The ocean breeze tugged softly at Nami's amber hair as sunlight glinted off her skin. After stripping off a stolen Marine uniform and slipping into a casual shirt and skirt, she stuffed the folded navy tunic into a small pouch, placing it beside a massive canvas sack taller than herself.
A small wooden cruiser cut through the rolling waves. Nami spun around as a dark cruiser coasted alongside her skiff. Three pirates leaned over the gunwale, eyeing her up and down with greasy, yellowed grins.
"Got a hell of a body on ya, missy," one sneered. "Why not hop on over? We'll show you a good time." Nami's shoulders slouched instantly. Clasping her hands to her chest, her eyes welled with trembling tears. "I-I'm stranded!" she sobbed. "Please... take everything I have!" She pointed a shaking finger toward the bulging sacks.
The men exchanged hungry looks. Submissively, Nami climbed onto their deck with her head bowed. Two pirates vaulted into her skiff, grunting as they lifted the towering bag.
"What's inside this heavy crap?!" one grunted.
"J-Just old scraps!" Nami squeaked innocently.
The third pirate stayed on the cruiser, watching his crewmates over the rail. He never heard her creep up behind him. Grabbing a heavy wooden paddle, Nami swung with everything she had, shattering the timber straight across the back of his skull. The pirate pitched forward, crashing headfirst into the sea. Before the remaining two could react, Nami snatched her oversized sack back, kicked off their hull, and grabbed the helm. The stolen cruiser caught the wind, surging into the open ocean while leaving the shouting men stranded behind.
"Later, perverts!" Nami called out, waving over the stern. Down in the skiff, the two pirates hauled their dripping comrade out of the water, shaking their fists at her. "YOU LITTLE BITCH! WE'LL SKIN YOU ALIVE!"
Suddenly, the water beneath their skiff turned pitch black, churning into a violent froth. A towering Sea King erupted from the depths, snapping its scaled jaws shut over the boat like a walnut in a nutcracker before plunging back into the abyss. A mile away, Nami didn't even turn around as she adjusted her grip on the wheel and set a course for the horizon.
Miles out at sea, Zoro's eyes cracked open to a clear blue sky. He groaned, wincing as pain flared through his bandaged torso. Beside him, Luffy leaned over the gunwale, stretching his rubber arms fifty feet into the air to snap at passing seagulls.
"MISSED AGAIN!" Luffy whined, his hands snapping back with a loud thwip, clutching loose feathers.
"Where the hell are we?!" Zoro barked, standing up so fast that the small double-masted boat rocked heavily.
"Oh! Zoro! You're awake!" Luffy beamed, flashing a wide grin. Zoro looked down at his chest, tightly wrapped in clean white linen, then scanned the deck. Two supply sacks sat near the mast—one already ripped open and half-empty.
"Where's the kid? Rika?" Zoro grunted.
"She stayed on the island," Luffy said, reaching into the open sack. "Oh! But she told me to give you this!" He pulled out a woven straw basket. Zoro popped the lid, revealing a mountain of fresh rice balls wrapped in crisp seaweed. A faint smile touched the corner of his mouth as he picked one up and ate it. "...Not bad," he muttered, chewing.
A sudden gust whipped across the deck, snatching the straw hat clean off Luffy's head and sending it tumbling through the air.
"MY HAT!" Luffy bellowed, lunging forward. Zoro reacted faster, shooting his hand up to catch the brim inches before it hit the water. He handed it back. Luffy took it carefully, staring down at the woven straw before sliding it onto his head. He tugged the brim low, a nostalgic smile touching his lips as his fingers traced the worn red band. Zoro watched him closely. "What's the deal with that hat, anyway?"
"This?" Luffy said, his voice dropping into a soft tone. "Someone special gave it to me. The man I'm gonna surpass is Shanks! I even stabbed myself under the eye with a dagger to show him I was tough enough to be a pirate!" He laughed, pointing to his cheek. "Shanks freaked out and called me an idiot. Then later in the bar, I got super mad at him for making fun of me, so I ate this weird purple fruit out of a chest just to spite him. Tasted like garbage! Then Shanks grabbed me, held me upside down, and my legs stretched all the way to the roof! That's when he told me I ate a Devil Fruit and could never swim again."
Zoro sat near the stern, listening to Luffy finish his story with a proud laugh. "So… in short, you are an idiot," he replied flatly. Luffy's expression soured instantly, his finger shooting out to accuse his crewmate. "Hey, that's uncalled for!"
