Timeskip — Ten Years Later
A small island in the New World rested beneath a slow-moving sky.
Just offshore, a pirate ship lay anchored close to the coast, its red sails furled and unmoving. The sea was calm, but the air carried the quiet tension that always came before a departure.
On the shoreline, the Red-Haired Pirates stood with their backs to the ocean.
Facing them was a young man.
Monkey D. Luffy.
He was seventeen years old now.
He stood tall—close to one hundred ninety centimeters—with a stocky, well-built frame shaped by years of hard training and real battles. His black trousers and steel-toed boots were practical, worn from use rather than display. A red long-sleeved shirt hung loosely on his shoulders, the top buttons undone to reveal a simple necklace shaped like a lightning bolt.
At his left hip rested a katana, its black-and-white hilt wrapped in a diamond pattern and secured with dark cloth.
And on his head sat a straw hat.
Faded. Scuffed. Familiar.
The same hat he had worn for most of his life.
The Red-Haired Pirates had gathered to see him off as he set out on his own.
Luffy looked at them quietly for a moment, his gaze steady and thoughtful.
"Ten years," he said. "That's how long you've been dealing with me."
A few low laughs moved through the group.
"I learned how to survive out here because of you," Luffy continued. "How to read people. How to choose my fights. How to walk away when I need to."
He dipped his head slightly—not a bow, just an acknowledgment.
"So… thanks."
Lucky Roo stepped forward, balancing two large barrels on his shoulders while chewing on a piece of meat like it weighed nothing.
"That's enough talk," he said. "Here."
He set the barrels down with a heavy thud.
"Supplies. Meat. Sake. Enough to keep you going for a while."
Luffy checked the seals, nodded once, and smiled faintly.
"You planned this already."
Roo grinned and wandered back.
Yasopp approached next, hands tucked into his coat.
"Lu," he said. "Got something for you."
He handed over a neatly wrapped box.
Luffy took it, already suspecting what it was.
"You didn't have to."
"That's nonsense," Yasopp replied, clapping him on the shoulder. "Family doesn't send people off empty-handed."
Luffy opened the box.
Inside was a flintlock pistol—black and red, well-balanced, clearly custom-made.
He turned it in his hand, then glanced back into the box.
"…No bullets."
Yasopp smiled.
"You won't need any."
That earned him Luffy's full attention.
"This weapon's tuned to a Devil Fruit," Yasopp said. "It doesn't fire lead. It fires what the user provides."
Luffy looked back at the gun.
"…Lightning."
"Exactly."
At Yasopp's nod, Luffy focused and sent a controlled current into the weapon. Electricity traced along the barrel in tight, disciplined lines, stable and precise.
Yasopp nodded once. "Good. Try it."
He tossed a sake bottle into the air.
Luffy raised the gun, adjusted his stance slightly, and pulled the trigger.
There was no loud bang.
The bottle exploded midair.
Fragments scattered across the shore, and the echo rolled out over the water.
No one spoke.
Luffy exhaled once, already gauging the output. He turned toward a nearby line of trees, compressed the energy further, and fired again.
The bolt punched through the first tree, then the second, then the third—before detonating inside the fifth and splintering it apart.
Shanks watched closely.
"You altered the compression after launch," he said.
Luffy nodded. "Delayed release. Better penetration."
Yasopp laughed quietly. "You've been paying attention."
He patted Luffy's shoulder and stepped back.
Shanks moved forward next, holding a folded parcel. He handed it over without a word.
Inside was a captain's coat—black, trimmed with gold.
Luffy slipped it over his shoulders, adjusting it instinctively.
"…Feels right," he said.
Shanks smiled. "You've been wearing the hat long enough."
Luffy looked up at the sky.
The air shifted.
Clouds began to gather—not violently, but deliberately—twisting and condensing as he focused. They lowered until a dense storm cloud, roughly the size of a small ship, hovered just above the ground.
He placed the barrels onto it. They sank slightly, then held.
"That's your transport?" someone muttered.
Luffy smirked. "Quiet. Doesn't leave tracks."
He shaped the cloud further, forming a seat, then climbed aboard.
"I'll re-enter the Grand Line by the end of the month," he said. "Next time you hear my name, it won't just be rumors."
Shanks chuckled. "I'll be waiting, Anchor."
"So will we," Benn added.
The cloud began to rise.
Luffy raised a hand.
"Thanks again. For everything."
As he ascended, Yasopp exhaled slowly.
"…That kid's already dangerous."
No one disagreed.