Luffy sighed at his friend's words. He wanted to get angry, but he couldn't find the words. Even though Zoro hadn't been alone as he claimed, he had certainly grown stronger. He didn't know how he had inflicted those cuts on the Lord of the Forest, but piercing his fur was something to brag about. The straw-hatted teenager smiled. He wanted to see what Zoro could do. "Alright. Looks like you've gotten stronger! Did you figure it out?" he asked. It wouldn't surprise him. He was sure Zoro would manage it before they entered the Grandline.
"If you're asking about that power of yours, no. But I found something else," the swordsman replied.
"Ooo, what's going on?!" Luffy asked excitedly.
"You said we should find someone strong to fight when we leave here. You'll have to wait until then to see him," Zoro replied.
Luffy smiled, which seemed fair to him. "I've gotten stronger too!" he told his future first mate.
"Believe me, I know. I saw you fight that beast," Zoro praised as he reached the door of one of the shop's other back rooms. "Nami even stayed to watch. She even tried to steal your necklace while you were unconscious." He glanced at the item in question, examining his new amulet. He'd have to ask Luffy about that. For some reason, he couldn't believe the Lord of the Forest had been guarding a small black stone. But then again, who was he to say? It was quite beautiful, after all.
Luffy laughed and smiled. He wasn't surprised at all. It was a good thing it was practically impossible for him to remove the collar. "I'll definitely join the crew," he said, more to himself than to Zoro. The swordsman opened the door and they entered the room. There was a table in the center, laden with all kinds of food. Luffy's mouth watered at the sight.
"So, you're friends with this brat?" a voice from the table asked. "I didn't think I was actually friends with anyone."
The comment made Zoro frown in irritation.
Luffy tore his gaze away from the glorious meal in front of him. Finally! Cooked meat! "It's me! It's Luffy!" he replied to the burly man who had asked him the question.
"Saul," the older man replied hoarsely.
Luffy approached without even trying to hold back. "You're quite a big guy!" he said, pulling a chair from the table. Everything smelled too good. He was hungry.
"That's right. Otherwise, the metal wouldn't do what I want," Saul reasoned.
"Metal?" Luffy asked curiously, sitting down at the table. He had already grabbed a chicken leg and was eating it.
"I'm a blacksmith. Didn't you tell him about me, brat?" Saul asked Zoro, frowning.
"He just woke up, old man," Zoro replied in a monotone voice.
The blacksmith couldn't argue. "Whatever. Go find your friend and eat before it gets cold."
"Don't ever say something like that again," Zoro said, heading out the door to find Nami. The green warrior trembled at the thought of the headaches it would cause him.
Now that the two were alone, Saul studied Luffy closely. "Are you by any chance related to Monkey D. Garp?" he asked. Saul had known Garp in his early days. They had grown up together in the Marines, Saul as a blacksmith and Garp in the military. Luffy definitely had Monkey D.'s blood; he resembled Garp, but Saul saw more of Dragon in his face. He was definitely smaller, too. The older man grabbed another piece of steak and ate it while Luffy devoured his own meal.
"Yes. How the heck did you know that, grandpa?" Luffy asked between bites of his third chicken leg.
"I met Garp when I was rising through the ranks in the Navy. We enlisted around the same time," he laughed, swallowing a bite. "Although we took very different paths. He was a front-line man, and I was content to manufacture weapons in the safety of my forge."
So the old man was in the Marines. "You're not going to try to tell me to join the Marines, are you? Grandpa always does that and I hate it! I'm going to be a pirate, not a Marine!" Luffy exclaimed, finishing off the last apples on the table.
Saul laughed again. "You don't have to worry about that. I'm not in the Navy anymore. I retired 21 years ago." The blacksmith stopped eating and frowned. "The Navy did something I wasn't happy about. So I packed up my forge and moved here. To a simpler life," he sighed. He was happy in East Lodestone.
"Well, I'm glad. You seem happy. I like it when people are happy," Luffy said, without stopping eating. He could almost feel the satisfaction emanating from the old man as he mentioned a simple life.
As he watched Luffy devour most of the food on the table, Saul couldn't help but feel glad he'd prepared so much. He wasn't used to cooking for anyone other than himself and, occasionally, Zoro, so he'd made a huge amount. At the time, he'd thought it might have been too much, but he remembered eating with Garp when they first enlisted, and Luffy's appetite seemed similar, if not more monstrous. Preparing so much had turned out to be a blessing.
"Yes. And I'm full too," the man said, getting up from his place at the table. "Surely you can finish the rest, brats." Saul excused himself and headed for the door. He would let the three boys finish the meal. He glanced at Luffy, who was still eating, and couldn't help thinking that he could probably finish it on his own.
"Aren't you going to eat any more?" Luffy asked as he took large bites of food.
"No, you and your friends can finish it. I have some things to do at the forge," the man replied.
The door opened, and Nami and Zoro entered, inadvertently interrupting the conversation between the blacksmith and the boy with the straw hat. "It's about time you got here, brat," Saul said, smiling at Zoro. He looked back at the table. "There's almost no food left."
Luffy had already finished most of his dinner. He looked up from his enormous leg of meat and smiled at the two newcomers.
"Luffy! What the heck!" Zoro complained, "Leave some for the rest of us!"
Nami just glared at the straw hat boy with disdain. She was still angry with him after their earlier conversation.
"It's your fault for taking so long! Besides, I probably slept for a while, who knows how many meals I missed!" Luffy exclaimed, reaching out to grab more food. His stomach was starting to swell from eating so much.
The two approached the table and sat down, each beginning to take food from what was left... Which wasn't much.
"One week," Nami said. "You were gone for a week." The girl had filled her plate and was now eating, though at a much slower pace than the boy sitting next to her.
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Hi everyone, what do you think of the story so far? The book has over 300 chapters. If you'd like to download the complete book, it's available on my Ko-fi page. Here's the link: 👉 🤩 ko-fi.com/winterstar01 🤩