Marcus had finally returned to the Straw Hat crew after several days away, and the state he found them in could only be described as pitiful.
They had food, technically, but never enough to feel satisfied. They had shelter, but it wasn't comfortable. And worst of all, they'd been deprived of proper sleep for so long that they'd forgotten what it felt like to get a full night's rest.
When he walked into their quarters, Nami tackled him, grabbing onto his leg with desperate strength.
"Please! Just let us sleep for one night! That's all I'm asking!"
He looked down at her exhausted face, then at the rest of the crew who all wore similar expressions of sleep-deprived misery. Dark circles under their eyes, and sluggish movements.
"Yeah, alright. I can fix this."
He pulled several beds from his inventory and set them up around the room. The Straw Hats, showing clear signs of withdrawal from decent sleep, practically collapsed onto the mattresses before he'd even finished arranging them.
Within minutes, the room was filled with the sound of peaceful snoring.
---
A good night's sleep is something most people take for granted, until they lose it. Even short sleep is necessary. The human body needs rest, needs that time to recover and reset. And once you've experienced truly perfect sleep, the kind where you wake up feeling completely refreshed and energized, going back to normal sleep feels lacking. It's like staying up late. Doing it occasionally can be a fun break from routine, a way to enjoy extra time for yourself. But staying up late every single night? That just wears you down, day by day, until your body can barely function.
Right now, the Straw Hat crew was experiencing the inverse problem.
They'd spent two days sleeping on the Minecraft beds, experiencing the kind of deep, restorative sleep that left them feeling better than they had in days. And now, even though they were fully awake and their minds were clear, none of them wanted to get up. It was like the beds had cast some kind of spell on them, trapping them under the covers in a state of blissful comfort they weren't ready to abandon.
"Sanji... I'm hungry."
Luffy's voice drifted across the room, lazy and content despite the complaint.
Sanji, still buried under his own blanket, groaned. "What do you want to eat?"
"Cooked beef."
There was a long pause. Then he pulled the blanket back over his head. "Go ask Marcus yourself."
How long had it been since they'd had proper variety in their meals? Two days, maybe? But before that, they'd been eating nothing but cooked beef for months straight. Sanji had reached his limit with the stuff.
"Are we seriously not getting up?" Bon Kurei asked from his own bed, sounding confused by the group's collective paralysis.
Nobody answered him. Mostly because nobody had a good explanation for why they were all still lying there like lazy cats.
"Oh no!"
The sudden exclamation made everyone turn their heads toward the source.
In the makeshift cloud-partition that separated the girls' sleeping area, Vivi was frantically throwing on her clothes and rushing toward the door.
"What happened?"
"Did Vivi wet the bed?" Bon Kurei asked with a grin.
"Probably just hungry," Luffy suggested, right before his own stomach let out a loud growl that echoed through the room.
That settled it. His hunger won out over the comfortable bed, making him the first to lose their unspoken game of "who gets up first loses." He climbed out of bed and looked around, expecting to find Marcus in his usual spot. "Hey, where's Marcus?"
That question finally motivated the others to check their surroundings. Sure enough, the guy was missing.
Within moments, the entire crew was up and searching. It was kind of pathetic how quickly they'd all developed a dependency on Marcus' ability to provide food and comfort. Two days. That's all it had taken for them to become completely reliant on him.
They found him in the adjacent cloud-room, wearing an apron and preparing food over a makeshift cooking station.
"You're awake. Breakfast is over there." He gestured toward several bowls of steaming soup set out on a low table.
"You're cooking?" Usopp stared in surprise. "That's wild. I didn't think you knew how."
Back in the East Blue, before Sanji joined the crew, Marcus had been forced to reveal some basic cooking skills when nobody else could handle meal prep. The food had been acceptable. Nothing special, but edible enough to keep everyone fed.
But after that one time, he'd never touched the kitchen again. First, he'd claimed his "stats weren't good enough" and he didn't want to waste ingredients. Later, when that excuse stopped making sense, he'd just provided an endless supply of cooked beef from his inventory, and that had been that.
Marcus took off the apron and hung it on a nearby hook. "It's just potato soup with some dried meat strips. Nothing fancy."
The crew settled down around the table as the girls' group joined them. Vivi returned a moment later, this time carrying a small girl in her arms.
The child looked nervous and embarrassed, clinging to Vivi like a lifeline.
"What's going on?" Nami asked.
Vivi looked a bit sheepish. "Her name is Aisa. She's one of the Shandian children we rescued."
Marcus glanced at the girl and felt a spark of recognition. Wasn't this the kid from the Skypiea arc who'd naturally awakened Observation Haki? Though his memories of that storyline were pretty fuzzy. Most of what he remembered about Skypiea revolved around Enel being ridiculously overpowered with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
The kid was staring at him with wide eyes.
"Where did you find her?"
"She was hiding in one of the storage rooms," Vivi explained. "I think she got separated from the other refugees during the evacuation."
Goliath finally recalled, "Oh yeah, Aisa. I forgot she was with that group. She must've gotten lost when everyone was rushing to shelter."