"Yeah, yeah," Zoro chuckled, resting a hand on his knee. A heavy beat of silence hung between them. Zoro shifted, his thumb lightly brushing the white hilt of Wado Ichimonji. Zoro… you promised me. The memory echoed softly in his mind, bringing a faint smile to his face. He glanced at Luffy, half-expecting his captain to say something serious about the moment they'd shared. Instead, Luffy bent double over the wooden rail, his nose almost touching the water as his arms stretched toward a passing bird's shadow.
"Almost… got it," Luffy muttered, his tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth. Zoro exhaled, the heavy mood vanishing. "What are you even doing?"
"Fishing," Luffy said, his hands snapping back empty with a loud thwack.
"Fishing? In the sky?" Zoro asked, staring in bafflement.
Luffy pulled his hands back, tilting his head in pure confusion. "Isn't catching birds fishing?"
"THAT'S NOT FISHING, DUMBASS!" Zoro roared.
"Then what is it?" Zoro crossed his arms, veins practically throbbing on his forehead. "It's hunting! Fishing is when you catch things swimming in the water! When you try to grab something flying in the sky, that's called hunting!" Luffy blinked, processing the concept for a long, quiet second. Then, a bright, goofy smile spread across his face, and he gave a proud, energetic nod.
"Yeah! I'm hunting!" Luffy beamed, stretching his arms back out toward the clouds. Zoro's eye twitched violently as his blood pressure spiked through the roof. "THAT'S NOT THE POINT, YOU COMPLETE IDIOT!" he screamed, slamming his fist down on the wooden rail. "YOU CAN'T HUNT BIRDS WITH YOUR BARE HANDS WHILE WE'RE DRIFTING IN A BOAT!"
"Whatever," Luffy muttered, continuing to snap at birds in the sky, though to no avail.
Minutes passed until Luffy collapsed onto the floorboards. His mouth hung wide open, his tongue dangling over his cheek like dried-up grass. "I'm hungry, Zoro!"
"We ate two hours ago," Zoro grunted. "You ate half our supplies."
"That was two hours ago! That's basically yesterday!" Luffy stared blankly up at the blue expanse before his eyes lit up. "Wait—you're a bounty hunter, right? You know where stuff is! Where's the nearest place to eat?
Zoro rubbed his temples with a weary groan. "...I don't know." Luffy blinked. "What do you mean, you don't know? You're a pirate hunter!"
"I chased a guy for a bounty, got lost, and couldn't figure out how to get back," Zoro said flatly. "I've just been drifting from island to island ever since." A dead silence settled over the boat as the two stared at each other.
"So..." Luffy said slowly, his face twisting into horror. "Neither of us knows how to steer a boat?"
"I can row!" Zoro snapped. "I just don't know where we're going. Aren't you the captain? Didn't you bring a map? A compass? A navigator?"
"I have a hat!" Luffy beamed, patting his straw hat as if that solved everything. Zoro groaned, leaning his head back against the wood. "We're going to starve in the middle of nowhere."
A shadow glided over them. Both looked up to see a massive, bright-orange bird circling overhead. Luffy's eyes immediately transformed into giant cuts of meat. "Zoro... look! Lunch!"
"It's way too high, idiot," Zoro said, closing his eyes. "How are you even going to catch a bird that far—"
Zoro opened one eye just in time to see Luffy launch his body skyward. "Luffy, wait, you dumb—" The bird's beak clamped right over Luffy's head. Instead of falling back down, the giant bird flapped its wings furiously and took off toward the horizon.
"ZOOOORO! HELP MEEE!!"Luffy's muffled voice echoed from inside the beak.
"WHAT IN THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" Zoro yelled, grabbing the oars to track the bird.
As he hauled on the wooden handles, desperate shouts drifted across the water ahead. "HELP US!" Three pirates thrashed in the sea, stretching their hands above the surface. Zoro saw them, but he didn't slow down. He kept rowing, barking over his shoulder, "If you want to live, grab the boat! I'm not stopping!"
As the boat surged past, three desperate hands shot out of the water to clamp onto the wooden hull. The boat dragged them along like water-skiers until they managed to haul themselves aboard. The three drenched men coughed up seawater, gasping for air. One wore a soaked hat with a skull etched into it. Zoro glanced at the group, but as his eyes hit the skull symbol, he turned back around and kept paddling.
