I'm in One Piece, and I'm Luffy's childhood friend.

Luffy simply sat down, his legs dangling in the air, and laughed.

"Bai Yun is right, Uncle, don't do anything rash. You've waited 20 years, haven't you waited for me?"

“If we hadn’t come, you might have had to wait 30 or 40 years.”

"I might not live to see it."

"You've waited so long, and now that we're here, you should be searching for the great treasure! Come sail with us!"

Luffy extended an invitation, and he didn't care about age or gender when inviting his crewmates; he only cared whether the other person was "interesting".

"Are...are you inviting me, Straw Hat Boy...?"

Gaimon was also a little incredulous; the pirate invitation after 20 years truly made him realize how fast time flies.

........

"Are you really sure, sir, that you want to stay on this island?"

The scene shifts, and the four are back at the beach, with Zoro still asleep.

Nami went to untie the ropes, while Bai Yun asked Gaimon, who had refused Luffy's invitation.

"Yes, thank you for the invitation. I have decided to stay and continue as the [Guardian of the Forest]."

"After 20 years of living with these animals, I've come to love them. Long-haired boy, you're right. After 20 years, these rare animals that I've protected are my true treasure."

"I will stay and protect them."

"Hey, that's strange. I'm not sad at all that there's no treasure chest. Instead, I feel really relieved."

Uncle Gaimon is also a carefree person. If he were 20 years older, he would definitely be a good partner and friend to Luffy and his crew.

Facing the sea breeze, Gaimon looked dashing and carefree, but Luffy's words broke his guard.

"Haha, uncles are rare animals too."

"I kill you!!"

Gaimon immediately got goosebumps, bared his sharp teeth, and shouted loudly.

"What a pity, it's rare to find someone as humorous and witty as you, Uncle."

"Yes, it's a pity, a journey at sea is not suitable for pets."

Bai Yun replied, but Gaimeng felt something was off about it.

Gaimon:........

"I was referring to these animals. I originally wanted to keep them as pets, but it seems that nature is more suitable for them than the boat."

Bai Yun immediately offered an explanation. Although he did indeed think Gaimon was a rare "animal," just like Luffy, he couldn't possibly say it so bluntly.

"Hahaha."

"Alright, hurry up and set sail, or it will get dark soon."

You'll definitely find great partners!

"You have to find ONE PIECE and then buy the whole world, Straw Hat Boy."

"I certainly will."

"Goodbye."

After saying goodbye to Gaimon, Luffy and Baiyun embarked on their journey once again.

The two small boats slowly sailed away, with Gaimon and a group of animals seeing them off on the shore.

Suddenly, the animals behind Gaimon bowed in unison in the direction of Bai Yun and the others.

The bow came suddenly, and it's unclear who it was for.

.........

"Goo~"

"I'm so hungry!!!"

These past few days at sea, Luffy's most frequent comment has been "I'm so hungry," just those three words.

"There's nothing we can do. Even if there were fish, we couldn't grill them on this small boat."

"Didn't Uncle Gaimon give us a lot of fruit? Why don't you have some fruit to tide you over?"

Bai Yun was already fishing; on such a cramped little boat, there was nothing else to do but fish.

"Yes, I think Bai Yun is right."

"Is it really okay to just enter the Grand Line like this?"

"That's a place known as a pirate graveyard. It would be too risky for us to go there with just these two small, dilapidated ships."

"Hmm, if we head south from here, there's a small town. Let's go there first and see if we can get a big ship."

Nami took out the sea chart, looked at it, and made a suggestion.

"I have no opinion."

Bai Yun replied, "Of course I have no objection. We can't miss the Going Merry."

Zoro continued doing push-ups without answering.

"Great!! Meat! Meat! Meat!!"

Luffy's focus is on the meat in town, not the ship.

Chapter 49 "Invincible Lucky Star"

They act on impulse, without needing a plan—that's what pirates are all about.

I've decided to get a boat and have a meat meal.

Luffy and Nami immediately turned the small boat around and headed south towards the town.

But fate said:

Surprises always come unexpectedly; life is never calm and uneventful.

After turning, the small boat sailed out for a while, and then a pirate ship that was more than ten times larger than Luffy's small boat appeared.

The pirate flag is a skull shaped like a cat's head, with pupils that are vertical yellow, just like a cat's.

The ship is entirely black, with a black cat design on the bow; it is none other than the Black Cat Pirates' "Hundred Plans Braku"!

Bai Yun was puzzled. He shouldn't have encountered the Black Cat Pirates here. Sure enough, because of him, some things had changed.

"What a huge ship."

"If only we could get our hands on a ship like that."

Luffy remarked with emotion.

But the guy on the other end isn't a good person either.

"These two dilapidated little boats dare to sail alongside us? Heh heh heh."

"Besides, we need to keep our whereabouts secret, otherwise we might upset the captain."

"Fire!"

Zango, the vice-captain of the Black Cat Pirates, immediately ordered the cannons to be aimed at Baiyun and Luffy. With a bang, sparks flew as two cannonballs were fired.

Neither Luffy nor Bai Yun are afraid of cannonballs.

With a single step and a leap, his body inflated like a balloon, deflecting the cannonball back.

That's how it should be.

Luffy successfully bounced back, but luck was terrible...

"Um?!"

"Holy crap!!! You're going to reach the time limit right now!!"

The shell hit Bai Yun and should have bounced back, but Bai Yun suddenly felt a release of force, and his rubber body returned to its original shape.

The Replicate Fruit's ability to replicate something is limited to a certain time; it doesn't mean you can retain the ability indefinitely after each replication—it's not as overpowered as some people think.

Unfortunately, Bai Yun's abilities overused the instant he was hit by the cannonball.

Unlucky? Absolutely unlucky.

But amidst the misfortune, there was a sliver of luck: the shell didn't explode; it was a dud. However, the enormous impact sent Bai Yun flying.

It fell into the sea with a thud after it had become a tiny figure in Luffy and his crew's sight.

"........"

"........"

"........"

"White Luck!!!"

This situation left Luffy, Zoro, and Nami somewhat bewildered.

After realizing what had happened, the three of them immediately started shouting, and Luffy grabbed his oars and rushed towards Bai Yun's location.

Meanwhile, the members of the Black Cat Pirates laughed so hard they lay down on the deck, laughing at Bai Yun for actually catching the cannonball with his body.

They forgot that Luffy deflected the cannonball back into the air and it exploded.

.........

Bai Yun fell into the sea with a thud.

But it's also very close to the coast of Usopp's hometown.

The helplessness of being eroded by the seawater caused Bai Yun to slowly lose his struggle. Just as he was about to sink into the sea, the small white snake on his wrist crawled down. Despite being so small, it was able to bite Bai Yun's hair and swim towards the shore.

Bai Yun gradually lost consciousness as the seawater covered him.

.........

"White Luck!!!"

The scene shifts back to Luffy and his crew, where Luffy is rowing frantically, propelling Nami's small boat forward at high speed.