Two months.
Two whole months of living in a smoky bandit shack that smelled permanently of booze, sweat, and regret.
You sighed, stretching out on the creaky floorboards as sunlight filtered through the window. Luffy's laughter echoed somewhere outside—again. That meant one thing: another failed attempt to get Ace to hang out with him.
"I said leave me alone!"
"Come on, Ace! Just once! We can go hunt monkeys or something!"
Same script, different day.
You propped your chin on your hands, watching from the window as the two boys argued in the clearing. Ace had gotten faster, meaner with his jabs. Luffy, on the other hand, had gotten stubbornly optimistic. Every insult just bounced off like rubber—literally.
He'd been training ever since Garp dropped you both here. Every morning, you'd wake to the sound of Luffy stretching his cheeks like taffy or accidentally slapping himself with his own arm. It would have been hilarious if not for how loudhe was.
"Ugh… and people think I'm dramatic," you muttered.
The system flickered to life beside you.
[Quest Update: Survive Two Months with Dadan's Family]
[Status: In Progress – 96% Complete]
[Bonus Objective: Acquire new abilities.]
You grinned. "Oh, I'm way ahead of you."
Flashback – Two Weeks Ago
Luffy had passed out in the grass after trying to punch a tree into submission ("training," apparently). You crouched beside him, curiosity gnawing at you. His skin still had that faint elasticity, even relaxed. A perfect chance.
You poked his arm.
Then, grinning, you placed your hand on his wrist.
[Copycat Activated!]
[Scanning Target: Monkey D. Luffy]
[Copied Ability: Gomu Gomu no Mi]
[Hidden Data Detected…]
[Sealed Ability: Gear 5 (Locked – Requires High Mastery of Copy Source)]
You froze. "…Wait. Gear 5?! That's… oh my god."
The system simply hummed.
[Note: Locked abilities can awaken once user meets conditions of mastery, emotional resonance, or narrative significance.]
"'Narrative significance'? You're seriously meta now?" you whispered, facepalming.
Still, it worked. You flexed your fingers experimentally. They stretched. Not much—only a few centimeters—but it was enough. You had rubber powers now.
You smirked. "Okay, this just got fun."
Present Day
You'd spent the last two weeks experimenting in secret. Every night, after everyone fell asleep, you trained behind the shack—stretching, punching, bouncing, even testing how far your neck could extend without dying. (Answer: farther than expected, but deeply uncomfortable.)
The system logged everything.
[Skill Gained: Gomu Gomu Control Lv. 2]
[Partial Awakening Progress: 7%]
It wasn't Gear 5, not yet—but you could feel the energy humming under your skin, a weird kind of drumbeat rhythm that called to you when you pushed yourself too far. You weren't stupid enough to force it yet… but the idea tempted you.
Outside, another argument was breaking out. You peeked through the window.
Luffy had once again chased Ace into the woods. The older boy moved with sharp precision, jumping between branches like a feral cat, while Luffy stumbled behind, tripping over roots and yelling his name. Typical.
You rolled your eyes but followed anyway, if only to keep them from killing each other.
When you caught up, Ace had Luffy cornered on a cliff ledge. "I told you to quit following me! You're dead weight!"
Luffy puffed his cheeks, angry tears in his eyes. "I just wanna be friends! You don't have to be such a jerk!"
You stepped in before Ace could shove him. "Okay, timeout. You two are acting like toddlers fighting over the last cookie."
"Stay out of it," Ace snapped, glaring at you. "You're just his babysitter."
"Ouch." You crossed your arms. "For someone who hates company, you sure waste a lot of breath talking to us."
That hit. His scowl deepened—but his hands dropped from Luffy's shirt. Small win.
Luffy sniffed, rubbing his nose. "Uta, he said—he said I'll never be a pirate!"
You crouched beside him. "Then prove him wrong, rubber boy." You tapped his forehead lightly. "You don't need him to believe in you yet."
The system chimed quietly.
[Quest: Calm the Storm]
[Requirements: Prevent Ace and Luffy from fighting.]
[Bonus: Strengthen bond with both.]
You smiled faintly. "Already on it."
Ace rolled his eyes. "You're both idiots."
"Yeah," you said, standing. "But we're fun idiots."
That night, the forest was quiet. You sat by the campfire outside Dadan's shack, staring at your stretched fingers glowing faintly in the firelight.
[Partial Awakening Progress: 12%]
"System," you whispered, "how long until I can use that locked ability?"
[Unknown. But your emotional connection to the source seems to accelerate the process.]
You sighed. "So the more I understand Luffy, the closer I get to unlocking it?"
[Affirmative.]
You looked toward the shack, where muffled laughter and arguments drifted through the door.
"Then I guess I better start understanding him," you murmured, smiling.
The night air hummed faintly—like drums beating in the distance. For just a second, you felt your heartbeat sync to that rhythm. Wild, joyous, unstoppable.
Gear 5 pulsed faintly within your veins—waiting.