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In a sky as delightful as a sapphire, a few white clouds drifted lazily, caught in the slow current of the upper atmosphere. On the undulating sea below, golden specks of light danced joyfully, like lively sprites celebrating the high sun.
Occasionally, a few seagulls, flying from some distant, unknown shore, would skim over the surface of the water, leaving crisp cries in their wake before flapping their wings to disappear into the horizon. In the midst of this vast, blue wilderness, a small figure was currently battling the waves, leaving a long, white trail of foam in his wake.
This person battling the waves was Goku. After being spat out by the giant Sea King and left stranded in an unfamiliar stretch of ocean, he had instinctively chosen a direction and started swimming.
Unfortunately, after nearly three hours of constant exertion, he still hadn't spotted a single island. He stopped for a moment, his two short legs treading water beneath the surface while his head spun around, searching for a landmark.
"Did I swim in the wrong direction?" Goku wondered aloud, his voice swallowed by the sound of the ocean. "Is the island Grandpa Garp is on this way?" After looking for a long time, he found himself becoming dizzy from the overwhelming, repetitive blue of the sea. He quickly shook it off, clenching his fists.
"Never mind! I told Grandpa Garp I was going off on my own. I have to find Grandpa Master Roshi and Krillin! I'll just keep swimming forward. I don't believe I won't find an island if I just keep going!"
Another two hours passed before Goku finally saw the dark, jagged shadow of an island appearing on the horizon. His eyes lit up with joy, and he put on a fresh burst of speed, swimming even harder.
However, as the saying goes, looking at a mountain makes a horse run to its death; it took another thirty minutes of vigorous paddling before his feet finally touched the sandy shore. Exhausted, Goku pulled the Power Pole from his back and set it on the sand. He stripped off his soaked clothes, wrung them out, and laid them in the hot sun to dry before collapsing for a short rest.
It wasn't long before his stomach let out a thunderous rumble. "So hungry... I should go find something to eat," he muttered, rubbing his shriveled belly. But just then, a few snatches of a song drifted from the forest within the island, making him perk up his ears.
"The island's sun is warm and cozy~" "The island's birds are chirping~" "Comfortable, comfortable, so comfortable..."
Goku froze, his eyes bursting with sudden excitement. "That voice?!" he gasped. "It's Krillin!!"
Disregarding his clothes and the Power Pole lying on the beach, Goku rushed into the forest completely naked, his legs a blur of motion.
Meanwhile, in a clearing further inland, a young boy named Monkey D. Luffy—who had not yet begun his journey to sea—was busy tending to a wild boar sizzling over an open fire. He was contentedly humming a tune he had made up, looking forward to his feast.
Suddenly, the peace of the forest was shattered. Birds took flight in a panic as a cloud of white dust rolled toward the clearing.
"Krillin!!" a voice shouted. Luffy stopped singing, tilting his head curiously as a naked child screeched to a halt right in front of him. Goku looked around frantically, scratching his head. "Huh? Where's Krillin? I clearly heard his voice here."
Luffy casually tore off a large leg of roasted meat, took a massive bite, and looked at the newcomer. "Hey, who are you looking for?"
Goku's head snapped toward him. He stared at Luffy for several seconds, his eyes widening in shock. "You're Krillin?! Krillin, how did you turn into... this?!"
Luffy blinked, looking confused. "My name is Luffy. Monkey D. Luffy."
Goku's jaw dropped. "Luffy? Aren't you Krillin?" When Luffy shook his head, Goku slumped dejectedly. "But your voice sounds just like his! I thought I'd finally found him."
The aroma of the roasted boar drifted into Goku's nose, instantly distracting him from his disappointment. He stared at the meat with sparkling eyes, drool beginning to escape his mouth. "May I eat some, please? I'm starving to death."
Luffy looked at him expressionlessly for a moment, then suddenly grinned, showing off a mouthful of white teeth. "Sure." But as Goku prepared to pounce on the boar, Luffy pointed at him. "Say, don't you feel like you're missing something?"
Goku looked down, realized he was still naked, and shrieked. "Oh! My clothes and Power Pole! I forgot them on the beach!" He tried to run back, but his hunger made him stumble. "No... I can't... too hungry..."
Luffy raised an eyebrow. "Your stuff is over there, right?" When Goku's head bobbed, Luffy swiftly stretched out his arm, grabbed a distant tree branch, and used the recoil to fly into the sky.
While in the air, Luffy held onto his Straw Hat and gazed toward the shore. He spotted the items, swung his arm backward, and watched it stretch like lightning to scoop up the targets two hundred meters away. He landed back in the clearing and handed the clothes to the stunned Goku. "Hey, your stuff."
Goku was dumbfounded, pointing at Luffy's arm. "You... how can your arm stretch like that?!"
"Oh, that?" Luffy rubbed his nose, grinning. "I'm a Rubber Man. I ate a Devil Fruit, so I can stretch any part of my body." He pulled his cheek out to a ridiculous length as a demonstration.
"Devil Fruit?" Goku blinked. "So you ate one of those." He remembered Tsuru's lessons. He had been interested in the powers they gave, but once he learned they turned people into "landlubbers" who couldn't swim, he had lost interest. He never expected to meet someone who had actually eaten one.