Chapter 14: Gun Practice

"Firearms aren't like swords—you don't control them with just your hand. A gun is made of two parts: the launcher and the bullet. Even if you aim correctly, things like wind speed and the gun's condition can cause the bullet's path to deviate..."

Beckman explained to Luffy.

"You need to feel the wind speed and humidity to make accurate hits." Beckman picked up a rifle-shaped weapon, stood next to Luffy, aimed, and fired.

It hit the bullseye perfectly.

The gunshot was loud. Luffy scratched his ears.

"When you shoot, your heart needs to be calm. You must calculate the path. A good marksman is trained by bullets. But don't worry—we have plenty of ammo and all kinds of guns."

Luffy held his handgun and bang bang bang—fired several rounds. After wasting over a dozen bullets, he finally started hitting the target.

Beckman nodded slightly. "Luffy's got talent."

"Beckman, what if someone dodges the bullets?" Luffy asked, thinking of those powerful fighters who could ignore or even slice through bullets.

Beckman, the seasoned gun expert, replied:

"I've already said it—most gun users rely too much on the power of their weapons and neglect training themselves. That's why guns have become useless toys to many."

"But we gunmen have techniques too."

"People who dodge bullets usually anticipate your aim based on your posture and pre-aiming—they predict your shooting path. It looks like they're dodging bullets, but it's just prediction."

"In that case, shoot faster. Keep your muzzle low. Don't lift it too high—this interferes with their judgment."

"Then there are those who can literally match bullet speed—they can even cut bullets in half."

"When you meet those kinds of enemies, it just means you haven't trained enough. They've surpassed the weapon's power, while you haven't figured out how to enhance the weapon with your own strength."

"Watch carefully, kid—this is the gun you've been using."

Beckman took the pistol from Luffy and removed the remaining three bullets. They were small, black rounds.

He aimed at the target, then rotated his stance slightly and aimed left.

Bang!

Luffy heard a shot—but four bullet holes appeared on the wall.

From outside, pirates were cheering.

He ran to check and peeked through the holes in the wooden wall.

Outside, the pirates had captured a massive sea monster, easily over 100 meters long. The creature had four gaping wounds, each the size of a basketball.

"Those wounds... were made by bullets?" Luffy gasped.

"Why are there four?"

"This… is the growth of a marksman," Beckman said as he blew the smoke from the barrel.

"Awesome!!!"

Stars sparkled in Luffy's eyes.

A new task was added to Luffy's training plan: Gun Practice.

Beckman didn't explain how he fired four shots—or why the damage was so extreme. Luffy didn't ask, either.

That was probably part of an advanced course. For now, he just needed to master the basics.

A good gun was like a good blade—each one felt different in the hands of a marksman.

By the end of the afternoon, Luffy could already hit the bullseye with every shot.

That meant he was now an apprentice marksman.

Next up: training with moving targets, longer range, and finally, real combat simulations with multiple variables.

Evening Meal

"Beckman, you're teaching Luffy how to shoot?" asked Shanks, the captain.

"Just some basic stuff. But Luffy's got scary good talent. After just one afternoon, his accuracy is insanely high. Well, he is Garp's grandson."

Luffy was shoveling food into his mouth, indifferent to the praise.

This body really was born with combat talent. And having an amazing grandfather made everyone think anything was possible for him.

Because—well, he is Garp's grandson.

Luffy still believed that his effort was a big part of his success.

The world of One Piece isn't all about bloodline.

If it were, the Celestial Dragons would rule everything.

But Doflamingo, despite being a Celestial Dragon, was trash. Ace, son of the Pirate King, didn't amount to much either.

One Piece is about fate and innate strength.

The Gomu Gomu no Mi—or rather, the Nika Fruit—is clearly destiny-driven.

That final island—Laugh Tale—also carried a sense of fate. Even someone as strong as Gol D. Roger admitted he was too early, and all he could do was pass on the will to the next era.

It practically screams "destiny."

As for innate strength? That's the category of freaks like Big Mom and Oden, born naturally powerful.

Compared to them, Luffy figured his bloodline as Garp's grandson or Dragon's son wasn't really a big deal.

Thankfully, he was still a fast grower.

"Beckman, if Luffy's so talented, maybe you should teach him swordsmanship instead? Don't lead him down the wrong path," one pirate joked.

Everyone knew guns had worse career prospects than swordsmen—a cold fact.

"Don't be ridiculous," Beckman replied, annoyed. "With Luffy's talent, if he keeps at firearms, he might awaken that ability."

"No way—seriously?"

The pirates looked curiously at Luffy, who was still munching meat like a fool. He didn't look particularly special—but he did possess Conqueror's Haki.

And had awakened it at age seven.

"What's that?" Uta asked, curious.

She poked Luffy's cheek, but he just kept eating.

"Everyone has latent power inside—Haki," one pirate explained. "It's not Conqueror's Haki though—just the normal ones: Armament Haki and Observation Haki."

They tried to explain to the young songstress, but she didn't seem interested and dropped the topic.

After dinner, the pirates sat in rows with stools, waiting for Uta to sing.

While Luffy was training with guns, Uta had been writing songs to perform after dinner.

This was one of the Red-Haired Pirates' only forms of entertainment.

Luffy quietly listened to Uta sing. After all, who could complain about a child with a beautiful voice?

He wasn't in a rush to grow stronger. Work and rest needed balance. If something big came along, his grandfather and father would hold the sky up for now.

After the song, Uta came over to play.

"Luffy, let's play chess!"

"Sure!" Luffy agreed—and absolutely crushed her.

Then Uta started teaching him to read and write.

Suddenly, there was a commotion outside.

"Enemy spotted! A pirate crew has been detected!"

Three minutes later, everything calmed down again.

(End of Chapter)