AN:
I saw that A Fruitless Start was mentioned in a comment and it made me remember, that story was where the idea for this story kind of bloomed in the first place. I had almost forgotten that I'd read it until I read the comment, so thank you for reminding me and I hope you enjoy reading my story as much as you did that one. If not well... RIP.
I also saw a comment about Observation Haki and I don't want to spoil anything, but it's coming. It might be a second but it's coming I promise. I want Luffy's growth to be gradual so it's more fun to read about. As much as I love reading about Luffy overpowering everyone in a story right out of the gate, it's hard for me to write like that. So be patient and I will try to make it worthwhile.
That all being said, here's Chapter 7. I had fun with this one. Would love to hear what you think.
Chapter 7: Adventure's End
Nami watched the scene before her in morbid fascination. It just couldn't be real. Her whole worldview had been shattered in the span of a couple of hours. First, she had come to the cave thinking she was going to be stealing from a PERSON. Nope. It turned out to be a giant wolf. A giant wolf that had tried to eat her. Her legs shook slightly at the thought, the fear still present in the back of her mind.
If the wolf wasn't enough, the green-haired guy that saved her had turned out to be a maniac. He just went straight back out to fight the massive thing! And just when she thought it couldn't get any crazier, he started shooting stuff out of his sword and moving faster than she could see. That kind of stuff wasn't supposed to be possible!
Now she sat at the tree line watching yet another spectacle that by all means should have been an impossibility. The perverted boy she'd met hours ago was flying around throwing punches like he had a cannon attached to his arm! How was he that strong?! He didn't look like he should be able to do something like that! At the time, she had only asked him to team up because she wanted someone to distract the Forest Lord, she never expected it to turn out the way it had!
The girl tore her eyes away from the battle and slapped her cheeks. As much as she wanted to keep watching the boy and the wolf, she knew she wouldn't get a better chance to try and nab the treasure in the cave. Nami took a deep breath, glancing at the two monsters still locked in combat, before bolting in the direction of the cave entrance. She had to move quickly, she didn't know how much longer the fight between the straw-hatted boy and the wolf would last.
The mouth of the cave came into sight and she pumped her legs as fast as she could until she could almost see inside. She was going to make it! However, her celebration was cut short. Just when she went to approach the entrance, and get a look at what the huge monster was guarding, she was distracted.
"ALRIGHT FOREST GUY! THIS ONE'S FOR HURTING MY FRIEND!".
Nami turned just in time to watch the black-haired boy streak through the air and blast the gigantic wolf straight into the ground. A massive boom shook the area and the girl's jaw hit the floor, the ground rumbling beneath her feet.
As she eyed the cloud of dust the impact created, Nami couldn't help but think out loud, "Just who the hell are these guys?!". Shaking her head in exasperation, the girl quickly turned to get back to her original goal. Now that the Lord of the Forest was dealt with, there was nothing stopping her from taking the treasure. She could think about the world-shattering stuff later. Money came first.
Her body fully rotated and she took a step forward. As she did, it felt like she stepped through a film of mist. She turned around to inspect the area but could find nothing that would have given her that feeling, just empty space. In her fixation with the air, the girl failed to notice that a shadow had fallen over her. A rather large one.
Nami slowly turned around, looked up, and screamed.
Dust and debris filled the air as Luffy stood from his… downed foe? Wait… As the air cleared, the boy gaped. He was standing in a large crater… by himself! Where the hell had Forest Guy gone?! He'd felt its fur when he punched it, so he knew he had actually hit it.
A scream echoed from across the clearing, close to the cave, and Luffy didn't even have to look to know who it was. He remembered that scream… So the peeper WAS here! He climbed his way out of the crater and was met with a familiar sight, albeit a different person than last time. And a lot more screaming. The orange-haired girl was scrambling backward, trying to get away from the black wolf, fear written all over her face. It looked like she had tried to steal the treasure while he was fighting the forest guy. He was right before... Peepers were sneaky.
