The dust hadn't even settled in Orange Town's square before Luffy was already talking about food.
"Man, I'm starving! Fighting always makes me hungry!" The straw-hatted captain stretched his arms above his head, grinning like he hadn't just taken a Buggy Ball to the chest. "Let's find some meat!"
Gil stood apart from the group, rolling his shoulder where Buggy's knife had grazed him. Nothing serious—he'd had worse from bar fights in the North Blue. His coat was torn though, which annoyed him more than the actual wound. Good coats were hard to come by.
Seven years of this shit, he thought, watching the Straw Hats celebrate their victory like it was some grand adventure instead of a street brawl with a washed-up pirate. Seven years chasing ghosts and rumors, and I end up babysitting a rubber idiot and his crew of misfits.
But the alternative was going it alone again. And alone had gotten him exactly nowhere.
Nami was already talking to the mayor, probably negotiating some kind of reward for saving the town. Smart girl. Gil had noticed how her eyes tracked every valuable item during the fight, how she'd positioned herself to grab Buggy's treasure map before anyone else could. She was calculating, always thinking three steps ahead.
She reminds me of Aria, he realized, and immediately hated himself for the thought. No. Aria was nothing like this. Aria was...
He couldn't finish the thought. Didn't want to.
"Oi, Gil!" Luffy bounded over, that stupid grin still plastered on his face. "You're really gonna travel with us, right? You promised!"
"I said I'd travel in the same direction," Gil corrected, his voice flat. "There's a difference."
"Nope! You're part of the crew now!" Luffy declared, as if his word alone made it reality.
"I'm not part of anything." Gil lit a cigarette, taking a long drag. "I'm using you for transportation and backup. The moment our paths diverge, I'm gone."
"He's a real charmer, isn't he?" Zoro muttered, leaning against a partially destroyed wall. The swordsman's eyes were sharp despite his casual posture, and Gil recognized the look—Zoro was still sizing him up, still deciding if he was a threat.
Good. Stay suspicious. Makes you less likely to get yourself killed.
"So where are we going next?" Nami asked, walking over with a small pouch that jingled with coins. She'd gotten her reward after all. "You said you were tracking someone. Doflamingo, right?"
Gil exhaled smoke, watching it curl into the afternoon air. This was the part he'd been dreading—explaining without explaining, giving them enough to justify his presence without revealing how deep this rabbit hole went.
"Doflamingo's not just some random pirate," he began, his voice taking on that detective's cadence—clinical, detached. "He's building something. A network that spans all the Blues, maybe even the Grand Line. Smuggling, weapons, slaves, information—if it's illegal and profitable, he's got his fingers in it."
"Sounds like a real bastard," Zoro said.
"He is." Gil's jaw tightened. "Seven years ago, he took something from me. Someone. And I've been following his trail ever since."
Luffy's expression shifted, losing some of that perpetual cheerfulness. "Someone important?"
"My sister." The words came out harder than Gil intended. "Aria. She was ten years old."
The silence that followed was heavy. Even Luffy seemed to understand that some things weren't meant for jokes.
Nami's face had gone carefully neutral, but Gil caught the flicker in her eyes—recognition, maybe. Or sympathy. He filed it away in his mental catalog of observations. She's got her own demons. Something she's not talking about.
"So you're gonna find this Doflamingo guy and kick his ass?" Luffy asked, his voice surprisingly serious.
"That's the plan." Gil dropped his cigarette and crushed it under his boot. "But he's not in East Blue. He's too big for that now. What I'm tracking is his network—the people who work for him, the routes they use, the information they gather. Doflamingo's operation runs on information. Someone in East Blue is feeding him intelligence, and I need to find out who."
"And you think you'll find clues in random towns?" Zoro sounded skeptical.
"Not random towns. Port towns. Trading posts. Places where information flows." Gil pulled out a worn notebook from his coat pocket, flipping through pages covered in his cramped handwriting—names, dates, locations, connections drawn in ink and obsession. "I've been mapping his network for years. Every smuggler I've interrogated, every corrupt merchant I've squeezed, every two-bit information broker I've beaten half to death—they all point to the same thing. Doflamingo has eyes everywhere, and in East Blue, those eyes are concentrated in specific locations."
He showed them a page with a rough map of East Blue, several towns circled in red ink.
"Orange Town was one of them. Buggy was small-time, but even small-time pirates hear things. I needed to check if he had any connections to Doflamingo's network." Gil closed the notebook. "He didn't. Which means I need to keep moving."
