The night air over Whiskey Peak still smelled of smoke and spilled ale, but now it carried the acrid tang of gunpowder and burning timber. Vivi stood frozen at the railing of the Going Merry, her knuckles white, her eyes fixed on the distant column of fire blooming over the dark water.
Igaram's ship was gone.
Just… gone.
"Luffy," she whispered, her voice cracking. "He was on that—"
"He wasn't." Luffy's voice was flat, a tone she'd rarely heard from him. He stood beside her, his straw hat casting his eyes in shadow. The cheerful idiot was gone, replaced by a captain. "Igaram went alone. He wanted to be the decoy."
The words were a physical blow. Vivi's breath hitched. He knew. He knew and he let him go.
"Why?" The word was a ragged tear.
"Because he asked," Luffy said, as if it were the simplest equation in the world. He turned to her, and his eyes were hard as flint. "And because my job is to get you to Alabasta. Alive."
Before she could process it, he was moving, a whirlwind of purpose. He stormed back into the bar, where the remnants of their "celebration" lay in drunken ruin. Sanji was snoring elegantly over a table, a rose still clutched in his hand. Usopp was spread-eagled on the floor, muttering about giant goldfish.
Luffy didn't bother with words. He grabbed Usopp by his long, pinocchio nose and Sanji by his ankle.
"WAKE UP!"
"GYAAAAH! MY PROBOSCIS!"
"MON AMOUR, WHY SO ROU—OW!"
He dragged them, a squirming, protesting tangle of limbs, across the wooden floor, out the door, and down the dock, their cries shredding the silent night. Zoro was already on the Going Merry, untying lines, his one visible eye sharp and alert. No questions. No complaints. Just action.
"Set sail," Luffy commanded, dumping his two groggy crewmates onto the deck.
"Luffy, wait!" Vivi stumbled after them, her heart a frantic drum against her ribs. "Carue! I can't leave without—"
A soft quack sounded from near the mast. The large, white duck waddled out, a travel pack strapped to his back, giving her a slow, solemn blink. He'd been waiting.
Zoro grunted. "Bird's got more sense than the cook and the liar combined."
As Zoro raised the sails, the Going Merry creaked away from the eerie, silent town. The burning wreckage of Igaram's ship cast a hellish glow on the water behind them. Nami, who had been checking their course, emerged from the cabin, took one look at the weeping Vivi and the groaning Sanji and Usopp, and sighed.
"You two. Pay attention." Conk! Conk! Her fists connected with their skulls with practiced efficiency.
"THE VIOLENCE!" Usopp wailed.
"NAMI-SWAAAAAN, YOUR ANGER IS BEAUTIFUL!" Sanji swooned, stars in his eyes.
"Shut up and listen!" Nami snapped, pointing at the receding fire. "That was Igaram's ship. Baroque Works just tried to assassinate Vivi's guardian. We are now officially at war. Any questions?"
The goofiness evaporated. Sanji's cigarette, now lit, glowed sharply in the dark. Usopp's face paled, but his hands steadied. They understood.
It was then a smooth, languid voice poured from the shadows of the forecastle, like dark honey.
"War is such an ugly word. I prefer… 'inevitable conclusion.'"
Every Straw Hat spun as one. From behind the mast, a figure unfolded herself. A woman with hair the color of midnight and eyes that held a universe of cool indifference. She wore a elegant white suit, and perched on her shoulder was a small, ticking turtle. She smelled of ozone and old paper.
"MISS ALL SUNDAY!" Vivi's cry was pure venom and horror.
The woman—Crocodile's partner, the Vice-President of Baroque Works—smiled. It didn't touch her eyes. "Princess Nefertari Vivi. You've led quite the chase."
Luffy stepped forward, placing himself between the woman and his crew. "Who're you?"
"Consider me a messenger," Miss All Sunday said, examining her nails. "And the one who lit that rather pretty firework back there. A final send-off for a loyal man. Igaram died believing he was protecting you, Princess. A noble, if pointless, sentiment."
Vivi lunged, but Sanji and Zoro held her back. "YOU MONSTER!"
"Monster?" Miss All Sunday tilted her head. "I saved you the trouble of a slow voyage on a doomed ship. I even let you and your little spies follow me all across the Grand Line, gathering your clues, thinking you were so clever."
The blood drained from Vivi's face. "Let us…?"
"Of course." The woman's gaze was pitiless. "How else would you have learned Crocodile's name? His plans? I guided you to every revelation. I thought your determination was… fascinating. A princess playing spy, risking everything for a kingdom tearing itself apart." She paused, her voice dropping to a chilling whisper. "But then you decided to actually fight him. That's when it became pathetic."
The air on the deck grew thick enough to choke on. Nami had her climatact ready. Zoro's hand rested on Wado Ichimonji's hilt. Sanji's leg was coiled to strike. Usopp's slingshot was loaded, his hands trembling but aimed.
Miss All Sunday ignored them all, her focus solely on Vivi. "You have no idea what you're sailing toward. Crocodile isn't a warlord you can appeal to. He's a force of nature. A desert that consumes everything. Your resolve, your friends, your kingdom… he will grind them all to dust. And for what? A throne you'll never sit on again?"
"Shut up," Luffy said, his voice low.
Miss All Sunday finally looked at him. "Oh. The captain. The boy who dreams of being King. You've signed your crew's death warrant by taking this contract. Turn this ship around. Drop the princess on the nearest island. Sail away, and you might live to see another sunrise."
Luffy didn't blink. "We're going to Alabasta."
"Then you're fools."
"Maybe." Luffy adjusted his hat. "But we're her fools. Get off my ship."
Miss All Sunday's smile returned, colder than before. "As you wish. I've delivered my message." She began to walk calmly toward the railing, as if leaving a tea party. She stopped beside Vivi, who was shaking with rage and grief.
"A final gift, Princess," Miss All Sunday murmured, so only Vivi could hear. "For your hard work." She slipped a small, permanent den-den mushi into Vivi's numb hand. "It connects directly to Crocodile's office in Rainbase. Call him. Hear his voice. Understand the hopelessness. Then maybe you'll save these children you've dragged into your nightmare."
She stepped onto the railing. The water below began to swirl, not with waves, but with something darker. Planks, nails, debris from the sunken ship rose from the depths and assembled themselves beneath her feet, forming a macabre raft.
"The log pose for Alabasta is set," she called back, her raft already drifting away into the dark. "Sail straight. You'll reach him in a week. Use the time to make your peace."
And she was gone, swallowed by the night and the mist.
A heavy, suffocating silence fell on the Going Merry. The only sounds were the lap of waves and Vivi's ragged breathing. She looked down at the small, snail-like transponder in her hand, feeling its weight like a lead ball.
Nami broke the silence. "We need to change course. Now. She's obviously leading us into a trap."
"No." Vivi's voice was a hollow echo. She lifted her head, tears streaking through the grime on her face, but her eyes burned with a desperate, furious light. "We sail straight. To Alabasta."
"Vivi-chan, she's right, it's a—" Sanji started.
"SHE'S RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING!" Vivi screamed, the dam breaking. "She played me! I led Igaram to his death! I led you into this! And he's waiting for us! He's always been waiting!" She held up the den-den mushi, her finger hovering over the call button. "So let's not keep him waiting any longer."
Before anyone could move, she pressed the button.
Brrr-ring… Brrr-ring…
The sound was obscenely loud in the quiet night. The crew stared, paralyzed, as the call connected.
There was a click of static.
And then a voice, dry as ancient bones and deep as a canyon, slithered out of the speaker, wrapping around the deck and squeezing every heart silent.
"Princess. I was wondering when you'd call."
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