Betaread by The Patient One.

Chapter 30. Miss Wednesday

Vivi slumped in defeat. The pirate in a top hat was right. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get these ropes to loosen up. Going by puffs and huffs beside her, Mr. Nine had just as much luck as her.

This was not good.

This mission already took longer than she had expected. She couldn't waste even more time. She needed to go back home as fast as possible.

Vivi wiggled her hands. A heavy sigh left her mouth when her efforts to free herself once again ended up in vain.

She wondered what was happening in her country. Did her father get her letter? He should have, by now. If nothing unexpected happened. He must be worried sick though. She and Igaram planned to leave soon after sending the letter with a summary of all the information they had gathered, but this mission came and they couldn't risk blowing their cover when they were so close.

Her chest started to ache. It hurt her to remember that her family had never been so far away from her before. Now she was all alone in the world, miles away from anyone she could trust…

Vivi clenched her fists, feeling nails digging into the flesh of her palm. She ought to go back no matter what. Tenacious brown eyes shifted up to look at the pirates who were starting to gather back at the stone table. Even if she had to beg these pirates to bring her back.

Sitting at the table, the pirate girl continued to towel dry her hair after a bath that she had just taken in the lighthouse. Conversely, the two boys who painted the whale were wholly unbothered by the various colored splashes decorating them as they chatted and laughed nearby while organizing used equipment and leftover paints.

The blond in the top hat and the swordsman were still somewhere behind the lighthouse. Vivi could hear the faint dings of metal clashing against each other from the direction they had disappeared to.

"Nami-san~!" the other blond cried out, the one with curiously swirly eyebrows, as he popped on top of the cliff carrying various sized plates piled high with filets of fish. How he managed to climb the ladder with all that was a mystery. "The meal is all ready, my dear~!" He set everything he was carrying down on the table.

"Thank you, Sanji-kun," Nami said, making the last few taps with a towel on her hair.

Sanji danced backward from her with a dopey smile, but not before swiping a couple of plates full of food. "The rest of you!" he hollered towards his other crewmates. "Food's done!"

Vivi jumped with a surprised gasp when the blond swooped in to kneel on one knee before her in a flash. At the corner of her eye, she noticed Mr. Nine eyeing a plate with food that was placed in front of him.

"Oh, fair maiden! Will you allow this unworthy one to know your name?"

Vivi shrunk away from the pirate, despite him simply staring at her with sparkling eyes and not trying to sneak a hand to touch her. "M-Miss Wednesday…" she replied meekly.

"Such a mysterious name for such a beautiful lady~!" Sanji crooned. "Will you soothe my pounding heart by accepting this food that I made with all my love?"

"Y-Yeah!" Vivi hurried to take the plate. And not because she was particularly hungry. "Thank you…"

When she glanced back at the gathering spot for pirates, she saw the two who were previously sparring out of sight returning too. The swordsman moved straight to the table, brushing the sweat from his forehead, a little satisfied smirk dancing on his lips. The one in the top hat stopped next to the duo painters, gazing up at the giant straw-hatted Jolly Roger on the whale's head.

"Nice work, Luffy."

"Thanks, Sabo!" The black-haired boy beamed. "Usopp helped! He's really good at it!"

The second teen cocked his nose up. "Of course!" he boasted. "I once painted a mountain as high as the Red Line! Painting this on Laboon was an easy job!"

"Oooh, that's amazing, Usopp!" Luffy cheered.

The whale huffed.

"Laboon's asking where in the world is another mountain as high as the Red Line?"

"Uhhh… Well, it's… It's, uhm," Usopp stammered out. "It's hidden under the magical fog and guarded by the giant three-headed hound! I battled it for nine days and nine nights until—"

Vivi completely missed Sanji moving back to his crew. She slowly ate the meal she had been given, keeping an eye on the pirates, observing them, trying to figure them out.

As Usopp's absurd story of the battle between titans went on and on, Sanji piled up food after food onto two plates in his hand. He slid the bigger one in front of Luffy as soon as the latter sat down, not sparing him even a single glance, and then offered the second one to Nami with an exaggerated flourish. The swordsman—Zoro, was it?—muttered something in between bites and the two instantly fell into a verbal tussle that might have grown into a physical confrontation if not for Nami distracting the cook. All the while, Luffy gobbled down the food, Usopp's tale was still going strong, and Sabo and Crocus quietly conversed with each other.

