It had been two long hours since the crew finished all their business. The air on the deck of the Big Top was hot, sticky, and still. The only sounds were Nami's sharp breaths and the sickening THWACK of a fist hitting flesh.
Nami was training by herself in a corner. Her body was slick with sweat as she pushed through a fast routine of push-ups, squats, and lunges.
Nearby, Alvida had dragged Buggy over for their "beat down."
Buggy, who was already covered in new bruises and bumps, yelped as Alvida's fist slammed into his stomach again.
"Gah! My flashy ribs!" Buggy coughed, rolling on the deck. "That's not how you train Iron Body, you hag! You're just enjoying this!"
"It is you who is too slow to tense up, 'Flashy'!" she retorted, drawing her fist back again. "And maybe I am enjoying it a little. Stop complaining. It's good for you."
Luffy was the only one who seemed calm. He sat in the center of the deck, meditating and seemingly unbothered by the heat or the noise.
One more hour passed.
The sun was awful. The patience of the crew, except for Luffy, was wearing thin. Nami had finally given up her training. She sat against the railing, glaring at the town.
They were all dead tired after training under the blazing sun.
Buggy was no longer cursing under his breath. He was complaining loudly to anyone who would listen (which was no one).
"This is ridiculous! Unacceptable!" Buggy shouted, pacing the deck. "My magnificent self shouldn't be left to bake like this! My nose is getting sunburned! A sunburned nose! It's a disaster!"
It was then that Nami, who was still looking at the town, suddenly stood up.
"A green-haired man is coming," she said. The relief in her voice was clear. "Finally."
Alvida and Buggy rushed to the railing. Buggy kicked it, his face scrunched in annoyance.
"It's about time! Where the hell is that green-haired idiot?" Buggy complained, angrily rubbing his big red nose. "My nose is starting to itch! What could Captain Luffy possibly have him doing that takes three flashy hours?"
Alvida cracked her knuckles, glancing at her reflection in her iron mace. "Hmph. This waiting is bad for my complexion. All this sun is giving me freckles."
Buggy stared at her. "Your complexion? I'm covered in bruises that you gave me!"
"Silence, Buggy," she said. "At least your bruises aren't permanent wrinkles."
As they were watching him come close, their hopeful expressions slowly changed. They saw with wide eyes as Zoro arrived at the bay. He paused. He looked left. He looked right. He looked back at the town, looking very confused.
...And then he suddenly turned left, walking calmly down the coastline away from the ship.
For a solid ten seconds, nobody spoke.
Nami's eye twitched. Buggy's jaw hung open, his red nose the only color in his pale face. "Did... did he just...?"
This was the first time they had let Zoro go alone on a mission.
Suddenly, the peaceful aura around Luffy vanished.
"THAT MORON!" they all heard, loud and clear.
They turned to see Luffy, who had snapped out of his meditation. He was on his feet and trembling with irritation, angrily staring at the departing Zoro.
"Directionally challenged idiot..." he seethed.
"Nami!" Luffy yelled. "Go and bring that idiot onboard. Right this instance."
It was then that they understood. Nami growled, but nodded. "With pleasure."
___________
Zoro stood before the crew on the deck of the Big Top, Nami having just returned with him. He was brushing himself off, his face flushed red.
Zoro tried to play it down. "I just forgot the food the villagers offered and was going..."
"You were walking into the ocean," Nami muttered, crossing her arms.
Zoro was stopped by an angry and cold glare from Luffy. The captain didn't say anything, but the look on his face was enough to make everyone, even Buggy, stay quiet.
"Hah!" Luffy signed and spoke, his voice flat. "From now on, along with night watch, you will be responsible to train Iron Body with both Alvida and Buggy."
Buggy, who was still rubbing his stomach, perked up. He had thought the Iron Body "training" was a one-time punishment for losing. But Luffy's words "From now on" and "with both Alvida and Buggy" made a horrible new reality crash down on him.
"HEY! WAIT A FLASHY MINUTE!" Buggy shrieked, his eyes bulging. "You said 'WITH' me! Not 'INSTEAD' of me! You mean this is a DAILY thing?! I still have to get beaten up like this?!"
Luffy coldly said and turned, completely ignoring him.
"Ok," Zoro replied seriously. He knew he had messed up.
"Ready to set sail," Luffy said. "Next destination..." He glanced at his taskbar.
Recruit Sniper - God Ussop
Reward: 5 Contracts
Defeat Man of Hundred Plans - Captain Kuro
Reward: 1 Contract
Acquire Ship - Going Merry
Reward: 5 Contracts
[Current Contracts: 17]
A sniper... and a new ship, Luffy thought. The 17 contracts are a good buffer, but it's time to get more.
