Gustave, Po, and Tom had been drifting at sea for over a week now. Thanks to Tom's exceptional fishing skills—or perhaps just incredible luck—the trio hadn't gone hungry during their oceanic ordeal.
However, Tom's miracle bag contained no fuel or fire-starting materials, which meant they'd been forced to eat everything raw for days. The constant diet of uncooked fish was making Gustave's stomach increasingly uncomfortable.
"Ugh! When are we going to find land? I'm dying for some cooked food!" Gustave groaned weakly from his position sprawled across the bow, looking about as energetic as a piece of dried fish.
"I want my dad's noodles... and some vegetables... anything that's not raw fish..." Po moaned from where he lay flat on his back in the middle of their small boat. It was clear he wasn't handling their limited diet any better than Gustave.
Compared to his two companions' pitiful states, Tom was managing remarkably well. After all, he was an immortal cartoon cat. While he preferred cooked meals, he could tolerate raw food far better than the others.
Considering Gustave and Po's deteriorating condition, Tom had taken over all fishing duties for the day.
Tom casually selected a palm-sized fish and baited his hook. The last time he'd used a tiny thumb-sized fish as bait, he'd caught a massive hundred-kilogram monster. With bigger bait this time, surely the results would be even more spectacular.
Sure enough, Tom's fishing intuition proved correct. Within thirty seconds of the bait hitting the water, something powerful struck the line.
Drawing on their previous experience, Tom immediately woke the listless Gustave and Po, handed them the fishing rod, then changed into a bright red one-piece swimsuit. Grabbing his trusty mallet, he prepared to dive in and knock their catch unconscious.
"Wait, Tom—you usually don't wear any clothes. Why are you putting on a swimsuit now?" Po asked, genuinely puzzled by this sudden display of modesty.
"I have no idea. Maybe wearing a swimsuit shows respect to whatever massive fish is down there?" Gustave replied with a shrug. Despite having watched countless Tom and Jerry episodes, he couldn't figure out the cat's reasoning.
While Gustave and Po debated Tom's fashion choices, their feline friend dove into the ocean—only to rocket back out of the water seconds later, minus his mallet and wearing an expression of absolute terror.
The moment Tom's paws hit the deck, his legs began spinning like turbine engines, propelling their entire wooden boat forward like a rocket ship. The parasol was instantly blown away, and both Po and Gustave lost their balance, tumbling across the deck.
Gustave struggled to his feet, clutching his bruised forehead and ready to demand an explanation from Tom, but the words died in his throat when he saw what was rising from the depths behind them.
A colossal sea monster erupted from the ocean's surface. The creature resembled a massive eel with blood-red eyes and rows of razor-sharp teeth. Its dorsal fin flared menacingly as it released a bone-chilling roar toward the sky before setting off in pursuit of their tiny ship.
Upon closer inspection, Gustave could see an enormous bump on the monster's forehead—clearly Tom's handiwork before his hasty retreat.
But there was no time to admire Tom's minor victory. Right now, all Gustave cared about was making their boat move faster, because being eaten by a sea monster was definitely not on his bucket list.
Po, having finally gotten to his feet and spotted their pursuer, was so terrified that he immediately grabbed the oars with both paws and began rowing frantically.
However, neither Gustave nor Po contributed much to their escape, since their rowing speed couldn't possibly match Tom's turbine-powered sprint.
For over half an hour, the trio found themselves in this deadly chase. Tom, their primary engine, was burning through his stamina at an alarming rate, and his speed was beginning to drop noticeably.
As the sea monster closed the distance between them, Gustave suddenly spotted salvation on the horizon.
"Look! There's an island up ahead!" Gustave shouted, pointing excitedly at the distant landmass.
Hearing these magical words, Tom—who had been running on fumes—suddenly found his second wind. His leg-turbines roared back to life with renewed vigor.
From a distance, it looked like the monster had opened its massive jaws and was about to swallow all three of them in one gulp, but Tom's sudden burst of speed sent their boat shooting forward just beyond reach.
The sea monster had already closed its eyes in anticipation of its meal, but when it bit down, it found nothing but seawater. Opening its eyes in confusion, it saw that damned cat pushing the wooden boat away at impossible speed, the same cat that had given it that humiliating bump on the head.
As land grew closer and closer, but the boat showed no signs of slowing down, Gustave began to panic for entirely different reasons.
"Tom, slow down! SLOW DOWN!" he screamed.
But it was far too late. Their boat hit the beach at breakneck speed and slammed directly into a large boulder. After serving as their home for over a week, their faithful ship finally disintegrated completely.
All three passengers were launched into the air in a perfect arc, flying toward the forest beyond the beach.
Seeing the impending crash, Po wrapped his arms around both Gustave and Tom, then twisted his body to take the brunt of the impact for his friends.
Po's substantial form hit the ground with a tremendous thud and bounced several times, but he never released his protective grip. Gustave and Tom, cushioned by Po's body, had been knocked unconscious by the impact.
Despite rolling across the rough terrain multiple times, Po maintained his protective embrace, ensuring his friends remained safe in his arms.
When Gustave regained consciousness, he found himself lying on a comfortable bed with bandages wrapped around his left hand and head.
"Oh wow, mister, you're finally awake!"
A childish voice reached his ears. Turning his head, Gustave saw a young boy whose head seemed to take up a third of his entire body. The child was wearing a white shirt, blue shorts, and flip-flops.
Before Gustave could respond, the boy suddenly bolted from the room, shouting at the top of his lungs:
"Makino! Makino! The mister is awake!"
"Alright, Luffy, I heard you!" came a pleasant female voice in reply.
A moment later, a beautiful woman with dark green hair entered the room. She wore a simple headscarf and white shirt, radiating warmth and kindness.
Hearing the conversation and seeing these unmistakable figures, realization hit Gustave like a lightning bolt. He was in the world of One Piece.
That energetic little boy was none other than Monkey D. Luffy, the future Pirate King. And this gentle woman was Makino, who had cared for Luffy throughout his childhood in Windmill Village.
The massive eel-like monster that had chased them must have been a Sea King—possibly even the same one that would later bite off Red-Haired Shanks' arm.
"Mr. Gustave, you're finally awake. You've been unconscious for five whole days," Makino said gently, offering him a pillow and helping him sit up properly.
"Five days?! I was out for that long?" Gustave couldn't believe he'd been unconscious for nearly a week.
"Wait, Miss Makino—how do you know my name? I hope you don't mind me being so informal," he added, suddenly realizing the implications.
"Of course not, please just call me Makino," she replied with a warm smile.
"As for how I know your name—"
Before Makino could finish explaining, little Luffy burst between them with boundless enthusiasm.
"I know! I know! Let me tell him!" Luffy shouted, jumping up and down with his hand raised high like an eager student.
"Alright, Luffy, since you're so excited about it, you can tell Mr. Gustave the story," Makino said with an indulgent smile, clearly accustomed to the boy's infectious energy.