After thoroughly enjoying the meal prepared by Sanji, the atmosphere on Heartless Island was particularly relaxed. As usual, the large improvised table in the center of the village looked far more like the aftermath of a culinary battlefield than an actual dinner. Luffy had just devoured an absurd amount of meat.
Finally, after several minutes of the usual chaos, Luffy suddenly jumped onto the table while holding an enormous half-eaten piece of meat in one hand.
Immediately, several gazes turned toward him, although Sanji let out an irritated groan after seeing his shoes dirtying the freshly cleaned table.
"Alright!" Luffy announced with his usual huge grin. "I've decided what's next!"
That was enough to make everyone fall silent for a few seconds.
He first pointed toward Kratos, who was quietly finishing his meal a little farther away.
"First… officially welcome to the crew!"
Kratos slightly raised his head, clearly not used to this much collective enthusiasm, before simply nodding.
"Thank you… I suppose."
Usopp immediately crossed his arms.
"Hey, what kind of answer is that?! You're joining the future Pirate King's crew, show a little more enthusiasm!"
Kratos stared at the sniper for a few seconds before replying in an incredibly calm tone.
"I am enthusiastic internally."
A few seconds of silence passed before laughter erupted all around the table.
Including mine, as I completely failed to keep myself from laughing at his unique attitude.
Luffy immediately continued.
"Next! Jordan has to keep his promise to Law, so we're finally going to start traveling around North Blue!"
This time, several crew members straightened slightly, curious about what came next.
The captain continued while taking another bite of meat, speaking with his mouth still full.
"But…"
Sanji was already sighing.
"Swallow before talking, idiot."
Luffy completely ignored the remark.
"But I don't want to force anyone to come. If some of you want to stay here and train, you can do that."
His smile widened even more.
"I won't leave anyone behind if you want to come… but I also want everyone to do what they think is best to get stronger."
The first to answer was Kratos.
The former Don Krieg calmly set down his glass before turning toward Luffy.
"As for me… my current strength is already more than enough for what I can do right now."
He briefly glanced toward the construction site visible a bit farther away.
"But I have a lot to learn elsewhere. Hector already showed me some basics of woodworking… and honestly…"
He stared at his hands for a few seconds.
"I think building something with my own hands interests me far more than I ever imagined."
Hector, sitting nearby with his usual gruff expression, simply raised his glass.
"The bald guy's got good basics. He listens… and more importantly…"
He took a slow sip.
"He knows how to appreciate silence. I just hope he won't make noise at night like certain people."
Usopp immediately straightened.
"Hey! Was that aimed at me?!"
The old shipwright simply drank without answering… though he noticeably trembled slightly when Kaya walked behind him.
Koby was the next to speak.
The young boy adjusted his glasses slightly before sitting up straighter, wearing an expression far more confident than when he had first joined us.
"I'm staying too."
Several heads turned toward him while Charyzax lifted his head beside Elise.
"My Armament Haki is starting to manifest, but it's still way too unstable… and ever since I obtained the powers connected to the King of Cards…"
He paused briefly.
"I feel like I have to completely relearn the way I fight."
He clenched his blackened fist for a few seconds before the Haki immediately faded away.
"Charyzax offered to train me… and honestly…"
He smiled faintly.
"Considering the way he uses Haki, I think that'll be far more effective than traveling with all of you for now."
The instructor immediately raised a huge thumbs-up with a proud grin.
"I'm going to turn you into a miniature war machine."
Koby paled slightly.
"The word miniature bothers me more than war machine…"
But Alice quietly wrapped her arms around him, soothing the blow to Koby's wounded dignity.
Usopp suddenly raised his hand enthusiastically.
"I'm staying too!"
Kaya gently raised hers right after him.
The sniper immediately puffed out his chest.
"My Observation Haki is progressing at an incredible speed. I'm already starting to sense things from very long distances…"
He struck a dramatic pose.
"And sometimes… I can even see the future. Well… one second ahead… and only sometimes."
Kaya let out a small laugh before speaking in turn.
"As for me… I'm also close to awakening Armament Haki… and my Observation keeps improving very quickly whenever I play tag with Usopp."
Kazuki then raised a hand with her usual calm smile.
"I'll be staying as well."
The moment she finished speaking, Sanji, sitting right beside her, immediately raised his own hand without a second of hesitation.
"Same here."
Several amused glances instantly turned toward the duo, but Kazuki continued without paying any attention.
"My Armament Haki is progressing well… but I still need more practice before I can use it naturally in the middle of combat. I still have a lot of work to do if I want to properly exploit everything my Germa-modified body already allows me to do."
