-pg59- Rufi Ah...it's such a nice day. Narration On the wide sea...a boy sails recklessly in his tiny boat, on his way to become a pirate, and seaching for friends to form his crew. Rufi The kinda day makes ya feel good to be alive! Narration Monkey D Rufi Rufi Ain't no danger of gettin' shipwrecked! Issue 2 That guy, "Strawhead Rufi" -pg60- Rufi No way! I'm about to be swallowed by a giant whirlpool! This is ridiculous. I'd like to call for help, but there ain't no one... Well, not much I can do if it swallows me... Since I can't swim... Ah! This whirlpool is definately a situation where not needing to swim comes in handy! (Since swimming would be useless) Wah! Blub! -pg61- Issue 2 That guy, "Strawhead Rufi" -pg62- Narration Random island Alberta What's this ? Could it be...dust ? Punk I...I...!! I make no excuses, Alberta-sama!! I meant to clean every knook and cranny of the ship, but... I'll do it all again right away! O...okay ? Alberta Okay ? How could it be ? -pg63- Alberta I'm the one they call golden! You have failed me...die! Coby! Where is the most beautiful thing on the sea ? Coby Eh...Eh heh heh, Here of course. It's you, Lady Alberta-sama. Eh heh heh. Alberta Correct! And thus I despise all that is filth!! Because I am beautiful, I can only sail in beautiful things! You see ? What does this mean for you ? It is the most useful piece of KNOWLEDGE you could ever hope to find. Coby Y-yes! Thank you! Alberta Because you have no useful abilities, polish this ship from top to bottom! Coby Y-yes Ma'am! -pg64- Alberta Don't any of you let me find even one speck of dust! Pirate N-no Ma'am! Narration Female Pirate "Alberta the Golden" Alberta Christ! You're too damn SLOW! Coby Eh heh heh heh...s-so sorry. Alberta You don't have time to apologize! Go clean the toilet! Coby Eh heh heh... Yes, at once, Alberta-sama! -pg65- Coby At once... Scurvy What, Coby did a sake barrel wash up on shore ? Coby Y...yes...but I haven't looked inside yet, so I can't be sure what's in there. Hippy That's great! We can get drunk! Scurvy You wish, matey! Unless you want to get your head bashed in! Swarthy By who ? Ya see, how's she to know we weren't just cleanin' the sake storehouse ? With the kid, Coby, there're only four of us who'll know! Scurvy Ya got a point. Swarthy Coby, ya know what to do, right ? Coby Y-yes, of course! I-I didn't see anything! Eh heh heh... D-don't worry about me! -pg66- Rufi AAAH! Hippy Hunh ? What !? Rufi That was a nice nap! Why, it seems I'm still alive! I thought all that spinnin' would be the death of me, Ha ha ha ha! -pg67- Rufi Mm? Who're you ? All three WHO THE HELL ARE YOU !? Swarthy How in the name of god did a person get into a barrel ? Someone Look out! -pg68- Alberta You there!!! What is the most beautiful thing on the sea ? Scurvy Alberta-sama!! Of course it's you, Lady Alberta-sama!! Alberta That's right. And do you know WHY they call me this ? Hippy Eh...eh ? Isn't it obvious ? Alberta Don't bullshit me! I heard your big mouth from the ship! I heard you yell 'nice nap' loud and clear! Rufi Aah... Nice nap! Swarthy Ah! -pg69- Swarthy Th-that wasn't us! It was a stowaway! Scurvy Yeah!! He was in that weird barrel Coby found! Alberta What ? It couldn't be...someone after my head ? Redeem yourselves! As for Coby...that brat's betrayed me! Hippy He can't have got very far yet...what was his name ? Scurvy Idiot! Didn't you hear, the navy captured that guy! Alberta If it's really him, he won't be hiding for long. If it's the infamous Roronoa Zorro!! Coby A-are you okay ? Any injuries ? You were thrown an awful long way... Rufi Hahahaha! I'm just fine! Don't be so surprised. I'm Rufi; where am I ? -pg70- Coby This is the coast where the pirate 'Golden Alberta'-sama relaxes. I'm the ship's jack of all trades, Coby Narration Ship's jack of all trades Coby Rufi Henh...are you. I mean; you any good at that sort of thing ? Coby Uh... Rufi I had a little boat, ya know, but it sorta got caught in the whirlpool. Coby Whirlpool ? You were in a whirlpool ? Rufi Yeah; it kinda snuck up on me. Coby Phew...you might of died... Uh...I might have a little boat for you... Rufi What's this ? A coffin ? Coby Once...it's a boat! A boat I made...! I've been banging away for two years now... Rufi