The weather was beautiful, a perfect day for training.
"1541! 1542! ..."
Zoro stood at the stern, dripping with sweat as he swung a massive dumbbell loaded with giant counterweights. With every movement, the entire small ship trembled slightly.
Bestia, the little black cat, curled up nearby. Her crimson eyes were locked onto the dumbbell in the green-haired swordsman's hand, her head bobbing up and down in sync with his swinging rhythm.
Meanwhile, on the starboard side of the stern, the fishing trio consisting of a straw hat, a long nose, and a little reindeer sat along the ship's railing. They were planning to add a few more dishes to tonight's dinner, but looking at their completely empty basket, their grand plan was likely dead in the water.
"That cat must be incredibly bored."
Usopp glanced at Bestia, then turned to look at his idiot captain, whose face was covered in scratch marks, causing the sniper's lips to twitch.
"And you, Luffy! No matter how hungry you are, you shouldn't resort to stealing Bestia's cat food!"
"Hahaha, it's fine, it's fine!" Luffy laughed lightheartedly, gripping his fishing rod. "The cat food Sanji makes is absolutely delicious!"
"Hey, that is definitely not the issue here!" the long-nosed sniper retorted, a dark cloud of exasperation over his face.
"Give it up, Usopp."
Sherlock, holding a book, lay back on a lounge chair. He gently pushed up his glasses and said with utter composure, "Have you forgotten? Let alone cat food, when Luffy gets desperately hungry, he won't even spare the fishing bait..."
"Yeah, actually, bait tastes pretty good too! Shishishi~" Luffy grinned broadly.
"Sigh..." The Straw Hat crew members on deck let out a collective, synchronized sigh.
"Nami-san! Robin-chan! Please try the love-infused drinks I specially crafted for you~!"
Just then, a certain love-struck cook came pirouetting out of the cabin like a whirlwind, carrying a tray of drinks. He first handed a glass of juice to Nami, then a cup of coffee to Robin, who was reading on a nearby lounge chair. Sanji then stroked his chin and muttered:
"But speaking of which, when will we reach the next island? The ship's food supplies are running low."
Since escaping G-8 Navarone Fortress, the Straw Hats had been sailing at sea for over a week, yet they hadn't seen even a glimpse of an island. The Going Merry's food reserves weren't substantial to begin with; if this continued, the crew would genuinely face starvation.
"Yeah, Nami, how much longer do we have to sail?" Luffy's arm stretched out comically, snatching a glass of juice from Sanji's tray.
"The next island?"
The young navigator happily took a sip of her juice, pondered for a moment, and replied, "If I remember correctly, our next destination should be an island called Hannabal."
Nami had obtained many precious sea charts from the archives of Navarone. Using the information from these charts alongside the changes in weather and wind direction over the past few days of sailing, the naturally gifted navigator was already able to deduce the Going Merry's upcoming route.
"It's an Autumn Island. The weather has stabilized over the last couple of days, so I expect we'll reach it quite soon."
"An Autumn Island," Chopper said, holding his glass of juice as anticipation sparkled in his dark, round deer eyes.
"Even though it's not my favorite Winter Island, I heard Dr. Kureha mention before that the scenery on Autumn Islands is beautiful too."
Usopp, Nami, and the others smiled knowingly.
"Hannabal?" The expression of a certain devious woman shifted slightly as she blew on her steaming cup of coffee.
"What's wrong, Robin-chan?"
The lovesick cook keenly noticed Robin's unusual reaction, a look of confusion crossing his face. "Is there something wrong with that island?"
"A problem... No, not a major one." Robin shook her head gently. "It's just that a few years ago, I visited that island with Crocodile."
"Eh?!" everyone cried out in shock.
"Robin, what were you and the Desert Crocodile doing there?" Nami asked.
Gazing intently at the fragrant, deep-brown liquid swirling in her coffee cup, Robin didn't answer right away. Instead, she asked the crew, "I wonder if any of you have heard of 'Oswald'—the family that uses a penguin as their crest?"
Luffy, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, and Chopper all shook their heads in unison.
"Are you referring to the one known as the largest arms manufacturer under the World Government, Robin?" Sherlock gently pushed up his glasses.
Although the former president of the Goldglint Trading Company had spent most of his time in the East Blue, the Sorcerer still had more or less some understanding of and interactions with the upper-tier factions beyond it.
It was true for Gild Tesoro, and it was true for Oswald as well.
