After a farce-like chase across the island, the situation finally settled.
Near the edge of a cliff, Luffy used his rubbery, telescopic arms to finally snag the fleeing Gaimon.
"Let me go! You bunch of bastard pirates!"
After a fruitless struggle, Gaimon finally calmed down under Nami's "gentle" persuasion.
"Alright, stop squirming."
Nami knelt down with a first-aid kit. She carefully bandaged the wound on the forehead of the soot-covered Gaimon, tying it off with a neat little bow.
"Yosh, there we go. All fixed."
The bizarre, rare beasts that had seemed so fierce moments ago gathered around. The lion-headed pig stepped forward, extending a wet tongue to lick Gaimon's face, its eyes filled with worry.
"You're quite popular, aren't you, Mr. 'Guardian God'?"
Nami watched the scene and couldn't help but chuckle. "I take it you've been using these strange animals and the local legends to scare off any cowardly pirates who land here?"
Nearby, Usopp added curiously, "Hehehe! But a man stuck in a chest... that's a first for me! It looks so cool!!"
Luffy laid flat on the ground, poking the green treasure chest wrapped around Gaimon's body. He laughed, "This look is so stylish!"
"AS IF ANYONE WOULD CHOOSE THIS, YOU IDIOT!!"
Gaimon's face went dark as he roared at Luffy, spittle flying everywhere. "I've been stuck in this chest on this deserted island for twenty whole years! I'm here because I literally can't get out!!"
"Twenty years?!"
Nami, who had been organizing her backpack, gasped and covered her mouth. Beside her, Usopp listened intently, feeling his throat go dry from the weight of the story.
"Twenty years... that's hard to even imagine."
Usopp pulled a canteen from his bag and poured a cup of clear water, bringing it to his lips to moisten his parched throat.
Swish.
A slender hand suddenly reached out and naturally snatched the cup away.
Gulp.
Viktor drained the cup in one go, wiped his mouth, and said with a pleasant smile, "Thanks for the drink. I was getting thirsty."
"HEY!! THAT WAS MY WATER!!" Usopp screamed in a fit of rage. "You bastard, Viktor!"
Viktor shrugged, ignoring the protest. Usopp sighed, helplessly turning back to Gaimon with a look of admiration. "Twenty years like this? That's incredible, honestly. I can't believe you survived it."
Gaimon's eyes grew distant as he looked out toward the ocean, his voice dropping an octave. "Yeah... my hair and beard grew into this wild mess. I haven't spoken to a human being in twenty years. When the nights are quiet and the loneliness sets in... can any of you truly understand that?"
The group fell silent, the atmosphere turning heavy.
"Ah, you sounds like an idiot."
Luffy suddenly broke the mood, casually picking his nose with a blank expression.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?! YOU DAMNED BRAT!" Gaimon instantly snapped, looking like he wanted to bite someone.
Yawn—
Just then, a long, drawn-out yawn echoed through the clearing.
"So this is where you guys were. You're hard to find."
Zoro rubbed his sleepy eyes, his swords slung over his shoulder, as he strolled over. He spotted the second cup of water Viktor had just finished pouring and snatched it away without hesitation.
Gulp, gulp, gulp.
Zoro finished the water and exhaled with satisfaction. "Ah, I'm back among the living."
"HEY!! THAT WAS MY SECOND CUP!!" Usopp collapsed to his knees, defeated.
Only after finishing the water did Zoro look down. His eyes finally landed on Gaimon. In an instant, his eyes bulged like copper bells, and he leaped backward.
"AAAH!! WHAT IS THAT THING?! DID A TREASURE CHEST COME TO LIFE?!"
"NOTICE HIM SOONER, DAMMIT!!" Nami punched Zoro in the head. "Is your reaction time literally circling the entire ocean before it hits your brain?!"
Viktor smiled thinly. "Idiots are always half a beat behind."
"Simply put," Viktor continued, "this old man's body grew over twenty years until it fully integrated with the chest. It's a truly fascinating anatomical structure."
"What? So he can't be pulled out?" Luffy asked, tugging on Gaimon's cheek.
"Ow, ow, ow! Stop pulling!" Gaimon shrieked.
"It's practically a masterpiece of God," Usopp added, staring at the perfectly fitted chest.
Hearing this, Gaimon gave a cold huff. His voice lowered. "No, it's not a masterpiece of God... it's a masterpiece of Fate."
