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‘He’s just a boy in a straw hat.’
That was his first thought when he came across the infamous Mugiwara no Luffy. The boy was talked about across the seas, his sunny smile plastered on every wall and in every newspaper as even his moments of inaction seemed to have enough gravitas to deserve a double page article. He was renowned for every step he took, every fight the world knew of and every enemy defeated away from prying eyes. Even before he disappeared, he left an impact so massive he was still mentioned, still known by families across the globe, wondering where he was because someone like him couldn’t possibly have died or given up so inconsequentially. And when he proved the world’s fear two years later, returning impossibly stronger and more prepared, immediately jumping into a new towering feat, no one could resist the baited breath they held, hesitantly or eagerly anticipating the next move, the next mind-blowing event that would inevitably have Mugiwara and his crew right at the centre, catalysing it all. Everyone on Ferion’s crew was prepared for the disaster that would surely take place if they were to clash with the person creating waves across the world with every sigh of air that escaped his lungs.
And yet it seemed to be an unneeded precaution.
They had docked on an island in the New World, refilling supplies, taking a small break from the unyielding unpredictability of nature, when they saw him. He was just smiling, lightly and openly, chattering away to the locals without a care in the world. He didn’t even seem to notice them, despite the immediate hostility they presented at his presence. Or he just didn’t care. The boy had a captivating nature to him, sure, and he seemed to hold a radiance that Ferion couldn’t quite place, but he was nothing too special. His crew watched as Mugiwara’s crew members caught up to him, the Cat Burglar’s face contorting into a rage befitting of her fiery hair as she beat her Captain for not listening to her and running off. He waited for the inevitable blow up, the rage of a Captain disrespected, the reveal of the might that was said to be hidden behind disarmingly friendly eyes. No respectable leader would allow their followers to treat them so impudently.
It never came.
Mugiwara just tried to defend his actions, claiming that he made a friend so it was alright. No asserting his authority, no gaining control, no punishment for the impertinence. Just an undertone of defiance as he whined about the lady’s nagging. It was jarring. No one he had met that was worth even a slimmer of his respect had ever stooped so low. He almost had to check with his crew if it was truly the same Mugiwara that was so feared yet so admired. It wouldn’t be the first time someone had tried to imitate the notorious B 800,000,000 crew, so he wouldn’t be surprised. But then a talking skeleton whirled around the corner with a fancy jacket and violin and he couldn’t deny it. These were the real Mugiwaras. The people many whispered about in the night under the false guise of secrecy that the darkness brought them, wishing to achieve that fame, that freedom, that power. The people that haunted the minds of peaceful citizens and marines alike, who feared the day they might glimpse that fabled yellow straw and red ribbon. The people that seemed so distant and larger than life, rising to the top so quickly the rest of the world had yet to catch up, even with a two year break.
The people that were actually just that, people. They were just ordinary people, going about life. That was the only explanation for their casual, and some might even say childish, behaviour. Right?
It was only hours later that Ferion realised just how wrong he was. When the terrain was flattened and demolished, when the people who had been suffering in silence began to cheer with joy, when the imposing threat to the random island had been thoroughly beaten into the ground, he finally saw what most others had known clearly.
Mugiwara no Luffy was not a person. He was not a boy or a man, unlike what many may perceive. He wasn’t ordinary, he wasn’t just milling about his life trailing aimlessly across the seas and being mistaken for someone to be feared.
Mugiwara no Luffy was a monster. A beast that had clawed its way through hell and back, reigning boundless power like the second coming of the floods that had permanently altered the Earth. His sheer presence itself rendered people speechless, radiating an intense aura of strength and purpose. He shattered any preconceived beliefs as he laughed merrily whilst covering his fists with blood. Gods could not exist in a world that held Monkey D. Luffy. Not unless he was god born himself.
That was all that could fill Ferion’s mind as his eyes took witness to a spectacle they weren’t worthy of seeing. Mugiwara was a storm, a whirlwind that swept you up in its pace and spat you out with no regard to where you landed whilst it tore through towns and cities in an unstoppable path of destruction. He was the searing heat of the sun, a constant burn that reached out for as long as possible until it was forced to succumb to the darkness. He was the cool of the moon, ever-changing and restless as it shone light on those previously hidden by the harsh shadows of the day. He was the dim glow of the stars as they awoke in the vast, empty expanse of sky, that shimmered with promise of life and warmth at a distance too far to ever reach but too close to ignore. He was everything, all encompassing and overwhelming. A force that couldn’t be stopped on its relentless march to glory, harsh and blazing with untold strengths.
And yet he was soft.
He laughed so brightly and freely it filled up your own lungs until you couldn’t help but let your own laugh escape. His delighted smile stretched inhumanly across his face and became the only thing you could see, the only thing you could feel, as he stood proudly upon the ruins of his latest victory. Nothing could even attempt to plague the minds of those privy to the ethereal glow of the man who would bring the world to its knees. He was not a monster that would strike debilitating fear through your heart, nor was he a saint that would heal even the greatest of wounds. He was an enigma, a strange, unfathomable thing that could only be the result of a thousand tragedies and a million joys. He was a thing that had lived more than most in only a short amount of time, infecting others with the ability to exist as more than just another faceless person going through the motions. He breathed life and love and hopes and dreams into everything that dared to get close enough. He didn’t care for mortal concerns of society or rules and did as he pleased, bending the world to his impossible will.
He grinned at his friends, he chattered to every passerby who would listen, he glared at the offending woman who he had smashed into the ground before stuffing his face with an unhealthy amount of meat. He was so unfeasible yet so human. Ferion couldn’t make sense of it.
But maybe he didn’t need to. Maybe he doesn’t need to worry or think about Mugiwara any further. As, despite the demonstration of the power that it takes to cause major change with a single word, despite the rubble that lies across the cracked earth, despite the blood that covers the possibly still breathing body laying in the centre of the destruction, Mugiwara no Luffy isn’t someone to cower from. Despite all that, he still complains at having eaten all the food, he still cheers at the idea of a party, still relies on his friends to function, still has to ask for the meanings of words or a simplified explanation. Despite all of his otherworldly feats he still personifies carefree recklessness and simplicity in every loud request that leaves his lips. With every dream, every fight, every victory he gains, his nature remains the same. After all…
‘He’s just a boy in a straw hat.’