"Ah—"
"Man, I feel way better after getting some sleep."
Zoro opened his eyes, a satisfied expression on his face.
The lookout platform really was the perfect place for him.
He could keep watch at night to prevent sneak attacks, and during the day, he could train his body and sharpen his strength.
"Hm?"
"Why are those idiots building snowmen?"
Leaning against the railing, Zoro looked down curiously at the people bustling about below.
"That snowman…"
"Is that Merry?"
Zoro stared in surprise at the snow figure beside Jin. He hadn't expected anyone to be able to shape a snowman that well.
"Wow, Jin! The snowman you made is amazing!" Merry said happily, staring at the figure that looked almost the same size as her.
"Is this me?"
"Yeah," Jin laughed. "I made it based on you. How is it?"
"It's amazing! I love it!"
Merry tossed aside her little shovel and completely abandoned her own snowman, running circles around the one Jin had made.
"Hehehe, Merry twins~"
"As long as you like it."
"Tch, I didn't expect this guy to be so good at building snowmen," Usopp said seriously.
"Looks like I'll have to show my true skills!"
"I think mine's pretty good," Luffy said while digging his nose.
Usopp: ...
He glanced at Luffy's snowman and fell into deep silence.
Crossed eyes.
No nose.
A mouth punched out with fists.
Could that really be called "good"?
Just then, Zoro's voice came from above—clearly amplified with a loudspeaker.
"Hey! There's a pirate ship in the distance. It looks kind of weird!"
That immediately drew everyone's attention.
Robin and the others came out of the cabin, all looking toward the horizon.
"Let me see."
Usopp raised his binoculars and froze. "You're right… they don't have a flag, and no sails either."
"Then they're just drifting," Nami said.
Without sails, a ship couldn't control its movement. Not every vessel had paddle wheels.
"This reminds me of a game we once played," Sanji said.
"You mean that merciless game—Davy Back Fight?"
"Yeah."
"That does sound similar," Nami nodded.
"Could they be victims of that game?"
If so, that was truly pitiful.
Without sails, it was practically a death sentence.
"There are people on board!" Usopp suddenly said.
"They're fishing… but they look pale and skinny. Shipwreck survivors?"
At the words pale and skinny, Sanji immediately frowned.
He hated seeing people go hungry more than anything.
"Captain."
"Yeah," Luffy grinned. "Let's go take a look. If they're enemies, we'll just punch them away."
Luffy understood Sanji's meaning and didn't object.
He was curious himself.
"Merry, it's up to you."
"Okay!"
Merry nodded and immediately used her power to control the ship.
The Thousand Sunny adjusted course and rushed toward the wrecked vessel.
...
"Sigh… without sails, we don't even have a way to run," Ail said gloomily.
The short man holding a fishing rod looked utterly dejected.
"Maybe this is just our fate," Kuku sighed.
"Stop talking and keep fishing."
"With no bait, how are we supposed to catch anything?!" Kuku snapped.
"That's still better than just sitting here," Dobby said grimly.
"The captain still needs us—"
Before he could finish, a massive pirate ship appeared ahead, charging toward them at high speed.
The sight startled them so badly they fell backward over the railing, landing hard on the deck.
"A—a pirate ship!!"
"Quick, run!"
"Idiot! We don't even have sails—how are we supposed to run?!"
That sentence crushed what little hope remained.
Everyone froze in place, as if bound by an invisible spell.
"Yo, nice to meet you!"
Luffy stood at the bow, grinning widely.
"Please, spare us!"
They bowed deeply. "We've already lost everything."
Seeing their condition, Sanji frowned and silently turned away.
I can still make food in time.
"We're not here to rob you," Franky said bluntly.
"Just look at you—you've clearly got nothing left."
The ship was riddled with damage.
The sails were gone.
And these guys were so hungry their legs were shaking.
There was no way they had any money worth taking.
"Merry, bring us alongside."
"Okay!"
Under Merry's control, the Thousand Sunny slowly shifted sideways until it lined up next to the wrecked ship.
Franky and Luffy jumped over immediately, inspecting the damage.
"H-hold on!" Kuku shouted in disbelief.
"Why is your ship moving on its own?!"
The tall bald man had clearly seen the rudder turning by itself, as if controlled by something unseen.
"D-don't tell me it's a g-ghost—"
"Ghost my ass!" Franky snapped.
"Stop talking nonsense. There are no ghosts in this world!"
