"Ah~"
"Nothing beats a good nap."
Zoro opened his eyes with a contented expression. The crow's nest truly suited him best - perfect for keeping night watch against potential sneak attacks while also serving as an ideal training spot to strengthen his physique.
"Hmm?"
"Why are those guys building snowmen?"
Leaning against the window, Zoro curiously watched the busy figures below.
"Is that snowman... supposed to be Merry?" Zoro stared strangely at the snowman beside Meiser, clearly surprised by its craftsmanship.
"Wow, Meiser! Your snowman is amazing!" Merry exclaimed, circling the snowman that resembled her. "Is this me?"
"Yep, modeled after you," Meiser grinned. "What do you think?"
"It's perfect! I love it!"
Merry dropped her small shovel, abandoning her own snowman project to excitedly circle Meiser's creation.
"Hehe, Merry twins~"
"Glad you like it."
"Dammit, didn't expect him to be this skilled at snowman building," Usopp muttered. "Guess I'll have to show my true skills."
"I think mine's pretty good too," Luffy said while picking his nose.
Usopp: ...
After one glance at Luffy's snowman - with mismatched eyes, no nose, and a mouth shaped by fist imprints - Usopp fell into deep contemplation. Could this honestly be called "good"?
Suddenly, Zoro's voice boomed from above through a megaphone:
"Hey! There's a pirate ship in the distance - looks kinda weird."
This immediately grabbed everyone's attention. Robin and others emerged from the cabin, peering curiously at the horizon.
"Let me see." Usopp checked through binoculars. "Whoa... they've got no flag or sails."
"That means they're just drifting!" Nami pointed out.
Without sails, controlling the ship's movement would be impossible - not all vessels had external paddles.
"Reminds me of that game we once played..." Sanji mused.
"You mean that ruthless Davy Back Fight?"
"Yeah."
"There is some resemblance," Nami agreed. "Could they be victims of that game?"
How tragic... losing your sails was practically a death sentence.
"Someone's there!"
Usopp suddenly shouted. "Fishing... looks pale and emaciated. Shipwreck survivors?"
At the mention of starvation, Sanji immediately frowned. He couldn't stand seeing people go hungry. "Hey, Captain."
"Yeah, let's check it out," Luffy grinned. "If they're enemies, we'll just knock 'em flying."
Luffy understood Sanji's concern and didn't object, being equally curious about the distant situation.
"Merry, you're up."
"Aye!"
Merry nodded enthusiastically, channeling her power to maneuver the pirate ship, swiftly adjusting course toward the derelict vessel ahead.
"Ah... without the sails, we don't even have a way to escape," sighed El.
The short man holding the fishing rod wore a face full of melancholy.
"Maybe this is fate," Kuku shook his head.
"Stop the nonsense and hurry up with the fishing."
"How can we catch fish without any bait?!" Kuku retorted.
"It's still better than just sitting around doing nothing," Dobby frowned. "The captain still needs us—"
Before he could finish, a massive Pirate Ship appeared ahead, charging toward them at incredible speed.
The discovery startled them so much that they fell off the railing, landing hard on the deck.
"A... a Pirate Ship!!"
"Quick, let's run!"
"Idiot! We don't even have sails—how can we escape?!"
Those words seemed like the final straw, plunging everyone on board into silence.
For a moment, they stood frozen in place as if under a spell.
"Yo, hello there," Luffy grinned from the ship's bow.
"Please, spare us," the men bowed to Luffy. "We have nothing left now."
Seeing their state, Sanji instinctively frowned before silently turning away.
'There's still time to cook.'
"We don't have any intention of robbing you," Franky said disdainfully. "You clearly have nothing left."
The ship was battered, with many parts damaged, the sails gone, and these guys trembling from hunger... How much money could people like this possibly have?
"Merry, pull up alongside them."
"Got it!"
Under Merry's control, the Pirate Ship slowly turned, eventually aligning itself parallel to the other vessel.
Franky and Luffy immediately leaped over, inspecting the ship's condition.
"W-wait... how is your ship moving by itself?!" Kuku exclaimed in disbelief.
The tall, bald man clearly saw the other ship's helm turning on its own, as if controlled by a ghost.
"Could it be... a g-ghost...?"
"A ghost, my foot!" Franky snapped. "Don't be so ignorant. Ghosts don't exist in this world!"
He almost wished they did—it would mean he could see Tom again.
