"Ahhh~"
"What a perfectly cloudless day~"
Jin lay comfortably on a deck chair, soaking up the sun.
He picked up the specially mixed drink beside him, took a sip, and let out a satisfied sigh.
"Seriously… drinking something while sunbathing is the best."
"Hey!"
"Jin, come play with us~"
"Huh?"
He lifted his sunglasses and glanced toward the four idiots happily playing on the swing in the distance.
"I'm not interested in that kind of swing," he said lazily.
"You guys go ahead."
With that, he waved them off and lay back down, closing his eyes again.
"Tch, Jin really doesn't know how to enjoy life~"
"Yeah, yeah."
"Forget him, let's keep playing!"
"Merry—takeoff!"
"Okay!!"
Pushed high into the air by Luffy, Merry's face lit up with excitement.
Her little hands waved wildly, as if she were trying to catch the feeling of flying.
Then—
She flew straight toward Jin.
"Jin, catch meee!!"
"Hey—!"
Jin's eyes flew open.
Seeing Merry rushing toward him at full speed, he jumped up on instinct and caught her.
"Hehe, you caught me! That was fun!"
Jin: ???
After setting her down, Jin turned toward Luffy and roared with a shark-toothed glare.
"LUFFY—what kind of swing game is this?!"
"Who throws people like that?!"
"That's what makes it fun!"
"Exactly!"
"Jin, you just don't know how to play."
As he spoke, Luffy even gave him a look of pure disdain—like Jin was the dumb one here.
Jin: ...
Why do I suddenly really want to punch him?
Damn it—I'm barely holding back.
"Merry, come play again!"
"Okay, coming!"
"Next it's my turn—my turn!" Chopper shouted.
"Jin, you have to catch me too!"
Watching Chopper bounce with excitement, Jin deadpanned.
"So I'm part of your game now?"
"I never should've put my deck chair here."
He'd deliberately chosen a spot that wouldn't interfere with everyone else—
and still got dragged into it.
Just then, Sanji walked out with a cigarette in his mouth and glanced at them.
"Oi, since you're all so energetic, go fish the octopus out of the tank."
"I'll make an octopus feast today."
"YEAH!"
"Takoyaki! Takoyaki!"
The group immediately ran to the top of the water tank, opened the metal lid, and stared down at the octopus swimming inside.
Merry tried reaching in—but the little octopus were far too slippery.
"I can't catch them," she said, troubled.
"Usopp, do you have any tools or something?"
"Tools? Watch this!"
Luffy was about to slam his arm in—
but Usopp stopped him.
"You're a Devil Fruit user, idiot. Touching seawater is suicide."
"Leave it to me!"
He flashed a sparkling grin and gave a thumbs-up.
"Usopp's Special Arsenal—online!"
He ran back into the cabin.
When he returned, everyone froze.
Special flippers.
Underwater goggles.
A swim cap.
The full professional setup.
"Today, I'll show you what a true underwater fishing master looks like!"
With twin scoops in hand, Usopp laughed loudly and dove straight into the tank.
"Usopp is… doing what exactly?" Nami asked blankly from the dining area.
"That's obvious," Robin smiled gently.
"He's catching octopus."
"He really comes up with the strangest things."
Sometimes useless—
but sometimes surprisingly effective.
"Whatever." Nami shook her head and turned to Robin.
"Robin… do you remember what Granny Kokoro said before?"
"You mean the ghost ship?"
"…Yeah. I'm a little worried."
Hundreds of ships disappeared there every year.
If they ran into that, things could get ugly.
"Worrying won't change anything," Robin said calmly.
"Besides… Nami, we're strong."
"No matter how strange that sea is, we can push through."
In her eyes, no ocean could stop the Straw Hat Pirates.
"I know, but I'm worried about gh—"
Before she could finish, Nami noticed something in the tank.
Usopp had been grabbed by several octopus and was struggling violently underwater.
"Usopp!!"
"That's bad," Robin said.
"With that many octopus, he can't surface."
She immediately stood up and tried to use her Devil Fruit to pull him out—
but seawater heavily weakened her power.
The flower-formed arms appeared for only a moment before collapsing.
Her expression darkened.
"I can't pull him up."
As if sensing danger, the octopus instinctively released ink.
The entire tank turned pitch black.
"Quick—go get Jin!"
At times like this, only he could help.
They rushed out and shouted:
"Jin! Hurry—save Usopp!"
"Usopp?"
Jin stood up from his chair and removed his sunglasses.
"What happened?"
"He's trapped underwater by octopus!"
"…Trapped?"
He glanced toward the tank.
He'd heard Usopp dive earlier—
so the idiot really got beaten up by octopus?
With a Body Flicker, Jin vanished.
"Relax. I'll get him out."
"Water Release: Water Tornado!"
WHOOOOM—
The water inside the tank began spinning violently.
A powerful vortex shot straight upward—
dragging both the octopus and Usopp into the air!
Inside the spinning water column, Usopp twirled like a human top.
"Gglub—glub—glub—!!"
At that moment, Usopp truly experienced the meaning of "soaring freely."
As the water dispersed, Usopp began falling.
Jin jumped up, grabbed the spinning Usopp midair, and landed steadily on the deck.
Usopp collapsed to his knees, retching nonstop—his eyes completely unfocused.
"Thank goodness…" Nami sighed.
"Jin's Water Release worked."
"So cool!!"
