Chapter 635: The Pirate King and the Great Swordsman's First Meeting! (2 in 1)

It was May and the sea breeze was warm.

The climate in the East China Sea is mild. Luffy, who had just left Shields Town, was lying on a small boat, enjoying the sunshine comfortably.

Luffy's face was covered with a straw hat. He was lying on the deck with his legs crossed and his head tilted slightly, observing the situation on the sea through the gap. Next to him, there was a sea pole fixed on the side of the ship. A few meters away, the float was swaying gently with the waves.

On a pleasant afternoon, Luffy, under his straw hat, smelled the intoxicating scent of the sea with a smile on his face.

After leaving the Marine Headquarters, Luffy finally got what he wanted and lived a free life without any constraints.

He had no idea how many times he had imagined such a scene in his dreams over the years, and now, he had finally taken the first step towards fulfilling his dream.

A free and unfettered life. Luffy fell in love with this kind of life the first time he went out to sea alone.

Although Luffy had the company of his two brothers when he was in the Marine Headquarters and missed their love and care, compared to the life now, Luffy still prefers the freedom and comfort in front of him, as well as the exciting sea adventures that he can foresee in the future.

"Luffy-kun, where are we going next?"

At this moment, a voice with a hint of cowardice in its tone sounded in Luffy's ears, interrupting Luffy's thoughts.

Gently moving the straw hat aside, what came into view was a pink-haired boy wearing glasses and with a middle-parted hairstyle.

The neat middle parting of his hair and his heavy round-framed glasses made the pink-haired boy look a little dull, and his tone of voice revealed an indescribable cowardly character that was revealed to Luffy.

The pink-haired boy is called Coby, and he is a friend that Luffy met by chance after he went to sea. When Luffy escaped from the Goa Kingdom in the East Sea, he did not take a ship at all, because he would be too conspicuous. Even with his two brothers covering for him, it was not easy to escape by ship.

He hid in a wooden barrel and was carried on board by other merchant ships as a drinking water barrel. However, the merchant ship encountered a shipwreck after going out to sea. Luffy thought he was going to die, but unexpectedly, he was rescued on board by a group of pirates as some special treasure.

And Coby worked as a handyman on that pirate ship.

Due to his original family background, after being taken aboard a pirate ship, a civilian like Coby naturally did not dare to resist the "authority" of the pirates. The appearance of Luffy helped him escape from the life of a handyman.

Children like Coby have been educated with the simplest universal values ​​on the ocean since childhood, and simply believe that the navy is justice and pirates are evil.

Simple and pure diode thinking, under the influence of universal values, naturally set a goal for his own life.

Become a Marine.
This idea became even more firm after Coby experienced a short period of life as a pirate.

However, the appearance of Luffy changed his fate. After learning that Luffy was a person who escaped from the navy, Coby became very interested in this powerful "peer".

After learning that Luffy's dream after leaving the navy was to become the Pirate King, Coby became more and more eager to understand Luffy's thoughts due to this conflict of values.

From Luffy, Coby knew that someone of his age and strength had no chance of joining the navy. Coby also understood Luffy's identity from his conversation with him.

Therefore, Coby changed his thinking. He did not think about joining the navy through normal channels, but thought about staying with Luffy and persuading Luffy to return to the navy headquarters in his own way. In this way, as Luffy's partner, he would naturally be remembered by the navy.

When his age meets the requirements, even if his strength is slightly lacking, he will definitely be able to become a member of the navy.

With this idea in mind, Coby became Luffy's first crew member and his first partner.

"Where to go?"

"Well, to the Grand Line, of course!"

"Do you know the Grand Line? We will leave the East China Sea first and enter the first half of the Grand Line, go to the Sabaody Archipelago, and ask the shipwright to coat our ship. Then we can go to the Fishman Island thousands of miles below, and then go to the New World to look for the great secret treasure!"

Although Luffy received a good education during his time at the Marine Headquarters, the innocence engraved in his bones could not be erased by the education at the Marine Headquarters.

