"…Then doesn't that mean that the development of all types of Haki is essentially the same?" Zoro frowned. "You've told us before that the true power of Haki is revealed only in real combat."
"That's the main difference with Royal Haki," Luffy grinned. "The true power of Armament and Observation Haki is revealed during combat. Theoretically, if you have Haki and face an opponent a thousand times stronger than you, it's possible to catch up to and even surpass them during the fight, but you should understand how unlikely that is… And yet, as unlikely as it is, it is still possible. With Royal Haki, it's different. It develops after victory. In fact, defeating a strong opponent is what triggers its development. The best way to enhance Royal Haki is by defeating a strong opponent who is also a direct competitor with Royal Haki … At least, that's what I was told. I haven't checked it myself. It's hard to find people with my level of strength in the East Blue.
Upon hearing Luffy's last sentence, Zoro, Yosaku, and Johnny displayed truly indescribable expressions. Finding someone with Luffy's level of strength? Each of the guys was secretly wondering if there were any worthy opponents for Luffy at all. They all knew about the Admirals, the Shichibukai, and the Four Emperors. The problem was that all of them were far away, with unclear levels of power, while Luffy was right here and seemingly unbeatable. Johnny and Yosaku, who considered themselves quite strong, acknowledged Sanji's greater strength, Zoro's monstrous power, and could hardly imagine Luffy's full might. Zoro, in particular, was more aware than the others of their captain's true strength. Yet none of the Straw Hats could imagine anyone stronger than Luffy. This was due to their lack of experience.
"Hey, don't tell me you think I'm the strongest person in the world!" Luffy said with a feigned look of indignation but a broad smile on his face. "Just so you know, I've never been able to beat my grandpa!" the guy happily informed everyone, pointing at himself with his thumb.
Except for Zoro, the rest of the crew found this statement hard to believe… actually, they didn't believe it at all. Zoro would have found it hard to believe too if he hadn't lived with Luffy in his hometown and heard enough stories about the said grandpa. And about his true identity.
"So, who is your grandpa, anyway?" Johnny asked. "You mention him often but never go into details."
"He's an old goat and loves to mess with little boys," Luffy's mood suddenly soured. "You all always accuse me of being overly bloodthirsty and a complete lunatic," the guy said, and when Johnny and Yosaku began to nervously mumble insincere excuses, Luffy didn't even listen. "Well, before my grandpa got involved, I was the smartest and most obedient kid in the whole village! I loved weaving baskets and head wreaths. I gave them to everyone in the village. And I didn't kill anyone. Not a single person! And then my grandpa got involved in my upbringing, and I started weaving baskets for carrying the severed heads of my victims and weaving wreaths for their self-dug graves."
Johnny, Yosaku, and Usopp's eyes widened noticeably, and the main porters listened to Luffy's revelations with bated breath, while Zoro massaged his forehead tiredly.
"Want to know the best part?" Luffy added, enjoying their reaction. "My grandpa wanted to make me a great Marine!"
Johnny, Yosaku, and Usopp's eyes widened even further, their mouths agape in astonishment, while the main porters forgot to breathe. Only Zoro continued to massage his forehead more intensely.
"Fortunately for the Marines, after a few years, even my thick-headed grandpa realized how bad an idea it would be for me to join the Marines."
No one present doubted this in the least. The main porters had followed their boss, Bartolomeo, for many years, so even they knew enough about Luffy to understand why the 'Pirate Slayer' would be utterly unsuitable for the Marines. Most likely, Luffy would be declared a fugitive on his first day as a Marine… assuming he didn't start killing his future colleagues during the selection process. In any case, no one could imagine Luffy obeying orders… but everyone could easily imagine what he would do to those who dared to give him orders. There were many scenarios, but all of them were drenched in blood and piled with corpses. Similarly, no one could picture Luffy as a harmless little boy happily weaving baskets and wreaths… but they could easily imagine little Luffy, covered in blood, weaving those same baskets and wreaths from his enemies' entrails. Although everyone understood intellectually that he must have been an ordinary child once, no one could truly picture him as a harmless little boy. There's a limit to imagination.
"Honestly, if my grandpa had kept insisting, I would have joined the Marines just to tear the organization apart from within or kill all the guys I didn't like there," Luffy continued to share his thoughts and feelings. "Then I would have taken out the entire crew of one of their warships, hijacked it, and raised the pirate flag. I bet my grandpa would have been torn to pieces after that… Fortunately for him, he hasn't completely lost his mind."
Usopp and a couple of porters might not have known Luffy well enough, but Johnny and Yosaku would have preferred to avoid such details. Even Johnny, who always had a curious nose for information, never risked asking about Luffy's past. In fact, no one in the crew risked delving into their captain's past. Sometimes, due to certain circumstances, someone would get curious — people often want to know what they really shouldn't — but usually, with rare exceptions, prudence would take over and they would bite their tongues. It wasn't certain that Luffy would answer truthfully, if at all, but no one wanted to risk it unnecessarily. After all, they were all genuinely afraid of discovering how something like this could have grown up in the weak and quiet East Blue, at the edge of the world. Especially after Zoro's comments. The green-haired swordsman knew more about Luffy than anyone else and sometimes regretted it deeply — without some knowledge, he would sleep much better.
"Did I miss something?" Nami asked, now dressed… or rather, not fully dressed.
The girl followed Luffy's order to 'cover her boobs' just as the guy himself would have, meaning literally. The black thong remained unchanged, but the girl added a white strip of a mini-top… a mini-top that she used to cover her chest. Just as the captain ordered. And never mind that her covered chest looked even more attractive than when it was fully exposed — adding an element of mystery.
"Is that how you dressed?" Luffy sighed at the sight of the 'dressed' girl.
"You didn't tell me to dress up," Nami flashed a smile. "You told me to cover my breasts, and I did."
"Actually, I said… a-a-a, never mind what I said," Luffy began to explain but immediately gave up, realizing the futility of any explanation. "The main thing is that the boxes have already been scattered and the crowd has dispersed… Tell Bartie that he did a good job and should find himself a successor quickly," he said, turning to the remaining pair of porters.
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(the Loguetown arc is finished in there, and next one will start soon explaining part of Luffy's past...)