"I..."
Luffy struggled to open his mouth, only to find he couldn't say a word.
His dreams shattered in an instant, defeated by reality, leaving him feeling more lost and empty than even hunger could.
"Groooo~~~~"
As luck would have it, his stomach growled loudly again, shattering the silence.
Luffy lowered his head, looking at his shriveled belly, then looked up eagerly at the half-eaten burger in Uncle Monka's hand.
Monka paused for a moment, then laughed heartily, handing the remaining burger along with the wrapper to Luffy: "Eat, eat! Look at your pitiful look!"
"Tha... Thank you, Uncle!"
Luffy took the burger and devoured it ravenously, as if trying to swallow all his confusion and disappointment.
He ate quickly, finishing the burger in a few bites, and then eyeing the fried chicken and cola.
Monka chuckled and shook his head, pushing those over as well.
Luffy didn't refuse, consuming everything like a gust of wind.
But as he continued eating, his pace gradually slowed down.
His mouth was full of food, but his gaze seemed a bit vacant.
Even someone as carefree as him finally became acutely aware that the world really had changed.
The sea he once longed for, full of unknowns and challenges, where pirates roamed freely, had completely drawn to a close.
Now it's a new era.
What should he do?
Keep shouting the Pirate King's slogan, riding this broken wooden ship to a sea without pirates, searching for the "final island" that has become a tourist hotspot filled with visitors?
That sounds.
Like the dumbest fool in the world.
So...
"I'm... I'm full!"
Luffy suddenly gulped down the last sip of cola, wiped his mouth vigorously, and stood up, saying:
"Thank you, Uncle Monka! And pretty sister!"
He grinned and loudly asked:
"Where's the network service center? I want to register! And how can I join that Mars expedition force?"
Uncle Monka and Alvida exchanged glances and both smiled.
"Now that's more like it."
Alvida chuckled, rubbing Luffy's head, "The sea train goes north for two stops, to one of the East Sea's big tourist destinations, Cocoyashi Town, where there's a network service center. As for joining the expedition force..."
She opened her Radio Snail, bringing up an electronic notice:
"There's a basic assessment, covering fitness, cultural knowledge, adaptability test... But I see your physical condition is excellent, you should have a chance, go for it, little guy!"
"Hmm!!"
Luffy nodded emphatically and clenched his fist.
The dream of being the Pirate King had crumbled.
But...
The spirit of adventure won't die!
Since the sea has calmed, then let's explore the vast universe!
If this era doesn't need a Pirate King, then I, Luffy, will become... the pioneer explorer at the forefront of the stars!
"Alright! It's decided!"
Luffy grinned again, revealing his iconic, dazzling smile, and shouted to the sky:
"Star King! I'm definitely going to be!!!"
The shout echoed over the sea, carried by the whistle of the sea train restarting, into the distance.
"What ambition."
Helmeppo gave a thumbs-up, "But the train has already left, the next one won't come for another two hours. You probably don't have money, so how about I buy your train ticket?"
"No need, it's only two stops, isn't it!"
Luffy glanced back at his tiny broken ship, "After already eating your meal, it'd be too much to have you pay for the ticket, I'll just sail my own ship over!"
It would be too wasteful to ditch the ship he'd worked hard to build after just one morning—let's row one last stretch!
"Uh..."
Koby initially wanted to remind him of something, but looking at Luffy's muscular build, found it unnecessary, so instead took a newspaper from the hoverbike's storage compartment and threw it over:
"Here, take this then. It's the World Economic News I bought when I was bored waiting for the train a few days ago, and it happens to have a travel guide for Cocoyashi Town. If you can't find the network service center there, it might help."
"Thanks!"
Luffy laughed heartily, taking the newspaper and stuffing it haphazardly into his chest, then waved to Koby and Helmeppo before jumping back into his tiny broken ship.
He took a deep breath, gripped the wooden oar, his gaze firmly set north.
"Set off! Cocoyashi Town!"
With a powerful backward row, the small boat shot forward like an arrow, leaving a trail of white waves on the sea.
"Hope this youngster has a smooth journey."
Monka watched him leave, smiling, as he twisted the throttle on his hoverbike:
"Speaking of which, Koby, you actually have the habit of buying newspapers. I thought young people like you preferred reading news online."
"Sometimes I miss the feel of paper."
Koby shyly scratched his head, "And there was a major news story that day, I bought two copies at once, planning to keep one for collection."
"Major news?"
Monka paused, then quickly realized, laughing heartily, "Oh, that thing, it really was a remarkable good news indeed. Back then, it was the whole East Sea... no, the whole world's celebrating, holding banquets together! Come on, let's go home for dinner, your mom is probably waiting impatiently."
The three talked and laughed, starting their hoverbike, speeding towards the nearby island.
Infrastructure always has its development stages.
The current layout of the sea trains can't cover all the remote islands and seas yet. Therefore, Monka's hometown island still relies on these shared hoverbikes as the connecting transportation after coming off the train station.