorts, and took a hearty bite.
Crunch.
The crisp sound echoed in the tense silence, making Koby flinch.
"A-aren't you scared?" Koby whispered, his voice cracking. "She's going to kill us!"
Luffy finished chewing his bite before answering. "Why would I be scared? If she finds us, we fight."
"Fight?!" Koby squeaked, his face a mask of horror. "Did you see her iron mace? She'll crush us into paste!"
Luffy looked at Koby, tilting his head. "Hey, who are you anyway? You don't seem like a pirate."
That simple question seemed to strike a nerve. Koby lowered his head, his voice full of bitterness.
"I'm not a pirate... I'm just a slave."
Koby began to talk. He talked about his peaceful life in a fishing village, about that fateful afternoon two years ago when he'd naively stepped onto the wrong boat to go fishing. He talked about two years of living in hell, being a chore boy, a punching bag, a liar who had to repeat the same lie every day just to stay alive.
"Every day," Koby said, tears welling in his eyes, "I had to say Alvida was the most beautiful. Every day I had to endure the insults, the beatings. I lost everything... my dreams, my hope..."
He suddenly stood up, gesturing for Luffy to follow. He led Luffy to a small crevice between the rocks, hidden by wild bushes.
Inside, there was a boat.
It was tiny, barely big enough for one person. It was clumsily built from scavenged planks and rusty nails. It looked fragile and weak.
"For two years," Koby said, his hand gently touching the hull, "this was the only thing that kept me going. I built it in secret, piece by piece, whenever I could. I dreamed of the day... the day I could use it to escape."
He looked out at the sea, his eyes distant. "But... I never dared. I was too scared. If she caught me, she'd kill me. So it just sits here. A dream I never had the guts to touch."
Luffy listened in silence. He looked at the little boat, then at Koby. He offered no words of comfort.
"So, your dream is to escape this place?" Luffy asked.
Koby nodded. "Yeah... and... and if it's possible, I want to join the Marines."
"The Marines?"
"That's right!" For the first time, a spark lit up in Koby's eyes. "I want to catch bad guys, like... like Alvida! It's been my dream since I was a little kid. But now... it's just impossible." He looked down again, the spark extinguished. "How could a coward like me ever do that?"
He looked at Luffy. "What about you? Do you have a dream?"
Luffy broke into a wide, cloudless grin.
"Of course."
"I'm going to be King of the Pirates."
The air seemed to freeze.
Koby stared at Luffy, unable to believe what he'd just heard. He stammered, "K-King of the Pirates?! Do... do you have any idea what you're saying?! That's the king of all pirates! The one who obtains everything in this world! The greatest treasure, One Piece, is waiting for the next Pirate King!"
"Yup," Luffy said, nodding as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"You'd have to fight every powerful pirate on the seas! You'd be hunted by the entire World Government! You'd..." Koby yelled. "You'd die for sure! It's impossible!"
Luffy stepped closer to Koby. His smile was gone.
"Whether it's impossible or not isn't for you to decide."
WHACK!
Luffy threw a punch straight into Koby's head.
It wasn't a powerful punch, but it was enough to send Koby sprawling onto the ground, dazed.
"Wh-why did you hit me?" Koby cried, tears streaming down his face.
"Just 'cause," Luffy replied bluntly. "I don't care if you think my dream is impossible. But I hate cowards who just cry and say 'I can't' before they even try. It's not about whether you can or can't."
He looked Koby straight in the eye.
"I'm doing it because I want to. I decided that I'm going to be King of the Pirates. If I die fighting for it..."
Luffy's grin returned.
"...then that's fine by me."
Those words, that punch, seemed to awaken something inside Koby. The fear was still there, but it no longer consumed him. Instead, a small flame of courage had been lit.
He wiped his tears, shakily getting to his feet. He looked at Luffy.
"Me... me too," he said, his voice still trembling but now laced with resolve. "I... I want to join the Marines. I want to catch people like Alvida!"
He took a deep breath.
"I'd rather die trying to escape and follow my dream... than spend the rest of my life as her slave!"
It was the first time in two years Koby had said his dream out loud.
Just then, a massive shadow fell over them.
"Oh? You want to do what, Koby?"
Alvida had found them. She stood there, her iron mace on her shoulder, a cruel smile on her lips.