Such a ridiculous crew of pirates.

Rookies that probably knew nothing about the Grand Line.

She could use it.

Her stomach felt hollow at the thought. It came so easy now: tricking people, lying to them, using them. It felt like an indelible stain on her person, guilt sitting in her heart like an ugly scar.

But Alabasta needed her. Vivi swallowed down all those festering emotions and steeled herself.

"We're in trouble," Mr. Nine whispered to her, his gaze also trained on the pirates. "We're long overdue in our mission to catch the whale and, in this situation, it's impossible to finish it. We have to go back and report."

"You're right, Mr. Nine," Vivi agreed, slipping into Miss Wednesday's persona with practiced ease.

"But with them around," the man motioned at the group at the table, "we can't steal Crocus' ship to replace the one we lost." He looked at his partner. "What's the plan?"

"We have to ask them to bring us back."

"What?!" Mr. Nine squeaked. Loud enough to draw a few stares from their captors, but he just slapped a nervous smile on his face and successfully diverted their suspicion. Once the unwanted attention moved away, he hissed at her, "Ask them?!"

Vivi nodded, resolute. "Just follow my lead."

The man seemed dubious, not convinced at all, but nodded to her regardless.

They both stilled when they noticed Sanji heading towards them again. "Oh, my lady," he said, bending down in front of her onto one knee. "Did you enjoy your meal?"

"Yeah," Vivi mumbled out, giving her empty plate to the guy. "It was very delicious. Thank you."

A bright grin broke across the blond's face. "How happy I am to hear it!" he exclaimed, putting a hand over his chest. "It makes my heart sing from joy and—"

"Hey!" Mr. Nine interrupted the gushing. "We have a request."

Sanji's teeth clamped down on his cigarette, anger twisting his features. Fixing a menacing glare on the man, he growled out, "Huh? A request?" and then kept staring him down.

Mr. Nine gulped under the pressure of the pirate's glower, but managed to repeat himself, "Yes, a request."

With a quiet tsk, Sanji turned to his friends and yelled, "Oi, Luffy!" A straw-hatted head popped up from behind the others. "They want to talk!"

Vivi furrowed her brow. This confirmed what she and her partner already suspected—the boy in the straw hat acted as a captain for this rookie pirate crew. How weird and unexpected. Maybe people like the swordsman and the blond in top hat only humored him for whatever reason? Because of the boy's strength? Because they wanted to divert attention from themselves?

Luffy stopped a few feet away from the prisoners with his arms crossed and looked them over. First, he eyed Mr. Nine, then her. With colorful paint smeared all over him, he looked quite ridiculous, and yet, Vivi felt a moment of irrational nervousness when the boy's gaze locked on her and sharpened.

The other pirates also came closer, flanking the boy from both sides. Sabo took a spot on Luffy's right, slightly behind him. Crocus stayed seated at the table. Laboon also continued to float at the surface of the sea, towering over the small rocky cliff.

"What is it?" the captain asked. When he didn't receive an answer right away, he added, "Laboon is our nakama now, you can't hurt him." He didn't sound angry or threatening, but his tone held no tangible friendliness in it either.

"We have a reque—" Mr. Nine began only to get cut off by his partner.

"Before that." There was something Vivi wanted to do since she heard the story that Crocus had told the pirates. About the lonely whale waiting for his nakama even after fifty years. She lowered her head into a bow. "I would like to—" Catching the small slip of her tongue, she instantly adjusted to the tone more appropriate to her current persona. "We'd like to apologize to Laboon for trying to hurt him."

It was selfish of her, Vivi knew. Asking for forgiveness after trying to kill the whale. The things she had been forced to do to stay hidden and survive, the things she regretted, and things that weighed heavily on her consciousness piled up with every day, week, month spent undercover. She was selfish, but the desperate wish to alleviate her burden even by the smallest margin won over in this situation.

Thankfully, Mr. Nine followed her and bowed too.

Crocus scoffed from behind the group. "Don't listen to these two scoundrels," he cautioned. "They'd say anything to save their hides."

Luffy stared. Silent.

