#luffy still doesn't know

[norakbubbles]

Sanji: Am I straight?

Zoro: I hope not

Usopp: Not since you met Zoro

Franky: Nope

Robin: No

Nami: Definitely not

Sanji: ...I meant my parking

Everyone:

Zoro: Still no

[tekitothemagpie]

Imagine, some time throughout their adventure, Luffy and Zoro get separated from the other Strawhats on some island, which is governed by their enemies.

They're surrounded by strong foes and each fight a strong opponent.

Zoro gets severely injured and loses his consciousness. Luffy, of course, freaks out and immediately goes to help his first mate.

He makes a retreat, seeing Zoro's condition and finds shelter somewhere far away from the battlefield. He doesn't know much but still patches Zoro up the best he can and just holds his swordsman as tight as he can. Waits for him to wake up and for all to be better.

While holding his dearest first mate with the most care and tenderness one can express, he's absolutely furious, with the biggest frown on his face, he swears that whoever did this will pay for it, his Haki oozing out of him and knocking out everyone/everything in range.

[lulu-the-bugaboo]

Ever think about how Sabo is probably going to outlive Luffy as well (because of his shortened lifespan) and really be left alone like he originally feared when he got his memories back

Even though he was the first one who was assumed dead, in reality he is gonna be the last one left

[alumirp]

Luffy works as security for a fight club. It is illegal and is located in the poorest and most remote part of the city, where the police have no interest in going. The problem is, while the job pays well and beating up drunks or competitors who break the rules is fun, things can also get ugly and he ends up getting injured.

The best option to treat these injuries is to go to the 24-hour clinic on the other side of the city, a few minutes from Luffy's house.

That's where Law works, he's a grumpy doctor with a history of terrible insomnia who always takes the most godless shifts at the most ungodly hours. Luffy is a very popular visitor and at this point Law has stopped asking questions, knowing he won't get satisfactory answers. Plus, the guy didn't seem like he was lying when he said he was a security guard and not a gangster.

Still, especially with the number of visits and the growing crush, Law can't help but worry. A security guard shouldn't get hurt that much. They play this game where Luffy comes in hurt, Law scolds him and treats him anyway and then they flirt, for a few minutes before Law has to see another patient for a few months, without ever going any further than that.

The fun ends when the next time Luffy goes to the clinic looking for stitches, he doesn't find Law. Not the time after that and not the next. In fact, the next time he sees Law, the doctor is being dragged, chained and bruised, into the fighting ring, pitted against an opponent twice his size.

[moongothic]

You know. If Crocodad Real. How would Luffy even react if he found out. Like really, how the fuck would he feel about it.

'Cause like how I went over in this post (briefly at the end), we don't even know how Luffy feels about Crocodile as he is right now, so can you imagine how that bombshell would impact things

Like my running theory is that Luffy still hates Crocodile but maybe not quite as much as pre-Impel Down since he kiiinda owes him etc

And Luffy does not seem to give a shit about blood connections, at least not that much. Like don't get me wrong, Luffy's family are the people who were there for him when he was a child, those are the people he cares about and his bio-parents don't really matter. But also, honestly, I think the reason Luffy doesn't give a shit about who his parents are is because he doesn't know them. Luffy cares about people who he knows and likes, and while he doesn't give a shit about Dragon right now, it's arguably because he simply just doesn't know him. If the two actually get to meet and know each other, like if Luffy takes a liking Dragon, he'll probably accept Dragon as his dad and as his family. But on his own terms. It's up to Luffy to decide

And that's why like. How would Luffy react to finding out he has another dad and that one is fucking Crocodile. Because he already hates the man. It would not be happy news for him I'm sure

The other thing is that normally Luffy does not give a flying fuck about people's sad backstories. He didn't care to hear what happened to Nami and her village for example, because what really mattered was that there was a person he cared about who was deeply hurt and in danger and he wanted to help said person. And that's where I'm so torn. Because on one hand, it would be perfectly on-brand for Luffy to not give a shit of Crocodile had a sob story to tell. But also, I could imagine Luffy being so fucking confused over the news that he'd want to hear the truth of like, who what where how why, in detail. So that, you know, he could make his own decision and figure out if he wants to considder Crocodile is other dad or disown him.

