"Luffy, although I'm going to teach you how to control your Conqueror's Haki, I need you to promise me that you'll only use it as a last resort, or unless you're absolutely certain no one will see you," the redhead said. He had to let the kid have a little fun with it, after all. "At least until you reach the second half of the Grandline. That is... if you're still a pirate," Shanks finished, sensing something of Luffy as soon as the words left his mouth.
After scanning the surrounding area for auras other than his own, those of the rest of his team in the bar, and the boy in front of him, and finding none, Shanks grew curious. "Let's see what you've got, kid," he thought.
"OF COURSE I'M SHANKS! AND NOT JUST ANY PIRATE!" Luffy looked up at the sky, completely unaware of the power bubbling beneath his skin, and shouted, "I'M GOING TO BE... THE PIRATES' KING!"
Shanks felt the pressure instantly as he stood there, seemingly unfazed by the torrent of willpower emanating from Luffy. "Not bad... not bad at all ," he thought. He never imagined seeing such potent Conqueror's Haki in someone so young. The boy before him would be a true monster when he grew up.
The redhead stood motionless as Luffy's power faded, impressed by the young man, though Luffy didn't even notice. "And why, if I may ask, do you want to be king?" Shanks inquired after the explosion had completely subsided.
Luffy thought for a moment before replying, "Well, you said the Pirate King was the freest man in the world, right? I want that. I want to be free to do whatever I want. Freer than anyone, even you! And most importantly, it sounds like a great adventure, right? And you said one of your favorite things about being a pirate was going on adventures with your crew! So I'm going to find an awesome crew and we're going to have all sorts of adventures together!"
"Freer than me, huh?" Shanks asked with a mocking smile. "You know? That means you'll have to beat me someday."
"You can bet your tomato-headed ass that I'll beat you one day!" Luffy shouted, sticking his tongue out at the red-haired man.
"You're a hundred years too young to be telling me such nonsense, brat!" Shanks shouted even louder. However, he couldn't help the smile the boy brought to his face, so he did: he smiled and asked again, "So, you promise? You won't use it unless it's the last thing you can do or no one else sees you. If you wear it all the time at the start of your journey, the navy might notice and try to cut you short, and we definitely don't want that, do we?"
"No! That stupid army won't stop my adventures! I promise you, Shanks!" Luffy exclaimed.
The man continued smiling and knelt before Luffy. "Well, regarding your earlier statement, I want to give you something." Slowly, he reached over his head, removed the straw hat he wore everywhere, and, to the surprise of the young man before him, placed it on his head.
This hat was given to me by someone I admired very much, Luffy. It's my treasure... but I think he would have wanted me to give it to you. The pirate captain removed his hand from the boy's head, now wearing a straw hat. "Keep it for me, and when you become a great pirate, you can return it to me. Think of it as a promise that we'll meet again after my crew and I leave this island."
Luffy could only stand there and accept Shanks' gift, too afraid to speak for fear of crying again. "Thank you, Shanks, for talking to me and for this," he said after a moment, gesturing to his new hat. "I promise I'll pay you back someday."
"Well, I don't expect you back for a while, so how about this? My crew and I will be here for about four more months. During that time, I'll teach you the basics of Armament Haki and how to control your Conqueror's Haki, but never forget your promise, understood?" the redhead asked.
"I've got it, Shanks!" exclaimed the boy.
Shanks smiled at the young man's excitement: "Very well, every day for the next few months, you and I will be going up into the mountains to train. My team can take care of getting the things we need across the East Blue for our departure. I hope you're ready for hell, Anchor, because I'm not going to make it easy for you."
"I'm ready, Shanks! I'll be super strong by the time you leave! And then I'll be even stronger!" Luffy shouted excitedly.
"I know you'll anchor, I know you will," the redhead mused, as she reached out to push open the bar doors.
"OH NOW I REMEMBER!" exclaimed Luffy, causing the man to stop as he opened the door.
Shanks turned around curiously: "Remember what, Anchor?"
"I wanted to ask you why that strange fruit in the treasure chest talks," Luffy replied innocently.
Not for the first time that night, Shanks' world froze. "Shit..." he whispered to himself.
"What's wrong, Shanks?" Luffy asked, not understanding the surprise that had taken hold of the redhead's face.
The redhead stepped away from the door and grabbed the boy's arm before running off again. Luffy didn't quite understand what had scared the pirate captain, but he decided he should probably just play along.
Once they reached a place Shanks deemed safe, he sat Luffy down. The straw hat boy sensed something serious was about to happen, so he decided to remain silent and wait for the man to begin.
"Luffy... I need you to tell me EXACTLY what you heard," Shanks said seriously.
Luffy nodded and proceeded to tell him how bored he was and wanted to see what was in the chest. He said the fruit said "Eat me." And when his hand reached for it, he started saying it very loudly. The seven-year-old boy didn't understand what was happening, but when he finished, he realized that Shanks was deep in thought.
Luffy was right; the redhead was deep in thought. It had to be that. The Voice of All Things. His captain had never mentioned anything about being able to hear Devil Fruits, but with Luffy, why was he even surprised? "This has gotten really complicated ," he grumbled to himself. "Luffy, do you remember when I told you to keep your Conqueror's Haki a secret and only use it if there's no other option?" Shanks asked.
The boy nodded.
"Well, that's true, but even more importantly, Luffy... You might be one of the few people in the world who can hear that voice," the pirate captain stated seriously.
The young man was extremely surprised. Was he one of the only ones?
Shanks sighed. "I don't know exactly why you hear that voice, Luffy. I only have suspicions, but this is something that must remain between you and me, okay? That is, until you're older and meet people you can trust with your life. But until then, you can't tell anyone... okay? This is extremely important, and I need you to promise me." A little white lie wouldn't hurt the boy. He didn't have time to waste on advanced forms of Observation Haki right now. Luffy would have to figure it out for himself.
Now it was the straw hat boy's turn to open his eyes wide. Shanks wouldn't ask for a promise unless it was something very serious, like with the Haki thing. "Okay, Shanks, I promise," Luffy said.
The redhead nodded at Luffy's confirmation, taking a moment to gather his thoughts before beginning: "Alright, Luffy, I'll tell you a story before we head back to the bar. It's about my former captain and his ability to hear... The Voice of All Things."
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