The battle was over.
The Black Cat Pirates had 30 dead, 10 critically injured, and 20 who could barely move.
About 95% of that damage had been self-inflicted, courtesy of their former captain.
The rest was Luffy's fault.
On the Straw Hats' side, the injuries were as follows: one person lightly wounded by his own nail trap, currently sleeping it off.
One dog with a few scratches, almost fully healed.
And one person nursing a bruised ego from a lust-induced face-plant, still grumbling about it.
It had felt like a fierce battle, but the whole thing was over in less than 15 minutes.
The sun was now rising, bathing Syrup Village in a gentle, golden light.
For the villagers, it was just another beautiful morning.
For the Black Cat Pirates, it was the harshest, darkest dawn they had ever seen.
Usopp and Zoro had tied all the surviving pirates together in a big circle.
In the center sat a catatonic Captain Kuro, staring blankly into space, and a despairing Jango, who was just laughing bitterly to himself.
Five minutes passed in silence, broken only by the sound of Luffy snoring.
The scene was getting extremely awkward.
"Is our captain ever going to wake up?" Zoro muttered, his eye twitching as he walked over to the sleeping Luffy.
Nami, having also reached her limit, cracked her knuckles and joined him.
After a series of loud thwacks, a swollen-faced Luffy finally woke up.
"Huh? Is it morning already?" he mumbled groggily, which earned him another heavy punch from Nami.
Now fully awake, Luffy looked around.
With a quick explanation from Zoro, he finally understood what had happened.
It was time for him to make a decision.
He turned to Ray.
"Ray, what do you think we should do with them?"
"You're the captain," Ray replied calmly.
At this critical moment, none of them acted on their own.
The captain of the Straw Hat Pirates was Luffy.
He might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but the big decisions were his to make.
Luffy adjusted his straw hat, looked seriously at Kuro and the others, and then spoke.
"After we leave, Kaya can hand them over to the Marines."
And with that, they hid the defeated pirates by the cliff and headed back to Kaya's house.
…
Inside Kaya's mansion.
After Kaya and Usopp thanked them profusely, everyone gathered around the table for a huge breakfast.
Luffy immediately brought up the topic of finding a ship.
Unsurprisingly, as a thank-you gift, Kaya and her butler Merry gave them the sailboat Merry had been building.
They decided to set sail before noon to avoid any trouble with the Marines.
…
Down by the shore, a beautiful caravel with a sheep's head figurehead was docked.
This was the Going Merry.
Merry proudly gave them a tour, explaining all its features, from the cannons and living quarters to the galley and even a proper bathroom.
After spending so much time on tiny, bare-bones boats, even Ray was impressed.
The only thing he wasn't thrilled about was the idea of sharing a room with so many guys.
Just as they were about to board, they saw a small figure in the distance, rolling toward them like a snowball, carrying a massive backpack.
It was Usopp. After the adventure, he had decided to follow in his father's footsteps and become a pirate.
He'd come to say goodbye before setting off on his own.
He stood on the beach, ready to wave them off, when Luffy suddenly yelled from the ship.
"What are you still doing down there? Hurry up and get on board! We're comrades now, aren't we?"
Zoro just smiled, leaning against the railing.
Usopp was stunned for a second, then a massive grin spread across his face as tears of joy streamed down his cheeks.
And just like that, the Straw Hat Pirates grew to five humans and one dog.
…
Not long after the Going Merry disappeared over the horizon, the Marines arrived.
They were shocked to find the entire Black Cat Pirates tied up, especially their infamous captain, Kuro, who looked like his soul had left his body.
They all remembered the report from three years ago: Captain Kuro had been executed by Captain Morgan.
"Who defeated them?" the Marine Captain in charge asked Kaya.
"It was a very strange group of pirates," she replied carefully.
"Pirates? They didn't harm you?"
"No. They saved our village and then left. I don't know why."
"Can you tell me their names, or what they looked like?" the Captain asked.
Kaya thought for a moment. "I don't know their names, but I remember a silver-haired man, a boy in a straw hat, and a man with three swords."
Hearing that, the Captain's eyes widened slightly.
He remembered them.
"I think I know who you're talking about," he said with a small smile. "If it's them, then it makes sense they'd do something like this."
He ordered his men to take the Black Cat Pirates away.
On the way back to their warship, one of his subordinates asked, "Sir, how should we report this?"
The Captain looked out at the sea.
"The report will say the Black Cat Pirates were shipwrecked and we just happened to capture them."
"Yes, sir!"
After the matter was settled, the Captain gazed at the sky, lost in thought.
He was the same Marine who had been a lieutenant under Morgan in Shells Town.
After Morgan's downfall, he had been promoted.
"The Straw Hat Pirates," he thought. "You ended Morgan's tyranny, you defeated the overlord Buggy, and now you've crushed the cunning Captain Kuro. You really are a strange bunch of pirates."
He remembered the three of them clearly.
"From the bottom of my heart, thank you."
"I'll keep your names out of this report to help you on your way. The next time we meet, we will be enemies. But personally, I can't wait to see what kind of legends you'll create."
With that, the Captain turned and walked toward his cabin.