"G-Goddamn..." one wheezed, pounding his chest. "We almost died back there! Why didn't you stop?!"
"I told you… I have no time," Zoro said, keeping his back turned. The three pirates scrambled to their feet, drawing their cutlasses and leveling them at Zoro's head.
"Don't have enough time, huh!" one sneered, waving his blade near Zoro's hair. "Then maybe you have enough time to die—" In a sudden flash, the cutlass flew out of the man's grip and splashed into the sea. The boat came to an abrupt halt, and Zoro stood towering right in front of them, his eyes shaded dark despite the scorching sun. The second pirate lunged, but Zoro tilted his head to dodge, grabbed the man's wrist, and slapped the blade out of his fingers before kicking it into the ocean. The third rushed in; Zoro stepped forward and drove a straight fist into his nose, dropping him cold.
The remaining two lunged to help, but a metallic shing cut through the air.
"Get off the boat," Zoro said, his voice dead calm as his steel rested against the leader's throat.
Both pirates dropped to their knees instantly. "P-Please! We need to go to Buggy Land!"
Zoro paused. "...Buggy Land?"
"Are you livin' under the rock? Buggy Land is the hottest circus in east blue!" One pointed in the exact direction the bird had carried Luffy. "It's like the wonderland for all the criminals out here!"
Zoro's eyes twitched. "Wonderland for criminals, eh?h" as he drew one of his swords to his side. "I am a bounty hunter, you know?" The three freeze in place as Zoro slowly approaches them with great intent. His blades reflect the sunlight through their faces.
"H-HOLD ON! W-WE CAN GUIDE YOU THERE! YOU CAN HUNT WHOMEVER PEOPLE YOU WANT, JUST DON'T KILL US!" the leader of the three hollered. Tears begin to leak through his socket. Pausing for a minute, Zoro slid his sword back into its scabbard with a soft click. He grabbed an empty burlap sack, ripped it into strips, and tied the three men together in a tight ball before picking up the oars again.
Far above, Luffy dangled from the bird's beak. "Aaaah, I'm so hungry!" he yelled. "Hey, bird! Is the food island closed? The bird kept flying. After a few minutes, Luffy grew bored and looked down. An island came into view with blindingly colorful lights even though it was a scorching day. At the heart of the town is a towering structure, bigger than any house in sight. On the right side is a giant Ferris Wheel, with bright lights scattered around its rings. On top of some houses, a rail, with carts running through tit A roller coaster, with wooden supports under it. Then, at the center of it all, is a large, red tent, taller than any house in the town.
"A CIRCUS!" Luffy yelped, eyes glowing with excitement. He swung his arms wildly like wheels until his thumb jabbed the giant bird right in the eye. Before the creature could throw him off, a whistling cannonball exploded right beside them, unleashing a sky full of bursting, colorful fireworks. The blast launched Luffy downward. He crashed through a roof, plummeting straight into a second-story bedroom. On the bed lay a massive, shirtless man, while a woman in clown makeup and a leather outfit stood frozen, holding a whip.
"Hello! Where am I—" Before Luffy could finish, the enraged brute leaped up and threw a heavy fist, sending Luffy flying out the window. He tumbled through three lower balconies before smashing into the cobblestones of a grimy, hidden alleyway.
"What was that about?!" Luffy yelled, sitting up in the crater and shaking a fist at the sky. He scrambled out, dusted off his shirt, and scowled. "This doesn't look like a circus."
Shrugging it off, he peeked around the alley corner. The main street ahead swarmed with weapon-wielding thugs in bright, theatrical costumes, their faces smeared with thick circus paint.
Meanwhile, atop a nearby roof, an orange-haired girl surveyed him, clutching a spyglass, aiming for Luffy below. "What is that idiot doing here?!" she gritted her teeth. "I thought he got killed by that beast Morgan earlier!"
Suddenly, screams echo at the side of the house where she's standing. "HEY, THAT'S THE THIEF! GET HER!" Thugs with the same clown makeup are looking into the balcony, weapons drawn in hand. They began to use a wooden ladder and perched it against the wall of the house, since each house was sticking to each other, leaving only small gaps below.
