Silence fell, blanketing the entire bar, but it didn't last long before it was shattered by Shanks' booming laughter, soon followed by the rest of his pirate crew. The sniper of the Red-Haired pirate–Yassop tossed in a teasing remark.
"Hey! He really beat you up, Captain! Hahaha!"
"That was so embarrassing!" Lucky Roo chimed in, clutching his piece of meat.
Luffy, who had been holding back his emotions the whole time after witnessing the incident, finally snapped. "Why are you all laughing?!" he shouted in frustration.
The lively atmosphere filled with laughter immediately died down at Luffy's outburst. Shanks turned to look at the boy, curiosity written on his face.
Everyone in the room shifted their attention toward Luffy, eager to hear what he had to say, equally curious about the small boy's reaction.
"That's not funny at all!" he emphasized, his expression burning with anger.
"Why didn't you fight back!?"
Lucas would usually stop Luffy before he could raise his voice loud enough to hurt his ears, but the boy with the ruby irises seemed lost in his own thoughts.
"No matter how many of them there are or how strong they are, if you don't fight back, then you're not a man!" Luffy stood atop his chair and declared.
"You're not a pirate!"
Shanks blinked at those words, his lips twitching into an awkward smile before responding. "It's not like I don't understand how you feel…" Shanks rested his elbow casually against the chair.
"But they only spilled some sake." He lowered his arm and sat cross-legged.
"There's no need to get that angry, right, Ruby?" Shanks turned to Lucas, referring to Luffy's twin, knowing that Luffy would listen if Lucas agreed with his opinion and explained things in his own way to made Luffy understand.
"Don't drag Lucas into this! Ah, whatever!" Luffy snapped, clearly displeased that Shanks tried to involve Lucas to take his side and that's definitely no, no.
"Hahaha," Shanks laughed, amused by Luffy cutting him off, entertained by the closeness between the two children.
Luffy chose to ignore him and continued eating the fruit he had only finished halfway earlier, trying to quell his irritation over Shanks' unfunny joke.
On the other hand, Lucas couldn't respond to Shanks in time before Luffy interrupted him, his attention drifting elsewhere. The boy lifted a hand to the side of his face, gently brushing against the thin cut caused by flying debris.
Benn had been watching from a distance while smoking, his eyes narrowing behind his glasses as he noticed Lucas' silence and glanced over to check. His expression shifted instantly when he saw the injury, the memory of the earlier incident replaying in his mind.
The first mate of the Red-Haired Pirates removed the cigarette from his mouth and crushed it into dust within his grip. He walked toward Lucas, his expression dark.
"Lucas." Benn spoke, his voice immediately drawing everyone's attention. They watched as he approached the boy, and the moment their eyes fell on him, they noticed the faint cut, streaked with smeared blood.
Lucas snapped out of his daze, blinking several times as he looked up, rising slightly onto his toes when he felt a large hand gently holding the edge of his cheek. He shut his eyes on reflex, and Benn felt a chill run through him at the reaction.
No one missed the small flinch that passed through Lucas' body. Everyone in the room could feel the temperature drop several degrees as a faint, restrained killing intent radiated from the vice captain.
Shanks, still on the floor, couldn't immediately see what had caused his first mate and the others to react that way. He moved to stand, Makino following close behind in concern.
"Benn, what is it…?" Shanks stepped closer, tilting his head to peer past Benn's back.
His eyes widened the moment he saw Lucas' face—what should have been smooth skin now marked with a thin but noticeable cut, blood slowly trailing down. He also caught the faint smear of blood near the corner of the boy's eye and on his fingers.
"It seems a sharp fragment that flying around managed to cut him. Fortunately, it's not too deep and won't leave a scar if treated properly." Benn gently wiped the blood from Lucas' cheek.
"However…" Benn paused, recalling how Lucas had lightly flinched at his touch. A quiet flame of anger ignited within him. No matter how mature this child acted, he was still just a child.
From his earlier reaction, it was clear Lucas had tensed up, as if slipping into a fight-or-flight response. What worried him more, however, was how slow his mind seemed to process the emotions reaction.
"It's alright. You're safe here. Lucas, open your eyes. I'm sure you recognize me—that's why you didn't resist." Benn coaxed gently while caressing Lucas hair, the light in Shanks' eyes slowly dimmed, replaced by something darker as he observed the situation.
Lucas hesitated before slowly opening his eyes. His ruby irises met the dark gaze of the first mate, locked in to shift his focus alone. He could feel his awareness returning, the haze clouding his mind beginning to lift.
"Benn…?"
Benn let out a quiet sigh of relief. "It's nothing. You're hurt. Come on, let's treat it before it gets infected or leaves a scar from being left too long." he said, lifting the boy into his arms.
"Huh—" Lucas instinctively wrapped his arms around the older man's neck, his attention drifting to the surroundings. He looked, confused, at the group of people smiling softly and awkwardly at him.
"Luffy…" he murmured, searching for his brother. It felt strange not hearing the loud, familiar voice constantly calling his name.
"Luffy's eating. It's better not to disturb him." Benn stopped him, using his free hand to cup Lucas' cheek, guiding the boy's attention back to him.
Those ruby eyes, filled with confusion, met Benn's with the simple trust of a child. Benn nodded, satisfied, and carried him toward the crew's doctor, who was already seated in the corner with a medical kit prepared.
Shanks watched them in silence, adjusting the brim of his hat to conceal the darkness shadowing his eyes as he tried to steady himself. He tried to calm the anger that shimmering inside him by shifting his attention to Luffy,
"Saa, Anchor. It seems your little brother got hurt by accident, but it's alright—our crew's doctor is very skilled. Hongo won't hurt, and once it heals, there won't be any scar left." Shanks spoke when he realized he hadn't heard Luffy's usual noise despite him supposedly eating.
Turning around to see what caused the unusual silence from the older twin of the Monkey D, Shanks froze the moment he saw the look on his beloved anchor's face.
…
That gaze.
…
Oh.
He should have realized it from the beginning. After all, he himself had once experienced what it meant to be on the receiving end of a D.'s protectiveness toward someone they love.
Everyone who bears the name D… they're insane in their own way—possessive, fiercely protective of what they cherish, they like a dragons who guarding their treasure, but even then, a dragons can still cherish their lives while the D. they will sacrificed their own lives to keep their loves one safe.
No matter how much kindness and affection they show to their loves one, there is always a darkness within them, buried underneath the care they always wear like a second skin, and once it released, it would be the day when the world drown into the chaos.
Even if experience shapes a person and how they would becomes… in the end that one thing will never change from the owner of this letter; D.
The natural enemy of the gods.