One Piece: I Am King Luffy

Another half hour passed. Uta had already collected so many treasure chests that her arms were too full to carry any more. Exhausted and out of energy for treasure hunting, she carried the chests up to the deck while panting heavily.

"Uta, you're amazing! You already got so many treasure chests!" Luffy, carrying three chests himself, looked at Uta with envy.

Uta grinned proudly.

"Luffy, you only got three? At this rate, you're going to lose! I've already explored both the second and third floors."

"Wow, that's impressive… but Uta, you must be tired by now." A smile slowly spread across Luffy's face.

"Yeah…" Uta suddenly had a bad feeling.

"Then let me help you carry them!" Luffy revealed his true intention.

He placed the three chests he was holding into Uta's arms, then grabbed the huge pile she was carrying and dashed up the stairs.

"Hehehe, Uta is still too kind…"

Luffy laughed smugly, turning back to see Uta's stunned face. He felt an evil little joy welling up in his heart.

He had planned this from the beginning. He barely used any strength on purpose, just waiting for Uta to bring the treasure out.

This world belongs to the strong.

Uta… repent for your weakness!

The smile disappeared from Uta's face and appeared on Luffy's instead. She looked at the two treasure chests in her arms, then at Luffy's massive haul. He was already halfway up the stairs—victory was within his grasp.

A watery mist clouded Uta's purple eyes.

Uh oh…

Luffy instinctively slowed down. A sense of dread hit him hard. Guilt and remorse exploded in his heart.

I'm such a jerk!

The moment Uta's tears began to fall, Luffy screeched to a halt, placed the treasure chests at the top of the stairs, and looked back at the bewildered Uta.

"Luffy, you're so mean!"

Uta sobbed and accused him of his wrongdoing.

"I just wanted to play with you…"

I'm such a jerk!

Luffy was struck again by his moral conscience. I'm an adult, damn it! And I went and stole from a kid? This must be my hormones messing with my brain!

He nervously walked over to Uta, staring at her teary eyes, then at the staircase in panic.

His brain started working overtime—trying to figure out what to say when the adults showed up.

"Uta, I…"

Just as he opened his mouth, Uta suddenly swung a treasure chest and smacked him on the head.

"HAHAHA! Stupid Luffy, you fell for it!"

Her crying voice vanished. She gleefully dashed up the stairs, grabbing all the treasure chests and running straight toward Shanks.

Luffy was knocked flat on the floor. One chest popped open, and a purple fruit rolled out across his face and onto the deck.

"Stupid Luffy! I'm the daughter of a pirate! I had to show you a little trick of my own!"

Uta ran off happily with the treasure.

Luffy stared at the fruit that had rolled out of the treasure chest.

It was a fruit with a leafy green stem and a purple skin covered in swirling patterns.

A Devil Fruit.

The moment he saw it, Luffy was certain—it was a Devil Fruit.

A purple Devil Fruit.

His hands trembled as he picked it up. It looked just like the one he was fated to eat.

So Shanks got this Devil Fruit now? Luffy wondered.

Devil Fruits—known as the treasure of the sea, each worth at least 100 million Berries. The embodiment of the ocean's demons. Whoever eats one gains a unique power, but in exchange, they are cursed by the sea and can never swim again.

A Devil Fruit… just one bite grants immense power.

They're the ultimate shortcut for ordinary people—the world's cheat code for mortals.

Luffy held the fruit high.

As Garp's grandson, he had always wondered whether he should eat a Devil Fruit someday.

That question had followed him all the way until now.

He'd also been curious—how the Rubber-Rubber Fruit would appear before him.

He never expected it to happen like this.

After staring at it for a long while, Luffy placed the Devil Fruit back in the chest and closed it.

"My grandpa's a Navy hero!

My dad founded the Revolutionary Army!

I'm the protagonist of a hot-blooded shonen manga!"

"This fruit? I don't even need it."

A Devil Fruit that had slumbered for 800 years without awakening—let it keep sleeping.

Even without you, I'll still be strong. I am, without a doubt, the Young Master!

Weighing the pros and cons, Luffy finally decided to leave the Devil Fruit behind.

He didn't have to follow the same path as Pirate King Luffy.

That route wasn't the optimal one for someone who had transmigrated into this world.

Besides, it would only give him a massive, obvious weakness.

As the chest slowly closed, Luffy let out a long breath.

He had made his decision for today.

As for the future—he'd leave that to tomorrow's Luffy.

He picked up the treasure chest and carried it over to Shanks.

"Luffy, you're so slow!"

Uta was already waiting and made a face at him.

"Uta wins!"

"OOOHHHH!!"

The pirates cheered for their diva.

"As promised, Uta can now shop to her heart's content on Marble Island!" Shanks announced her reward.

"Uta, that was too mean—you hit me on the head!" Luffy complained.

Uta just grinned.

"Luffy's body is tough, so it's fine!"

"And now I'll leave tonight's watch to you!"

Uta patted his forehead and generously stuck a bandage on it.

"It was morality that restrained me from victory.

Someday, I'll cast away that pathetic, useless morality!"

Luffy leaned his head on Uta's shoulder and muttered.

"To become a new kind of human, I must have new values!"

"Foolish Uta, without realizing it—you've helped me grow!"

"I've passed the trial…"

"…Luffy, you're saying weird stuff again," Uta blinked. She had no idea what he was on about.

That night, Conqueror's Haki swept across Shanks' ship, knocking out a bunch of fish in the sea.

The pirates couldn't even be bothered to scoop them up—there were just too many.

"Luffy's Conqueror's Haki seems a bit stronger than it was this afternoon," some pirates idly commented.

"Really? I thought it was the same."

"How could a little kid grow so fast? Besides, Conqueror's Haki feeds off some pretty mysterious stuff."

"True. Maybe it was just my imagination."

...

Feeling satisfied after releasing his Haki, Luffy took a bath, changed clothes, and lay quietly in bed as his consciousness faded.

He tried to sense the hidden aura within his body.

Inhale… exhale… inhale… exhale…

Luffy slowly drifted into a dream.

"To use Observation Haki in battle, your heart must be calm.

If your heart isn't still, you can't use it at all…"

He dreamt of Haki.

(End of Chapter)