Luffy turned and saw in the distance the princess holding Nami in her hands. The navigator stood firmly on her legs and looked at him. Tears that wanted to flow down, just waiting to make traces on her face and break her, gathered in her brown eyes. But she had promised herself not to cry, and she wouldn't break that promise, that was her intention. Her hand lay on her belly, nothing coming out from her mouth.

She didn't have to talk, she didn't have to say anything. His eyes answered her voiceless question, his feelings reached every fiber of her at that very moment.

And her heart stopped beating as she knew what he was up to.

And she could not do it. She could not.

She could not.

"LUFFY, NO!" she cried to him, her desperate voice flowing through the distance.

"NAMI, TRUST ME, JUST TRUST ME!"

"LUFFY, YOU NEED ME, ONLY I CAN LEAD URANUS!"

"I SAID TRUST ME AND GO NOW!"

Her eyes widened as he grinned at her and turned back to jump on her milkyway, escaping the darkness that spread beneath him.

Nami dropped to her knees, unable to stand upright because of the weight of her stomach and put her hands in front of her. They hadn't imagined it that way, it hadn't been planned that way, none of this! They had all ancient weapons, had found Raftel, had the most incredible journey of their lives behind them, and yet there was this person, this monster, who finally stood in their way. And he was overpowering, he was worse than anything they had ever seen and known before. Nothing what they did had hurt him enough, not even a scratch and Luffy was already at his wit's end. Nobody could explain how it had come to this situation. And Nami for the first time since Archipelago was scared. She was worried about her Nakama and the child in her stomach.

"How can I just to go?"

"NOW SANJI, YOWAHOSHI!"

The blonde cook scrambled to his feet with his last strength and jumped into the air. The water was pitch black, only the small area in which Shirahoshi swam was not affected. Sanji saw Nami on all fours in Shirahoshi's palms and her horrified eyes looking at him. His eyes wandered down her body, stopping at her big belly. He couldn't hide the smile on his face, even though he desperately wanted because he feared he would frighten Nami just more.

But he just couldn't help himself. Because the future slumbered in this belly and this future had to be preserved, this future couldn't be destroyed.

"That's my last attack and it's for you, Iba-kun.."

All his strength wandered into his legs as he stretched out, his skin burning as he came in contact with the wetness that felt like concrete. He split the black water in front of Shirahoshi until the darkness disappeared and the water cleared. The mermaid didn't lose a second, created a bubble around Nami.

"No, Shirahoshi, please, we can't go now!"

"I'm sorry, Nami-chin-san, I have to listen to Luffy-sama, I promised him that."

"No, no, no, SHIRAHOSHI, LUFFY, SANJI!"

She turned her eyes to look at the pirate king standing with his back to her. The time stopped when he suddenly looked over his shoulder. His hands, his legs, his body - everything was full of blood, full of scratches, full of aching pain. But his lips were adorned with a smile, his eyes spreading warmth, his aura safety.

"Trust me, Nami."

And he was the last thing she saw and heard when Shirahoshi finally turned and dived into the clear water.

He was the last thing Nami thought of when the greatest pain of her life took her air to breathe away, even though she was in the bubble. She put her hand on her stomach and screamed, she screamed and screamed.

The pain in her abdomen was far not the biggest. It was the pain in her heart she just couldn't take.

.

.

It hadn't been an easy birth but it was bearable. With her fingers, she gently stroked the cheeks of the baby boy in her arms. Her biggest wish at the moment was to have Luffy with her so that he could hold his son, look at him and kiss him. She didn't know if he or she herself would ever get another chance to see Iba again.

Because she had to go back to Luffy. She was the only one in the world at the moment who knew how to deal with Uranus, the weapon that controlled the tides and the sky. And without that ancient weapon, how could he fight Blackbeard? The one who at this very moment possessed the power of all devil fruit powers except Luffy's?

And if Blackbeard died, he'd get up again thanks to Brook's previous devil powers.

It broke her heart, but she couldn't lose anymore time, she just was not allowed to. Her voice was quiet, she only wanted to say what was necessary now.

"Here."

She gave the bundle in her arms to Vivi.

"Please, bring Iba to the safest place in the world, no one is allowed to know of his existence. It's enough that Blackbeard knows that."

The blue-haired princess had tears in her shocked eyes but she nodded.

"I will protect him with my life, Nami."

The navigator smiled as she leaned towards her son and kissed him one last time on his forehead, inhaling his scent.

"I know..."

Nami looked at the baby for a very long time before she turned and walked to the bed on which the legendary straw hat rested. She closed her eyes as she brought it to her face and smelled it. And no, it wasn't a pleasant scent and yet she wanted to smell it. Because it reminded her of Luffy. Of all her nakama and all the times, moments and adventures that she experienced with them.

It was that last tear that rolled down her cheek, stopped briefly at her chin and dripped onto the wooden floor of the Sunny to instantly seep into it. The tear that reminded her of her promise and her purpose.

She turned and said goodbye to her son before she went to Luffy with Shirahoshi.

As always, it was resolution.

Resolution that forced every straw hat to fight against something without the slightest chance of winning this fight.

.

.

Hello,

yes, sorry, I know you have questions. I hope to answer them all with the next chapters. I hope that you liked it, please let me know and review. English is not my first language, hopefully there are not much errors.

Thank you for reading,

Leah