"I really don't understand how your brain works."
Uta looked at the country bumpkin with disgust, then glanced at the water puddle on the floor. "It's all your fault—my clothes got wet."
The two of them, still dripping wet, returned to the tavern, where Shanks and his pirate crew were already laughing and drinking.
"Luffy, Uta—did you two fall into the water?"Shanks chuckled as he looked at their soaked clothes.
"Luffy did! This guy doesn't even know how to swim—I had to save him!"Uta rolled her eyes.
"I'm going to take a bath!" she said through gritted teeth.
"Shanks, teach me swordsmanship!"Luffy picked up a broom from the corner of the tavern, eyes sparkling as he stared at the sword on Shanks' waist.
"You promised me yesterday!"
"I did? Alright then."Shanks grabbed a chopstick and waved it through the air a couple of times.
"Come at me—I'll teach you swordsmanship through real combat."
Luffy gathered his strength and charged at Shanks. But as soon as his wooden stick clashed with Shanks' chopstick, he couldn't push any further.
Shanks was clearly just playing around with him, like an adult humoring a child.
The pirates watching the scene cheered Luffy on.
"Strike down the middle, quick!"
"Go, Luffy!"
"You almost got him! Just a bit more and you'll hit Shanks!"
They were cheering wildly for Luffy, not caring one bit about their captain's dignity.
"Shanks… is this really teaching swordsmanship?"Luffy began to doubt it.
After a while of back-and-forth, he was completely out of energy.
"Luffy, what do you think swordsmanship is?"
"It's like—one swing and you send out sword energy that cuts hundreds of meters through everything!"Luffy's eyes lit up as he recalled the scene of Mihawk slicing through an iceberg.
To protect the beauty of the anime world, you needed that kind of power!
"Wrong," Shanks said with a grin. "Swordsmanship is simply the skill to defeat your opponent."
Then, with the same chopstick he'd been dueling with, Shanks demonstrated a few moves in the air. "Like this, and this, and then like this…"
He drew a horizontal line, then a vertical one, then a diagonal slash.
"That's swordsmanship, Luffy. I've now taught you everything."
"That's it?"
"That's it." Shanks shrugged with both hands.
What about the rest? Like sensing the breath of all things? Cutting iron?
None of that.
Couldn't he at least give me a cool, dramatic line?
Luffy couldn't help but suspect Shanks was just messing with him because he was still a kid.
In the world of pirates, most named characters wouldn't harm children—but whether they'd seriously teach them was another matter entirely.
Even his grandpa, Garp, was the same.
Luffy Wants to Train to Get Stronger
Luffy wanted to train to become stronger and begged his grandpa to teach him some awesome techniques. So, Garp taught him Tekkai (Iron Body), proudly claiming it was a move that would make him stronger just by taking hits...
Half-doubting, Luffy ended up getting rammed by a wild boar repeatedly.
Luffy, half skeptical, had been getting rammed by wild boars ever since.
Maybe it was because of the doubtful look in Luffy's eyes, but Shanks ruffled his hair and said,"All techniques are simple—the rest is just strength and how you use it."
"Luffy still needs to train his body a lot."
"Then… is there any cool move that doesn't require body training?"
Luffy thought about it—yeah, without a strong body, nothing matters. Maybe he should just focus on building his foundation honestly.
But then he remembered a certain power: Haki.
Shanks was said to be especially strong in Haki—particularly Conqueror's Haki.
Gotta find a way to make him teach me!
"Well… something like that does exist. And for someone like you, Luffy… you might really have the talent for it,"Shanks said, thinking about Garp's strength.
"Haki is a latent power that all humans possess. It's an innate ability, like 'presence' or 'intimidation'—it exists instinctively.But the vast majority of people either never become aware of it or can't draw it out in their lifetime."
"Among the types of Haki, Conqueror's Haki is possessed by only one in several million—a 'chosen one' with the qualities of a king.Unlike the other types, Conqueror's can't be strengthened through training. It only grows as the user themselves grows stronger.Because of this, its outbursts tend to be spontaneous—even a child might unleash it in an emotional moment…"
Shanks recalled his own experience with Haki and explained it to Luffy.
"I wanna learn that! Teach me, Shanks!"Luffy said without hesitation.
Of course he believed he had that power—he was Luffy!
"Ah, I don't really know how to train it either,"Shanks shrugged, "Maybe if Luffy gets really emotional, it'll awaken on its own?"
"This power comes from the heart, the will, and emotions.The only shortcut is a strong emotional trigger.The chances increase after experiencing the pain of losing something important…"
"Luffy, do you want to become a king?"
Shanks asked teasingly.
"If becoming king means I can have happiness and freedom, then of course I do!"Luffy gave a big thumbs-up.
Then he started thinking hard about the conditions for unleashing Conqueror's Haki.
If he had the talent, Conqueror's was actually the easiest to activate. Even Doflamingo had awakened it as a child.This power could even be like a passive skill—activated unconsciously.
And for kids, the most common triggers were…1) Life-threatening danger2) Extremely intense emotions
Kinda like the Uchiha clan's Sharingan in Naruto.
Luffy seriously considered what emotions he had that were strong enough.
Theoretically, he already met the conditions to awaken Conqueror's Haki—he just hadn't stirred up the emotions yet.
If other kids could awaken it through small emotional bursts, he should be able to too.
After all, even Ace had used this power as a child to protect Luffy.
So life-threatening danger wasn't even necessary emotion was the key.
Gotta hurry!Like a cornered beast—if he could push himself to that kind of desperation, the power might just awaken automatically…
Time to try it. After all, I'm Luffy!
He closed his eyes, trying to stir up his emotions.
Meanwhile, Uta had finished her bath and changed into fresh clothes.
Dressed like a princess, she confidently flicked her hair to release a sweet scent—only to find everyone sitting around Luffy in silence.
And Luffy had his eyes closed, clearly focusing on something.
Hmm?
Curious, Uta tiptoed over, careful not to break the mood.
What's going on here?
Pffft—
Suddenly, Luffy's eyes shot open, and he let out a loud fart he'd been holding in.
"Hahahahahaha!"
The tavern, quiet just moments ago, burst into roaring pirate laughter, so loud it startled the birds in the surrounding forest.
"No good… I didn't feel anything!"Luffy looked at his hands in disbelief.
Something's wrong! I'm a genius!This body was destined to be king!
(End of Chapter)