Although the idea is simple, Luffy is not stupid. He knows very well that it is impossible to cross the ocean to the New World relying on himself and Coby, and the small boat that is only three meters long.

Luffy is now a man who has seen the world. He knows how great the risks are in sailing on the sea. Without a big ship, experienced navigators, and a doctor, there is no way to travel across this sea.

Therefore, Luffy’s goal at this stage is very simple, which is to find crew members that suit his taste and then go to the New World after the group is officially formed.

He didn't know how the Pirate King Roger went all the way to the New World, nor did he know how Red-Haired Shanks went to the New World.

He only knew that he was about to follow the path of the two people he admired most and move towards his goal of becoming the Pirate King.

Thinking of this, Luffy felt his blood boiling in his chest. Looking at the vast sea, Luffy stood up and shouted towards the sea: "I must become the Pirate King!!!"

Luffy's ambition refreshes his image in Coby's eyes again and again. When he first met him, he thought Luffy was just a foolish boy who was ignorant of the immensity of the world; but after he learned some of Luffy's experiences, he felt that Luffy was an ambitious man.

People with clear goals will subtly influence the people around them, and Coby is naturally one of them.

However.
Just as Luffy was declaring his ambitions towards the sea, a medium-sized merchant ship more than ten meters long quietly sailed to the side of the boat without Luffy and Coby noticing.

A shadow covered the ship that Luffy and Coby were on.

"Hello, how can I help you?"

The ship was covered by a shadow, and Luffy and Coby noticed it and turned back to look behind them. Just as they turned their heads, a gentle voice sounded in their ears.

Looking up, I found a girl holding a long sword leaning against the side of the merchant ship on the deck. She had a gentle and warm smile on her face and asked Luffy and Coby.

The girl was about seventeen or eighteen years old, with a pretty face, short hair that looked a bit neat, and she was wearing a short shirt, looking very heroic.

The girl's words were warm and gentle, but the moment Luffy saw this girl, he couldn't help but feel a little repulsive in his heart.

It was not because he had any opinion about the girl he met for the first time, but because he smelled a familiar scent in this girl's temperament.

navy
This heroic girl holding a sword in both hands gave him the feeling of a navy.
There is some righteousness in his behavior.
After a quick look, Luffy showed a bright smile on his face, and then shook his head and said:
"No, we don't need any help!"

"Thank you."

The girl on the boat heard this and glanced at Luffy and his boat, then looked towards the sea to the north. After a while, the girl turned around and introduced herself:

"My name is Kuina, and I'm a pirate hunter."

"Are you residents of Shieldstown?"

"How long does it take to get to Shields Town from here?"

"I see you don't have any food or water on your boat. Are you going out to sea for fishing?"

Kuina asked enthusiastically with a faint smile on her face.

The ship that Luffy and his crew met was the new navy led by Kuina, Zoro and others. After leaving the Wanoku, they put on the cloak of pirate hunters and kept a low profile on the way to the East China Sea.

Although many powerful pirate groups fell into their hands, because Kuina and her group did things "cleanly", and because ordinary people's attention was now attracted by the big commotions often made by the new marine headquarters, ordinary people in the world have never heard of Kuina and her group.

Others don't know, so Luffy and Coby naturally have no way of knowing each other's identities. After hearing Kuina's name, neither of them showed any other expressions on their faces. "We are indeed from Shields Town."

Luffy was about to respond when Coby at the side immediately interrupted.

After spending some time together, Coby got to know Luffy's character and knew that this guy would never tell a lie.

And Luffy's thought process seems to be a little different from that of ordinary people.

Other pirates are afraid of being hunted down by the navy when they travel on the sea, and generally speaking they will not keep shouting about their identity as pirates.

But Luffy is different. He seems to think that being a pirate is a great profession. No matter who he meets, he likes to say "I am a pirate" when introducing himself.

Coby has heard the other party call himself a "pirate hunter" and he doesn't want to get himself into trouble.

