The Going Merry cut through the calm seas headed toward sandy island, the crew trying their luck at fishing to supplement their dwindling supplies and storing excess supplies for the upcoming desert. Vivi stood at the bow, her expression troubled as she explained the political situation to Takuya and Mira.
"Crocodile is seen as a hero in Alabasta," she said, fingers tightening around the railing. "No one suspects he's the mastermind behind Baroque Works."
Takuya leaned against the mast, watching the fishing lines with mild interest. "Convenient cover. Makes it harder to expose him."
Mira added quietly, "And easier to turn the people against their own king."
Their conversation was interrupted when the ship suddenly entered a steaming hot patch of ocean. Usopp yelped as his fishing rod nearly burned his hands. "What the—? Underwater volcano!"
Luffy, completely unfazed, kept reeling in his line with excitement. "Ooooh! Big catch!"
To everyone's astonishment, they hauled up not a fish, but a flamboyant man in a swan-shaped boat. The stranger shook water from his curly hair and struck a dramatic pose. "Ohhhh hohoho! What a delightful coincidence!"
The moment they pulled the strange man aboard, Luffy burst out laughing. "Shishishi! We caught a human!"
Usopp blinked. "Who the heck are you?"
"I am Bon Kurei!" he announced with a flourish. "Dancer, performer, and lover of all things beautiful!" He spun around, his colorful outfit flaring out. "And who might you darlings be?"
The Straw Hats introduced themselves one by one. When it came to Takuya, Bon Kurei gasped dramatically. "Ohhh! Such mysterious eyes!" He grabbed Takuya's hands. "You must have an amazing story!"
Takuya smirked but didn't pull away. "Nothing as interesting as yours, I'm sure."
Bon clapped his hands together excitedly. "Ohhh! Such a lively crew! I simply must show you my special talent!"
Luffy tilted his head, eyes wide with curiosity. "Special talent? What can you do?"
Bon's grin turned mischievous. "Why don't I show you?" Without warning, he suddenly punched Luffy in the face!
"HEY!" the whole crew shouted in shock.
Zoro immediately grabbed his swords. Usopp stumbled backward. Nami's eyes widened. Takuya stayed calm. Mira looked alarmed as well.
But before anyone could react, Bon placed his right hand on his own face. His whole body shimmered - and suddenly, there were two Luffys standing there!
"Shishishi!" Bon Clay laughed.
The real Luffy's jaw dropped. "WHOA! There's two of me!"
Usopp's eyes bugged out. "H-he turned into Luffy!?"
Chopper jumped up and down. "Amazing! Incredible! How?!"
Bon-Luffy grinned. "It's my Devil Fruit power! The Mane Mane no Mi!" He reached out and touched Usopp's face. "Let me show you more!"
In a flash, Usopp was looking at... himself! "Gah! That's creepy!" the real Usopp screamed.
Bon-Usopp laughed in Usopp's exact voice. "Look at me! I'm Usopp!" Chopper clapped his hooves together. "Wow! Even his voice is perfect!"
Next, Bon touched Chopper's face. Poof! Two Choppers stood there. "I'm Chopper!" Bon-Chopper said happily, his voice identical to the real one.
Chopper's eyes sparkled. "He got even my voice right!"
Bon moved to Zoro, who scowled but allowed the touch. Suddenly, a second Zoro stood there, looking just as tough. "I have three swords," Bon-Zoro said seriously, mimicking Zoro's usual stance.
The real Zoro raised an eyebrow. "Huh. Not bad."
Bon then turned to Mira with a warm smile. "Oh, you lovely thing!" He gently touched her cheek and transformed. Now two Miras stood there. "Hello everyone," Bon-Mira said softly, perfectly matching Mira's quiet tone and small smile.
Takuya chuckled. "That's scarily accurate."
Bon turned to Nami with a dramatic bow. "And for the lovely lady!" He lightly touched her face and transformed.
