Chapter 2
Luffy arrived at the dock full of smiles on the morning of the voyage. Lucky Roux was there, chewing a haunch of meat as usual. The other pirates hadn't arrived yet.
"Cap'n says you're to load all those aboard," said Roux, pointing to a towering stack of crates. "He said you need to learn that being a pirate is not all play."
"Sure," said Luffy. He picked up the whole stack at once. "Where does he want 'em?"
"Hey, careful with those!" Roux warned. "You sure are strong. How come you didn't beat that bandit?"
"He kept dodging my punches," said Luffy with a scowl. "I could never land a blow."
Luffy set the crates down on the deck. The stack shuddered but didn't topple.
"Yeah, it takes more than muscles to win a fight. You need combat training," Roux replied.
"Will you train me?" Luffy asked.
"I have more important things to do, like eating to keep up my strength," said Lucky Roux. "But one of our stops is Shimoshiki village; I know of a good dojo there. We'll be spending a week, so you could ask the Cap'n for permission to get some basic martial arts training."
"Great idea, thanks!" said Luffy.
Shanks and the other pirates arrived, along with a group of villagers to see them off. Among the villagers were Makino, Mayor Woop Slap, and Luffy's elder brother Portgas D. Ace.
"Bon voyage, Luffy!" Makino called. "Good luck in making your dream come true!"
"Hey Ace," Luffy called. "I'm finally going to beat you at something. I'm beating you to being a pirate!"
"Don't brag before you've even started, little bro'," Ace retorted with a grin.
"You bring shame on our village by becoming a pirate!" cried the Mayor. "I'll send word to your grandfather, Vice Admiral Garp. He'll come after you and put a stop to this."
Luffy turned pale at the mention of his fearsome grandfather. "No! Please don't."
"Don't worry, Luffy," said Shanks. "He'd have to find us first. We pirates are pretty good at steering clear of the Marines."
After the ship was launched, Ben Beckman turned to Shanks. "Some of the men have been asking me when we're going to find a buyer for that Gum Gum fruit."
"I was thinking we'd find a rich landlubber the next time we go through Loguetown," said Shanks. "Someone who'd like to be made of rubber."
"Yar, a rubber lubber," chuckled one of the pirates. "Could have some advantages with the ladies."
"Don't joke about the Devil's fruit," cautioned another pirate. "You'll make the sea turn against us."
"That only happens to the one who eats the fruit," said Shanks. "It does no harm having it aboard a ship. We took it off an enemy pirate ship, after all."
"Aye, and they had the bad luck to run into us, they did," said the cautious pirate.
"You see how it is, Captain," said Ben Beckman. "It doesn't bother me, but the men are a bit superstitious. We should rid ourselves of it sooner rather than later."
"Any suggestions on where we could sell it?" Shanks asked.
Yassop the sharpshooter put up his hand. "Cap'n, in my hometown of Syrup Village there's a rich man who's known to be generous. Fact is, he's a sucker for a hard-luck story. He'd give me a good price for it, I'm sure."
"Very well," said Captain Shanks. "Set sail for Syrup Village."