Foosha Vilge basked in the gentle warmth of a peaceful day. The sea breeze carried the st of salt and sun, weaving through the vilge like a familiar friend.

  Vilgers moved about their routines with easy smiles, exging greetings, mendis, and tending to their small shops. The calm hum of daily life filled the air, a melody of tranquility that lulled everyoo fort.

  Everyone except for one young boy.

  Inside Makino's bar, the usual chatter was absent, the quiet broken only by the soft rustle of neer pages.

  Luffy sat in his usual spot, his small hands carefully holding the paper as his dark eyes darted over the printed words. His focus was unnerving for someone so young, an iy that seemed out of p the warm, cozy space.

  Makino, wiping a gss behind the ter, stole g him. It wasn't like Luffy to sit so still, especially without Shanks or his crew around to eain him. She wondered if he was missing their lively presence, but something in the way he read the neer felt different today.

  "Luffy," She called softly, setting the gss down and walking over. "You're awfully focused. Missing Shanks and the others?"

  Luffy looked up, his usual pyful grin sliding easily onto his face, though his eyes betrayed a flicker of something deeper.

  "Yeah, maybe a little," He said, leaning back casually. "But you know me, Makino, I'm not the type to get stu the past."

  Makino chuckled, her heart fluttering slightly at the charm in his voice. He had always been special to her.

  He was her man and lover!

  She brushed the thought aside with a light ugh. "Well, if you ever need someoo talk to, I'm here."

  Luffy's grin softened, and for a moment, his young face looked far older.

  "I know," He said.

  He watched her retreat to the ter, his pyful expression fading as he returo his thoughts.

  'The Elegia I.'

  It hadn't made the papers yet, but it was only a matter of time. The weight of it pressed heavily on him. He couldn't afford to wait much longer.

  'I won't let Uta fall into that darkness.' He thought, g the edge of the neer. 'Not this time.'

  The door burst open, and Ann bounded in, her eic presence breaking through the tension like sunlight through clouds.

  "Luffy! What's with the serious face?" She teased, hopping over to his side. "You look like you're pnning world domination or something!"

  Luffy smirked, folding the paper and leaning on his elbow.

  "Maybe I am," He replied, his voice ced with a pyful mystery. "Or maybe... I'm waiting for something big."

  Ann's eyes sparkled with curiosity. "Ooooh, like what?"

  "You'll see," Luffy said with a sly grin, his cryptic words only making her more intrigued.

  Sabo followed close behind, his sharp eyes narrowing as he observed Luffy.

  "You're hiding something," He said, crossing his arms. "What's going on, Luffy?"

  Luffy shrugged, his grin never wavering. "Nothing much, Sabo. Just keeping an eye on the world."

  Sabo frowned but didn't press further. He knew Luffy well enough tnize when he wasn't ready to share.

  As the siblings settled into their usual bickering, Luffy's mind drifted once more. His memories were a stant reminder of what was to e.

  Uta's smile, her ughter, her pain.

  He couldn't shake the feeling that he was meant to save her from her fate.

  'If the news does not e soon... I'll go to her myself.'

  The bar grew quiet again as the trio settled, and Luffy's eyes flicked to the neer once more. He sed the headlines, searg for any sign of Elegia. His heart tightened as he wondered if today would be the day.

  "Luffy?" Makino's gentle voice pulled him back to the present. She was standing beside him again, her warm gaze filled with . "Are you okay?"

  Luffy looked up, his griurning effortlessly. "Of course, Makino. Don't worry about me."

  Her melted into a fond smile, and she reached out to tousle his hair.

  "You're such a mystery sometimes," She said softly.

  Luffy chuckled, his heart swelling with affe for the womached her walk away, a quiet determinatioling over him.

  The storm was ing, but he was ready. He'd do whatever it took to protect those he cared about.

  And it happehe day...

  Luffy sat at his usual spot by the bar ter, eyes sing the test neer with an iy that seemed out of pce for a six-year-old.

  Makino, who had been wiping down the ter, g him out of the er of her eye. She noticed his brows furrowed and his lips set in a hard line—a look far too serious for his age.

  She approached him with a gentle smile. "Luffy, is everything okay? You've been glued to those neers since Shanks and his crew left."

  Luffy didn't respond immediately, his gaze fixed on a headlihat had finally appeared.

  "Tragedy in Elegia: Attack Leaves Town in Ruins"

  The words burned into his mind, bringing a mix of satisfa and dread.

  'So, it happened just as I remembered.'

  He thought, his grip on the paper tightening. 'Uta... I khey'd leave her. But I'm not going to.'

  His mind raced. This was it. This was the sign he'd been waiting for. It was time to leave.

  Makino watched him with a hint of worry, and he quickly smoothed his expression, fshing her his usual carefree grin.

  "I'm fine, Makino. Just… you know, curious."

  Makino tilted her head, sensing there was something he wasn't telling her. "Are you sure? You seem different like you're pnning something."

  She gave a soft ugh, brushing off her own ent as if it were ridiculous, but Luffy's grin didn't reach his eyes.

  "Actually, I am going on a little adventure," Luffy said, standing up and folding the neer. He looked at her, his eyes holding a glint of mischief that usually meant trouble, but this time, it felt different—darker.

  Makino's smile faltered, a motherly instinct kig in. "Luffy, what do you mean? Adventure? You're so young—where would you even go?"

  Luffy shrugged casually, f a boyish innoto his voice. "Oh, just out there. Gotta see the world sometime, right?"

  Makino's deepened, but Luffy knew he couldn't let her stop him.

  "I'll be back before you know it," He added, chug. "I just… o do something important."

  He wao tell her, to expihing, but he knew she wouldn't uand. 'Nobody would!'

  He added in his thoughts, feeling a pang of frustration at being trapped in a child's body.

  'This world… it's full of people I'm going to ge.'

  Just then, Sabo and Ann, who had been pying outside, dashed in.

  Sabo, notig the neer in Luffy's hand, gave him a curious look. "Oi, Luffy, why are you staring at the news like that? Don't tell me you're actually reading it."

  Luffy fshed a grin, quickly stuffing the paper behind him. "Just thinking about things, you know."

  --- ? ? ? ---

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