The anchor of the Going Merry splashed into the murky waters of Mock Town's harbor. Unlike the pristine coasts of Alabasta or the welcoming shores of normal islands, Jaya smelled of stale rum, gunpowder, and rotting fish. It was a haven for the dregs of the Grand Line—pirates who had failed to reach the top, bounty hunters with loose morals, and murderers hiding from the law.
The town itself looked like a mouth full of broken teeth—buildings piled haphazardly on top of each other, windows boarded up, and the constant sound of glass breaking and men shouting echoing from the streets.
On the deck, Nami surveyed the scene with a critical eye. She tightened her grip on her Clima-Tact, though with the serum coursing through her veins, she hardly needed a weapon to be dangerous anymore.
"Listen to me," Nami commanded, pointing a finger at Luffy and Zoro. "This place is dangerous. We are here strictly for information on Sky Island and supplies. We are not here to start a war."
Luffy was already vibrating with excitement, smelling the meat from the shore. "I wanna see the food!"
Zoro was checking his swords. "I need sake."
"Did you hear me?!" Nami shouted, grabbing them both by the ears. "You two are the biggest troublemakers! Do not fight. If someone picks a fight, you walk away. We keep a low profile. Got it?"
"Oww, oww! Okay! No fighting!" Luffy promised.
"Fine, witch," Zoro grumbled. "We won't draw our swords."
Satisfied, Nami let them go. "Good. I'll come with you to make sure you behave. Ben, what about you?"
Ben, who was leaning against the mast with a thoughtful expression, shook his head. "I'll stay behind. I have the designs for the Merry's flight conversion in my head, but I need to physically manufacture the parts. It's going to take a few hours of concentrated alchemy and engineering."
"Alright," Nami nodded. "We'll be back soon. Chopper, Usopp, Dory, and Brogy guard the ship with Ben."
The trio of Luffy, Zoro, and Nami disembarked, walking into the chaotic streets of Mock Town, leaving Ben to his work.
---
Once the loud members of the crew were gone, a heavy silence fell over the Merry. Ben descended into his workshop, the converted cargo hold that hummed with the energy of his previous inventions.
He cracked his knuckles and pulled up a holographic schematic he had drafted earlier.
"Okay," Ben muttered to himself. "To make a wooden caravel fly, we need to solve three problems: Lift, Structure, and Atmosphere."
He moved to his workbench.
Ben picked up a block of high-grade titanium alloy he had synthesized during their journey. He began to sculpt it, not with a hammer, but with a laser cutter and his own telekinetic manipulation. He wasn't building the full-sized engine parts—that would take days and fill the entire room.
Instead, he was building a model.
He crafted four intricate thrusters, each no larger than a soda can. They were masterpieces of miniaturization, containing complex repulsion coils and mana-conduits. He soldered microscopic circuits with laser-focus, his eyes glowing faintly as he imbued the metal with levitation properties.
"Repulsor stabilization... check. Vector control... check."
Next, he built the "Spine." It looked like a small, metallic ribcage, designed to hug the keel of the Merry and distribute the G-force of flight so the wood wouldn't splinter. It was delicate, intricate work, requiring the steadiness of a surgeon.
For three hours, Ben was in a trance. The world outside didn't exist. There was only the hum of the soldering iron, the smell of ozone, and the complex geometry of flight.
Finally, on the table before him, sat a perfect, miniature conversion kit. It looked like a set of toys for a model ship.
"Done," Ben exhaled, wiping sweat from his brow. "Just need to expand and slap these on the hull, and the Merry becomes an airship."
He packed the miniature parts into a small crate and headed for the deck, expecting to see his crewmates returning with full bellies and happy faces.
---
Ben stepped out onto the sunny deck, stretching his back. "Yo, Usopp, Chopper! Are they back yet?"
"They just walked up the gangplank!" Chopper called out, peering over the railing. "But... uh... something's wrong."
Ben walked to the railing and looked down. He raised an eyebrow.
Luffy and Zoro were a mess. They were drenched from head to toe in cheap alcohol. Their clothes were stained, there were shards of glass in their hair, and they were covered in bruises and cuts. They looked like they had been dragged through a sewer.
But strangely, they looked calm. Stoic, even.
Behind them walked Nami.
Nami looked pristine. Not a drop of alcohol on her clothes. Her hair was perfect. But her aura was terrifying. The air around her crackled with static electricity, and her eyes were shadowed by a rage so profound that even the seagulls were keeping their distance.
