The Princess's Revelation
The sun was setting on the horizon, painting the sky in shades of orange and violet. On the deck of the Going Merry, tension was still thick in the air after the brutal liberation of Vivi and Mr. 9. Vivi leaned against the mast, clutching Karoo tightly. The duck was still trembling, traumatized by his time at the Foundation. Mr. 9 slumped nearby, his face marked by taser burns and baton blows.
The moment I called Vivi "princess," everything changed.
Sanji, who had been smoking a few meters away, spun around abruptly. His cigarette nearly fell from his lips."Princess?!"
His eyes shone with a new light—a mix of shock and pure joy. Nami, who had been counting the Berries she stole in Orange Town, looked up. Her gaze landed on Vivi. And her eyes… her eyes turned into Berry symbols."A princess… a REAL princess… rich…"
Luffy, on the other hand, remained completely indifferent. He was playing on the deck with Walter, trying to make him grab a piece of meat. Usopp watched them, laughing.
"Wait," said Zoro, opening one eye while pretending to sleep. "What's this princess business?"
I looked at Vivi, who stared back at me with an unreadable expression. Fear. Anger. But also… curiosity.
"She claimed to be the princess of a country affiliated with the World Government," I explained calmly. "While she was in her cell."
Shock immediately spread across Vivi's face. Her eyes widened."You… you heard what I said in my cell?!"
"I heard everything. Saw everything. That's my job."
She understood then. The Foundation. The cameras. The guards. It wasn't just a prison.
It was an organization.And I… was its superior.The Director.
"You… you are—"
Before she could finish, Sanji was already kneeling in front of her.
"MILADY, THE PRINCESS!" he cried, eyes sparkling with admiration."Are you hungry? Thirsty? Do you need anything? I am your humble servant!"
Vivi blinked, completely taken aback."I… uh—"
GROOOOWL.
Her stomach growled. Loudly. Very loudly.
Silence fell. Vivi turned bright red, hiding her face in her hands."No… no no no…"
"SHE'S HUNGRY!" Sanji jumped up."I'LL PREPARE A FEAST WORTHY OF A PRINCESS!"
He vanished into the kitchen like a blond hurricane.
Nami slowly approached and sat beside Vivi, taking her hand with a calculating smile.
"You know, my dear princess… your release from the Foundation… came at a price. Marc wanted money to free you. A lot of money."
I raised an eyebrow."Nami, that's not true."
Vivi turned toward me, confused."What?"
"Nami is lying," I said simply. "I freed you because Luffy asked me to. Money had nothing to do with it."
Vivi let out a relieved sigh."My country is poor because of the civil war… I never could have paid…"
Nami froze.
Slowly, she turned toward me, her eyes burning with cold fury. She looked at me like death itself.
"You just made me miss a golden opportunity," she hissed.
Instinctively, I stepped back, remembering the pain of her punches.
"Nami, I—"
"We'll talk about it later," she said with a dangerous smile.
I swallowed hard.
The Meal and the Request
Sanji returned with a feast. Trays overflowing with food: grilled meat, fresh fish, vegetables, fragrant rice, hot soup, and even dessert. Vivi, Mr. 9, and Karoo ate ravenously.
They hadn't eaten since their capture. Every bite was a miracle.
"It's… it's delicious…" Vivi whispered, tears in her eyes.
"Of course it is!" Sanji replied, beaming."For a princess, only the best!"
Mr. 9 ate in silence, still shaken by what they had endured.
Once she was satisfied, Vivi set her tray down and looked at all of us. Then, slowly, she stood and knelt on the deck.
"Please…" she said in a trembling voice. "Help me save my country."
Silence fell.
"My name is Nefertari Vivi, princess of the Kingdom of Alabasta. My country… my country is dying."
She began to tell her story. The criminal organization Baroque Works. The plot to ignite a civil war. The artificial drought. The manipulation of the people against the king.
And above all… Mr. 0.
"I infiltrated Baroque Works to discover his identity," she explained."I risked everything. My life. My title. But now I know. Mr. 0 is—"
"Crocodile," I finished.
She stared at me, stunned."How…?"
"I told you. I have my sources."
"Crocodile…" Nami repeated, paling."One of the Seven Warlords…"
"Exactly," I confirmed. "He plans to steal the ancient weapon Pluton and overthrow Alabasta to make it his base."
