Sorry for not uploading on Thursday and Friday.
I had a paper on Sunday, so I was studying for it.
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Anyways...
POWAAAAAA
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Attendance Please:
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After knocking out Kuroobi, Yuji, Zoro, and Usopp carefully navigated through broken wood and overturned tables to rescue Zeff, Sanji, and Luffy from the wreckage.
The other chefs came running and gathered around Zeff and Sanji. Seeing that Zeff was the only one injured, they quickly tended to him, wrapping gauze around his head.
Now the group gathered near a table. Zeff sat in a chair, slowly rubbing circles on his bandaged forehead, his eyes fixed on the unconscious fishman sprawled on the floor, with thick chains around his wrists and ankles.
At a nearby table, Buggy's detached head rested on a silver platter like a gruesome decoration. The chefs, tired of his endless rambling about "Captain Buggy's grand revenge," had stuffed a whole apple into his mouth. His painted eyes bulged with furious rage, little squeaks slipping out around the fruit, but no one paid him any attention.
Nami sat quietly in another chair, her shoulders hunched and fingers fidgeting with the hem of her skirt. She kept her eyes downcast.
Luffy stood across from her, his arms relaxed at his sides, but there was something unusually still about him. He watched Nami's trembling form intently.
Zoro and Usopp flanked Yuji, the three of them all staring at Nami. The silence was heavy.
Sanji stood beside Zeff, a freshly lit cigarette balanced between his lips. The smoke curled upward in lazy wisps.
Zeff looked at Nami with a calmness that only age and suffering could forge. When he spoke, his voice was as soft as worn leather. "It's okay, child. You don't need to worry. No one will judge you, that I can promise."
He glanced toward Luffy and the others, seeing only concern in their eyes for Nami.
"Look at them," Zeff continued, his rough voice softening. "Your friends, they're all worried about you. You don't need to hide anything from them. After all…" He reached over and patted Sanji's arm—a natural, fatherly gesture, "…that's what family is."
Nami remained silent for a long moment.
Then, she looked up.
She saw Luffy's large eyes, filled with nothing but worry. She saw Yuji, who met her gaze and gave a warm, reassuring smile, one that felt like sunlight breaking through storm clouds, silently conveying that everything would be fine. She saw Zoro, his hand resting lightly on his sword hilt, his face calm but his eyes sharp, ready to cut down anyone who threatened the crew. And Usopp, standing firm, chin lifted in stubborn defiance, ready to stand by her side no matter what monsters lay ahead.
Her lips began to tremble.
Emotions she had suppressed for seven years, emotions she had tried to bury so deeply that she sometimes forgot they existed, surged like a tide she could no longer hold back. She had locked them away to protect her home, to survive, and to keep moving forward when every step felt like walking on broken glass.
But now, in front of these people who had entered her life like a storm, unexpected, unstoppable, and indifferent to the walls she had so carefully built, the dam finally broke.
She broke down emotionally.
Big, uncontrollable tears streamed down her cheeks as she revealed everything, everything she had tried to bury, every burden she had carried alone.
She told them about her home, her mother Belle-mère, her older sister Nojiko, her love of maps, and her life in Cocoyashi Village.
And then, Arlong arrived.
How his crew poured onto the island with bared teeth and raised weapons. How they took over her home and terrorized everyone. How they forced people to pay just to live in their own houses, in their own village, on the island their families had called home for generations. And how anyone who couldn't pay was killed in front of everyone, their bodies left as warnings.
Her voice cracked as she recounted how she once believed Belle-mère had abandoned her and Nojiko, that their mother had only cared for herself and left her daughters to fend for themselves. She described how that belief had grown into something dark and bitter within her young heart.
However, the truth was even worse.
Belle-mère fought back when Arlong first arrived, but she was defeated. Outnumbered and outmatched, with no help forthcoming, she had no choice but to submit to Arlong's demands.
However, she did not have enough money to pay for all three of them.
So, she paid for Nami and Nojiko.
When the truth came out, when Nami and Nojiko discovered what their mother had done, they rushed to her. They screamed, they cried, and they tried to reach her, to save her, to do anything.
Arlong stopped them.
He killed Belle-mère right in front of their eyes.
But that was only the beginning of Arlong's cruelty.
Arlong had discovered her gift for map-making, a talent so rare and precise that he couldn't afford to let it go to waste. He kidnapped her and forced her to create maps for him: navigation charts, treasure maps, and maps of currents, islands, and hidden routes through dangerous waters. She became his cartographer, chained to a desk while her childhood withered away.
