Arc 1: Romance Dawn
Chapter 1: The Boy from the Windmill
The sound of crashing waves mixed with laughter as pirates filled the village bar. Foosha Village, quiet and remote, had never known excitement until the Red Hair Pirates docked their ship here nearly a year ago. The locals tolerated them well enough, mostly thanks to the charm of their captain — a man with a carefree grin and bright red hair.
The bar door creaked open, and in stomped a seven-year-old boy with a small straw hat balanced awkwardly on his head and a determined glare in his eyes.
"Check this out!" the boy yelled, grinning as he raised a hand to his face.
Without warning, he stabbed a dagger beneath his left eye.
The room went still. Glasses clinked, a spoon dropped, someone let out a sharp curse.
Blood ran down his cheek, but the kid stood tall, fists clenched, jaw firm.
"You idiot!" Shanks stood up so fast his chair toppled over. "What the hell are you doing, Luffy?!"
Later, after the panic died down...
Luffy sat on the counter, bandaged and still grinning. The pirates were rowdy again, drinking and celebrating, but Shanks leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watching the boy quietly.
"You've got guts, I'll give you that," the captain muttered, a smile tugging at his lips. "But stabbing yourself won't get you on my crew."
"I can take it!" Luffy insisted. "I'm strong! I could help fight!"
Shanks shook his head. "You can't even swim."
Luffy's face fell for a second, but it didn't last. "Then I'll learn to be even better than you!"
That got a chuckle out of everyone.
Makino, the bartender, slid Luffy a glass of juice. "You're going to get yourself killed acting like that."
"I don't care," Luffy said proudly. "I'm going to be king of the pirates!"
The pirates laughed again, but this time there was something else behind it — not mockery, just surprise. Shanks eyed the boy thoughtfully.
There was something in him. Not just wild courage — focus. Most kids dreamed big, but this one had the kind of stubborn that didn't break.
What no one saw was how Luffy had already begun training in secret — running alone in the forest, throwing punches until his arms ached, climbing trees until his hands bled. He didn't talk about it, because he didn't think it made him special. He just thought it was what people were supposed to do if they wanted to be strong.
Days later, at the bar...
A rough group of mountain bandits shoved open the door. The tallest, a greasy man with dead eyes and a wide grin, stepped inside.
"We're lookin' for sake."
Makino hesitated. "I'm sorry. We're all out."
The man, Higuma, turned to the pirate crew lounging at the bar. "Looks like you drank it all."
Shanks didn't move from his seat. "We've got one bottle left. You're welcome to it."
Higuma took it — then smashed it over Shanks' head.
Gasps rang out. Luffy flinched.
Shanks stayed quiet, smiling calmly as wine soaked his hair. "Guess you didn't like it."
More plates shattered as the bandits laughed and left. The pirates remained still, letting it pass.
"Why didn't you fight back?!" Luffy shouted the second they were gone. "You're pirates!"
"It's not worth fighting over spilled drinks," Shanks said.
Luffy stormed out, fuming. He didn't understand. Pirates weren't supposed to take insults.
But Shanks wasn't weak — and deep down, Luffy knew that. What bothered him more was not understanding why strength should ever come with restraint.
Back at the bar...
Shanks reached for the treasure chest by the wall.
"Hey," he said, pausing. "Where's the fruit?"
A moment of silence.
Everyone turned.
The chest was open. Empty.
Shanks looked toward the door Luffy had just stormed out of.
Outside, Luffy admired his reflection in the window. His cheeks puffed out unnaturally as he stretched them with his fingers.
"Whoa!" he laughed. "I'm rubbery!"
He stretched his legs, his arms, flipped into the air and bounced off a tree. "This is awesome!"
When Shanks and the others found him, he was tangled in a fishing net, laughing to himself.
"You ate the fruit." Shanks looked stunned. "Luffy... you just ate a Devil Fruit."
"Huh?" Luffy blinked. "Tasted weird."
"You're a rubber man now," Shanks sighed. "But you can never swim again. Ever."
Luffy frowned. "So what? I'll just get stronger on land!"
Weeks passed...
Luffy was alone at the bar when Higuma returned.
This time, the bandit didn't just want sake — he grabbed Luffy and dragged him outside, mocking his strange body.
"You're not human," Higuma sneered. "You'd make a great circus freak."
Makino ran to fetch the mayor, but it was too late — Higuma had taken Luffy out to sea on a small boat.
"You're annoying," the bandit growled, kicking Luffy overboard. "Die out here."
Luffy splashed and struggled, helpless.
Then something massive rose from the deep.
The Sea King's jaws opened wide.
But before it could strike, a wave crashed, and Shanks was there — one arm wrapped around Luffy, the other missing.
The Sea King recoiled, stunned by the sheer pressure coming off Shanks.
Luffy couldn't speak. His mouth opened, but no sound came.
Shanks looked down at him and smiled gently. "You okay?"
"You... you lost your arm..."
"For a friend? Worth it."
The next morning...
Shanks knelt in front of Luffy as the crew made ready to sail.
"You're not coming with us," he said quietly. "But you're going to make waves out there."
Luffy's eyes burned with tears. "I'll become a pirate! I'll make my own crew! I'll be Pirate King!"
Shanks pulled off his straw hat and set it on Luffy's head.
"Return this to me when you do."