The bright moon hung over Syrup Town like a torch in the dark, casting a cold, silver glare across the quiet streets. Boots clattered softly against the cobblestone path. A sudden, biting gust of wind pierced through Luffy's red vest, making him shudder. "Oooh! It's cold out here!" Luffy grumbled, pulling his straw hat tight against his head.
They were well past the town square now. As the trio navigated the winding avenues, the only sound was the low, rhythmic hum of the gas-lit lamps lining the sidewalks. Nami's eyes darted continuously between the pitch-black alleys and the looming stone facades of the grand manor houses. "Hey, long-nose… can I ask you something?" Nami asked, breaking the quiet.
"Sure, what's up?" Usopp replied, balancing his shoulder bag.
"Do you know anything about 'The Beast' those locals were whispering about back on the road earlier?" Nami asked, her brow furrowing. Usopp froze in his tracks for a brief second before quickening his pace to catch up, his lips lifted into a sharp smirk. "Oh... you mean the Beast of Port Wagon? That's no ordinary rumor. It's a local ghost story people tell their children or even to themselves. Every two years, someone on a random street in the town was found dead, completely butchered."
He shuddered, pulling his sash tighter against the chill. "Whenever the Marines or the local watch try to snoop around and lock down the district, the killer just changes targets. It used to be peasants and dockworkers on the lower fringes, but now they're moving up. That dead lawyer is the latest of its victims!"
"Four slashes," Nami muttered, her eyes narrowing as the details clicked in her head. "Always four?"
"Yeah," Usopp nodded, his voice dropping to a harsh whisper. "Clean, deep cuts. Like the work of a beast! The police locked the entire town until they arrested and hanged the town's chief physician! They say they found a mechanical claw in his basement, along with a dead animal head!"
"Hanged?" Nami paused, a sharp memory surfacing in her mind. "Wait... you mean Doctor Hugward? The Butcher of Syrup?"
"Yes! That's him!"
"I read about that in the World Economy Newspaper," Nami murmured. "I had no idea that execution happened right here."
"It shook the entire island," Usopp said, shaking his head. "Journalists and reporters from all over the East Blue flooded the port to interview the locals. Hard to believe it's already been... what, three years since they executed him?"
Luffy glanced sideways at Nami and Usopp, a small, teasing smirk cutting through his cheeks. "You two sure get chatty when it comes to murder cases, huh?" Nami rolled her eyes, turning her attention back toward the road ahead. "What about you, Luffy? Did you ever read about that case in the papers?" asked Usopp, looking behind him.
Luffy picked his nose with a pinky finger, staring up at the moon with a blank, unbothered expression. "Nah. Never heard of it." A few paces ahead, the alleyway ground to a sudden halt. Strips of bright yellow caution tape stretched taut across the narrow mouth of the dark passage—the very spot where Zoro had been cornered hours earlier. Half a dozen iron-rimmed police carriages lined the street, their heavy lanterns casting long, flickering bars of light against the brick walls while a wall of armed guards stood post, rifles held tight against their chests.
"So, what now?" Usopp asked. The other two remained speechless as they stared at the collection of police.
"So, here is the plan. We are going to get there and scoop some information about what happened." Nami walked forward, facing the two oblivious men.
"Luffy, do not act any stupid here. We are solving crimes, not punching people in the face here." Luffy quietly raised his hand and gave a thumbs up. The three walked closer, seeing a bunch of police walking through the place, as some were enveloped in white clothing throughout their body, along with dyed gloves.
In the middle of the investigation, enveloped by the group of white-covered men and police officers, is a man. He wore a wide-brimmed hat tilted low over his brow and a pair of tinted, round spectacles perched on the bridge of his long nose. Beneath his chin dangled a strange, tightly coiled goatee that spiraled down like a corkscrew. He held a leather-bound ledger close to his face, his gloved thumb tracing a line of dark, dried blood smeared across the open parchment. A white-clad man quickly stepped in front of him, holding a metal tray in front of him.