Coby's words did not make Kuina suspicious. After all, there were only two people on the boat, and judging from their temperament and age, they did not look like bad people.

"If you are from Shields Town, do you know the news about the navy there?"

"I heard that there is a naval captain in Shields Town named Monka. This colonel often likes to 'punish' his disobedient subordinates and civilians. Is that true?"

Hearing that the other party came from the town of Shields, Kuina also inquired about the news about Monka.

Although they are disguised as "pirate hunters", in fact, they will attack more than just pirates along the way.

The mafia, local bullies, and criminals are actually all targets of Kuina and her team.

When they see injustice, they will really help.

"Monka?!"

"Oh, there is such a person, but you don't have to worry about encountering any troubles when you go to Shields Town. Monka has been knocked away by me!"

Although Coby didn't want Luffy to speak, Luffy had his mouth, so how could he stop him?

When Luffy heard Kuina talking about Monka, he thought that she wanted to go to Shields Town, but was afraid of Monka's power, so he spoke out to explain and comfort her.

"You knocked me away?!"

In the East China Sea, the new navy was very short of intelligence personnel. Kuina and her companions had only heard by chance that there was a bully navy in Shields Town, and they hurried over, but they did not expect to hear such news.

Mumbling something, Kuina also turned her gaze towards Luffy, examining him carefully.

"I must become the Pirate King!!!"

Kuina actually heard what Luffy just shouted at the sea. She thought he was just talking nonsense.
But when she heard that the other party had defeated the Marine Branch Captain Monka, Kuina realized that Luffy and Coby were not ordinary people.

"You said you defeated Monka? Did you mean it literally?"

"He's dead? Or is he?"

Kuina asked, with a hint of curiosity in her tone.

"No, he was caught by the navy themselves and put in jail."

"He has committed a crime, and he should be dealt with by the Navy Headquarters."

Luffy is a simple-minded person. He thinks from the bottom of his heart that Kuina, a kind-hearted girl, must be a good person, so he answered.

"Huh"

"You are the one who defeated the Marine Captain?"

"Very powerful ah!"

At this moment, a young man with a green algae head walked to the side of the ship, looked down at Luffy and Coby, and uttered a teasing sound.

Kuina seemed to think that her companion's words were a little impolite, and immediately frowned and reached out to pull Zoro's clothes: "Hey, Zoro!"

However, Zoro ignored Kuina and silently grabbed the long sword at his waist and asked below:
"Who are you two?"

"Who just said he wanted to be the Pirate King?"

"Are you two pirates?"

When Coby heard the word "Pirate King", he secretly thought that something was wrong. Sure enough, before he could react, Luffy on the side seemed to be stressed. When he heard the word "Pirate King", his eyes immediately lit up, his chest puffed out, and he immediately said:
"That's right!"

"We are pirates!"

"My name is Luffy, and I'm the man who's going to be the Pirate King!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Coby's face turned pale.

Kuina raised her eyebrows upon hearing this, and looked at the two young men below and murmured in surprise: "Pirates?!"

When Zoro heard this, he curled his lips and a bit of sternness flashed in his eyes:

"Pirates..."

"That'll be easy!"

As he spoke, a cold light flashed on the deck, and Zoro instantly drew out the long sword at his waist, then leaped forward and landed directly towards the small boat that Luffy and Coby were riding on.

Kuina was a little slow to react, and seeing Zoro's decisive move, she immediately stopped him and said, "Stop, Zoro!"

"They are just two little devils, maybe just lip service."

"Don't take action before the wanted order is confirmed!"

But Zoro has his own ideas and will not listen to Kuina at all at this time.

Pirate
Since the other party has already said that he is a pirate, then as a "pirate hunter", he naturally has to hunt the other party!
"Boom!!!"

Zoro attacked and landed directly between Luffy and Coby. He glanced at Coby and Luffy and focused his attention directly on Luffy.

To be honest, he didn't feel any "aura of a strong man" from Coby. On the contrary, Luffy should not be a rookie.

(End of this chapter)