The next day, on the new ship of Merry, Luffy was taking his usual seat at the top, proudly acting like the captain of the SHEEP. Zoro was leaning back, catching some sleep, and Usopp was busy inspecting the cannons, checking for any needed adjustments.
Nami was packing her things and tidying the room while Cry quietly watched her every move. Because the ship wasn't very big, Nami and Cry shared a room—why not, they were both women. 😏
Nami cleaned and organized, carefully placing all their clothes in the closet. Cry's wardrobe was entirely dark-themed: deep blue dresses, dark green shirts, dark purple dresses, dark red skirts—enough for any occasion. After Nami finished, she looked at Cry, who was sitting on the bed like a perfect maiden, arms resting on her knees. She was truly beautiful. "Even if I said it a hundred times, I still can't fully describe her," Nami thought.
Sitting beside Cry, Nami gently tucked a strand of her long, deep ocean-like hair behind her pointed ears—she hadn't noticed before that Cry's ears were slightly pointed.
"What really are you?" Nami asked softly.
"For the first time I saw you, I thought you were lost like me, hopeless," Nami continued, looking into Cry's eyes. "But you're different. I don't know what I should do with you… Anyways, after I pay back our village, I'll go wherever you want. I'll be with you."
With that, Nami planted a soft kiss on Cry's snow-white cheek. "Just another island… and finally Bellemere… I can do it," Nami muttered under her breath.
Then she let Cry rest, quietly opening and closing the door.
On deck, she noticed Luffy and Usopp holding a black cloth, painting something. Curious, she approached.
"Is this the flag for the ship?" Nami asked.
"Oy, Nami! You're here! Yes, this is the flag!" Luffy replied.
"We drew a disgusting skull before, so we're redoing it," he added, laughing.
Zoro opened one eye lazily. "I want a sword on it."
Usopp said, "I want a slingshot on it."
"Oh, you have your own ideas," Nami said, smiling. "Then I want… the face of Cry on it."
Everyone's jaws dropped. Bang! Heads hitting the floor.
What!" Nami exclaimed.
"Have you seen how pretty she is? You're really expecting someone like us to capture her face?" Usopp added, wiping sweat from his brow.
"Well… it's possible," Nami said, resolute.
"Hey! I'm the captain! I want the straw hat on it!" Luffy protested.
"Make sense," Nami said.
"Yeah," Zoro agreed.
Usopp sighed. "Finally… easier than Cry's face," he muttered.
Two hours later, after Usopp had poured all his skill into the painting, the flag was finished. He lifted it, and everyone watched in awe. It was a black flag and a white skull with a straw hat, perfectly painted.
"Marvelous," Luffy said, unable to hide his excitement.
Then Luffy noticed something—a faint dark blue dot in the skull's eye socket.
"Oh… it's Cry's eyes!" Luffy exclaimed.
Everyone leaned closer to see. The detail was subtle, but somehow, it captured her essence perfectly.
"How is this possible?" Usopp whispered. "I never put that in there!"
"See? Even the flag wanted Cry's face on it," Nami said quietly.
"This is unbelievable," Usopp muttered.
"Come on! Put it up! Raise it high!" Luffy shouted, laughing his iconic shishishi laugh.
"Why don't you do it yourself? You're rubber—it'll be easy for you," Nami teased.
"Oh, naruhuto," Luffy said, smiling. Then he stretched his arms, using his Devil Fruit power to raise the black flag high.
As the wind caught it, something incredible happened: the skull's eye sockets flickered… and for a brief moment, crystal-blue eyes glimmered, glowing like they belonged to a living goddess.
"What… what was that?" everyone whispered, rubbing their eyes.
"Did we really see that?" Usopp asked. "Are we hallucinating?"
The flag remained still, no more glowing eyes.
"Perhaps we're just imagining things," Nami said, though her voice betrayed awe. "With a goddess like her… it's hard not to think about her."
Everyone, except for Luffy, nodded in agreement, silently acknowledging the strange, radiant presence of Cry.
Ah, speaking of Cry, Luffy remembered her and asked, "Where's Cry?"
"She's resting in the room," Nami replied calmly.
"Whatt? I wanted to ask her… uh… isn't this ship big enough for a whale?" Luffy asked innocently.
Instantly, both Nami and Zoro's eyes narrowed. Their fists shot out, each landing a quick thwack on Luffy.
"Oy! I told you not to ask Cry such a stupid thing, didn't I, Luffy?" Nami snapped, shaking her head in frustration.
Zoro growled, "Didn't you see how big that whale was? It's bigger than this ship! Do you want us crushed by a whale?"
Meanwhile, Usopp just watched in bewilderment. He tilted his head, squinting at the strange "rituals" happening on the ship—this, apparently, was how the crew dealt with Luffy's nonsense.
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To be continued