Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Dorry, and Brogy had returned from a "quick hunt." They were dragging a literal mountain of dinosaur meat.
"Look!" Luffy cheered, covered in T-Rex slobber. "We got enough food for a week! Or maybe two days!"
"Speak for yourself," Sanji grumbled, lighting a cigarette. "I have to cook all this. Do you know how long it takes to marinate a Brontosaurus thigh?"
Meanwhile, in the Navigation Room, Nami was staring at her Log Pose.
She shook her wrist. She tapped the glass.
Nothing. The needle was still stubbornly locked onto Little Garden's magnetic field.
"It's not moving," she muttered, a cold knot of anxiety forming in her stomach. "It's been a day. Usually, it starts to drift by now."
She walked out onto the deck, spotting the massive (though currently shrunk to eight feet) form of Dorry.
"Hey, Dorry!" she called out. "Quick question. You've been here a hundred years... do you remember how long it takes for the Log Pose to set here?"
Dorry scratched his beard, thinking. "Hmm. Let me see. Brogy, do you remember?"
Brogy laughed. "GABABABA! Of course! It was the first thing we checked before we started fighting! It takes... one year."
Silence fell on the deck. Even the jungle insects seemed to stop chirping out of respect for the sheer horror of that statement.
Nami's face went blank.
Vivi, who was standing nearby, dropped the bucket she was holding.
"A... a year?" Vivi whispered, her voice trembling. "But... Alabasta... the rebellion... in a year, there won't be a kingdom left to save."
Nico Robin, who was lounging on a deck chair reading a book titled The History of Ancient Civilizations (Vol. 4), didn't even look up.
"That is why," she said calmly, turning a page, "I gave you the Eternal Pose to Alabasta. It points directly there, bypassing the magnetic wait times."
Nami and Vivi turned slowly to look at her.
"You... gave us... an Eternal Pose?" Nami asked, her voice dangerously quiet.
"Yes, don't you remember?" Robin confirmed. "Captain-san crushed it."
Nami and Vivi's heads snapped toward Luffy.
Luffy was picking his nose, looking at a beetle he found on the railing. "What are you guys talking about? Is dinner ready?"
The air pressure on the deck dropped. The temperature plummeted. A dark, demonic aura, far more terrifying than any Haki, began to emanate from the navigator and the princess.
"LUFFFFFYYYYYYYYYYYY!"
Nami didn't use her Tempest Tact. She used the ancient, unstoppable art of the Navigator's Fist of Fury.
WHAM!
BONK!
CRASH!
Luffy, despite being made of rubber, was beaten into a pulp. He lay on the deck, covered in lumps, stars circling his head.
"Ow..." he whimpered. "Why...?"
"BECAUSE YOU STRANDED US HERE FOR A YEAR, YOU IDIOT!" Nami shrieked, shaking him. "WE'RE GOING TO BE DINOSAUR FOOD! AND VIVI'S KINGDOM IS GOING TO BE SAND!"
"Oh," Luffy said, blinking. "That's bad."
"THAT'S BAD?!"
Just as Nami was about to deliver the finishing blow, Dorry cleared his throat. The sound was like a rockslide.
"Um... little navigator lady?"
Nami spun on him, eyes glowing red. "WHAT?!"
Dorry flinched. "I... uh... I have my Log Pose. From when I arrived. It points to the next island. I kept it in my helmet. Just in case."
He reached into his Viking helmet and pulled out a dusty, but intact, Log Pose.
Nami stared at it. She stared at Dorry. Her demonic aura vanished instantly, replaced by a beam of pure sunshine.
"Oh, Dorry! You're a lifesaver! You're the best giant ever! Can I have it?"
"Sure," Dorry shrugged, handing it over. "We don't need it anymore. We're following the Captain."
Nami clutched the pose to her chest, sobbing tears of relief. "We're saved! We're leaving! Everyone, prepare to cast off! I never want to see a dinosaur again!"
---
While the drama unfolded on deck, Ben and Usopp were deep inside the ship, in the newly expanded Research & Development Lab.
The room was a technological marvel. holographic screens floated in the air, displaying complex schematics. The walls were lined with shelves of bubbling potions and raw materials created from nothing (Momo's quirk).
Ben looked like a mad scientist who had accidentally given forbidden knowledge.
Only god knows what these both are doing.
---
They emerged onto the deck just as the Merry was pushing off from the giant root.
Dorry and Brogy looked around the ship with wide, childlike wonder.
"Look at the wood, brother!" Brogy marvelled, running his hand along the railing. "It feels... warm. It hums!"
"Aye!" Dorry agreed, stomping on the deck (which didn't even creak). "It's sturdy! Sturdier than Adamwood! And look at this!" He pointed to the figurehead. "The sheep! It winked at me!"
"GABABABA! A winking sheep! We are truly on a magical vessel!"
Luffy sat on the figurehead, grinning. "Right?! Merry is the best!"
Ben walked up to the helm. "Nami, course?"
"Set for the next island!" Nami declared, pointing forward. "Let's get out of this jungle before something else tries to eat us!"
As the Merry sailed down the river, heading for the open sea, a massive shadow blocked their path.
It was an Island Eater Goldfish.
Not just a goldfish. The goldfish. A creature so large its poop was the size of an island. It opened its mouth, ready to swallow the ship whole.
"A FISH!" Luffy yelled. "A BIG ONE!"