"Doctor Djan, we found this ring near the body. The investigation team also recovered several items over here," the female investigator said, extending her hand toward a cluster of white-suited forensics technicians kneeling on the cobblestones. Beneath them, a jagged chalk outline mirrored the exact pose of the corpse still lying cold against the dirt. Dark, tacky blood pooled within the lines, surrounding a series of strange, deliberate geometric shapes drawn into the stone around the victim's head.
"What else do we have?" Djan asked, his voice low and flat.
"The victim has been identified as Attorney Consti Totian," the girl explained, consulting her notepad. "Estimated time of death is nine thirty-seven PM..." While she spoke, Djan snapped a pair of tight latex gloves over his hands with a sharp, rubbery click. Kneeling beside the corpse, he traced his fingers down the length of the victim's torso, reading the stiffening flesh like a ledger. His hand stopped dead over a tear in the bespoke wool suit. He pressed down. His gloved index finger sank smoothly through the fabric, diving deep into the wet cavity beneath. He altered his angle midway, feeling the trajectory of the wound through severed muscle.
"Five inches deep," Djan murmured, withdrawing his finger with a faint squelch. His hands moved through the body. Pressing, probing, and measuring every flaw in the tissue his finger would feel. His fingertips tapped the crushed jaw, slid over the torn flesh of the left thigh, and dug into a gaping puncture at the base of the skull. Standing up, he peeled off one glove, tossing it into a disposal bag.
"Three distinct entry points," Djan said, his voice dropping into a rhythmic, methodical tempo.
"A primary strike to the lower back, a defensive puncture through the left thigh, and a clean, fatal plunge into the back of the neck."
"A fatal plunge into the back of the neck?" The young officer murmured, but Djan continued. He stepped back, raising his eyes to the brick wall behind the body. His long arm stretched toward the dark, dried crimson painted across the mortar.
"Look at the velocity," he instructed, sweeping his hand along an imaginary line in the air.
"High-impact arterial spray. It casts upward and arcs sharply to the left, elevated at forty-five degrees. Mr. Totian wasn't executed on his knees. He was ambushed from behind, right here under that lamp over there." Djan lowered his stance, tracking a trail of heavy, elliptical drops cast across the cobblestones. He mimicked the victim's frantic movement with a subtle shift of his shoulders.
"The back entry punctured a lung, but Totian didn't drop," Djan continued, his eyes tracing the chaotic cross-hatching of blood on the stone. "He spun around. He fought back. Notice the secondary cast-off lines radiating outward in a starburst pattern? That's the killer swinging his blade repeatedly while dodging Totian's wild punches."
Djan stepped right over the chalk outline, pointing a finger directly at the fractured brickwork at the base of the wall. "Totian takes a blade to the thigh, staggers backward, and cracks his parietal bone right against the masonry. Stunned. Paralyzed."
Djan suddenly lunged forward three rapid steps toward the female investigator, staggering her aback as she gasped. "BUT… He tried to escape! He tried to run, but as blood loss started to conquer his body, he collapsed right... exactly... on this spot." He jabbed his finger dramatically down at the body beneath him.
"The killer steps over him..." Djan drove a single finger down toward the neck of the chalk outline, "...and finished the job."
"But Doctor Djan… the authorities found a prime suspect nearby, and he's a famous swordsman named Roronoa Zoro, a bounty hunter," the girl stammered, pointing a trembling pencil at the corpse. "And... our team didn't find three entry points. Look at his back—it's four long, parallel gouges, like a beast's claw. There isn't a single puncture on his neck, sir. No exit hole, no throat wound, no..."
Djan froze mid-gesture. Slowly, his posture went limp, his arms dangling like a puppet with cut strings. He turned his head toward the investigator with a sickening, joint-cracking pop, his face contorting into an uncomfortable, twitching frown behind his round, tinted spectacles. He leaned down, peering straight over the brim of his hat into the young officer's eyes.
