Monkey D. Luffy was the King of Pirates, and he ruled his kingdom from the old tree stump that overlooked the ocean beside his little village. On his left was his trusty advisor Mr. Briggs, a salty sea dog who had survived countless battles. To his right stood the Blue Devil, his terrible first mate with a mocking word for anyone who thought to disobey his orders. Luffy sat down on his stumpy throne and looked imperiously at the man kneeling in front of him: the notorious Shanks, the red-haired one; Shanks, who had recently lost an arm saving Luffy from a sea monster; Shanks, who had left Luffy in this village and given him his own straw hat, the one that Luffy refused to take off.
"What did you say, Shanks?" Luffy asked. "The evil Captain Death is on the high seas again? No! We have to stop him at all costs! Are you with me, men?"
"Captain Death, Captain Death, Captain Death," his first mate repeated.
"Woof, woof!" said Mr. Briggs.
Luffy leapt up and brandished a stick–his trusty sword, a king's relic of ages past–as he said, "All right, Shanks, we'll go find this Captain Death and get your ship back. After all, no one can beat me; I'm the King of Pirates! Men, go ready my ship!"
Mr. Briggs sat and panted heavily, and the Blue Devil left his perch on the stump for a better one on the tree behind them. But Luffy wasn't discouraged a bit. He ran off towards the fallen tree about a hundred yards back that served as his own flagship, the King Luffy. The sails were already set and the ship was ready to sail, but as soon as Luffy climbed aboard, the Blue Devil decided to make an entrance. He swooped low, fastened his talons on the pirate king's hat, and took off back towards town.
"No! Give it back! That's my hat!"
Luffy stretched out an arm, but the further he stretched, the faster the Blue Devil flew. The boy had no choice but to run after the bird, with Mr. Briggs chasing happily behind him.
"Woof! Woof, woof!" Mr. Briggs exclaimed.
"That's my hat, that's my hat," the Blue Devil said.
"Give it back, you stupid bird!" Luffy yelled, and jumped. He stretched a little farther, and got a hand on the straw hat. Startled, the Blue Devil let go and flew squawking off back to town.
He jammed his most precious possession back on his head. "There. Now, back to the ship!"
"Look, it's him," someone said from close by.
Luffy turned around, and there were three boys from the village, all staring at him with wide, wary eyes. Mr. Briggs bounded right up to them and licked their faces, but they still continued to stare at Luffy.
Well, it wasn't like people hadn't stared at Luffy before. He stretched out an arm…and stretched it a little more, until it was within five feet of the boys. They looked at it as if it might suddenly grow a mouth and bite them. Luffy wiggled his fingers. "Hi," he said.
The smallest boy there tentatively lifted a hand to wave back, but the two older boys each grabbed him by an elbow and turned him around without even acknowledging Luffy's greeting. The trio started walking away, backs stiff.
Luffy turned away as well, swinging his stick. Stupid boys like that, who needed them? Certainly not Monkey D. Luffy, the King of Pirates! He couldn't stop himself from taking one last look over his shoulder, just in time to see the big boy on the right shove the smallest one, the one that had tried to wave at him.
In a flash, Luffy had turned around and was running toward them. "Hey!" he yelled. "Hey! Why'd you shove him?"
The three turned back around, and the big boy swallowed and lifted his chin before answering the freaky rubber-boy. "He's my brother. I shove him if I want!"
The small boy looked down at the ground. His lower lip trembled.
"No you can't," said Luffy.
Taking a step forward, the brother asked, "And why not?"
Suddenly Luffy's arm stretched out far enough to grab the small boy by the top of his left arm. The two big boys stepped back, and Luffy drew the small boy over to his right side. "Because he's my new first mate! What's your name, pirate?"
"Uh…Weasel…" the little boy muttered.
"First mate Weasel is under my protection now," Luffy declared, stepping forward.
"Get away from my brother," his antagonist threatened, fists raised.
Suddenly, Luffy's eyes widened. He raised the stick and pointed it at the big boy's chest. "I thought I recognized you, evil Captain Death! But I am the King of Pirates, and I protect my subjects." He tossed his stick to the side. "Now, for a fair fight to the death!"
The King of Pirates jumped at Captain Death, and a fierce volley of punches battered both sides. The other older boy took several steps forward, but before he could join the fray, Weasel retrieved Luffy's stick and swung at him haphazardly. It hit his cheekbone once, hard, and the boy howled and left.
Meanwhile, Luffy pinned his opponent to the ground. "Do you yield?" he demanded.
"I yield! I yield!" groaned Captain Death.
Luffy let him up. "Go on, and tell everyone else that no one messes with Monkey D. Luffy and crew!"
"Yeah!" Weasel seconded, brandishing the stick.
Captain Death jumped to his feet and scurried for town.
Once he was out of sight, little Weasel turned to Luffy. "I thought pirates were bad people who robbed good people," he said.
"No!" Luffy said, shocked. "I'm the kind of pirate that robs bad people and rescues good people! And since you're on my crew, so are you! You do want to be my first mate, right?" he asked, and grinned the widest grin he could manage at Weasel.
"Yes!" Weasel said, and saluted. "I mean, yes sir!"
"Good! Now there's my ship, see?" Luffy pointed to the fallen tree. "It's the King Luffy."
"King Luffy?" Weasel scoffed. "What kind of a name is that? Why isn't it named Terror of the Seas or Monster Ship or something cool?"
"Because I'm the King of Pirates. Maybe I could name it Monster Ship or something. But enough stalling! Go take the wheel, Mr. Weasel, or I'll make you walk the plank!" Luffy threatened.
"Yes sir!" Weasel saluted again, and ran off to the tree, with Mr. Briggs on his heels.
Luffy turned to his right to see Shanks there. "I got rid of Captain Death!" he said proudly. "Just you wait; the King of Pirates is on the high seas again! All the bad guys better watch out!"
The Shanks in his head smiled and nodded, and Luffy ran to join his crew.