The sun was high over the Thousand Sunny as the crew lounged about, enjoying a rare moment of peace. Luffy, as usual, was sprawled across the deck, grinning ear to ear, his straw hat tilted over his eyes.
"Hey, everyone," Luffy said, sitting up suddenly, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "Wanna hear about the strongest pirate ever?"
Nami sighed, sipping her drink. "This again? Luffy, how many times are you going to make up stories about fake pirates?"
"This one's different!" Luffy exclaimed. "This guy is so strong that if he was at Marineford, the war would've ended in one punch!"
"Here we go," Zoro muttered, leaning against the mast.
"Tell us, Captain!" Brook said, strumming his guitar. "Yohoho, I always enjoy a good tale."
Luffy cleared his throat, standing up and striking a dramatic pose. "His name was… Yuno Juro! And he ate the Sūpāhitto Sūpāhitto no Mi!"
Kikidori, sitting cross-legged nearby, froze mid-bite. "Wait, why does that sound like bad news for me?"
"Because you're the one who fought him!" Luffy declared, pointing at Kikidori.
"WHAT?!" Kikidori yelped, nearly choking on his food. "Why me?!"
Luffy ignored him and continued. "So, there we were, docked on a random island when this guy, Yuno Juro, showed up. He was HUGE—like a mountain with muscles! And his Devil Fruit lets him hit so hard, the ground shatters beneath his feet!"
"Sounds fake," Raiko said, arms crossed.
"Shh, I'm getting to the good part!" Luffy said. "Kikidori stepped up to fight him because, you know, he's a Yonko now."
Kikidori's eyes widened. "What?! I didn't agree to this!"
"But when Yuno Juro hit Kikidori," Luffy said, winding up his arm for effect, "he sent him flying so far… he left the universe!"
The crew burst out laughing.
"You're telling me I flew *out of the universe*?" Kikidori asked, shaking his head in disbelief.
Luffy nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! You were like, *whoosh*! Spinning through space, past stars and planets and all kinds of crazy stuff!"
Meanwhile, Kikidori could feel himself trembling like a vibrating toy. "Why do I have to be the one to get smacked into another dimension?!"
Luffy ignored him and continued, "And as Kikidori was flying through the stars, he passed by this strange world. There was this kid there with spiky blond hair and a headband. He looked up and said, 'WOAH, a shooting star!'"
"Spiky blond hair and a headband? That's oddly specific," Robin noted with a small smile.
"Yeah, yeah, but Kikidori didn't stop there!" Luffy said, his hands flailing for emphasis. "He kept going and somehow fell back into our universe! Then he crashed down on the Sunny, BOOM, right where he started!"
"And let me guess," Nami said dryly, "he got up without a scratch."
"Exactly!" Luffy said, clapping his hands together.
Kikidori groaned, burying his face in his hands. "Why me? Why am I always the example?"
The crew burst into laughter again, and even Zoro cracked a small smile.
"Don't worry, Kikidori," Luffy said, grinning at him. "If that ever really happened, I'm sure you'd survive it!"
Kikidori looked up, still trembling. "That doesn't make me feel better, Captain."
Brook played a quick tune on his guitar. "Yohoho! I'd say that's one way to prove you're tough, Kikidori!"
"I don't want to be tough if it means getting punched into space!" Kikidori shot back, pouting.
As the crew continued to laugh and joke, Kikidori couldn't help but smile a little. Even if he was always the butt of Luffy's wild stories, he was glad to be part of the crew—shenanigans and all.
End of Chapter 55 yes this was a filler