One Piece: I Am King Luffy

"Damn it, Luffy! What Grandpa gives you is the best!"

Garp's eyes bulged with fury, but deep down, he was also worried. From Luffy's tone, he seemed to be on very good terms with those pirates.

This indirectly reassured Garp—if Shanks was close to Luffy, then maybe that red-haired brat wasn't one of those vile, wicked pirates after all.

As long as he's better than those Celestial Dragons scumbags, that's good enough!

Still… what was Shanks doing in the East Blue of all places? Repeatedly raiding government ships? The higher-ups were already furious with him!

And those uncultured pirates—what could they possibly teach his grandson? They better not lead Luffy astray.

My Luffy is going to be a Marine!

On the side, Sengoku, who had been eavesdropping, caught the most crucial point: Luffy had awakened Conqueror's Haki.

Such monstrous talent… Truly worthy of the Monkey family. Dragon was like this too…

We cannot let this child stray from the right path.

If he goes the wrong way… Three generations of power—Marine, Revolutionary Army, and Pirate—would shake the world to its core!

Sengoku dared not imagine the chaos if Luffy ever became a pirate.

Marines. Revolutionaries. Pirates.

Three natural-born rulers… That would be catastrophic.

In that instant, Sengoku decided—Luffy's importance had skyrocketed. He must be brought back into the Marine fold.

"Grandpa, an iron body that just sits there getting beaten up isn't cool at all. I want flashy powers! I know there are things like Devil Fruits and Haki. Grandpa, I want them all!"

Luffy pleaded innocently, his childish nature craving anything that looked "super cool." Nobody would think anything was wrong with that.

"Luffy, those things are still too far away for you. Right now, you'd be better off practicing Iron Body. What's wrong with getting hit? You learn how to hit back by getting hit!"

Garp's voice was firm and instructive. He had spent years pounding Luffy with Armament Haki. A solid foundation was true strength.

Everything else was just flashy nonsense.

"I don't care! Grandpa, I want Haki training! I heard there's a country in the Calm Belt full of big sisters, and they all know Haki!"

"Those weaklings? Even with Haki, they're still nobodies," Garp snorted, thinking of Amazon Lily and its warriors.

"I want to learn! I want to learn! I want to learn!!"

Luffy's whining was so loud Garp had to pull the receiver away from his ear.

"Starting Haki training too early just makes it weak. Luffy, come to the Marines—we have way cooler moves for you…"

"Then I want a Devil Fruit too! I heard you just take a bite and become super strong!"

Garp's brow twitched. "Luffy, you idiot! If you eat one of those, you'll never be able to swim!"

"What's the difference? I already can't swim."

"Damn brat! I'm nothing like that Shanks! He spoils you rotten—he even taught you Conqueror's Haki the moment you met!"

Garp crushed a rice cracker in his hand out of sheer rage.

"Shanks… that name sounds familiar…"

The Marines gathered around Luffy muttered among themselves, trying to remember who Shanks was.

They didn't connect him to one of the future Four Emperors. Right now, Shanks was just an unknown pirate—once a trainee on Roger's ship.

"Hey, Luffy."

The Den Den Mushi's face shifted, changing into a stern man with glasses—Sengoku had snatched the receiver from Garp.

"Luffy, your grandfather only kept you from training Haki for your own good. Yes, the women on Amazon Lily all know Haki—but they're still weak. Weak Haki is useless."

"I don't care if it's weak! I just want super cool powers! Even if Conqueror's Haki is only good for stunning fish, I'd still love it!"

"If you all won't teach me, then I—"

"Fine, fine! We'll teach you. And listen, Luffy—this Den Den Mushi is yours now. Keep it with you. I'll give you my number and your grandpa's number. Now, hand the phone back to the Marines next to you."

Sengoku's tone softened, almost fatherly.

"Okay!"

Luffy instantly became his obedient, well-behaved self again and handed the Den Den Mushi to a Marine.

The low-ranking soldiers were so overwhelmed they could barely speak. Talking directly to Fleet Admiral Sengoku was unthinkable.

"All of you, listen carefully. This conversation does not leave this room. I'll speak to your base commander personally. As of now, you all forget what happened today."

"Yes, sir!" the Marines chorused, saluting.

Sengoku pinned the base's location on his map.

Shanks… what exactly are you looking for in the East Blue?

He reviewed every newspaper article about Shanks. The man's movements were erratic—sailing around aimlessly, raiding government ships, stealing treasure and Devil Fruits.

Shanks was becoming far too interesting.

Maybe… Luffy could be used to keep an eye on him.

"Hey, Sengoku, don't you dare mess up my grandson!" Garp bellowed.

"I have my own plan for him, Garp."

"Ha! You? You couldn't raise a kid if your life depended on it. Luffy's still just a brat—let him mess around with this stuff early. Who knows? He might actually be a genius!"

"You're talking like you're some parenting expert, Garp. Don't forget your own son!"

"?"

Sengoku gave him a dead stare.

Don't bring up Dragon. The most dangerous man in the world? That's your idea of good parenting?!

"If you'd just raised him better…" Sengoku sighed, exasperated.

"Did you ever tell Luffy about his father?" Sengoku asked.

"Uh… maybe? Probably not…" Garp scratched his head.

"You… are hopeless." Sengoku was done arguing.

"Yes, sir!"

The Marines stood stiffly at attention as Sengoku's voice came through the Den Den Mushi. Then, respectfully, they removed the Marine mark from the snail, restoring it to its original state, and placed it in front of Luffy.

"Wow…"

Luffy picked it up and turned it in his hands. The snail's cool, squishy texture was strange but kind of fun.

"Hey," Luffy said.

Instantly, the Marines stiffened and shouted: "Yes, Master Luffy! Your orders?"

"I've got too much stuff in my hands. Get me a cart." Luffy raised his shopping bags.

The Marines immediately scrambled to obey.

So, this… this is what power feels like.

Not bad at all.

Luffy grinned, lying back comfortably like a true "D."

(End of Chapter)