Luffy's Call: My Journey with the Straw Hats

The Straw Hats continued their journey toward Fish-Man Island. The respite on Spa Island had worked wonders, wiping away the lingering fatigue from their recent battles. A sense of vitality had returned to the ship.

On this particular day, the sky was clear and the sea was calm. Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper were playing at sea with Brook. To their surprise, they discovered that because Brook was a skeleton and incredibly light, he could run on the surface of the water. Until now, the only person they had seen do that was Moonlight, and they couldn't help but be curious. So, as Brook ran across the sea, Luffy and his two friends cast their fishing lines near him, with Brook acting as unwitting bait.

"Ah, this is the life!" Franky stretched comfortably on the deck, pushing his sunglasses up.

"Mellorine~! My dearest Nami-swan, my lovely Robin-chwan! Please, accept this sweet drink I have prepared with all my love!" Sanji swooned, approaching the two women as they relaxed on their deck chairs, the sea breeze blowing gently. The sight of them seemed to melt his very being.

"Thank you, Mr. Chef," Robin said with a slight smile, which was enough to make Sanji nearly faint with happiness. Nami gave Sanji an exasperated look, but he was so lost in his reverie that he hardly noticed.

Meanwhile, Moonlight and Zoro were training. Zoro slashed relentlessly, but Moonlight simply evaded each strike. After a hundred swings, all Zoro had managed to do was send waves of sword energy cutting across the sea, stirring the water into a frenzy. Not a single blade had touched Moonlight.

"This is the essence of Observation Haki," Moonlight said faintly, looking at Zoro.

"Haki?" Zoro paused, lowering his sword to stand in quiet contemplation. "I've been trying to grasp the feeling you described. I think I'm getting close. I can't do it like you, but I feel like I'm on the verge of understanding something."

"Everyone possesses this power, but not everyone can manifest it," Moonlight explained. "Some people go their whole lives without ever knowing they have it. It requires great perseverance, wisdom, and determination... For example," he said, his gaze shifting to the sea behind Luffy. "A shark is approaching. There's a mermaid and a starfish in its mouth. Luffy is about to save them."

Zoro's eyes snapped toward the sea.

Just as Moonlight finished speaking, the water behind Brook surged, and a shark the size of a small ship leaped into the air. In its mouth were two figures: a mermaid and a starfish.

"Help!" Brook shrieked, scrambling desperately back onto the ship.

"Someone's in there!" Usopp yelled, his sharp eyes spotting the figures in the shark's mouth.

"They're not human!" Chopper added.

"Gum-Gum..." Luffy had already reacted, his fist flying out to punch the massive shark. The beast yelped and fell back into the sea, releasing the mermaid and starfish, who tumbled onto the deck of the Sunny.

So this is Observation Haki, Zoro thought, his heart pounding in his chest.

By now, Luffy and the others had surrounded the newcomers. A mermaid with light green hair looked around in confusion. "Where am I? Weren't we just working on my designs, Pappag?"

The starfish beside her, Pappag, sighed dramatically. "It is the greatest sorrow of my life to have an apprentice like you. You're the first design student I've ever seen who jumped directly into a shark's mouth. Did you want to be eaten?"

"That was a shark?" the mermaid asked, a look of sudden realization dawning on her face. "I thought it was one of your new designs, Master Pappag!"

"..."

Luffy and the others listened to their conversation, exchanging bewildered glances. Someone who jumped into a shark's mouth by mistake? They had experienced many strange things on the Grand Line, but this was a first. Soon, however, their attention was drawn to the unique nature of their guests.

One was a real-life mermaid. The other was a talking starfish.

"Whoa, the starfish can talk?!" Usopp exclaimed.

"A mermaid!" Luffy stared, his eyes wide with curiosity.

"Did you eat a Devil Fruit too?" Chopper asked the starfish, remembering that was how he himself had gained the ability to speak.