Luffy sprinted his way toward the girl. He still had to get mad at her for trying to steal his treasure. Plus, he didn't want her to die. He wanted to be friends with her! She had made him laugh and he loved laughing! The boy's eyes widened when the maw of the Forest Lord began to shut around the girl's form and he pushed himself as hard as possible but soon realized that he'd be too late.
The Lord of the Forest's jaws were closing fast, the girl's cheeks growing wet and tear-stained as she screamed in the face of her death, frozen in place.
In a moment of pure desperation and inspiration, Luffy took all of the speed he had built up and used it to throw a punch harder than he ever had. He wasn't even really sure it would work. He'd always imagined doing it as a kid but with all the haki training figuring out a way to make it happen had been forgotten about.
"PISTOL!", the boy screamed. All of his momentum flew into the strike, his arm shooting out with a crack. The sound echoed through the area as if something that couldn't be seen had been broken and a bullet of condensed air, slightly larger than the boy's fist, rocketed out in a desperate attempt at saving the girl.
The projectile traveled faster than eyes could keep up with and slammed into its target's head, the wolf recoiling. After it had recovered, the beast roared in the direction it had been hit from, saving the orange-haired girl, momentarily. The straw-hatted boy's seven-year-old self would be beaming, right now.
Luffy wasted no time admiring his achievement and once again began dashing toward the girl. "STAY AWAY FROM MY TREASURE!", the teenager yelled as he approached. He would yell at her some more when he had the time. Right now, he didn't. "AND GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE BEFORE YOU DIE!".
Said girl immediately rose to her feet and ran like her life depended on it... because it did. Tears streamed from her eyes and her legs shook in fear but she managed a glance backward and sent a small smile in Luffy's direction, her eyes showing thankfulness for the boy that had saved her. The moment was quickly shattered as she tore her eyes away and dashed into the forest, toward safety. It was obvious that she wanted to get as far away from the black beast as possible.
The wolf had already recovered from Luffy's Pistol and it didn't look like it had caused much damage, just knocked its head around a little bit. He was going to have to hit Forest Guy with his actual fist if he wanted it to go down for good.
Luffy jumped again, the wolf's paw immediately rising to smack him out of the air. The boy grabbed onto the massive limb as it connected with him and used it as a springboard to push himself higher, turning in the air. "GATLING!", he screamed.
A multitude of air bullets were released as he punched the air in rapid succession, roaring in determination. His onslaught rained down from the sky, the projectiles rocketing into the side of the black wolf. It managed to stay on its feet but the impacts began to push it back closer to the mouth of the cave. "AND PISTOL!", the boy bellowed, letting his fist fly one more time before preparing to land. The wolf's head recoiled again and it was stunned momentarily. Luffy landed on his feet and immediately took to the air again, he couldn't waste the opportunity he'd made for himself. The boy rocketed toward the beast's side, fist cocked and knuckles hardened.
Another boom, like cannon fire, echoed in the air and the black wolf was thrown into the side of its cave with a deafening crash. Well, more like a smack. The cave itself was untouched even with the weight of the large animal that had slammed into it. The wolf simply bounced off and landed on the ground. However, it did not stay there for long.
Suddenly, the beast vanished from Luffy's sight as his feet touched the ground. He desperately looked around the clearing, searching for his opponent. How could it still move that fast with all the cuts on its legs?! He could see the blood matting the inside of its paws! A shadow covered Luffy's form and he looked up just in time to enhance his whole body before a massive limb descended upon him. He threw his hands above his head in an attempt to keep himself from being crushed but it wasn't much help.
A paw slammed into his frame and the ground shattered beneath him, his enhancement the only thing keeping him alive. Luffy didn't know how long he could hold the pressure he was currently under and he wasn't too keen on finding out. The teen pushed back against the weight of the building-sized beast with a scream of exertion, using his entire body to push the appendage off of him. Agonizingly slow, the wolf's leg began to rise, even as the beast leaned on it in an attempt to crush its prey.
Luffy's bones groaned under the strain of holding the wolf's full weight. He needed to get out of the situation he was in, and fast, his enhancement was going to give out soon. He forced all the strength he had left into his legs and pushed sharply off the ground.
