Chapter 1
The Baratie rocked gently on the open sea, its fish-shaped hull a bright spot against the endless blue. Inside, heat and laughter mingled with the smell of sizzling seafood. Waiters darted between tables, balancing plates while sidestepping the occasional flying bottle.
At a table in the middle, the Straw Hat Pirates were impossible to ignore.
Luffy leaned back in his chair, straw hat tipped, eyes shining.
"Oi! Where's the food?!"
Zoro sat beside him, arms crossed.
"Too damn loud," he muttered.
Nami flipped through the menu, already plotting how to dodge the bill. Across from her, Usopp was mid-performance.
"And then I wrestled a Sea King into submission with nothing but my slingshot—"
The waiter's face said he wasn't buying it.
In the corner, away from the noise, sat Daytime Silas.
He drank black coffee, crimson hair catching the light. A loose white shirt hung open at the chest, layered with necklaces and leather bands. Tattoos peeked from his collarbone. He didn't try to draw attention, but the room noticed anyway.
Nami's eyes lingered. Expensive taste. Dangerous.
Usopp followed her gaze, saw Silas's smirk, and lowered his voice.
"That guy's trouble."
---
Silas's fingers tightened around the warm coffee cup. The laughter, the clinking glasses, the smell of salt and frying fish — all of it blurred for a moment.
It wasn't the Baratie he saw anymore.
It was a small, weather-beaten home by the shore. The sound of gulls. The warmth of a woman's voice.
"One day, when the sky opens and the chains break, someone will stand for everyone else."
His mother's words had been so certain, so full of belief. She'd called him in from playing, ruffling his red hair as she spoke of the Warrior of Liberation — a figure who would shatter tyranny and free the world.
"What would I be, Mama, if that warrior were real?"
"You'd be his blade and gun," she'd said with a smile. "You'd clear his path before he ever needed to fight."
He'd laughed then, clutching a stick like a sword.
"Then that's my dream!"
The memory faded, leaving only the bitter taste of coffee. His mother was gone. The world had shown him what it really was — cruel, corrupt, chained. That boy with the stick was long dead.
---
The doors slammed open.
"FOOD! NOW!" A hulking pirate barged in with five more behind him—Don Krieg's men. The leader swung a cutlass at a trembling waiter.
"You deaf?! Feed us, or this place becomes driftwood!"
The room froze.
Luffy grinned.
"Hey! Looks like fun."
Zoro's hand went to his swords.
"Finally."
Silas moved first.
Three strides. Pistol up.
Bang — the leader's cutlass spun away.
Bang — the second man screamed, clutching his hand.
Bang — the third dropped, knee shattered.
Steel flashed — the fourth's sword went flying.
Four men down in seconds.
Silas holstered his pistol and sat back down. The room stared.
"Who the hell is that guy?" someone muttered.
---
"THAT WAS AMAZING!" Luffy vaulted over the table, grinning.
"Join my crew!"
Silas froze mid-sip.
For a heartbeat, he saw his mother's face again — her voice soft but certain:
"The Sun God Nika's smile must be so beautiful… it could make even the weariest soul believe again."
And now here was this boy, grinning at him with that same kind of light.
It unsettled him.
"No," Silas said, the word heavier than it should have been.
"HE SAID NO?!" Usopp yelped.
Luffy leaned in.
"Come on! That gun-and-sword combo was incredible!"
"No," Silas repeated.
Sanji burst from the kitchen, cigarette dangling.
"Nice work, Red. But don't think that makes you cooler than me."
Luffy dropped into the seat across from Silas.
"Fine. You don't want to join today. I'll ask again tomorrow."
Silas didn't look up.
"Do whatever you want. Just don't expect a different answer."
The Straw Hats went back to eating, but their eyes stayed on him.
He told himself he didn't care. He'd been drifting too long to get pulled into anyone's dream.
And yet, as Luffy's voice rang out—
"Tomorrow you're definitely joining us, Gunblade Guy!"—
he felt something he hadn't in years.
A spark.