"Trying to gain some sympathy points now that you're in trouble?" Nami remarked with a touch of derision. "After attempting to kill such a nice whale?"

Vivi bit down on her bottom lip. She didn't raise her head. "We were desperate!" she blurted out. At the back of her mind, she realized that her own hopelessness over Alabasta was bleeding through, but it didn't seem important at this moment. She had to go back no matter what.

Luffy tilted his head to the side, eyes still glued on the blue-haired girl.

"Our town is on the verge of running out of food. Our main source of income slowed down recently, so we can't buy enough to feed everyone, and we're not strong enough to hunt something more aggressive," Vivi continued. "We didn't know that the whale wasn't just a mindless animal. It's not an excuse and I fully admit that we were at fault."

Mr. Nine gawked at her with wide eyes, clearly taken aback, but Vivi had no regrets. It rolled easily off of her tongue, because that was how she truly felt.

For some time her words were met only with silence.

"She's being honest."

Out of surprise, Vivi looked up. It was the straw-hatted boy—the captain—who said it. Other pirates looked equally caught off guard by the confidence in which that statement had been delivered.

"He isn't," Luffy pointed at Mr. Nine. Vivi clenched her teeth and shot a glare at her partner who flinched and lowered his head. "But she is. Ne, Laboon!" The captain suddenly turned towards the whale. "What do you think? What do you want us to do with them?"

Laboon shifted. Both agents went rigid when they felt his judging gaze fall on them. A moment seemed to stretch indefinitely until the whale finally let out a short, "Buooh."

"They were trying to kill you."

"Buooooh!"

"Eh? You sure?"

"Buooh."

Vivi blinked a few times. They were having a conversation. A human and a whale were having a conversation. Maybe it was just a coincidence?

"But you know… they might send someone else."

"Buoooooooh!"

Nope, the young captain and Laboon were still talking. Apparently, this wasn't common, because his crew seemed equally bewildered by the fact.

"Am I the only one weirded out by Luffy talking with that whale?" Zoro wondered.

"It's not even the first time," Sanji grumbled, lighting a new cigarette.

"Right, right, I remember," Usopp piped in. "He talked with that sea cow we met on our way to get Nami back."

Nami turned to Usopp, completely flabbergasted. "Luffy talked with Mohmoo?"

"Yep. They were also fast friends."

Zoro looked at Sabo. "Is this also Haki?"

"No," the blond replied thoughtfully. "This is something entirely different."

Sanji chimed in with curiosity, "Haki?"

Crocus stayed quiet. That straw hat on the boy's head... After a moment, he looked away, his eyes slightly glossy and a smile tinged by nostalgia.

"Alright!" Luffy exclaimed brightly before turning back to the agents. "Laboon forgives you, but if your town will send someone else, he won't be taking it lying down anymore." He smirked. "And Laboon's strong! You don't want to mess with him."

Vivi and Mr. Nine shivered. They had seen these two fight. They felt the tremors that shook an entire mountain. They definitely didn't want to go against the whale if he stopped being docile.

The boy went back to staring at Vivi. "Who are you anyway?"

Mr. Nine instantly replied, "I'm a king," like he always did.

There was no warning. It came out of nowhere and filled the air until it became heavy and suffocating; a feeling that built along the edges of their consciousness, innately unsettling and eerily dangerous. The surrounding temperature seemed to drop by a few degrees when Luffy focused solely on Mr. Nine. Merciless eyes pierced through and pinned him down like icy spears. All the man could do was to cower, sweat pouring down his face and a plea on the tip of his tongue that he couldn't get out no matter how hard he tried.

Then, as quickly as it came, the ghost of a sensation retreated with Luffy's quiet, "You're lying." Yet, he watched Mr. Nine stone-faced, and the latter had the feeling the pirate was still in the mood to possibly attack him.

Sabo put a hand on Luffy's shoulder. As if a switch was flicked, the boy relaxed under the tentative touch. He leaned into it, the remaining cold fury draining from his expression.

Mr. Nine collapsed as if his body suddenly turned boneless when the captain's attention finally moved away from him.

On the contrary, Vivi's heart sped up when it settled back on her. Maybe he knew or somehow deduced who she truly was. She almost expected to be called out on her lies any moment now.

