"I say! Whadda we have here?"
Standing on the deck of the Thousand Sunny, Monkey D. Luffy was holding a telescope to his eye. He was peering out towards the sea - where something had caught his eye, lighting up his face with interest.
Sitting on some nearby rocks was a young mermaid. She appeared to be around the same age as the dim-witted boy. She was wringing the salty sea water out of her long brunette hair, humming softly as she twitched the tip of her red tail.
Luffy could not keep his eye off her. He was enraptured by how beautiful this young sea maiden way. It was lucky for him that Nami wasn't around to see what he was up to - as she would have bonked him on the head.
"She's cute," Luffy said to himself, lowering the telescope from his eye. "I'd like to have her on board!"
Wasting no time, the absent-minded young pirate made his way to the starboard side of the Thousand Sunny, which was overlooking the rocks where the mermaid was sitting. He pocketed the telescope before pulling out a long rope, the end of which he fastened into a lasso.
With an ambitious smirk on his face, Luffy spun the noose in the rope around above his head. Then he hurled it out towards the rocks, intending to use it to bring in the pretty maiden sitting there.
The mermaid was just looking at a seashell she had found and was holding - when she felt something catch onto the end of her tail. She blinked and looked down to see the end of a long rope was wound around her just above her fin. Puzzled, she looked up just in time to see the rope was stretching out towards a large ship - before letting out a cry as she was pulled into the water.
"Come to Papa!" Luffy grinned to himself as he pulled on the rope, reeling in the mermaid he had caught. "Just wait til the other guys see what I've caught! It'll be cool to have a mermaid as part of our gang of Straw Hat Pirates."
In no time, the young boy pulled his captive up onto the ship. He held the mermaid upside down by her tail as he examined her with his glinting eyes. A wide smile was on his face - which classed with the shocked look she was giving him.
"Um...hello?" The mermaid stammered, not understanding why this boy dangling her by her tail had brought her onto the ship.
"Hey, baby!" Luffy greeted her cockily. "How's it going?"
"Erm..." The young mermaid just stared. She didn't know what this youth wanted from her, but all she wanted was for him to release her back into the sea. "Uhh..."
"I'm Monkey D. Luffy; captain of the Thousand Sunny." The youthful pirate's smile widened as his eyes narrowed. "It's good to have you on board ... to be a part of our crew ... forever!"
The mermaid gasped. What Luffy had said was his reason for bringing her on the ship didn't sound appealing to her. Her eyes filled with alarm as she stared at the boy - before noticing the vessel's flag flapping in the breeze at the top of the crow's nest.
The sight of the skull and crossbones was enough for her.
The mermaid screamed.
It was not just any scream; it was an eardrum-busting shriek that filled the entire surrounding air and sea. Luffy let out a cry of agony as the insides of his ears were pierced from the noise. Stumbling along the deck, he released his grip on the mermaid, allowing her to dive back into the ocean.
Right at that moment, the rest of the Straw Hat Pirates came running up, having heard the screaming from where they had been..
"What the hell was that?" Franky cried.
"Thought I heard someone screaming up here!" Brook exclaimed.
"Have you been screwing around, Luffy?" Nami demanded.
Luffy said nothing. He couldn't hear any of his fellow pirates, for the mermaid's scream had made him become temporarily deaf. He ceased stumbling as he regained his balance, deciding that perhaps trying to recruit a sea-maiden with an ear-piecing voice wasn't such a good idea.
"Hey! You pirates up there!"
The others heard a gruff voice bellowing in their direction from the sea. They peered down towards the surface - all getting a surprise by what they saw.
The mermaid was there - but she was not all by herself. Floating alongside her was an enormous bulky figure, who was staring up with distain towards the young pirates on the Thousand Sunny.
"I hear ya've been tryna' to take my daughter on ya ship!" he bellowed. "Tryna' make her one of ya! Is that true?!"
All pirates' gazes fell onto Luffy. They were confident that what they were being accused of had to do with that scream they had heard. Why else would he be in such a dazed state?
"Is that what you've been up to, Luffy?" Usopp asked. "You've been trying to get a mermaid onto this ship and take off with her?"
"Was that her we heard screaming?" Nami asked, crossing her arms with a frown.
Still not hearing any of his crewmates, Luffy leaned against the side of the ship. He peered down towards the water - before his gaze lit up upon seeing the pretty young mermaid looking scornfully up at him.
With a weak smile, Luffy raised a hand, waving down to her.
"That's him, Dad!" The mermaid pointed up to Luffy. "He's the one to tried to take me on board the ship!"
"TRYNA' MAKE OFF WITH MY PRECIOUS DAUGHTER, WILL YA?!" The mermaid's father was suddenly exploding in anger. "I'LL KILL YA, YA MAGGOTY PIECE OF SHIT!"
Right at that moment, the mermaid's father pulled out an enormous bazooka. The Straw Hat Pirates cried in alarm as he fired his large weapon at them. A rocket was lauched in the direction of the ship, just missing as it flew over the crew's heads.
"GET US OUTTA HERE!" Brook exclaimed. "WE'RE DEALING WITH A SEA PSYCHOPATH!"
"YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS, LUFFY!" Nami barked, not at all liking the siutation their captain had gotten them all into.
Terrified, Luffy ran for the helm of the ship. He worked quickly to set the Thousand Sunny into motion, making it race away across the sea as quickly as a speedboat.
"YOU MAGGOT! I'LL KILL YA! I'LL KILL YA ALL!"
The mermaid's father chased after the vessel through the ocean, yelling and cursing out its dim-witted captain in all his anger as he tried to blast the Straw Hat Pirates to pieces for trying to take away his precious little girl.