The man's scream, his instantly pale face, and how he recoiled sharply from the seated Luffy immediately drew the attention of all the other pirates. The men quickly gathered around the boy, realizing why their captain's reaction was so expressive. Luffy, deathly pale, sat in the chair with his head tilted back, arms limply hanging by his sides, and his empty, glassy eyes directed at the ceiling. His mouth was incredibly wide open - so wide that it seemed someone had simply torn it apart and then removed his soul through that gaping mouth. The boy's chest didn't rise, his neck vein didn't pulse, and, most importantly, everyone suddenly realized they didn't hear his 'voice.' Luffy not only looked eerily creepy to the seasoned pirates, but he also seemed genuinely dead.
"What happened to him?!!" Shanks finally regained his speech.
"Don't pay any attention to him," Makino said, casting a disapproving glance at the "dead" boy, shaking her head. "He's been punished."
"…"
The 'Red-Haired' pirates swallowed in unison. Little Luffy didn't look punished; he looked genuinely dead. And judging by his horrifying appearance, his death must have resulted from something truly terrible.
"He's not breathing and seems to have no pulse," Benn decided to share his observations just in case.
"Don't pay any attention to him," the girl repeated, continuing to fill the numerous mugs, this time completely ignoring the seated 'corpse' of Luffy. "It's his own fault. I warned him, but he didn't listen. Now he has to face the consequences of his stubbornness."
"What on earth happened to him?!" Yasopp couldn't hold back. "And what did he do that was so terrible?!"
"Luffy started taking revenge on the villagers," Makino frowned. "I warned him right away not to think about revenge, but he didn't listen to me. Now he's being punished."
"Revenge?" Benn didn't understand, and he wasn't alone. "Revenge for what?"
"For all the beatings he's received."
"What beatings?!" Yasopp snapped again.
The pirates couldn't imagine how anyone could have beaten Luffy… or who would even have the guts to do so. None of the villagers seemed crazy enough to do that. You'd end up dead in your own bed if you tried - meaning your house would blow up with you and your bed inside.
"When he was learning one of those Haki techniques of yours, and he had to be beaten with a stick constantly," Makino explained.
"Observation Haki?" Benn puzzled. "That was nearly a year ago, wasn't it?"
"You've known him for so long, and you still don't understand something so simple?" the girl shook her head in disappointment. "Luffy not only holds grudges indefinitely but he also keeps track of every single insult… and everything he considers an insult. Steal a few berries from him, and you'd better start preparing to lose all your valuables sooner or later. It doesn't matter how much time has passed since then. Honestly, I don't understand why the villagers were so careless," she shook her head again, this time directed at the absent villagers. "They should have known what this could lead to. They've lived near him for quite some time."
"Alright, the kid started taking revenge and you punished him, I get that," Yasopp nodded. "But for the love of everything holy, what kind of punishment could turn a person into… this!" he didn't even have words to describe the boy's condition, so he just waved at him, suggesting that Makino look at the results of her mysterious 'punishment.'
The pirates held their breath, waiting for an answer.
"I took away his ice cream."
"…What?"
"I took away his ice cream."
"…"
The words were clear enough, but their meaning seemed to escape the pirates. They seriously began to suspect auditory hallucinations. Each of the men gathered could swear they heard the phrase 'I took away his ice cream' twice in a row. Or, if they did hear it, maybe it was just a joke? Did Makino make a serious joke, and they all fell for it? Luffy looked as though he had undergone every known method of torture - and perhaps even a dozen new ones invented specifically for him - then had his wounds healed and was placed on a chair. The ice cream phrase had to be a joke, and they all fell for it! Definitely.
"…Was that a joke?" Benn, being the most rational and composed in the crew, was the first to regain his composure.
Makino sighed heavily and explained:
"Luffy loves ice cream very much."
Everyone present knew that the boy truly preferred ice cream over all other sweets. Apart from money, the ice cream given to him at the right moment was the only thing that reliably lifted his mood. Shanks and his crew had often used this proven method to bring Luffy into a good mood - an excellent way to avoid unexpected explosions after yet another altercation with him. After learning Observation Haki, the boy, as expected, also learned all its weaknesses, making him a hundred times more dangerous than before. For instance, Observation Haki couldn't help if someone - say, Shanks or Yasopp - decided to sit at a booby-trapped table. While Observation Haki could 'inform' the owner - Shanks or Yasopp - that the seemingly harmless little boy Luffy was about to press the red button in his pocket, it couldn't help with knowing the consequences of pressing that button.
"Are you saying that's his reaction if you take away his ice cream?" Benn asked, pointing at the 'corpse' of the boy with disbelief… he and the other men still thought Makino might be joking.
