The burning firewood crackled and popped, the flickering campfire casting dancing shadows across the faces of the Straw Hat crew.
"So, our current position is the other half of Jaya, the part that was launched into the sky by the Knock Up Stream." Looking at the completed map of Jaya that Nami had pieced together, Sherlock gently pushed up his glasses.
Although his mind was still a bit foggy, the Sorcerer had managed to grasp their current situation thanks to the explanations from Robin and the others.
"But... other sky islands shouldn't be like this, right?" Sherlock surveyed their surroundings. They were in a dark, primeval jungle composed of countless towering trees, its gloomy atmosphere somewhat unsettling.
"I remember reading in a book that Sky Islands are made entirely of clouds."
"That's right, that's right! The beaches and the sea here are made of clouds—even the houses are made of clouds! It's absolutely beautiful!" The little reindeer, Chopper, gesticulated excitedly.
"Yes, it really is like something out of a fairy tale. It's incredibly beautiful and dreamlike..."
Robin gave a serene smile, resting her chin on her hand as her long fingers tapped rhythmically against her cheek. "It's just a pity you were fast asleep in the cabin at the time and didn't see it for yourself."
Gulp, gulp—
The gluttonous captain shoveled the Baked Stone Stew from his plate into his stomach. Wiping his mouth, he said, "It's fine! Once I kick that annoying 'God's' ass, we'll just take Sherlock back for another round of fun, right? Heh, I actually want to taste those fruits again, anyway."
Ahem, it's pretty clear that Luffy's last sentence was the real point...
"But speaking of which, this is surprisingly similar to when you first entered the Grand Line, Sherlock. You ended up sleeping through the whole thing both times."
The green-haired swordsman wore a strange smirk as he quipped, "You really are a heavy sleeper!"
"Hey! Zoro, you're the last person who should be talking about Sherlock!" Nami and the others rolled their eyes in unison at the guy who spent all his time napping on the deck.
"Tch, that shitty marimo..." the curly-browed cook muttered under his breath before taking a drag of his cigarette.
"Anyway, Sherlock, try some of my Baked Stone Stew. I made an extra portion just for—What the?! Luffy, you bastard! How did you eat everything in the pot?! Didn't you just finish an entire roasted bird?" With that, Sanji, a vein throbbing in his forehead, launched a kick at the rubber glutton...
"Hmph, Sherlock, it's a good thing you woke up when you did!"
Ignoring the two scuffling beside her, the navigator pushed up the glasses she only wore while drawing maps and brandished the map in her hand.
"'Gold is hidden in the right eye of the skull.' That's a line from Noland's logbook. It looks like Shandora, the City of Gold that the Saruyama Coalition has been searching for, is right here!"
Nami's beautiful eyes suddenly flashed with a green, predatory light. She turned to the Sorcerer with an exceptionally "kind" smile and said sweetly:
"When the time comes, I'll be needing your Mirror World to help haul all that gold, dear Sherlock~"
"..." A dark line appeared on Sherlock's forehead. He suddenly realized that in the eyes of this "Little Burglar Cat," the most practical use for the Mirror-Mirror Fruit was this...
"Uh, Nami, I've been wondering about something for a while now." Usopp looked at the glasses on the orange-haired navigator's nose, his face full of confusion.
"Why do you wear glasses when you're drawing? Are you trying to imitate Sherlock?"
(Eh? Imitating Sherlock?!)
Hearing this, everyone shifted their attention to Nami.
Her clean-cut orange hair was tied into two short pigtails behind her head. Her pretty face was free of makeup, and the glasses added a touch of intellectual beauty to her look. It had to be said that Nami's current appearance had the vibe of a female teacher, which was quite refreshing.
"Haha, no, it's just a habit I have when I'm drawing sea charts."
The orange-haired navigator waved her hand with a laugh. Then, on a whim, her expression suddenly went cold and aloof. She mockingly pushed up her glasses with a gesture that felt all too familiar.
"This is simply moronic..."
Nami spoke to Luffy and the others in a flat, indifferent tone. Her voice and mannerisms captured about seventy percent of the Sorcerer's usual aura.
??!!
Luffy and the others were stunned for a moment before bursting into laughter at Nami's antics. Even Robin couldn't help but cover her mouth, her face blooming into a smile.
"Pffft! Hahaha! Nami, you sounded just like Sherlock!"
"Haha! A noble and cold Nami-san is also so beautiful and captivating~"
"Stop, my stomach is gonna burst from laughing! Doctor! Where's the doctor?! Oh? That's me!"
"Ahem, though I still think Luffy's impression of Zoro was more spot-on!"
