"With that, all our shopping is onboard,"
Yuuto said as he set the last crate down on Belfast's deck.
"Thank you for helping carry everything,"
said Lady Avalon, waving elegantly at the people of Mock Town standing below the ship.
"Y-you're welcome, Lady Avalon-sama!!"
one of them yelled… voice trembling.
Miku leaned over the deck railing.
"Why do you all look so scared? It's not like we attacked you!"
The townsfolk swallowed hard, then answered.
"It's true you didn't attack us, but…"
They all turned around.
And—
the entire town of Mock… was almost leveled.
Buildings collapsed,
roofs were missing,
bars were smashed like they'd been run over by a warship.
All of it was the result of Yuuto and his group's "clean-up" a few hours earlier.
Irene crossed her arms, standing on deck and staring sharply.
"But what?"
The townsfolk flinched, panicked, and immediately turned away.
"N-nothing!!"
Then they ran away as fast as they could.
Yamato laughed, holding her stomach.
"Hahahaha! That was so much fun earlier!"
Kuroneko slapped a hand over her face in frustration.
"You're all too much, you know that…"
Lady Avalon only smiled slyly.
"Well, they kept hitting on us even after being warned. So this is what they get, right?"
"And you know how impatient our captain is," she added.
Yuuto patted Kuroneko's shoulder gently.
"It's fine, Kuroneko. Just think of it as stress relief after two days stuck on the ship."
Kuroneko finally let out a resigned sigh.
"Yeah… I was pretty annoyed at the people here too anyway."
Yuuto turned to face forward, his eyes sharp.
"Belfast, let's go. Our destination is Montblanc Cricket's place."
"Understood, Commander,"
Belfast replied, raising the anchor and starting the ship.
The deck slowly vibrated as the ship's engines came to life.
"Ohh, so we're going to meet Ace's little brother, huh?"
Yamato asked excitedly.
Kuroneko took a nervous breath.
"Is this really okay, Yuuto?"
"Hm? Why are you worried?"
Irene looked over, eyebrow raised.
"We've already interfered with the story. I'm afraid this will cause a butterfly effect,"
Kuroneko said, biting the edge of her finger.
Yuuto just chuckled softly.
"No need to worry about that, Kuroneko. Did you forget who Luffy is? He's insanely lucky."
Miku nodded.
"Besides, if Luffy and his crew are ever in danger, the group will probably issue a quest to help them—just like now."
Kuroneko finally exhaled.
"…All right. I'll just trust Luffy's luck and our group's insanity."
They all laughed softly.
Meanwhile, Belfast continued steering the massive ship toward their next destination.
---
Near the cliffs of Jaya, a group of people had gathered there.
One of them, a long-nosed man named Usopp, was crying as he suddenly lunged at Montblanc Cricket, trying to hug him tightly.
"I'm so sorry, sir!!"
he sobbed, snot pouring from his nose.
Cricket struggled.
"What the hell is this…?! Yuck! Get your nose off me!"
WHACK!
A hard fist landed on Usopp's head.
Luffy laughed, "Shishishishi!"
Zoro only gave a small smile, arms crossed.
Usopp got back up, wiping his tears and snot…
He looked at the setting sun… then suddenly went still.
His gaze locked onto the sea.
"Hmmm? What's that?" Usopp squinted.
He pulled the goggles/scope down from his head and looked more closely.
"Hey, what is it, Usopp? Did you go stupid from getting punched by the old man? Hahahaha!"
Luffy pinched his cheek.
Zoro walked closer.
"Usopp?"
Luffy shook Usopp's shoulders.
"Hey, Usoooopp!!"
Usopp slowly raised his hand and pointed toward the sea.
"…there's a ship coming in fast."
Luffy and Zoro turned at the same time.
"A WEIRD SHIP IS COMING!!"
Usopp yelled.
Nami turned and looked out at the water.
"What? A ship? Marines?"
Chopper hugged Usopp from behind.
"Hiii! Is that really a ship, Usopp-san?!"
"Y-yeah, it's a ship… a-and it's not a normal one!!"
Usopp gulped.
Cricket looked as well.
"…a metal ship?"
Luffy immediately panicked in a half-excited way.
"Nami! Call Sanji and Robin!"
Nami hurriedly shouted toward their ship,
"Sanji!! Robin!! Hurry, come out! There's a ship getting close!!"
Sanji appeared, cigarette in his mouth, eyes in heart-shapes.
"Nami-chaaaan! Robin-chaaan! Don't worry, I'll protect you!"
He then jumped down from the ship.
Robin, still on deck, watched the giant metal ship and said calmly,
"If cannons that large open fire… we'll all be turned into chunks of meat."
She quickly followed after Nami and the others.
