Chapter 1
"Hey, Kebi, hurry up and roll that barrel of booze over here. Us brothers are gonna drink it dry!" a burly pirate with a thick beard shouted at Kebi.
After Kebi pushed the barrel over, the other pirates warned him not to talk nonsense. Then, they prepared to crack it open and drink to their hearts' content.
Suddenly, the barrel exploded, and two figures emerged from inside. Luffy was stretching lazily, laughing heartily. "That was a great nap! Right, Sol?"
Sol slammed a fist into Luffy's face, his entire arm sinking in. "Idiot Luffy, you had a great nap. I've been starving for two or three days with no food—and why is my huge bag of provisions now just an empty sack?!"
Luffy struggled to pry Sol's fist away. With a "pop," he grinned and rubbed his cheek. "Because I was hungry, Sol. I saw food and ate it. Sorry!"
Sol stared at the nonchalant Luffy, speechless. He really should have seen it coming—after knowing each other for so many years, Luffy always had that infuriating look when stealing his food. But his fists clenched involuntarily anyway.
At that moment, the pirates demanded to know who the two were.
"Aetrias Sol Dragneel," Sol introduced himself.
Luffy declared, "I'm Monkey D. Luffy—the man who will become the King of the Pirates!"
"Who was the one yelling about sleeping comfortably?!" Alvida's voice boomed.
The pirates tried to respond, but a sudden chill ran through them. They dodged to the sides as a massive iron club came swinging in.
Sol grabbed the club and instantly melted it into a puddle of molten iron.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Sol took a deep breath, exhaling a powerful torrent of fiery dragon flames from his lungs. The enemies hit by it were scorched and burned.
"Shishishi! As expected of Sol—that move is so cool!" Luffy's eyes sparkled with admiration.
Alvida shoved aside a charred pirate blocking her view, sweat pouring from her forehead due to the intense heat. "What the hell is this guy? Why can he spit fire from his mouth?!"
She grabbed a new iron club from a nearby shelf and swung it at Luffy. "I'll take care of this one first!"
The club smashed heavily into Luffy's head. Alvida looked puzzled—the impact felt completely different from when she'd hit enemies before. There was no splatter of brains.
Looking down, she saw Luffy grinning mischievously, stretching his arms long. "Gum-Gum Rocket!"
The attack sent Alvida flying straight through the ship's cabin and out the other side.
The remaining pirates, seeing their captain so easily defeated, immediately surrendered.
Sol and Luffy smoothly took ownership of the ship. Their first order was for the pirates to prepare food.
As the two devoured the meal like starving wolves, sweeping the table clean, Kebi clenched his fists and timidly approached.
"U-um..." His voice was barely audible, nearly drowned out by the chewing.
"Luffy! That's my barbecue! Spit it out!" Sol lunged forward, snatching the steak from in front of Luffy and swallowing it whole, oil glistening on his lips.
Luffy's cheeks puffed out like a hamster's, stuffed full of food. He could only mumble "Mmmph! Mmmph!" in protest, but his wide eyes clearly accused: How dare you steal my meat?!
Kebi tried calling out a few more times, but the two remained engrossed in their food war, completely ignoring him.
Finally, he took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and shouted with all his might: "I—I want to become a Marine! To fulfill my lifelong dream!!"
The restaurant fell silent for a second.
Sol and Luffy both froze, slowly turning their heads, bits of meat still dangling from their mouths, staring intently at Kebi.
"...Huh?"
They chugged the last of their booze, forcing down their overstuffed mouthfuls.
Sol casually wiped his mouth and raised an eyebrow at Kebi: "If you wanna be a Marine, just go do it. Why yell about it here?"
Luffy nodded with a big grin: "Yeah, yeah! We're pirates, after all!"
"Eh—?!" Kebi's eyes bulged, his jaw nearly hitting the floor.
He'd mustered the courage to speak because he thought these two were just ordinary shipwreck survivors—who'd ever heard of pirates drifting at sea in a barrel?
Sol, seeing his worldview shatter, lazily waved a hand: "Don't act so shocked. We were on a proper ship originally, but it sank in a storm. We had no choice but to cling to that barrel."
Kebi took another deep breath, fists turning white, and finally roared out his long-suppressed dream: "I want to become a great Marine! To arrest all those evil pirates—that's my lifelong goal!"
Luffy grinned widely, then suddenly slammed the deck and stood up: "That's awesome! Hey, you guys—" he pointed at the trembling pirates—"get Kebi a small boat right now! He's off to become a Marine!"
The pirates scrambled to lower a lifeboat.
As Kebi nervously climbed down, he heard Sol teasing from behind: "Good luck, future Marine Admiral! Don't go easy on us next time we meet!"
The small boat drifted away.
Suddenly, Sol turned to the pirates: "Oh yeah—where's the nearest Marine base?"
"Huh? B-but we're pirates!" one pirate laughed dryly, backing away. "Going straight to a Marine base would be suicide..."
Sol's smile grew brighter, his knuckles cracking: "Heh, we haven't officially 'debuted' yet... Could you guys 'sponsor' some startup funds?"
The air froze instantly.
The pirates broke into cold sweats, weighing "freedom" against "survival" for three seconds before tearfully turning the ship around: "Shells Town! Branch 153 is right there!"
Meanwhile, Kebi rowed desperately, only to notice the pirate ship heading the same direction.
As the black sails passed him, the pirates on deck all turned their heads in unison, pretending to admire the scenery.
Kebi: "If I'd known this, I should've asked for a ride! Why am I rowing by myself?!!!"
By evening, Sol and Luffy strutted out of the Marine base.
Sol weighed a bulging money bag in his hand—the clinking of berries and scavenged treasures from the ship ringing crisply. He grinned satisfied: "Not bad—more than I expected."
Luffy scratched his head, confused: "Sol, we're pirates... Coming to a Marine base to cash in bounties feels kinda weird, doesn't it?"
Sol rolled his eyes and slung an arm around Luffy's neck: "Dummy! We don't have bounties yet, and we don't have our own ship. Without some startup cash, how are you gonna recruit crewmates? Rely on that stupid face of yours?"
Luffy blinked, then suddenly got it, smacking his fist into his palm: "Oh yeah!"
His eyes lit up as he leaned in: "So how much do we have now?"
Sol shook the heavy bag, coins jingling: "Let me think... about six million berries or so!"
Woo-hoo—! Luffy leaped three meters into the air, rubber arms flailing excitedly. "Sol, let's go stuff ourselves!"
Sol laughed heartily, throwing an arm over Luffy's shoulder: "Great idea! The Marines said there's a famous bar in Shells Town..."
They were about to head off when both suddenly stopped.
Luffy rubbed his chin: "Wait, Sol..."
Sol: "What's up?"
Luffy put on a serious face: "Did we forget something important?"
Sol snapped his fingers: "Ah! Got it!"
Luffy: "What? What?"
Sol: "We gotta save some money to buy a proper ship!"
Luffy: "Oh right! So... big meat feast first, then ship?"
Sol: "Deal!"