**Marine Branch 153, Goa Kingdom – East Blue**
The watchtower stood at the far eastern edge of the compound like a forgotten skeleton.
Three stories of weathered iron and peeling gray paint, rust bleeding down the legs in long, rusty tears. It had once been used to spot pirate sloops slipping into the harbor at night. Now it mostly served as a perch for seagulls and a monument to deferred maintenance.
Until 0600 that morning, when Drill Instructor Hina appeared in the barracks doorway with a clipboard and the kind of smile that promised suffering.
"Congratulations," she said, exhaling a perfect smoke ring. "Due to repeated unauthorized removal of kitchen supplies between the hours of 2200 and 0400, the following recruits are assigned to special detail: Monkey D. Luffy, Roronoa Zoro, Koby, Nami, Black Leg Sanji."
Five heads turned in unison.
Luffy, already halfway through pulling on his boots, grinned.
"Special detail sounds fun!"
Hina's eye twitched behind her sunglasses.
"You will scrape, sand, prime, and repaint the entire exterior of Watchtower 4. Start to finish. No shortcuts. No stretching arms to reach high spots. No climbing without safety harnesses. No… creative shortcuts of any kind."
She looked directly at Luffy for that last part.
Luffy saluted so enthusiastically his hat nearly flew off.
"Yessir ma'am Instructor Hina sir!"
Hina pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Tools and materials are already at the base. You have until 1800. Fail to finish, and tomorrow you do it again. With brushes tied to your teeth."
She turned on her heel and left.
The barracks was quiet for exactly three seconds.
Then Luffy jumped up on his bunk.
"Alright! Tower painting party!"
Zoro groaned and lay back down.
"I'm going back to sleep."
Nami crossed her arms.
"This is your fault, you know."
Sanji lit a cigarette with unnecessary violence.
"I told you idiots to stop raiding the walk-in at 3 a.m."
Koby looked like he might cry.
"I was just trying to return the empty plates…"
Luffy clapped both hands together.
"Come on! It'll be quick! We'll be done by lunch!"
Everyone stared at him.
Even the seagulls outside seemed skeptical.
—
By 0700 they were at the tower.
Buckets of primer, scrapers, wire brushes, rollers, drop cloths, and four cans of regulation gray paint that looked like someone had mixed sadness with concrete.
The sun was already climbing, turning the iron hot to the touch.
Luffy attacked the lowest section with a scraper like it owed him money. Rust flew in orange clouds.
Zoro took one look at the rickety ladder, tossed it aside, and started climbing the cross-bracing with one hand while carrying a bucket in the other.
Nami watched him for a second, then turned to Koby.
"How much surface area are we actually dealing with?"
Koby pulled out a small notebook and started scribbling.
"Approximately… 320 square meters of exterior, minus windows and doors. At two coats… we need roughly 18 liters of paint. We have 16."
Nami's eyes narrowed.
"They shorted us."
Sanji exhaled smoke.
"Of course they did. Budget cuts."
Luffy paused mid-scrape.
"What happens if we run out?"
"We don't finish," Nami said flatly. "And we get another day."
Luffy frowned.
"That's no good."
He looked up at Zoro, who was already halfway up the first level, scraping with one hand while balancing like he was born on vertical surfaces.
"Hey! Zoro! Can you reach the top from there?"
Zoro didn't look down.
"Probably."
"Great! Then we only need to paint up to where you can reach, and you do the rest!"
Zoro paused.
"…You're trying to turn this into a competition."
"Yup!"
Zoro's mouth twitched.
"Fine. But if I fall and break my neck, I'm haunting you first."
Luffy laughed.
"Deal!"
Nami sighed.
"I'm surrounded by idiots."
But she picked up a scraper anyway.
—
By 1030 the heat was oppressive.
Sweat ran into eyes, paint speckled arms and faces, rust stained shirts orange.
Luffy had abandoned the scraper in favor of using his rubber fingers like giant erasers, wiping rust away in broad sweeps (technically not against the rules, since he wasn't stretching to reach high spots… yet).
Sanji had disappeared into the supply shed twenty minutes earlier and returned pushing a small cart loaded with:
- A large cooler of iced tea
- A stack of thick sandwiches wrapped in wax paper
- A bowl of sliced tangerines
- A small basket of apples
He set it in the shade under the tower.