Luffy and Chopper stared with shining eyes.
"We want to try too!"
Jin: ...
Since when did being attacked by ninjutsu sound fun?
"You two are Devil Fruit users—behave yourselves," Nami snapped.
"Who asks to be blasted by seawater?!"
"HEY, Jin!!"
Usopp suddenly snapped back to life and shoved his nose right into Jin's face.
"You trying to kill me with ninjutsu?!"
Using ninjutsu to fish him out—
who even thinks of that?!
For a moment there, he thought his mom had come to take him away.
"I controlled the power on purpose," Jin said calmly.
"Otherwise, dizziness would be the least of your problems."
A full-strength Water Tornado could shred someone apart.
And if it were any stronger, the tank itself would've been destroyed.
"…I see."
Usopp paused, then said honestly,
"Thanks."
"No problem."
"These octopus should be enough, right?" Luffy said, squatting down to stare at them.
"They look delicious."
"That's all of them," Jin replied.
"I pulled every octopus out in one go."
"Then say that earlier!"
"You forgetting I can use ninjutsu isn't my fault," Jin shrugged.
Who knew Usopp would jump in just to show off?
Thankfully they were small octopus—
if they'd been huge ones, he'd have been dinner.
Usopp: ...
He couldn't even argue.
He really had forgotten about the ninjutsu—
too busy trying to look cool in front of everyone.
"Take the octopus to the kitchen," Sanji said.
"Got it!"
They quickly cleaned up the deck and placed the octopus into the large barrel Usopp had brought.
After setting it down, Usopp wiped his sweat.
"That's it, right, Sanji?"
"Yeah. Leave the rest to me."
"Hey—guys," Zoro suddenly said.
"There's something in the sea."
"Something?"
Everyone rushed back onto the deck.
"Don't tell me it's another sail-less pirate ship…"
"What?!" Usopp paled.
"Bounty hunters again?!"
"Did they target us again?!"
Chopper trembled, imagining his head being collected for a bounty.
"Bounty hunters?" Nami's eyes sparkled.
"Then that means more income, right?!"
"Nami…"
"Why be scared? That's money!" she said excitedly.
"We got six hundred million last time—how much this time?!"
Usopp stared at her in disbelief.
Why does she become fearless the moment money's involved?!
Is the coward trio officially disbanded?!
"Doesn't look like a ship," Franky said, peering over the side.
"Looks more like… a box."
"Not bounty hunters?!"
Usopp instantly revived and ran over.
"Hey—there's writing on it!"
"Tre… treasure?!"
"A treasure chest?!"
"Whoa!" Luffy said.
"Maybe it fell from a ship!"
"Luffy, grab it!" Nami shouted.
"Rubber—Treasure Grab!"
WHIP—!
"Got it!"
As Luffy reeled it in, Jin narrowed his eyes.
"…Does something this good really happen?"
"…Yeah. Figures."
The moment they saw it clearly, Nami's excitement vanished.
"Nami, you know what this is?" Usopp asked.
"Yeah. It's called a drifting offering."
She pointed at the markings.
"'Before the Sea God's Sacred Treasure.'"
"People throw these into the sea to pray for safe voyages."
"Usually filled with food or alcohol."
"So it's a wine barrel," Franky muttered.
"Most likely."
"Tch. That's boring," Usopp said.
"Wait—if we take the gods' offering, won't we be cursed?!" Merry gasped.
"What—cursed?!"
Chopper's face turned green.
"Idiot! That'd be divine punishment!"
"That's even scarier…"
"I don't believe in gods," Zoro smirked.
"Besides… it's not like we haven't beaten one before."
Everyone instantly recalled Skypiea.
That so-called "god" who got knocked out by Luffy in one punch.
Usopp immediately felt relieved.
"It's fine," Nami said.
"As long as we pray first, it's okay to drink."
"And the longer it drifts at sea—"
"—the better the wine tastes."
"Then we HAVE to try it!"
"Lucky day," Franky laughed.
"Just follow the ritual," Robin said calmly.
"After drinking, refill it with new wine."
"Got it!"
"O Sea God!" Luffy laughed.
"I'll take this delicious wine now!"
"Prayer complete!"
"Open it, Luffy—hurry!"
"Okay, okay."
Luffy untied the rope and lifted the lid.
"Let me see—"
BANG!!
A beam of light shot straight into the sky!
BOOOOM!!
A red flare exploded overhead, brighter than sunlight.
"A signal flare…" Robin said grimly.
"Robin… does that mean something?"
"I hope I'm wrong," she replied softly.
"Otherwise… we've probably been marked."
Jin frowned.
"So it was a trap after all."
The only question was—
who had targeted them this time?
Bounty hunters?
Or pirates?
Nami suddenly looked up, sensing the air pressure.
"…Everyone—listen."
"In five minutes, it's going to rain."
"We need to leave—now."
"Merry! Two o'clock direction—straight ahead!"
"Okay!"
Trusting Nami completely, Merry instantly took control of the ship and turned toward the indicated heading.
Five minutes later—
The sky darkened.
Rain poured down violently.
"She's unreal…" Jin muttered.
"Best navigator in the world. No debate."
"Compliments later," Nami said firmly.
"Let's get out of here first."
"Got it!"
Robin glanced back toward the flare's direction, brows slightly furrowed.
"Let's hope it was just a prank…"
Otherwise—
Another hard battle might be waiting.
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