Like, both feel like things Luffy would do

So really, would the real deciding factor might be just... the circumstances where Luffy finds out???

God knows, I can not imagine Crocodile himself telling Luffy anything ever. The kid already hates him, he knows it, so he'd probably think it'd be for the best if Luffy never found out

So how else could Luffy find out then?

As far as we know, the only other person who could confirm it would be Dragon himself, and considdering how he probably feels about his ex (see: Alabasta Coup Attempt), I can't imagine him wanting to talk about Crocodile to Luffy in lenght or in a positive light. Like I can't imagine Dragon wanting to tell Luffy at all is the point, not unless he wanted to like apologize to Luffy because it is arguably his fault Luffy and Crocodile fought in Alabasta to near-death to begin with. (Sidenote since we don't know how the break-up happened to begin with, it's totally possible Crocodile could've asked Dragon to never let their kid find out what happened to his "mom")

And now, this is where I'm gonna go completely off the rails, but. As I was wondering if there was any other way Luffy could find out...

S-Croc is made with Crocodile's DNA.

(And actually before I even go into S-Croc, super quick sidenote: If Kuma can extract memories out of people and allow other people to literally see them... Like I can't tell if Kuma's memories got absorbed by Bonney when she looked into them or if Kuma's Memory Bubble is still on Egghead, but if viewing the memories isn't the same as having them inserted into a vessel permanently... Like if Kuma isn't turbo-dead, could there be a scenario where we have Kuma (or S-Bear) yeet out Croc's memories and have Luffy just look into them? Because god knows Crocodile might just refuse to speak about it and that could be the only way to get The Whole Truth if Dragon doesn't want to talk about it either?) (Of course, Crocodile would understand just How Persistent Luffy is so if Luffy just kept on annoying him about it, Crocodile could maybe give up eventually because he knows he can't get Luffy to piss off until he spills the beans)

So currently the Strawhat's plan is for them to go and escort the Vegapunks to Elbaf (if nothing goes funny after the flashback is over, which remains to be seen)

2. There is the mystery of what sex S-Croc is going to be, because there is a possibility that if Crocodile is trans then his Seraphim could be pre-T (though this entirely depends on whether or not Ivankov's HRT changes even the DNA of person. Since it's MAGIC HRT I would prefer it to, not gonna lie, and I would not appreciate any "you may look different but your DNA will tell the truth!" rhetoric in the story but I may be asking too much from Oda)

3. And there's also the mystery of what Devil Fruit ability S-Croc might have, since all the Seraphim have been given Fruit powers, and we know Vegapunk can't replicate Crocodile's Sand Logia.

All things considdered, I think the actual, most likely known ability S-Croc might end up with would be like, Mr 3's wax powers (hilariously), mainly because I could imagine it being flexible enough to work in Crocodile's fighting style, so it'd be the easiest for S-Croc to adapt to (like if you can make anything from wax, then why not sharp blades to fling at people) (Also we know Vegapunk would have access to this power since Mr 3 was in Impel Down, when they also got Daz' powers)

But also I had joked before how it'd be funny if S-Croc was a Crocodile Zoan for no reason. Like it'd be fitting since Crocodile was already the Only Logia of the OG Shichibukai, so making his Seraphim the Only Zoan would be funny as hell (if it's even possible, which we can't say if it will/won't be). Additionally, making him a Crocodile Zoan would be hysterically on-the-nose.

