Gustave's crew remained in Shimotsuki Village for three additional days, departing only after Kuina's condition had stabilized considerably. The farewell at the harbor was bittersweet, with their hosts gathered on the shore—Koshiro standing proudly beside Zoro, who carefully pushed Kuina's wheelchair.
"Goodbye, Zoro! Goodbye, Kuina!" Luffy called from the Luffy's bow, waving enthusiastically. Despite their brief time together, genuine friendships had formed, particularly between the two argumentative but mutually respectful boys.
"Next time we meet, Luffy, I hope you'll have your own ship and won't be stuck cleaning decks anymore!" Zoro shouted back, his words carrying the playful antagonism that had become their trademark interaction style.
"You moss-headed directionally-challenged moron!" Luffy replied with equal affection. "Don't let me catch you getting lost again, you complete—"
As the Luffy sailed away, Luffy's creative insults gradually faded into the distance, leaving their friends laughing on the shore.
After more than a day of peaceful sailing, Ace's sharp eyes spotted something significant on the horizon.
"Gustave!" he called down from his lookout position. "There's a ship ahead flying the skull and crossbones! Definitely pirates!"
"Pirates?!" Luffy abandoned his dishwashing duties so abruptly that ceramic crashed to the galley floor. "Where are they? The legendary hero Luffy will handle this!"
"LUFFY!" Gustave roared, emerging from the galley with murder in his eyes. "You just broke one of our good bowls!"
The boy immediately cowered under Gustave's wrathful glare, hands raised in surrender. "I'm sorry! I'm really, really sorry, Gustave!"
Seeing Luffy's genuinely contrite expression, Gustave's anger cooled slightly. "Tom, bring us closer to that ship!"
Captain Tom nodded and adjusted their course toward the pirate ship.
Po approached Gustave and Luffy, extending his Observation Haki to assess their potential opponents.
"What's the situation, Po?" Gustave asked. While his own Haki had developed considerably, his range remained limited compared to Po's mastery, and gauging enemy strength at distance was still beyond his current abilities.
This pre-combat reconnaissance had become standard procedure for their crew over the past two years—assess the threat level first, then decide who should handle the engagement.
"Their strength is pathetic," Po reported matter-of-factly. "Barely above ordinary civilian level."
Luffy's eyes lit up like fireworks. Was this finally his moment to shine?
Throughout their previous encounters with pirates, either Gustave had deemed the opponents too dangerous for Luffy's participation, or the battles had ended before Luffy could meaningfully contribute. His frustration with this pattern had been building for months.
"Gustave!" Luffy pleaded, his voice filled with desperate hope. "Please let me take the lead this time!"
Looking into those earnest, eager eyes, Gustave found himself nodding. The opposition was clearly weak enough for Luffy to handle safely.
"Very well! The stage is yours, Great Hero Luffy!"
Luffy literally jumped for joy, but Gustave quickly added a caveat.
"However, Ace will accompany you as backup. I'm not taking any chances with your first real solo engagement."
"Wait, why does Ace have to come?" Luffy's elation immediately deflated.
"If you'd prefer, I could simply send Ace alone instead," Gustave replied with practiced manipulation.
"No, no! Ace can definitely come along! That's totally fine!" Luffy backpedaled frantically, unwilling to lose this opportunity he'd been craving for so long.
"Excellent. Now, when you board their ship, remember to—"
Gustave's tactical briefing was interrupted by the thunder of cannon fire. Two cannonballs arced through the air toward the Luffy.
Po casually leaped skyward, delivering perfectly timed kicks that detonated both projectiles harmlessly in midair.
"Change of plans," Gustave declared grimly. "Since they want to play rough—Ace, Luffy, you're free to respond accordingly!"
Without further ceremony, he grabbed both boys and hurled them toward the enemy ship like living missiles.
Joey had always been the biggest fish in his small village pond—a local bully who'd terrorized shopkeepers and intimidated anyone who crossed his path. When tales of Pirate King Gold Roger's adventures reached his ears, Joey decided his talents were wasted on such a provincial stage.
