The Going Merry sailed steadily across the sparkling blue waters of the Grand Line, leaving the desert kingdom of Alabasta far behind.
The mood on the deck was bittersweet. The crew had saved a nation and toppled a Warlord, but they had left a piece of their heart behind on the sandy shores. They sat in small clusters around the grassy deck, nursing their lingering injuries and staring out at the endless horizon.
Luffy sat on his favorite spot atop the sheep figurehead, the straw hat pulled low over his eyes. Zoro was asleep against the mainmast, Sanji was quietly smoking near the galley, and Kai leaned against the railing, gently polishing the sleek, orange-and-black surface of his Power Watch with a cloth.
"Cheer up, Kai," Bot's robotic voice buzzed softly, projecting only to Kai. "Princess Vivi is where she belongs. And statistically speaking, the survival rate of this crew is much higher when we aren't fighting civil wars in the desert."
Kai offered a small, lopsided smile. "I know, Bot. It's just hard saying goodbye. But she's got a kingdom to run."
Suddenly, the heavy wooden door to the captain's cabin creaked open.
The entire crew completely froze. Zoro's eye snapped open, his hand instantly dropping to the hilt of his sword. Sanji dropped his cigarette. Usopp and Chopper practically jumped out of their skin, grabbing onto each other for dear life.
They were supposed to be the only ones on board.
A pair of long, slender legs stepped out of the shadows of the cabin. She was wearing a stylish purple blouse and a wide-brimmed cowboy hat.
"It seems you finally managed to escape the Marines," Nico Robin said smoothly. She walked onto the sunny deck with the casual elegance of someone taking a morning stroll. She pulled a lounge chair into the sun, sat down, and crossed her legs, resting a book on her lap.
"YOU!" Usopp and Chopper shrieked in absolute, synchronized terror. "It's Crocodile's partner! Miss All Sunday!"
"What the hell are you doing on our ship?!" Zoro roared, instantly drawing the Wado Ichimonji. The deadly blade gleamed in the sunlight.
"Nami-swan! Get behind me!" Sanji yelled, though his visible eye was already twitching with conflicted, lovestruck confusion.
Kai immediately stood up, tapping the interface of his watch. He didn't wait; he prepared to summon his Earth or Water power at a second's notice if she made a hostile move.
Robin didn't even flinch at the weapons pointed at her. She simply rested her chin on her hand and looked directly at the boy sitting on the figurehead.
"Monkey D. Luffy," Robin said, her dark eyes entirely unreadable. "You did something unforgivable to me back in the underground tomb. Now, you have to take responsibility."
Usopp's jaw dropped to the floorboards. "Luffy?! What did you do to her?!"
Luffy tilted his head, picking his nose with absolute nonchalance. "Huh? What are you talking about?"
"I wanted to die. I gave up," Robin said softly, a hint of genuine melancholy in her voice. "But you forced me to live. You dragged me out of that collapsing tomb against my will. I have nowhere left to go, no home to return to, and no dream to chase. So, you must let me join your crew."
The entire deck fell dead silent. The wind whistled through the rigging.
"Oh," Luffy said, blinking slowly. He flashed a massive, goofy grin. "Okay! Sure."
"WHAT?!" the entire crew—except Kai and Robin—screamed in absolute disbelief.
"Luffy! Are you insane?!" Nami yelled, shaking him by the shoulders. "She was the vice-president of Baroque Works! She's an assassin!"
"It's fine," Luffy laughed, completely unbothered. "She's not a bad person. Besides, she doesn't have anywhere else to go."
Zoro sheathed his sword with an angry click, muttering under his breath about idiot captains. Sanji immediately spun into a tornado of hearts, completely accepting the new, beautiful crewmate.
Kai let out a long sigh, releasing the tension in his wrist. He let the watch interface return to its standby orange glow without activating a power. "Well, you heard the captain. Welcome aboard."
Robin looked at Kai, her dark eyes flashing with sharp intelligence. "Thank you. And you must be the anomaly the Marines are so terrified of. The boy with the ancient technology."
Kai blinked. "Ancient technology? It's just a watch."
"Is that what you think?" Robin smiled mysteriously, opening her book. "The World Government tends to disagree."
Before Kai could ask her what she meant, a loud squawk echoed from the sky.
A white seagull wearing a tiny postal hat and carrying a satchel swooped down, landing gracefully on the railing. The News Coo.
"Oh! The morning paper!" Nami said, dropping a few Berries into the bird's pouch. The News Coo squawked in thanks, dropped a rolled-up newspaper, and flew back into the clouds.
Nami unrolled the paper. As she did, three separate, glossy pieces of heavy parchment fluttered out from between the pages and landed on the wooden deck.
"Wanted posters," Zoro noted, walking over and picking one up. A massive, bloodthirsty grin spread across his face.
"Let me see!" Usopp yelled, scrambling over.
Zoro held up his poster. The picture showed his fierce, bandana-clad face, a sword clamped tightly in his jaw.
DEAD OR ALIVE: RORONOA ZORO - 60,000,000 BERRIES.
