One Piece - I Am A Different Luffy! - Chapter 559 - The Old Man from the Bar.

[Chapter Size: 2200 Words.]
Third Person POV

East Blue.

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...

Still in Loguetown, in a specific bar hidden away in its labyrinthine alleys, laughter echoed through that alley as the bar was in full swing.

It had been quite active for the past 2 years and had begun to fill with customers once again, just like in the past, no longer being that place that used to stay empty, with nothing but the owner and a few others who would rarely visit to drink.

Now, it was active once more at full force. Even more so now...

The owner, an old man, was staring at the place and couldn’t help but smile in satisfaction at the scene before him, as he saw men laughing loudly and talking about the latest events while sitting at all the tables in the bar.

They freely spoke ill of the Government, even after the stories about public executions not only in East Blue—which were all being stopped by the kingdoms themselves—but also the terrible news from other blues, where the Government had more control over the rest of the countries, even going so far as to take the crown in some of them in recent days.

Even though it was considered the weakest sea, East Blue was fighting the World Government in its attempt to influence and control the kingdoms, and the people proudly celebrated.

Those being executed were the Government’s own agents instead of the citizens.

"Hey, give me another bottle of sake... from Whisky Peak!" shouted a man as he reached the counter. The bar owner nodded, went to the shelf, grabbed the bottle for the customer, placed it on the table, and took the payment for it.

"Hey, old man, I want something too! Give me your best whiskey," said another man as soon as the first left. He had just arrived at the bar with a group inside the bar. They were new pirates in these waters.

"Alright," said the old man once more, moving and handing over the drink. The man simply took it.

"Payment upfront, my friend," said the bar owner, seeing the man turn around.

The pirate stopped and looked at the old man mockingly. "Do you think you can ask me for something? I’m the pirate of the Scarlet Twin Blades! Because I stain my blades with the blood of my enemies. I’m the most powerful captain in the West Blue right now!" he said in a threatening tone, expecting the old man to feel some fear.

The bar owner knew very well who he was even before hearing his name, as his poster was among those on the wanted wall in a corner of the bar. Not that the bar gathered many bounty hunters—though there were some—but that wall was more like a celebrity board, to see who was currently active in East Blue.

At the top of the wall was none other than Monkey D. Luffy, with a bounty of 6 billion Berries, newly updated due to the effects of his actions after Egghead. The World Government would not stand still after losing two high-ranking members and was forced to swallow its pride, placing him as the most wanted pirate in the world, surpassing all others... even his father.

There was also his entire crew featured among those who were born in East Blue itself, showing that they came directly from this sea, such as Usopp, Nami, Lucy, Kuina, and Chouchou, all born on islands around East Blue. But also, featured to the side—not just the Dawn Pirates—was Buggy, who had also become an emperor in the New World and stood on equal footing with Luffy. There were also Ace, Sabo, Dragon, Garp, and Coby, the latter being wanted by the government as well after creating Sword.

With so many bounties worth billions, people questioned whether East Blue should still be considered the weakest sea, when so many notorious figures had come from this place. Despite that, the number of pirates sailing its waters was still very low.

This was also reflected in pirate activities, as the sea seemed to be protected by Yonko Luffy. The kingdoms’ defenses were much stronger than they had ever been, and pirate activity had been greatly limited. Few pirates had the chance to grow in East Blue, with the main forces being those of the kingdoms themselves.

Still, from time to time, a group or another of note would emerge in the sea, such as that of the captain of the Scarlet Twin Blades, with a bounty of 15,000,000—which was actually a bit impressive for operating in this sea nowadays.

At the same time, the bar owner couldn’t help but scoff in thought. Who does this guy think he is, thinking he can rob Gold Roger’s bar?

"Hey, are you crazy?" asked a voice from one of the tables, pointing at the man who was blatantly robbing the bar owner after threatening him with his name. The pirate looked and stared at another pirate, who was seated and watching him as if he were an idiot.

"What did you say?" he asked furiously.

"I’m asking if you’re out of your mind. Do you know who has been in this bar before?" said the pirate to his rival.

"Yeah, Gold Roger. A corpse six feet underground," mocked the pirate.

"No, you fool. Besides Gold Roger, Monkey D. Luffy has also been here. And he kept the old man from closing the bar back then—it was just minutes before the battle at the plaza between the Monkey D. family happened, two years ago," the man replied, while the pirate stared at him for a moment before looking at the old man, a bit surprised.

"Is that true?" he asked, now with a more cautious look. If this old man really knew the legendary pirate, he was messing with a dangerous man by trying to rob him. Nobody wants the wrath of the most powerful pirate in the world, not when you’re a small fry worth 15 million for your head.

"Yes. I met him along with a mermaid when he came to the bar. When I saw him, I already noticed all the potential in him. I’m not surprised he has the name he has today. There was already so much power in that boy’s eyes back then," said the bar owner.