Gathering several equally dim-witted accomplices, he'd stolen a fishing boat, somehow acquired two ancient cannons of questionable reliability, and declared himself captain of his own pirate crew. Their grand plan was to establish Joey's fearsome reputation by attacking the first ship they encountered.
"Boys, load those cannons!" Joey bellowed from atop one of his rusty artillery pieces. "Today, I begin my legend by sinking that unlucky ship!"
His brothers-in-arms (a generous term for such a motley collection) enthusiastically aimed their decrepit weapons at the approaching ship. Joey personally lit the fuses, striking what he imagined was an intimidating pose.
BOOM!
Two shells streaked toward their target, prompting celebratory cheers from Joey's crew.
Their jubilation lasted exactly as long as it took for the projectiles to explode prematurely in midair. Through the resulting smoke cloud came two dark shapes moving at impossible speed.
Before Joey could process what he was seeing, something collided with him like a human wrecking ball. His world exploded into stars and pain as he flew backward, crashing through the cabin door and into blissful unconsciousness.
"Ow..." Luffy rubbed his head where it had connected with Joey's face. "Did I hit something just now?"
"REVENGE FOR BOSS JOEY!" someone screamed.
Luffy looked up to find more than a dozen angry pirates charging toward him with various improvised weapons.
Meanwhile, Ace had landed gracefully atop the enemy ship's mast, from where he observed the developing chaos with detached interest. These opponents were so pathetically weak that Luffy needed to handle this alone—Ace's role was purely insurance against any unlikely disasters.
Luffy's current strength exceeded any individual member of Joey's crew, but the numerical disadvantage created a genuine challenge. In one-on-one combat, he'd dominate easily, but facing multiple attackers simultaneously forced him into defensive tactics.
What followed was an elaborate game of cat-and-mouse across the pirate ship's deck. Luffy used his small size and agility to dart between obstacles, seeking opportunities for hit-and-run attacks while avoiding being cornered by superior numbers.
His strategy relied heavily on guerrilla tactics—duck behind a barrel, pop up to deliver a headbutt to an unsuspecting pirate, then immediately dash to new cover. His inadvertently developed "iron head" technique proved surprisingly effective for these sneak attacks.
Despite Luffy's clever approach, the pirates' numerical advantage kept the battle stalemated. Neither side could gain decisive momentum.
Back aboard the Luffy, Gustave, Po, and Tom had retrieved comfortable deck chairs and were observing the distant combat through spyglasses while sipping fresh fruit juice.
"This is oddly entertaining," Gustave mused, watching Luffy scamper around the enemy ship like an oversized monkey. "Though I'm getting a bit drowsy from all this tactical maneuvering..."
He opened his mouth to yawn—and immediately found it completely filled by some kind of strange fruit that had apparently fallen from the sky at exactly the wrong moment.
"Mmmph! Grmph!" Gustave struggled to speak, his mouth packed so full he couldn't even breathe properly. He frantically tried to extract the mysterious object with his fingers, but it was wedged too firmly to budge.
Tom observed this predicament with professional interest, then held up a hand to stop Po from intervening. The cat had faced precisely this situation before—once when an apple had become similarly lodged in his throat, requiring Spike's "assistance" to resolve.
Tom approached Gustave and delivered a perfectly calculated punch to the back of his head. The impact forced Gustave to swallow the entire fruit in one massive gulp.
"Thank you, Tom," Gustave gasped gratefully, stretching his throat and working his jaw to ensure everything still functioned properly.
Tom touched two fingers to his forehead in a casual salute, as if to say such heroic interventions were simply part of his daily routine.
Gustave couldn't help but wonder what sort of fruit had just taken up residence in his stomach, but such concerns would have to wait. For now, watching Luffy's first real battle demanded his full attention—even if the young warrior's unconventional tactics were putting everyone to sleep.