"You still haven't answered the question," Usopp pointed out. "Who are you two?"

Vivi banished her previous ridiculous thoughts. No way could these rookies, fresh out of the Blue, recognize her. They were going to part ways without them ever knowing. Finding solace in that fact, she proceeded with their plan. "I'm Miss Wednesday," she said. "And he's Mr. Nine."

Zoro scratched his chin, eyes sharp and keen, observing the duo like a hawk.

Nami scoffed. "That's not even real names."

"I'm sorry, we can't say more!" Vivi insisted. "Our work requires us to maintain a certain level of secrecy."

"All we want is to return to our town!" Mr. Nine exclaimed as he bowed down again. "Let us hitch a ride with you, please."

"Navigating the Grand Line is hard. We can provide you information as a repayment," Vivi pitched in. "And give you our Log Pose."

"Log Pose?" Nami, Usopp, and Sanji questioned together.

"Oh! I completely forgot," Sabo said somewhat sheepishly. He pulled something out from inside his overcoat. "Nami, catch this."

Nami easily caught whatever he tossed to her. Others leaned closer to look at it too.

"This is a special compass to navigate the Grand Line called Log Pose. I meant to give it to you earlier, but things happened and it slipped my mind. I'll explain how it works later." Sabo flashed the agents a smug grin. "Thanks for reminding me, by the way."

Vivi scowled at the Log Pose in the pirate girl's hands. Here went their leverage for the trip home.

"Don't you need it yourself, Sabo?"

Sabo smiled warmly at Luffy. "I brought this one for you. How can I let my little brother enter the Grand Line unprepared?" he teased. "Consider it my welcome gift."

Luffy's face lit up. "Thanks!"

"Please, we just want to get back home!" Vivi and Mr. Nine begged. "It's the first island on one of the routes through the Grand Line, Whiskey Peak!"

Sabo's eyes narrowed. "Whiskey Peak?" He let a little bit of his sudden anger slip the leash, his smile now just a little too threatening to be called polite. "The town consisting of only bounty hunters?"

The agents stiffened and then went completely rigid when at the same time Zoro's lips drew back into a feral grin, bloodlust shining through.

"And here I was wondering where I had heard those ridiculous names before," the swordsman drawled, one hand resting loosely around the hilt of his katana. "Baroque Works, isn't it? The bounty hunting organization you work for?" His grin widened at the sight of the duo blanching.

"Whaaaaat?!" Usopp screeched. "They are bounty hunters?!"

"So they want to lure us to their town so that their buddies could help them," Sanji muttered. "How vicious."

"Bounty hunter den on the first island on the route through the Grand Line," Nami sneered. "Taking advantage of the unsuspecting, overconfident rookie pirates that just entered the Grand Line."

"It's—it's not like that!" Vivi denied. "We really want only a ride back home! We don't have any thought of attacking you!"

"That's right!" Mr. Nine added. "It's not like we have time to go after every no-name rookie pirate. We have no interest in criminals without bounties!"

Luffy huffed, puffing his cheeks. "How rude!" He was obviously pouting. "I have a bounty!"

"Eh?" both agents balked at the fact. "…What?"

"Nami has too!"

Nami shot a withering look at her captain. "They don't need to know that!"

"Even if it's only a million beli."

"They especially don't need to know that!"

Vivi let the relief soothe her worries. If their bounties were only at this amount, they didn't have to worry. The pirates and the bounty hunters would still have clashed and it would have provided enough distraction for Igaram and her to slip away. Now that the pirates knew of Whiskey Peak being a town of bounty hunters that plan went down the drain. There was no way they would agree to—

"Okay. We'll bring you home," Luffy said.

"WHAAAAAT?!" Nami, Usopp, Vivi, and Mr. Nine screamed in unison.

"Facing an island full of bounty hunters…" Sanji trailed off as he blew out a cloud of smoke. A corner of his mouth curled into a smirk. "It'll make a good warm-up before we travel deeper into the Grand Line."

Zoro bared his teeth into a savage grin, reminiscent of a starving tiger that just came across the trace of an enticing prey. "I like the sound of that," he concurred.

"You… You will give us a ride?" Vivi stammered in utter disbelief.

"Sure," the captain replied, short and unruffled.