(Sidenote: If there was a crocodile Zoan Fruit, what sub-category do you think it'd fall into? Like would it be Ryu Ryu like all the dinosaur-themed Zoans are, or maybe even a different model of Uo Uo (same as Kaidou)? Since "wani" could be considdered a different type of serpent-dragon, and if Vegapunk was researching how to recreate Kaidou's fruit, it's plausible he might've accidentally recreated some other related-fruit in the process or afterwards?? (Also since Kaidou's Uo Uo is a specific model (Seiryu) it would make sense if there was another Uo Uo model Fruit, and this could be an excelent opportunity to use it))

The thing about Zoans though is that, as it's been brought up once or twice before, Zoan fruits can kind of have a "mind of their own" and influence the user in unexpected ways.

And as all we Crocodad Truthers know.

Crocodiles are protective of their babies.

ALSO: The Seraphim do have enough personal will-power that they may (slightly) disobey orders they've been given. Case-and-point, S-Snake undoing the Petrification on the Strawhats after Luffy asked her to, since S-Snake is fond of Luffy just like Hancock is

Sidenote, it was kind of made a point how Vegapunk considdered his artificial replica of Kaidou's dragon fruit a compete failure simply because instead of a blue dragon, the user would turn into a pink one instead. So if Vegapunk tried to make a Seraphim of Crocodile, knowing full-well he couldn't even give the Seraphim the same ability as the OG, and then the Seraphim turns out the wrong sex for no reason?? I could see him being confused as hell and considder S-Croc "a failed Seraphim"

So really, all we'd really need to happen would be for the Strawhats to somehow encounter the remaining three Seraphim while escorting the Vegapunks to Elbaf. Mind you, IDK how that could even happen since as far as we know they've been deployed the Emptee Bluffs

And then just have S-Croc either disobey orders to hunt Luffy or even even have him be protective of Luffy (following that Zoan Instinct, one even he can't explain, it's just Instinct). Have Sanji be like "hey why the fuck is this one a girl, isn't it supposed to be Crocodile", followed by Vegapunk explaining this Seraphim was a failure for reasons even he can't understand

Then have Jinbei remember the conversation Crocodile and Ivankov had at Impel Down (suspicious considdering Ivankov's abilities and this "failed Seraphim"), and maybe if Crocodile had any involvement with the Revolutionaries and Robin was suspicious of him she could even bring that up

Along with any other minor details that may be bothering the crew about the whole deal

And so if the Strawhats and Vegapunk just put all their braincells together and rubbed them real hard, they could maybe come to a hypothesis as to why S-Croc is a "failure" and protective of Luffy, and maybe even a potential explanation as to why The Real Crocodile was protective of Luffy in Marineford for no fucking reason

And maybe, just maybe, Vegapunk could confirm that suspicion with a DNA test. All he needs to do is check Luffy's and compare it to Crocodile's.

Not sure Luffy would want to do the DNA test, like knowing Luffy he might prefer to just ask Crocodile in person if they ever ran to each other again

But boy, if he somehow did agree to a DNA test, and there was a match... oh boy

But again. This entire scenario is BEYOND off-the-rails. Technically plausible! But honestly if Luffy is ever gonna find out (assuming Crocodad Real) then it's gonna be from Dragon

I just wanted to get the theoretical scenario out of my system okay, I had to get the brainworms out of my brain

[pinkcrittertomb]

I am so obsessed with the idea of Zoro being a butch woman who uses he/him pronouns and no one having a clue

[beanghostprincess]

people assume luffy is naive and childish because he has a very cheerful attitude and i need those people to touch grass, eat it with a spoon and choke on reality because god forbid people have personalities

[a-bit-of-cest]

Luffy the type of guy to let the dog watch

[cosmicrhetoric]

i respect the whole no romance among crew members ever thing between the straw hats (frobin real. who said that) v much but nami is like. okay. i think that oda was so careful early on about avoiding a few of the female shounen character tropes when it came to nami that it is actually impossible to read her as anything other than a lesbian. im not even talking about vivi like wtf was all this then

[millimononym]

Ok so does anyone else find it funny how tumblr apparently got paid to promote the upcoming one piece live action thing (cause why else would the Luffy tab be there) and the best they could come up with is making a bar that just says "Luffy" with like 5 posts inside it and nothing else. Very bold of tumblr as a failing company to do the barest of bare minimums with that advertising i must say

[doctortonytchopper]

So the thing is that in Marineford, Boa Hancock did tell Smoker she was engaged to Luffy. And like at no point did he see any interactions between them where Luffy denied this. He has no reason to not believe that based on the actions of both of them.

