Unexpected Promotion

Hello everyone and welcome to the latest chapter of the Servant Who Will Rule the Seas! Luffy gets to show out a bit this chapter so it should be more than a little entertaining. Also, slight apology for getting this out a day later than planned, but one or two occurrences popped up over the weekend that kept me busy. And of course, don't forget to check out my book, Plains Riders, on Amazon Kindle and Kindle Unlimited. Now then, that's enough prattling out of me and with no review questions this week, let's dive on in!

The Castle of the Lulusian Royal Family: The Dining Room

"So tell me, Komane," said the King as he sat at the far end of the table, "where was it you found this new servant of yours again?"

"Oh, Lucius," said the Princess almost dismissively, "I found him down in town by the docks. He's a former sailor so he's a bit rough around the edges."

"More than a little rough if what I've heard is true," said Seki, "a loss of several bottles of washing detergent, the downing of one of our largest and oldest trees in the garden along with the new rare specimens I'd just received, numerous pieces of broken furniture, barrels, a roof, one of the windows. And if I'm not mistaken he's managed to accumulate all this damage after having been here for hardly three days."

"Well Lucius is a lot stronger than Burgundy was," replied Komane between sips of royal wine, "so strong I don't think even he knows his own strength. But regardless, I still went with your suggestions for what to look for in a servant and he's what I found."

"I recall suggesting someone who was on the younger side but still capable," replied the King in a dead pan voice, "all this 'Lucius' has managed to accomplish so far is single-handedly cutting more firewood than we need right now."

"And you're saying that isn't a sign of him being capable?" Questioned Komane, "clearly if he can accomplish something like that then with a little more time and training he'll be perfectly fit to be my new head servant."

"You seem quite insistent about that," murmured Seki with a sigh, "but I suppose you do need someone to tie you over until we can find an actual replacement for Burgundy. So with that in mind I'll give Lucius a few more days to prove that he's capable of being a butler and servant. Should he continue to be a nuisance in this palace, however, I won't just have him kicked back to the docks I'll send him all the way out into the ocean!"

"Of course, Father," said Komane with a sickly-sweet smile, "I'll work extra hard to make sure he's a model servant." She would've said more but at that particular moment, said servant came strolling into the room with two carts. One was a regular-sized cart carrying some more food for the King and his daughter while the other was a gigantic cart carrying a small hill's worth of food.

"Hey, I brought the food you asked for from the kitchen," said Luffy as he parked the smaller cart next to the table and started putting the food out in front of the two occupants.

"I see this," replied Seki, "I also see that mass of food on the other cart. I don't recall asking the chef to prepare quite that much."

"Oh this is mine," replied the Disguised Pirate as he patted the other cart, "it's about my lunch time and the chef already knows how much I eat."

"I doubt a giant could eat that much," said the King with a raised eyebrow, "do you share that with the rest of the servants?"

"If I happen to have any leftovers," replied Luffy, "which isn't often. Grampa taught me to eat a lot so I can always keep my strength up."

"You must possess a massive amount of strength to require that much food," said Seki before turning his gaze back to Komane, "is he really as strong as all that?"

"Oh he's incredibly strong," said Komane while clapping her hands together, "I'm certain he'd be more than happy to give you a demonstration. As soon as he's done with his meal, of course."

"Hah, this I've got to see," the King almost laughed, "very well. Lucius, I'll allow you to eat that in here if you prove to me that you really can and do need to eat that volume of food."

"Gee thanks," said Luffy as he sat down and pulled the cart next to him. He then proceeded to gorge himself on the mass of food as Komane and Seki looked on. As the meal continued the King's eyes got wider and wider as the mountain of edible goods shrank in not just pieces but in chunks. In a matter what might not have even been five minutes, the entire cart had been picked clean by the pirate boy.

"By the sea king," said Seki as he watched Luffy finish the last morsel of food, "how is your body even able to contain that amount of food?"

"You wanna know what's real funny," said Luffy as he patted his stomach, "that's just an okay-sized meal for me. You should see some of the feasts I've been too. And I've got this friend who's a chef. If you ever try some of his cooking you won't want to stop eating."

"Your friend must be a very talented chef indeed," the King finally managed to say after a moment, "for you to compare him to the finest chefs of this kingdom."

