The battle had ended in a hush. Beyond the shattered arches of Ryugu Palace, the Marine warships lay smoldering on the coral sands, their flag torn and drifting in the brine. Fish-Man Island bore dark streaks where domes had cracked, columns carved into the seabed by cannon blasts. Inside the grand hall, chunks of coral littered the floor, water seeping through broken mosaics. Healers in kelp-green tunics knelt beside the wounded, bandaging scales and mending bones. Guards swept glowing rubble into heaps, their brooms scraping against coral shards. Steam rose from fresh wounds, mingling with the sharp tang of salt and the stench of blood.
On a fragmented coral bench, Monkey D. Luffy sat cross-legged, arms folded over his chest like iron bands. His black hair was damp with sweat; his eyes, wide and unwavering, were fixed on the woman standing across the room.
She leaned against a cracked pillar, arms crossed, dark eyes unreadable. Her dark cloak billowed in a breeze no one else could feel, edges flickering like restless water. No one approached her. No one spoke. She was Monkey D. Lila—the stranger who'd plunged into the chaos and rescued his crew—and yet she'd not exchanged a single word with him. Well, not another word to him after she brushed him off.
Meanwhile, her crew melted into the hall's frenetic energy. Buzz "Ashbrand" Vire and Sanji circled each other, sparking jets of blue and orange flame. Sanji tossed out a fry, spinning it over his boot, and joked about "the proper sear." Buzz countered with a spiral flame that licked Sanji's cigarette, turning its ember emerald, and they argued over heat control and seasoning in a rapid-fire banter that seared the air.
At a broken table strewn with scrolls, Veyra and Robin whispered, hunched over a leather-bound codex on ancient ice Devil Fruits. Veyra traced a rune with her fingertip while Robin adjusted her glasses, murmuring over the ethical implications of cross-breeding fruit powers. Their voices were low, the pages crackling like distant frost.
In the center, Zoro and Gorran sat opposite each other, locked in a silent arm-wrestling duel. Tendons in their forearms bulged, knuckles whitening, as the table splintered beneath their combined strength. Each man's glare was as sharp as a blade, yet neither yielded; the cracked plank served as testament to their stalemate.
Milo sidled up to Luffy, steaming bowl in hand. Wisps of green broth curled toward Luffy's nose. "Spicy seaweed stew," Milo said. "Might melt your tongue. You in?"
Luffy took the bowl, his grin widening despite the war around them. "Thanks," he replied, leaning back to inhale the aroma. Zin was nearby and was bewildered about Luffy's actions for eating that death trap.
From a high balcony, Riven perched on a fragment of balustrade, cloak swirling in the same phantom wind as Lila's. He gave Usopp a curt nod; Usopp, cradling his custom rifle, waved meekly, eyes bright with admiration.
Vexa and Juno rested. The battle took their energy.
All of it buzzed around Monkey D. Lila—everyone except Luffy. He rose, bowl trembling in his hand, and stepped toward her. Each footfall echoed off the broken pillars.
"Hey," he said, voice soft enough not to scare her off. "You saved my crew. Thanks."
She didn't flinch. Her dark eyes stayed fixed on the floor's mosaic, where a pattern of waves had cracked underfoot. After a heartbeat, she lifted her chin. "I didn't do it for you."
Luffy's brow furrowed. He shifted the bowl from one hand to the other, steam fogging his goggles. "Still. You helped."
Her lips quirked—no warmth there—and she turned her head just enough to let her gaze slice across him. "Don't mistake survival for friendship."
He tilted his head, narrowing his eyes. "Why are you so cold? Don't be such a bitch." he dragged the word bitch longer to let her know.
She brushed past him without looking back, cloak trailing like a dark tide.
As crews mingled again, Sanji leaned against a coral pillar, cigarette dangling from his lips. He exhaled a swirl of smoke, studying Lila from across the hall. Nami, seated on a block of ruin, traced the rim of her teacup with one finger and raised an eyebrow.
"There's something familiar about her," Sanji murmured.
Nami glanced up. "A Revolutionary?"
Sanji shook his head, flicking ash into a cracked basin. "No. Look at her eyes. Her face… and that cloak foaming with wind." He stepped closer to Luffy. "She's got your nose, idiot."
Luffy blinked into silence. Then Sanji pointed. "She's your sister. Very hot sister, if I must say. I wonder if she has a boyfriend."
The room froze. Water dripped from a shattered chandelier onto the mosaic floor. The hiss of a leaking pipe was the only sound as all eyes swung to Luffy and then to Lila.
Luffy's legs locked in place. He stared at her patchwork cloak, at the pale curve of her cheek. "Monkey D. Lila…" His voice trembled. He took a step forward. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Her spine formed a perfect line, shoulders squared beneath her cloak. "Because I don't owe you anything."
"We're family!" The words tore from his throat as his arms elongated, fingers stretching toward her before snapping back with the distinctive sound of rubber meeting flesh.
A small twitch of her shoulders, like a bird shaking off rain. "No. You slept in a bed. I slept in iron. We're not the same."
Luffy's sandals slapped against the wet stone as he moved closer, his breath clouding between them. "But we're both D's."
Her ribcage rose, then froze mid-breath. When she finally pivoted, her eyes caught the torchlight—two black pools reflecting lightning that wasn't there. The edges of her cloak lifted without her touching them, sending ripples through the mist that curled around their ankles. "Then act like it."
The tap of her boots echoed as she retreated, leaving Luffy amid shattered pink coral fragments. No one spoke.
The dark fabric billowed behind her, catching no wind anyone else could feel.