Luffy remembered his friend's expression before his ship sank. He had no doubt that he would be even stronger when they met again. Snapping out of his thoughts, the young man returned to the conversation. "Yeah, I guess you could say that. I think he'll be stronger when he's had time to sort things out," he replied.
"A much more mature answer than perhaps I thought you would give," said the wrinkled man, with evident surprise in his eyes.
Luffy pointed at the old man in offense. "Hey! That was a little cruel!" he replied.
The stranger merely chuckled as he walked past the boy and into the dense forest, gesturing for him to follow. "Come with me, young man. It's been far too long since I last had the pleasure of speaking with such an interesting person," he said, his small smile returning. "What brings you to this island, if I may ask?" he inquired as they passed through the tree line and into the vast expanse of nature.
Luffy was mesmerized. The trees were enormous. The deeper he went into the forest, the bigger and taller they became. If this was just the beginning... how big were the ones in the middle? He stopped staring at them as they continued walking and replied, "Well... do you want the long version or the short version?" he asked. The boy in the red vest remembered explaining it to Ririka and how he had taken too long. He'd even missed the execution because of it!
"The short version will do," the man replied.
The teenager with the straw hat smiled at the answer. "I came here to get stronger and have fun," he said simply. And it was true: he had set out to gain experience and find strength in it. However, for Luffy, it was much simpler. Living adventures meant doing fun things and getting stronger.
"You sound like my old friend when you say things like that," the older man said wistfully, as the two continued their journey through the woods.
"Really?" Luffy asked excitedly, "He was a cool guy?"
The stranger's smile widened imperceptibly: "He was actually a very nice guy."
"Can you tell me about him?" the teenager asked, hope evident in his voice. He loved learning about cool people.
He glanced at the boy behind him as they walked, and his smile widened: "No. I don't think I will."
"What the hell! You were supposed to say yes!" Luffy shouted indignantly.
"No.".
"You're so mean!" the dejected teenager huffed, crossing his arms and pouting.
The old man just laughed and preferred to remain silent rather than answer as they continued their journey through the forest.
Quickly growing bored with the silence, Luffy was drawn back into the towering trees, and he began to run his hands over the ones he passed. With more time to examine them, he realized they were more tubular than any tree he'd ever seen. It felt as if the tree had been sanded and left smooth. Really smooth. He hadn't heard of many other islands to begin with, but he knew this sort of thing wasn't common in the Blues. Grandline, yes. Shanks had told him stories. While he'd grown up in a place where animals could be enormous, the trees were something else entirely.
"Hey, old man. What's the name of this place?" Luffy asked, seemingly out of nowhere.
"This island is called East Lodestone. The forest has no name; most people simply call it Lodestone Forest," the old man replied without breaking stride.
"First, THAT'S a name," the younger boy pointed out, "and second, why this one?" he asked. Luffy thought it was a good question. Why not west? After all, the forest was on the west side. At least he thought this was the west side... The truth was, he didn't really care about the answer; he just enjoyed talking to the old man.
"East Lodestone shares three sisters. One of each blue, all with a counterpart," the stranger replied cryptically, keeping his gaze fixed on the road ahead.
Luffy could only stare at the back of the man's neck. "I don't know what that means," he said, his gaze unfocused. He'd never gotten along well with people who spoke incoherently.
"And, really, it's not for you to understand... Until you get to Laughtale, of course." The older man looked at the teenager, pointing at his hat with his thumb over his shoulder. "If you're wearing that, can I assume that the end of Grandline is, most likely, your destination?" he asked, his tone returning to its melancholic tone.
"Hey! How the heck did you know, grandpa?" Luffy asked, looking at the old man curiously. He was sure he hadn't mentioned anything about being a pirate!
"I knew the original owner of that hat," said the tall man, with a broad smile on his face.
The teenager in the straw hat stood far enough away to see the old man's smile, and it was the first time he'd seen him show any real emotion since they'd met. He decided it suited him. Somehow, it made the wrinkles on his face almost disappear and made him look younger. So absorbed in the moment, he completely missed what had been said that had actually made the old man smile. He simply smiled back.
The stranger's eyes widened, and he continued to smile. "Young man! There is a cave in the heart of this place guarded by what some call the Lord of the Forest, and others, the Lord of the Wood," he began. "I don't care which name you choose. I only want to tell you that if you find his cave and defeat him, he will grant you the treasure he guards."
If Luffy hadn't already been interested, the word "treasure" would have sealed the deal. He was definitely going to beat the forest man and steal his treasure! Well... not steal it. He wasn't a pirate yet. He was going to win it! But first, he needed to find the place. He wasn't sure how big the forest was, but judging by the size and appearance of the trees, he had a feeling that alone would take forever. Everything looked the same! Just gray bark and dark green leaves. The odds of him getting lost were... pretty high. That meant he had to get going, and soon. "I'll do it, old man! I'll beat the forest man and get his treasure!" Luffy declared, starting to overtake the man who had led him there.
Something about the way the boy said it made the white-haired man believe him. "I could die too ," the man thought, frowning slightly. The boy didn't seem very strong. As Luffy ran into areas of the forest the stranger hadn't visited in a long time, he glanced at the back of his red vest. The red color and the straw hat reminded him of a similar red coat he used to see draped over the shoulders of the man who wore that same straw hat. "Before you go!" the old man exclaimed from behind the familiar color.
The boy stopped and turned around, impatience evident on his face. "What's wrong, grandpa? I have to find the boy in the woods or whatever!" he shouted, clearly wanting him to get straight to the point.
"Would it be so rude of me if I asked your name?" he asked.
Luffy stepped back, surprised, as if it were the first time he'd realized they hadn't introduced themselves yet... No doubt about it. "Sorry!" he said, laughing, with his characteristic grin. "My name is Monkey D. Luffy! And I'm going to be the Pirate King!"