The Going Merry cut through the turquoise waters, her sails billowing in the steady ocean breeze. Lucas gripped the railing, his knuckles whitening as a nagging thought gnawed at him. The salt spray misted his face as he stared at the receding shoreline of Warship Island.
"What's going on? I feel like I've forgotten something crucial about this part of the story. There are so many gaps in my memory, I can't even recall how this plays out."
As they traveled, Lucas kept turning the problem over in his mind.
"Oi, daydreamer!" Zoro's gruff voice broke his reverie. The swordsman stood nearby, his muscular arms crossed over his chest. "You look like you're trying to solve the world's mysteries with that constipated expression."
Lucas shot him a dry look. "Just thinking. Doesn't this whole situation feel... incomplete to you?"
Zoro shrugged, his earrings catching the sunlight. "Does it matter? We've got a dragon to deliver and a legendary island to find. Anything else is just extra."
'No point overthinking it now.'
With Marine and Eric dealt with, the path ahead should be clear. At least, he hoped so.
The trio quickened their pace and soon reached the Merry, where Usopp waited.
A loud crash from below decks interrupted them, followed by Usopp's panicked shrieks. "IT'S ALIVE! THE CABINETS ARE ALIVE!"
Sanji's irritated voice floated up. "It's just the damn wood expanding in the heat, you idiot!"
Lucas chuckled despite himself. 'This is why I can't stay serious for long around these guys.'
"Usopp, take the helm. Zoro and I will handle the sails," Lucas said. After weeks at sea, he'd finally learned the basics of sailing.
"Got it!"
Without Marine interference, they made swift progress, guiding the ship to the designated coordinates. Meanwhile, Luffy and the others were in the middle of their own chaotic ride.
"Wait, you've gotta be kidding me." Zoro's eye twitched as he spotted Luffy's group barreling toward them.
"Usopp! Get us out of here...now!" Zoro barked, instincts screaming.
"O-On it!"
Sure enough, the cart hurtled straight for them.
"If that hits, the Merry's done for!" Lucas yelled, pulse spiking.
"MOVE!" Nami's shriek carried over the wind.
Luffy reacted instantly, stretching his arms to snag a tree branch—but momentum was against him. The cart's speed was unstoppable.
Then, at the last second...
Whoosh!
The Merry lurched forward, narrowly avoiding disaster.
"Too close…" Usopp wheezed, slumping over the railing.
Lucas exhaled sharply. 'This world's dangers don't play fair.'
The mountainside descent had been nothing short of catastrophic. Now safely aboard the Merry, Nami still clutched the mast with white-knuckled intensity, her orange hair windswept from their wild ride.
"I swear to every god in the Grand Line," she panted, "if I ever agree to another one of Luffy's 'brilliant plans' again…"
"Too late!" Luffy crowed, bouncing on the deck with endless energy. "Next time we should add rockets to the cart! Make it go FASTER!"
Sanji, who had somehow managed to keep his suit immaculate throughout the ordeal, exhaled a long stream of smoke. "Only you would look at a near-death experience and think 'how can we make this more lethal.'"
Zoro smirked. "Says the guy who backflipped off a crashing cart to light a cigarette."
"Style never takes a break, marimo."
As the two bickered, Lucas helped secure the massive dragon to the ship's stern. The ancient creature's scales felt surprisingly warm under his hands, pulsing with a slow, steady rhythm like a sleeping volcano.
Apis climbed onto the dragon's back, whispering soothing words. "Don't worry, Grandpa Ryu. We'll get you home soon."
The beast exhaled through its nostrils, creating small steam clouds in the cool sea air. Its milky eyes stared into the distance, as if seeing something far beyond the horizon.
"Alright! Mission accomplished. Next stop...adventure!" Luffy grinned.
"…And where exactly is 'next stop'?" Sanji deadpanned.
No one had a clue where Lost Island lay.
"Beats me! But I've got killer luck, we'll find it!" Luffy declared.
Lucas resisted the urge to facepalm. 'Sailing blind isn't a plan.'
"Apis," he cut in, "does Lord Ryu remember the location?"