He turned to his navigator. "Nami, I need a shipyard. What's the closest island that has one?"
Nami, surprised by the question, pulled out her sea charts. "A shipyard? Hmm... the closest one is on an island called Syrup Village. It's a few days' sail. Why?"
"That's our next destination," Luffy announced.
"What?!" Buggy shrieked, his voice still high with panic from his earlier realization. "A new ship? What's wrong with this one?! It's the Big Top! It's huge! It's powerful! So what if you took down my flashy flag and put up those boring white sails? It's still the best ship in East Blue!"
"Buggy's right, Luffy," Nami said, tapping her chart. "This ship is huge. We don't need a new one."
"I have my reasons," Luffy said. The cold tone in his voice meant the discussion was over.
Everyone quieted and went to their work. Except one.
Alvida stayed. She didn't approach Luffy, but stood at the railing of the Big Top, staring across the water at her own ship, the Miss Love Duck, docked nearby. When she finally spoke, her voice was serious, not weak.
"Captain."
Luffy side-glanced her.
"My ship," Alvida said, nodding toward the Miss Love Duck. "I don't want to just leave it here to be picked apart or rot."
"What do you expect me to do?" Luffy replied.
"It deserves a decent resting place, since it cannot be sold" Alvida stated firmly. Even as she said it, she tensed slightly, ready for him to refuse. She was confident, but she was also smart enough to know who was in charge.
"And where," Luffy asked, turning to face her, "would this 'decent place' be?"
"My old base, Goat Island" Alvida said.
"How far is it?"
"Not much," she said, sensing a small chance. "It lies at less distance than Shells Town."
"Yo! NAMI!" Luffy yelled.
Nami, who was already busy planning the route to Syrup Village, sighed and hurried over. "Yes?"
"Alvida, tell her your island's location. Nami, see if it lies on our path."
After Alvida told Nami, the navigator pulled out her charts again, her finger tracing a line. Her eye twitched.
"Captain," Nami said, trying to stay calm. "It's in the opposite direction that we are to take. It lies more toward Shells Town."
"How much time," Luffy asked, ignoring Nami's frustration, "would it take to reach there, if we have to tow the Miss Love Duck with us?"
Nami closed her eyes, did some quick calculations, and checked the wind. "The winds are in our favor," she replied. "We can reach there by nightfall."
Alvida was listening to the whole conversation with a hopeful face (although, on her, it still looked ugly).
Alvida, despite being a heartless captain, still loved her own ship; she had spent hard-looted money to build it. She was heartbroken when informed that Buggy's ship was bigger and the crew would be using it, abandoning hers.
"Ok," Luffy said. "Change of plans. Let's give the Miss Love Duck a final goodbye before continuing."
___________
After 20 minutes, the two ships - the huge Big Top with its plain white sails, towing the smaller, pink Miss Love Duck - pulled away from the dock and set sail.
From behind the curtains of a nearby building, a small group of villagers watched them go. They stayed perfectly still, not daring to make a sound, until the ships were just dots on the horizon.
Only then did they let out a collective, shaky sigh of relief.
"They're gone... Thank God, they're finally gone," one villager whispered, his knees feeling weak.
"Should... should we report them to the Marines?" another man asked, wringing his hands.
The mayor and the other villagers turned on him, their eyes wide with a mix of anger and horror.
"Are you an idiot!?" one man hissed. "If you want to die, go die by yourself! Don't you dare include innocent us!"
"Yeah! Did you forget that green-haired swordsman?" a third villager shuddered. "His warning? He said if we said one word..."
"He even gave us some treasure just for us to keep quiet," the first man said. "So we keep quiet! We saw nothing. We heard nothing. That crew was never here."
A tense silence filled the room as everyone agreed. But then, one of the younger villagers spoke up, his voice trembling.
"But... Mr. Mayor... what about the rest of the pirates that are left on the island?"
Hearing this, all became quiet. The relief vanished instantly.
"He's right," another man whispered, his face pale. "Buggy's crew... they're still unconscious all over the town square. What happens when they wake up?"
Panic started to rise again, but the mayor's cold voice cut through it.
"Quiet."
He turned, his face cast in the dark shadows of the setting sun. The villagers stared, waiting. "What... what do we do?"
The mayor's voice was low and resolved. "We kill them. Now. While they're still unconscious."
His eyes scanned the horrified faces in the room.
"We make it look like they fought each other to the death. It's the only way to be sure we are safe."
_____________
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