Vivi turned to me, desperate."You… you know all this and you're doing nothing?!"
"My job is anomalies. Not politics."
"But millions of people will die!"
Nami looked at Vivi, then at me, then back at Vivi. She sighed.
"Fine. We'll help you."
"REALLY?!" Vivi jumped up, eyes shining with hope.
"But it'll cost you a billion Berries."
"NAMI!" I shouted.
"WHAT?! It's dangerous work! We deserve to be paid!"
Vivi lowered her head."I… I don't have that much money…"
"We'll negotiate later," Nami said, crossing her arms."For now, course set for Alabasta."
Luffy, who hadn't been listening, raised his fist."YEAH! WE'RE GONNA SAVE VIVI'S COUNTRY!"
Vivi looked at him, surprised. Then she turned to me.
"Marc… can you… use your army?"
A deathly silence fell over the ship. All eyes turned to me.
Luffy had authority aboard the ship.Who joined the crew.Who we allied with.Who we fought.
But my army?That was my decision.
I looked at Vivi. Her eyes were filled with hope. She truly believed that a hundred armed guards could change the course of a war.
"No," I finally said.
"What…?" Her face fell apart.
"I am not the Army of Evil 666. I am not a mercenary organization meddling in nations' wars. The Foundation's guards stay at the Foundation. They protect my SCPs. End of discussion."
"But—"
"HOWEVER," I continued, "the Straw Hat crew—with me—can help you. And believe me, that's more than enough."
Luffy grinned."Yeah! We're super strong!"
Zoro grunted in agreement."Pirates or not, who cares."
Sanji lit a cigarette."For a princess, I'd fight a thousand enemies."
Usopp trembled, but still raised his fist."We… we'll win!"
Vivi looked at all of us. Then she burst into tears.
"Thank you… thank you so much…"
Nami hugged her."Come on, don't cry. We'll save your country. And you'll pay us a fortune."
"Nami…"
"What? It's true!"
The Journey to Whiskey Peak
We set course for Whiskey Peak, the first island on the route to Alabasta.
The journey started calmly.But the Grand Line never stays calm for long.
On the first day, a snowstorm hit us. An unbelievable storm—hot one moment, then suddenly thick snowflakes fell from the sky.
"What the hell is this?!" Usopp shouted, shivering.
"Welcome to the Grand Line," Marc murmured.
Snow quickly piled up on the deck. Within minutes, everything was white.
"Look! We can make snowmen!" Luffy shouted excitedly.
"Luffy, we're in the middle of a storm!" Nami replied.
He ignored her and built a huge snowman with Usopp.
Suddenly, someone noticed something.
"Where's Walter?" I asked.
Everyone froze.
"WALTER?!" Luffy shouted."WALTER, WHERE ARE YOU?!"
We searched everywhere. But a nearly white rabbit in a sea of snow? It was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
"WE'RE GONNA LOSE HIM!" Usopp panicked.
They began digging frantically through the snow.
"Walter! Walter, answer!"
Nothing.
Then Vivi felt something move under her hood.
"Huh?"
She gently pulled it back and found Walter, comfortably curled up, purring peacefully.
"HE'S HERE!" she exclaimed, laughing.
Luffy ran over."WALTER! YOU LITTLE PRANKSTER!"
The rabbit squeaked happily, clearly pleased with his shelter.
Nami and Vivi kept Walter warm while Luffy and Usopp continued building snowmen.
Mr. Fish, on the other hand, hated the cold. He barricaded himself in the kitchen.
"Fish don't like snow," Sanji explained."That's normal."
The Storm
On the second day, the snow stopped.Then came the storm.
A terrible storm.Ten-meter-high waves. Lightning striking the sea near the ship. Wind howling like a rabid beast.
"EVERYONE ON DECK!" Nami shouted."WE HAVE TO KEEP THE SHIP AFLOAT!"
For twenty-four hours, we fought the storm. Sanji and Usopp pumped out water. Luffy clung to the mast. Nami held the helm with superhuman strength.
Vivi tied down everything that could move.
And me?I repaired what broke. My immortal hands worked without rest.
Zoro slept.
"HOW CAN YOU SLEEP IN A STORM LIKE THIS?!" Usopp screamed.
"Easy," Zoro grunted without opening his eyes.