"Oh yeah he's great," said Luffy with a grin, "he can make a meal out of just about anything and even his repeat meals manage to taste a little different each time."

"Fascinating," said Seki, "you should introduce me to him some time. I'd love to see how he stacks up to some of the others in this kingdom."

"But, uh, before we do that," said Komane, "why not give us a report on your labors for the day, Lucius. Burt and Dugan are taking the day off right now so I haven't heard much about how you're adjusting."

"Well the new guards you set me up with today say maybe one word when they feel like it," replied Luffy, "I haven't had a decent conversation all day. Whenever I try to talk to anyone else they just tell me to get back to work."

"And what sort of work have you been doing today," Questioned the King, "for a personal servant you seem to spend a lot of time away from the one you're supposed to be serving."

"That's because she keeps making me do the outdoor jobs," replied Luffy while pointing a thumb at Komane, "I mean I don't mind that she's making me do them but she never tells me how long or how much I should be doing."

"That's because you're not supposed to stop until I say so," Komane pointed out, "and those jobs were meant to keep you busy all day."

"Really," said Luffy, "'cause I smashed all of the rocks at that quarry place you sent me too."

"You did what now," said Seki with a raised eyebrow, "that stack was supposed to last at least all week. You can't possibly have destroyed all those boulders today."

"Uh, but I broke all the ones in the stack they showed me," said Luffy, "I even helped get new ones out. I was gonna break those too but they said they had enough rock pieces for whatever they were gonna do with 'em."

"Hmph," said the King, "I only believed your appetite because I saw it with my own eyes and so I'll only believe this feat when I see it with my own eyes as well."

"But you need to get back to your royal duties, don't you father," Komane pointed out.

"I can spare enough time for this," replied Seki as he ate a couple more morsels of food and dabbed his mouth with a napkin, "I was planning on checking the quarry's progress today anyway. Now if you're all finished, my dear, we'll be off."

A Short Time Later: Quarry Near the Castle

The main quarry of the kingdom served as a place that was primarily used by the civilian populace during times of peace for providing all different kinds of rock and stone. On occasion, though, like times of war or when a great project was taking place, the quarry would be switched over to provide more for the King and his own people. Whenever he needed stone battlements, watchtowers, new castle stone, stones for the street, stairs, etc. it would be to this quarry that he came. Currently he was in no great need of their services and thus only visited periodically to ensure everything was still capable of operating efficiently when it was necessary.

"Oh, welcome your majesty," said the head of the quarry, a large man wearing rough brown pants, boots and a weathered jean jacket, "we have the monthly report ready for you. Also it gives me great pleasure to report that we're now ahead by a week."

"So I heard," replied the King, "tell me, is this young lad the one I have to thank for you being in such a favorable situation?"

"Ah, Lucius!" Exclaimed the Head Quarryman as he noticed Luffy, "back for some more bustin' are ya?"

"The King says he wants to see me bust more rocks," replied Luffy, "and I guess I'm not all that busy right now, so do you got anything I can smash?"

"Right this way," said the Quarryman as he led the trio over to a collection of rather large rocks that easily stood twice the size of a person and possibly even wider. "We managed to roll these babies out earlier with Lucius's help, your majesty, and had planned on getting started on them tomorrow. But if you wish to see them smashed then we can start the process now."

"Just have Lucius smash a few as a demonstration," said the King, "I'm afraid I don't have too terribly long to be here."

"Then more good news because you won't have to wait long," said the Quarryman as he stood aside, "they're all yours Lucius." The Straw Hat Captain smiled as he cracked his fists.

"Thanks," said Luffy, "I've been needin' something else to hit." While it was true that the collar around his neck greatly limited his strength, there was an ability it couldn't halt: haki. And as Luffy wound back his fist and threw the strongest punch he could, he armored his hand in haki at the last moment, giving him the extra strength he needed as iron seemed to appear on his limb. It would turn out to be more than enough as his fist collided with the large boulder, causing it to quickly crack and shatter under the power of his blow.

"S-Such strength," said Seki as he tried and more or less failed not to gape at what he'd just witnessed.

"And that's not all," said Luffy as he cocked back his other fist and repeated the process. Four more boulders would follow the first two, ending with Luffy standing on a pile of rubble with his arms crossed and a confident smile on his face.