Suddenly two Namis stood on deck. The transformed Bon-Nami simply smiled and said, "Hello everyone," in Nami's voice, keeping the interaction polite and neutral.
The crew reacted with amazement anyway:
Luffy pointed excitedly. "Wow! Two Namis!"
Usopp rubbed his eyes. "I'm seeing double!"
Chopper jumped up and down. "He copied her perfectly!"
The real Nami crossed her arms but looked impressed despite herself. "Okay, that's actually pretty incredible."
"GYAHHH!" Luffy, Usopp and Chopper screamed, their faces turning bright red as they saw "Nami" with her top half exposed.
The real Nami immediately punched Bon-Nami in the head. "PERVERT!"
Bon changed back to himself, rubbing his head where Nami hit him. "Ow ow ow! Worth it though!" he said with a wink.
Nami was still fuming, but the others were laughing now. Luffy was rolling on the deck holding his stomach. "Shishishi! That was awesome!"
Bon bowed dramatically. "Thank you, thank you! But I'm afraid I must skip these two." He gestured to where Sanji was cooking below deck, and to Vivi. "A performer must respect privacy!"
Takuya crossed his arms, amused. "Convenient excuse."
Bon just winked at him. "A lady never tells her secrets!"
The whole crew burst out laughing at that, Nami just scoffed at his comment, despite her earlier anger. Bon's cheerful energy was just too infectious to stay mad at.
"Magnifique!" Bon cried after a particularly energetic performance. "Such wonderful new friends I've made today!"
All too soon, a swan-shaped ship approached. "Oh! That's my ride!" Bon said sadly.
As his crew helped him back onto his ship, Bon waved dramatically. "Until we meet again, mes amis! I'll never forget this day!"
The Straw Hats particularly Luffy, Ussop, and chopper waved back enthusiastically. "Bye Bon-chan!" Luffy shouted.
The moment Bon's ship was out of earshot, Vivi turned pale. "That was Mr. 2 of Baroque Works!"
The cheerful mood vanished instantly. Usopp's jaw dropped. "WHAT?!"
Takuya crossed his arms. "Does he know you?"
Vivi nodded urgently, her hands trembling slightly. "Yes! He's one of Baroque Works' top agents - but he didn't recognize me because I always wore a hood when we met."
The crew's faces turned serious. Luffy scratched his head. "But he was so fun..."
Mira remembering what his ability was said, "He can turn into anyone he touches right? What if it was his plan to meet us and touch us, that way he can turn into anyone of us, and cause confusion amongst us.
If that happens he can cause infighting between us, and that way we wouldn't be able to achieve what we came here for. We need a way to identify each other. If he can copy our appearances..."
Takuya rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "We need a mark that's hidden but easy to check." He rolled up his left sleeve. "How about a X mark on the inner forearm - high enough to stay covered by our clothes. Simple, but he wouldn't know to copy it."
Mira nodded enthusiastically in agreement with Takuya. "That's brilliant, Master! Hidden but easy to check marks would be perfect for telling real from fake."
Nami shot Mira a sideways glance, tapping her foot impatiently. "You know, you're actually not stupid. It'd be nice if you used that brain of yours more often instead of blindly following your so-called Drug-" She caught herself and cleared her throat. "I mean, your master."
Mira responded by sticking her tongue out childishly and making a silly face. "Pbbbt! I'll use my brains when Master tells me to," she declared playfully, crossing her arms. "The rest of the time, I'm perfectly happy being his dumb little follower who does whatever he says!" She punctuated this by sticking her tongue out again, blowing a raspberry at Nami.
Nami pinched the bridge of her nose, exhaling loudly through her nostrils. She looked like she was fighting off a headache. "I give up. Talking to you is like arguing with a brick wall." Rolling her eyes, she pushed up her sleeve and extended her arm. "Alright, who's going to—"
"NAMI-SWAN!" Sanji came spinning across the deck like a tornado, hearts in his eyes. "Let your devoted Sanji mark your beautiful skin! I'll be ever so gentle—"
"No thanks," Nami said flatly, holding up a hand to stop him. Her eyes darted to Takuya. "Takuya, you do it."