Most people would have folded themselves in half trying to push against that kind of weight but it was Luffy, and even at sixteen… he was a monster in human skin. The wolf's leg was pushed up just enough and with his body almost collapsing, the boy rolled out from under the paw to freedom. His enhancement faded as he used the rest of what little energy he had left to sprint out from under his large opponent to some semblance of safety. He just needed a quick breather, almost dying really took it out of you. However, the wolf wouldn't be so quick to let its challenger get away this time.
The teen looked up just in time to not be smashed by another incoming paw, dodging on instinct and continuing to run at full speed. Slowing down meant getting crushed and he would really rather that not happen. He would need to finish the fight soon, that stomp, for lack of a better word, had come scarily close to crushing him and he was feeling the effects of it. He probably had one more good hardening in him before his haki gave out. Enhancing that hard around his whole body had used up a ton of his stamina. The scary part was, not a single one of the punches Luffy had thrown so far had managed to get past the wolf's fur, with the exception of the ones he had directed at the wound in its leg. That meant he would need to find a way to somehow get through it.
Luffy dove left and rolled as the wolf's mouth came to chomp down on his body. He didn't have time to really think about it right now, he would just have to go on instinct. He quickly came to his feet and stopped on a dime, just barely avoiding being crushed by yet another paw cratering into the earth. The boy reared his fist back and hardened his knuckles. He'd need to hold it until he couldn't any longer, he was going to win this fight! He was getting that treasure!
Black knuckles shot forward and smashed into the paw that had tried to crush him with enough force to blow it out to the side of the beast. Spinning on his foot, Luffy instantly punched in the air toward the remaining front leg still on the ground. He was gonna need a big one. "PISTOL!", he screamed heaving his arm forward.
The largest air bullet he'd produced yet materialized and slammed into the wolf's other leg, pushing it out to the opposite side and causing its entire front to fall toward the ground. Seeing the opportunity he'd created, Luffy blurred, sprinting his way to a position just under the beast's jaw and springing from the ground. Hardened knuckles once again impacted fur and the massive wolf's head was blown upward as the rest of its body descended. He landed and sprinted out from under the falling form of his opponent, not even looking to see if it had stayed down before launching into the air one more time.
The moment was here, he could feel it. He had one more big attack left in the tank and that was it. If it didn't work... Well... He'd figure something out. He was getting the treasure he'd come for! It would be the perfect end to a great adventure! He was having such a good time! Fighting the huge animal was bringing back a ton of good memories of his home and brothers. Especially Sabo, he'd always been really good at fighting the bigger beasts back in the mountains.
As Luffy reached his apex, he seemed to float in the air, his silhouette perfectly encircled by the full moon. From a distance, his features weren't visible, only his figure, and it created the picture of an ethereal straw-hatted man laughing in the moonlight.
Two pairs of eyes, in different parts of the surrounding forest, widened in disbelief at the image before them.
The straw-hatted boy rotated, his eyes finding his target. Suddenly, the situation before him, combined with thoughts of his brothers, brought forth a forgotten memory of Sabo from the depths of his mind.
"Luffy! Come here! I want to show you something!", Sabo yelled, walking into the clearing from the line of trees.
Luffy turned away from the meat he was eating and looked curiously over at his brother. "I'm eating right now! You can show me later!", the boy replied. Whatever it was, he could see it later. He was in the middle of eating right now and nothing was going to stop him from doing that.
Suddenly, the piece of meat was ripped from his grasp and held just out of his reach. "HEY!", Luffy yelled, "WHAT THE HECK SABO! THAT'S MINE! GIVE IT BACK!". The younger boy jumped on his brother's back and reached for the piece of stolen meat.
"Nope, not until you see what I wanna show you! C'mon, you'll like it! It's really cool! Plus, it'll make you really strong!", Sabo said, laughing as he dodged the swipes of his younger brother's short arms.
Luffy slowly lowered his hands, softly wrapping them around his brother's neck instead, "What's that mean?". He was already strong for a seven-year-old. He was still trying to figure out all the enhancement stuff he had learned, but he was really good at Conqueror's Haki! Shanks had said so! He had already used it to become friends with Levi! Well, he'd said that it was Leviathan, but that was too long in the young boy's opinion, so, Luffy had taken to calling the beast Levi instead.