"Komane," said the King as he looked towards his daughter, "where was it you said you found this individual again?"

"I told you I found him at the docks," replied the Princess, "he looked like a capable specimen."

"Clearly you saw something I didn't," said Seki before turning back to Luffy, "care to give us a further demonstration of your abilities?"

"You mean you want me to smash more rocks?" Said Luffy in clear confusion.

"No, you've done plenty of that," replied the King while waving his hand dismissively, "the next thing I want is for you to test your strength against armor."

Later: The Castle Training Grounds

"This is where our new recruits are sent to train," explained Seki as they stood in a yard characterized by dummies, weapon racks and sparring circles, "it is also here that our current protectors train and hone their already formidable skills. But in this case, we'll simply be testing the true limits of your strength."

"I'm still not sure how this is different from the rock punching test," said Luffy while scratching his head.

"The difference is you'll be pummeling shields, helmets and other forms of armor," said the King, "the armor smith has recently created a new batch but has yet to put them through their testing phase. Given your strength, this seemed a good time to show him the kinds of opponents who might try attacking this kingdom someday."

"Okay," said Luffy, "so you still want me to hit something really hard then?"

"If you must be so simplistic about it, yes, I want you to hit the things we set in front of you as hard as you can," replied Seki, "but don't hit anything else in the training yard unless I or Komane specifically instruct you to do so."

"Alright, bring it on," said the Straw Hat Captain as he pounded his fists together. The first item that was put in front of him was a type of knight's helmet with an open faceplate. Luffy wound back his fist and slammed it into the back wall so hard that it stuck there.

"Um, should we do something so that he doesn't break that wall?" Asked Komane, actually concerned that she may have underestimated the pirate's strength more than she first thought.

"Yes, a large boulder or something behind it would be advisable," admitted Seki with a hand under his chin, "fortunately we have a lot of rock from the quarry right now. Lucius, if you'd be so kind as to bring some of that rock over here while we bring out the next target?"

"First it's smash rocks, now it's carry rocks," said Luffy as he walked off momentarily, "you guys do a lot with rocks in this kingdom, don't you?"

"What else are we supposed to build castles out of?!" Exclaimed Komane while urging him to just hurry up already. The Pirate went and did as instructed then while the next piece of equipment was brought out: a metallic shield with the symbol of the Kingdom's army on it. Just like before, Luffy readied himself in front of the target and reared back his fists.

Instead of just a single hit this time, however, the Straw Hat Pirate let loose a flurry of blows reminiscent of his Gatling attacks, pummeling the shield with hit after punishing hit as it pressed against the large rock he was using as a backstop. In no time at all the defensive armament was reduced to pieces as Luffy grinned at another success. "That was some of the stronger metal in the kingdom," observed Seki, "and you reduced it to that. I think I'm starting to grasp what might be an ideal job for you."

"But I've had like fifty jobs in the last few days," said Luffy, "you're telling me there are more jobs I can do?"

"Worry about that later," said the King as an armored chest plate was brought out, "for now, focus on pummeling things." The Straw Hat Captain tried not to roll his eyes as he assaulted the armor piece. And just like the last two, it was broken to bits. This would be the story for every piece of armor or protective gear they brought out. Even the ones made of the hardest steel in all the kingdom were reduced to twisted messes with Luffy using his armament haki whenever it seemed like they wouldn't go down with just his regular fists.

"So much strength," said Komane in amazement while also trying not to sound worried. She'd had no idea the Pirate Captain had learned how to wield haki nor had she suspected that he was still so strong even with the sea stone collar on his neck. It was possible the only reason he hadn't tried escaping before now was because they were feeding him all those oversized meals. 'This is bad, this is bad,' she thought, 'if he figures out that we don't really have anyone here strong enough to fight him at his current level he'll try to escape for sure.'

She needed a way to keep his mind off the possibility of trying to escape or at least a way to keep him convinced that he couldn't escape. As the Princess dwelled on this matter, Luffy was finishing up the most recent piece of armor they'd brought him to smash. "Splendid, absolutely splendid," said the King while clapping, "it seems I greatly misjudged my daughter's choice of servant. I'd believed initially that she'd simply picked up the first capable looking man she could find, but some obvious thought went into your selection."