"Where to next?" Nami asked, and Gil noticed how she'd positioned herself slightly closer to him, like she was trying to read his notes over his shoulder. Curious. And desperate for something. Money? Freedom? Both?
"There's a village up the coast," Gil said. "Syrup Village. It's got a decent port, wealthy residents, and according to my sources, a merchant there has been making some unusual shipments. Could be nothing. Could be something."
"Syrup Village?" Luffy's eyes lit up. "Sounds fun! Let's go!"
"It's not a vacation, rubber boy." Gil's voice dripped with irritation. "This is serious work. Dangerous work. If Doflamingo's people are there and they realize I'm investigating them—"
"Then we'll fight them!" Luffy interrupted, punching his palm. "Right, Zoro?"
"Whatever." Zoro was already walking toward where their boats were docked. "As long as there's a decent fight in it."
Gil wanted to scream. These idiots had no idea what they were walking into. Doflamingo's network wasn't just strong—it was insidious. It corrupted everything it touched. People disappeared. Entire families vanished. And anyone who got too close to the truth ended up dead in a ditch somewhere.
But you need them, the pragmatic part of his brain reminded him. You can't do this alone anymore. You've tried. It doesn't work.
"Fine," he said finally. "But we do this my way. When we get to Syrup Village, you let me ask the questions. You don't go charging in like idiots. You don't draw unnecessary attention. We gather information quietly and move on. Understood?"
"Sure, sure!" Luffy agreed, though Gil was certain the captain hadn't listened to a word he'd said.
Nami, though—Nami was nodding, her expression thoughtful. "Information gathering. I can help with that. People tend to talk around pretty girls."
"I'm sure they do." Gil studied her for a moment. She was sharp, this one. Too sharp for a simple thief. "Just be careful. These aren't ordinary criminals we're dealing with."
"I can take care of myself," she said, and there was steel in her voice.
Yeah, Gil thought. I bet you can.
They spent the rest of the afternoon preparing to leave Orange Town. The mayor insisted on throwing them a small feast—nothing fancy, just whatever food the town could spare after Buggy's rampage. Gil tried to decline, but Luffy had already accepted on behalf of everyone, and arguing with the rubber idiot was like arguing with a brick wall.
So Gil found himself sitting at a makeshift table in the town square, surrounded by grateful townspeople and his new "crew," picking at a plate of food he didn't want while his mind raced through possibilities and plans.
Syrup Village. Wealthy area. That means Marines might be more active. Need to keep a low profile. Check the port first, see what ships have been coming and going. Find the merchant—what was his name? Klahadore? No, that's not right. Need to check my notes again.
"You're thinking too loud," Nami said, sliding into the seat next to him. She had a plate piled high with food and that calculating look in her eyes. "I can practically hear the gears turning in your head."
"Occupational hazard." Gil took a drink of whatever local swill they'd given him. It tasted like regret and poor life choices. "You get used to it."
"Seven years is a long time to chase one person," she said quietly, and there was something in her voice—understanding, maybe. Or recognition.
"Yeah, well." Gil stared at his plate. "Some things are worth chasing."
"Even if it destroys you?"
He looked at her then, really looked at her. She was young—maybe eighteen, nineteen at most. But her eyes were older, carrying weight that had nothing to do with age. She knows, he realized. She knows what it's like to be trapped by something. To have your life consumed by a single purpose.
"Especially then," he said.
Nami was quiet for a moment, then nodded slowly. "I get it."
"Do you?"
"More than you know." She took a bite of food, her expression carefully neutral. "We all have our reasons for being here. Our own goals. Our own... burdens."
Gil wanted to press, to ask what her burden was, but he recognized the walls when he saw them. She'd built them high and strong, just like he had. So instead, he just nodded.
"Fair enough."
Across the table, Luffy was laughing at something the mayor had said, his mouth full of food, completely oblivious to the heavier conversation happening nearby. Zoro was on his third bottle of sake, looking more relaxed than Gil had seen him since they'd met.
They're so damn young, Gil thought. All of them. Playing at being pirates like it's some grand adventure. They have no idea what's waiting for them out there. What the world really looks like when you dig beneath the surface.
But then again, maybe that was the point. Maybe that ignorance, that optimism, was what made them strong. Gil had lost his optimism seven years ago, buried it in the same grave as his old life. All he had left was anger and determination and the cold, hard logic of a detective's mind.
