Shanks and his crew soon arrived at the bar. Seeing Shanks arrive, Makino, the bar's proprietress, greeted him with a smile: "You're back again. How long do you plan to stay this time?"
Shanks responded: "I'll stay for a while. I plan to rest and regroup here, and then head straight from the Grand Line to the New World."
"Since you're resting, come to the tavern more often and sit a while. Tell everyone about your new adventure stories."
Nearby, Luffy saw Shanks chatting with Makino. Unable to stay still, he saw the treasure chest placed on a chair next to Shanks and poked it curiously.
Hera fanned the flames from the side: "Aren't you curious about what's inside this chest? They even brought it with them when they got off the ship."
Hearing this, Luffy couldn't help himself anymore. He opened the treasure chest and saw a strange fruit inside. He picked it up and said, "What is this? This fruit looks so weird."
Hearing the noise, Shanks saw Luffy holding the fruit and looking at it, even appearing like he wanted to take a bite to taste it. He hurriedly shouted, "Kid, put that fruit down right now!"
Luffy was startled and opened his mouth wide. His hand slipped, and the Rubber-Rubber Fruit fell right into his gaping mouth.
"Kid, that's not something you can just eat! Spit it out, quick!"
Shanks hurriedly lifted Luffy up, trying to turn him upside down, but Luffy's body stretched out along with Shanks' force.
Shanks noticed this as well: "You brat, how did you digest it so fast? Do you know what you just ate? That was a Devil Fruit!"
Seeing his stretched body, Luffy didn't feel afraid; instead, he felt excited: "Is this a Devil Fruit? How strange!"
Hera was also a bit speechless: "Luffy, you idiot, apologize to them quickly. Devil Fruits are treasures of the sea; even the most ordinary Devil Fruit is worth over a hundred million Berries."
Luffy was also frightened after hearing that the Devil Fruit was so valuable and hurriedly apologized: "I'm sorry, I was just curious about what it was. I didn't mean to eat it."
Shanks also calmed down from his panic and thought to himself, "At such a close distance, my Observation Haki actually didn't react. And why did I bring the fruit off the ship and just leave it aside like that?"
After thinking for a moment, Shanks smiled with relief: "It's alright. Since this fruit chose you, then it's yours. Besides, it was because I startled you that you swallowed it. This is the Paramecia-type Rubber-Rubber Fruit. Whoever eats it becomes a Rubber Human, but the side effect is that you'll lose all your strength when you encounter seawater. You have to be careful."
Luffy was startled to hear this: "Do Devil Fruit users fear seawater? Then why is Hera fine when she encounters seawater?"
Hearing Luffy mention her, Hera hurriedly said, "My fruit might be a bit special."
Shanks was also surprised to hear that there was a fruit user who wasn't afraid of water, but then he thought about how the sea is full of wonders. It was probably normal for there to be a user who isn't afraid of seawater.
Seeing Luffy eat this Devil Fruit, Shanks also became more determined in his idea of turning Garp's grandson into a pirate.
Shanks lamented, "This sea might be about to get lively."
Seeing that Shanks was no longer pursuing the matter of the Devil Fruit, Makino also breathed a sigh of relief and continued, "Since you're being so generous, today's beer will be on the house."
Shanks also laughed and said to his crew, "Boys, the proprietress said there's free beer today! Everyone, let's start the banquet!"
The bar instantly fell into a frenzy, and people immersed themselves in the joy of the banquet.
Luffy asked impatiently, "Hurry up, hurry up! You haven't told the adventure stories yet."
Shanks said, "Adventure stories? There are so many. Do you know about Fish-Man Island hidden underwater?" As Shanks drank more and got more hyped, he began to tell stories of the Red Hair Pirates' adventures.
"And then there's Yasopp. I met him in Syrup Village. He's amazing—the world's number one sharpshooter." As Shanks talked on, the sky grew dark, and Luffy was already so tired that he fell asleep.
Hera helped explain, "He was too excited today. He was watching the sea from the shore since this morning, so he fell asleep."
Shanks looked at Hera and said, "Then, my dear little lady, are you still here because you want to say something to me in private?"
Makino teased from the side, "A 'dear little lady'? Hera is only seven years old. Shanks, you better not head down the path of crime."
Hera said with a serious face, "I want to talk to you about some things. In private."
Hearing this, Makino looked excited: "Young girls nowadays are really bold. It's very dangerous to talk to a mature man alone in a bar, you know."
Hera was a little speechless: "I'm drinking milk, not beer. Besides, I have serious business."
"Alright, I won't disturb the lovely Miss Hera from discussing her'serious business.' I'll go organize the beer first. Just call me when you're done." Makino walked toward the warehouse behind the bar.
Shanks said, "So, what'serious business' does this lovely little lady want to talk to me about? Let me say this beforehand: I like mature older sisters."