"Shit!" Nami gasped, ducking low to scramble across the tiled roofs. Spotting Luffy standing in the middle of the empty road below, a thought struck her. It's my time! She glanced down at a gap between two houses filled with trash bags, then looked back at her pursuers. "LOOK, SHE'S HERE!" a pirate yelled.
Taking a deep breath, she leaped off the roof and crashed into the soft pile of bags below. The loud noise caught Luffy's aattention who's passing by. He ran toward the alley, finding the girl covered in filth and green slime. "Hey! You're the girl from that town!" he said, pointing with a smile.
Nami dragged herself out of the trash, putting on a dramatic limp as she moved toward him. "H-Hey! What are you doing here?!"
"Huh? What are you doing here?!" Luffy asked back. Before she could answer, frantic footsteps echoed down the alley as circus thugs burst around the corner brandishing cutlasses.
"IT'S OVER NOW, MISSY!" the largest man shouted, pointing his sword at the girl, who quickly hid behind Luffy. "PAY THE FEE, OR WE'LL BEAT YOU UP!"
"P-Please, help me! They're trying to kill me!" she whimpered behind his head.
The large man glared at Luffy. "Who the hell are you?! Are you a guest? Did you pay the fee?
"What's a fee?" Nami's eyebrow twitched violently. This guy is a complete idiot! She raged internally. Forcing her face back into a panicked mask, she wrapped her arms around Luffy's, clinging tightly. "P-Please! I was sailing and got stranded here! And these men are trying to mug me!"
Luffy didn't move. His goofy grin vanished into a flat, deadpan stare. He looked down at her out of the corner of his eye, completely unimpressed by her performance. Then, his mouth split into a huge, fearless grin as he stepped right between her and the thugs.
"Let her be," Luffy barked.
"Fuck this," the lead thug muttered, charging forward with his cutlass raised high. "Die, kid!" Before the sword could drop, Luffy planted his foot and whipped his leg back, stretching it like a giant rubber band. His leg snapped forward in a wide arc, slamming into the leader and launching him back into his crew like a bowling ball striking pins, as they get launched into the dark gaps between the houses, before anybody nearby notices what has happened. Nami gasped, staring at his stretched leg. He... he stretched?! This buffoon is a Devil Fruit user?! Her mind raced. I can use this!
She stepped beside him, forcing a sweet smile. "T-Thank you! I'm Nami!" She offered her hand. Luffy ignored her hand, grabbing her shoulders instead. "I'm Luffy! I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!" he laughed, grinning right in her face. "Hey, do you know where the food in this town is?"
Nami's smile twitched. "F-Food? I don't kn—"
"Ah, thanks anyway," Luffy cut in, turning on his heel to walk into the main street. Nami's eyes widened. He's gonna get killed there! She lunged forward, grabbing his shoulder to yank him back. "Hey, wait up!" Luffy glanced over his shoulder, his face entirely blank.
"P-Please, I really need your help!" she pleaded, bringing her hands together in a desperate prayer. But as the silence of the alley settled around them—broken only by the distant crack of target-practice cannons ringing across the town—she hesitated. I had to convince him
With a deep breath, Nami lowered her voice into a whisper. "Look... I am stranded in this place. I am a navigator but I need a map, and on that circus… is where the map of the whole East Blue. If… I could steal it, I will get to my home." She reached behind her back, pulling a heavy brass key from her waistband. "And I stole this key from the thugs earlier… probably it is one of their boat"
Nami's heart pounded against her ribs. She kept her posture soft, her shoulders hitched up to her ears as she nursed a carefully rehearsed quiver in her lower lip. She had played this exact character a hundred times. Men usually fell over themselves to protect a pretty girl with tear-filled eyes. But this time? It is her greatest gamble. Her greatest performance by far.
She waited for the boy with the straw hat to puff out his chest, offer a grand promise of protection, or fall for her act like a hungry fish biting a bare hook. Instead, Luffy just stood there. His round, dark eyes simply bored into hers—wide, unblinking, and utterly unreadable. The silence stretched until it felt heavier than the gold she normally carried. Under his direct stare, Nami felt a sudden, icy knot twist in her stomach. Does he see right through me? The thought flared before she violently dismissed it. No way. He's a total airhead! He's the idiot who got carried off by a goddamn bird! But why isn't he saying anything?
The pressure was suffocating. She couldn't afford to lose her leverage—not when she was this close to Buggy's stronghold, and certainly not when a literal rubber monster had just landed in her lap. If her helpless damsel routine wasn't enough, she needed a sweeter bait: a carefully tailored piece of the truth.
