The island was quiet.
Too quiet.
Broken stone structures lay scattered like the remains of a forgotten dream. Burn marks crawled across the earth, and shattered tools rusted under the open sky. Whatever life once existed here had been erased violently—without mercy, without reason.
At the edge of the shore, beneath the shadow of a half-collapsed dock, two bodies lay unmoving.
"A woman!" Chopper shouted.
"And a child!"
The Straw Hats rushed forward.
The woman's breathing was shallow. Her clothes were torn, skin pale, lips cracked from thirst. The child—no more than seven years old—clutched her arm even in unconsciousness, fingers trembling as if afraid to let go.
"They're alive!" Chopper said urgently. "But barely!"
Without hesitation, Chopper went to work. His hooves moved with practiced precision, mixing medicine, checking pulses, forcing fluids gently between their lips. Sanji was already gone, sprinting back toward the ship.
"I'll make something warm—easy to digest!" he shouted. "They need strength, fast!"
Nami knelt beside the child, gently brushing dirt from her hair. Robin stood close, her presence calm and steady, like a shield made of silence.
"They've seen something," Robin said softly. "Something that broke them."
The child whimpered in her sleep.
"No… Papa… don't go…"
Nami's chest tightened.
The Island Search
While Chopper worked, the rest of the crew split up.
Zoro rested his swords on his shoulder, eyes scanning the horizon.
"I'll look for supplies."
"I'll go with you," Jimbei said calmly.
Franky cracked his knuckles. "Fuel, metal, anything useful."
Brook adjusted his violin. "Yohoho~ I shall provide emotional support… and reconnaissance!"
Usopp stayed behind, crouching near where the woman and child had been found.
"This doesn't add up," he muttered.
He examined the ground carefully—drag marks, broken crates, faint footprints leading inland and abruptly stopping.
"They didn't wash up here," Usopp said to himself. "They ran here."
He spotted something glinting near the woman's hand.
A locket.
Usopp picked it up gently and opened it.
Inside was a small family photo—three smiling faces.
A man with sharp eyes and grease-stained hands, a woman smiling softly, and a little girl laughing with her eyes closed.
"…Family," Usopp whispered.
Awakening Fear
By the time the sun began to lower, the crew regrouped near the dock. Supplies were scarce but usable. Fuel was limited. Enough to continue—but barely.
Sanji returned carrying plates of steaming food, carefully balanced.
"Easy," he said gently, kneeling near the woman and child. "You're safe now."
The woman stirred first.
Her eyes flew open.
She screamed.
"NO—!"
The child woke instantly, crying, clinging to her mother in panic. Both tried to crawl backward, terror flooding their faces as they saw the Straw Hats—and the ship.
"Pirates—!" the woman cried. "Please—don't—!"
Nami raised her hands slowly. "Wait! We're not—"
"Please don't hurt my daughter!" the woman sobbed.
The child buried her face into her mother's chest, shaking violently.
Robin knelt down, lowering herself to their level. "You're safe," she said gently. "No one here will harm you."
Sanji placed the food down and stepped back, forcing a smile. "We found you almost dead. That's all."
Chopper nodded. "I treated your wounds. You'll be okay."
Slowly—very slowly—the woman's breathing calmed.
She looked around again. At their faces. Their eyes.
"…You're… not attacking," she whispered.
Luffy, who had been silent until now, stepped forward and smiled—wide and honest.
"We're pirates," he said. "But we're the good kind."
Something in his voice broke through her fear.
The woman hesitated… then bowed deeply.
"My name is Sara Loura," she said. "This is my daughter… Misa."
Misa peeked out, eyes wide and glassy.
Sanji pushed the plate forward gently.
"Please. Eat."
The child stared at the food.
Then tears rolled down her cheeks.
"…I haven't eaten… or drank water… for five days," she whispered.
The crew went silent.
Misa ate slowly at first—then faster, tears dripping onto the plate as if each bite reminded her she was still alive. Sara followed, trembling but grateful.
Only after they finished did Sara begin to speak.
A Broken Past
"We lived here," Sara said quietly. "Peacefully. My husband… David Loura… he was an engineer."
Usopp's grip tightened around the locket.
"He believed science could protect people," Sara continued. "He researched ways to strengthen the human body—genes, endurance, recovery. Not for war… but for survival."
Nami frowned. "Against who?"
Sara's voice darkened.
"The World Government."
The crew stiffened.
"They came for entertainment," Sara said bitterly. "Destruction. Experiments. They laughed while our island burned."
Robin's eyes narrowed. "Were pirates involved?"
Sara nodded slowly.
Misa suddenly spoke, voice small but shaking.
"There was a man…"
She pointed to her shoulder.
"He had a gun here," she said. "And another man… like a scary clown…"
Sara closed her eyes.
"They took David," she whispered. "And others. They said they belonged to Blackbeard."
The name hit like a cannon.
"A flag," Sara added. "With three skulls."
Silence.
Luffy's smile was gone.
"…Blackbeard," he said quietly.
The Clock Ticks
They sailed again before dawn.
The Thousand Sunny cut through the waves faster now—urgency burning in every sail.
Nami studied the Log Pose.
"Three days already lost," she said softly. "Four left."
Luffy stared ahead.
"I'll make it," he said.
Pirate Island — Plans Within Plans
On Pirate Island, chains echoed again.
"Bring the engineer," Blackbeard ordered. "The one named David."
A pirate laughed. "The slaves are healthy. Just like you wanted."
Blackbeard grinned.
"Good. We'll move them off-island soon."
He leaned back.
"The game's just beginning."
Under the Tree
That night, Luffy sat alone beneath a tree on the Sunny's deck.
The wind whispered.
And memory answered.
"Again!"
Young Luffy slammed his fists into a tree, wincing.
Ace laughed. "You're weak!"
Garp stood behind them, arms crossed.
"Again," Garp barked.
They hit the tree.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Ace wiped blood from his knuckles. "Why can't we use weapons?"
"Because fists don't betray you," Garp said.
"What's your strongest attack?" Ace asked.
Garp grinned.
"Galaxy Impact."
He punched.
The tree exploded into dust.
Luffy stared in awe.
"How?!"
Garp tapped his fist.
"Power flows," he said. "You'll understand later in the future."
Present time.
Luffy opened his eyes.
That energy flow is nothing but the...
"…Haki, Ryou " he whispered.
He clenched his fists.
"It's time for the impact." with a scary laugh not seen by crew members but seen by the sara by observing him from inside the ship deck.
Luffy murmuring himself that wait grandpa! your trained monster is coming to save you....
Crew members are seeing the luffy without laughing and gloomy and thoughtful mind that filled with something.
The sea trembled.
To be continued…