Two years ? For this...? -pg71- Coby Yeah...it's not much. I made this ship so I could get away from here... Eventually...but I've never worked up the nerve. I guess I'm destined to spend my whole life as a ship's boy... Once...I really wanted to do this, but... Rufi So, what's the problem with running ? Coby Un-unh, outta the question; Alberta-sama'd find me before you could say 'Jack Robinson.' She's terrifying! Yes...on that fateful day...I went out, only meaning to go fishing, but... I accidently boarded a pirate ship!!! I've managed to not get killed for two years by doing work for others... Rufi Yer a blundering idiot. Doin' whatever the hell anyone tells you...I'd HATE to be you! Coby Eh...Eh heh eh heh eh heh heh heh heh heh...!!! But...that's the way things are. If I had the guts to just go bobbing off to sea... .....uh...Rufi-san, before you came here, why'd you hit the water ? -pg72- Rufi I'm gonna be... The Pirate King! Coby Uh...K....!!! K....!!! How in the WORLD do you think you're gonna earn get called the Pirate King ? You need wealth, and fame, and the power of the 'Greatest Treasure'... You're trying for the 'One Piece' ? -pg73- Coby Do you WANT to die ? Every pirate in the world is after that thing! Rufi So am I. Coby I-i-its impossible! Absolutely impossible! Impossible, impossible, impossible, decidedly impossible! To be the Pirate King you've got to be the greatest pirate around! You could never do! Never ever! OUCH! H-how'd you hit me ? Rufi Never say never! Coby Good thing I'm used to it... Eh heh heh heh... Rufi I'm cool with dying. Coby Eh ? Rufi I've made my decision. I'll fight for this even if it kills me. Coby H-how sure of himself... Even if you die ? -pg74- Rufi But...I really ain't got a clue how I'm gonna do this. It's harder than I thought... Coby He didn't think at all! Me too...I'll do it! I'm afraid to die... Rufi Mm ? What ? Coby But I... Want to join the navy! Rufi Navy? Coby That'll make you my enemy, Rufi-san! The navy's job is to catch bad guys! It's my dream!!! It may not be much, but... -pg75- Coby I'm gonna do it! Rufi Good fer you! Coby Yes!! I WILL!! My life as a ship's boy is OVER! I'll gamble with fate, and run away to join the navy! And Alberta-sama...I'll catch Alberta! Alberta You'll catch WHO ? COBY!!! Coby Yikes! My ship... Alberta You think... You can EVER escape from ME ? -pg76- Alberta So, who hired you and how much they paying ? Was it that Roronoa Zorro ? He'd be my best guess... Who's the most beautiful person on the seas ? COBY !!! Coby Eh...eh heh heh... Th-that would be...of course... Rufi Who ? Auntie Squid ? Men He... What did he... Coby Rufi-san! Please take that back! S-she's...the sea's greatest... -pg77- Coby Greatest... Rufi I've made my decision. I'll fight for this even if it kills me. Coby Greatest SQUID! Auntie SHIT! Rufi Aah Hah hah hah hah hah! Alberta YOU LITTLE... Coby I musn't run away! I musn't run away! I've said it! I'll fight! Fight for my dream! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!! -pg78- Rufi Well said! Step back, Coby... Coby R-Rufi-san! Alberta Makes no difference... You two brats... Will never live again! Rufi Is that the best you can do ? I'm gum, you see... Alberta Th-that's impossible! I'm the golden... -pg79- Pirates No way! Rufi Gum-gum... Pistol... Alberta Wh... -pg80- Pirates H-his arm...his arm stretched! Her head... Alberta-sama's been defeated!!! It's a monster! Rufi Coby's takin' one of the dinghies! He's gonna join the navy! Any objections ? Pirates N...no... Rufi Heeheeheehee... Coby Rufi-san... -pg81- Rufi I ate a gum-gum fruit once, you see. Coby That was surprising... But...Rufi-san, are you still after the 'One Piece' ? Even with me joining the 'Grand Line' ? Rufi Yep. Coby You're just screaming for a pirate's grave... Rufi Yeah...that's why I'm trying to find a bunch of strong friends. I'm headed towards the pirate base from here... Hey, who was that guy she mentioned ? Coby Oh, Roronoa Zorro ? Rufi I think he sounds about right! Coby WHAT ? Are you completely out of your gourd ? There's no way! Impossible, impossible, impossible! The man's a complete animal! Rufi Oh ? I didn't know that. Coby It's impossible! Narration And so the ship sailed on, towards the pirate base...