"Welcome back?" Ben said, tentatively.
Luffy sat down heavily on the deck, dripping rum onto the wood. "Hey Ben."
Zoro leaned against the wall, wringing out his bandana. "Got any towels?"
"What happened?" Ben asked, looking at their injuries. "I thought Nami told you not to fight."
"We didn't!" Luffy said, wiping blood from his lip. "We promised Nami we wouldn't fight. So we didn't. We let them beat us up."
"Yeah," Zoro grunted. "Some loudmouth named Bellamy. He smashed bottles on our heads, poured drinks on us, kicked us around. We didn't lift a finger."
Ben looked at Nami. "So... you're mad because they got beat up?"
"I'M MAD BECAUSE OF WHAT THEY SAID!" Nami exploded.
She stomped her foot, and a spiderweb of cracks appeared in the deck planks. Her eyes flashed with literal electricity.
"They laughed at us, Ben! They laughed at the Sky Island! They called it a fairy tale! They said the Era of Dreams is over!" Nami paced back and forth, her hands clenching and unclenching. "They called Luffy a delusional rookie. They called our map trash!"
"So..." Ben pieced it together. "Luffy and Zoro took the high road. They realized fighting people with no dreams is pointless. That's actually very mature of—"
"AND THEN I BROKE THEIR SPINES!" Nami shrieked.
Ben blinked. "Come again?"
Zoro smirked, a rare expression of genuine amusement mixed with fear. "We didn't fight back. But once we walked out... Nami went back in."
Flashback: Ten Minutes Ago
The bar was filled with raucous laughter. Bellamy, the Hyena, was howling, wiping tears from his eyes. His crew was jeering at the retreating backs of 'Coward' Luffy and 'Chicken' Zoro.
"A Sky Island! Can you believe those idiots?" Bellamy sneered, kicking a broken bottle. "Pirates who dream? What a joke! The One Piece? A fantasy for children! I should have killed them just to clean the gene pool!"
The doors of the bar swung open.
It wasn't Luffy. It wasn't Zoro. It was the orange-haired navigator.
Bellamy smirked. "Oh? Came back for a kiss, sweetheart? Or did you want to join a real crew?"
Nami looked up. Her eyes were not the eyes of a navigator. They were the eyes of a predator.
"You can insult me," Nami said, her voice dropping to a low growl that vibrated the glasses on the tables. "You can spill drinks on my clothes. You can even beat up my idiot captain because he promised not to fight."
She took a step forward. The air pressure in the room dropped. Sparks began to dance along her skin.
"But nobody... NOBODY... laughs at our dreams."
Bellamy laughed. "Ooh, scary! What are you gonna do, little girl? Map me to death?"
He launched himself at her, his legs transforming into springs. "SPRING HOPPER!"
He moved fast—too fast for a normal human to track. He was a supersonic bullet bouncing off the walls, aiming to take her head off.
Nami didn't move. She didn't flinch. Her pupils constricted into vertical slits—the eyes of a leopard.
In a fraction of a second, the Super Soldier Serum and the Animal traits engaged. Her perception slowed time to a crawl. Bellamy looked like he was moving through molasses.
She raised her hand. It wasn't just a hand; it was a claw wreathed in high-voltage electricity.
SNAP.
Bellamy's face collided with Nami's palm. The impact created a shockwave that shattered every window in the bar. The electricity discharged instantly, frying Bellamy's nervous system.
"Thunder... CLAW!"
Bellamy was blasted backward, crashing through three tables and embedding himself in the back wall. He twitched once, smoke rising from his chest, and then went limp.
The room went silent. The other pirates stared, their jaws on the floor.
Nami glared at them. She spread her arms, and massive, spectral wings of an Albatross seemed to manifest in the wind pressure around her.
"ANYONE ELSE HAVE AN OPINION ON SKY ISLAND?!" she roared.
Big Knife Sarquiss tried to draw his kukri. Nami was there in a blur of motion—Leopard Speed. She kicked him in the chest with enough force to dent steel.
"Thunder Lance: TEMPO!"
A bolt of lightning struck through the roof, incinerating the rest of the crew where they stood.
Nami stood amidst the unconscious, smoking bodies of the Bellamy Pirates. She adjusted her hair, stepped over Bellamy's body, and walked out.
---
Ben stared at Nami. His mouth was slightly open.
"So," Ben clarified. "Luffy and Zoro practiced pacifism to prove a philosophical point about dreams... and you just went in there and committed a massacre?"