"Sixty million?!" Nami shrieked, grabbing her head. "We're going to be hunted by every bounty hunter in the Grand Line!"
"Look at Luffy's!" Chopper gasped, holding up the second poster.
The picture showed Luffy's massive, goofy grin, completely unfazed by the danger he was in.
DEAD OR ALIVE: MONKEY D. LUFFY - 100,000,000 BERRIES.
"One hundred million!" Sanji exhaled a thick cloud of smoke. "That's insane. The Marines aren't pulling any punches after Alabasta."
"Wait..." Usopp squinted at the third poster resting face-down on the deck. "Zoro got one. Luffy got one. Did they give one to Mr. Prince?"
Sanji's eye lit up. He eagerly reached down, hoping for his first glorious bounty poster to show off to Nami and Robin. But as he flipped the heavy paper over, his face fell flat.
It wasn't him.
"Kai..." Usopp whispered, his eyes bulging out of his skull. "You got a bounty!"
Kai froze. He walked over slowly, taking the heavy parchment from Sanji's trembling hands.
The photograph was stunningly clear. It had been taken by a Marine scout during their escape from the eastern port. It showed Kai in his rugged Earth form, his brown jacket whipping in the wind. His right arm was thrust forward, encased entirely in the massive, highly detailed Earth Gloves he had used to shatter the Marine cannonballs. Most importantly, the sleek, glowing interface of his Power Watch was fully exposed and captured in perfect detail.
The text at the bottom read:
DEAD OR ALIVE: "THE ELEMENTAL" KAI - 45,000,000 BERRIES.
"Forty-five million?!" Nami gasped. "For a first bounty?! That's incredibly high!"
"Read the fine print!" Usopp pointed a shaking finger at the bottom of the poster.
Beneath the bounty amount, a strict warning was printed by Marine Headquarters:
> WARNING: Suspect utilizes an unidentified, self-aware technological device strapped to his wrist to bypass the sea's curse and command elemental forces. Do not engage without superior force. Retrieve the technology at all costs.
"Well, well," Robin chuckled softly from her lounge chair. "It seems you've made quite an impression on the World Government, Kai. They don't just want you. They want your watch."
Kai stared at the poster. He wasn't just a lost kid anymore. He was an officially recognized threat to the world order.
"You're a real pirate now, Kai!" Luffy laughed, slapping him hard on the back. "A hundred million for me, sixty for Zoro, and forty-five for you! We're awesome!"
Zoro smirked, leaning against the mast. "Don't let it go to your head, kid. A bounty just means the targets coming after you are going to be a lot stronger from now on."
Kai looked down at his watch. He had his Earth, Water, and Leaf forms at his disposal. The Marines wanted his technology, but they had absolutely no idea what he was actually capable of.
"Let them come," Kai smiled, crumpling the bounty poster and tossing it into the sea breeze. "We handled a Warlord. We can handle whatever the Marines throw at us."
......
The afternoon sun beat down on the deck as the initial shock of the bounties faded into the crew's regular, chaotic routine.
Nami was at the helm, checking the Log Pose strapped to her wrist. But as she looked at the glass sphere, her brow furrowed in deep confusion.
"This doesn't make any sense," Nami muttered, shaking her wrist. "Is it broken?"
"What's wrong, Nami?" Kai asked, walking up to the navigation deck.
"The needle," she said, holding her wrist out for him to see. "It's not pointing north, south, east, or west. It's pointing... straight up."
Kai looked at the compass. The needle was locked in a vertical position, pointing directly into the bright blue sky above them.
Before either of them could question it further, a massive, unnatural shadow fell over the Going Merry. The sunlight was completely blotted out.
"Uh, guys?" Usopp squeaked, pointing a trembling finger upward. "Why is the sky getting dark?"
The entire crew looked up.
Plummeting directly out of the clouds, hundreds of feet above them, was a colossal, decaying wooden galleon. It was larger than a Marine battleship, its sails torn to shreds and its hull rotting away. And it was falling straight toward their heads.
"A SHIP IS FALLING FROM THE SKY?!" Sanji roared, his jaw hitting the deck.
"HARD TO PORT!" Nami screamed, violently spinning the ship's wheel.
"Kai! We need a push!" Zoro yelled.
Kai didn't hesitate."Elemental Power: Water!"
The cyan light flared. He thrust his hands backward, generating a massive jet of pressurized water that acted like a high-speed thruster, shoving the Going Merry violently to the right.
CRASH!
The colossal, falling galleon slammed into the ocean mere feet away from the Merry. The impact created a tidal wave that nearly capsized them, raining ancient, rotting debris and skeletons down upon the deck.
As the violent waves finally settled, the Straw Hats stood soaking wet and completely stunned, staring at the sinking wreckage of a ship that had quite literally fallen from the heavens.
Luffy grabbed his straw hat, looking from the sinking wreckage up to the clouds, a massive, adventurous grin spreading across his face.
"Nami..." Luffy said, his eyes sparkling with absolute excitement. "The Log Pose is pointing up, right?"
"Y-Yes..." Nami stammered.
"Then set sail!" Luffy commanded, pointing a rubbery finger directly at the sky. "We're going to the Sky !"