"You always ask me how I take down everything in one hit! Even the biggest animals! I wanna show you! It's a really cool idea I got from reading some books!", Sabo excitedly exclaimed.
Luffy looked at his brother with similar curious excitement. Being able to take things down in one hit sounded pretty cool.
"It's not quite complete yet, so I don't have it all the way figured out, but I still want to show you.", the ten-year-old finished, smiling at his brother who was still hanging off of his back.
"Fine, I'll watch! It sounds kinda cool I guess… but only if you give me my meat back!", Luffy yelled. No way was he gonna let Sabo keep his snack! That was his!
Sabo laughed as his little brother dropped from his shoulders and he turned to hand Luffy his afternoon snack back, "Always with the food! You really are something, Luffy!". He grabbed his little brother's hand, the one unoccupied by meat, and pulled him toward a stream where he'd found a boulder to practice on.
It was the perfect place to show off his new move. Well, the beginnings of a new move. He didn't have a name for it yet and punching didn't feel quite right, so that was something that would more than likely change. But, he was proud of what he had so far and, being a ten-year-old, wanted to show off a little bit to his baby brother.
Luffy followed Sabo to the stream and sat on the edge with his feet in the water as he enjoyed the rest of his afternoon snack. He paid attention to his brother though, Sabo would probably get mad if he didn't. He watched as the older boy approached a large rock that sat on the edge of the stream. It was probably five or six times the size of the blond.
Sabo closed his eyes and laid his fist on the face of the boulder, holding his arm straight out. "Sometimes, Luffy, breaking something down isn't about how hard you hit it... but where.", said the older boy, cryptically.
"Don't be all confusing, Sabo!", Luffy moaned. He could already tell that his brother was going to use big words. He hated it when he did that.
The older boy only laughed, "Fine, fine.". He pulled his fist away from the rock and opened his eyes, smiling, "I'll just show you, how about that?".
Luffy nodded his head enthusiastically and continued to watch.
Sabo turned back to the boulder, closing his eyes again and pulling his arm back, fist barred. Without opening them, he shot his hand forward and it buried wrist deep into the stone. There was a delay before hairline cracks branched out from the point of impact and spread throughout the entirety of the boulder. The blond-haired boy slowly removed his hand, frowning and eyeing the hole he'd created.
Luffy looked on in boredom. He'd thought his brother would have done something cooler with the way he was asking to show him. Just as the younger boy was about to yell at his brother for wasting his time, the boulder began to vibrate. The cracks spreading from Sabo's fist mark began to slowly largen until the boulder fell to the ground with a loud crash, now a pile of rubble. Luffy's eyes turned to stars as he ran up to his older sibling, "How the heck did you do that?! Can you teach me?!", he yelled excitedly. He totally wanted to be able to do that. Sabo made the whole rock crumble with one punch!
The frown disappeared from Sabo's face and he smiled at his over-excited little brother, "It's not finished quite yet. It's supposed to be stronger and faster than that.". He sighed. "Well, I'll figure out that stuff later... even though I really don't think it's supposed to be a fist.", the blonde said looking at his hand intently. "Plus, it needs an awesome name! Something cool like... Crab Claw!...", he yelled. He snapped his hands like pincers at his brother before pausing in thought. "You know what I'll figure it out later.". It didn't actually sound too bad. At least the claw part didn't.
Luffy burst into laughter, "That's so dumb, Sabo! Crab Claw!".
The blond only looked at his little brother fondly. He loved it when he laughed. It was infectious. "We'll just say that it's a work in progress. But like I said it's definitely not supposed to be a fist.", he said looking at his hand curiously once again.
"What do you mean?", Luffy asked, his laughter petering out.
Sabo continued to stare at his hand intently. "Well, it's kind of hard to explain, but, it just doesn't feel quite right. I think it's supposed to be a palm or even something else maybe.", he eventually replied.
"A palm?", Luffy asked. How would a palm be a good attack?
