When Luffy heard Leo's words, he grinned broadly and dropped into a fighting stance.
"Hahaha! Okay!"
He glanced at Coby with a determined look. "Leo, you've got to protect Coby!"
With that, Luffy's arm stretched out like a whip and slammed into Alvida, who had just climbed back up onto the deck. She was blasted backward and collapsed with a loud crash.
Leo nodded confidently. "Naturally."
He walked up to Coby with a reassuring smile. "Didn't I tell you? I'm a magician."
Then he turned back toward Luffy. "Luffy, brace yourself."
With a light tap of his cane on the ground, a crisp, ethereal knock echoed through the air. In the blink of an eye, Leo, Luffy, and Coby were transported onto the deck of the merchant ship.
Raising his cane again, Leo gently tapped the air. The wooden deck beneath them responded—thick vines sprouted rapidly, adorned with luminous, otherworldly flowers.
"Wooden Binding!"
Luffy's eyes sparkled like stars, shining with golden excitement.
"Amazing!"
Coby stood frozen, his mouth agape, unable to believe what he was seeing.
"Hey! What does your magic do?" Luffy asked, bouncing in place with excitement. Without waiting for a reply, he stretched his arms and leaped onto Leo, hugging him tightly and shaking him like a rag doll.
Leo groaned as he tried to pry Luffy off him. He had grown somewhat used to Luffy's unpredictable energy, but it still caught him off guard at times.
"The vines are for entangling enemies," Leo said as he finally pushed Luffy off. "I'll help you take down anyone who gets in our way!"
As if on cue, the vines twisted rapidly across the deck. The glowing flowers pulsed like living things, beautiful and deadly. The pirates, who had been looting in chaos moments before, screamed and scattered as the vines chased them like snakes.
Those too slow to run were instantly ensnared. The vines coiled around their legs, arms, and torsos, rendering them completely immobile.
A few tried to fight back, swinging long knives and iron rods—but their efforts were useless. Their weapons clanged against the vines as if striking steel. The shock of the impact sent painful vibrations up their arms, making them drop their weapons in agony.
"Waaahhh!!"
Luffy cheered loudly, waving his hands in excitement as he watched the vines work. He danced around the deck, wide-eyed and laughing.
"Is this a Devil Fruit power?!"
Alvida, who had been knocked back earlier, climbed up once more. Her expression was dark and furious. She never expected to be humiliated like this—especially not in the weak East Blue—by two random boys.
Her anger flared, but the moment her eyes met the writhing vines covering the deck, a chill ran down her spine. The magic terrified her.
"You... You're a Devil Fruit user?" she asked cautiously, her voice trembling despite her attempts to sound threatening. "Leave my ship now and I'll pretend this never happened!"
Leo smirked. "Devil Fruit?"
He chuckled and shook his head. "I told you already—I'm a magician."
He raised an eyebrow and taunted, "And I've never eaten anything like a Devil Fruit, you fat old hag."
Coby, still in disbelief, gasped. "Aren't Devil Fruits just legends?!"
"It's not a legend!" Luffy chimed in, stepping beside Coby.
He grinned widely and pulled down the brim of his straw hat. "Because I'm the rubber man who ate the Rubber Fruit!"
Luffy then turned to face Alvida with serious eyes. "Since Leo handled the grunts, I'll deal with you!"
Alvida faltered. She was still shaken by Leo's power, but now this boy claimed to be a Devil Fruit user too?
She hesitated. Could she really handle both of them?
Leo, sensing her uncertainty, stepped back and adjusted the brim of his top hat, walking over to Coby.
"I'm leaving this to Luffy," he said casually.
Coby looked stunned. "Aren't you going to help him?! That's Alvida!"
Leo didn't even flinch. "Trust him. He's my captain."
The confidence in Leo's voice was unwavering. Alvida was nothing more than a small-time pirate. In fact, she hadn't even consumed a Devil Fruit in the original timeline. Leo knew that Luffy could handle her.
Alvida clenched her fists in frustration. Her pride refused to let her retreat in front of her crew. Seeing Leo step aside gave her a spark of false hope.
"If it's not that magic guy, I'm not afraid of some brat!" she shouted. "You're dead, you little bastard!"
Roaring with fury, she charged at Luffy, lifting her massive spiked mace high in the air. She brought it down with a brutal swing aimed at Luffy's head.
The mace connected.
And... nothing.
Luffy stood there, completely unharmed.
"Wheee! That won't work on me!" he laughed, showing his perfect white teeth in the sunlight. "Because I'm made of rubber!!"
Alvida's eyes widened in horror.
"No... No way! My mace...!"
Luffy stepped forward and pulled his arm back.
"Gomu Gomu no... Pistol!!!"
With a thunderous crack, Luffy's punch landed squarely on Alvida's face. Her body flew through the air like a cannonball and crashed hard onto the deck, unconscious.
Gasps filled the air.
The remaining pirates were stunned. Their feared captain had been defeated... by a kid in a straw hat.
And his arm—it had stretched like rubber.
Coby stood frozen, mouth hanging open and eyes bulging in disbelief. The world had turned upside down in less than ten minutes.
"Hehehe! Leo, I'm awesome, right?" Luffy asked, grinning proudly as he flexed.
Leo gave him a thumbs-up and smiled. "Of course. You're the future King of the Pirates!"
Luffy laughed loudly, clearly pleased by the praise.
"Hey, Coby," Leo said, turning to the pink-haired boy, "let's go get a proper meal. You're heading to the Marines anyway, right?"
"Uh, yeah," Coby replied, still dazed. "I think Shields Town is nearby. We should find food there."
Leo walked over to the side of the Alvida Pirates' ship and spotted a small boat docked nearby. With a wave of his cane, he summoned the boat toward them.
Although he could use magic to control the entire ship, its design was too gaudy for his taste. The small boat would do for now.
He had, of course, already collected all the food and treasure from Alvida's ship. What the pirates had done wasn't his concern.
"Let's move, Luffy! We'll talk more once we're in town."
Luffy whooped with joy and leapt into the boat, while Coby climbed in more carefully, still adjusting to everything that had just happened.
As the small boat drifted toward the distant silhouette of Shields Town, the sun hung low in the sky behind them, casting golden rays over the sea.
For Coby, everything had changed. For Leo and Luffy, it was just the beginning.