One Piece - I Am A Different Luffy! BOOK1!

Chapter 139 - Alabasta 08. (R18)

[Chapter Size: 2600 Words.]
Third Person POV

Alabasta, First Half of Grandline.

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The Black Pearl glides through the undulating sands of Alabasta amid the twilight of the night, the night's cold wind, a chilly breath that brings with it the spicy and dry aroma of the desert. The ship of the Straw Hats swayed, leaving behind a soft trail in the sand, quickly swallowed by the ever-changing landscape.

At the prow, Luffy stands out against the night sky, a solitary figure contemplating the infinite horizon, he had one of those moments he most enjoyed contemplating the landscape, being alone. The cold wind plays with his hair and his jacket, unfazed by the temperature, he looks at the moon with his own thoughts while doing so.

But then, a subtle and persistent sensation begins to infiltrate his consciousness. It's almost nothing, just a slight stirring in the air, a change in the texture of the silence. Luffy, with the intuition of a captain and a warrior, feels that someone is watching him from the shadows. At first, he ignores the sensation, attributing it to the strangeness of the desert at night. But the feeling continues, an insistent whisper on the edge of his perception.

With an almost imperceptible movement, Luffy turns his head, his eyes sweeping the darkened deck. For a moment, all he sees are shadows and inanimate shapes, but then... a glimmer, a pair of eyes that capture the light of the stars. They are fixed on him, intense and silent. It's Robin, his crewmate, watching him from a dark corner.

'Why is she spying on me?' Luffy wonders, a flicker of curiosity playing in his thoughts. Without turning around, he lets out a calm smile, directed at the void, but meant for her. A small acknowledgment of her hidden presence.

Robin's gaze, surprised and perhaps a bit uncovered, fades the moment Luffy's smile touches her shadows. The captain continues to look forward right after that, the smile still playing on his lips, while the Black Pearl continues its nocturnal journey.

"Let it be, I'll drink," Luffy murmurs to himself, unable to understand why Robin was spying on him, pulling out a bottle of some strong drink and uncapping it with a decisive gesture. The moonlight dances on the liquid surface as he brings the bottle to his lips, savoring the warmth that spreads through his body, a welcome contrast against the sharp cold of the desert night.

For ten minutes, he loses himself in tranquility, the only sound the occasional gulp from the drink. But then, a subtle change in the air; the sound of soft footsteps approaching. Luffy, with his sharp senses, knows immediately who those light steps belong to.

"It's ugly to spy on others, Robin," he says, without turning around, his unmistakable smile in his voice.

"I wasn't spying, I just got curious and saw you at the prow," Robin responds, her voice calm and measured, but with a blush on her cheeks. She approaches, wrapped in a thick coat to protect herself from the cold that makes the nights of the Alabasta desert almost freezing.

"Well, I'll believe you. Are you here to join me? If you want, sit next to me and help me drink this drink," Luffy comments, still looking ahead, into the desert.

Robin doesn't respond immediately but walks up to him, climbing onto the prow and kneeling next to Luffy.

"Here, it helps to warm up," Luffy offers, extending the bottle to her.

Robin hesitates for a moment, a brief pause but loaded with meaning. Luffy, noticing the hesitation, teases her with a mischievous smile.

"You wouldn't be disgusted by your captain's mouth, would you?" he teases, the moonlight reflecting in his bright eyes.