"Beats me," said Luffy with a shrug, "the first thing I remember about this place is waking up in your castle's dungeon."

"In the dungeon," said Seki with a raised eyebrow, "that's a rather interesting place to take a new servant. Why in the world would my daughter have you taken there?" Luffy might've said something but Komane suddenly grabbed his head and pulled him into an embrace.

"Oh you know," said the Princess with a smile, "I needed a good place to hide him and explain the rules. Not only that, it'd be shameful of me to present a new servant to you without first cleaning them up and getting them a uniform." She then quickly whispered to Luffy. "If he finds out who you are we're both going in the dungeon." Her words seemed to have the desired effect as the Pirate Captain looked at her before doing his best to shrug.

"Ah, so you do remember your lessons on the importance of appearances and presentation," said the King as he nodded his head in approval. Komane smiled back before finally letting Luffy go. "This is good news, it means I won't have to worry once his new guard uniform arrives."

"Huh, new guard uniform," said the Straw Hat Pirate with a tilt of his head, "why would I need one of those? I already got this butler outfit on."

"We can't have one of the personal guards of the Princess of Lulusia Kingdom looking like a butler now, can we?"

"What, personal guard!" Exclaimed Komane, definitely not expecting such an idea from her father, "but he's already a servant! How can we promote a servant to the position of royal guard?!"

"Easy," replied Seki, "I'm the king and I decree that Lucius here shall be accompanying the rest of your royal guard. The experience along with his strength will help him grow into a formidable fighter for the Kingdom of Lulusia."

"But I already have two royal guards," Komane pointed out, "why do I need a third?"

"One more won't hurt," assured Seki, "and besides, it might be better if you have at least one guard you hand-picked yourself."

"I handpicked him to be my personal servant, not a bodyguard!" Exclaimed the Princess.

"A simple fix," said the King as he turned to Luffy, "you shall continue being her servant, but should the time come for you to protect her I want you to do so with all your strength."

"Wouldn't be the first time I've helped protect a princess," said Luffy, "and this place seems pretty peaceful so I can do that no problem."

"Oh, you have prior experience as a guard," said the King with intrigue, "even better." He might've said more, but a guard suddenly ran up and whispered something in his ear. "A transmission from the World Government!"

"Yes your highness," said the guard, "it sounded more than a little urgent."

"Of all the times for them to be contacting me," said Seki with a huff, "Lucius, I'll be leaving Komane in your care. If this is about what I think it's about then the time will soon come for you to be alert." He turned and walked away at a brisk pace then.

"He seems awful worried all of a sudden," noted Luffy, "what was that about, anyway?"

"Our country is one of the members of the World Government," Komane explained with a sigh, "so every now and then when a matter comes up that requires the cooperation of more than one country, we're supposed to help each other. Though I can't say I approve all that much of some of the other members of the World Government."

"Most of the members I've met have been jerks," said Luffy, "a whole bunch of those World Government guys tried kidnapping my friend, Robin, so we beat the stuffing out of 'em."

"That's right," Komane recalled, "you assaulted Enies Lobby, even beat Rob Lucci."

"Yeah he was pretty tough two years ago," said Luffy, "but I've fought way stronger guys since then."

"True, you fought at Marine Ford too, and even defeated Doflamingo in Dressrosa," the Princess recalled, "I never thought to ask before, but how in the world did you manage to survive all of that?"

"A whole lot of guts and a lot of help from my friends," said Luffy with a smile, "and the training helped too."

"What in the world kind of training let's a devil fruit user be this strong with sea stone on them," the Princess asked before she could stop herself. Fortunately, Luffy didn't seem to notice the slipup as he answered.

"Oh this old guy named Silvers Rayleigh trained me for two years," explained Luffy, "he helped me build up my strength, taught me how haki works, and got me a new outfit when my old one got shredded from getting too roughed up."

"Silvers Rayleigh," repeated Komane, "where have I heard that name before?"

"Oh, he was Gol D. Roger's first mate," Luffy stated without even thinking for a second, "we ran into him in Sabaody. No idea where he might be now, though, that guy can really get around when he wants too."

"You know 'that' Silvers Rayleigh?!" Exclaimed Komane, almost feeling as if her eyes were bulging out of their sockets for a moment.