"Eh? Where is this? Oh? So this is North..." The captain, a master of facial expressions, immediately went into a "Pro-Level COSplay" upon hearing Usopp's words. That lifelike imitation was a perfect carbon copy of a certain directionally challenged swordsman.
"Hahahahaha!" Everyone laughed even harder.
"Shut up! Luffy, you bastard, I'm definitely cutting you down today!" shouted a certain triggered marimo.
"Seriously, that's enough... don't you guys understand the situation we're in?"
Sherlock looked at his rowdy, idiotic teammates with a sense of helplessness and sighed.
(These idiots are truly moronic...)
Even though he thought that, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but twitch upward. Behind his lenses, his deep black eyes were also filled with amusement.
After a while, the group finally calmed down.
"Shishishi..." The goofy captain straightened his crooked straw hat and looked at the smiling Sorcerer sitting nearby.
"Oh, I just remembered, Sherlock." Luffy smacked his palm as if having an epiphany and continued, "What exactly happened last night? Did you run into some powerful enemy? How come you were carried back by that blue-haired guy?"
At those words, the smile on Sherlock's face froze instantly. Zoro and the others also turned their curious gazes toward the Sorcerer.
"Last night..."
Recalling the scenes from the previous night—especially the latest information regarding his sister—Sherlock's originally good mood soured instantly. His expression gradually darkened.
At the same time, the cheerful atmosphere among the Straw Hat crew shifted invisibly in that moment...
"...I had a conflict with a man named Blackbeard. He's very strong. I was no match for him at all."
Although Sherlock's state had been chaotic and frenzied while using the Six-Fold Mirror Fusion, he vaguely remembered what had happened up until the final moment before he lost consciousness.
"Blackbeard?!" Everyone cried out in surprise. They were no strangers to that name; after all, wasn't Chopper's homeland the place that guy had "visited" before?
Nami and Zoro exchanged a look. Although it was just a guess, they were both inexplicably certain that the boisterous man who had argued with Luffy back then was the one called "Blackbeard."
"Oh." The goofy captain nodded. "So how did you end up fighting him, Sherlock? Was it over whether the cherry pies were good or not?"
(You're talking about yourself, Luffy...) Zoro and Nami thought simultaneously, a bead of sweat on their brows.
Sherlock didn't answer. The white reflection on his glasses obscured his eyes, making it impossible for the others to read his current mood.
After a long silence, he forced out a single sentence, his tone terrifyingly calm:
"This has nothing to do with you."
"Huh?"
Luffy's brow furrowed slightly. He didn't give up and continued to press, "But Sherlock, if you don't tell us, how can we help—"
"I said! This has nothing to do with you!!!" Sherlock roared, his face darkening fearsomely.
(⊙ｏ⊙)!!!
Everyone was stunned by the Sorcerer's sudden outburst. Luffy, being right in the line of fire, stood frozen as if he had been struck by lightning.
This was the first time. This was the first time Sherlock had ever lost his temper with his crewmates. Nami, Zoro, and the others truly hadn't expected that the usually refined, elegant, and aloof Sorcerer would have such an undignified side.
In the moment after his vent-like shout, Sherlock realized he had lost his composure. A flash of regret crossed his eyes as he stood up.
"My apologies, Luffy." The Sorcerer gave Luffy a polite bow of apology, then looked toward Nami and the others, saying tonelessly, "Please excuse me. I'd like to be alone for a while..."
With that, the man in glasses turned and walked toward the nearby jungle without looking back, disappearing from sight in an instant.
The campfire continued to roar, the slight crackle of sparks sounding particularly loud in the quiet night.
Seeing the once cheerful atmosphere turn so heavy, everyone looked at one another, unsure of what to say.
"Sherlock... why did Sherlock get mad at me just now?"
Luffy stared blankly in the direction Sherlock had left, his face full of confusion. "Was it because I ate his portion of the Baked Stone Stew?"
"Idiot!" Sanji closed his eyes and lit a cigarette. "How could he be mad at you over something like that?"
"He must have something on his mind. I saw Sherlock's expression just now; something was very wrong," Zoro analyzed with a serious face.
Chopper blinked his eyes. "That's the first time I've seen Sherlock lose his temper."
"Me too. I mean, Sherlock is usually so calm and collected," Usopp murmured, wiping cold sweat from his forehead. "I'm really curious about what could have happened to make even him lose his cool."
Nami pushed up her glasses, then looked toward a certain charming woman who had been quite close to the Sorcerer lately. She asked tentatively:
"Robin, do you know something?"
"No, I don't know anything." Nico Robin, who had a vague idea of the situation, lied with a straight face.
"Didn't I say before? Sherlock has some serious wake-up grumpiness."
Having said that, Robin gave the bewildered group a faint smile and continued pointedly:
"He... can actually be quite 'childish' sometimes..."
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