Both agents gaped, shocked speechless.

"It's an island full of bounty hunters!" Usopp cried out.

Luffy nodded.

"It's dangerous! They might kill us!" Nami chimed in.

Another nod.

Usopp was on the brink of tears. "So why are we going there?!"

Luffy jabbed a thumb in the direction of the blue-haired girl. "She really wants to go." He tilted his head, expression serious yet curious. "Maybe she also has a promise to keep."

Usopp's will to argue wilted at those words. Nami facepalmed, groaning under her hand. Her shoulders slumped as a clear sign of defeat.

"You sure?" Crocus asked, coming to stand with the pirates. A well-hidden concern layered his voice. "You don't owe them anything."

"I know." The boy paused, pondering. "But once we're there, we can also tell them not to send anyone else to hurt Laboon."

"You have my thanks."

Laboon let out a happy chirpy howl that caused Luffy to laugh.

"Tell me, kid," Crocus spoke again. "Why did you decide to sail the Grand Line?"

Luffy put a hand on top of his straw hat. There was power shimmering in his eyes, the strength in the line of his shoulders, the challenging upward tilt of his chin. "To become the Pirate King." And there was a grin as bright as the sun and an untamable soul yearning for freedom.

"I see," the old man murmured after a beat of silence. Then, he chuckled. "That straw hat suits you."

"Shishishishi."

The other pirates decided to ignore the two as they started laughing for whatever reason. Laboon joined in on their fun soon after and bellowed happily into the sky.

"Urgh, I guess we better prepare to sail now."

"Don't worry, Nami-san! I'll protect you!"

"Yeah, yeah."

"G-guys, listen, I, uh, think I-I've developed a—"

"Liar."

"Oi, Zoro! You jerk! At least let me finish!"

The pirates started to wander off, chattering among themselves. Vivi and Mr. Nine gawked after them, unable to figure out if this crew was that stupid or that overconfident.

Sabo crouched down in front of them, jolting them out of their shock, and reached for their bound hands. After a few tugs and pulls, ropes loosened up enough for them to undo the rest. They were about to do exactly that, but froze when the blond pirate gripped their shoulders. Steely fingers pressed into the meat of it and they winced.

Sabo's eyes seemed to gleam in the shadow of his top hat, like chips of ice in the sunlight. He looked dangerous—felt dangerous.

"Behave."

A single uttered word caused a breath hitch in the duo's throats. It was a threat, no buts of ifs. A threat from the man who had no qualms to follow through with it. An open threat with no defined consequences of what would happen if he indeed followed through with it.

"Sabo!" Nami's voice rang from a distance. "Can you explain to me the Log Pose now?!"

Sabo swiftly rose to his feet, hands rising together with the motion to tug his overcoat up, and yelled, "Coming!" as he walked away.

He never glanced back.

But neither Vivi nor Mr. Nine dared to move until he was fully out of sight.

"Luffy, what are you doing?"

Luffy tore his eyes from the object of his hard stare and blinked at Zoro.

The swordsman was lounging against the side of the ship on the main deck, his arms behind his head and his three katanas resting next to him as always. He raised an eyebrow at the boy who had been staring at his swords for the past half an hour without a twitch.

Without replying, Luffy's focus returned to the weapons. He lifted a hand and pointed at one of them before looking back at his nakama. "Can you handle it?" he asked.

Silver eyes flicked at the swords to see which one his captain singled out. Sandai Kitetsu? Zoro scowled. There was no ridicule or anything like that in Luffy's tone, he actually sounded concerned. "Why do you ask?"

"Mmm…" Luffy's expression darkened the longer he stared at the cursed sword until he was all but glaring at it. "I can't be sure, but… it's not friendly."

Zoro blinked. How did he— Ah, never mind. He would rather not try to figure that one out. Not like he could ever understand how Luffy did it. Instead, he settled down and said, "I can handle it," with utmost confidence.

"Okay!" Luffy beamed. "I trust you, Zoro."

Zoro smirked, closing his eyes for a nap.

"Luffy!" Sanji's voice rang across the Going merry. "It's time for your drink!"

"Eeeeeeeeeh…"

"Don't 'eeeh' me and come to the galley!"