"Yeah, who else would I be talking about," said Luffy, "and I thought you were supposed to know a lot about me, so why is all this so surprising?"

"I know about you because father trades information with the Navy," stated Komane matter-of-factly, "and your wanted poster is all over the place. But they've never mentioned any of what you just told me."

"That's too bad," said Luffy, "my friends and I have run into all sorts of adventures before we even got to the Grand Line. And we ran into even more in the New World."

"Perhaps," said Komane as a strange thought entered her head, "perhaps you could tell me about all that."

"What, like story time?" Asked the Straw Hat Pirate, "I can do that if it means I can get out of cleaning something again."

"Then why don't we do this," said Komane, not hardly believing the words that were about to come out of her mouth, "let's…go…on….a….picnic."

"REALLY?!" Exclaimed Luffy with a wide smile, "that sounds awesome! I've been dying to explore the rest of this island and try some more of the food!"

"Yes, we will bring lots of food along," said the Princess with a sigh, "but you'll have to carry it."

"Yeah no problem at all," said Luffy, the grin on his face still impossibly wide, "hope you got a giant backpack to store it all in."

"That can be arranged easily enough," said Komane, "I'll show you around the island and you can tell me all your little adventure stories."

"It's a deal," said Luffy with a thumbs up, "oh, and is there anything else you need me to smash while I'm here? I was kinda havin' fun with that."

"Let's just head back to the castle," said the Princess, "I think we've both had enough fun for one day."

Nighttime: The Private Room of the Princess

'What am I going to do,' she kept thinking to herself, 'I knew he was strong but that collar was supposed to keep him weak, at least weak enough that the guards could handle him if he got out of control. But after seeing what he did to those boulders and to our best armors, I'm no longer sure the guards could handle him even if they were all armed with sea stone weapons.' And the fact of the matter was, most of them weren't. Only a handful of their personal guards had sea stone weaponry and they only had enough sea stone restraints for a small number of prisoners.

'It's possible I'll need to have another restraint put on him,' Komane thought, 'but if I do that he might wind up being too weak to even act as a regular servant. The chance of that happening would've been fine before but now that Father wants him as a personal guard for me there's no way he'd let me intentionally weaken him more. So now I have to figure out how to keep him here without sapping his strength.' She let her mind wander for a bit on the matter, coming up with a curious question as she did so: why was she so fixated on keeping Luffy here at this point?

She'd made the Pirate her servant in the first place mostly to get back at her father for letting Burgundy go, but that anger had slowly dissipated over the last few days. Or rather, she'd been too angry and stressed at her new hire to even worry about her original reasons in the first place. But now that she actually had proven, unintentionally, that the Straw Hat Pirate would be useful as a part of the castle's staff she found that she wasn't even in the mood to request Burgundy back. 'So now I have a new bodyguard/servant that I don't actually want around but can't just let go either.'

She groaned in frustration, trying to think of someone to blame this all on and found that it was mostly her fault for reacting in such a way. It had been her idea after all and she'd proudly stated it more than once. And though it was technically supposed to go bad she never once thought what she'd do if it actually wound up successfully making the pirate a part of the staff. 'I guess the best thing to do right now is treat him nicely and try to keep his mind off of leaving,' she grudgingly admitted.

Meanwhile in Luffy's own room, the Straw Hat Captain found he couldn't sleep so well at the moment. Mostly because he was excited about going to explore the island. 'This is great,' he thought, 'being nice paid off after all. If I keep it up she might just take this thing off and let me go. But not before I eat all that great food first!' And even if she didn't take it off willingly he'd actually be well away from the castle, which would make it easier for his friends to come get him.

"Hey," whispered a voice from the window as Luffy looked over to see Sanji hanging off the windowsill, "how's it coming? Do you know everything you need to know yet?" Speaking of friends.

"Hey Sanji!" Said Luffy excitedly before quickly being shushed by the Blond Chef.

"Will you keep it down," he whispered in annoyance, "we won't be able to help you if you get us all captured too!"

"Right, almost forgot," said the Captain, still grinning like an idiot, "but I got great news."

"Well what is it," asked Sanji, "we've been scoping out the town, the castle and that marine base nearby for the last couple of days now. The sooner we get out of here the better."

