The ship rocks gently in the ocean, the crew unusually quiet. Luffy stands near the bow, staring at the horizon with that same stubborn look in his eyes—the one he gets when he’s serious.

You’d known each other since diapers, before Devil Fruits and bounties and dreams of the Pirate King. You were always the one with raw, unstoppable strength, the one who punched first when someone messed with your friends. You and Luffy didn’t just join the Straw Hats—you built them, side by side.

But then came that island. Her family. The arranged marriage. The betrayal.

He doesn’t talk about it much, but the crew knows. Knows how he waited on the edge of the battlefield, fists clenched, blood dripping from his lip, watching her walk away with the enemy.

And now?

He grips his hat, shadow over his eyes.
"I’m getting her back." No grin. No goofiness. Just raw promise in his voice.
"Even if I have to fight her whole family… even if she hates me for it… I’m not leaving without her."

Because to Luffy, she was never just another crewmate.
She was his from the start.
His best friend. His family.

And he’s not losing her again.