"Yes, I remember there is a train at five in the afternoon."
The middle-aged man replied with a smile, "This kind of long-distance route uses the latest third-generation sea train, which is twice as fast as the second-generation trains we're on. Little guy, if you're willing to take the afternoon train, you should buy a sleeper ticket, comfortably sleep overnight, and you should be able to reach there the day after tomorrow."
Sleeping on a sleeper, able to reach Laugh Tale the day after tomorrow...
Boom!
Luffy felt as if he'd been struck by lightning, his whole body petrified on the spot.
Even the meat he longed for the most was temporarily forgotten.
The Grand Line no longer existed.
And the ultimate place he dreamed of for so many years, Laugh Tale, symbolizing the Pirate King's glory, holding the world's greatest treasure...
Has turned into a museum, full of tourists, reachable by sleeping for two days on some kind of sea train???
"Father!"
"Mr. Monka! We're here to take you home!"
At this moment.
A shout came from afar, and two teenage chefs, one with pink hair and the other with blonde hair, arrived at the station laughing merrily on their hoverbike.
"Oh! Helmeppo, you've finally arrived! And Koby, you little rascal, joined in on the fun too?"
The middle-aged man's eyes lit up and he stood up.
Mr. Monka?
Is this the name of the middle-aged man? Luffy turned his head blankly, and Monka noticed, reached out to pat Luffy's shoulder, speaking sympathetically:
"Little guy, it seems you really don't understand the current world at all. The era of pirates has long come to an end. Now is the era of peaceful development, where the Four Seas are unimpeded, sea train networks cover main routes, technology is advanced, and life is convenient... Who would still want to be precarious pirates, hunted by the whole world?"
"Not only pirates, but there's also no one joining the Navy nowadays, or it's just the newly-formed Maritime Order Maintenance Forces; both the Navy and pirates have been thrown into the trash bin together."
Koby curiously looked Luffy over twice, then cheerfully said, "Speaking of which, I remember Mr. Monka, you were in the Navy before, right? But now you've switched careers to become a construction engineer!"
"It's been many years, so don't bring it up."
Monka laughed self-deprecatingly. It's true that he was a Marine aspiring to achieve great things but never had much chance for promotion, and the Navy's actions didn't align with his ideals of justice.
So, long before Lord Shano revealed the truth about the North Sea massacre, he quit the Navy.
"Let's go, it's time to go home."
Monka straddled the hoverbike, and the stunned Luffy finally snapped out of it, couldn't help but shout:
"What about Shanks? Hey, Uncle Monka! Sister Alvida! Do you know Shanks? What's he doing now?"
"Shanks?"
The group looked at each other, shaking their heads.
"It's Alvida! Is my name so hard to remember? You little idiot!"
The stylish lady named Alvida looked speechless for a moment, frowned thoughtfully, and then spoke:
"I seem to remember, the Shanks you're speaking of was one of the Four Emperors from the old era, right? If it's that guy, now he's one of the captains leading the vanguard fleet in Lord Shano's Mars Exploration Force or something?"
Mars Exploration Force?
What is that supposed to be?
Luffy looked even more dumbfounded.
"Oh? Such a famous person?"
Monka raised his eyebrows in surprise, adding:
"You, little guy, seem just like a savage, knowing nothing about the outside world, yet recognizing someone like him. It's really unexpected."
"Speaking of which, our current ocean environment can accommodate the population, with no major survival pressures, we don't need to rush to look beyond the planet."
Monka glanced at Luffy, smiled, and continued:
"It's precisely because there are too many people like Shanks, like you, who can't sit still and love adventure, that Lord Shano simply catered to their exploratory spirit by initiating this plan!"
"Hahaha, that's indeed the reason."
Alvida smiled, watching Luffy's worldview collapse, sighed, and softened her voice further:
"Your 'Pirate King' dream is really outdated. Now no one cares about Pirate King. What people need are engineers, scientists, doctors, teachers... If you truly can't sit still, you could become an explorer of the stars like Shanks."
"If you really crave adventure, why not change direction."
Monka also suggested earnestly, "To learn, to acquire knowledge, then join the exploratory force, that would be the coolest adventure now! The universe is much vaster than the ocean!"
"..."
Luffy stood frozen in place, motionless.
The sea breeze fluttered his red vest and tousled his black hair at the front.
He looked at his shabby, dilapidated wooden ship, then at the streamlined sea train starting up in front of him, and again at the capsule technology and bizarre Radio Snail network that he couldn't understand at all.
The Grand Line was gone.
No more pirates.
Laugh Tale became a museum.
ONE PIECE became a museum exhibit.
Shanks is preparing for Mars.
And he, Monkey D. Luffy, on his seventeenth birthday set out to sea, determined to become the Pirate King...
Seems like from the very beginning, he completely lost his goal?