The older boy shook his head and smiled. His baby brother probably wouldn't get it, he was too straightforward, "Never mind that, it's not really the point. I wanted to teach you how to do at least this.", he said, pointing at the remains of the boulder, "So, listen well and we can practice after, sound good?"
"Sounds good!", Luffy yelled hopping on his feet and pumping his fists in the air. He totally wanted to be able to do that!
"Alright Luffy, now, I'm gonna teach you about cores!", Sabo said, excitedly, he loved talking about this kind of stuff.
"Cores?", the seven-year-old curiously asked.
"Yeah! I think that if you can destroy a core, you can destroy anything.".
Luffy held his hand out in front of him in a dive, the memory still tickling his brain. At the time, he hadn't been able to get it and pushed the lesson to the back of his mind only for it to be forgotten with age. But he'd remembered, and maybe it was time for a reattempt. The wolf was down and dazed from the last few attacks and there wasn't going to be a better chance than the one he was looking at. He was going to give it everything he had. As he began to fall, the boy started to push on his hardening with all of his spirit and will. If he had to describe the way it felt, it would be like flexing a muscle to the point that it was tearing itself apart. It was almost too much… Maybe it was too much...
The wind blew by his face, knuckles growing hot and beginning to glow red. The straw-hatted teen disregarded his body begging him to stop pushing and focused. He had to hit the huge monster in the right spot or it would all be for nothing. None of the attacks he had thrown so far pierced through the wolf's fur. He had one last chance. So, just like Sabo had shown him all those years ago, see its core in his mind and hit it with everything he had. Also, according to Sabo, it needed an awesome name and he definitely wasn't using Crab Claw. Thinking of his brother jumping around yelling 'Crab Claw!' made the boy laugh and a huge smile came to his face.
A thought slid into the boy's head. He always smiled his biggest in the sun... So, why not that?
Luffy looked at his hand as he fell through the air. His older brother had said that it wasn't supposed to be a fist. He folded his glowing fingers at the second knuckle and held his thumb out to the side, bending his wrist and facing his palm toward his target. Yeah. Something about it just felt right to him. The glowing began to spread as Luffy continued to gain speed, the heat creating a dome of shimmering light around his falling form and making it look as if he were a meteor streaking through the night sky.
"YOUR TREASURE IS TOTALLY GONNA BE MINE!", the straw-hatted boy yelled with a massive smile on his face, the speeding wind only making it larger. His hand, stopping at the wrist, was consumed in the red glow and it intensified before popping out of existence, leaving the skin a dark grey. Right before impact, Luffy swore he saw something like a satisfied grin on the wolf's face as it looked up at his descending form.
"SUN PALM: METEOR!".
The loudest boom of the night sounded throughout the clearing, the earth quaking with the impact of Luffy's palm on the monstrous wolf. Cracks spread out from the epicenter of the blast like beams of sunlight flashing through the night and a massive cloud of dust exploded into the air. The surrounding area shook violently but eventually went quiet as the explosion slowly settled. Once it had, the clearing seemed to stand still, the boom created by the impact echoing far off in the distance. Directly in front of the cave, there was now a massive smoking crater, and looking from above it created the image of a sun and moon side by side.
Luffy groaned as he lay in the middle of the crater, rolling over onto his back and coughing, a smile coming to his face even though he was in a lot of pain. Sabo had helped him when he needed it most.
He felt the feeling slowly returning to his extremities and began wiggling them to get the blood flowing again. He'd used all the haki he could to harden his fist, so his body was left unprotected. He was going to be hurting for a while after this. The Haki Exhaustion was going to be worse. Shanks had warned him about using too much Armament Haki before he let his body mature enough. He flashed back for the second time that night.
One of the lessons Shanks had given him all those years ago began playing through his head in the form of another memory as he slowly rose to a sitting position.
"Luffy, this lesson's really important.".
The black-haired boy sat up against the tree he was currently resting on. They'd been practicing all day and he was getting some rest. Shanks hadn't been kidding when he'd said he'd make it hard. "I'm listening stupid tomato teacher.".