And like I just can't imagine how much he must have been sweating during Punk Hazard, BURNING to ask Luffy if he actually got married to the pirate empress. Like I'm pretty certain Smoker still very much believes Luffy and Hancock are married.

[hauntingblue]

WATER SEVEN BABYYYYY

Look at robin reacting when luffy says he wont give her up.... 🥺🥺

This is a joke right now but its actually a one piece tenet aldjsisjka

Usopp aksbaksjakqk the foreshadow is foreshadowing... Also Robin being happy with the crew after the Aokiji incident... Fuck!!!!

Sanji thinking robin just vanished or flew away and suddenly usopp is soaring thru the skies... imagine

AAAAARGGGGHHHH YOU CAN SEE THE GEARS TURNING

Zoro talking to merry..... only while he is alone of course

Why are nami and sanji matching ajdhakjsk look at the citrus sisters

Carpenter: maybe it was the government

Gov agent: I don't think so, also don't say that they are everywhere

LUFFY SUPPORTS WOMEN'S WRONGS!!!

Don't scream att chopper like that!!! Look at him... So small....

Imu tease???? (No) (Also I've changed websites again bc the translation is kinda off , I can't find a good quality b&w spanish translation and the colors scare me (i want the real manga experience))

GET HIM ICEBURG!!!!

I truly forgor if this is just a lie about her wanting to find the rio poneglyphs or genuine because she wants to die and will do it for them... because in skypiea she says she is not interested in the weapons so maybe if the gov pardons her but considering what she wants is illegal then idk abdjabjs this is such a dumb thing to forget... like thats important girl where did it go (reading this after remembering and it's kinda funny... i will make any sacrifice to kill myself (and keep you safe)... she goes HARD)

Little paulie and mozu and kiwi.... omg hello (the SBS says the twins wanted to be shipwrights too omg)

Franky's backstory is small but it does so much for me like it is so central to the themes... boats and people...

DID SOMEBODY ORDER MORE TRAGIC BROTHERS?

The fact that franky needs to learn this lesson to pass it on to robin.... do you understand how big this is.... also Tom does exactly as he says and takes responsibility for franky and what he has done... because he has done nothing wrong AND THAT'S HIS SON and he just punched spandam bc he wanta him to feel the pain franky feels... Tom is such a man..... proud of having built eater 7 up with the sea train.... goes out with a boom.... should we all kill ourselves....

I am crying again................... franky my god.... and the fucking frog!!! And of course franky can't stop Tom's hope for his island... of course he can't.... he hasnt learnt the lesson yet but this guy isn't over yet!! He has a life of being a pervert cyborg ahead!!! Iceburg following Tom's footsteps but franky not being able to do that bc of his guilt....

This is one of the coolest things chopper has done btw...

NAMII 😭😭😭

Robin damning the world for her crew when all she has ever done is damn her companions for her own sake.... how big is this...

I can't take this...... it's always nami in these positions... it happens AGAIN in Zou with Sanji... there is no way

The love letter gag is too good like damn that's so funny

AND IT'S NAMI GOING THROUGH IT AGAIN!!!! SHE LOVES ROBIN SO MUCH!!!!

[franeridan]

I was thinking about how hug-y opla luffy is and I realised that if you strictly consider instances in which he meant to hug someone and not just hold them (so take out every single time he's picked up someone and either lugged them around or flung them across a battlefield) in the manga he hasn't actually hugged that many people at all, has he

[moongothic]

I do kinda wonder, considdering how much Luffy hates being alone... On those first levels of Impel Down, did Luffy stick to Buggy as if they had been glued together, not because he trusted the clown (let alone liked him), but because Luffy hates being alone and being with Buggy meant he wouldn't be alone?

