Chapter 112: Second Chances
The clearing was silent except for the labored breathing of the dying. Miss Valentine lay in a pool of her own blood, her yellow dress black with it, her eyes fluttering open and closed. Mr. 5 knelt beside her, his chest a mess of shallow cuts, his hands pressed uselessly against her wounds. He looked up at Luffy with something that might have been hatred or might have been fear.
Luffy looked at Miss Valentine. Then at Mr. 5. Then back at Miss Valentine.
"Well," he said, his voice calm, unhurried. "To be honest with you, I do not want to kill you."
Mr. 5's eyes narrowed. "What?"
"I mean, you tried to attack my crew. You hurt my friends. But here is the thing." Luffy crouched down, bringing himself to eye level with the wounded agent. "You are not a threat."
Mr. 5's face twisted. "Not a threat? I am Mr. 5. I am an officer agent of Baroque Works. I have killed—"
"You have killed weaklings," Luffy interrupted. "People who could not fight back. That does not make you a threat. That makes you a bully." He tilted his head. "Well. Except for you."
Mr. 5's eyes went wide. He tried to raise his hands, tried to summon an explosion, but he was too slow. Too weak. Too late.
Luffy gathered Haki on his right fist. The invisible armor coated his knuckles, dense and dark, and he punched.
Mr. 5's head left his body.
It flew across the clearing, bounced once, rolled to a stop against a fallen tree. His body crumpled where it had been kneeling, blood spurting from the neck, soaking into the earth. The silence that followed was absolute.
Luffy stood. He wiped his fist on his shorts and turned to Miss Valentine.
She was staring at him. Her eyes were wide, her lips parted, her breath coming in shallow gasps. She was dying. She knew it. He knew it.
"Your assets are not impressing me," Luffy said. "But looking at my dick, I am a pervert." He shrugged. "That is just who I am."
Miss Valentine said nothing. She could not say anything.
"You are not going to join my crew," Luffy continued. "Instead, we are going to heal you. And then you will go with Dorry and Brogy." He gestured toward the giants, who had been freed from their wax prisons by Zoro's blades. "You will go with them to Elbaf. You will wait for us there. Understood, Mikita?"
Miss Valentine's eyes widened. Her breath caught.
Mikita.
Her real name.
No one knew that name. No one in Baroque Works knew that name. She had buried it years ago, along with everything else from her past. And this boy, this pirate captain with the straw hat and the empty eyes, had pulled it out like it was nothing.
"How..." she whispered.
Luffy smiled. It was not a warm smile. It was not a cruel smile. It was the smile of someone who knew things he had no business knowing and was not about to explain himself.
"Do not be so surprised," he said. "You have no idea what I know. I know about your past, Mikita. I know where you came from. I know what you have done. And I am giving you a second chance."
He leaned closer.
"Do not make me regret it."
He reached out and grabbed her breasts. His hands closed over them, firm and deliberate, and he held there for a moment, looking around at the clearing, at the blood, at the bodies. Then he stood back up and turned away.
Zoro had already cut everyone free from the wax. Usopp was rubbing his wrists, Vivi was helping Nami to her feet, Johnny and Yosaku were shaking off the last of the bindings. The giants stood at the edge of the clearing, their weapons in hand, their eyes scanning for more threats.
Luffy's voice cut through the chaos. "Usopp. Run. Get the first aid kit. Now."
Usopp did not ask questions. He was already running, his long legs carrying him toward the Going Merry, his feet pounding against the broken earth.
Johnny was the first to speak. "Captain. You are not seriously thinking about adding another woman to the crew."
"Another one?" Yosaku added. "We already have Nami. And Vivi. And whatever is going on with Miss All Sunday."
Nami's voice was sharp. "Absolutely not. No. Not happening."
Vivi crossed her arms. "She tried to kill us. She works for Baroque Works. She is one of Crocodile's officers."
Usopp was not there to complain, but Johnny and Yosaku filled the gap. "Captain, we love you, but you have a problem." "A real problem." "You cannot just collect every woman who crosses your path." "Especially the ones who tried to murder us."
Nami stepped forward, her face red. "Luffy. I am serious. This is not happening. We are not taking her with us."
Luffy held up a hand. "She is not joining my harem. She will not be part of the crew."
The complaints stopped.
"She will be an ally," Luffy continued. "Nothing more. She will go with Dorry and Brogy to Elbaf. She will wait for us there. That is all."
Dorry stroked his beard. "You want us to take her to Elbaf?"
Brogy nodded slowly. "We can do that. It is not far from here. A few weeks, maybe."
"Thank you," Luffy said.
The crew was not convinced. Johnny leaned toward Yosaku. "He is still thinking with his dick." Yosaku nodded.
"One hundred percent." Nami's jaw was tight.
"I do not trust this." Usopp returned with the first aid kit, panting, his face red. "I got it. I got it. Where is she?"
Luffy took the kit from him. He walked back to Miss Valentine and knelt beside her. His hands moved to her dress, pulling it away from her wounds, exposing her skin. He pressed bandages against the worst of the cuts, his movements rough but efficient.
Johnny and Yosaku watched from a distance, their arms crossed. They were laughing.
"Sure, Captain," Johnny said. "Ally. Nothing more."
Yosaku snorted. "We totally believe you."
Luffy did not look up. "Shut up and help me bandage her."
Johnny and Yosaku exchanged a glance. They kept laughing. They did not help.