Sanji, falling naturally into his role as the crew's cook, prepared a bowl of soup for the girl and set it down in front of her. "Here you go, kid. Eat up."
Just then, Alvida walked in supporting Raki, whose entire body was wrapped in bandages. The Shandian warrior could barely walk on her own.
"She's awake?" Marcus asked.
It wasn't that he couldn't have healed her earlier, he had plenty of healing potions in his inventory. But there were so many injured people outside, scattered all around the temporary refuge camps. If he healed one person with magic medicine, what about everyone else? He couldn't exactly play favorites without causing problems. Besides, he had limited supplies of the good healing items, and he wasn't about to waste them on minor injuries when Chopper could handle the medical care.
"Thank you..." Raki managed a weak smile. "For helping Aisa. And for... everything else."
She'd gone looking for Aisa when the girl had run off during the evacuation. In the process, she'd witnessed far too many deaths. A lot of people didn't make it to safety. In the end, she'd focused on protecting the retreat, holding off the beasts long enough for civilians to escape. She'd nearly died doing it. If the Straw Hats hadn't found her when they did, she would've bled out by now.
Chopper, still munching on a dried meat strip while carrying a bowl of soup, waddled over to examine Raki's condition. He pulled back some of the bandages, checked her pulse, and nodded to himself.
"The wounds are scabbing over nicely. You've lost a lot of blood, and those fractured ribs are going to need time to heal properly, but your body's on the right track. Just take it easy for the next week or two."
This was the first time since joining the crew that he had performed proper medical treatment without relying on Marcus' magic food to do all the heavy lifting. It felt good, like dusting off skills he'd been worried he was forgetting.
Sanji set down more dishes on the table, simple fare, but more substantial than the plain soup. Everyone settled in and began eating.
The atmosphere was unusually quiet.
This was the quietest meal the Straw Hat crew had ever shared. So quiet that Luffy wasn't even trying to steal food from anyone else's bowls, which was probably the most disturbing part of the whole situation.
Aisa, sitting between Vivi and Nami, couldn't understand what was happening. Yesterday, she'd witnessed these same people fighting over food like their lives depended on it, laughing and shouting and causing chaos during mealtime.
But today? They ate in near-silence, lost in their own thoughts.
She glanced between the crew members, trying to figure out what had changed. Her eyes kept drifting back to Marcus, who sat at the head of the table eating his own meal without seeming to notice the heavy atmosphere.
The heavy silence hanging over breakfast was finally shattered by Aisa. Or more specifically, by her curiosity about Marcus.
"Who's that guy?"
She directed the question at Vivi, who was sitting closest to her.
Aisa had been born with incredibly powerful Observation Haki, a natural gift that let her "see" people's presence and emotions even through walls. She'd sensed the Straw Hats many times before, heard stories about their exploits from Raki and the other Shandian warriors, even witnessed their battles against the beasts from a distance.
But she'd never laid eyes on them until yesterday.
When she finally saw them in person, fighting together with perfect coordination, saving people without hesitation, she'd simply accepted them as a complete unit.
One crew, one team.
The number of voices she sensed? Well, she was just a kid. She wasn't exactly keeping a headcount.
Yesterday, she'd been helping Vivi take care of Raki. Then Vivi had quietly slipped away without explanation. Aisa had used her Observation Haki to check on her and sensed Vivi training late into the night, so she hadn't worried.
But this morning, when she finally noticed someone new among them, her curiosity exploded. And now, with this weird, tense atmosphere suffocating everyone at the breakfast table, she couldn't hold back anymore.
The moment she spoke, the room went completely silent. Even the soft slurping sounds of people eating their soup stopped dead.
Marcus, the subject of her question, didn't say anything. He just kept eating, eyes fixed on his bowl. The rest of the Straw Hats all turned to look at Luffy. Because the person responsible for this uncomfortable atmosphere was their captain. He hadn't been happy about Marcus' return. He hadn't really said a single word since. The crew had noticed something was wrong immediately, of course. But nobody had brought it up. Zoro and Sanji had both shut down anyone who'd tried to say something, making it clear this was something Luffy needed to work through on his own.
The truth was, the Straw Hats' reluctance to get out of bed that morning hadn't just been about missing those comfortable beds. They'd been avoiding facing this exact moment.
It was procrastination at its finest. Like when you've got homework due and you know exactly where it is, and you know if you just did it early you could enjoy the rest of your break... but instead you wait until the last possible night and pull off some miracle.
That's what they'd all been doing. Putting off the inevitable.
Luffy's eyes finally left his bowl and locked onto Marcus.
"You're our crewmate, right? Part of the Straw Hats?"
His voice lacked its usual confidence.
"Of course," Marcus said, meeting his gaze with a smile. "I've always been part of the Straw Hats. Always been your crewmate, Luffy."
It was like a massive stone that had been crushing everyone's chest suddenly lifted. The rest of the crew exhaled in relief. The atmosphere began to thaw, tension melting away degree by degree.