"What a terrible sense of direction!" Franky commented, still baffled as to how she had managed to run into a shark's mouth on her own.

"You're a mermaid?" Robin said with a gentle smile. "As it happens, we're on our way to Fish-Man Island."

"Strange, where'd Sanji go?" Nami asked, looking around. He had disappeared the moment the mermaid and starfish had appeared.

"My beautiful lady! You must have been so frightened! Please, drink this hot beverage I've prepared with all my love!" Just as she spoke, Sanji reappeared from the galley, having changed into a handsome suit. He held a cup in his hand and approached the mermaid with an air of pure gentility.

"Th-thank you!" the mermaid stammered, taken aback but subconsciously accepting the drink.

"Who are you people? Why are you here?" Brook asked, wiping sweat from his brow. He had been so scared from the shark chase that he was sweating profusely—even though a skeleton shouldn't be able to sweat.

"My name is Camie," the mermaid said, looking at Luffy and the others. "Thank you for saving me." Though she seemed a bit ditzy, she was clearly intelligent and polite.

"Ahem! My name is Pappag..." the starfish began, pulling a microphone from nowhere and adjusting his sunglasses as he prepared to give a grand introduction.

Unfortunately for him, everyone else was still focused on Camie.

"A mermaid?"

"This is the first time I've seen one! And we're going to Fish-Man Island!"

"She's so beautiful!"

"Miss Camie, I think I've fallen in love with you!" Sanji declared.

Camie smiled and, though a little flustered, answered all their questions without hesitation.

"Hey! Are you people even listening to me?!" Pappag cried, tears streaming down his face, feeling completely ignored.

"You're going to Fish-Man Island?" Camie asked, finally hearing them. "But it's 10,000 meters deep in the ocean. Ordinary ships can't go that deep. You'll need your ship to be coated."

"Ten thousand meters deep?"

"Coating?"

The crew exclaimed in surprise. This was the first time they had heard of such a thing. The thought of an island 10,000 meters beneath the sea was incredibly exciting. Luffy was ready to get the ship coated immediately.

"If you want to get your ship coated, you have to go to the Sabaody Archipelago," Camie explained. "They have professional artisans there."

"Sabaody Archipelago? Alright, let's go!" Luffy didn't care where it was; he was ready to set off.

"Wait, Luffy," Sanji stopped him, looking at Camie with an affectionate gaze. "We're going to Sabaody, but the most important thing right now is to take Miss Camie and her friend home." Since Camie had appeared, Sanji had automatically filtered out everyone else.

"Oh... you don't have to do that, I'll just go..." Camie stammered, a little intimidated by Sanji's intensity.

Pappag, who had been sulking off to the side, heard them mention Sabaody and immediately jumped onto Camie's head. "Are you going to the Sabaody Archipelago? Perfect! We're headed there too! Just drop us off at the nearby island. As thanks, I'll treat you to the world's best takoyaki!"

"Takoyaki?"

"The best in the world?"

Hearing this, Luffy immediately forgot all about ship coatings and stared at Pappag with a feverish look. Chopper was just as excited. The best food in the world? It had to be amazing!

Finally, someone is paying attention to me, Pappag thought, tears of joy welling in his eyes.

"The best in the world?" At these words, Sanji's expression became serious. He took a deep breath, raised his head, and said profoundly, "In this world, no one dares to use the word 'best' in front of me!" He was a professional chef, and while he wouldn't claim to be number one, he was extremely confident in his skills. He couldn't stand hearing someone else make such a bold claim. He nodded. "In that case, I'd like to meet this person..."

Before he could finish, Franky and the others had gathered around Pappag, all of them looking expectant. Even Robin and Nami were curious. They had just met a mermaid and a talking starfish; now that same starfish was promising to take them to eat the world's best takoyaki.

"Where is it? Where?"

"I'm very interested as well."

"The best in the world? Sounds great."

Sanji was left speechless.

