Chapter 19
The sun was barely peeking over the horizon when the Straw Hats started stirring. Well—some of them.
Zoro was still snoring like a freight train, buried in a fortress of empty sake bottles. Sanji looked like death reheated, stumbling around in search of his cigarettes, muttering curses. Usopp clutched his head like it might fall off.
"Ugh," Nami groaned, squinting at the light.
"Why is the sun so loud?"
But Luffy? Luffy was bouncing around like the party never ended, already dressed and ready to go.
"Good morning, everyone! Isn't this great?! We're going to Loguetown today!"
"Luffy," Sanji croaked,
"If you don't stop being so cheerful, I'm gonna kick you into next week."
"Where's red head?" Nami asked, scanning the harbor.
"Probably still sleeping somewhere," Usopp mumbled.
"Smart guy."
---
Twenty minutes later, they got their answer.
"WHAT THE HELL?!"
Silas walked up from the harbor—carrying his entire ship over his head like luggage. The weathered vessel that had carried them from the Baratie to Cocoyasi was balanced on his shoulders, and he looked completely unbothered.
Luffy's eyes went huge.
"YOU CAN CARRY SHIPS?! THAT'S SO COOL!"
Usopp's jaw hit the ground.
"How… how is that even possible?!"
Sanji's cigarette fell out of his mouth.
"What kind of stupid strength is this…?"
"It's not that heavy," Silas said casually.
He'd been up since before dawn, working in his ship's hidden compartment. The gunpowder recipe his mother taught him—a family tradition—had served him well. The bullets he'd crafted weren't ordinary. They could pierce flesh, punch through steel, break bones. He'd made enough to last a war.
Still on his mind? Seastone bullets. Rumor said they could weaken Devil Fruit users. Rare. Expensive. Maybe Loguetown would have some...
---
"Where exactly are you planning to put that thing?" Nami asked, hands on hips.
"On the ship, of course," Silas replied, like it was obvious.
"On the—" She sputtered.
"That's going to look ridiculous!"
"Don't care. She's part of me. I'm not leaving her behind."
After much arguing and creative ropework, they secured Silas's ship to the side of the Going Merry. It looked absurd—a ship carrying another ship—but somehow, it worked.
"Great," Sanji said, wrinkling his nose.
"Now what's that smell?"
The air around the Merry had taken on a distinct odor—gunpowder, oil, and something metallic.
"That's from my ship," Silas admitted.
"Spent the morning making bullets. The smell sticks."
"BULLETS?!" Sanji exploded.
"You turned your ship into a floating bomb factory?! And now MY beautiful ship smells like a damn bullet dump!"
"Better than smelling like fish," Silas smirked.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" Sanji's eyebrow twitched.
"You heard me, curly-brow."
"That's MISTER curly-brow to you, jewelry store!"
Zoro snorted from his sake pile.
"At least he doesn't prance around like a peacock, dart-brow."
"WHAT WAS THAT, MOSS-HEAD?!"
"You heard me, love-cook. Maybe if you spent less time flirting and more time cooking—"
"I'LL SHOW YOU COOKING!" Sanji's leg whipped around, but Zoro rolled away, still clutching a bottle.
"Tch, too slow, curly."
"STOP CALLING ME CURLY!"
"You heard me, mister cook curly-brow."
Silas watched the chaos with amusement.
"You guys plan to do this every day?"
"Pretty much," Nami sighed, trying not to laugh.
"SHUT UP, RED-HAIRED MONKEY!" both Sanji and Zoro yelled.
"Red-haired monkey?" Silas raised an eyebrow.
"Honestly? Not bad. Better than what I usually get called."
Nami was about to join the argument—she didn't want her ship reeking of gunpowder either—when Silas casually handed her a small pouch.
The jingle of berries made her pause. She peeked inside. Eyes went wide.
"On second thought," she said cheerfully, tucking the pouch away,
"A little gunpowder smell never hurt anyone!"
"NAMI!" Sanji wailed.
"Money talks, love-cook," Zoro said, finally sitting up.
"Maybe if you offered her berries instead of compliments..."
"I DON'T NEED TO BRIBE PEOPLE!" Sanji shouted.
"My food speaks for itself!"
"Yeah, it says 'help me, I'm drowning in terrible seasonings,'" Silas added.
"THAT'S IT!" Sanji spun, leg in motion.
"Time to teach you some manners, fancy boy!"
But Silas ducked, popped up behind him with a grin.
"Gonna have to be faster than that, curly."
"STOP CALLING ME CURLY!"
Zoro laughed, which only made Sanji madder.
"Look at that, the love-cook can't even hit a guy weighed down with jewelry."
"JEWELRY?!" Silas looked offended.
"These are tactical accessories!"
"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Zoro snorted.
"Says the guy who gets lost walking in a straight line," Silas shot back.
"I DO NOT GET LOST!"
"THAT'S A PATHETIC LIE, MOSS-HEAD!"
Luffy watched it all with sparkling eyes.
"You guys are hilarious!"
---
As the morning wore on, villagers gathered at the harbor to see them off. Genzo stood at the front, scarred face showing more emotion than he had in years.
"Take care of her," he said quietly to Luffy, nodding toward Nami.
"Of course!" Luffy grinned.
"She's our navigator!"
Genzo smiled and pressed something into Nami's hands—a small compass, old and well-used.
"This belonged to Bell-mère. She'd want you to have it."
Nami's eyes filled with tears, but she smiled as she clutched the compass to her chest.
"Thank you," she whispered.
---
The Going Merry's sails caught the morning breeze. Slowly, they pulled away from the dock.
Villagers cheered. Children ran along the shore.
"THANK YOU!"
"WE'LL NEVER FORGET YOU!"
"GOOD LUCK ON THE GRAND LINE!"
At the bow, Luffy waved one last time, straw hat catching the wind. Beside him, Nami wiped away tears as her home grew smaller.
"So," Silas said, joining them at the railing,
"Loguetown next?"
"Loguetown," Luffy confirmed, grin blazing.
"Where the Pirate King died—and where our real adventure begins!"
The Merry, now carrying its ridiculous passenger ship, sailed toward the horizon. Behind them, Cocoyasi Village was free.
Ahead lay the Grand Line.
And all the impossible dreams they were crazy enough to chase.
"This is gonna be fun!" Luffy laughed.
And somehow, despite everything that could go wrong—
Everyone believed him.