…Though honestly, he wished there were.
If ghosts existed, maybe he could see Tom again.
"They look so pitiful…" Chopper said, hiding behind Jin's left leg.
"Yeah…" Merry said, hiding behind his right leg.
Jin: ...
He looked down at the two little ones helplessly.
"What are you two doing? Are you shy?"
"N-not at all!"
"M-Merry isn't either!"
They said that, yet neither moved away from him.
Jin sighed and let it go.
Suit yourselves.
"Grrr…"
Kuku's stomach suddenly growled loudly.
Everyone looked over at once.
The two-meter-tall bald man's face instantly turned red.
"Hahaha, so you're hungry," Luffy laughed.
"Come on! We're about to eat anyway. Eat with us!"
"Eh?!"
"R-really?!"
They stared at Luffy in disbelief, never expecting a pirate to invite them to a meal.
"Our cook can't stand seeing people starve," Luffy said proudly.
"But—"
"But what?" Jin raised an eyebrow.
"Do you really have anything left that we'd want?"
Kuku: ...
Other than themselves… they really had nothing left.
And pirates wouldn't care about people like them anyway.
"Thank you for your kindness."
"Hahaha, no problem!" Luffy waved it off.
"Chopper," Robin said gently,
"weren't you hoping someone would come needing treatment? They look injured."
"Injured…?"
Chopper peeked out and saw wounds all over their bodies.
"Everyone, please come over. I'll treat you first—Sanji's food will take a little while."
"The pet is talking!!" Ail shouted.
"I'm not a pet!!" Chopper roared as he transformed.
"I'm a pirate too!"
"I've got a bounty of 5… 5… 50 Beli…"
"…Damn it."
He nearly burst into tears.
Why was his bounty only 50?!
Seeing Chopper's reaction—and the dangerous look forming in Jin's eyes—the men immediately bowed deeply.
"Please treat us!"
"Quit the nonsense and get over here!"
Soon, the ragged survivors boarded the Thousand Sunny and followed Chopper for treatment.
After hesitating for a moment, Merry followed as well.
"Oh?"
"Merry's not scared anymore?"
"They look really pitiful," she said softly.
"I want to help too."
The kind-hearted little Merry overcame her fear and chose to help Chopper.
"Then let's go."
Jin followed behind.
There was no way he'd let the two little ones stay alone with strangers.
Just in case.
Besides…
They hadn't checked the inside of that ship yet.
Jin narrowed his eyes.
"Let's go, Jin."
"Yeah."
...
"I didn't expect a pirate ship to actually approach us," Stansen said into the Den Den Mushi.
"This is really…"
"A pirate ship?!" Salgo's voice burst through.
"That's perfect! Stall them—we'll take them down immediately!"
"Oh right—what kind of flag do they have?"
"It looks like… a skull wearing a straw hat," Stansen squinted upward.
"But they feel like they're playing pirates. No sense of danger at all."
Trusting strangers so easily—
were they rookies who had just set sail?
Judging by how new their ship looked, that seemed likely.
"You idiot—that's the Straw Hat Pirates!" Salgo shouted excitedly.
"Do NOT let them escape, understand?!"
"You know them?"
"Their total bounty exceeds one billion Beli!"
"One… billion?!"
Stansen's face went pale.
That group… was worth over a billion?!
That was impossible!
Then—
Did that mean they hadn't taken them seriously at all from the beginning?
Not because they were careless—
But because they didn't see them as a threat?
Stansen's face turned grim.
They hadn't encountered lambs.
They'd encountered a sleeping king of beasts.
"Listen carefully," Salgo said coldly.
"If you let them get away, I'll take your lives."
Their father's birthday was approaching.
Those pirate heads—and their flag—would be the perfect gift.
Just thinking about it made Salgo tremble with excitement.
That was over a billion Beli.
"I… I'll try," Stansen swallowed.
He didn't dare promise anything.
"Enough talk. I'll be there soon."
The Den Den Mushi clicked off.
As Stansen lowered it, his heart sank.
He thought he'd found hope—
Only to discover another abyss.
What a cruel joke.
"Yo, little guy," a voice sounded behind him.
"Seems like you're hiding quite a few secrets."
"Who's there?!"
Stansen snapped his head up—
And saw eyes.
Crimson eyes.
They expanded endlessly—
Until the blood-red pupils covered the entire sky,
Blotting out heaven and earth alike.
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