Luffy stuck his tongue at the galley door that just closed. Despite this brief childish act of defiance, he stood up and obediently trudged there. He bounced inside and took the seat at the table, opposite Sabo. His brother had his head propped against his hand as he scribbled something into a journal. The teen leaned forward to look at the pages, but there were only lines upon lines of text. "Watcha doing, Sabo?" he asked curiously.

Sabo sighed, his writing coming to a stop, and rubbed his eyes. "A report I need to write for my work," he muttered.

Luffy reeled back so fast, one might think the journal attempted to bite him. "Sounds boring," he declared.

Sabo smiled wryly. "It is boring." He was startled when Sanji placed a cup of steaming hot tea in front of him. It smelled delicious.

"To boost your productivity," the cook informed before he placed a tall glass with a green drink in front of Luffy. "To the bottom, as always." Not waiting for an answer, he moved back to the kitchen side of the galley.

Sabo took his cup of tea and took a sip. "Thank you. This is exactly what I needed."

"My pleasure." Sanji flashed him a grin over his shoulder and returned to stirring a pot.

Luffy turned his glass left, then right, left, right. Peeked at his cook, at his brother, at his drink, at Sabo's tea. Finally making a decision, he leaned forward again, put one hand around his mouth to muffle the sound, and, keeping his eyes on Sanji, whispered, "Want to switch?"

Instead of Sabo, it was Sanji who replied, "You can switch," without a glance at his captain who froze like a kid caught with his hand in a cookie jar, "but I'll make another and you'll still have to drink it."

"But, Sanjiiiii~!" Luffy whined. "It tastes like grass!"

The other pirate pinned him with a stern stare. "It's a nutritional drink made out of various seeds, herbs, and other plant matter," he explained. "Of course, it tastes like grass. What did you expect? For it to taste like meat?"

"You can make it taste like meat?" Luffy asked, sounding a bit breathless. His eyes all but sparkled by how big and bright and hopeful they became.

Sabo snorted, barely stopping himself from exploding into laughter. He could see Sanji's jaw tighten, teeth clamping down on his cigarette. And that? That expression right there? Was exactly what Ace's face looked like exposed to Luffy's lethal puppy dog eyes, knowing that he had already lost but unable to admit it openly. Ace would go for an insult, maybe put up a fight for a minute, and in the end still begrudgingly give in.

"You shitty rubber, always demanding things," Sanji muttered. "I can try, but no promises."

Luffy's grin was up in all its glaring glory. "You're the best, Sanji!"

"Oi, Luffy, come look!" Usopp called from outside. "It's snowing!"

"Whaaa! Really?!" the boy exclaimed, then downed his drink in one go and sprinted out like a wind.

When the doors slammed closed, Sabo allowed himself an amused chuckle. Sanji's gaze flicked from the door to him. With a click of his tongue, he wordlessly went back to cooking. Sabo still caught a small smirk on his face before he turned away.

For some time, none of the men spoke.

It was Sabo who broke the silence with a soft prompt, "Nutritional drink?"

Sanji hummed, but didn't comment. He lowered the intensity of the stove fire, letting the content of the pot simmer, and moved to chop some vegetables. "Luffy struggles with eating while traveling between islands. The longer we stay on the open sea, the less he eats."

Sabo frowned. He hadn't known that, but of what little he knew about his little brother's four years of captivity, he could guess how it happened.

"I don't know what's going on in his head, what could have caused it… what they did to him." It ended with a loud thwack of the knife hitting the cutting board with more strength than necessary.

They, huh. Sabo's finger circled the edge of his teacup, absorbing the heat, acute gaze boring into the pirate's back. Sanji knew. How surprising. And also comforting to know that someone had Luffy's back despite knowing the horrors of his past.

"I can't watch someone starve themselves in front of me, much less my Captain, but I can't force him to eat either," Sanji continued. "All I can do is to set him on a diet that will help to keep his body healthy and to deal with his high energy demand despite the occasional lack of sleep."

"Looks like my brother is in good hands," Sabo murmured. "Thank you."

Sanji simply shrugged. "What other choice do we have? Luffy's our Captain."

Sabo's heart felt at ease. These were good people, they would look after his brother. Luffy did it—gathered the crew that cared about each other deeply, just like he planned.

