They threw a big party in Cricket's house.
Everyone was singing. Everyone was dancing. Masira and Shoujou took turns trying to lift Luffy over their heads while the rubber man stretched and laughed. Usopp told exaggerated stories of their adventures, gesturing wildly, while Chopper listened with stars in his eyes. Zoro and Sanji argued about something meaningless, their voices rising above the music. Nami was already calculating how much they could sell the gold for.
It was truly fun.
Even Mario let himself go.
He danced—badly, clumsily, with absolutely no rhythm—but he danced. He drank whatever Cricket poured into his glass, the liquid burning his throat and warming his chest. He laughed at jokes he didn't fully understand and sang along to songs he had never heard before. For one day, he wasn't a man from another world carrying the weight of foreknowledge. He was just Mario. Just another pirate celebrating with his crew.
Cricket showed them the treasures of gold he had found in the water—coins, jewelry, fragments of ancient metal, all glowing under the lamplight. Nami's eyes nearly popped out of her head. Usopp had to physically hold her back.
"Holy crap!" Mario suddenly shouted, nearly dropping his glass. "We need to shop for provisions!"
The room went quiet for a moment, then burst into laughter.
"Provisions?" Cricket hiccuped, swaying slightly. "Well, you could go to the town. It's not far from here—just on the east side of the island."
"But if you're going, be careful!" Masira warned, his face suddenly serious despite the flush of alcohol. "That town is bad."
"Real bad," Shoujou added, nodding vigorously.
"We can go and prepare your boat," Masira offered.
"Going Merry is a ship," Usopp corrected, puffing out his chest.
"Right… prepare your ship for tomorrow," Cricket said, taking another long drink.
Then he froze.
"Crap! I forgot! You need a South Bird!"
He almost instantly sobered up, his eyes snapping wide.
"A what kind of bird?" Luffy asked, tilting his head in confusion.
Cricket leaned forward, his voice dropping into lecture mode. "A South Bird has a strange ability—its head always points south. That's useful because you need to determine your position and direction while searching for the conditions that create the Knock Up Stream."
He explained everything—how to find one, how to handle it, what to feed it. The crew listened, some more attentively than others.
"So we need provisions and a bird," Sanji said, exhaling smoke. "Can the bird be used as provisions?"
"Don't be stupid!" Cricket snapped, suddenly fierce. "The bird is essential!"
Mario stood up, wobbling only slightly. "Well, that's simple. Sanji, Usopp, Robin, and Chopper—you go find the bird." He pointed at each of them in turn. "Chopper, you'll be really useful since you can talk to animals."
"Ye-Yes! I'll do my best!" Chopper saluted, his tiny hoof snapping to his forehead.
"The rest of us will go to the town and get provisions," Mario continued.
***
Everyone began getting ready, gathering their things, stretching, preparing to move. But before they could leave, Nami stepped in front of Luffy and Mario, her arms crossed, her expression deadly serious.
"OK, listen, you two!" She jabbed a finger at them. "I know you're both really excited, but you need to promise me—promise me—not to cause any problems in the town!"
"What do you mean?" Luffy asked, genuinely confused.
"I mean you, Luffy!" Nami knocked him on the head with her fist. "Your hot head has brought us enough problems! We don't need new ones!" She threw her arms wide dramatically. "We are going to a floating island in the sky!"
"So?" Luffy rubbed his head.
"So people don't need to know that!" Nami hissed.
"You just don't want anyone to steal the gold from you," Luffy mocked.
BONK.
Another fist met his skull.
"Shut up!" Nami growled.
Mario smiled, placing a hand over his heart. "I solemnly swear not to fight in the town."
"Good." Nami nodded, satisfied. "Now let's go!"
Mario's smile widened, turning just a little bit evil.
"I will not start a fight. But I will definitely end it."
Nami groaned. Luffy laughed. And somewhere in the background, Zorro muttered something about finally getting some action.
***
Jaya was not a big island, so the walk to the town took barely an hour.
As they approached, Mario felt something shift in his chest. For the first time since arriving in this world, he felt like he was walking into a real pirate town. Not a port. Not a village. A pirate town.
The noise hit them first—music spilling from open doorways, raucous laughter, angry shouting. People bustled everywhere, moving with purpose or stumbling with drink. Two men were fighting in the street, knives flashing, blood spraying across the cobblestones while a crowd gathered around them, cheering, placing bets, exchanging coins. Somewhere in the distance, gunshots rang out like punctuation marks.
Truly a lawless town.
"Man…" Mario looked around with genuine concern. "Do they even have a general store here?"
"What a dump," Zorro muttered, shaking his head in disgust.
"Let's get this over with so we can fly awa—"
Nami's hand clamped over Luffy's mouth before he could finish.
"SHHHH!" she hissed, her eyes darting around to make sure no one had heard. "I told you! No one needs to know!"
Mario scanned the crowd, his quartermaster's instincts cataloging threats and opportunities. The town was dangerous, but not in the way a battlefield was dangerous. This was the slow danger of pickpockets and poison, of smiling faces hiding knives, of deals that turned sour the moment you turned your back.
They moved deeper into the town, weaving through the chaos. It didn't take long before something happened.
A man on horseback collapsed in front of them.
"Huh, he fell down?" Luffy said, stepping closer.
"Hey, old man, are you alright?"
Mario's eyes narrowed.
Doc Q.
What are the freaking chances?
The man was thin, almost skeletal, his face pale as death. Blood trickled from his lips. His horse—a massive, sickly-looking beast—wheezed beneath him, its ribs visible through matted fur. Everything about them screamed disease and decay.
"You three…" The man's voice was a wet rasp. "I'm sorry… could you help me get back up?"
"Are you really okay?" Luffy asked, already helping him onto his horse.
"Thank you…" The man—Doc Q—strained visibly, his hands trembling. "Let's go, Stronger."
Cough.
"The horse is sick too?" Zorro asked, bewildered.
"Ahhh, thank you!" Doc Q's voice suddenly brightened, though his smile was unsettling on his gaunt face. "For your generosity, I'll give you a basket of apples. You know what they say—an apple a day keeps the doctor away."
He pulled a basket of ripe red apples from somewhere—Mario didn't see where—and thrust it toward Luffy.
"Neat! Apples!" Luffy reached for one, already drooling.
Mario's hand shot out.
SLAP.
The apple flew from Luffy's grip, arcing through the air. It landed on the pier nearby.
BOOM.
The explosion ripped through the wooden planks, sending splinters flying, leaving a smoking crater where the apple had been.
Everyone froze.
"WHA—?!"
"WHAT THE HELL?!" Zorro's katana was already drawn, his eye blazing with killing intent. "What are you playing at?!"
Mario didn't answer. His eyes were fixed on Doc Q.
The man was already riding away, his sickly horse somehow moving faster than it had any right to. He glanced back over his shoulder, his pale face splitting into a wide, unsettling grin.
"You really have either a very observant or a very lucky crewmate," he laughed, his voice echoing across the street.
And then he was gone, swallowed by the crowd.
"This town just ain't right…" Nami whispered, her face pale with fear.
Mario stared at the spot where Doc Q had disappeared, his heart pounding in his chest. That was one of Blackbeard's crew. One of the men who would eventually stand against everything Luffy believed in.
He turned to the others, his expression grim.
"Let's get what we came for and get back. No more detours. No more strangers."