Standing atop Shanks’ ship, Luffy drove a dagger into his left cheek to show his manliness. After Shanks had spent a year docked in town, at age 7 Luffy was determined to prove his worth as a pirate in order to join Shanks’ crew.
Shanks is a pirate of remarkable, but mysterious, status who was taking time off in East Blue at a small community called Fusha Village on Dawn Island. Second only to this dream is Luffy’s goal to reunite with his childhood idol, Red-Haired Shanks. Exactly what instilled such passion and determination in a child towards such a seemingly impossible dream is unclear but some might say that his desire to track down the One Piece and become the next Pirate King might just be destiny. Born with the mysterious 'D' namesake, Luffy grew up with a insatiable desire to travel far and wide to the ends of the treacherous stretch of sea known as The Grand Line in order to obtain One Piece, the greatest treasure of Gold Roger, the only pirate known to have traveled to the ends of the earth and back, the man the world called, The Pirate King.