And then he made her a deal.
If she could somehow collect 100 million berries and give them to him, he would leave her village. He would free her people. He would disappear from their lives forever.
With no other choice, she joined Arlong's crew, deceiving the entire village and her older sister by claiming she had joined willingly.
The villagers despised her for it.
She saw it every time she walked through Cocoyashi, the averted eyes, the whispers behind her back, the children pulled inside as she passed. They called her a traitor. They called her a pirate. They didn't know the truth, and she could never tell them, because if Arlong found out, the deal would be broken. Her people would lose their only chance.
"I carried this hatred for Arlong for so long," she said, "that I slowly began to hate all pirates. The only goal left in my life was to gather 100 million berries as quickly as possible and free my village. But deep down…" Her hand moved to her left shoulder, fingers digging into the fabric. "…I know. I know Arlong is lying. That he's just tricking me, playing with my feelings, watching to see how long it takes for me to finally break."
She slowly lifted her left sleeve, as if the fabric weighed more than stone.
There, etched into her skin with ink, blood, and pain, was the Arlong Pirates' tattoo.
"This symbol," she breathed, "is a reminder of everything I have lost: my mother, my will, my freedom, my dream. And now, I'm just an empty shell, wasting every moment of my life."
Her voice dropped to barely a whisper.
"Sometimes, I think about ending my own life, just to be free from this suffering."
The words hung in the air like frost.
"But then my mother's face comes to mind, and I think: If I met her on the other side, what would I even say to her? How would I even face her?"
Silence settled over them. No one spoke, and they didn't need to. They could all feel the raw emotion radiating from Nami, years of loneliness, shame, and desperate hope slowly giving way to despair.
Nami took a shaky breath.
"I was at my lowest when I met you," she said, looking up at Luffy, then Yuji, then Zoro. "Luffy, big bro, and Zoro, you three came into my life like a storm I wasn't ready for. You call yourselves pirates, yet you've done nothing like what pirates usually do. Instead, you saved people. You freed them from other pirates. You even gave them money."
Her lips curved into a small, incredulous smile.
"I didn't know what to make of you. But somehow, your carefree way of living began to rub off on me. For the first time in seven years, I felt free—free from my burdens, free from my fears, free from all my dark thoughts. I started to enjoy life again."
She looked at each of them, Luffy, Yuji, Zoro, and Usopp.
"These past few days have been the best moments of my entire life. Even with all the messed-up things that happened with Kuro and the Black Cat Pirates, I never thought I would come to care for a group of strangers as if they were my own family."
Then she turned toward the unconscious fishman, and her smile grew bitter.
"But it seems it was all temporary. My past has come back to drag me down again."
"No."
Luffy's voice sliced through the air like a blade.
Nami looked up.
"No," Luffy said again, shaking his head. "You're not going anywhere."
"Luffy, please," Nami's voice cracked. "Don't make this harder for me than it already is."
But Luffy just shook his head again, his expression remaining steady.
"I'm not saying no to make things difficult for you or to pressure you into anything. I'm saying no because, just as we need you, you also need us."
He stepped forward and looked directly into her eyes. Then, with slow, deliberate hands, he removed his straw hat.
"This hat," he said, "is my greatest treasure, the most important thing to me, more important than my own life; something I cherish above all else."
He placed it gently on her head, tilting the brim downward to cover her eyes.
"Do me a favor and take care of it for a while, okay?"
He turned to the others. When he spoke again, his voice carried a weight that seemed to thicken the air.
"We're going to take down Arlong and his crew for all the suffering and pain they have caused Nami and her people. We're going to free her village from his grip. Are you guys with me?"
Yuji stepped forward without hesitation. "You don't even need to ask, Captain. Nami is part of our crew, which means she's family. And no one messes with my family."
Zoro's voice followed, low and confident. "Oi, witch. Don't ever think less of yourself. You're the navigator of the future King of the Pirates. You're a pillar this entire crew leans on. So hold your head high, and never fear anything."
Then Usopp stepped forward, cracking his fingers. "They're right, Nami. You don't need to worry about anything anymore. Just leave everything to us."
Sanji took a long drag from his cigarette. The tip glowed orange in the dim light of the galley. He exhaled slowly, watching the smoke curl toward the ceiling.
