"So, the hour X has come!" Luffy said and, without taking his eyes off the land that appeared on the horizon, he energetically punched his open palm several times.
It had been exactly two weeks since the whole family finally left the Baratie. They left together, accompanied by Sanji's loud sobbing. Despite his bravado, a few kind words from Zeff during their farewell — genuinely kind words, as a father bidding farewell to his son, perhaps even for the last time — were enough to make Sanji burst into tears like a little girl. And it wasn't just Sanji! Among the Baratie's staff, only Zeff shed a true 'manly tear,' but everyone else, following Sanji's example, cried as if they were a gang of little girls. Predictably, only Nami and Usopp were moved by this touching farewell, while the rest suppressed devilish smiles — they were clearly planning to remind Sanji of this day many times.
"Can you be more specific?" Nami asked nearby, in the boy's style.
The girl was dressed in a light dress that barely covered her thighs, paired with Greek sandals, whose straps went almost up to her knees. Around her neck, on a gold chain, hung a topaz in the shape of a small light-blue drop, matching the earrings with similar tiny topaz drops. However, for those in the know, the most notable feature of Nami's appearance was the worn-out straw hat resting on her luxurious hair, which cascaded down in a wave to her dress-covered bottom. Nami's beauty, already far beyond the normal limits, had taken another leap forward. This time, her transformation had happened even more quickly than the last time. If the first 'leap' took almost a month, this time three days were enough. And with each passing day, she managed to look even more dazzling than the day before. Her face, radiating happiness, made her even more attractive. The Goddess had evolved into a Supreme Goddess and didn't seem to be planning to stop there.
Poor Sanji, now sitting on his knees half a meter from Nami's leg, tongue hanging out, drooling profusely and crying tears of joy, couldn't take his adoring eyes off his perfection. The lovesick boy never stood a chance. Even Zoro, usually unfazed and accustomed to Nami's beauty, had found himself stunned several times over the past week: the guy would just freeze in place. Johnny and Yosaku, in turn, could barely contain their excitement at the thought of reaching the island soon, where they were sure to find available women: being so close to Nami made even the hair on the back of their necks stand on end, not to mention everything else. Only Usopp, like a prince from a fairy tale, was kept in check by his love for Kaya, whom he'd left at home. Although this didn't entirely save him from occasional mind collapses like Zoro's, but he definitely handled Nami's new evolution better than anyone else... except, predictably, for Luffy himself. The guy, who usually couldn't care less about anything, was once again indifferent... or at least, he convincingly pretended to be. But it was Sanji who got hit the hardest: one look at the transformed Nami had blown his mind so thoroughly that he hadn't been able to pull himself together for a whole week.
"To be specific, it's the last island in the East Blue!" Luffy pointed in the corresponding direction. "We absolutely must leave our mark on it! The King of the Pirates can't just slip away quietly, so this island needs to go up in flames!" Luffy clenched his fist in front of his face, his eyes literally burning with excitement.
"I'd like to object to that!" Nami frowned slightly.
"I meant it figuratively," Luffy quickly waved his hand in the air. "The main thing is to make as much noise as possible, everything else is minor. Besides, my beloved Orc told me that there's a pretty tough marine captain on this island, so we absolutely can't leave quietly. We've already caused enough trouble among the pirates, but the same can't be said for the marines. And that's completely unacceptable! Sure, your recent actions have drawn some attention, but there wasn't a single big shot among the marines Zoro wiped out. However, according to my beloved Orc, the strongest marine in the East Blue is in Loguetown... as the Pirate King, I can't ignore such a challenge!" Luffy dramatically pointed his finger towards the sky.
Of course, his passionate speech didn't move anyone. His family was already well aware that Luffy was planning to make to the headlines again or rather push them headlines. It had been over a month since the bounties for the 'Pirate Slayers' were announced, and the whole time the family had been boldly slacking off, not making any noise. Unsurprisingly, by now, their names had disappeared from most newspapers, and if they were mentioned at all, it was on the last pages. Luffy, predictably, was not okay with this situation. Moreover, judging by his overflowing enthusiasm, the rest of the family suspected that he was planning to make up for their recent idleness with a good 'show.'
"So what's the plan?" Johnny asked, unable to contain his curiosity... he believed it was better to know in advance what they needed to prepare for.
"I haven't decided yet" Luffy admitted honestly, which was extremely rare for him. "First, I need to talk to my beloved Orc, and then we'll see."
"The Fanger is in Loguetown?" Johnny asked in surprise.
"That city is his base... if you didn't know."
"Of course, I didn't! You never mentioned it! And why did he set up his base in a city where, according to him, the strongest marine in the East Blue lives?"
"Why not? He's not a pirate, there's no bounty on him, and the marines mainly deal with pirates and revolutionary army fighters, catching everyone else as an afterthought. So, it's even better for Orc to be under the wing of the strongest marine: he can run his business clean. No one will cause trouble, and if they do, they'll end up in the marine's prison themselves."
"Then at least give us a couple of hours head start before you start causing trouble," Yosaku requested sincerely. "Ryu and I have our own plans!"
"I can't promise anything!" Luffy said with a mischievous smile, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. "If something good happens to come my way, I won't miss my chance, but if not, well, I suppose I can give you three or four hours... but I wouldn't count on it too much if I were you!"
"You better try," Nami asked, "I'm planning to go shopping."
"Shopping?" Usopp perked up. "What kind? I also wanted to buy a few things for my experiments."
"Clothes shopping."
"Oh... no, I don't need clothes... although... maybe a little new clothing wouldn't hurt."
The young man looked over his brown jumpsuit with a critical eye. The jumpsuit itself was fine, but after nearly two months of training, Usopp had noticeably built-up muscle. Now, the long-nosed young man hardly resembled the scrawny figure he was just a few weeks ago. Of course, Usopp was still far from Zoro, and he definitely wasn't going to turn into the bulky monsters that Johnny and Yosaku had become. Still, Usopp had grown significantly from his former self, and his old clothes no longer fit him. Where the brown jumpsuit used to hang loosely on him, now Usopp wore it almost like a second skin. In any case, he really could use some new clothes.
"So, Zoro is coming with me, Yosaku and Ryu are together, and Usopp is with Nami and, as I understand, Sanji," Luffy said, with considerable doubt in his voice as he glanced at their family cook, who now looked more like a loyal puppy than a person.