"Lunch," he announced. "Eat or pass out. Your choice."
Koby's eyes widened.
"Where did you—"
"Don't ask."
They dropped tools and gathered in the small patch of shade.
Luffy attacked a sandwich like it was a personal challenge.
"Mmmph! This is amazing!"
Sanji sat on an overturned bucket, lighting another cigarette.
"Of course it is. I made it."
Nami took a careful bite, then raised an eyebrow.
"…This bread is fresh."
"I baked it last night."
Zoro chewed slowly, looking almost impressed.
"You're wasting talent in the Navy."
Sanji shrugged.
"Someone has to feed you animals."
They ate in companionable silence for a while, the only sounds the creak of the tower in the breeze and the distant cry of gulls.
Then Nami spoke, quieter than usual.
"You know… I didn't join the Marines because I wanted to salute flags or chase pirates for bounties."
Everyone looked at her.
She stared at her half-eaten sandwich.
"I wanted to map the whole sea. Every current, every reef, every hidden cove. Without worrying about some pirate crew deciding my charts were worth killing for."
Luffy tilted his head.
"So you joined the Navy to be safe?"
Nami laughed, short and bitter.
"Safe. Right. But at least here the charts belong to everyone. And nobody tries to steal them at gunpoint."
Sanji exhaled smoke.
"I only signed up because civilian kitchens ask too many questions about where the ingredients come from."
Zoro snorted.
"Pirate?"
"Formerly," Sanji said without shame. "But I never stole from the hungry. That's the line."
Koby looked around at them, wide-eyed.
"I… I just wanted to be useful. To help people. I thought the Marines would be the best way."
Luffy finished his sandwich in one last enormous bite.
"When we get our own ship," he said casually, "we're gonna need all of that. Maps. Food. Strength. And someone who wants to help."
Nami stared at him.
"Our own ship?"
"Yup."
Zoro leaned back against the tower leg.
"You're never gonna let that go, are you?"
"Nope."
Sanji flicked ash away.
"You're delusional."
Luffy grinned.
"Maybe. But it's a fun kind of delusional."
Koby smiled despite himself.
"I… I think it sounds nice."
They sat there a while longer, letting the breeze cool sweat-soaked skin.
Then Luffy stood up.
"Alright! Back to work! The tower won't paint itself!"
Groans all around.
But they got up anyway.
—
The afternoon dragged.
Paint fumes mixed with rust dust and sea salt.
Luffy did eventually stretch—just a little—to reach a tricky corner near the second level, earning a sharp "I saw that!" from Hina, who had appeared on the path with binoculars.
Zoro reached the top platform purely through stubbornness, then painted the highest sections while balanced on one foot like a particularly angry crane.
Nami kept meticulous track of paint levels, rationing it down to the last drop.
Sanji occasionally disappeared to "check inventory" and returned with more iced tea.
Koby tried to enforce safety protocols until everyone ignored him so consistently that he gave up and started painting too.
By 1745 the tower looked… different.
Not perfect. Streaks here and there. A few missed spots. But the gray was fresh, the rust mostly gone, and in the late afternoon light it actually looked almost proud.
Hina walked the perimeter once, hands behind her back.
She stopped in front of the group.
They stood in a loose line, paint-splattered, sunburned, exhausted.
She took a long drag.
"…Acceptable."
Then she turned and walked away.
No praise. No smile.
But she didn't order them back tomorrow.
That was enough.
They collapsed onto the grass as the sun dipped toward the horizon, watching the harbor lights flicker on one by one.
Luffy lay flat on his back, arms behind head, hat tilted over his eyes.
"See?" he said. "Even punishment is better with friends."
Zoro snorted.
"You're impossible."
Nami leaned back on her hands.
"Insufferable."
Sanji lit another cigarette.
"Idiot."
Koby smiled softly.
"…Yeah. But I'm glad I'm here."
Luffy pushed his hat back.
"Me too."
The sky turned the color of tangerines and fire.
Somewhere out on the water, a small fishing boat chugged toward the docks.
And five recruits—tired, paint-streaked, and oddly content—sat together watching the day end, already thinking about tomorrow.
Not because they had to.
But because they wanted to.