Zoro stared at the ship grimly.
"Luffy, can you block shots from cannons like that?"
"I dunno," Luffy answered casually.
Masira, Shoujou, and Cricket all stood together in ready stances.
"Old man! Don't go too far from us!" Masira said.
"Yeah! Old man! They might be the enemy!" Shoujou yelled.
Cricket just pinched the bridge of his nose.
"You two…"
The massive ship drew closer…
Until it stopped just a few meters away from the Going Merry.
Everyone fell silent.
"…It doesn't look like they plan to shoot," Zoro said.
Luffy immediately stepped forward.
"Woooooah this ship is huge! Is this a giant shiii—"
He pulled his arm back.
"Gomu gomu no—"
BAM!
Nami and Usopp tackled him, smashing Luffy face-first into the ground.
"You idiot! Don't go over there!!" Nami snapped.
"Yeah! What if there's a MONSTER up there?!" Usopp shouted.
"Oh come on, I'll be fine—"
Luffy didn't finish his sentence, because…
"Unfortunately, it's neither a giant ship nor a monster."
A woman's voice.
Deep. Confident.
Sanji instantly PING!!'d like a dog detecting a woman.
"A… a woman?! On that ship?!"
BOOOOM!
Something dropped from the top of the ship and landed hard.
Dust flew up. Everyone jumped back.
In the middle of the smoke, a tall, muscular woman with oni horns and a giant club stood firmly.
She walked slowly toward Luffy, who was still being held down by Usopp and Nami.
She stopped right in front of them.
Then she smiled brightly, completely at odds with her intimidating aura.
"Yo. Are you the one called Monkey D. Luffy?"
Sanji immediately went berserk like someone electrocuted by love.
"Oooh, such a beautiful womaaaan!!!"
He slid up to Yamato, holding a flower in an overly elegant pose.
"Allow me to introduce myself… my name is Sanji," he said with full charm.
Yamato smiled awkwardly and raised her hand.
"Oh, you must be Bl— I mean… Sanji,"
she almost called him by his future title "Black Leg."
"Let me introduce myself, my name is Kozu—"
WHACK!
She was cut off by another voice.
"Yamato, you jumped down first again."
A large figure landed, followed by several others. Four people appeared side by side.
"Hey, Lady Avalon! I was about to introduce myself!"
Yamato grumbled.
Then another voice sounded—smaller, more annoyed.
"Yuuto! Don't do this again! It's so embarrassing!!"
Kuroneko shouted as Yuuto carried her in his arms while they landed.
Kuroneko pounded on Yuuto's chest, face red.
"Why did you do this again?!"
Yuuto just laughed.
"Hahahaha… because you're really cute."
He gently set Kuroneko down.
Yuuto had his armor hood up, hiding his face.
Sanji's eyes turned into an enormous heart.
"SO MANY BEAUTIFUL WOMEEEEN!!!"
he screamed.
Chopper clung tightly to Usopp.
"Usopp!! W-w-who are they?! Why do they look so scary?!"
"I-I-I don't know!!" Usopp panicked.
"Sanji! They're getting closer! SANJIII, GET BACK!!"
Nami yelled.
Robin watched them with a cold gaze.
"Who are they…?"
Zoro didn't say a word.
He just gripped his three swords, fingers ready to draw.
Masira and Shoujou shook with fear.
"Old man… who are they?"
Cricket answered quietly but firmly,
"I don't know… but one thing's for sure—don't fight them."
Luffy stood up and brushed the dust off his clothes.
He stared at Yuuto, who was walking toward him in silence.
Zoro saw that and got ready to draw his sword—
CLING!
His katana stopped just before leaving the sheath.
Lady Avalon was already in front of him, blocking his sword with the tip of her staff.
"Oh? A cursed katana. Not bad,"
Lady Avalon said without a smile.
Zoro's eyes widened.
'I didn't sense her presence at all…!'
On the other side, Robin crossed her arms, ready to use her Hana Hana no Mi—
But a hand touched her shoulder.
"Stop."
Irene was suddenly standing right beside her.
Robin flinched.
'When did she… move?!'
Nami, Usopp, and Chopper continued to panic.
"Sanji!! WAKE UUUUP!!"
they shouted at Sanji, who was still going crazy, spinning around like a broken robot.
Yuuto stopped right in front of Luffy.
Luffy gazed at him full of curiosity, not fear.
"Who are you?"
he asked, simple but sharp.
Yuuto held out his hand.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Yuuto Kido. Same as you… a pirate."
Luffy stared at that hand for two seconds…
Then—
"Shishishishishi. Zoro, relax! They're good people!"
Luffy laughed widely.
He took Yuuto's hand with his usual big grin.