But reality was cruel. Ghosts simply didn't exist!
"They look really pitiful," Chopper said, hiding behind Meiser's left leg.
"That's true," Merry added, peeking from behind Meiser's other leg.
Meiser:
Glancing down at the two little ones, Meiser sighed. "What are you two doing? Are you really that shy?"
"N-no way!"
"M-Merry isn't either!"
Despite their words, neither moved away from Meiser's side.
Shaking his head, Meiser decided to leave them be.
Growl—
Kuku's stomach suddenly rumbled, drawing everyone's attention.
The two-meter-tall bald man flushed red, utterly embarrassed.
"Ahahaha, so you're just hungry," Luffy laughed. "Come on, we're about to eat too. Join us!"
"Wha—?!"
"R-Really?"
Kuku and the others stared at Luffy in disbelief, never expecting a pirate to invite them for a meal. "Ah, our cook can't stand seeing people go hungry."
"But..."
"But what?" Meiser raised an eyebrow. "Do you really have anything worth us coveting?"
Kuku: "..."
Well... aside from the few of them left, they really had nothing. But pirates obviously wouldn't care about them.
"Thank you for your generosity."
"Hahaha, no problem!" Luffy waved it off casually.
"Chopper, weren't you always hoping someone would ask for treatment?" Nico Robin said, looking at Chopper. "They seem injured."
"Injured...?" Chopper peeked out and saw the wounds on the people aboard the other ship.
"Everyone, come over here. I'll treat you first. Sanji's food will take a little longer."
"The pet is talking!" El exclaimed in shock.
"Idiot! I'm not a pet!" Chopper angrily enlarged himself. "I'm a pirate too! My bounty is 5... 5... 50 Beri... damn it!"
Chopper nearly burst into tears. Why was his bounty only 50?
Seeing Chopper's reaction and Meiser's increasingly hostile glare, El and the others exchanged glances before obediently bowing. "Please help us."
"Enough talk, get up here now!"
Soon, the ragged group boarded the Thousand Sunny and followed Chopper for treatment. After a moment's thought, Merry also went along.
"Oh~"
"Merry, not scared anymore?"
"They look so pitiful. I want to help too," Merry said.
The kind-hearted little Merry ultimately overcame her fear and chose to assist Chopper.
"Then let's go."
Meiser followed. He couldn't let these two sweethearts stay alone with strangers—what if they were hostile? Though... they hadn't checked the condition of this pirate ship yet.
At that thought, Meiser narrowed his eyes.
"Come on, Meiser."
"Right!"
"I never expected a pirate ship to actually approach us," Stanson said, holding a Den Den Mushi. "This is really..."
"A pirate ship?!" Sarugo's voice came from the other end. "Perfect! Stall them. We're coming to take them down."
"Oh, right—what does their flag look like?"
"It seems... like a straw hat on a pirate flag," Stanson squinted at the mast. "But they feel like they're playing house—no sense of danger at all."
Trusting strangers so easily—were they new pirates? Judging by the ship's condition, probably.
"Idiot, that's the Straw Hat Pirates!" Sarugo shouted excitedly. "Don't let them escape, got it?!"
"You know them?"
"This is a pirate crew with a total bounty exceeding 1 billion berries!"
"1 billion..." Stanson's face showed disbelief. How could a group like this have a 1 billion berry bounty?
This... this is impossible!
Wait... could it be that these guys never took us seriously from the beginning?
Is that why they carelessly brought us aboard?
Realizing this, Stanson's expression turned grim.
They had misjudged their opponents. These weren't harmless sheep, but the king of beasts who could defeat a hundred!
"Mark my words, you must not let them escape, or I'll have your heads!" Sarugo said coldly.
Their father's birthday was approaching, and these pirates' flag and heads... would make the perfect gift!
At this thought, Sarugo's body trembled with excitement. That was over a billion berries!
"I... I'll do my best," Stanson gulped.
How could he guarantee capturing these guys?
"Enough talk. I'll be there soon," Sarugo hung up the Den Den Mushi and began rallying his men to rush to the designated location.
After ending the call, Stanson's heart sank.
Just when he thought he saw hope, he found himself staring into another abyss. This feeling was truly... utterly terrible.
"Well, well, young man. Seems you've been keeping many secrets from us."
"Who's there?!"
Stanson immediately looked up, but all he saw was an ever-expanding Sharingan.
Finally, the Sharingan filled the entire sky, blotting out the sun!