Nami let out a long sigh, dropping the exaggerated sob for a quiet, bitter vulnerability as she looked down at the dirt-stained cobblestones between them. "Look... I'm not a fighter. I'm just a navigator," she murmured, her voice carrying the exact weight of a desperate secret. "Buggy took over this whole town, and his men are guarding that vault day and night. I came here to steal that map so I could finally escape this ocean, but..." She gestured vaguely at her dirt-smeared shirt with a helpless smile. "I can't do it alone. I need someone who isn't afraid of a real pirate."
She extended the fake map toward him, her hand trembling slightly. "If you help me get past his guards... I'll use the map to guide you wherever you want to go. Please. You're the only one here who's strong enough."
She held her breath, waiting for the trap to spring. Luffy looked down at the rolled-up parchment, then up at her face. Slowly, a massive grin stretched across his face, splitting it from ear to ear. He threw his head back and let out a sudden bark of laughter, slapping his knee so hard that the echo of their footsteps bounced off the stone walls as Luffy's boisterous laughter shattered the tension.
"SHISHISHI! So you're a navigator, huh? I knew you were awesome!" Luffy grinned from ear to ear, completely oblivious to her intricate scheme. "You should've just said so! Alright! Let's go get it!"
Nami blinked, her brain momentarily stalling out. Wait... that worked? He's actually going along with it without asking a single question?! A quick, victorious smirk flashed across her face before she instantly smothered it, forcing her features back into a relieved, sweet smile. She squeezed out a breathy sigh, letting her shoulders drop dramatically. "Y-You'll help? Oh, thank you! You're an absolute lifesaver!
"Yep! Lead the way, Navigator-girl!" Luffy cheered, swinging his arms in wide, energetic arcs as he marched past the alley entrance and stepped back out onto the main road.
Nami fell into step beside him with her hands neatly clasped behind her back, her posture radiating innocence while her mind spun with cold, precise calculations. Perfect. I'll use this idiot to break through Buggy's perimeter, grab the real Grand Line map while he draws all the gunfire, steal every last belly of their gold, and slip out the back before anyone notices. Easy.
As the two navigated the crowded thoroughfare, the surreal atmosphere of "Buggy Land" washed over them. Dozens of people covered in thick white face paint, violent red rouge, and ostentatious performer outfits—the kind of wild attire you'd only ever see under a big top circus tent—glided past them. Interspersed among the performers were rough-looking mercenaries, cutthroats, and heavily armed pirates, all indulging in the lawless resort town's offerings.
Suddenly, a massive, foul-smelling pirate barged down the center of the street, a massive roasted meat bone clutched in his grease-stained fist. He slammed broad shoulders directly into Luffy, barely budging an inch while Luffy wobbled back. A pack of equally filthy, heavily armed men flanked him, snickering among themselves.
"Watch where 'yer going, brat!" the large man bellowed, grease dripping from his chin as he brandished the half-eaten meat bone like a club.
"Ah, sorry about that!" Luffy replied cheerfully, waving a hand as he turned to keep walking.
"Hold 'up!" The brute's booming voice cut through the street noise as he brought his squad to a halt. His narrow, bloodshot eyes drifted past Luffy, locking onto Nami with a predatory grin. "Well, well... who are you, sweetheart?" He stepped forward, tossing the stripped bone over his shoulder and wiping his slick mouth with the back of his hand. He gestured casually toward Luffy. "Is this little runt 'ya man? Why don't you ditch the kid, come with me, and we can have ourselves a real good night tonight?" He finished with an exaggerated, sleazy wink that made Nami's skin crawl.
Instantly, Nami's demeanor shifted. She let out a small, dainty gasp and glided behind Luffy, wrapping her arms tightly around his rubbery forearm and clinging to him like a helpless damsel.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, but I already have a husband!" Nami squeaked with rehearsed bashfulness, swiftly yanking a bewildered Luffy along as she hurried them past the group. Luffy's brows furrowed in utter confusion, his head swiveling back toward her. "Wait, hu—"
"Shh…" Before he could finish the word, Nami clamped her palm tightly over his mouth, smothering his voice. With her free hand, she dragged him through a pair of velvet drapes, stepping straight out of the crowded street and into the blinding lights and roaring noise of the giant central circus.