It was midday in Orange Town, but the streets were eerily quiet.
Luffy squatted down next to Zoro, who was passed out cold on the cobblestones. The swordsman was heavily injured, bleeding from a stab wound to the gut, yet he was snoring like a chainsaw.
Slap. Slap.
Luffy patted Zoro's green, moss-like hair none too gently.
"Hey, Zoro! Wake up! We're leaving!"
Darian winced as he watched. Luffy truly had zero concept of "gentle." It was a miracle Zoro hadn't sliced him up in his sleep.
Zoro groaned, one eye peeling open. He sat up, clutching his side. "Ugh... is it all done?"
"Yup!" Luffy grinned, pointing at Darian and Nami. "I got us a navigator and a map!"
Nami immediately bristled. "Correction: You got a ride. I'm not your navigator. I'm just hitching a lift until our paths diverge. We're partners of convenience."
Luffy just laughed. "Understood, Navigator!"
Nami facepalmed. Once Monkey D. Luffy decided something, the laws of the universe (and logic) ceased to apply.
"It's you guys," Zoro grunted, nodding at Darian.
"Yeah," Darian nodded back. He felt a pang of disappointment. In the original timeline, Zoro had an epic fight with Cabaji, the acrobat swordsman. Darian had missed it while looting the basement. Oh well. Gold is better than watching a fight.
"Ugh..." Zoro tried to stand but stumbled. "I can't... walk."
"No kidding," Nami said, eyeing his blood-soaked shirt. "If you could walk after losing that much blood, you wouldn't be human."
"Hey!" Luffy pouted. "Why are you looking at me when you say that?"
Nami's face morphed into shark teeth. "Because you're the least human one here!"
Just as they were bickering, a mob of townspeople appeared at the end of the street, armed with sticks and pitchforks. They had found their unconscious mayor and, thanks to Luffy loudly admitting he knocked him out, assumed the group were bad guys.
"Run!" Darian yelled.
The group scrambled toward the docks, chased by an angry mob and a very brave dog named Chouchou.
"Finally escaped!" Nami sighed, slumping against the mast of their small boat. "What bad luck. And we didn't even get to rest properly."
"You can't complain," Darian grunted. He was currently acting as a human cargo rack, carrying the massive sack of gold on his back. "You didn't do any of the heavy lifting!"
"Oh well," Luffy chirped from his dinghy, dragging Zoro onto the deck. "At least we got away!"
"YOU have the least right to speak!" Darian and Nami shouted in unison.
If the rubber idiot hadn't confessed to assaulting the mayor, they could have left like heroes.
The two small boats drifted side by side. Luffy looked enviously at Nami's boat. It wasn't huge, but it had a cabin, a mast, and actual supplies. Compared to his leaky dinghy, it was a luxury yacht.
"Your boat is so cool!" Luffy drooled.
"I stole it from some pirates," Nami said proudly.
"You think you can reach the Grand Line in that?" Darian teased, pointing at Luffy's sad little rowboat.
"Nope!" Luffy beamed confidently. "That's why we're gonna find a super big ship! And a musician! And a cook!"
Darian stared at him. Luffy said it with such absolute certainty that you almost believed him. This guy's Observation Haki for the future is terrifying.
Later, on the open sea.
"Here," Nami tossed Luffy his straw hat. She had spent the last hour stitching up the holes Buggy's knives had made.
"Whoa! Thanks!" Luffy grabbed it. "You fixed it!"
He excitedly poked a finger right through the fresh stitches. Riiip.
"AH! MY HAT!"
STAB.
"GYAAAAH!"
Nami, enraged that he ruined her work in five seconds, stabbed his hand with her sewing needle. Darian and Zoro watched the comedy show, entertained despite the boredom of the open ocean.
"Hey, Darian," Zoro called out, his stomach rumbling. "Do you guys have any food?"
Darian sighed. "You two really are hopeless. You set sail to become Pirate King with zero food and water?"
He tossed a bag of bread and some apples across the water.
"Thanks! You guys are the best!" Luffy and Zoro devoured the food like starving wolves.
"Land ho!" Darian called out, lowering his binoculars. "There's an island ahead."
Nami checked her compass. "Ignore it. It's probably deserted. We need to stick to the course for the next inhabited island."
"It's not deserted," Darian corrected. "There are tons of... weird animals."
"Meat!" Luffy shouted.
Before Nami could argue, Luffy had already steered his boat toward the shore. Zoro, heavily injured and full of bread, fell asleep instantly.
The island was a genetic fever dream.
"Look at that!" Nami gasped. "A snake with rabbit ears!"
"And a pig with a lion's mane!" Luffy pointed, drooling.
Darian petted a small creature that looked like a bear but had giraffe patterns. It purred.
The Island of Rare Animals, he thought. This place defies all logic.
Suddenly, a gunshot rang out.
BANG!
A bullet struck Luffy in the back of the head. It stretched his rubber skin, then snapped back, firing the bullet right back into the bushes.
"Gyaaaah!"
A scream echoed from the treeline. A strange man with a green afro—stuck permanently inside a treasure chest—rolled out.
It was Gaimon.
While Luffy bonded with the chest-man over their shared pirate dreams, Darian sat back, watching them.
Seeing Luffy talk about the One Piece with such pure, unadulterated passion made Darian think.
What is my path?
He had power now. He had knowledge of the future. Should he join the Straw Hats? It was the safest bet. They had plot armor. Plus, he would meet Robin, Vivi, and Hancock.
But... could he handle Luffy's chaos 24/7?
Also, I'm not here to be Pirate King, Darian mused. I'm here to build my own legacy. And maybe a harem.
If he joined the Straw Hats, he'd be a side character. But if he started his own crew... he'd have to deal with the Marines, the Yonko, and the World Government alone.
He looked at Nami, who was laughing at something Luffy said.
Well, for now, sticking with the main character is the best way to survive. I'll figure the rest out later.
That night, they camped on the beach. They shared their food and listened to Gaimon's stories about the treasure on the peak.
When they found out the chests were empty, Luffy refused to tell Gaimon the truth to spare his feelings. Darian watched, impressed. Luffy was an idiot, but his emotional intelligence was S-tier.
Cluck! Cluck!
Early the next morning, Darian was woken by a rooster that had a snake for a tail.
He was warm. Nami was curled up in his arms, her head resting on his chest.
"Nami," he whispered, squeezing her... assets. "Wake up."
"Mmm..."
She rubbed her eyes and sat up. The blanket slipped down, revealing her bare skin to the cool morning air.
Even after everything, Darian felt a jolt of desire.
Down boy, he told himself. We have to sail.
They packed up camp, said goodbye to Gaimon (who seemed happier knowing the treasure was "safe" rather than empty), and set sail again.
Their next destination: Syrup Village. The home of a certain liar and a very expensive ship.
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