Aside from the pink-haired chubby boy, Koby, who had fallen to the ground in fright, three rough-looking men stood nearby, staring dumbfoundedly at the two who had emerged from the barrel.
Seeing their typical lackey attire, Kaizer immediately realized—these were indeed members of the Alvida Pirate Crew.
These three pirates had originally seen Koby pick up a wooden barrel from the shore and were planning to threaten him into handing it over; they never expected two living people to pop out of it.
Their gazes swept back and forth between the two.
One had wheat-colored skin, wore a straw hat, and had short hair; at first glance, she looked like a boy, but the undeniable curves under her small red vest betrayed her gender.
The other was a real man with a tall, upright build and a handsome face; even in ordinary cloth clothes, his outstanding good looks were hard to hide.
While everyone was staring at each other, Luffy took the initiative. With her hands on her hips, she looked at the four people, including Koby, and asked bluntly, "Who are you guys?"
The three pirates finally snapped out of it and shouted in a rage, "Are you kidding me?! You two who came out of a wine barrel are the ones who should be explaining yourselves!"
Kaizer ignored the pirates' clamoring. He quickly scanned his surroundings and found they were in a crude wooden hut; knowing the plot, alarm bells rang in his head.
He glanced outside, and his heart nearly stopped.
Not far away, an obese, ugly woman was holding a massive iron club in one hand, striking a throwing pose.
"Luffy, look out! Dodge!" Kaizer shouted almost instinctively, reaching out to pull Luffy at the same time.
Even though he knew she was a Gomu Gomu no Mi user and wasn't afraid of blunt force attacks at all, as a companion and admirer, he still felt the need to warn her.
Who would have thought that the warning would backfire? Instead of moving, Luffy stopped and looked around. "Danger? Where?"
Then, along with the entire wooden hut, she took the full force of the iron club's heavy blow.
BOOM—!
The wooden hut was instantly smashed to pieces, with wood chips flying everywhere. Luffy was sent flying like a cannonball, taking Kaizer along with her since he was still tightly holding her hand.
In mid-air, Kaizer wanted to cry but had no tears: I really shouldn't have said anything!
This flight was both high and far!
Just as Kaizer thought he was going to slam hard onto the ground, he unexpectedly landed on two soft and elastic objects.
"Gomu Gomu no Balloon!"
It turned out that Luffy had activated her ability the instant before landing, turning herself into an inflated ball and steadily catching Kaizer.
So big, so soft, so elastic! And it felt incredibly safe!
Seeing that Kaizer was unharmed, Luffy gave a "hee-hee" laugh, deflated back to her original state, and patted his shoulder proudly. "See, Kaizer? I told you I'd take care of you! And did you forget? I'm a Rubber Person; I won't get hurt!"
Kaizer was still reminiscing about the amazing elasticity his head had just felt. His cheeks flushed, and he could only cough twice to hide his embarrassment. "I-I get it."
At this moment, Koby ran over worriedly and asked timidly, "A-Are you guys okay?"
Luffy brushed the dust off her clothes. "I was a bit surprised, but I'm fine! Where is this? And who was that person attacking us?"
Koby explained in a low voice, "T-This is the base of the Alvida Pirate Crew... I'm the crew's... slave." By the time he reached the last word, his voice was almost inaudible.
Luffy didn't care about his status at all; she only cared about one thing: "Then do you have a small boat? We need to keep heading out to sea!"
Koby hesitated for a moment but still led the two to a small wooden boat he had been secretly building for two years. "T-This... I originally planned to use it to escape... but I don't need it anymore."
He lowered his head, his voice full of self-deprecation. "I'm afraid of Lady Alvida's strength... I don't dare to run away at all."
Kaizer looked at this cowering future Marine officer. Recalling his 'heroic' performance later in the Marineford War, he couldn't help but speak up before Luffy could:
"You really are stupid, thick-headed, and spineless!"
Luffy nodded in agreement. "That's right!"
[System Prompt]: Luffy agrees with your evaluation of Koby. Favorability +3%.
Koby felt the blow, but he couldn't refute it because it was indeed the truth.
He summoned his courage and asked, "Why... why do you want to go to sea?"
Luffy didn't hesitate, her voice loud and clear: "I'm going to be the Pirate King!"
"P-Pirate King?!!"
Koby was so scared his glasses went crooked.
"Impossible! Impossible!
That's the person who aims for the One Piece and possesses all the wealth, fame, and power in the world!
All the pirates on the sea are fighting for that title!
People will die! No one can do it, let alone a girl!"
This was too much! He was cowardly beyond belief!
Kaizer beat Luffy to it again, slapping Koby down to the ground.
He looked down at the fallen Koby and said in a serious tone, "Dreams are precious. Negating someone else's dream is a very terrible thing to do."
Luffy's eyes lit up, and she slapped Kaizer hard on the back. "Well done! Well said! As expected of my first crewmate, you said exactly what I was thinking!"
[System Prompt]: Luffy deeply resonates with your words and actions. Favorability +5%.
Luffy turned to Koby, her expression more serious than ever before:
"So what if I die? I've made my decision, so I won't back down because of danger. Even if I die for it, it's a worthy death!"
These words were like a heavy hammer striking Koby's heart. Looking at the fire burning in Luffy's eyes, he felt the "power of dreams" for the first time.
Koby's eyes welled up. He suddenly stood up and shouted with all his might, "I-I have a dream too! I'm going to become a Marine and catch all the bad people in the world! First... first is Alvida!"
Just then, Kaizer scanned the area again. As if on cue, he saw Alvida not far away; she had already retrieved her iron club and was holding it high.
"Koby, who did you say you were going to catch?!" Alvida's roar was like a clap of thunder.
The massive iron club swung down toward Koby with a whistling wind.
Koby squeezed his eyes shut, his whole body trembling, yet he stubbornly didn't dodge.
Alvida seemed to value Koby's navigation knowledge and intended to give him one last chance; the club smashed beside him, sending dirt flying.
"I'll give you one more chance. Tell me, who is the most beautiful woman on these seas?!"
Koby was shaking with fear and instinctively wanted to answer Alvida.
This was the lie he had always used to save his life.
Unexpectedly, Kaizer spoke first.
"Of course, it's my sun goddess, Lady Luffy! She's more than ten thousand times prettier than a fat hag like you!"
Alvida and her lackeys all dropped their jaws.
No one dared to say such things to her face. Praising another woman in front of her was a capital offense; calling her a fat hag was practically asking to be beaten into a pulp.
Additionally, a question popped into their minds... Who was this beauty, Luffy? How had they never heard of her?
Then the real Luffy spoke up,
"Kaizer, you're saying weird things again!
I don't want to be the most beautiful woman on the sea, I want to be the Pirate King!"
"Eh?!!!"
Everyone was plunged into shock once again, the wave of shock even louder than before, echoing across the entire island!