"And we will," said Luffy, "but first, I got an awesome picnic to go on with the Princess."

"YOU WHA-," Sanji practically yelled before clamping his hands over his mouth.

"Now who's making a lot of noise," Luffy couldn't help but say as the Chef shot him an annoyed look.

"Whatever, how did you get a picnic date with the princess?" Asked Sanji.

"She really seemed to like hearing about some of our adventures," explained Luffy, somewhat incorrectly, "so she said we should go on a picnic where I could tell her more."

"I won't even begin to tell you how pissed off that makes me that you get to go on a date with a princess," mumbled Sanji, "but this might actually be good news. Where are you going for this 'picnic' of yours?"

"No idea," said Luffy, getting an annoyed groan from Sanji, "she mentioned touring and food and that was good enough for me."

"Yeah what else is new," said the Blond Chef, "but we can still make that work. Just look for a good moment to ditch her tomorrow and find us. If we're lucky we can all be back on the Sunny and out of here before word gets back to the castle or that Marine base."

"And I can finally get back to having some of your cooking," said Luffy, "these guys here are pretty good but not near as good as you are."

"Then just remember to stick to the plan this time," said Sanji, "now I gotta get out of here before anyone sees me."

"Tell everyone I'm doing alright," said Luffy, "and I should be seeing them all soon."

"Count on it," said Sanji before dropping out of sight. Luffy nodded as he began running possible ideas through his head. Though this didn't last long before he wound up drifting off to sleep. He never had been very good at planning stuff anyway.

The Next Day: Entrance to the Castle

"Where in the world did we get a backpack this size anyway?" Asked Burt as he and Dugan took in the sight of the large, yellow, overstuffed bag that Luffy had on his back. They honestly weren't sure what was more amazing, that pack or the fact that the devil fruit user was lifting it despite the collar around his neck.

"I think there was a suggestion once to hire a fishman or a small giant," replied Dugan, "but it fell through when that Marine base decided they needed 'em more. This is the first time we've pulled it out of storage in a while."

"Guess you never know when you're gonna…..what is it your highness?" The guard had taken note of an amused expression on the Princess's face. One he'd come to recognize because it always meant trouble whenever he saw it.

"I just thought of something," she said with a slight smirk, "Lucius, could you lower that pack a bit?"

"Sure I can," replied Luffy as he leaned back a bit to let the pack touch the ground, "do ya need-hey, what're you doing?!" He felt the bag shift as more weight was suddenly added to it.

"Ah, much better," said Komane who was now sitting on top of the bag, "now let's head out!" For once Luffy, Dugan and Burt felt like they were all on the same page as they collectively rolled their eyes. But set out they did, heading into the lower part of the kingdom. Instead of taking the main road, though, they veered off onto a smaller path that led towards a smaller village on the other side of the island.

"Now our first stop is going to be a hill overlooking the village," explained Komane, "it has a good view and will be perfect to take a break. We can eat a little there and you can tell us a bit more about yourself."

"How far is this place exactly?" Questioned Luffy, "I'm gonna be hungry before long."

"It's not much more than a thirty to forty-five minute walk," said Komane, "even I can do that when I feel like it."

"If you can do that then why are you riding on my back?" Asked Luffy as he tried to glance upwards at the Princess.

"Because, as I just said, 'when' I feel like it, and right now I don't feel like it," she replied. Luffy simply shrugged as they continued to walk on. He wasn't all that concerned about the distance anyway. What he was really worried about was whether or not the castle was in sight.

So after several minutes of walking they approached their destination. And as Luffy had hoped, it was just out of sight of the castle thanks to the presence of several trees. Even better, the hill sloped down on the other side with a road that led to the village while also splitting off in a few other directions as well. It was a perfect spot, which was why Luffy was grinning when they reached the top.

"Hey, you thinking of something funny," asked Burt as they reached the top of the hill.

"Oh, I just realized I'm about to have a good day," replied the Straw Hat Captain with a wide grin before suddenly turning and breaking into a run down the hill.

"HEY GET BACK HERE!" Exclaimed Dugan and Burt as they gave chase. The two guards had objected to an outing like this before because they knew the pirate might try something. When she'd brought up the idea yesterday they'd tried convincing her otherwise and then tried going to the king to get him to stop her. But he'd been too busy making preparations for another issue and hadn't been able to see them at the time.

