Chapter 12: Discovered

The pirate ship set sail right on time.

Shanks leaned against the railing, holding a barrel of booze, watching the coastline gradually shrink into the distance.

Seagulls danced in the sky. Uta let out a breath of relief without making it obvious.

"I'm going back to my room!" she called out, then dashed off.

Luffy's small head peeked out from the window, staring at the seascape. Uta, slightly nervous, looked around cautiously. Seeing no one, she quickly pushed Luffy's head back inside and shut the window before slipping into the room herself.

"Be careful not to get caught!" Uta warned him.

"If they find you now, they'll probably turn the ship around and drop you back off at Windmill Village."

"Relax, Uta. My ears are pretty sharp," Luffy replied with a grin. Bored, he glanced around Uta's room and spotted some books.

"Can you teach me how to read?" he asked.

He was illiterate. You couldn't expect Garp to teach him—that would take too much time and effort.

Besides, Luffy never had a pretty girl to read with, so he never really had the motivation to study.

And that's how he remained a proud little illiterate till now.

Even though he wasn't a fan of Uta's look—especially the two-toned hair—he had to admit she qualified as a proper beauty, which made him feel a little more motivated to give reading another shot.

"You don't know how to read?" Uta was clearly surprised.

"There's no such thing as a school in Windmill Village. Only bigger, more developed islands have stuff like that," Luffy explained.

"Shanks taught me how to read—leave it to me!"

After losing to Luffy repeatedly in competitions, Uta found something she was actually better at. Brimming with confidence, she began teaching him how to read.

She grabbed a picture book about music and got started.

Luffy frowned. Even with a pretty girl reading alongside him, learning new characters was still painfully difficult.

The writing system was a bizarre hybrid—half-English, half-Japanese—very fitting for a world clearly inspired by anime, where English would randomly show up mid-sentence.

One reading companion just wasn't enough. He needed at least two more beautiful girls by his side—make it three total—that would really give him the motivation to study!

Luffy started zoning out and promptly got smacked on the head by Uta with the book.

"Focus!" she said sternly, giving him a teacher's glare. She seemed to be enjoying this new role.

As she noticed Luffy struggling to keep up, she realized something: intelligence might be an inborn thing.

Luffy didn't quite know how to explain it either. When it came to physical stuff, he could master things easily. But when it came to academics, his brain seemed to slow to a crawl.

Unwilling to accept the blame himself, he decided it must be the fault of this body he had.

Matter determines consciousness, after all—it had to be this body slowing down his studies!

Reading also had a powerful sedative effect.

So, Luffy decided to save reading for nighttime—it would help him drift off to sleep.

Later, as lunchtime rolled around, Uta became visibly anxious.

"Luffy… do you think if you go out now, Shanks won't be mad?" she asked.

It's not like he could hide in her room forever.

"Hmm… when do you think Shanks will notice me?" Luffy asked.

"Probably around lunch or dinner. I still have to bring you food—that makes it way too easy for you to get caught," Uta said.

Luffy thought about it. Yeah, getting caught was inevitable.

"Well then, let's try to get caught tonight," Luffy replied.

By then, it would be too much trouble to turn the ship around just to throw him back at Windmill Village.

Uta went out to eat, and Luffy stayed in the room to keep reading.

Uta wanted to bring lunch back for him, but lunch wasn't like breakfast—you couldn't sneak around with bread or something easy to carry.

Pirate meals were massive platters of meat and fish. No small, sneaky portions here.

And if she were to bring a whole tray back to her room, it'd draw attention. Definitely suspicious.

Holding her chopsticks, Uta absentmindedly thought about how to sneak food to Luffy.

It was too difficult… maybe some fruit?

"Uta…" Shanks called out, snapping her out of her thoughts. She looked at her foster father blankly, having missed whatever he'd said.

"Uta, is the food not to your liking?"

"Or are you not feeling well?"

Shanks was clearly concerned. He had raised her from childhood, and her strange behavior had caught his attention.

The other pirates were starting to look over at their little princess, too.

"Uta, you don't want to eat?"

The ship's cook looked especially nervous as he placed a bowl of soup in front of her.

It was a deep bowl, nearly six centimeters tall, with sweet-smelling broth swirling inside.

"Ah… it's not because of the food…" Uta forced a smile and quickly declined the head chef's kindness.

Pirates, especially adult ones, had massive appetites. Uta couldn't handle that kind of generosity.

She was still debating whether or not to tell Shanks about Luffy.

"Do you have something you want to tell me, Uta?" Shanks asked, noticing her hesitation.

"Well…"

Uta couldn't hold it in any longer. Embarrassed, she confessed the truth to Shanks.

"WHAT!?!?"

The pirates nearly popped their eyeballs out.

"That brat Luffy's on our ship!?"

"We're doomed! Garp's definitely gonna come after us now!!"

Panic erupted among the crew.

Shanks rubbed his forehead in exasperation. He never imagined Uta would go so far as to smuggle that little brat onto the ship.

"Captain! Luffy is in Uta's room!!"

A tall pirate had already grabbed Luffy and brought him out.

Tiny little Luffy dangled in the air, caught by his shirt collar.

He crossed his arms, clearly resigned, waiting for the pirates to decide his fate.

"Captain, what now? Do we turn the ship around?" a pirate asked.

"Shanks, I just wanted to go on a short trip. No need to make such a big deal!" Luffy said confidently.

Now that the truth was out, Uta felt much lighter.

"Yeah, Shanks! Luffy was just tired of that boring little village. Besides, we're not going to the Grand Line yet, so there's no danger," Uta added.

"I'd love to toss this brat back, but the ship's already out this far…" Shanks muttered.

"Exactly! You're not gonna turn back just for me, are you? People might think you're scared of Garp!" Luffy said with a smug grin.

"Besides, I'm super useful! If the Navy comes after you, I can put in a good word!" Luffy gave a thumbs-up, acting like he was offering serious protection.

Grrrrrr…

Luffy's stomach growled.

The pirates burst into laughter.

"All right, let's eat first. But listen, you little punk—don't ever do this again…"

Shanks brought over a fresh set of bowls and chopsticks, setting them down in front of Luffy.

(End of Chapter)