"Luffy don't!" Luffy slashed his face with the knife before I could stop him.
Later at Makino's bar
"It didn't hurt a bit!" Luffy exclaimed to my annoyance.
"Liar!" I hit Luffy hard enough for a bump to form. "Don't do anything stupid again!"
"I'm not afraid of pain at all!" He responded to me. "Take me out to sea! I want to be a pirate too!" Luffy further yelled to Shanks.
I sighed exasperated. Everyone but Luffy seemed to know that Shanks wouldn't let a kid on his crew. While Luffy was bragging about his skills and Shanks was teasing Luffy, I decided to con… I mean play poker with Yasopp.
After only five minutes I had most of Yasopp's money and he owed me lessons on how to aim a gun. Just then the doors to the bar slammed open.
"Excuse me!" An evil looking man walked in and was followed by his gang. "He he… so this is what pirates look like huh? This is the first time I've seen pirates, they look pretty dumb to me. We are bandits. We are not here to cause any trouble, we just want to buy 10 barrels of sake."
"I'm so sorry." Makino said nervously. "But we are all out of sake."
"Oh? That's strange, then what are they drinking?" The man said while pointing to Shanks' crew. "Is it water?"
"It's sake." Makino replied. "But that's all we have."
"I'm sorry." Shanks said with a smile. "Looks like we finished all the sake here. Sorry about that. Here if you don't mind. Take the last bottle."
The man took the bottle and slammed it into Shanks' head. "Just who do you think I am? Don't take me so lightly. One bottle is not enough!"
"Oh no." Shanks said sadly. "The floor is all wet." I noticed Shanks was completely uninjured.
"See this?" The man held up a bounty with the name Higuma and his face on it. "My head is worth eight million beri. I'm the prime fugitive here, and I've killed 56 people before, you cocky bastard. Now that you know who I am don't mess with us again. After all, mountain bandits and sea pirates don't mingle very well." Shanks impressed me by completely ignoring Higuma and started cleaning up the mess.
"Sorry about that." Shanks said to Makino. "Do you have a mop?
"Ah… it's alright. I'll clean it up!"
Higuma, not to be ignored, took out his sword and used it to smash all the bottles on a table near Shanks. "Well it seems you really enjoy cleaning, now you can enjoy it more." And then Higuma and his bandit gang left the bar. "Later, you bunch of chickens."
"Are you alright captain?" Makino asked. "Did you get hurt?"
"No I'm fine." Shanks sat up. "Phew!"
Then Shanks crew started laughing at their captain. "Our captain looked silly!" One said. "He fixed you up good captain!" Another told him. When even Shanks started laughing Luffy had enough.
"Why are you all laughing!" Luffy shouted. "That was disgraceful! Why didn't you fight him? So what if they had more people?! Who laughs after getting picked on? Your not a man and not a pirate either!"
"Look I know how you feel. But it's just a bottle of sake. There is nothing to get worked up about." Shanks said with a smile. "Oh come on. Don't go Luffy…" Shanks grabbed Luffy's hand as Luffy turned away.
"I don't want to see you again coward!" Luffy started walking but instead of Shanks letting go of Luffy's arm, the arm stretched.
"His arm, its stretching!"
"That's…!"
"No… Way… You…"
"What's happening?! AAAH!"
"Its gone!" Lucky Roo said. "The fruit of rubber we took from the enemy isn't here!" He pulled out a picture of a strange looking fruit. "Luffy, did you eat this?!"
"Well yeah, isn't that desert? It tastes pretty bad though…" Luffy said.
"That's the fruit of rubber!" Shanks yelled at Luffy. "It's one of the fruits of the devil and one of the rarest treasures in the sea! Whoever eats it will turn into a rubber man and will never be able to swim!"
"What!" Luffy shouted. "Your kidding right?!"
"You idiot!" Everyone shouted.
One week later
Again at Makino's bar
A week past and I still couldn't convince Luffy that Shanks wasn't a coward for not fighting back.
"Luffy, by not fighting back he was proving he didn't care about someone like that bandit."
"You don't understand David." Luffy replied. "There are times when a man should fight back."
"Excuse me!" Higuma came in with his bandit gang and interrupted our conversation. When Higuma started insulting Shanks and his crew Luffy attacked them. After Higuma took Luffy outside and started beating him up I attacked him as well.
Higuma's reach was too long and I only got a small punch in that didn't do much damage in. Higuma held us both down.
"Your just a big ugly baboon." Luffy said.
"Let Luffy go you animal!" I said at the same time.
"Fine, I was planning to you, but now I'll kill you instead." The bandit said.
Then Shanks came. "Hey you are the bandits from that other day. Hey Luffy? Wasn't your punch as strong as a pistol?"
"Shut up." Luffy responded.
"Pirate, why are you still here, are you going to clean up the whole town?" Higuma told Shanks. "I suggest you leave right now we'll have to open fire if you don't."
"Didn't you hear? You were told not to come any closer!" A bandit put his gun up to Shanks head. "Do you want to get shot?"
"With that pistol, you will risk your life."
"Huh? What are you talking about?" The bandit with the gun asked.
"This isn't a child's game." Shanks said.
Bam! Lucky Roo shot the bandit from behind.
"You killed him!" "What unfair bastards!"
"Unfair? Don't be naïve. You aren't fighting saints. The people standing in front of you are pirates."
"Shut up! This is none of your business."
"Listen well," Shanks told the bandits. "You can throw food or sake at me, or even spit on me. I'll laugh it off. But! I don't care what reasons you have I won't forgive anyone who messes with my friends!"
"You won't forgive me? You bunch of pirates who float around on a ship all day, want to challenge us?! We will destroy you!" The bandits charged.
"Let me deal with this. I can handle them myself." The first mate Benn Beckman proceeded to take out the bandits as if they were nothing, knocking out one with just his cigarette. "Don't overestimate yourselves bandits. If you want to fight us, you better get a fleet of marines to back you up."
"Wait! Those brats messed with me first!" Higuma reasoned.
"Doesn't matter." Shanks said. "After all, there's a bounty on your head."
A desperate Higuma threw a smoke bomb ran away with me and Luffy as hostages.
"Ha-Ha-Ha. Looks like we got away. Who would think a mountain bandit would escape by boat? Well I only used you two as hostages. But you're useless now! I've killed 56 people who messed with me you know."
"Go to hell!" We shouted. Higuma kicked us out of the boat.
"Good riddance." He said.
I swam to Luffy and helped keep his head above the water. All we could do is watch as our local sea king ate Higuma and his boat. It seemed it didn't have enough after it ate Higuma as the sea king turned around and opened its mouth.
SNAP!
Shanks saved us, but at the cost of his arm. "Get lost." He said and stared into the sea king's eyes the sea king looked scared and swam away as fast as it could.
As we cried, letting out the tears from a stressful day and losing Shanks' arm, Shanks said, "It's nothing, just an arm. As long as you two are alive."
The next day
At the harbor
"Your really leaving this time?" Luffy asked.
"Yep we've stayed hear long enough." Shanks said.
Benn Beckman pulled me aside, "Take care of Luffy, will you? Captain cares a lot for him, actually, we all do. And take this." Benn gave me an empty book. "Just something to remember me by."
"And then I'll become king of pirates!" Luffy shouted.
"So you want to be bigger than us huh?" Shanks said. "Well than, this hat is a gift to you. Make sure to wear even when you become a great pirate."
And so Shanks and his crew left.