The man didn’t think twice before stepping forward, taking the money from his pocket, and placing it on the table while staring at the old man.

"Does that mean you met him and spoke to him?" asked the pirate, his eyes shining and tears beginning to stream down his face. A contrast to his earlier actions, there was no longer a man threatening the old man.

The bar owner didn’t seem at all surprised by the man’s reaction as he immediately sat down at the counter. "Please, tell me what he was like," said the man, moved.

"Another admirer of Monkey D. Luffy, I see," the bar owner said calmly, while watching the man nod quickly. He paid for the whiskey and even left a rather generous tip, noticing nothing else around him—all he wanted was to listen to the old man, like a baby seeks its mother’s breast when hungry.

This was not impressive to the bar owner, as this scene happened often when it was revealed that Monkey D. Luffy had spoken to him when he came to Loguetown and that they had become friends.

This, besides attracting many customers when they heard about the conversation, made the place special, since Luffy had practically only visited that bar and said very interesting things to the old man, which he would always repeat to his customers, who loved to hear them.

He certainly remembered the boy held by the mermaid, talking excitedly about Gol D. Roger and speaking of his dreams, with a conviction that the old man could do nothing but believe when he said:

"He told me he would conquer all the seas as an emperor, ruling over the entire ocean, while surpassing Roger and his crew. When I saw that boy, I knew his destiny would be great. His words made me believe in him immediately. I saw in him what I saw in Roger, when the former Pirate King used to frequent this bar," said the old man with an animated tone, while the man who had until then been hostile toward him now looked like a crying baby, eyes shining and begging for more.

And so the bar carried on, with the owner continuing to tell new stories. More people gathered around the counter, listening to the encounter with Luffy and even some of his adventures that he saw in the newspapers.

Even stories that had not been made public, such as the one about Skypiea, since he had acquaintances who had been with Luffy on the sky island training to serve some of the kingdoms around East Blue. The owner never failed to tell how Luffy had subdued a god and made him his subordinate.

People left shouting for Luffy, without him even knowing, while the owner was satisfied to see the bar growing livelier and livelier. Stocks were running low, and he would have to order more drinks from suppliers for the coming days.

People were bolder now, with the government’s movements, and he had begun to gather many tourists. Surely everyone wanted to see the bar where Monkey D. Luffy had been.

And so the day went on, until he finally had to let the last customer out at ten o’clock at night. He closed the door and sighed. The bar was a bit messy, but he would clean it later himself. For now, he put on a jacket and walked through the streets of Loguetown, while the city was still quite lively.

Events like the one with Cameron, the captain of the Scarlet Twin Blades Pirates, robbing him had tried to repeat themselves, but they weren’t so lucky. They were easily caught by the city patrol, which had replaced the Marines some time ago, with Luffy having gathered a group of people to train them. Even the gangs protected the city. These patrols had the Marines’ techniques and easily subdued the 15-million pirate, escorting him to prison.

The old man couldn’t help but look satisfied as he walked those streets, seeing the posters and paintings on the walls highlighting everything that had been happening in favor of Luffy and against the government. Children strolled with their parents as if nothing had happened, couples flirted with each other, while the old man continued walking toward his destination.

The square was quite crowded as always, even at that hour, nearly 11 p.m. The old man looked at the place, and there was no longer all that destruction from when he had gone to see it after the battle of the Monkey D. family, which had devastated the entire area. Roger’s platform had been destroyed that day and never returned, for it would never be the same again. A smaller and simpler platform had been placed for some executions, where even some government men had met their fate there.

The old man could still picture the old platform rising in the middle of the square, nothing more than that. He remembered the crowd gathered that day, while Gol D. Roger stood there, ready to be executed, with a smile on his face. His words had led the world into a new era.

He died laughing and changing the world even at the moment of his death... No wonder the old man had always admired him, and was surprised when it was announced by Sengoku in Marineford, during the War of the Best, that he had a son. Many believed that, if he was Roger’s son, he should be the next Pirate King.

Even the old man admitted his surprise at the time, yet he still knew it would not be Ace who would claim the treasure, not since he had met Monkey D. Luffy.

He remembered Luffy and his crew’s entrance not long after, in the middle of the war. They had invaded Impel Down and nearly destroyed the prison in the process, simply turning the tide of the war against the Marines.

The boy had shown extraordinary power that shocked the world at the time—and that never stopped.

He took a bottle of whiskey and began to drink, standing in a corner of the square, while looking at the platform that was no longer there. He held a newspaper in his hand with a poster of the four Yonkos on the cover.

"Roger, my old friend, you brought a new era to this world, and this is the result of it. I wonder what you would be thinking if you were alive, about all of this..." he said, before drinking again, remaining there that night, drowned in memories and emotions.

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Raccoon Here:

I wrote about the old man from that bar in Loguetown because I wanted to show how the world is reacting to everything that’s happening in the race to get the One Piece. Now I’m going to go back to focusing on Luffy.