"They deserved it," Nami huffed, crossing her arms. "I held back! I didn't kill them. They just have... extensive nerve damage and complex fractures. They'll live."
"She looks scary, Ben," Chopper whispered, hiding behind Ben's leg.
"I think I'm in love," Sanji swooned, twirling onto the deck. "Nami-swan defending our honor with such violence! Oh, the passion!"
Luffy laughed, wincing as the salt from the seawater stung his cuts. "Shishishi! Nami is strong! I didn't even have to do anything!"
"You're hopeless," Nami sighed, her anger finally draining away as she looked at her battered captain. She grabbed a towel and started wiping his face aggressively. "Next time, just hit them, okay? I hate seeing you like this."
"But I promised!" Luffy grinned.
"You're an idiot," she muttered, but there was affection in her voice.
Suddenly, a pair of arms sprouted from the deck railing. Everyone jumped, except Ben and Luffy.
"Robin!" Luffy cheered.
Nico Robin climbed onto the deck, looking elegant as always.
"I see you've had an eventful afternoon," Robin smiled, glancing at the bruised trio. "I have returned with information regarding the Sky Island."
"Tell us!" Usopp shouted. "Is it real?"
"The people in this town mock the idea," Robin explained. "However, I found a lead. There is an outcast who lives on the other side of the island. A man named Mont Blanc Cricket."
"Cricket?" Chopper tilted his head.
"He is a descendant of Mont Blanc Noland—the 'Liar' from the storybooks," Robin continued. "He was executed for claiming he saw a City of Gold. His descendant lives here, searching for the truth. If anyone knows about Sky Island, that is him."
"Then we go see him!" Luffy decided immediately. "Nami, set sail!"
"Wait," Ben interjected. He held up the crate of miniature parts. "Before we go anywhere, I have good news. The flight conversion kit is ready."
The crew's eyes widened.
"You finished it already?!" Usopp gasped. "It's been like... three hours!"
"I'm efficient," Ben shrugged. "But I can't install it here in the port. Too many eyes. And I need the ship to be dry-docked or at least beached to attach the keel-spine."
"Cricket's house is on a secluded part of the coast," Robin noted. "It would be an ideal location for modifications."
"Perfect," Ben nodded. "We sail to Cricket's place. We get the info on the Sky Island. And while you guys talk to him, I'll turn the Merry into a bird."
"ALRIGHT!" Luffy shouted, throwing his arms up. "LET'S GO! TO THE CRICKET GUY!"
---
The Going Merry pulled away from the dock. As they sailed out, they could see smoke rising from the bar district. Ambulances were rushing toward the location where Nami had unleashed her fury.
"We probably shouldn't come back here," Usopp noted, watching the chaos.
"Good riddance," Nami said, flipping her hair. "A town that laughs at dreams doesn't deserve our business."
As they rounded the cape of Jaya, the scenery changed. The squalor of the town gave way to lush, dangerous jungles. The trees were massive, and the sounds of giant insects echoed from the shore.
"This side of the island is untamed," Robin observed. "The currents are stronger here."
"Ben," Luffy asked, sitting on the figurehead again. "Can the Merry really fly? Like... really high?"
Ben walked up to the bow, leaning against the railing next to his captain. He looked at the wooden sheep, battered by storms and battles, yet still smiling.
"Luffy," Ben said softly. "Ships are vessels of freedom. The ocean is vast, but it has boundaries. The sky... the sky is just another ocean. With these upgrades, the Merry won't just sail. She'll soar. She'll take you higher than any pirate has gone in centuries."
Luffy looked at Ben, his eyes shining. "You're the best, Ben!"
"I know," Ben smirked. "Now, get ready. Once we land at Cricket's, I'm going to need everyone's help. We're doing a full overhaul."
The Going Merry cut through the waves, heading toward the eastern coast of Jaya. Toward the castle of a liar, the promise of gold, and the path to the heavens.
And in the crate at Ben's feet, the miniature thrusters hummed, waiting to be unleashed.
----
I didn't want to involve experiments on Blackbeard's bloodline because we don't know if he can eat 2 or 3 devil fruits, because of the devil fruit or his bloodline. Because we know his bloodline is of a Buccaneer. So I am not doing any experiments on him and his team.
And as for Devil fruit to merry, I am waiting for Oda to reveal Loki's Devil fruit, to see what it is. Because there are few theories, it might be a mythical bird, so I am waiting for it.