"YOU ABSOLUTE BRAT! ONE MORE TOMATO COMMENT AND I'LL SHOW YOU SOME REAL HAKI!", the man yelled with shark teeth. He grinned evilly and looked at Luffy like a predator eying its prey, "You might even die…".
That look was never good. Luffy paled and shook his hands in front of him in an attempt to fend off the pirate captain's evil gaze. He didn't want to remember the last time the man had gotten like that. That was ACTUALLY scary. "Ok, ok! Fine! I'm listening!", he placated.
The evil aura around Shanks disappeared and his smile returned to normal, "Very good. Now, today's lesson is about Haki Exhaustion.".
Luffy frowned. He already knew how exhausting using haki was. What was the old man on about this time?
"Haki Exhaustion isn't the same as being tired from using haki.", the man began to explain, "Haki Exhaustion is something miraculous and, at the same time, can be terribly inconvenient. Sometimes, it can even get you killed. You with me, Dummy?".
A tick mark formed on Luffy's head but inside he paled. He didn't know you could die from using too much haki! His tick mark slowly shrunk and he kept himself from insulting his teacher. He didn't want the scary eyes again. "Yes I'm with you.", Luffy growled.
Shanks laughed, "Good! Alright, I'm gonna try to explain this as simply as possible, so that even someone as dumb as you will get it.", the man smiled at the irritated look that flashed across his student's face. "Haki Exhaustion is the body's way of adapting to the power of your Armament Haki.", he began, "When you use more Armament Haki than you can handle, your body will stop its ability to use it.".
Luffy gaped. Stop?! Did it last forever?! If he used more haki than he could handle would he not be able to use it anymore?!
"The reason that it stops itself from using Armament Haki is that it's adapting.", the redhead explained.
Luffy's head was starting to smoke. That was a big word, but he thought he remembered what it meant. He knew that when something adapted, it came out better on the other side. Well, maybe not always but he mostly got the picture. That kind of excited him, he liked getting better. Getting stronger.
"Your body is basically getting used to the new amount of power forced on it by your will. Making sense so far?", the man asked.
The black-haired boy nodded, the smoke from his head wisping in the air. He was really trying and he was getting better at listening. Makino had forced him into starting lessons in reading and writing a while back and she was usually really patient with him, but sometimes she got really mad when he didn't listen to her… Like really mad...
Luffy frowned to himself. This was all sounding good. What was so bad about not being able to use haki for a little bit if it made him stronger?
"You're thinking 'What's so bad about not being able to use haki for a little bit if it makes you stronger?', aren't you?", the man smirked at the gaping boy.
"How the heck did you know that?!", Luffy yelled. Had Shanks read his mind?!
"No I didn't read your mind.", Shanks laughed as the boy seemed to gape even further, "You're just that easy to read!".
The man took his time but eventually reigned in his laughter, "Alright, alright, enough joking. This could seriously help you in the future.". It was mostly conjecture from here. Shanks had never taught haki to someone so young or known anyone who could use armament at Luffy's age. Even with that being the case, he was confident that he was mostly right about it. "The time is what can be dangerous, Luffy. How far you push your body's limits determines how long Haki Exhaustion lasts. So, if you were to use too much haki in a fight and didn't finish off your opponent, what do you think would happen?".
Luffy's eyes widened, "That would be bad.".
Shanks nodded his head, "It will be even worse for you. For a matured adult, Haki Exhaustion never usually lasts very long, weeks at most, and those are the most severe cases. For you it will be longer. Much longer.", Shanks explained.
"What the heck! Why?!", the young boy yelled in annoyance. Adults always had it better. Not only did they get to be pirates but now this too!
"Your body isn't even close to fully matured yet and, because of that, its ability to adapt isn't as good as it will be in the future.", Shanks started, "If you push your armament too hard before you've matured to at least nineteen or twenty…". He shot the boy an apologetic look, "It's anyone's guess at how long the exhaustion will last. Pushing past your physical limits even a little could mean days. Let alone anything more than that.".
Luffy groaned, falling onto his back. He hated being a kid sometimes. The straw-hatted boy lay still for a moment before jumping back to his feet, a large smile on his face. "Who cares anyways! I'm still gonna get way strong!" He decided that he would just have to figure it out when the time came. He was never very good at thinking about things. He would deal with this Haki Exhaustion business when it happened.