Sanji froze mid-pirouette, his cigarette dropping from his lips. "WHAT?!"
Takuya raised an eyebrow but took the marker from Mira. "You sure? I might draw a little smiley face instead."
Nami let out a small sigh, her shoulders relaxing slightly. "As long as it's hidden, I don't care." Her usual sharp tone had softened, the words coming out more tired than annoyed.
Without realizing it, her resistance toward him had been steadily crumbling ever since those tangerine cookies - each thoughtful gesture quietly chipping away at the defensive walls she'd built between them.
The change was subtle, barely noticeable even to herself, but the rigid barriers she'd once maintained were beginning to show some cracks.
Sanji collapsed to his knees, his soul visibly leaving his body. "N-Nami-swan prefers HIM?! Over ME?!" He grabbed fistfuls of his hair. "Is this hell?! Am I in hell?!"
Luffy laughed loudly. "Shishishi! Sanji's being weird again!"
Usopp patted Sanji's shaking shoulder. "There, there...maybe next time..."
Nami pushed up her sleeve and extended her arm toward Takuya. "Just make it quick and simple."
"Of course," Takuya said with a completely straight face as he uncapped the marker. He started drawing an X... then kept drawing. And drawing.
Nami's eyes narrowed. "Uh...that feels like more than two lines."
Takuya stepped back to reveal his masterpiece - the X had been transformed into a tiny but detailed tangerine with a cute little leaf. "There. Now you're officially certified Nami."
The crew crowded around to see:
Luffy: "SHISHISHI! It's a fruit!"
Usopp: "That's actually really good!"
Chopper: "Wow! It's so detailed!"
Sanji, still twitching on the deck, weakly raised his head. "A...tangerine...?" His eye twitched violently before he collapsed again with a dramatic wail. "WHY IS HE SO TALENTED TOO?! First the cookies, now this artistic skill?! IS THERE NO END TO THIS TORTURE?!"
Nami stared at the drawing, torn between annoyance and amusement. "I said an X. This is...actually kind of nice." She rolled her sleeve down carefully. "But if you tell anyone about this—"
Takuya mimed zipping his lips. "Secret tangerine tattoo stays between us."
"SECRET?!" Sanji suddenly sprang up like a zombie from the grave, his face pale as a sheet. "NOW THEY SHARE SECRETS?! SECRET TANGERINE BONDS?!" He clutched his chest dramatically. "Nami-swan...and this...this DRUG DEALER have...have..."
His voice broke as he fell to his knees. "First the cookies preference...now matching tattoos...WHAT'S NEXT? SHARED UMBRELLAS? INSIDE JOKES?!"
Usopp patted Sanji's shoulder while trying not to laugh. "There, there buddy..."
Zoro smirked. "At least you're finally realizing you've lost."
"SHUT UP, MOSSHEAD!" Sanji roared before collapsing again, his body curling into a fetal position. "Just leave me here...let the waves take me..."
Luffy poked Sanji's twitching form with a stick. "Hey Sanji, can you draw meat on my arm too?"
"NO!" Sanji kicked blindly, sending Luffy flying into the mast. "I REFUSE TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS...THIS...FORBIDDEN TATTOO CIRCLE!"
Nami sighed but couldn't hide her small smile as she touched her hidden tangerine mark. "You're all idiots."
If my story made you smile even once, that's a win for me. That's what I want to live for—brightening dull days and reminding people that joy still exists. My dream is to keep getting better, to someday reach legendary level of storytelling.
If you can support me financially please join my patreon, honestly speaking I really need money. And if can't it's alright, just adding few words of appreciation and power stones will be enough motivation I need.
Thankyou for choosing my fics to read.