One Piece:I am King Luffy!

The morning was peaceful.

In the shooting room, Luffy was doing push-ups with his fists, sweat dripping steadily onto the floor as he focused. Nearby, he could hear the occasional sound of gunfire.

"Man, that's some tough training," said a blonde, curly-haired pirate, laying his gun down and attempting a fist push-up himself, only to shake his head. "Yeah, no way am I doing this."

"Listen, mister," Luffy replied, eyes closed as he let the sweat drip down his face, "it's easier to train when you're a kid. When you grow up, your body and mind get weighed down, and even a single push-up becomes a challenge."

"Huh, guess I am a grown-up now, huh? Makes sense; I've got kids, after all," the pirate mused, sprawling on the floor. "Think you understand grown-ups, kid?"

"Well, I've got eyes, don't I?" Luffy answered matter-of-factly.

"Eyes alone don't mean you get it. You'll only know the world of adults once you're one yourself."

The pirate reached out and gave Luffy a playful poke in the elbow, making him lose balance and fall onto the floor.

"How many of those have you done, Luffy?" he asked.

"No idea," Luffy answered, lying on the floor, chest heaving as he listened to the beat of his own heart. He never counted his exercises; he just trained until he was tired, took a break when he felt like it, and worked out after eating. Life was simple in a kid's world.

The pirate chuckled. "You've got a funny way of doing things, kid."

"What's your role on Shanks' ship, mister?" Luffy asked.

"Sniper. And quit calling me 'mister.' I'm still chasing my dreams, you know! The name's Yasopp! Remember that name; it'll be famous one day."

"Funny. You look like a nobody but still want to be famous?" Luffy replied, picking his nose with a smirk as he glanced at Yasopp. With his ragged blonde hair, headband labeled "YASOPP," scrawny limbs, and face, he looked every bit like an ordinary crewmember.

"Hey!" Yasopp clicked his tongue in annoyance. "I may look like this, but I'm the best shot around! I can hit an ant's antenna from a hundred feet away without damaging a thing. That's why Shanks recruited me!"

"A hundred feet? That's just thirty meters," Luffy scoffed after a moment's calculation. "Hitting the target isn't impressive; actually beating or killing someone with it is what's cool."

"Tch, you don't get it, kid. In the heat of a fight, one well-timed shot from a sniper can turn the tide," Yasopp replied, sounding proud. "True masters live and die in those split seconds."

Luffy eyed Yasopp's weapon. "Did you make that gun yourself?"

"Nah, this is top-of-the-line stuff from the North Blue. East Blue doesn't have this kind of quality gear, even if you tried stealing it," Yasopp said, polishing his prized gun.

"Figures," Luffy nodded. "Pirates don't exactly have their own factories for guns. Even Kaido's factories only make swords and seastone gear." Advanced guns… I'll ask Grandpa for one later.

"Luffy! Come play skip-stone with us!" Another pirate kicked open the door, grabbed Luffy, and tossed him over his shoulder without waiting for a response.

Pirates rarely bothered with politeness.

On the deck, the rest of the crew had already gathered around a pile of damp, pitted stones that looked a bit gross. Just one look, and Luffy's skin crawled.

"What's with these weird-looking things?"

"Barnacles, kid. They look like stones, but they're actually animals." One pirate tossed a barnacle up in the air, explaining, "We found a ton of them stuck under the ship while fishing, so we pried a few off."

"A few?" Luffy eyed the mountain of barnacles suspiciously.

"The skip-stone contest is on! Whoever skips theirs the farthest wins!" the pirates cheered, readying their barnacles.

As each pirate hurled their barnacle with full force, Luffy could feel the wind whistling by. The objects skipped across the water, leaving waves in their wake.

Luffy watched in shock. There's no way I could throw it like that. Why did they even drag me out here?

Not having the arm strength to compete, Luffy stood off to the side as an observer, his expression blank as he watched barnacles soar across the water. Somehow, the sheer absurdity of the activity started to entertain him. When one pirate made a barnacle skip a hundred times across the water, Luffy joined in the cheering, awestruck.

The pirates basked in his admiration, clearly relishing the applause and wonder of their young audience.

Sneaky grown-ups!

"Hey, everyone, check this out! Just caught myself an 800-pound fish!" another pirate called out, proudly showing off a massive fish.

"Yeah, right! You sure you didn't dive down and grab that thing?" the others teased enviously.

"Haha! Guess this'll be lunch!" the fisherman pirate crowed.

"That little thing? Not even enough for a snack. Just wait—I'm gonna hook us a Sea King!" another boasted.

"Anyone want a drink? The cook whipped up some iced fruit juice!" Uta walked over with a tray of chilled drinks.

"Milk for me!" Luffy called, grabbing a glass of cold milk, essential to his plan for getting taller.

"Luffy, if you'd study as hard as you train, you'd be a genius by now," Uta scolded, noting the sweat-soaked shirt that told her exactly how he'd spent his morning.

"Well… maybe if I had three pretty study partners, I'd focus more," Luffy

replied, holding up three fingers and earning an exasperated eye roll from Uta.

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