Aisa, with her powerful natural Observation Haki, "saw" the change immediately. The emotional voices radiating from the Straw Hats brightened, became clearer and more harmonious. She didn't understand why that simple exchange had changed everything, but the reason was straightforward.
Marcus was too strong. And the Straw Hats, all of them, were still too weak by comparison. A pirate crew comes together for different reasons. Dreams, profit, adventure, loyalty. But the captain is the bond that holds every crewmate together, and strength is part of what maintains that bond. So what happens when a crewmate becomes stronger than the captain?
If the captain has powerful charisma, grand ideals, or can provide enough benefits to motivate everyone, the bond holds firm. Strong crewmates become assets, not threats. But what if that crewmate's charisma and the advantages he brings start to eclipse the captain's?
What if other, more powerful captains try to recruit him?
What if he gets taken by that other captain, not by choice, but because he was protecting the crew when they weren't strong enough to protect themselves?
Sure, his special abilities meant he could've come back instantly after getting everyone to safety. But he didn't. He stayed with the other captain, gathering information, keeping threats away from his original crew. And the worst part? His original crewmates could see everything through a video feed. Through the feed, they'd seen everything: him with Shiki, him not returning, and him seemingly content in his new situation.
How was that any different from betrayal? Even if they knew he hadn't gone willingly. Even if they understood his reasons. And even if they recognized he was trying to protect them.
The captain... could he really just accept it? Could he let it go?
And even if he could... would the crewmate even want to come back? After all, he had access to a bigger stage now, better resources, stronger allies. He could climb so much higher.
Which raised another painful question: Were they even worth coming back to?
It was like... if the most popular girl in school and the star quarterback got together, everyone would call them a perfect match. But if that same girl was dating some completely average, unremarkable guy? People would talk. They'd question it. And that average guy, no matter how confident he tried to be, would probably wonder if he was good enough. Now imagine that girl spent a few days working closely with the quarterback on some school project, and the average guy had to watch them together, see their chemistry, and witness their potential.
Wouldn't he get jealous? Wouldn't he start doubting himself?
That's where Luffy was. Drowning in thoughts and doubts that he usually never had to deal with, because he didn't overthink things. He lived in the moment, trusted his instincts, and followed his heart. But even someone as straightforward as Luffy couldn't escape this particular spiral of uncertainty.
Marcus understood all of it. He could see exactly what was going through his captain's head. But he also knew this wasn't his problem to solve. The knot was in Luffy's heart, not his. If he tried to untie it for him, it would only further reinforce the crew's dependence on him. Luffy needed to believe in himself, and the crew needed to start carrying their own weight. He had long noticed how much the Straw Hats relied on him, and he knew some things had to change. He would still help when necessary, but the lessons had to be learned by Luffy and the crew on their own.
"Cheers!"
The grin that spread across Luffy's face was bright. He stopped overthinking, and just did what felt right. He lifted his bowl like it was a mug of ale.
Zoro glanced at his nearly empty bowl, shook his head with a quiet laugh, and silently raised it as well.
"Cheers."
Sanji flicked his wrist, and suddenly everyone's bowl refilled with hot soup, steam rising from the surface.
Usopp rubbed his nose, then stepped right up onto the table with one foot. "CHEERS!"
Bon Kurei and Goliath immediately followed suit, mimicking the pose.
Chopper's legs weren't nearly long enough to pull off the table-standing move, but he stretched up on his tiptoes anyway, holding his bowl high with both hands. "Cheers!"
On the girls' side of the table, Nami rolled her eyes at the guys standing on the furniture. "Seriously? It's just soup, you idiots."
But even as she complained, she raised her own bowl.
Vivi tried to copy the men's dramatic gesture without stepping on the table, she pushed herself up with one hand and lifted her bowl high. "Cheers."
Shira licked her lips, then clinked her bowl against Vivi's, smiling brightly.
Alvida raised her bowl, a small smirk tugging at her lips as she joined in. Beside her, Kira mirrored the gesture, her eyes sparkling as she leaned slightly forward to clink bowls with Shira.
Robin watched the whole scene unfold, the corners of her mouth lifting in amusement. She said nothing, but quietly raised her own bowl to join in.
The only ones who looked confused were Aisa and Raki. Neither of them fully understood why everyone was suddenly doing toasts with bowls of plain soup. But Aisa didn't care about understanding. Swept up in the lively energy, she hopped up onto her chair. "Cheers!"
Raki wanted to pull Aisa back down to proper sitting position, but in the end, she just gave in and raised her own bowl. "Cheers."
Marcus looked at his bowl, then stood up. Under everyone's stares, he reached into a storage compartment and pulled out a bowl the size of a bathroom sink.
"Cheers! Go big or go home!"
With him leading the charge, naturally there were those who refused to be outdone.
Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper immediately crowded together, clearly planning to grab their own giant bowls.
Then Sanji smacked each of them on the head in quick succession.
"Those big bowls are for serving dishes, you morons."
But in the end, even he picked up his own bowl and grinned.
"Cheers."