Eventually, the storm calmed. We all collapsed on the deck, exhausted.
All except me—at 100% symbiosis with SCP-006, I felt no physical fatigue.
Zoro woke up calmly, stretched, and looked around.
"You're all lazy for lying around all day."
Silence.
Then Nami slowly stood up. Her gaze was murderous.
"What did you say?"
"I said you were lazy—"
CRACK.
Her fist slammed into his skull. Zoro collapsed, a huge bump forming on his head.
"WE FOUGHT A STORM FOR TWENTY-FOUR HOURS WHILE YOU SNORING!" she screamed.
"That explains why I slept so well…" Zoro muttered.
Conversation with Mr. Fish
While Nami vented her anger by repeatedly hitting Zoro, Vivi sat beside Mr. Fish, who had come out of the kitchen.
"You know," she said gently, "you're the first fish-man I've met who calls himself Mr. Fish."
SCP-527 turned his fish-like head toward her and smiled—as much as a fish could.
"Normal. I'm one of a kind. I'm human first and foremost, more than a fish-man."
Vivi frowned."What do you mean?"
"I mean I wasn't born a fish-man. I was born human. And one day, I woke up with this head."
"That's… possible?"
"Apparently."
She hesitated."Are you… a hybrid? Born from a fish-man and a mermaid?"
"No. I don't have parents."
"You're an orphan?"
"Worse. I never had parents. I wasn't born in the traditional sense."
Vivi's expression softened with compassion."I'm sorry…"
"Don't be. I was created by a strange doctor. A mad scientist made me for fun—to see what would happen if you put a fish head on a human body."
Sanji stopped cooking.
He slowly turned toward Mr. Fish.
"You… you were created? Artificially?"
"Yes."
"By a scientist who just wanted to experiment?"
"Exactly."
A heavy silence settled.
Sanji sat beside him, lit a cigarette, stared at the horizon.
"I understand."
"You do?"
"Yes. I was also created to be a weapon. At Germa. My father wanted perfect sons. Soldiers without emotions. War machines."
Mr. Fish looked at him empathetically."But you have emotions."
"Yes. That's why he considers me a failure."
"Then we are two failures," Mr. Fish said softly."Two failures who found a family," Sanji added with a smile.
They shook hands.
Vivi watched, tears in her eyes.
Even in this cruel world, bonds existed.
Whiskey Peak on the Horizon
On the third day, the weather stabilized. An island appeared ahead: Whiskey Peak.
Huge hills covered in giant cacti. Tombstones everywhere. A grim yet fascinating atmosphere.
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.[ALERT: ANOMALIES DETECTED][DISTANCE: 2 KILOMETERS][NUMBER: 2 ENTITIES][CLASSES: UNKNOWN][ANALYSIS IN PROGRESS…]
I froze.
Two SCPs. On this island.
"Marc?" Luffy asked. "You okay?"
"Yes. Everything's fine."
Vivi stood up, eyes fixed on the island."I have to find Igaram. My steward. He's infiltrated here as Mr. 8."
"You're leaving already?" Nami asked.
"Yes. I'm going with Mr. 9 and Karoo. We'll meet in the village."
She mounted Karoo, Mr. 9 followed, and they headed toward the island.
I watched them go, then turned to the island.
Two anomalies.
Somewhere on that island, two SCPs were waiting for me.
"This is going to be interesting," I murmured.
Luffy patted my shoulder."We're gonna have fun!"
"Yeah. We're gonna have fun."
The Going Merry approached the port of Whiskey Peak.
The hunt continues.
[END OF CHAPTER 22 – COMPLETE]
[VIVI: TEMPORARY MEMBER (TRAUMATIZED BUT GRATEFUL)][DIRECTION: WHISKEY PEAK]
[ANOMALIES DETECTED: 2][CLASS D: 4 (ARLONG, KUROOBI, CHEW, HATCHAN)]
[CREW: LUFFY, ZORO, NAMI, USOPP, SANJI, MARC, WALTER, MR. FISH][TEMPORARY ALLIES: VIVI, MR. 9, KAROO]
[SCP-006 SYMBIOSIS: 100% – COMPLETE IMMORTALITY]
[NEXT STEP: INVESTIGATION AT WHISKEY PEAK][ANOMALIES TO CAPTURE: 2]