He looked up, his clouded eyes scrutinizing the young people before him. "But who are you people anyway? You seem different from those greedy, brutal pirates from before."
Luffy stood tall, adjusted his straw hat, and flashed his signature confident grin. "I'm Luffy, the man who will become King of the Pirates! I'm going to get the One Piece!"
"Wh-What?!"
Gaimon looked terrified, as if he'd heard something taboo. "Pirate King?! Are you actually planning to enter the Grand Line?"
"Yeah! And we even have a map!"
Luffy pulled out the crumpled nautical chart and spread it out before Gaimon like a prized trophy. "See? We're fully prepared!"
"You fool! Don't underestimate the Grand Line!" Gaimon shouted. "It's a graveyard! The Great Pirate Era has been going for twenty years; countless pirates have died there, and the One Piece is still just a legend..."
Despite his warning, he couldn't help but lean in to squint at the complex chart. "Hmm... what is this even a drawing of?" Gaimon frowned, looking left and right.
"Huh? You can't read it either, Box-Old-Man?" Luffy blinked.
"Ah, it's too complicated! I don't understand it at all! Hahaha!"
"Hahaha! Me neither!"
The two looked at each other and started laughing like a pair of idiots.
"GIVE ME THAT!!"
Nami reached her limit and snatched the map back, carefully tucking it away. "Is this supposed to be a conversation between pirates? How embarrassing!"
"Shishishi! It's fine! We're gonna find the One Piece anyway!" Luffy laughed carelessly.
Looking at Luffy's shadowless, bright smile, Gaimon fell into deep thought. For a moment, he saw his younger self in this boy.
"Ah... 'One day I'll catch my dream and roam the world'... back then, we thought the same thing. That passion completely changed our lives."
"What... what happened?" Usopp asked curiously.
Gaimon looked up at the blue sky, his thoughts drifting back to the distant past. "Twenty years ago..."
He told the story of how he arrived on the island, how he climbed the cliff in search of legendary treasure, and how he accidentally fell into the chest and was left behind by his crew.
"Since then, those treasures at the top of the cliff have been burned into my mind. I became a monster and scared off other pirates. For all this time, I've guarded my treasure alone! It's my treasure!"
As he spoke, Gaimon began to weep.
"Yeah, it definitely belongs to you, Old Man Gaimon!" Luffy nodded seriously.
"Mr. Gaimon, I've got it!" Luffy stood up, rolled up his sleeves, and pointed at the massive rock pillar soaring into the clouds. "Since you can't get up there, we'll go up and bring those treasures down for you!"
"You... you guys..."
Gaimon looked at these strangers, tears and snot streaming down his face in gratitude.
Viktor leaned against a tree trunk, watching the scene and sighing. As a transmigrator, he knew the chests were empty. It was destined to be a sad ending—but perhaps, also a form of liberation.
A few moments later, the group stood at the base of the massive stone pillar in the center of the island. The pillar shot straight up, its surface smooth and steep; it was impossible for a normal person to climb.
"It's so high..." Usopp stared upward, jaw hanging so low his hat almost fell off.
To hide his fear of heights, he immediately raised a finger and started barking orders at Luffy. "Luffy! As the Vice-Captain... no, as the Sniper King, Captain Usopp orders you to go up and get the treasure! I'll provide cover from down here!"
Splat.
The words had barely left his mouth when a warm, viscous glob fell from the sky, hitting Usopp squarely on the top of his head and sliding down his goggles.
It was bird droppings.
"Caw—!!"
A clear, mocking cry echoed from the sky above. "Idiot! Long-nosed idiot! Caw!"
"EH?!!"
The entire crew was stunned, looking upward. "Is there someone else up there?" Nami asked in surprise.
Gaimon looked at the black shadow circling in the sky and shook his head, his expression grim. "No... that is the ruler of the skies on this island. A strange bird I call the 'Sky King'..."
"Sky King?"
Viktor narrowed his eyes, his crimson pupils constricting slightly. With his superior vision, he clearly saw the black shadow. It wasn't a massive bird of prey, but a crow, slightly larger than average, with feathers as black as ink.
But the crow's eyes were filled with a very human-like sense of mockery.
"Oh? A talking crow?"
The corners of Viktor's mouth curled up, a deep interest flashing in his eyes. He remembered clearly that this crow didn't exist in the original plot.
"Interesting... it seems this island has more surprises than just empty boxes."
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