SNAP. The sound of his fingers echoed sharply against the narrow alley walls. A ripple passed over the female officer's vision. Her pupils dilated instantly, blowing out into wide, glassy black circles. The air around her seemed to warp. Right before her eyes, the four long, bloody gouges tearing across the victim's spine vanished as she blinked. Then, a new, freshly wound pops up to what Djan has said: Neck, tight, and the other body part.
"W-What was I...?" She rubbed her temples, staring down at her pad in confusion. "T-That's not what we saw..."
Driven by a sudden wave of panic, she hurried over to a white-suited examiner kneeling nearby. "Clark, look at this! Quick!"
The technician pushed himself up, wiping his brow with the back of a gloved hand. "What is it?"
"Dr. Djan says the victim has deep punctures in his neck, thigh, and back... but earlier, didn't we both document four massive slashes across his spine? Like he was mauled by a wild animal?"
"Four slashes?" Clark blinked, staring at her like she had lost her mind. He pointed down at the corpse. "What are you talking about? There's a clean puncture through the base of his skull, an entry wound on his thigh, and three stabs in his lower back. Where on earth did you get four slashes?"
"B-But... we drew the diagrams! We both saw—"
Before the girl could finish, Djan glided forward, his gloved hand settling onto her shoulder with heavy, suffocating precision. His fingers dug in just enough to anchor her in place.
"I believe our lead investigator is simply exhausted," Djan purred, offering the technician a thin, reassuring smile. He leaned in close to the girl's ear, his voice dropping into a smooth, commanding murmur. "Why don't you step aside and get some rest, officer? You've had a very long night."
"B-But Mr. Djan... I'm fine! I know what I—"
"Take a break," Djan repeated, his tone leaving no room for argument.
Swallowing hard, her chest heaving with frustrated confusion, the girl backed away. She turned and stumbled past the yellow caution tape, brushing right past Nami, Usopp, and Luffy before stopping at the rear of a heavy police wagon and hauling herself inside.
"What's her deal?" Luffy asked, a wide, oblivious grin spreading across his face.
"Forensics," Nami muttered, her eyes narrowing. Sensing an opportunity, Nami stepped forward toward the dark alleyway, only for two armed officers to immediately cross their rifles in front of her.
"Step back, miss," one guard barked. "Official crime scene. Move along."
"Oh my goodness! What happened here?!" Nami gasped, her face instantly morphing into an exaggerated mask of pure, dramatic shock. Her eyes bulged, and her jaw dropped in theatrical horror. The looming officers didn't answer, maintaining their rigid wall, but Nami didn't break character for a second.
While wringing her hands in mock distress, her sharp gaze swept past the guards, meticulously mapping the alleyway: the blood splatter on the brick walls, the dark pools on the cobblestones, and the strange, eccentric physician standing near the center of it all. As she feigned panic, snippets of whispers from the murmuring officers inside the perimeter drifted through the night air and caught her ear:
"...Consti..."
"...Totian..."
"...the lawyer..."
"...punctured neck..."
"...stabbed from behind..."
She had struck gold! Quickly, Nami offered the guards a dramatic, tearful bow of apology before retreating into their blind spot. The moment their backs turned, her helpless facade vanished. She sprinted down the dark cobblestones back toward the two boys waiting under the flickering glow of a streetlamp.
"What did you find out?" Usopp asked, leaning in close.
"The dead man's name is Consti Totian," Nami whispered, her breath hitching slightly as she caught her breath. "He was a high-profile lawyer. Based on what I overheard from the precinct guards, they're saying he was stabbed through the neck and ambushed from behind."
Usopp's eyes went wide, the color instantly draining from his face. "Totian?"
Nami caught the sudden shift in his demeanor immediately. "You know him?"
"Yeah! He's a big deal around here," Usopp stammered, pulling at his collar. "I remember reading about him in the local papers—he was involved in some massive land dispute court battle a while back. Kaya mentioned him once, too! Said he was handling some legal affairs... about Kaya's business and Syrupy Co. but that's about all I can remember."