Like think about it, Luffy didn't give a damn when he ran into Buggy, it wasn't a Happy Reunion like it was with Bon-chan

"Oh, it's Buggy" vs "You're alive!!"

And while we know Luffy is at least A Little Stupid, Luffy does have pretty good instincts when it comes to making judgements about people, and he has emotional intelligence when needed So between Luffy not really liking Buggy when they reunited in Impel Down, and Luffy even currently thinking Buggy is a loser, it seems unlikely to me Luffy like, wanted to team up with Buggy when they ran into each other. But Luffy did understand he'd have a hard time getting to the bottom of Impel Down by himself, and he knew Buggy would be mostly harmless in this situation. If anything, the clown could maybe help him along the way, even if only a little. And yeah, at least he wouldn't have to be alone if Buggy came along.

I think that might be why Luffy decided to give the treasure map to Buggy

Like yes, Luffy may have been naïve to think Buggy wouldn't ditch him as soon as he got the map instead of keeping his end of the deal, but also. Maybe for Luffy the risk of getting ditched was a better option than not trying and being alone anyways.

Maybe Luffy chose to give the map to Buggy because of that, so he wouldn't be stuck alone.

[shikiimisaki]

*walks in, removes eye protective wear and hangs up labcoat after a long day of Observing One Piece Ship Discourse On Twitter fieldwork* so while it may appear strange that people really readily say "luffy is canon aroace/doesnt care about any of that" whenever someone makes a truther post about luffy/hancock and then those same people may turn around and share a bunch of posts about gay ships involving luffy, it's actually more of a symptom of the fact that while most people posting said gay luffy ships are completely aware that their ships will not/could not/probably even should not actually be canon and are deep in the hypothetical, many dudebro types who ship luffy with hancock are completely convinced that their ship absolutely should or even will become canon, simply because he is a male protagonist and she is an extremely attractive woman who is interested in him, and it makes "no sense" for luffy to not go with her, either because they think that is how Stories Should Work (heteronormativity) or because they want Coolguy Chad Luffy and think having a hot woman obsessed with him like, adds to his coolness points in some vague objectifying way, which got more and more misogynistic sounding the longer i tried to find a way to word that sentence. this last interpretation does disservice to both of their characters and frankly, completely doesn't comply with any of the reasons hancock fell in love with him in canon in the first place. if you look for more then a minute at either of their characters you can tell that in canon it would never work, not even just because luffy is completely and entirely disinterested and in all likelihood that will never change, but because although I would say hancock's love is based on real traits of his she respects and was deeply moved by, she idolizes him and her fantasies about being with him involve shit he wouldn't actually do or say. she loves him because he's, literally, the only man she's ever met- and in the current day, often only person she knows across the board besides literally her sisters, who doesn't immediately treat her like a sexual object- and he only doesn't because of his fundamental and absolute disinterest in her, romantically or sexually. they exist in a paradox, and that paradox is used as a source of comic relief. what they have going on would be LESS interesting if he liked her in that way. if he was interested in her she would not like him in the first place. this got really off topic sorry. what im saying is this is why 1 person posting about how luffy and hancock are Totally Canon Endgame because who could turn down such a bad bitch!!!!!!! is a mischaracterization statement that prompts response or backlash in a way that 20 people posting zolu making out sloppy style in a corner completely aware that they are indulging in a mirror dimension and He Would Not Fucking Say That is not

[romancethedawn]

Selkie!Luffy AU pt.1

Zoro reached for another chicken leg just as the rubbery fingers of his new captain snatched the tasty morsel right out from under his nose.

An annoyed growl escaped his throat and he sent a fleeting death glare at the idiot before sighing and reaching for some of the only food left on the table, a platter of fresh caught fish that had remained miraculously untouched by Luffy.