Sanji sat down on the other side of the table with his own cup of tea. "I heard you were telling Zoro about something called Haki?"

Sabo grinned. He wasn't about to force an idea of getting stronger on Luffy's crewmates, but if they showed interest in it themselves, he had no qualms about lending them a helping hand.

Nami checked the Log Pose before casting her gaze along the horizon. The last few hours were pure hell and, though the wind calmed down and the sky cleared, she refused to lower her vigilance.

Sabo wasn't lying when explaining about the beginning of the Grand Line and the zone of utterly ridiculous weather. Snow, rain, wind, icebergs, fog, whirlpools, sleet—any possible weather pattern and sea hazard all jammed into one place and happening at the same time.

No, she wouldn't allow herself to relax just yet.

Nami checked the Log Pose again.

Standing nearby and noticing the navigator's action, Sabo smiled at her and said, "I'm pretty sure we passed it now. Should be smooth sailing all the way to Whiskey Peak." Not waiting for a reply, he moved down the stairs and across the lower main deck, carefully stepped over Zoro, who was napping against the mainmast, and then Luffy's limbs sprawled in all directions and sat down with his legs crossed, resting his back against Merry's starboard side.

Luffy flipped himself around and plopped onto his brother's lap, his straw hat resting on his back. The latter must have expected it, because he immediately shifted to accommodate him without a complaint. Folding his arms on Sabo's thigh to work as a pillow for his head, Luffy settled down with a satisfied huff. "It was fun," he mumbled, eyes closed and voice subdued. "The journey so far."

"I think your crew might disagree."

"Shishishishi..." Luffy's giggles faded into a smile. Different from his usual wide and peppy grins, this one was small and drowsy and stunningly peaceful. "I'm happy you're here, Sabo."

"Me too," the blond said, combing through his brother's hair in a gentle, careful motion in an attempt to lull him further into sleep.

Nami watched the exchange between two brothers. Such a warm scene, so much trust conveyed from Luffy and tenderness expressed by Sabo, it filled even her with fuzzy happiness and the tight sensation nestled inside her chest eased up.

Because Luffy finally fell asleep.

Somehow, Nami had a feeling that it would be a long and nightmare-free sleep. How unfortunate that they were relatively close to their destination already, just a bit over an hour away. She would have loved it if her captain had more time to rest.

The galley door opened and Usopp walked out, finished with helping Sanji to take stock of all the damage. "Oi, Luff—" Nami's fingers clamped around his arm and he winced. "Nami, what—"

Nami put her index finger to her lips and then motioned to the corner of the main deck.

Usopp peeked behind her and realization flittered across his face when he saw two brothers. "He fell asleep?" he whispered. "He hasn't had much rest lately. This is great."

"It is," Nami replied, eyes flicking down to check the Log Pose again. "Let's make sure he can rest until we reach Whiskey Peak."

Usopp gave an affirmative nod. Now that his previous plan was off the table, he glanced around the ship, trying to come up with something to occupy himself. Maybe he should also take a nap…

"Are you really that naïve?"

Both pirates froze at the voice. Rude. Condescending. And obnoxiously loud.

Mr. Nine and Miss Wednesday stood a few feet away, just returning from the back of the ship, and stared down at the resting pirates on the lower deck with open contempt.

"The Grand Line is the kind of ocean where anything could happen. You can't let your guard down just because the weather is nice," the woman jeered.

Luffy stirred, an incoherent mumble slipping free.

"Underestimating this ocean means—"

—death.

Mr. Nine choked, feeling the embodiment of that word breathing down his neck. His partner wasn't fairing any better, face white as paper and sweat starting to bead her forehead.

Dark, murderous gazes stabbed as painfully as physical knives.

Gone were friendly, ignorant pirates; overconfident rookies that seemed to come to the Grand Line only to die a dog's death. Instead, there was a pack of wild wolves, ready to rip anyone who threatened one of their own into shreds.

Nami's and Usopp's deadly glares scraped across their nerves and Zoro somehow had a sword in his hand despite being dead asleep a moment ago. Despite that, the bounty hunters counted themselves extremely lucky that Luffy decided to use Sabo's lap as his pillow, because while that meant he wasn't moving…

'Behave.'

The man's eyes spelled death.