"Kaya?" Nami's voice cut through the air like a knife, her sharp brown eyes locking dead onto Usopp's. "Who's Kaya?"
"She's my friend!" Usopp blurted, puffing out his chest defensively. He turned and pointed up toward the high, sweeping ridge at the edge of town, where a grand, sprawling mansion sat perched beneath the moonlight like an isolated fortress. "She lives in that big estate up on the hill!"
"Whoa! She lives in a house that big?!" Luffy gasped, craning his neck back as his eyes nearly popped out of his head. Nami didn't answer. Her jaw slowly slackened, her eyes dilating as they locked onto the distant silhouette of the sprawling estate. The moonlight caught the golden trim of the mansion's high balconies, reflecting like twin bell-symbols in the centers of her pupils. Every trace of her prior fatigue instantly evaporated. A slow, invisible grin spread across her face.
"Usopp..." Nami purred, her voice dropping into a gentle melody as she slung an arm around his shoulders. "Tell me... does your dear, sweet friend happen to live up in that gigantic, beautiful castle all by herself?"
"No! She lives with several of her servants and her butler!" The instant the words left Usopp's mouth, the sparkling gleam vanished from Nami's eyes. Her radiant smile collapsed into a flat, icy scowl, her face hardening into a wall of pure disappointment.
"Never mind..." she snapped, turning on her heel and marching down the street. Usopp shrank back, sidestepping toward Luffy. "What just happened to her? Why is she so mad all of a sudden?"
"She's always like that!" Luffy laughed, picking his nose as he strolled alongside him. "She's just mad all the time!"
"I HEARD BOTH OF YOU!" Nami roared, turning around with sharp teeth and a monster-like glare that made both boys flinch. "STOP TALKING ABOUT ME LIKE I'M NOT STANDING RIGHT HERE!"
As the three of them walked further into the night, a loud, dramatic yawn echoed through the quiet street. Luffy threw his arms wide, stretching his spine until his joints popped. "I'm sleepy!"
"I thought we were supposed to be investigating?" Usopp chuckled, shaking his head.
"Yeah, but investigating is so boring!" Luffy slumped forward, his light steps turning into heavy, exaggerated stomps like a tired mammoth dragging its feet along the cobblestones.
"Hah... you're hopeless." Usopp stopped in the middle of the dark, empty path, turning back to face them. "C'mon, my house is just up ahead."
"Your house?" Nami asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah... I live alone there," Usopp said, his voice dropping into a dramatic whisper as he looked over his shoulder. "And the streets are dangerous once night falls. The Beast might be watching!"
They followed him down a wide street that sloped gently toward the lower district. As they descended, the grand stone manors vanished, replaced by modest cottages built from weathered wood and rusted sheets of iron.
As they walked, Nami leaned in close to Usopp and spoke under her breath. "Hey, long-nose. You brought up 'Syrupy Co.' earlier, and I've noticed hundreds of those same yellow syrup shops all over town. What's the deal with them?"
"What?!" Usopp gasped, turning to her in complete shock. "You've never heard of Syrupy Co.?!"
"No. This is my first time seeing them."
"Alright, well, that's the massive company that built this entire island, right alongside Kaya's family enterprise—the Shipbuilding Corporation down at the docks. I actually work at the drydocks most of the time, thanks to Kaya!"
Nami raised an eyebrow. "So this Kaya girl is young, right? How does she manage a whole shipping empire? Do her parents run it with her?" The question instantly drained the pride from Usopp's face, making him go quiet. Nami glanced at him, a flicker of hesitation in her eyes, wondering if she had crossed a line.
"Uhh..." Usopp rubbed the back of his neck, looking away. "I'll tell you more when we get to my place. All I can really explain right now is the syrup side of things. Kaya told me their shipping business... isn't something we should be talking about around public places." They turned into the lower district, where coal smoke and sea salt hung in the air. Narrow cobbled alleys cut between soot-dark cottages and cracked stone houses, with laundry lines stretched overhead and dim lanterns flickering in the gloom.
