"Rubber, rubber... Pendulum!"
East Blue, Syrup Village.
With one blood-soaked headbutt from Luffy, Kuro of a Thousand Plans, who had been posing as the butler Klahadore to seize the Kaya family's fortune, was finally defeated for good.
Seeing their captain fall, the small fry of the Black Cat Pirate crew quickly scattered. They fled back to their pirate ship and vanished across the sea in no time.
At the sight of that, Luffy, Zoro, and Nami, who had been completely drained by the battle, finally collapsed to the ground.
"Thank you so much!"
During the battle against the Buggy Pirate crew, Nami had mostly kept her own little scheme in mind. She wanted to use Luffy and the others to eliminate a pirate who threatened the East Blue, so she had more or less stayed on the sidelines the whole time.
But this time, Nami had truly thrown herself into the fight, and she had even gotten injured because of it.
As for Usopp, the one who exposed Kuro and served as the protagonist of this story, he had successfully protected his beloved Kaya and joined the Straw Hat Pirate crew, becoming one of its members.
At this point, the Straw Hat Pirate crew, which had originally consisted of Luffy alone, had finally grown to three members.
Swordsman: Roronoa Zoro.
Sniper: Usopp.
No... wait. There was one more companion.
After resting for the night, the three members of the Straw Hat Pirate crew were led by Merry to the seaside the next morning.
A fast sailing ship appeared before them, with a triangular sail on the mizzenmast, a central rudder at the stern, and a sheep's head at the bow.
Usopp asked in confusion, "Mr. Merry, what is this?"
Merry, still wrapped in bandages, looked at the three of them with gratitude and said gently, "This is the Going Merry. I designed and built it myself when I was young. The style is a little old, but it's definitely a good ship. Mr. Luffy, Mr. Zoro, and Usopp, thank you for defeating the Black Cat Pirate crew and saving the village and Kaya. So, if you don't mind, I'd like to give this ship to you."
Luffy's eyes lit up at once. Zoro's eyes widened too, while Usopp looked completely stunned.
"R-Really?"
After all, he had only learned yesterday that his captain, who wanted to become the pirate king, did not even have a ship yet.
"Of course. This isn't just my decision. It's Miss Kaya's as well. Oh, and I've already placed everything you'll need for the voyage on board."
The moment Merry finished speaking, Luffy happily jumped onto the sheep's head at the bow of the Merry and stroked it.
"Thank you so much, Merry. What a great name!"
In that instant, the Straw Hat Pirate crew's fourth companion, Merry, joined the crew.
And so, the three of them got busy, boarding the ship to get familiar with their new companion.
But just then, hurried footsteps suddenly came from the distance.
Everyone turned around and saw Kaya running over in a panic, panting heavily, with three little brats protecting her.
"N-No good, Mr. Luffy, Usopp... haah... haah..."
Everyone immediately sensed that something was wrong. Usopp looked at the girl he loved, jumped off the ship in a panic, and asked, "What is it? What happened, Kaya? Did the Black Cat Pirate crew come back?"
Kaya gasped for breath as she said, "N-No, it's Nami. Something happened at Nami's home... After you left, she disappeared without saying goodbye. I had someone investigate, and that's when I found out that Nami's mother, Miss Bell-mère, was arrested by the Marines three days ago and sent to the military court at East Blue Headquarters..."
"What?!"
Everyone present froze at those words. Even Zoro, who had always called Nami a stupid woman, looked shocked.
"How is that possible? Isn't Miss Bell-mère a retired Marine officer? Why would she be..."
Kaya glanced at Luffy, then clenched the hem of her dress and gathered her courage.
"It was that Marine Captain named Nezumi. He used Nami's connection with pirates as an excuse to falsely accuse Miss Bell-mère of having ties to pirates, so..."
Kaya did not say it outright, but the three of them already understood.
Aside from Luffy and the others, who else could those pirates be?
"I know Nami left alone because she didn't want to drag you into this, Mr. Luffy. But I'm worried..."
At that moment, Merry's face turned pale as he said from the side, "That Marine named Nezumi has always hated Miss Bell-mère. This time, he'll definitely do everything he can to frame her... Mr. Luffy, what should we do?"
Luffy gripped the brim of his straw hat, then raised his head and looked firmly at his companions.
"Of course we're going to save Nami!"
At once, Zoro looked at his captain with pride and a fierce, unruly smile. Usopp was nervous, but he still mustered his courage.
Kaya and Merry, who had been panicking, calmed down as well.
Kaya said earnestly, "Then I'll leave Nami to you, Mr. Luffy, Mr. Zoro, Usopp. I'll help with anything you need..."
Merry's expression turned serious.
"Then we need to discuss this carefully. East Blue Headquarters may not compare to bases in other seas, but it still has no shortage of skilled fighters. If Miss Nami is unharmed in the end, that would be best. But if something really has happened, rescuing her with only the three of you, Mr. Luffy, will be extremely difficult..."
Once he said that, everyone realized how serious the situation was.
Usopp trembled with nerves. He had not expected that right after joining a pirate crew, he would already have to break into a Marine base.
But it did nothing to shake Luffy's resolve. His expression remained firm.
Seeing that, Zoro seemed to think of something and made up his mind.
Just then, Merry continued.
"Mr. Luffy, the three of you alone definitely won't be enough. But if Mr. Sanji is willing to help, then things may be different... However..."
"Sanji?"
Kaya seemed to remember something, and her eyes lit up.
Usopp, on the other hand, asked with a mix of curiosity and faint jealousy, "Who's this Sanji guy?"
Kaya explained, "Sanji is a very gentle gentleman. He works at the floating restaurant Baratie as a chef!"
"A chef?"
Everyone froze, clearly unable to understand how a chef could help.
"It's like this," Merry explained. "Although Mr. Sanji works as a chef at the floating restaurant Baratie and seems very ordinary, his older sister is incredibly powerful. She's the boss of the Rainbow Business Alliance under the Rainbow Country in the North Blue. If she's willing to help, then everything will be much easier..."
Hearing that, Zoro looked slightly surprised.
Usopp, however, looked puzzled and asked, "Um, Mr. Merry, what exactly are the Rainbow Country and the Rainbow Business Alliance?"
I was in a very low mood yesterday and barely slept all night. When I woke up this morning, I didn't feel like writing at all. I even had the impulse to just drop the book entirely. But after thinking it over, I decided to pull myself together. Maybe, as people online say, people really shouldn't let their emotions control them, especially when it comes to faith. We should remain firm and keep believing. And to think I'm even a Party member.
I was born as one of those so-called small-town exam-takers, in a very poor little county in the northwest. Of course, my family's efforts and my own played a part, but the fact is that my family and I truly benefited from the opportunities brought by the country's development to get where we are today. Our standard of living has visibly improved. I still vaguely remember that when I was little, my family ate potatoes and noodles at every meal. I had no idea what seafood tasted like. We could only eat meat during the New Year, when relatives slaughtered a pig and gave us some. On normal days, a plate of stir-fried glass noodles with eggs already tasted amazing. Every New Year, when relatives from big cities came back and brought me a pack of Want Want Snow Biscuits, I would be overjoyed.
But now, well, there's no need to say much. We eat meat at every meal. Even though my family is still fairly frugal, we can buy it whenever we want. As for Want Want Snow Biscuits, I just bought a whole box to snack on. So after feeling extremely stifled and venting a little, I still have to keep moving forward. Just like this book, I'll keep writing. Work hard and keep fighting!