I immediately smiled and intervened.
"Sanji, you're coming with us. Otherwise you'll spend all your time flirting with your girlfriend instead of progressing and more importantly…"
I pointed at Luffy.
"We'll starve to death."
Sanji instantly paled when he saw Luffy's reaction.
"Jordan's right!"
Luffy declared with a huge grin.
"Sanji, you are officially added to the expedition!"
The entire table immediately burst into laughter while Sanji looked like he had just been kidnapped against his will.
Elise finally raised her hand energetically, sitting directly against Charyzax's massive side.
"I'm staying too!"
Her smile widened instantly.
"My Armament Haki still needs a lot of work… but more importantly…"
She raised several vials filled with colorful liquids.
"I can use this time to massively increase our potion supplies!"
I immediately nodded.
That was actually an excellent idea.
She then blushed slightly before adding in a far less discreet voice.
"Aaaaand… incidentally… spend a little more time with my boyfriend…"
Charyzax immediately puffed out his chest proudly while several amused looks turned toward them.
Nami wore a particularly teasing smile while looking at Elise, still snuggled against Charyzax.
"Well, at least she owns it."
Elise immediately stuck out her tongue innocently before replying without a hint of hesitation.
"Unlike certain people around this table."
Several gazes immediately started converging in our direction, and my eyes briefly met Nami's.
I instantly noticed her cheeks taking on a faint pink tint before she hurriedly turned her head away, desperately trying to adopt an innocent expression that fooled absolutely no one.
An amused smile appeared on my face.
Well.
Since Luffy had literally just told me to stop holding myself back…
Might as well start immediately.
Without warning anyone, I suddenly stood up before walking straight toward Nami. She barely had time to widen her eyes before I slipped one arm behind her back and the other beneath her legs, lifting her effortlessly into a princess carry.
"J-Jordan?!" she immediately cried out as her hands instinctively grabbed onto my shirt.
I then turned toward the rest of the crew with a perfectly unapologetic smile.
"Me? I fully own it."
Half a second of silence followed.
Then chaos erupted.
"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
Nami, meanwhile, had turned completely red.
"Put me down right now!" she protested weakly, though she made no real attempt to struggle.
"Sorry, too late to back out now."
Before she could answer, under the applause, amused shouting, and especially Luffy's far-too-enthusiastic encouragements, I flew up into the air carrying her.
"SHISHISHISHI! Finally!" my captain shouted while raising his fist.
A few seconds later, I opened a shadow portal in front of us and stepped through it immediately.
The scenery changed at once.
The noise of the crew disappeared.
We reappeared gently in the center of one of Lamini's small, still-empty villages. The perfectly intact houses were bathed in the orange light of the setting sun while a light breeze softly made the trees lining the deserted streets sway.
The silence here stood in total contrast to the constant chaos of Heartless Island.
I finally set Nami gently back onto her feet.
For a few seconds, neither of us spoke.
Her cheeks were still red, carefully avoiding my gaze while nervously playing with a strand of her hair.
I took a deep breath.
Strangely…
I let out a small nervous laugh.
"This is ridiculous…"
Nami slightly raised her head.
"What is?"
I gently shook my head before finally locking my eyes onto hers.
This time…
No mask.
No calculations.
No strategy.
Just me.
"Nami…"
My heart was beating way too fast.
"Would you go out with me… and become my girlfriend?"
The silence seemed to last forever.
The wind blew softly between the abandoned houses.
I could almost hear my own heartbeat.
Then suddenly…
Nami slowly looked up at me.
And immediately punched me in the chest.
Not hard.
Just enough to express her frustration.
"Idiot."
I blinked.
She then lifted a gaze shimmering with emotion toward me.
A beautiful smile slowly appeared on her face.
"Seriously, Jordan…"
Her voice trembled slightly.
"What took you so long?"
I instantly felt all the accumulated pressure vanish at once.
A genuine laugh escaped me.
"So… that's a yes?"
She immediately raised an eyebrow.
"No, I was planning to say no after waiting this long for you to finally make up your mind."
"Noted. Sarcasm detected."
She gently shook her head before her expression softened completely.
Then finally…
She moved closer on her own.
Her fingers gently grabbed onto my shirt.
"Of course it's yes… idiot."
I smiled.
Then without thinking any further…
I slowly leaned toward her.
Our lips finally met.
The world immediately seemed to disappear around us.
Only the present moment mattered now.
The next morning, on Heartless Island
Once all the preparations on Heartless Island were complete, everyone naturally moved into position while those staying behind gave us one final wave goodbye.