"Exactly. Hannabal is one of the Penguin's strongholds in the Grand Line."
Robin nodded, offering a slight smile. "Do you remember the weapons that Crocodile secretly supplied to the Alabasta Rebels? Most of those arms were ordered from Hannabal. Oh, and that giant bomb originally intended to detonate in Alubarna came from their family too."
"I see. So that island is a branch base for an arms dealer?"
"Uh, it sounds like it's not a very safe place..."
Nami and Usopp exchanged a tense look, seeing an identical wave of worry and anxiety reflected in each other's eyes.
"As a side note, just like Mock Town, that island is a lawless zone outside the World Government's jurisdiction. Many vicious pirates gather there."
Her charming eyes narrowing into twin crescents, the dark-humored woman added softly, delivering the final blow.
"(ο)..." x2
The cowardly trio froze for a moment, and then...
"Ahhh~! I can't do it! I've suddenly come down with 'I'll-die-if-I-go-to-that-island' disease!"
"Huh?! Really?! Hang in there, Usopp!" the naive little reindeer cried out in shock.
"Sanji, take the helm! We're changing course immediately! Zoro, stop working out and go pull in the rigging!"
"Right away, Nami-san!" a certain curly-browed cook dashed off, a completely lovesick look on his face.
"Hey~ Nami! Why are we changing course?" The dimwitted captain pressed down on the straw hat atop his head, thoroughly confused.
"Isn't it fine if we just go to that island? It sounds pretty interesting."
"Luffy..." Nami took a deep breath, turning her head to glare at the dense Straw Hat idiot, fully intending to give him a piece of her mind.
"Hey! Everyone!" Zoro's shout echoed from the stern.
"Look over there. Is that a ship heading our way?"
The crew focused their gazes in the direction Zoro was pointing. Across the calm, distant sea, the faint silhouette of a ship was visible, growing larger at a rapid, noticeable pace. At this rate, the vessel would catch up to the Going Merry in no time.
"Could that ship be a Marine warship?!" Luffy shaded his eyes with his hand, squinting as he peered at the distant vessel.
"No way!" Nami's face instantly drained of color.
"Idiot, the Marines shouldn't be able to catch up to us this quickly..." Sanji muttered to himself, a cigarette dangling from his lips. "I think it's probably a pirate ship."
"P-Pirates?!" The blue-nosed reindeer's fur immediately stood on end.
"Wait! Let's not jump to conclusions. Let me get a closer look." Extremely nervous, Usopp pulled a pair of binoculars out of his bag and peered into the distance.
It was a large, beautifully decorated white ship. Though it was still quite far away, the long-nosed sniper, whose eyesight vastly exceeded that of ordinary people, managed to clearly make out the flags flying at the top of its mast.
It wasn't a pirate's Jolly Roger, nor was it the Marine's seagull flag.
"Strange, that ship is actually flying two different flags."
Usopp slowly lowered his binoculars and said to his companions, "One features a penguin, and the other flag has a canary on it. How bizarre. What kind of ship is that?"
"It should be a merchant ship."
Sherlock elegantly gave his glasses a slight push, explaining to the group, "Aside from top-tier, self-reliant organizations like the Goldglint Trading Company, merchant ships belonging to most other trading companies usually fly two flags."
"One flag represents the trading company itself, while the other represents the faction or power to which the company belongs."
"A penguin flag..." Robin smiled faintly, analyzing the situation. "In that case, the power backing that merchant ship must be the Oswald family."
Chopper tilted his head. "So this merchant ship is also heading to Hannabal?"
"Whew~ That gave me a heart attack."
Nami let out a long sigh of relief, patting her ample chest as she spoke with lingering dread, "Since it's just a merchant ship, we have nothing to worry about."
"Hmph. If anything, they're the ones who should be afraid," Zoro grunted, raising an eyebrow. He crossed his arms, a familiar, mischievous smirk spreading across his face.
"No matter how you look at it, we are pirates!"
The green-haired swordsman had barely finished his sentence when a loud cannon blast suddenly echoed from the white merchant ship. Accompanied by a piercing screech cutting through the air, a cannonball arched across the sky, landing not far behind the Going Merry and sending a massive plume of water shooting into the air.
(What's going on?)
Drenched by the falling droplets of water, the entire Straw Hat crew stood completely dumbfounded. Especially the moss-head, who had just been instantly slapped in the face by reality—his expression had turned thoroughly livid.
Director, this isn't how the script goes, hey!
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