The swordsman didn’t question it though. All he knew was that he was hungry as hell after three weeks of being starved and beaten, and if the empty pit next to him didn’t slow down soon he’d go hungry again. So he quickly began devouring all the fish he could before Luffy caught on.

Sadly, it didn’t take long for the red menace to take note of Zoro’s new meal. In an instant those big doe eyes were being directed right at him, as Luffy made soft whining noises in the back of his throat like some damn dog.

The swordsman gritted his teeth and continued enjoying his food while resolutely ignoring his persistent companion.

The bastard had eaten everything else on the table, it only seemed fair that Zoro got to eat something! After all, he was the one who had been STARVED!

“Uh…uhmmm… Z- er… Mr. R-Roronoa… sir?” The little cabin boy who had been clinging to Luffy like some kind of lamprey for the past couple of hours finally spoke up. He’d talked a bit during Zoro’s rescue as well but he hadn’t been very vocal since their return to the inn run by Rika’s mom.

“What?” Zoro pushed out the word through his mouthful of fish before taking a sip of ale and shooting the kid a warning glare. It wasn’t that he hated the boy. He was just too soft, it rubbed Zoro the wrong way. Kid needed to toughen up.

“Ah! Er…. Well…” The boy startled a bit before continuing to stutter through whatever he wanted to say. Zoro sighed, perhaps he’d been laying the big scary bounty hunter act on a little thick.

“What is it, kid?” He asked again, trying to make his voice more friendly and less… gruff. He couldn’t help but snort when the kid startled again, this time at Zoro’s sudden shift toward kindness.

“W-well… D-do you think you could let Luffy have s-some of the fish?” His voice had gotten higher with every word until he was practically squeaking. It was honestly a bit difficult to decipher what he wanted. Zoro raised an eyebrow in question and the kid, Koby he thinks his name was, laughed nervously before looking away, a distinct redness tinting his cheeks. “I-I was only with him for a couple of days before we got here, but in that time I learned that Luffy loves fish more than anything!” He exclaimed in all seriousness. Causing Luffy himself to burst out laughing.

“No, No, Koby! You’ve got it wrong!” His captain crowed, the hint of laughter always in his voice shining even brighter. “I love MEAT more than anything!” he cheered excitedly, holding up the last piece of meat at the whole table, which Zoro noticed with some chagrin was also the last piece of fish he’d been staunchly guarding. Damn… The bastard was more slippery than he’d thought.

Luffy, still laughing like an idiot, then proceeded to shove the entire fish in his mouth, head and all. Zoro was about to yell at him about choking on the bones and other things he’d heard the women in his village nag their children about, when the rubber wonder pulled the fish out of his mouth again, only this time it was missing the meat and all that was left were pristine bones.

Both Zoro and Koby stared at their friend with varying looks of concern and disgust. Zoro remembered hearing that a walrus was able to suck the skin right off a seal before but he’d never, not once in his life, seen a human being do anything similar.

It was in that moment that he resolved to never get near Luffy when he was eating. Ever.

“O-oh… sorry I-” Koby bowed his head in disappointment, but perked up quickly when Luffy ruffled his hair.

“Thanks for looking out for me though, Koby!” Luffy grinned, it was one of those way too bright ones that immediately entranced anyone who happened to be looking at it. Zoro included, he was ashamed to admit.

The red tint to Koby’s cheeks only got more intense and the young boy quickly ducked his head to hide that fact.

“So tell me, Captain…” Zoro started, taking another swig of ale, forever thankful that Luffy had taken one sip and promptly spat out the drink declaring it ‘yucky’. He didn’t think the two of them could ever get along if the straw hatted idiot kept drinking Zoro’s booze the way he ate his food. “Where’s the rest of the crew?” He continued, curious to meet them and see what other odd personalities Luffy had no doubt drawn to his side.

