Chapter 458: Joining

Koby adjusted his glasses, peering over a crude, hand-drawn map. "Um... maybe an hour or two if the wind keeps up. Luffy wants to find a swordsman named Zoro.

"Yeah," Luffy chimed in with that boundless enthusiasm of his. "I heard he’s super strong. I want him on my crew."

"Oh?" I raised a brow. "And what if he’s a bad guy? A ruthless killer with no sense of humor?"

Luffy grinned. "Then I’ll fight him, beat him up, and make him join!"

I couldn’t help but laugh. "That’s your plan? That’s some top-tier pirate recruitment strategy right there."

"Right?!" Luffy beamed, completely missing the sarcasm. "It’s worked great so far!"

Koby gave him a sideways look. "You do realize your crew is currently just... you, right?"

Luffy scratched his head. "Yup. But I got a good feeling it’s going to grow fast. Zoro’ll be the first, and then more’ll come. We’ll be a proper pirate crew in no time!"

"Big ambitions," I muttered.

Then he looked at me, squinting like he was sizing me up. "What about you, Vacation Guy? Where are you from? Are you also trying to recruit this Zoro guy?"

I smirked at the nickname. "Vacation Guy, huh? Is that my name now?"

Luffy nodded seriously. "Yup."

I chuckled, leaning back against the edge of the boat. "Fine. Call me that if you want. As for where I’m from... let’s just say it’s far away. Very far. Not from any of these seas."

Koby blinked. "Like, from another island in the Grand Line?"

"Something like that," I said vaguely. No use giving them an existential crisis with the whole multiverse explanation. "And no, I’m not here to recruit Zoro. I just heard interesting things about this world. I thought I’d take a look around. See if I like the weather."

Koby looked confused, but Luffy laughed out loud. "You’re funny! I like you!"

"Well, I try," I said, holding back another smirk. "It’s part of the vacation package."

"You know what?" Luffy said suddenly, his grin widening like he’d just had the greatest idea in history. "You should join my crew."

I blinked. "...What?"

Before coming to this world, I had a lot of plans for my journey. But now, I don’t have the power of money. I am just like any other person, excluding the fact that I am immortal.

"I can feel that you’re strong. You crashed from the sky and barely got a scratch. Plus, you’re funny! I bet we’d have a lot of fun!"

I stared at him for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Let me get this straight. You want to recruit a guy you just met—who literally fell out of the sky, said nothing about being a pirate, and didn’t even ask to come with you—because I’m funny?"

Luffy nodded like that was the most natural thing in the world. "Yup."

Koby looked like he wanted to protest but then just gave up and sighed. "He’s... always like this."

"I see that." I looked at Luffy again. "You’re a strange guy, Monkey D. Luffy."

He grinned. "I get that a lot."

I rubbed the back of my neck, then tilted my head back toward the clouds. "Join your crew, huh? What would I even do?"

"Whatever you want!" Luffy said happily. "Adventure! Fighting! Laughing! Finding treasure! And meat. Lots of meat."

"Tempting," I said, rubbing my chin. "But I’m not sure I’d make a good pirate."

"You don’t have to be a pirate," Luffy shrugged. "Just be yourself. We’ll figure it out. That’s the fun of it."

Koby muttered, "That’s not how crews work..."

"Actually," I said, "he might have a point. I’ve seen worse recruitment processes."

Luffy beamed. "So?" "You in?"

I paused. The idea was crazy. I already had my own plans, my own agenda, and a multiversal mission that was far from over. But... there was something appealing about Luffy’s simplicity. His honesty. His ridiculous optimism.

And let’s face it—I needed to blend in with this world for now, and traveling with the main character of the story might be the best way to get a front-row seat to everything.

"Hm..." I tapped my chin dramatically. "Let me think."

Luffy leaned in, eyes wide. "Thinking face! That’s a "yes face!"

"No, it’s a maybe face."

"Maybe means almost yes!"

"No, it doesn’t."

"Does too!"

I laughed again. "Alright, alright. I’ll tag along for now. Call it... a trial membership."

"Woohoo!" Luffy threw his hands up in the air. "Welcome to the crew, Vacation Guy!"

"Please don’t call me that," I muttered. "My name is Alexander Seductus Von Mortis, but please call me Alex."

~~~

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