Morning came fast, and Kai woke up to Luffy yelling about breakfast.
It wasn't even sunrise yet.
He sat up and rubbed his face. "Do you ever sleep?"
Luffy was already standing on the roof of the half-wrecked tavern, waving the last piece of meat left from last night's fight. "Nope!"
Zoro stretched nearby. "If you're shouting again, I'm leaving."
Nami was the only one who looked awake enough to function. She sat at a small table, counting coins and drawing on a weathered map.
Kai walked over, curious. "You still planning to steal from Buggy?"
She smirked. "Already did. I got the Grand Line map while you two were busy smashing his men."
Luffy's eyes lit up. "The Grand Line!"
Kai whistled quietly. "You're braver than you look."
"I'm smarter than I look," she said.
They left town later that day on a small boat they "borrowed." The sails were patched together with random cloth, and the rudder creaked every time the wind shifted.
Zoro sat at the front, asleep as usual. Luffy was trying to catch fish with his bare hands. Nami was steering, and Kai sat near her, staring at the ocean.
"So," Nami said, without looking at him, "you're really tagging along with that idiot?"
Kai shrugged. "I don't have anywhere else to go."
"You don't seem like a pirate."
"I'm not. I'm just… here."
She glanced at him. "You're weird."
"Yeah, I get that a lot."
By the afternoon, the sky turned gray. Thunder rumbled somewhere in the distance.
Kai checked the horizon and frowned. "That looks bad."
Nami nodded. "It's a squall. We can't handle that in this boat."
Luffy just laughed. "Storms are fun!"
Kai muttered, "You're going to kill us one day."
Then something bright flew past the boat and exploded in the water ahead — a huge splash followed.
Nami cursed. "That's Buggy's crew! They're still following us!"
Cannonballs rained down around them. Luffy stretched his arm and grabbed the mast to steady himself. Kai clung to the side, trying not to fall overboard.
One of Buggy's men laughed from a nearby ship, holding something round and shiny. "Eat this, you brats! The Muggy Ball!"
He tossed it.
Kai didn't even think — he grabbed Nami's arm and pulled her down as the bomb exploded a few meters away. The shockwave rocked the boat and threw water everywhere.
Luffy laughed again. "That was awesome!"
Kai shouted, "You're insane!"
"Probably!"
The fight was quick but messy. Luffy used the mast as a slingshot, flying onto Buggy's ship again. Zoro followed, half awake, cutting through ropes and cannons like they were made of paper.
Kai stayed behind to keep the small boat steady. Nami worked fast, steering close enough for Luffy to jump back once the clown was down.
When Buggy's flag finally fell, the wind shifted, pushing them out of range. The storm clouds broke apart, sunlight shining through again.
Nami collapsed against the rail, exhausted. "That's the last time I ever steal from a clown."
Kai laughed. "You say that now."
She glared at him but smiled a second later. "You did pretty well back there."
"Mostly luck," he said.
"Still," she said softly, "thanks for pulling me down earlier."
He met her eyes and shrugged. "Couldn't let my navigator get blown up."
Her cheeks turned a little red before she looked away. "Don't get used to it."
That night, when everyone was asleep, Kai sat on the deck with his snail camera resting beside him. It blinked quietly.
[Viewers: 180,000]
[Tips: 70,000 berries]
[Reward: New Skill — Focus Boost Lv1 (slows perception for 5 seconds)]
He smiled to himself. "Not bad."
The ocean stretched endlessly in every direction, calm again for now. He leaned back, looking up at the stars.
Luffy's snoring filled the night. Nami's soft humming drifted from below deck.
Kai closed his eyes, thinking about how far he'd already come from that first barrel.
The system hummed faintly, like a quiet heartbeat.
Tomorrow would bring another island, another fight, and maybe another story worth streaming.
For now, though, he just listened to the waves and smiled.