However, instead of starting to excitedly list off names like Zoro thought he would, Luffy just stared at Zoro blankly for a moment before throwing his head back and laughing. The act was equally as bewitching as his smile and Zoro was starting to get annoyed with this kid. Seriously, did he have the sun trapped beneath his skin or something? This level of brightness was just way too much.

“Oi! I’m being serious!” He growled at his new found Captain. The sound of Luffy’s laughter died immediately and he just smiled warmly at Zoro instead.

“They’re not like Zoro,” he finally answered, “we still have to find them!” That stupid grin continued to stretch his face like nothing had changed and, Zoro supposed, nothing really had. Luffy was still Luffy and Zoro was still Zoro. They’d figure out the rest as they went.

Deciding this was a fine enough answer for now Zoro shrugged and went back to his food.

“Can’t be helped then.” He said before shoveling the very last bite of fish and rice into his mouth and taking another messy gulp of his ale. “What about your ship?” After hearing that there wasn’t a crew, his hopes weren’t high and judging by the way Luffy started badly whistling and Koby was avoiding eye contact even more than usual, he guessed it was pretty safe to say they didn’t have a ship either. He sighed heavily, was he going to be the only person with any forethought on this crew? He hoped not. It seemed like a cursed existence.

“Weeeellll…” Luffy started by drawing out the word to make it as long as possible and Zoro felt something in his forehead twitch. Probably a blood vessel straining from all this idiocy. “I do have a ship. It’s just… not super cool…” The rubber captain finished dejectedly.

Zoro opened his mouth, to comfort his childish captain or scold him, he wasn’t sure. But Luffy bounced back quickly, he was made of rubber after all, and his eyes were practically sparkling when he turned to his new first mate again. “But don’t worry, Zoro! We’re gonna get a better one really soon and it’ll be awesome! We’ll sail the Grand Line and find the One Piece! Just you wait!”

Staring into that way too bright smile with those big sparkly eyes blinking up at him, Zoro couldn’t bring himself to knock the kid down, so he simply smiled indulgently at him. “I’m sure we will, Captain.” He agreed easily enough and his positive reaction seemed to make Luffy even happier because he kicked his smile up a few notches, practically blinding his poor swordsman.

“That being said…” Zoro started as he stood from the table and kicked his chair in. “We probably need to get out of here before those Marine’s come knocking. We may have freed them, but Marines are Marines. They’ll want our heads soon enough.”

Koby looked like he wanted to disagree but Luffy had already gotten to his feet and settled his straw hat back on his head before the boy could even get the words out.

“You’re right. Let’s go!” Luffy threw his fist up in the air excitedly. Zoro simply nodded his approval and slipped his swords into his haramaki. Koby spluttering and protesting all the while.

Zoro had to admit. Parting with the kid was rough. Not because Zoro had any particular attachment to him. Koby just cried. A lot. Then the little squirt finally got the guts to toughen up and actually hit Luffy! Granted, he was only capable of doing so after Luffy backed him into a proverbial corner… but Zoro wasn’t one to dwell on such things.

Although, that look of horrified realization on his face right after he’d done it did make Zoro chuckle under his breath and hide his grin in his shoulder. So it was more of a win for Koby than the poor kid would ever realize.

After all was said and done they ended up at the docks loading the supplies Rika’s mom had so generously given them into Luffy’s absurdly small and ragged “boat.” Although, after watching the spectacle that was Luffy eating, Zoro wasn’t so sure these supplies would last them much more than a day.  

When the last sack of apples was loaded into the little dinghy Luffy threw his arms behind his head while blowing a rather loud and long raspberry and flopped into the boat back first.

His drop caused the boat to rock violently back and forth for a moment. Zoro quietly cursed his captain’s impulsiveness before stepping into the vessel himself.

“So…” he started as he took his seat in the little dinghy, “where to, Captain?”

The boy in question giggled brightly before sitting up fast enough to make the boat rock again as he pointed to the distant horizon.

“To adventure!” He cried happily.