As mentioned, all the 'Red-Haired' pirates knew that giving Luffy ice cream at the right time could save someone - namely Shanks or Yasopp - from an unexpected explosion. And Makino's ice cream was his absolute favorite. After eating it, the boy's mood would soar to such heights that it was even safe to demand money from him, and he might even give it willingly. Unfortunately, the effect of the ice cream lasted no more than a day, and if anyone had the foolishness to take advantage of Luffy's atypical good nature during that time, serious consequences were sure to follow. Yasopp could confirm this. The best sharpshooter on Shanks' team was certain that the glass of laxative he had been given would be something he'd remember for the rest of his life - it was the longest forty-eight hours of his life.
"I was the first one to give him ice cream, and all the ice cream I have I make myself," Makino decided to explain, seeing that the pirates wouldn't leave her alone otherwise. "He had never had anything like it before, and as almost all of you can confirm, I make very good ice cream."
Whether they were healthy men or not, even they sometimes craved something sweet, so many of them had tasted Makino's ice cream. And they could confirm it was indeed very tasty. Although, it must be acknowledged, the pirates were more driven by curiosity than a desire for sweets. Luffy's reaction to Makino's ice cream was so incredible, and he ate it with such an indescribable expression on his face - like a worshiper receiving a chalice of wine from his God - that the men simply had to try the mentioned delicacy. The girl, however, only treated them in Luffy's absence and only after all the pirates had sworn to her never to tell the boy they had tried her ice cream. At the time, the condition seemed incredibly amusing to them, and Makino, with her overly serious demeanor, appeared especially endearing. Now, seeing Luffy's reaction to being deprived of his beloved treat, all the men could only be glad they hadn't let it slip. It became clear to the pirates that, in the eyes of the little boy, they could easily pass for the most wicked desecrators. And in his zeal to punish such 'desecrators' who had dared to taste his favorite treat, he could very well blow up the entire village.
"Still, such a reaction over ice cream," Benn shook his head, unable to accept Makino's explanation.
The man was too rational for such absurdity. Even though Makino's ice cream was very delicious, it didn't deserve such a reaction. It was definitely abnormal… On the other hand, there was nothing normal about Luffy either.
"I've told you before that Luffy loves to dramatize everything," Makino shrugged. "Sometimes I think he's so caught up in creating drama that he ends up convincing himself of his own performance.'
That was an explanation Benn could accept.
"Sort of like self-hypnosis?" he asked with renewed interest, looking at the sitting 'corpse' of Luffy in a new light.
"More like he has issues with his brain," Yasopp muttered, finally recovering from the shock.
"Big issues," Shanks nodded in agreement.
"Self-hypnosis or not, issues or not, the important thing is that it works," Makino returned to refilling empty mugs. "Otherwise, I don't know how we would deal with him. However, I try not to overuse this weakness of his. If Luffy stops being affected by threats of losing ice cream, our village will definitely be doomed."
Ice cream as the guardian of peace? Since Shanks and his crew met little Luffy, he had repeatedly shaken up their familiar world view… like another Grand Line, but now in the guise of a single person. And this was a seven-year-old kid. Again, it made one worry about the future. Even now, each of Luffy's crazy ideas could rival a Sea King in size - along with its appetite and bloodthirstiness - so what to expect from him in ten years? Or twenty? Thirty? And if Luffy were just some weak fool, then fine, let him and his giant mutant cockroaches be. But no, the boy was already incredibly smart and cunning, and had mastered two types of Haki. He was likely capable of mastering the rarest third type too. Such potential was hard to overestimate.
"There is one undeniable advantage in all this," Benn said, grabbing a full beer mug from the counter. "Unlike the rest of the world, we already know about Luffy." He shared his thought with the crew to lighten the mood in the bar, which had been heavy with 'hopelessness and terror.' "At least, when he enters the big world in the future, we will be the only ones who know what we're dealing with."
Saying the right words at the right moment! As soon as the pirates in the bar heard Benn's words, their eyes lit up, and wide grins spread across their faces. The very thought of how the world would be stunned when it encountered the grown-up Luffy filled their hearts with unprecedented joy. He would be more than just a wolf in sheep's clothing - he'd be a full-fledged Sea King! And only Shanks' crew would know the truth! Riding the wave of unexpected joy, all the men began drinking heavily, and no one paid any attention to the still-sitting 'corpse' of Luffy.
"Tonight we drink till we drop!" Shanks declared happily. "Luffy will cover the tab!" he added, but, unlike any other time, the 'dead' boy did not react to his blatant teasing.
Drinking was good, and free drinks were even better! The revelry had been going on for several hours when uninvited guests decided to rudely interrupt it. A kick from a stranger sent one of the swinging doors flying almost the length of the bar and crashing into the bar counter, right between the seated Shanks and the 'corpse' of Luffy. An overwhelming silence instantly filled the bar.