The girl shook her head. "His memory's faded. But… maybe he'll recall?"
'Fantastic. We're relying on a senile dragon.'
Nami massaged her temples. "Then we sail until something jogs his memory."
***
Days passed in idle drifting. Strange, oversized fish breached the waves, and colossal birds circled overhead. The Millennium Dragon watched them with something like longing.
"Dinner's ready!" Apis announced, lugging a pot to the deck.
The crew froze, except Luffy.
"…You cooked this?" Usopp asked weakly.
Apis scowled. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Her stomp on Usopp's foot drew a yelp.
"OW! What was that for?!"
The galley smelled of burnt rice and regret. Sanji glared at the ruined pot like it had personally offended him.
"One meal," he muttered darkly. "Just one properly served meal. Is that too much to ask?"
Luffy, completely oblivious, poked his head in. "Sanji! Food! Now!"
The cook's eye twitched. "You want food?" He held up the charred remains. "Here's your food!"
Nami chose that moment to enter, her nose wrinkling at the smell. "Sanji, I'm…"
"AH! Nami-swan!" Sanji transformed instantly, hearts in his eyes as he produced a perfectly plated dish from... somewhere. "I've prepared your favorite! Seafood paella with…"
"MY PAELLA!" Luffy's arms shot out, stretching across the room, snatched the pot, then yelped as the scalding metal seared his hands.
"HOT!"
The pot sailed through the air...
Bonk!
…and landed squarely between the Millennium Dragon's eyes.
For a heartbeat, nothing happened.
"Grandpa RYU!" Then Apis shrieked, scrambling to check on him.
Sanji's eye twitched. "LUFFY. WASTING FOOD IS A SIN."
But the ancient creature's nostrils flared. Its massive head lifted, eyes clearing momentarily from their usual foggy confusion.
The dragon let out a low, rumbling growl that vibrated through the ship's timbers. Its gaze locked onto a specific point on the horizon.
Apis gasped. "He's... he's remembering!"
Cheers erupted. Lucas eyed a nearby mallet.
"…If he forgets again, we could help jog his memory."
Usopp nodded sagely. "Truly, the wisdom of Captain Usopp shines."
Nami rolled her eyes. "Just set the course."
With coordinates secured, they prepared to depart, until Luffy's stomach growled like a caged Seaking.
"Sanji… food?" he pleaded.
"You wasted the last meal!"
Nami fluttered her lashes. "Sanji, I'm hungry too…"
"RIGHT AWAY, MY QUEEN!"
Nami spread her charts across the deck table, weighing down the corners with mugs of ale. The crew gathered around as she traced potential routes with her finger.
"If Grandpa Ryu memories are correct," she mused, "the Lost Island should be... here." She tapped a blank spot on the map.
Usopp leaned in. "That's... not very specific."
"It's more than we had five minutes ago," Nami shot back.
Lucas studied the map, then the dragon, then back at the map. "So we're following the instincts of an elderly, forgetful dragon to find an island that might not exist?"
"ADVENTURE!" Luffy cheered, throwing his arms up and nearly knocking Zoro overboard.
Zoro steadied himself with a grumble. "I still say we should've just…"
"NO," Nami interrupted. "We are not using the dragon as bait for some half-baked fishing scheme."
Sanji blew smoke rings. "Pity. Dragon sushi could've been interesting."
Apis looked horrified. "You wouldn't!"
"Of course not," Sanji assured her smoothly. "I have standards. Mostly."
As the crew debated, the Millennium Dragon continued staring at the horizon, its expression unreadable. The setting sun painted its scales in hues of molten gold, making the ancient creature look like something from a legend.
Which, Lucas supposed, it was.
***
"What's going on? Where did all this fog come from?" Usopp's voice trembled as he stared into the thick mist swallowing the ship.
Nami's grip tightened on the railing. "This doesn't make sense. The sea was calm just a minute ago!"
Lucas rubbed his chin, studying the swirling gray around them. "If I had to guess, this is a convergence zone—where warm and cold currents clash. The temperature difference causes light refraction, creating visual illusions."