On our side, the team assigned to accompany Law had now been reduced to a much smaller group. Luffy had already settled himself at the front of the Merry with his usual impatient grin, while Nami was checking the sea charts one last time after already planning out the route.
Sanji was finishing securing several crates of supplies in the cargo hold, Zoro had leaned himself against the main mast and had already closed his eyes as if planning to sleep through half the trip, Kuina had already positioned herself in the crow's nest, and Charles silently observed the surroundings while Merry, in her human form, had already sat down next to Luffy.
Facing us, the yellow submarine of the Heart Pirates slowly approached the improvised dock. Law stood on the deck with his arms crossed while Lami watched our departure with a far lighter smile than when they had first arrived at Flevance, healthier than ever.
After a few last brief exchanges, we finally raised anchor and, without wasting any more time, I opened a massive shadow portal in front of the Merry that immediately swallowed both our ship and Law's submarine.
A few seconds later, we reappeared in the middle of the sea, only a few kilometers away from the gray shores of Flevance, whose ghostly buildings were slowly disappearing behind us on the horizon.
Law immediately moved to the front of his submarine and pointed in a precise direction.
"Minion Island is that way. With decent wind, we should be there in less than two days."
Nami immediately nodded before slightly adjusting the helm while Merry naturally altered the sails' angle to catch the most favorable currents.
The journey then began in surprising calm.
Several ships were spotted in the distance during the crossing: a few merchant vessels, several ships likely connected to local noble families, and even two suspicious vessels that strongly resembled bounty hunters.
Yet none of them dared approach.
Our pirate flags were flying clearly at the top of the Merry.
Luffy's flag.
And the Heartless Pirates' flag.
Sanji watched one of the ships slowly changing course several kilometers away and exhaled a stream of smoke with a faint smile.
"I'd almost feel insulted… but at least it saves us from pointless encounters."
I simply shrugged while watching the ship gradually disappear over the horizon.
"Good. Saves me from having to sink idiots for no reason."
Luffy, sitting at the bow, immediately burst out laughing.
"Shishishi! I like it when people are scared of us! It means we're becoming famous!"
Nami was already sighing.
"Yeah… and it also means our bounties are going to rise again."
Zoro, still leaning against the mast, opened one eye with a lazy grin.
"As long as we finally run into interesting opponents, I'm fine with it."
"Say that when you finally have a positive win record against me," Kuina laughed, making the swordsman blush slightly.
"We're still talking about sword duels, right?" I asked with a sly grin, causing Kuina to blush instantly and stammer.
I couldn't stop myself from laughing before quickly diving into the sea after seeing the dangerous look both swordsmen from the crew were giving me.
The hours passed quickly.
Then eventually an entire day…
Followed by a second one.
As we drew closer to our destination, the temperature gradually began to drop.
The wind became sharper, the sky slowly filled with gray clouds, and soon small snowflakes began falling onto the deck of the Merry.
Merry immediately summoned several flames around the deck, warming the atmosphere aboard the ship while Sanji was already preparing hot drinks for everyone.
Then finally…
Minion Island appeared on the horizon.
A vast snow-covered land swept by freezing winds, where enormous frost-covered forests surrounded several steep rocky cliffs.
Even from the sea, the place gave off a strangely heavy atmosphere.
The moment we docked, Law left his submarine almost immediately.
Without saying a word.
Lami watched him leave with slight concern while we climbed down from the Merry as well.
I immediately noticed the change in his attitude.
Normally so calm and constantly in control of himself, Law was now walking slowly through the snow, his hands buried deep inside the pockets of his coat.
His shoulders were slightly tense.
And his gaze seemed fixed on something only he could see.
Each step seemed heavier than the last.
The freezing wind softly lifted his black hair while snowflakes were already gathering on his shoulders without him seeming to notice at all.
The man who had sacrificed his life right here to give him a chance to survive.
Even Luffy, who was rarely attentive to this kind of thing, remained unusually silent as he watched Law slowly walking ahead of us.
Nami tightened her coat slightly around herself as she watched the solitary silhouette of the future Surgeon of Death walking forward through the white storm.
Lami lowered her gaze for a moment, only to flinch slightly when I placed my hand on her shoulder.
"Let's free your brother from the ghosts of his past," I said before gesturing for everyone else to spread out and explore the island.
At the same time, I motioned for Charles to follow me, his Den Den Mushi already in hand, while Lami quickly joined us as we headed toward Law, who was still walking ahead, completely lost in his thoughts.
Author's Note: I'll spoil the title of the next chapter, where I may or may not go completely off track… who knows ^^
The Awakening of Corazon — Sengoku in Tears.