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As he chased after the frantically retreating navy squad, Luffy couldn’t help but think how much fun he was having. He wasn’t sure why gear fifth always made him feel so happy but he sure as hell wasn’t complaining.
He could hear his own heartbeat resounding around the port, louder than the screams of the marines and the booms of cannons firing. It was just so funny.
So entirely, undoubtedly funny how the self-proclaimed heroes of justice scurried around, running for cover like terrified, tiny ants. How could Luffy not laugh at the sight?
Although, he did wish there was someone to at least put up a fight; they were the ones who started this so they should have brought someone worth fighting. At this rate, even in his awakened state, Luffy would get bored and that wasn’t something he wanted to happen. They probably wouldn’t have wanted it to happen if they knew what that meant.
A wide grin pulled on Luffy’s lips as his giant foot stomped on the navy battleship, effectively crushing it and rendering it useless. Nowhere to run now, little ants.
“Why are you screaming like this?” Luffy asked, his voice shaking with glee. “Isn’t this what you wanted?”
Luffy sighed when his only response was more frantinc yelling. It was seriously getting old—and really starting to get on his nerves.
It was funny; he was happy, he was having fun… So why was he so irritated? Why was this anger still boiling within him?
A memory of a broken, bleeding body flashed in front of his eyes and he growled, the rage momentarily taking over before it got pushed back by the giddy happiness once more.
He snickered to himself before letting his body shrink down to its usual size, a new, fun idea taking root in his mind. He was sure it was born of the red, roaring beast inside him, the one who woke up when he came back to the pier after his search for food… only to find Torao surrounded by three navy vice-admirals and their battleship worth of men. His lover bleeding and unconscious, sea prism stone cuffs securely around his wrists and ankles, a chain from the same cursed metal wrapped all around him.
And Luffy only laughed at the sight.
He laughed at the looks on the marines’ faces. Laughed as they fell to their knees one by one, overwhelmed by his haki pulsating in the air. Laughed when the few conscious ones started backing away, fear written all over their faces.
Laughed, as his hair and skin turned pure white.
Now, the marines were falling over once more as soon as Luffy landed on the ground in between them. His grin widened as he watched them go down, trembling, some of them frothing at the mouth from his mere presence.
Which one should he choose for his game?
He decided it didn’t really matter.
Following rules wasn’t any fun anyway.
Choosing one of them at random, Luffy slowly walked up to the man and grabbed him by the throat, lifting him off the ground easily. He watched as the soldier gasped for breath, his eyes fluttering open momentarily before closing again, his hands pawing weakly at Luffy’s wrist. Luffy was sure it was just his body simply reacting to the fingers closing around his throat, a desperate attempt to stop the assault on his lungs, meaningless as Luffy continued restricting the oxygen coming through.
Luffy snickered at the pathetic sight, tightening his hold for a second just to see what would happen. How much force would it take to crush his windpipe? How much to snap his neck? Or should he just take it slow and watch him writhe in agony as he slowly suffocates?
Although… Luffy didn’t have the patience for the last one.
He should just go with his first idea, not think too hard about it. It sounded the most fun anyway.
He paid no attention to the bullets sinking into his own flesh, stretching the skin before they got repelled back at the shooters. He ignored the shouts and threats. His full attention was on the poor bastard at his mercy. Playing a game he shouldn’t have entered.
Slowly, Luffy raised his free hand. He let it snake its way around the marine’s own arm, closing it in a vice grip all the way from the wrist to the shoulder.
And he pulled.
Slowly, carefully… he pulled.
Taking joy in the way the shoulder popped as it dislocated—the weakest point. But Luffy didn’t stop; no, it was just the beginning.
He laughed loudly as the soldier’s eyes shot open, a blood curdling scream on his lips… And he still didn’t stop.
He could feel the bones in the man’s forearm giving way, bending slightly; a tiny bit more and more with each second… until they snapped, unable to bear the force of Luffy’s rubbery, snake-like grip. They made a funny sound, a quiet, satisfying crack that sounded like a twig snapping in half; the sound only made Luffy laugh louder.
But that wasn’t enough for him.
He paused, easing the hold he had on the man’s throat and letting him fall to the ground in one heap… but he didn’t give him the time to catch his breath. Luffy immediately planted his foot in the centre of the man’s chest, giggling at the confused, terrified look he was given. But he didn’t explain—why should he?
The marines should have realised what this game was about before they chose to challenge him.
Luffy licked his lips before taking a firm hold of the man’s arm once more.
His pull wasn’t slow, nor gentle this time.
Luffy laughed as he stumbled back, losing his balance as soon as the force keeping him in place disappeared, the soldier's arm slipping through his grasp and flying away.
Ah how fragile humans were.
He didn’t even have to pull that hard.
Oh well.
Slowly, Luffy’s eyes dropped back down. He took in the sight of the man lying at his feet; unconscious once again, bleeding heavily from the gaping wound where his arm used to be, the blood pooling around him like the rich molten chocolate pouring out of Sanji’s lava cakes. Except the colour was deep, deep red and the smell wasn’t mouth-wateringly sweet.
Yet, for some reason, it made Luffy hungry anyway.
What should he try next?
A leg? Maybe it would have the same crunch like fried chicken.
Maybe go for his eyes? The pop of them similar to those tiny tomatoes, a fresh treat at the tip of his tongue.
Or should he pay back equally and put a hole through their stomachs, just like they did to Torao?
So many possibilities, each one even more fun than the last.
“Oi, Luffy!” someone called before Luffy’s gaze could turn to the next marine.
His head falling back, Luffy looked up at the man perching on the roof of the building above him, a sword drawn and resting against one his shoulders. Luffy grinned at the intruder, ignoring all the soldiers scurrying around in favour of propelling himself towards the sky, landing easily next to his first mate. “Hey, Zoro. Sorry, kinda busy right now.”
“I can see that,” Zoro said, giving Luffy an unimpressed stare. “Not to interrupt your fun but… Torao’s awake.”
Just like that, the laughter that had been constantly bubbling out of Luffy’s chest died down, right along with the funny beat of his heart. He knew his hair was turning black again as gear fifth went away even without Zoro’s eyes raising up to watch as the change happened.
“Make them pay,” Luffy simply told Zoro before shooting his arm forward to haul himself to the next roof and back to his Torao.
A dark smirk spread on Zoro’s lips as he lazily jumped off the building to continue where Luffy had left off.
“Aye aye, Captain.”