Usopp led them through the tight passages and up a stone stairway tucked behind the buildings. At the top, he stopped at a cliff's edge. Below, the dark ocean crashed against the rocks. A weathered stone cottage stood on the bluff, its walls worn and leaning slightly from years of harbor wind.
"Here we are." The cottage's windows were firmly shut behind heavy wooden shutters. Usopp pulled a key from his trousers, unlocked the dark brown door, and pushed it open with a loud, drawn-out creak. The house was quiet and still, smelling of dry paper, wood shavings, and old dust—a scent that felt surprisingly comforting. Usopp hurried inside, striking a match to light an oil lamp on the central table. The warm, flickering amber glow illuminated the modest room. Shelves packed with hand-bound books and carved wooden toys lined the walls, centered around a sturdy workbench built from mismatched shades of salvaged timber.
"Whoa! A robot!" Luffy gasped, instantly drawn to a wooden figure sitting on one of the shelves. His eyes glowed like twin stars, practically outshining the lantern on the table.
"Hey, do not touch it! That's my Limited Edition Captain Usopp!" he said, hitting Luffy's hand
"Wait... you owned Las Maravillas?" Nami whispered, looking at the books at Luffy's side
"Oh yeah! Do you know it?"
"Do I know it?!" Nami spun around, her eyes widening as a sudden, frantic energy overtook her. She grabbed the book, lifting it to her chin as her finger shuffled through the thick and glossy papers. "This is the 1782 revised cartographic compendium on Grand Line atmospheric currents! It's been out of print for over sixty years! The Royal Navy restricted every copy because of its section on micro-climates, barometric anomalies, and magnetic shifts around unpredictable islands! Oh look! There's a golden sticker here! Its the First Edition print of—"
She froze. Usopp tilted his head, confused by the sudden abruptness. "Is... something wrong?" Realization hit Nami like a bucket of ice water. The manic intensity drained from her face instantly. She let go of the book and put it back on the bookshelf, smoothed down her orange hair with both hands, and cleared her throat, her face flushing a faint shade of pink.
"...Sorry," she muttered, stepping back and folding her arms tightly. "I got ahead of myself."
"Oh, it's ok! That book came from my dad, actually!" Usopp then picked up the book. "I built dozens of stories on this book..." He stretched his hand, lifting the heavy, hardbound book. "Here, you can take it! I have plenty of books to base my sto—"
Before Usopp finished his sentence, Nami hugged him. "Thanks," as she quickly grabbed it and ran towards the lantern, frantically snapping each page.
"What happened to her?" Luffy snapped his head to Usopp's shoulder, which jolted the boy to his core. "DO NOT SCARE PEOPLE LIKE THAT, LUFFY!"
"Shishishishi! You scared so easily, Usopp!" Luffy laughed, poking at a wooden cannon model on the shelf.
"I am NOT scared!" Usopp yelled, quickly shoving the toys out of Luffy's reaching hands before herding both of them toward a heavy wooden door at the back of the cottage. "Look, it's two thirty AM! We sleep now, and continue our investigation tomorrow, ok? Oh, and I will introduce you to Kaya!"
He pushed open the door to reveal a medium-sized bedroom. A single, surprisingly wide frame bed with a thick, hand-patched quilt sat against the far wall beneath a circular window overlooking the ocean. The room was cozy, crammed with stacked paper rolls, odd brass gizmos, and mechanical devices scattered on the table, perched on the wooden shelves above his head, and into the side of his bed.
Before Usopp could even pull extra pillows from the closet, Luffy dove headfirst onto the mattress, bouncing twice before sprawling out sideways like a starfish, taking up nearly the entire bottom half of the bed. "This is my second time in a comfy bed!"