Moonlight smiled slightly. "If anyone else had said that, I wouldn't think much of it. After all, Sanji's cooking is no joke. But coming from a starfish... it's intriguing." He, too, was interested. What would a starfish consider the best takoyaki in the world?

"I'll take you there!" Camie smiled, taking the lead. The crew cheered.

As a mermaid, Camie could communicate with schools of fish, and soon they arrived at a nearby island. From a distance, she pointed to a shop on the shore. "It's that shop!" she said excitedly. "Hachi's Takoyaki! But..." Her voice trailed off.

As the Thousand Sunny drew closer, everyone looked in the direction she was pointing. There was indeed a shop, part of a small food stall street, but the street was empty. It looked as if it had just been ransacked by pirates; ingredients were scattered all over the ground. The crew went ashore to investigate, with Camie and Pappag running ahead. They quickly learned what had happened.

"The Flying Fish Riders came and took Hachi! They're at the east port!"

"Those guys again!" both Camie and Pappag said, their faces grim.

"They're a notorious kidnapping gang around here," Pappag explained bitterly before anyone had to ask. "They often blackmail people on the island for ransom. Hachi's takoyaki is famous far and wide, so they must have come for him."

"So the boss who makes the world's best takoyaki was kidnapped by them?" Luffy's eyes blazed with fury.

"How dare they be so rude to a chef," Sanji said, lighting a cigarette, his expression dark.

"Unforgivable!" Chopper declared, raising a hoof.

"Yohohohoho..." Brook let out a grim laugh.

"Flying Fish Riders?" Franky pouted. "They've picked the wrong crew to mess with."

"'Hachi'?" Nami whispered, her body going still. The name was chillingly familiar. Could it be?

"Hm?" Robin noticed Nami's expression and was taken aback.

Luffy was already storming toward the east port. No one interfered with his chance to enjoy good food and got away with it.

When they reached the east port, they saw a figure hanging from a post. It wasn't a human, but an octopus fish-man with a trumpet-like mouth and six arms. This was the man Camie claimed made the world's best takoyaki. The area around him was completely empty. It was an obvious trap.

But there are always exceptions.

"Hachi!" Camie cried out, rushing forward without a second thought.

Pappag managed to stop her. He knew this was a trap. He waved at Hachi and shouted, "You guys from the Flying Fish Riders! Let Hachi go, or... or I'll have my friends teach you a lesson!" He gestured toward Luffy and the others.

But when he turned, he saw that their expressions had changed completely after seeing Hachi. Luffy, who had been so excited just moments before, now looked furious. "It is him," he said, his voice low. "I thought the name sounded familiar." He glanced at Nami. Zoro, Sanji, and Usopp did the same. They had all been there at Arlong Park in the East Blue. They knew exactly who Hachi the octopus fish-man was, and what he meant to Nami.

"An enemy?" Franky, Chopper, Robin, and Brook all understood the situation after a quiet explanation from Moonlight. Franky didn't hesitate. He raised his arm, the muzzle of his cannon aimed squarely at the octopus fish-man. Since he was Nami's enemy, this was a perfect opportunity for revenge.

"You guys!" Camie and Pappag were shocked. "What's going on?"

But Hachi, seeing Nami and the others, just smiled miserably. "Nami... it's you. I never expected to see you here. It doesn't matter. We're disbanded now. If you want to kill me, then do it. I'm so sorry for what Arlong did to you. But please, take care of Camie. She's innocent." He had already recognized his fate.

"Everyone, why is this happening?" Camie cried, rushing to stand in front of Hachi, shielding him.

"Camie, this has nothing to do with you. Get out of the way," Zoro said, his hand on the hilt of his sword, his face cold as stone.

"Is that Roronoa?" Hachi said, looking at him. "I'm sorry. I gave you a pretty good beating back then, so if you want revenge, come and get it. Camie, move. I wronged them. I deserve this."

"Last I checked," Zoro's eyebrows shot up fiercely, "I was the one who won, wasn't I?"