"You know, Nami," he said, his voice low and steady, "there are two types of people I despise most in this world: people who disrespect food, and people who treat women as if they are nothing."
He paused, tapping ash onto the floor.
"I'm not talking about spoiled royal women, gold diggers, or cheaters. I'm talking about real women, women who put their loved ones and family first. Women like your late mother. Women like you, who gave up their freedom to protect what they care about."
He crushed his cigarette into the table with his palm.
"So, to make you suffer all these years, I'm going to make fucking sashimi out of those fishmen."
Nami listened intently. She bit her lip so hard that she tasted copper. She tried not to cry, struggling to hold back the flood of tears, but Luffy's straw hat covered her eyes, and somehow, that made everything both harder and easier.
She stood up slowly, her legs shaky like those of a newborn fawn.
She walked toward Luffy.
Without a word or warning, she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. Her shoulders shook with silent sobs.
No words came. None were needed. Her tears said it all.
Luffy hugged her back, gently patting her with the same hand that had moments before thrown punches at Kuroobi.
Then Yuji walked over and wrapped his arms around both of them.
Zoro and Usopp exchanged a glance before joining the embrace.
Zeff nudged Sanji forward.
Sanji hesitated, his cheeks flushing slightly.
Yuji caught his eye and smiled, opening his arms.
"Come on. You're part of the crew now."
Sanji's blush deepened, but he stepped forward anyway. He joined the huddle, allowing himself to be pulled in.
They stood like that, wrapped around Luffy and Nami, a tangle of arms and hearts.
After a few minutes, they pulled back.
Nami sniffled and wiped her nose with her sleeve. Her eyes were red and swollen, but beneath Luffy's straw hat, she gave a watery smile.
"Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you all for standing by my side."
They smiled back. Luffy patted her shoulder with a grin.
"No need to thank us, Nami. After all, it's our job as a crew to look after one another."
He turned to Zeff. "Old man, I think it's time for us to leave."
Zeff clicked his tongue. "Tch. You still haven't paid me for everything you ate over the past two days." But he was already standing, his rough complaint lacking any real bite. "But whatever, now."
He looked at Sanji. "Go pack your things, brat."
"Yeah…" Sanji muttered as he walked off to gather his things.
Zeff turned to Luffy, his expression growing serious. "Kid, I need to tell you something. That boy, Sanji… he carries a heavy burden on his shoulders too. Something I don't think he'll share with you just yet. But he has a good heart. So when his past comes to claim him, and I know it will, one day, I want you all to be there for him."
Luffy met Zeff's eyes with firm resolve. "You don't need to worry about that, old man. Sanji is part of my crew now, and as his captain, it's my responsibility to look after him."
Zeff stared into Luffy's eyes.
And he saw it.
The same fire. The same unshakable will he had glimpsed decades earlier, standing on a different dock, watching a different captain.
Gol D Roger's eyes.
Zeff chuckled quietly, almost to himself. "Fate is truly something else."
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When everything was ready, Luffy and the others boarded the Going Merry, with Sanji following close behind. The new cook carried a single bag over his shoulder; his entire worldly belongings packed in just minutes.
Yuji and Zoro unfurled the sails. The canvas snapped taut in the wind, eager to set sail. Usopp took the helm.
On the front dock of the Baratie, all the chefs stood in a line, their aprons fluttering in the sea breeze.
"Son," Zeff's voice came softly, but everyone on both ships heard it clearly. "Take care."
Sanji's eyes welled up as he gripped the railing of the Going Merry.
"Old man," his voice trembled. "All these years, I have lived under your care. I owe you my life—everything."
He sniffled hard, tears spilling freely now.
"We're not connected by blood, but to me, you're the only father I truly love and care about. So just wait and watch, I'm finally going to chase our shared dream. Do you hear me, old man?!"
Zeff closed his eyes as tears traced paths down the deep lines of his weathered face.
"Sentimental fool," he murmured. "A man ought to take his leave quietly."
All the chefs were crying now, shouting their goodbyes, their voices overlapping in a beautiful, chaotic chorus.
"GOODBYE, YOU CRAP-GUYS!!"
With that final yell, the Going Merry caught the wind and sailed away from the Baratie.
One more crewmate aboard, one more dream set in motion.
Behind them, carried on the breeze, came the distant sound of the chefs' voices, still calling, still waving, until the restaurant ship was nothing more than a speck on the horizon.
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See you in next chapter.....