"Hey! Get over, you rubber idiot!" Usopp complained, tossing a spare pillow right at Luffy's face. Nami sighed, unbuckling her belt bag and tossing it onto the small nightstand. She sat down on the edge of the mattress, kicking off her boots with a heavy, exhausted grunt.
"Honestly, between the police, that creepy doctor-looking guy on the crime scene earlier, and you two, my head is pounding."
"Creepy doctor?" Luffy murmured, his voice already thick with fatigue as he curled around his pillow. "I didn't see any creepy doctor earlier!"
"You mean Dr. Djan? He's a renowned medical examiner!" Usopp countered, squeezing himself onto the far side of the bed against the wall, propping his elbows up on his knees. "Though... he is pretty intense. Everyone in town respects him, but he gives me the creeps also."
"Do you think he's hiding something?" Nami said quietly, staring out the circular window at the distant, dark silhouette of Kaya's estate high up on the hill. "What examiner would go to a crime scene with a giant hat and sunglasses at night?"
"I mean... he is pretty weird, like one time he was able to stop his patient from harming others by looking at them, really," Usopp said, his voice dropping as he pulled the quilt up to his chin. "Do you think he's working for the killer? Because there are tons of stories about doctors being killers!"
"I don't know yet," Nami whispered, lying back against her pillow and pulling her knees up. "We couldn't just plainly assume he is the killer without any concrete evidencee evidence." Her eyes darted into the small specks of stars in the night sky. "But tomorrow, we will resume our investigation. We only have three days to prove Zoro's innocence."
"Sounds like an adventure," Luffy mumbled, his eyes already closed, his breathing slowing into a steady, heavy rhythm. "We'll beat up the Beast... clear Zoro's name... and eat..."
"Eat what?" Usopp asked, turning to look at him. Luffy didn't answer. A soft, rhythmic snore escaped his nose, his arm flopping limply over Usopp's legs. Usopp let out a soft chuckle, shaking his head. "Guy falls asleep faster than a cannonball hits the water."
Nami smiled faintly, the tension in her shoulders finally unspooling as the sound of the waves crashing against the cliffs below filled the quiet room. "Get some sleep, Usopp. Tomorrow is going to be a long day."
"Yeah... goodnight too, Nami." Within minutes, the heavy silence of the cottage settled over the three of them. Luffy's rhythmic snoring echoed softly against the stone walls, with Usopp joining him shortly after.
Only Nami remained awake. She stared out the circular window at the scattered stars above the ocean, her face painted in pale moonlight. Reaching into her belt pouch, her fingers brushed past her stolen berries and locked onto a small, brass-bound container. She withdrew it slowly, her expression contorted in a painful mix of unease, isolation, and quiet sadness. She glanced over her shoulder at the two boys fast asleep on the mattress. Moving like a shadow, she slipped out from beneath the quilt, her bare feet making no sound against the wooden floorboards as she retreated into the darkest corner of the room.
She unlatched the brass lid and carefully lifted out a compact, baby-sized Den Den Mushi. Plugging a small horn-like shell into her left ear, she held the tiny transponder close to her lips, her voice dropping into a barely audible whisper.
"It's Nami. I'm stuck on an island... I'm going to need five more days before I can deliver the gold to you." She froze, the transponder's receiver going dead silent on the other end. Her eyes sank into a pit of defeated, suffocating anger, the skin around her knuckles turning red as her fist clenched tight around the brass container.
"Don't worry," she forced out, her voice trembling slightly before regaining its icy composure. "I'll handle it quickly." She hesitated, her lower lip trembling violently as a wave of nausea washed over her. Swallowing down the bile rising in her throat, she forced words past her teeth in a hollow, lifeless whisper.
"Love you... Dad."
The moment the line went dead, Nami shoved the transponder back into its brass casing, her hands shaking so hard the latch barely caught. She pulled her knees tight against her chest, burying her face in her arms to muffle the bitter, silent hitches choking her breath. Tears traced hot lines down her cold cheeks, soaking into the fabric of her sleeve.
"Curse you... Arlong."