Welcome. What'll be?
A voice greeted them as Luffy's crew spilled into Shakki's Rip-Off Bar. They'd left that coastal town behind only hours ago, trailed Hachi through winding alleys, and brushed off a handful of bounty hunters before finally arriving.
"Hacchan~!! Been a while." Shakki's grin was as wide as ever when she spotted Hachi in the corner, one hand holding a battered fellow who'd clearly lost whatever wager he'd placed.
"Grab a seat," Hachi drawled, dropping the unlucky patron with a thunk. "I was just… liberating some funds." He nodded to the bruised man. "Take your time."
Shakki wiped her hands on her apron, then slid onto the stool beside Hachi. "So you finally gave up the pirate life, huh?" She nudged him. "Good for you. Health comes first."
At the next table, Camie hid behind her aqua-green hair. Shakki leaned over. "Mermaids up on land—rare sight. You two… lovers?" She took a long drag from her cigarette.
"Eh—It's not like that," Camie stammered, cheeks flaming. "I'm… I'm not Hacchan's… bride?" She swallowed hard.
Pappagg snorted. "You're jumping too far, kid."
"She's from my takoyaki stand," Hachi said with a shrug.
"Oh, right." Shakki waved a hand. "Right. Do you guys want anything to Drink?"
She spun around, and soon frozen in place for a brief moment by the sight: Luffy had swung open her fridge and was stuffing his face with everything; Brook calmly spooning beans from a bowl.
"These beans…" Brook sighed in delight, "are absolutely delicious."
Pappagg flailed. "You lot can't treat this like your own home!"
Shakki chuckled. "Its fine. They are friends of Hacchan. Let 'em be."
Chopper's voice squeaked alarmed. "I can't leave you guys for a second!"
"Here," Shakki said, handing him a stick of cotton candy. "Eat this."
"Cotton candy!!" Chopper's eyes sparkled as he snatched it.
Luffy winked at Shakki. "Hey, how'd you know Chopper likes that?"
"You're Monkey-chan, captain of a pirate crew," she replied, leaning on the table.
Luffy puffed up. "You know about me too!?"
"Everyone's heard of the Straw Hats," Camie added, tugging at her fin. "Though I didn't expect a skeleton in the mix."
They continued to talk some more, all up to discussing the rising rookies with bounties over a hundred million. Afterwards the bunch decided to seek out Rayleigh's whereabouts… though, truth be told, everyone was itching to head to the amusement park instead.
purupurupuru-purupurupru...
"I hope it's Nami," Sanji muttered as he picked up the transponder snail. Click.
"Hello... Sanji? It's me, Chopper!" came the tiny, excited voice through the shell, then a distracted, muffled, "Hmm—strawberry or chocolate?" as Chopper sniffed out ice-cream choices. Sanji's jaw tightened. "Chopper—whats going on? Why'd you call?"
Chopper's tone snapped back, breathless and trembling. "Sanji… it's terrible. Camie—she got kidnapped." His small voice hiccupped into a sob as he described holding the snail, hands shaking. Sanji's calm evaporated; heat flared in his voice. "What!? How did this happen, with Luffy and Lucas with you!?"
"I don't know!" Chopper sobbed. "Right now Lucas is doing a tracking spell, Luffy went with Hachi and Pappagg to go search for her... Uh? Oh okay" He gulped. "Lucas says he tracked her to a place called the Human Auction. That's where she is."
Usopp and Franky stood behind Sanji, they had heard everything and now they look at Sanji pondering on what they should do. "I never wanted to pull this card, but… guess I'll call the Flying Fish Riders." He spoke soft, like a storm about to break.
Grove 1 smelled of iron and sun-baked wood when Chopper, Brook, and Lucas materialized before the Human Auction House after using Lucas's teleportation spell. Brook's voice was a dreamy hum of curiosity; Chopper's ears flattened with nerves. Lucas stepped forward, measured, eyes narrowing as if reading currents in the air. A katana shimmered into existence at his hip—his expression grew dark with each step.
Four hulking guards barred the entrance, arms folded, faces bored. They never had the chance to look surprised. There was a faint, surgical click as Lucas's boot found rhythm; he pushed the door open and slid inside, the others flowing behind him. The guards crumpled like paper sculptures. Blood sprayed in an obscene, crimson fan and their chopped bodies fell to the ground into a messy pulp. Inside Lucas pressed his back to the wall near the doors.
Brook glanced at Lucas noting his change in demeanor. A while later Sanji, Nami, Franky, Hachi, and Pappagg walked in their faces showing worry as they scanned the building seeing Lucas, Brook and Chopper waiting be the wall watching as the auction commenced.
Sanji's face was a dagger of calm fury. "Find Camie?" he said, voice low. "No... Not yet." Chopper swallowed and shook his head.
The auctioneer was a bloated, theatrical man who thrived on squealing attention. He built suspense with greasy charm, then pulled back the curtain. Cameras flashed; the crowd's hunger stank like rot. A giant fish bowl was rolled onstage hidden by another curtain, shackled and trembling, was Camie—her eyes wide, frantic, as she prayed for help. After the suspense was built up the buyers were astonished seeing a mermaid for sale.
Gasps tumbled through the hall. Luffy's crew flinched as the lighting cut to a spotlight, making Camie's desperation painfully cinematic. Then a voice boomed from the crowd: "Five hundred million beri!" The number struck like a gavel. The hall fell into a vacuum—buyers' smiles drained. A celestial dragon's laugh cut the silence thin and cruel; the air thickened with the scent of money and cruelty.
Lucas's jaw flexed. He started moving taking slow steps, like a shadow stretching—one measured step, as he gripped his blade. "Chh—" he breathed, the hiss of drawn steel. He never liked Celestial Dragon's and now more so after he came across them today.
"It really makes me sick. Trading the lives of others like onjects." Lucas's voice was a low.
Boom! The auction doors exploded inward in a storm of dust and splintered wood. Light slammed across the floorboards. Through the smoke, a single voice echoed, ragged and blazing: "Camieee!"