Well, it looked like the time had come. But at least that last attack had killed the wolf... Right? The straw-hatted boy looked around the clearing, gaping, and immediately sat up, his body groaning in protest. The wolf was gone! It had obviously been there, Luffy could tell from the impact print, but now it wasn't! What the hell was up with the thing and disappearing? If it wasn't there then he thought that it must be back at the entrance to its cave.
The boy slowly climbed out of the crater, his broken bones grinding in the process, and scanned the clearing for the wolf. Even as his eyes passed over the cave, he couldn't see it anywhere. Had he won? He shook his head. Until he had the treasure in his hands he wouldn't be letting his guard down. Speaking of treasure… He scanned again for the sneaky orange-haired girl. No way he was letting her get her hands on it. Luffy made his way to the mouth of the cave, as quickly as his injured body would let him and when he didn't see the orange-haired girl or the wolf, he began to grow excited. It was time for treasure!
He wasn't very far from the entrance when he felt like he'd walked through a wall of mist. When he turned around and tried to wave his hand through the area, however, there was nothing there. Weird. Luffy turned back toward his goal and finished walking the distance to the entrance of the cave, taking a deep breath. He was hurting. Bad.
The straw-hatted boy, not so cautiously, stumbled into the cave almost expecting Forest Guy to jump out from somewhere, but nothing of the sort happened. He slowly continued on his way, his lonesome footsteps echoing off the walls of the large open space as he traversed deeper into the pitch-black darkness.
Luffy had only been walking for a couple of minutes when he stepped on something, his foot sinking into the ground. He lifted his leg and looked up as grating began to sound from the ceiling, or at least what he thought was the ceiling. It was pitch black in the cave after all.
Suddenly, a sliver of silver began to peak through a gap in the rock above him, slowly growing larger as the covering slid to the side. The grating sound continued until a perfect circle of moonlight shone on an altar. On the altar was something the likes of which Luffy hadn't seen since he was seven years old.
A devil fruit.
The boy's eyes widened in shock. He knew how rare they were. Shanks had told him. He slowly walked his way up to the altar, eyes wide, light whispers coating the air as he made his way closer.
'Eat me.'.
'Eat me.'.
'Eat me.'.
Luffy couldn't help but smile to himself as he approached the fruit sitting reverently on the altar. It was just like the first time he'd seen a devil fruit. He reached his hand out and braced for the yelling he knew was coming.
'EAT ME.'.
'EAT ME.'.
'EAT ME.'.
The straw-hatted boy's grin widened, remembering the day he'd gotten his first charm. Coming back to the present, the boy finally lowered his hand all the way and grasped the fruit. It really was lucky that the treasure had turned out to be what it was. He didn't know how he would have moved a pile of gold if it had been that. Ignoring the fruit's pleas for him to eat it, Luffy grabbed it by the stem and did what Limejuice had told him to do if he ever wanted to add another charm, bringing the crescent moon-shaped fruit and his brown leather chord together.
The fruit immediately began shrinking in his hand until he no longer had to hold its and continued to shrink until there was almost no evidence it had ever existed at all. The only thing left of the treasure of the Lord of the Forest was a midnight black crescent moon-shaped gemstone that bore a multitude of tiny white spots, sparkling like diamonds.
Luffy smiled to himself as he looked down at his new charm sitting next to the one that had been there since the necklace's conception. He'd never been sure if he was ever gonna add another one, but it had felt right to him. That power really was handy. He would have to thank Shanks' and Limejuice when he saw them again. With his treasure acquired, Luffy happily began tracing his steps back to the entrance of the cave, leaving behind an empty altar shining in the moonlight.
The boy took in a deep breath of fresh air as he stepped out of the cave and into the clearing once again. It was time to find Zoro and the peeper girl.
Just as he took his first step to go look for his companion and the girl that had tried to steal his treasure, Luffy's body collapsed to the ground. He lay there unconscious, the last of his energy leaving him after successfully acquiring his treasure, a massive satisfied smile on his face.