He'd definitely make time for them, however, if he got wind of what was happening now and it wouldn't be pleasant. So they chased the pirate boy down the hill and along the road. Luffy didn't head towards the town but down the least used, most obstacle-ridden road he could find. Rocks, low-hanging branches, roots and all manner of other obstructions plagued the path they were running on.

Worse, for them at least, the Pirate was nimble even with the large pack on his back. And his strength allowed him to barrel through certain other obstructions that he couldn't simply jump or evade and his stamina was unlike anything they'd ever seen. Despite this they soldiered on for as long as they could, managing to keep the boy in their sights for two hours before finally losing track of him. It would be another hour or so later before Luffy finally stopped to take a breath.

"Hah," breathed Luffy as he finally stopped in a forest clearing, "how big is this island? I feel like I've been running in circles forever." He knew he was supposed to meet his friends, who were probably down by the harbor where the Sunny would no doubt be docked, but there was an issue he'd quickly run into as far as that was concerned: he had no idea which way the harbor was. Even if he hadn't been so busy getting the two guards off of his trail he hadn't thought to memorize the way back to the castle.

And thanks to the collar around his neck he was way more exhausted than he should've been. 'Hopefully Frankie can get this thing off of me,' thought Luffy as his stomach growled, 'but first, I guess I got time to eat a little.' He dropped the large backpack on the ground then and began digging through it, pulling out and eating whatever food he found. Some of it might've been better cooked, but he didn't mind it much either way at the moment because he was gonna need his strength in case things got a bit more complicated once he reached the harbor.

But that was something he could worry about later, right now his only concern was food. Which he proceeded to enjoy for several minutes. 'I know this pack weighed me down,' thought Luffy between mouthfuls, 'but it was worth keeping it for all of this food!' Naturally he ate quickly, knowing that he would need to be in a hurry again pretty soon.

"Alright," said the Pirate Captain as he gave a contented sigh, "I've gotten a little rest and a good bit of food. Now I can-AAAAAAAAAAAH!" The Straw Hat Boy stopped cold in his tracks as an ear-piercing scream reached him. 'Oh no, that sounds like trouble,' Luffy realized as he broke into a run in the direction of the screaming, all thoughts and concerns for his own safety put on hold.

A Few Minutes Earlier: A Short Distance Down the Trail

"That damn, irritating, rubbery freak," spat Komane as she struggled to her hands and knees, "did you intend to kidnap me, or did you actually forget I was riding on the top of the pack?!" She shakily got to her feet, brushing as much dirt and woody debris from her clothes as she could. Or rather what was left of her clothes. She'd been hanging on for dear life the entire time as branches tore into her clothing and skin, leaving numerous cuts.

She'd finally lost her grip when they'd hit an especially thick section of branches and she'd raised her arm up to protect her face. Now here she was in the middle of who knows where all thanks to that pirate! "Oh when I find that blasted asshole," she seethed, "I'm going to have him executed! I'm done with all of this nonsense!"

Of course, she'd actually need to get back to her guards and then the castle first before she could issue any orders. So, with that annoying thought in mind, she began trekking down the trail in search of a path that led to the castle. But she remembered one thing very quickly once she started, she didn't know this area of the island very well. The few areas she did know weren't far from the castle and all the other places she visited had one of the guards from the region acting as a guide for her.

There was also another reason she didn't know much about this part of the island: bandits. She'd overheard a couple of times that this particular area was full of bandits or pirates or both. The reason being that this area wasn't as developed as the rest of the island and the bandits were good at setting up and moving camp whenever they needed too. Things didn't used to be so bad, but criminals had gotten more bold ever sense that new warlord, Blackbeard, had taken his position.

She knew her father was going to be part of the vote to abolish that warlord system after what two of them had done to other kingdoms, but the increased presence of lowlifes in their own kingdom was definitely a good added incentive. 'Still, even if there was a small presence of bandits or pirates I couldn't afford to be out here,' she thought, 'I'm the princess of Lulusia Kingdom. Father would be willing to pay just about anything if I wound up getting kid-.' The sound of a snapping branch caused her to yelp as she whirled around in surprise.