"Hey, Gil!" Luffy called out. "The mayor says there's a Marine base near Syrup Village! Isn't that cool?"
"Thrilling," Gil deadpanned. Great. Just what I need. Marines sniffing around while I'm trying to investigate a Warlord's criminal network.
"We should avoid them," Nami said quickly. "Marines mean trouble."
"Agreed." Gil met her eyes, and something passed between them—an understanding. They were both running from something. Both hiding something. "We get in, gather information, and get out. No unnecessary risks."
"Where's the fun in that?" Luffy protested.
"The fun," Gil said coldly, "is in not getting arrested or killed. But if that's too boring for you, feel free to go pick a fight with the local Marine captain. I'll be sure to visit you in prison."
Zoro snorted into his sake. "He's got a point, Captain."
"Aww, you guys are no fun," Luffy pouted, but he was grinning again a moment later. "But okay! We'll do it Gil's way. This time."
This time, Gil thought. As if there's going to be a next time. As if I'm actually sticking with these idiots beyond Syrup Village.
But even as he thought it, he knew it was a lie. He'd already made his choice back in Orange Town, when he'd agreed to travel with them. When he'd seen something in Luffy's stupid, earnest face that reminded him of why he'd become a detective in the first place—to help people. To make things right.
Aria would have liked him, he realized, and the thought was like a knife to the chest. She would have thought he was funny. Would have laughed at his jokes and believed in his dream and...
He pushed the thought away, buried it deep where it couldn't hurt him. Couldn't distract him.
"We leave at dawn," he announced, standing up from the table. "I suggest you all get some rest. It's a day's sail to Syrup Village, and I want to arrive with enough daylight to scout the area."
"Aye aye, Detective!" Luffy saluted sloppily, still grinning.
Gil walked away from the feast, away from the laughter and the warmth, back toward the shadows where he belonged. He had work to do—notes to review, plans to make, contingencies to prepare.
But as he walked, he felt Nami's eyes on his back, watching him with that same calculating expression. And he wondered, not for the first time, what secrets she was hiding behind those eyes.
We're all broken, he thought. Every single one of us. Just broken in different ways.
Dawn came too quickly.
Gil had spent most of the night reviewing his notes, cross-referencing information, trying to build a clearer picture of what they might find in Syrup Village. The merchant he was interested in—Kaya's butler, according to his sources—had been making unusual purchases. Medical supplies, mostly. Large quantities. More than any normal household would need.
Could be nothing. Could be he's just paranoid about illness. Or...
Or it could be connected to Doflamingo's network. The Warlord had his fingers in the medical trade, Gil knew. Drugs, both legal and illegal. Experimental medicines. Human experimentation.
If Aria's still alive, if they're using her for something...
He couldn't finish the thought. Wouldn't let himself hope.
The others were already at the boats when he arrived, looking surprisingly alert for people who'd been drinking and celebrating until late into the night. Luffy was bouncing with energy, Zoro was checking his swords, and Nami was studying a map with intense concentration.
"Ready?" she asked when she saw him.
"As I'll ever be." Gil climbed into the boat, settling into a position where he could watch the horizon. "Remember—low profile. We're just travelers passing through. No mention of pirates, no mention of Doflamingo, no mention of anything that might draw attention."
"Got it!" Luffy gave him a thumbs up. "We'll be super sneaky!"
We're all going to die, Gil thought morosely.
But as they pushed off from Orange Town's dock, as the morning sun painted the ocean gold and the wind filled their sails, Gil felt something he hadn't felt in years.
Not hope, exactly. He'd learned better than to hope.
But maybe... possibility.
The possibility that he wasn't alone anymore. That he had allies, however strange and chaotic they might be. That maybe, just maybe, this crew of misfits could help him find what he'd been searching for.
Hang on, Aria, he thought, watching Syrup Village grow larger on the horizon. I'm still coming. I haven't given up. I'll never give up.
Behind him, Luffy started singing some off-key pirate song, and Nami told him to shut up, and Zoro laughed, and despite everything—despite the darkness and the pain and the seven years of failure—Gil felt the corner of his mouth twitch.
Not quite a smile. But close.
Maybe, he thought. Just maybe.
The boat cut through the waves, carrying them toward Syrup Village, toward answers, toward whatever came next.
And for the first time in seven years, Gil allowed himself to believe that maybe the next chapter wouldn't be written in failure and loss.
Maybe this time would be different.
Maybe.