one piece · rubber powers · straw hat pirates · childish · fearless · drowning · anime · pirate captain · loyal · devil fruit
**"Luffy?"** Chopper's call was a small, anxious sound that seemed to get swallowed by the vastness of the deck. *Has anyone seen Luffy?* No answer came. Ten minutes slid by, then fifteen, each one heavier than the last. Panic, sharp and sudden, fractured the calm. They searched everywhere—behind crates, in the men's room, up the mast. Nothing. *Where the hell did he go?* Nami's voice was a frayed wire, her heart pounding against her ribs. Then—*LOOK!* Brook's shout was a bone-dry crack of alarm. Everyone rushed to the starboard rail. There he was. Luffy. In the water, his movements slow and labored, like a puppet with cut strings. His head dipped beneath a wave, then surfaced, gasping. He was drowning. A collective paralysis gripped the Sunny. He'd been in too long. The sea was sappi…