"Well what do we got here," said a man with greasy black hair wearing an unkempt shirt which may have been white at some point. His torn brown pants and boots weren't much better, but the sword on his hip was definitely well-kept. "Seems like you're a bit lost, little lady."

"Who me, well, I," Komane stuttered as she instinctively backed away, bumping into something solid. She recoiled as she realized it was another man, this one taller than the first, with long curly hair and a dirty pink shirt. The Princess continued to back away as her eyes darted back and forth, noting with increasing horror that more and more unruly looking fellows were emerging from the woods. Even if she'd only seen a couple here and there in the castle's prison, she knew right away what they were by the hungry look in their eyes.

These were bandits, and they were very clearly on the prowl. "Hey Boss," said one of the men to the first Bandit, "you notice anything familiar about this babe?"

"Familiar," said the man with greasy hair as he put a hand to his chin, "let me think. I know I recognize that dress from somewhere, or at least the material. That's right, now I remember. That's premium silk, imported from overseas and because of that's it's real expensive."

"Now who in the world would be wearing expensive dresses out here?" Questioned another one of the bandits.

"Someone who ain't used to coming out here," said the Lead Bandit with an evil grin, "a little rich girl who thought she could rough it out in the wilderness or ran away from home. Either way it's plainly obvious that you're lost, aren't ya sweetheart?"

"N-No," said Komane nervously, "I just fell and rolled down one of the hills. I'm really not that far from where I live."

"Then why not let us escort ya home," offered the Lead Bandit, his sinister grin never leaving his face.

"No, that's really all right," said Komane, attempting to back away down the path, only to find it blocked by even more bandits, "please, I'm just a regular village girl, I don't have anything of value."

"Oh I very much doubt that," said the Bandit, "you look quite valuable. So we're gonna help you get home, but it's gonna be our way." The bandits began closing in, moving in what may have been exaggerated slowness as a way to taunt her, or to get her to panic more. Either way it was working.

Komane searched desperately for a way out, a possible path she could run down. But everywhere she looked there were bandits. She became so frantic that she tripped over her own feet and fell to the ground. "No, please, leave me alone!" She finally screamed, "please don't hurt me!"

"Just do as you're told," said the Bandit Leader as he reached for her, "and you'll be just fine."

"SOMEONE HELP ME!" Komane yelled as she closed her eyes. Then, seemingly out of the blue, she heard the sound of an impact. Even with her eyes closed she knew someone or something had gone flying because she heard them land several feet away.

"What in the world?! Where did that come from!" Yelled the bandits as they all drew their weapons.

"Gum Gum," said a nearby voice as Komane dared to open her eyes just the slightest bit, "GATLING!" The bandits all began crying out in pain and surprise as countless blurs of motion assaulted them. One after the other criminals were struck down with some flying several feet away while others spun with the hits and fell to the ground. The Princess didn't dare move during all of this, fearing that whatever was doing this might get her next.

A person landed in front of her then, placing themselves squarely between Komane and the lead bandit.

"W-Who in the world are you supposed t-to be," groaned the greasy haired man, having gotten shakily to his feet.

"Wow, you got up after that," said the Figure as Komane finally opened her eyes all the way, gasping in surprise at the identity of her rescuer, "but I guess this thing on my neck is still slowing me down."

"Don't sound so cocky," spat the Lead Bandit as he drew his sword, "you may've gotten us by surprise but now that I know who I'm up against, there's no way you'll win!" The man charged then with his sword held high.

"Heh," sighed the Rescuer as he cocked back his fist, "Gum Gum Pistol!" His arm shot forward, stretching out with a good degree of force that not only nailed the bandit in the face, it was strong enough to send him flying all the way off the road and down to the forest on the other side of the hill.

"I…..I don't believe it," said Komane as he rescuer turned to her, "you…..you actually saved me, Monkey D. Luffy."

And so once again, our hero finds himself saving a princess! Maybe he really should put that in his credentials given how often it happens in canon. But putting that aside, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and as always feel free to leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters. And stop in next time as the Princess gains a new perspective on the kind of person Luffy really is. Also, don't forget to check out my book, Plains Riders, on Amazon Kindle and Kindle Unlimited! 'Til then.