"IT'S THE ISLAND EATER!" Usopp screamed. "WE'RE DOOMED!"
Dorry and Brogy stepped forward. They drew their weapons—Brogy's axe and Dorry's sword. Even shrunk, they radiated immense power.
"This brings back memories, eh, Brother?" Brogy grinned.
"Indeed," Dorry chuckled. "This is the beast that started our duel."
They looked at Luffy. "Captain! Do we clear the path?"
Luffy grinned. "Do it!"
The giants raised their weapons. They didn't use the full Hakoku Sovereignty. They didn't need to.
"ELBAF..."
"...SPEAR!"
They swung. A concentrated shockwave of air, sharp as a blade, shot forward. It hit the Goldfish.
The Goldfish didn't even have time to look surprised. A massive hole was punched straight through it.
The beast fell back into the water with a tsunami-sized splash. The path was clear.
"GABABABABABA!"
"GEGYAGYAGYA!"
"Whoa..." Usopp whispered, his jaw on the deck. "Even... even small... they're monsters."
"GABABABABABA!" Brogy laughed, sheathing his axe. "A little lighter than usual, but it did the job!"
"GEGYAGYAGYA!" Dorry agreed. "Our weapons have dulled over the century, but our spirit has not!"
"Awesome!" Luffy cheered. "Now let's eat it!"
"NO!" Nami yelled. "WE ARE LEAVING! NOW!"
As they sailed into the open ocean, leaving Little Garden behind, the crew settled in.
The Giants went to their new, massive quarters to unpack.
Sanji went to his kitchen to cook the dinosaur meat.
Zoro went for a nap.
Robin sat on the deck, a smile on her face.
Ben stood at the stern, watching the island fade.
"Next stop... Drum Island," he whispered. "Nami's going to get sick soon. It's part of the script. I could cure her instantly... but we need Chopper. Without Nami getting sick, we don't stop at Drum. Without Drum, no Chopper."
He sighed. "Sorry, Nami. You're going to have a fever for the sake of the plot. But I'll make sure it's a comfortable fever."
He turned and walked back into his lab.
The Wizard of the Straw Hats was always prepared.
---
Two days passed.
During these two days, Dorry and Brogy were training Luffy, Zoro, Sanji and Ben in observation haki.
Dorry and Brogy were coating the stick with armament haki and hitting the four who had cloth tied around their eyes, and it was clearly working, and they were clearly feeling the attack much better than before.
Maybe because the stick is coated with armament haki, but it is working.
Right now the Merry sailed through a sudden shift in climate. The warm air of Little Garden vanished, replaced by a biting, freezing wind. Snow began to fall on the deck.
"It's cold!" Luffy chattered, shivering in his vest. "Sanji! Soup!"
"I'm on it!" Sanji yelled from the kitchen.
Nami was standing at the helm. She was wearing her coat, but she was shivering violently. Her face was flushed, her eyes glassy.
"Nami-san?" Vivi asked, walking up to her. "Are you okay? You look red."
"I'm... I'm fine," Nami said, her voice weak. "Just... a little... cold..."
She took a step and collapsed.
"NAMI!" Vivi screamed, catching her.
The crew rushed over. Sanji slid on his knees. "Nami-swan! What is it?!"
Ben stepped through the crowd. He placed a hand on Nami's forehead. It was burning hot.
"High fever," Ben announced, his voice grave (a perfect acting performance). "Extremely high. This isn't a normal cold. It's fatal; we should bring her to the doctor before it gets worse."
"FATAL?!" Luffy screamed. "NO! NAMI CAN'T DIE! SHE'S OUR NAVIGATOR! BEN! USE MAGIC! FIX HER!"
Ben shook his head sadly. "My healing magic works on injuries, Luffy. Episkey heals cuts. Skele-Gro mends bones. But Biology is complex. I can lower her temperature, keep her comfortable... but I can't kill the virus without the right medicine. I'm a wizard, not a doctor."
(A lie, but a necessary one).
"We need a doctor," Ben said firmly. "A real one."
"But there's no doctor on the ship!" Vivi cried. "And the nearest island..."
"We find one," Luffy said, his face serious. "We find a doctor island. Merry! Turn the ship!"
"But Alabasta..." Vivi started, looking at the Log Pose.
"Vivi," Nami whispered, clutching Vivi's shirt. "No... we have to... go to Alabasta... the people..."
"Stupid!" Luffy shouted, bonking Nami gently on the head. "If we go to Alabasta and you die, it's no fun! We're saving you first! Vivi! Is that okay?"
Vivi looked at Nami's suffering face. She smiled, tears in her eyes. "Of course, Luffy-san. Nami-san is my friend too. The fastest way to save Alabasta... is to have our navigator at full strength."
"Right!" Luffy pointed at the sea. "FIND A DOCTOR ISLAND!"
Ben watched from the side, keeping a subtle cooling charm active around Nami to ensure her brain didn't cook.
"Good choice, Captain," Ben thought. "Next stop... the Kingdom of Drum."
He looked at the snowy horizon. Somewhere out there, a blue-nosed reindeer was hiding, completely unaware that a rubber man, two giants, a wizard, and a very sick navigator were coming to turn his life upside down.
"Merry," Ben whispered to the ship. "Full speed. Let's go get our Doctor."
The Going Merry, sensing the urgency and the illness of her navigator, surged forward, cutting through the icy waves with a speed that defied the wind. They were racing death, and they were racing toward destiny.