Chapter Text
It turns out that Usopp went up the hill to visit a sickly rich girl named Kaya.
They meet her and two of her butlers. Kaya is really nice, but one of her butlers is so rude, especially to Nami and Usopp. He calls both of them all sorts of names, like dirty fishgirl and that bilge rat’s bastard son. Luffy doesn’t know how Nami kept a neutral expression on her face the whole time. Zoro had to hold him back from doing anything stupid. It was satisfying to see Usopp punch Klahadore, even though they all had to leave the premises after that.
As for Kaya’s other butler…
“He might be a mink,” Nami says as they walk back down the hill. “Or part mink.”
“Huh? He looks like he’s part sheep,” Luffy says.
“What? No, minks are… how do I explain it to you? Minks are kind of like fishmen, but with mammals. Nonhuman mammals. I think he’s part sheep mink.”
“I don’t know what you guys are talking about,” Usopp says, “but Merry’s human. It’s like how some people have multicolored eyes, or are super tall or short. His horns are just a rare physical feature.”
Nami shrugs. “I don’t know any minks, but I do know a man with rodent whiskers on his cheeks. Maybe he and Merry are fully human, or maybe that’s just what they claim. Not that I blame them. It’s probably safer that way.”
“Ugh. Klahadore has always been like that,” Usopp says. “I guess he finally snapped today.”
“That butler seems familiar to me, for some reason,” Zoro says.
They run into the kids again, who apologize to Nami with a bit of help from Usopp. She forgives them, and they run off once more, but not out of fear this time.
At the beach, they see… Klahadore? How did he get down there so fast? Apparently his real name is Kuro, and he’s actually a pirate captain! They listen in horror as he and a strange man lay out his plan to kill Kaya tomorrow. He accused Usopp of only befriending Kaya for her fortune, but isn’t that what he did? What a hypocrite!
The four of them sneak away, Zoro pulling Luffy along, to avoid getting discovered. Usopp wants to run and warn everyone. Nami stops him.
“That might not be necessary,” she says. “His crew is anchored just offshore, right? I can probably sink them. Save us all some trouble.”
“How?” Luffy asks.
“I’ll take their ship’s rudder off, for starters.”
Oh! She’s going to sneak up on them underwater. He was wondering where they were going to find cannonballs.
“Really?” Usopp asks. “Aren’t you scared? They’re pirates, and you’ll be alone with them!”
Nami smirks. “They’re human pirates. I have the home field advantage.”
“We still need to deal with Kuro and his first mate,” Zoro says.
“Yeah! Let’s do that right now!” Luffy says.
This time Usopp stops him. “We can’t,” he says. “I hate to admit it, but no one will believe us—me—if we attack Klahadore for what seems like no reason. We have to catch him in the act first.”
They left their boat on the beach at the other side of the island. The sun is starting to set. Nami takes her boots off and puts her bag away before she walks into water. Once she’s deep enough, she does a little flip and disappears.
Zoro agrees to stay behind and wait for Nami to return. Luffy and Usopp plan to sneak into Kaya’s mansion.
The two of them make it just in time. Kuro couldn’t wait until morning. The moon will be out for hours still, but he’s attacking Merry already!
Luffy bursts through the window, with Usopp not too far behind him. They surprise Kuro, and give him the walloping that Luffy has wanted to give him all day.
They end up breaking a lot of expensive–looking furniture, and waking pretty much everyone in the mansion. Merry is badly injured, but alive, and he vouches for Luffy and Usopp. The village doctor is on her way. Kaya thanks Luffy, and gives Usopp a fierce hug.
It’s almost dawn when they see Zoro and Nami again. The two of them have taken care of the rest of the Black Cat Pirates. Kaya insists that they all stay for breakfast, at the very least, and that it’ll be absolutely no problem having guest rooms prepared for them.
“Thank you so much, Kaya. We’ll have breakfast for sure,” Nami says, glancing over to a smiling Luffy, “but we need to leave before the Marines come to arrest Kuro.”
When Kaya learns that they don’t have a ship, she gives them one! The Going Merry, named after its designer! He explains the rigging to Nami, while Luffy and Zoro convince Usopp to join the crew, and not as their captain.
Usopp promises Kaya that when he returns, he’ll have even better stories to tell her. Real stories of his real adventures.
They say their goodbyes, then off they go.
Nami points out a large rock formation as they begin to pass by it. “The Black Cat Pirates were anchored over there,” she tells them. “I’ll be right back.”
She takes a few steps backwards, then with a running start, she dives off the port side of their new ship. She didn’t take off her new sandals. Kaya gave them to her as a gift after she mentioned wanting to buy a pair before they left.
Her head pops out of the water again a couple minutes later, and she calls for someone to lower the rope ladder down to her. With a huge grin on her face, Nami shows them the treasure chest that she picked up from the wreckage.