Nami opened the galley's door, Usopp pushed the two inside, and they both entered after them. Sanji was about to inquire what brought their lovely navigator into his kitchen, but he took note of the absolute livid expressions on the faces of her and Usopp and opted to stay silent instead.

"Umm…" Mr. Nine started meekly.

He wasn't permitted to finish.

"If you wake Luffy up," Nami said in a dangerously low voice that left the agents shivering from the chills running down their spines, "I'll throw you overboard myself."

"And I'll help." Usopp crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Do you understand?"

The bounty hunters furiously nodded their heads.

"Stay inside if you can't keep your mouths shut," Nami ordered, then turned to Usopp. "Keep an eye on them."

"Will do."

Nami made sure they were still sailing towards their destination before leaving the galley. The moment she stepped outside, she sought out two brothers to check on her captain.

Still soundly asleep.

Good.

Feeling the refreshing breeze on her skin, Nami allowed herself a wide grin.

-Meanwhile in Whiskey Peak-

The ground shook as an explosion went off. The plume of smoke rose to the sky while debris rained down on the three people in the street.

One of them, battered and bloody, hit the brick wall of the house and collapsed there. Desperate hands pressed down on the heavily bleeding wound on his side, the other rose to cover his mouth as a harsh cough ripped out of him, leaving a crimson trail down his chin. However, as he raised his head to glare at the two people standing in front of him, they glimmered with valor and fighting spirit.

"Kyahahaha!" one of the two cackled, a young woman with short blond hair. She kept spinning her yellow parasol as she looked down at the injured man with nothing but pure mockery. "You're still quite energetic after taking such a beating. Maybe you're not so pathetic after all."

"Igaram, the head of Alabasta Kingdom's royal guards. One of the spies that had infiltrated Baroque Works," the man next to her spoke in an apathetic tone as if he had absolutely no interest in what was happening. "Where's the princess?"

Igaram gritted his teeth and stayed silent.

"She must have yet to return from her last mission," the woman chirped. "Oh, what a surprise waits for her here!"

"We have the direct order to eliminate both of you." The man paused. "But we'll reward you for your dedication. We'll wait… and kill her in front of you!"

"Kyahahaha!"

Nothing would have changed if he said anything, so Igaram didn't entertain his enemies with a response. Yet, Princess Vivi was in danger and he couldn't just lie down and do nothing. His spirit wasn't ready to accept defeat, but his broken body could barely move. Even if he somehow could push himself beyond the physical limits, he would have to go through two literal monsters looming over him.

Igaram steeled his resolve. Without the Mr. Five pair noticing, he glimpsed at the end of the street, taking a gamble and placing his last hope on the only person on the island who might just help him.

Peeking from behind the corner, Miss Monday met her partner's glance and nodded. The sheer relief on the man's face made her heart ache. She didn't let herself dwell on it, stepping back with great caution. Wouldn't do if the officer agents saw her.

Mr. Eight had given the signal and she had a promise to fulfill.

Using the directions he provided for her a few days ago, Miss Monday rushed to the edge of the town where the river opened up and debauched into the ocean. She stopped in front of the small two-story warehouse, eyes flicking through its doors and windows.

There. The red sun-shaped symbol drawn on one of the doors. This had to be it.

Miss Monday tried her luck with the door. To her bewilderment, it was unlocked, so she slipped inside and looked around before climbing up the stairs to the second floor. At the back of the room, behind the broken cupboard and ratty carpet, she found a small box.

An empty small box.

That couldn't be right.

Miss Monday rummaged around the entire warehouse, but found no other boxes. Confused, she walked outside, wondering that maybe she got the wrong building after all. Turning around to take a better look, she saw what she was so desperately searching for.

A white flag with a sun-shaped symbol, already fluttering in the wind at the top of the warehouse.

And in the nearby shadows, a single blue eye observed Miss Monday unseen. After a moment, satisfied with its observations, it closed and broke apart into phantom flower petals.

Next Chapter: That Day in Whiskey Peak

A/N

Seems like my rendition of Sabo has this 'wolf in sheep's clothing' vibe and I absolutely love it!

Thanks for reading and especially thank you for those who leave feedback! You're awesome!

I have a discord channel now: discord. gg/a7tQPPa