Her eyes flicked to the small, hidden boat.
"Aha. So this was your plan? Daring to build a boat to escape from me?"
Her smile turned savage.
"Let me help you with that dream of yours."
She swung her mace.
CRACK!
A sickening crunch echoed through the air. The small boat, the symbol of Koby's two years of hope, shattered into a thousand pieces.
His dream, crushed before his very eyes.
"No..." Koby whispered, falling to his knees.
"Now then," Alvida said, pointing her mace at Koby. "Tell me one last time, you traitor. Who is the most beautiful woman on all the seas?"
This was the moment of truth. Koby could go back to being a slave, lie to survive. Or...
He looked at Luffy, who stood there, arms crossed, completely unafraid.
The flame of courage inside Koby roared to life.
He straightened his back, facing the monster who had tormented him for two years.
He took a deep breath and screamed with every fiber of his being.
"YOU ARE THE...!"
"The ugliest, fattest old hag," Luffy interjected, his voice bored.
Everything seemed to stop. Alvida's pirates, who had been watching from a distance, gasped.
Koby stared at Luffy, stunned.
Alvida's face went from red to purple. Veins bulged on her forehead.
"What... WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!"
Inspired, Koby screamed too. "THAT'S RIGHT! YOU'RE THE UGLIEST, FATTEST, MOST DISGUSTING HAG I'VE EVER MET!"
It was a release. He felt as light as if a thousand-pound weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
"I'LL KILL YOU BOTH!" Alvida shrieked in pure rage.
She swung her massive iron mace, aiming directly for Koby's head.
Koby shut his eyes, ready for death.
But the blow never landed.
Luffy had moved. He stood in front of Koby, his arms spread wide.
THWUMP!
The spiked iron mace slammed into Luffy's chest with terrifying force. But instead of the crunch of bone, there was only a dull, rubbery thud.
The pirates' eyes bulged.
Koby opened his, incredulous.
Luffy was still standing. The iron mace was embedded deep in his chest, but he was completely unharmed.
"Wh-what?" Alvida stammered, trying to pull her mace free, but it was stuck.
Luffy looked down at his chest. "That tickled."
He puffed out his chest, and the mace was ejected from his body.
"I ate the Gum-Gum Fruit," he said, a confident grin spreading across his face. "I'm a rubber man."
He stretched his right arm back. It elongated, going on and on, past the rocks, past the bushes, far out of sight.
"Gomu Gomu no..."
Alvida and her crew could only stare in horror.
Then, Luffy's arm snapped back with incredible speed. His fist flew forward, as fast as a bullet.
"PISTOL!"
BOOM!
A sonic crack echoed. Luffy's fist connected squarely with Alvida's chin.
The force was immense. The heavyset captain was launched into the air, flying up like a rocket, until she became a tiny twinkle in the sky and then vanished completely.
Silence.
The remaining pirates trembled, dropping their weapons. They looked at Luffy as if he were a demon.
Luffy dusted off his hands. "Hey," he said to them. "Get us a good boat. And stay away from Koby."
They nodded frantically and scrambled to obey.
A short while later, Luffy and Koby were on a small but sturdy boat, sailing out to sea.
They had left the island of hell behind. Koby was free.
"Thank you, Luffy," Koby said, his voice thick with emotion. "You saved my life. You gave me courage. I'll never forget this."
"No problem," Luffy said, propping his feet up on the railing. "So you're really gonna join the Marines?"
"Yeah!" Koby said, his fist clenched with determination. "I'm going to become a great Marine!"
He looked at Luffy. "So, where are you headed next?"
Luffy grinned. "I need to find a crew. Alvida mentioned some bounty hunter... Zoro something. Heard he's being held by the Marines on a nearby island."
Koby flinched. "Roronoa Zoro?! You can't, Luffy! That guy is a demon! A monster in human form! He's ruthless and terrifying!"
Luffy showed no concern. On the contrary, his eyes lit up with excitement.
"A demon, huh?"
He grinned from ear to ear.
"Sounds cool! I've decided! He's going to be the first member of my crew!"
"WHAAAAAT?!" Koby screamed, his face a mask of pure terror.
The adventure had only just begun, and it was already crazier than he could have ever imagined.