They bring the chest below decks to the aft storage room. Between it, the fore storage room, and the galley, Kaya’s servants have stocked the Going Merry with everything they could possibly need while they’re at sea.
“This room must be the captain’s quarters,” Nami says, looking around. “Not that the rest of the ship isn’t nice, but this room is very nicely furnished. There’s even a real bed in here.”
Usopp laughs. “Of course! Only the best for the Great Captain Usopp!”
Luffy can’t think of anything lonelier than having his own room. “I’m the captain,” he says, “and I want to sleep where everyone else is sleeping.”
“Wait, you’re so right, actually,” Usopp says. “I’m a man of the people! I will also sleep where everyone else sleeps.”
Zoro has already left in search of the crew’s quarters.
Nami rolls her eyes at the two of them. “Suit yourselves. I’ll take this room, then, because I like having my own personal space.”
The guys pick out hammocks in the other room. With their sleeping arrangements settled, it’s time for lunch!
Luffy is put in charge of peeling and cutting the potatoes and carrots. Usopp has the celery, onions, and leeks, and Zoro has the beef. Nami, hovering over the stove, stirs ingredients into a large pot, adding more as they’re brought to her. Soon enough, the four of them enjoy a hearty stew together in the galley.
After cleaning up, they head above deck again. Luffy, Zoro, and Usopp pass the afternoon painting Luffy’s jolly roger on the mainsail and some flags. Nami stays nearby, working on her map of the Gecko Islands and surrounding waters.
She smiles when Luffy shows her one of the finished flags. “That straw hat really means a lot to you, huh? I’m glad that I was able to repair it.”
For dinner, they make sandwiches. Luffy and Usopp dare each other to stack theirs higher and higher without dropping anything, much to the amusement of Zoro and Nami.
Luffy is taking the first watch tonight, so obviously he’s sitting on the Going Merry’s sheep figurehead.
“Be careful,” Nami tells him. “It’ll just be you on deck. No one will notice your absence until it’s too late.”
“I promise I won’t fall,” Luffy says. He wraps his arms around and around the figurehead, then grins at her. “See?”
Nami’s mouth twitches as she tries not to laugh. “Alright. Have a good night, then.”
“Wait! Which island are we going to next?”
She turns to look at him again. “The next island? Well… there should be a floating restaurant in this region of the East Blue, actually. Their food is really good, or so I’ve heard. What do you say?”
Does Luffy want to eat at a floating restaurant?! How is that even a question? “Yeah! Let’s do it!”
They keep the rope ladder hanging over Merry’s starboard side as they sail, so that Nami can come and go as she pleases. One afternoon, she returns from her swim with important news.
“There are two sailing vessels ahead of us. The first is a Marine battleship, but that’s fine. We’ll change course to avoid it. The second is a tiny fishing boat. It has no affiliation of any kind, from what I can tell, and its occupants could use a little assistance, if that’s something we want to offer.”
Luffy agrees to help the strangers, out of curiosity more than anything else.
“Oh,” Zoro says as they pull up alongside the boat. “I recognize those guys. Johnny! What’s wrong with Yosaku?”
“He’s dying, man, and I don’t know why!”
“I do,” Nami mutters. “That idiot hasn’t been eating enough fruits or vegetables. He’s showing the early symptoms of scurvy.”
Zoro helps Johnny carry Yosaku onto the Merry. When Johnny sees Nami, he whistles. “Damn, bro, you really are a pirate now.”
Nami’s big orange eyes narrow to tiny slits. “So the two of you are bounty hunters?” she asks, keeping her tone light.
“I used to work with them from time to time,” Zoro says. He gives Johnny a weird look.
Usopp also looks at him oddly. “What happened to you guys?” he asks. Johnny starts telling him the story.
While Johnny squeezes their barrel of limes into juice for Yosaku to drink, Nami pulls Luffy and Zoro aside.
“They can’t stay with us,” she says. “They’re bounty hunters. We’re pirates.”
“Okay,” Luffy says, a big smile on his face. He’s happy that Nami considers herself part of the crew now.
Zoro feels slightly more conflicted about leaving Johnny and Yosaku behind. “They have their own boat,” he says, “and they can stay on it, but we should at least tow them to the restaurant. From there, they can find another ship to hitch a ride on while Yosaku recovers.”
“You’re not the least bit worried about them turning you in?” Nami asks him.
“Why would they? There’s no bounty on my head. There’s no bounty on any of our heads. Besides,” he says, smirking now, “I can take both of them in a fight.”
“None of our heads have bounties yet,” Nami says, her voice bitter. “You’re right. Of course they wouldn’t. At the end of the day, money is the only thing that matters to some people.”
“Nami? Is there something wrong?” Luffy asks.
“Nothing’s wrong, Luffy,” she snaps. “We’ll take them to the Baratie. After that, they’re on their own.”