The sea was calm again, which usually meant something bad was about to happen.
Kai sat at the edge of the boat, staring at the horizon while Luffy and Zoro argued about food. Zoro wanted meat, Luffy wanted more meat, and Kai wanted silence.
They had been sailing for hours when the next island finally appeared — a small port town with colorful tents and a giant red flag shaped like a clown's face.
Kai groaned. "Oh, great. I know this one."
Luffy tilted his head. "You do?"
"Yeah," Kai said, rubbing his temples. "It's Buggy the Clown's town."
Zoro frowned. "Who's Buggy?"
"A crazy pirate with bombs. And makeup. Lots of makeup."
Luffy just grinned. "Sounds fun."
Of course he said that.
The town looked half-deserted when they arrived. People hid behind windows as they walked past, whispering about "Buggy's crew" and "the thief girl."
Kai had a bad feeling — which got worse when he spotted a familiar orange-haired woman sneaking through an alley with a bag of gold.
"Nami," he muttered.
She hadn't noticed them yet. She was quick, careful, and very, very good at pretending she wasn't stealing.
Luffy pointed at her. "She's sneaky!"
Kai sighed. "Don't yell, you idiot—"
Too late. Nami froze, turned, and glared at them. "What do you want?"
Luffy beamed. "Join my crew!"
Kai facepalmed. "Here we go again."
Ten minutes later, they were sitting inside a small tavern that Nami had "borrowed" from the locals. She kept glancing between them like she couldn't decide if they were stupid or dangerous.
"So you're pirates," she said flatly.
"Future Pirate King," Luffy corrected proudly.
Nami rolled her eyes. "Right. And you?" She looked at Kai.
He shrugged. "Tag-along dreamer."
"Does your dream involve getting killed?"
"Frequently," he said.
That made her laugh, a little. Just a small, surprised sound.
As the three talked, Kai's snail camera blinked quietly from his pocket. The system had been running in low power mode, but it suddenly activated on its own.
[Stream started.]
[Viewers: 12,000]
Kai blinked. "Wait—what? I didn't even—"
"Didn't even what?" Nami asked.
"Uh… nothing."
He peeked at the corner of his vision — chat messages flickered faintly, invisible to the others.
[Chat: Is that NAMI!?!?]
[Chat: She's prettier in HD.]
[Chat: This episode's gonna break records.]
Kai mumbled, "You guys are unbelievable."
Their conversation ended quickly when Buggy's men burst through the tavern doors, shouting about a "thief stealing our map!"
Nami swore under her breath. "Time to go."
Luffy grinned. "Time to fight!"
Kai sighed. "Of course."
The room turned into chaos. Bottles broke, tables flew, and Kai found himself ducking under cannon fire while trying to keep his camera snail from getting smashed.
He used a mop handle again — it had kind of become his weapon — and smacked one pirate in the face. Zoro sliced through another group like it was nothing.
Luffy was laughing the whole time.
"Gum-Gum Pistol!"
The clown-faced pirates went flying.
When it was over, the place looked like a disaster zone.
Nami was breathing hard, hands on her hips. "You people are insane."
Kai leaned against the counter, catching his breath. "Welcome to the club."
She looked at him, eyes sharp but curious. "You don't seem like a pirate."
"Good," he said. "Let's keep it that way."
Later that night, while everyone rested, Kai checked his stream stats.
[Viewers: 47,000]
[Tips: 28,000 berries]
[New reward unlocked: Streamer Title — "Rising Star of the East Blue"]
He smiled quietly to himself.
It was dangerous. It was insane. But for the first time since waking up here, he was actually having fun.
Somewhere nearby, Nami was humming softly while counting coins. Luffy was snoring. Zoro was already asleep on the floor.
Kai glanced at the snail camera one last time. "Keep recording, Snaily," he whispered.
The little snail blinked once, as if saying always.
And with that, Kai fell asleep to the sound of the sea and the quiet ticking of a world that was starting to notice him.