"Illusions?!" Usopp's knees knocked together.
"Whoa, it's so dense you can't see a thing!" Luffy grinned, adjusting his straw hat as if unfazed.
Nami nodded slowly. "I've read about this. When cold and warm waters mix, it can distort perception at sea. This must be what's happening."
"Exactly," Lucas said. "But be careful—places like this are prone to sudden storms. Typhoons, torrential rain… anything could hit us."
Nami narrowed her eyes at him. "How do you know all this?"
Lucas shrugged. "Just something I picked up."
Thank you, obsessive ONE PIECE forum deep dives, he thought. Though the knowledge was technically from fan theories, not canon, it was proving useful now.
No sooner had he spoken than the fog convulsed, collapsing inward like a curtain ripped away. The sky erupted.
"Sanji! Zoro! Lower the sails—now!" Nami barked.
Lucas's warning had given her a critical head start. The Merry shuddered as a typhoon slammed into it, waves heaving the ship sideways.
"Watch the ropes!" Lucas yelled, chakra anchoring his feet to the deck. "At this rate, they'll snap!"
"Are you kidding me? I haven't even had my first kiss yet! I refuse to die in some random storm!"
Nami's fist connected with his shoulder. "Less whining, more helping!"
"On it!"
He lunged for the stern, joining Zoro to reinforce the rigging. Luffy stretched his arms past them, wrapping rubbery limbs around Master Ryu's raft.
"Rubber—Anchor!"
"Luffy!" Apis gasped in relief as the raft stabilized.
Lucas shot her a reassuring look. "The Grand Line's weather gets worse than this. We'll make it."
Usopp squinted through the chaos. "Nami! There's light up ahead—like a break in the storm!"
Nami snatched her telescope. "That's the typhoon's eye… and there's an island beneath it!"
"Everyone, steer toward the light!" she ordered.
Luffy cocked his head. "Weird… the wind's pushing us that way."
"Doesn't matter!" Lucas shouted over the gale. "Just hang on!"
The Merry bucked violently as they neared the light—but the crew held fast. Then, as abruptly as it began, the storm spat them out.
Sunlight speared through the clouds, painting a rainbow over the calm sea. Ahead loomed an island crowned with castle-like ruins.
"No wonder no one's found this place," Nami murmured. "The storm acts like a barrier."
Usopp gaped. "Look at the shape! It's like a dragon! The Millennium Dragon must've built this!"
Sanji exhaled smoke. "Or humans did. Dragons don't carve stone, idiot."
Lucas's stomach dropped. Wait a minute…
"Guys," he said slowly, "I think we've been played."
Usopp whirled on him. "What?! We nearly died getting here, and now you say it's the wrong place?!"
Apis knelt beside Master Ryu. "Do you recognize this place?"
The dragon's weary gaze swept the ruins. A low, mournful croon escaped its throat.
Apis paled. "He… doesn't know. This might not be the nest."
Luffy, however, just grinned. "Then let's check the highest point! If the nest was here, we'd spot it!"
The crew scaled the crumbling fortress, vines snaking over ancient stone. At the summit, a massive gate barred their path.
Sanji kicked aside debris. "Place is abandoned. Been years since anyone lived here."
"Watch your step," Lucas warned. "The structure's unstable... Whoa!"
The ground gave way. They plummeted into darkness.
Lucas braced for impact—but when he hit the floor, it was with only a dull thud. He blinked. No broken bones? His body was tougher than he'd realized.
Nami's voice echoed off the walls. "Look at these murals!"
Torchlight revealed intricate carvings: a map of islands, swirling currents, and—
"That's Warship Island!" Apis gasped.
Lucas traced the lines. "The dragon's nest isn't here. It's near Warship Island, submerged most of the time. It only surfaces every few years."
The crew stared at him. Again.
Lucas rubbed his neck. "What? I read a lot."
Nami folded her arms. "Then we're wasting time. Let's get back to the Merry."
As they turned to leave, the ground trembled. A distant roar shook the ruins, not Master Ryu's.
Luffy's eyes gleamed. "Hear that? Something big's coming."