One Piece: The Marine of the Straw Hat Pirates

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Next, Ikki took out three more items from his stash: several delicious barbecues, a waterproof watch, and a box of cola.

As Ikki was setting everything out, Zoro, who had been experimenting with the wine gourd, suddenly paused as if remembering something.

"Ikki, don't you feel like something's missing?"

Ikki and Nami exchanged puzzled glances. Then, as if struck by the same realization, they shouted in unison, "Where's Luffy?"

It was true—Ikki had conjured so many interesting things, and knowing Luffy's personality, he should have been right there, eagerly poking at every new item.

The three of them turned toward the sea, scanning for any sign of their captain, but the waters were empty.

"Where did that idiot captain wander off to now?" Zoro muttered, rubbing his forehead.

"There," Nami said, peering through her telescope and pointing toward a distant island. "It looks like Luffy landed over there."

Zoro snatched the telescope from her and confirmed it for himself. Seeing that Luffy was safe and unharmed, he let out a sigh of relief.

"Ikki, next time you whip up some kind of vehicle, don't let Luffy use it alone," Zoro said with exasperation.

Ikki nodded in agreement. It was a good point. He wouldn't let Zoro use it alone either—Zoro would probably get them all lost.

With the tension eased, Zoro turned his attention back to the box of cola. He had already tested the wine gourd earlier and discovered that it could transform different liquids into unique types of wine.

Pointing at the cola, he asked, "Is this for drinking?"

"Yep," Ikki replied, handing him a bottle.

Zoro took a sip and nodded in approval at the taste. Then, unable to resist experimenting, he poured the cola into the wine gourd. A quick shake later, what came out was cola-flavored sparkling wine.

"That's wild," Zoro said, his interest piqued.

Meanwhile, Ikki strapped the waterproof watch onto his wrist and picked up a piece of barbecue to enjoy. Nami followed suit, and soon all three of them were eating and chatting as the boat drifted closer to the island.

By the time they finished the barbecues, the ship had reached the island's edge.

Luffy, as they had seen earlier, was on the shore, chatting animatedly with a man with a long nose. Standing nearby were three children with strange hairstyles, all laughing and clearly enjoying themselves.

Ikki recognized the long-nosed man immediately. It was Usopp—their next crewmate.

Usopp, a member of the Straw Hat Pirates, was indeed a fascinating character. As the saying went, "Zoro goes with the wind, Luffy goes with the wind, but Usopp thrives in desperate situations." While often comedic, Usopp's role in the crew was irreplaceable, and his resourcefulness had saved them countless times.

Seeing his crew arriving, Luffy waved them over with a grin.

"Usopp, let me introduce you to my crew!" he said enthusiastically. "This is our navigator, Nami, our swordsman, Zoro, and our private Marine, Ikki!"

Usopp blinked in confusion. "Wait… a Marine? On your pirate crew?"

Through their earlier conversation, Usopp had already learned that Luffy was a pirate and that he knew his father, Yasopp, one of Shanks' crew members. This made Usopp particularly friendly toward Luffy.

Luffy, noticing Usopp's confusion, grinned and slapped Ikki on the shoulder. "Oh, he's not a regular Marine—he's a private Marine!"

"Hey, it's not just me!" Ikki protested. "You and Zoro are private Marines too!"

He glanced at Nami, hoping for backup, but she turned her head away, avoiding his gaze.

Ikki sighed. He had tried to get Nami to sign the letter of appointment for their private Marine group, but she'd outright refused. She had no intention of aligning herself with Luffy and his crew and was still plotting her escape at the first opportunity.

Usopp quickly zeroed in on the most amusing part of the situation.

"Oh! So, this little Ikki is a pirate dreaming of becoming a Marine?" Usopp teased with a smirk.

This sent Luffy into a fit of laughter. "Shishishi! That's right—he's a pirate with Marine dreams!"

Ikki's face twitched. Without a word, he sent Luffy flying with a blast from his Sky Dragon Roar, which hurled Luffy into a nearby tree.

The blow wasn't enough to hurt Luffy, but it did leave him sprawled on the ground. As he stood up, dusting himself off, his expression shifted to one of mock outrage.

"Ikki! How could you do this to me?!"

Zoro and Nami exchanged confused glances. Luffy was usually unfazed by rough treatment, often laughing off even the most intense punches. What was different this time?

Before they could ask, Luffy pointed an accusatory finger at Ikki and shouted, "You've been eating barbecue behind my back, haven't you?!"

Zoro: ...

Nami: ...

Ikki froze, momentarily stunned by Luffy's sharp sense of smell. 'How does he even—?' he thought to himself.

Realizing their silence had confirmed his suspicion, Luffy crossed his arms, looking betrayed.

"Okay, fine," Ikki admitted with a grin. "We did eat it, but you had a share too! Since you ran off without a word, we figured we'd enjoy it for you."

"If you sneak off again," Ikki teased, "we might just eat more delicious food without you!"

Zoro and Nami both nodded in agreement, their smirks making Luffy puff up his cheeks in frustration.

Off to the side, Usopp watched the interaction in disbelief. "This… this is the captain of a pirate crew? He doesn't act like a captain at all!"

As the sun began to set, Usopp suddenly remembered an appointment he had back at Kaya's manor. "Hey, if you're hungry, there's a restaurant in town where you can eat for free—just mention my name, Usopp!"

With that, Usopp gathered the three children and ran down the path toward Kaya's estate.

Luffy's ears perked up at the words free and all-you-can-eat. He immediately bolted toward the town, his earlier grievance forgotten.

After running a few steps, however, he slowed down and glanced back at his crew, deciding to stick with them instead.

Ikki chuckled at this, then joined Nami and Zoro as they walked toward the town together. Along the way, the group began discussing an important matter—their ship.

After all, a small boat wasn't going to cut it for their journey to the Grand Line.

"I think there's a wealthy family on this island," Ikki said, pointing to the top of a hill. "We might be able to buy a ship from them."

Zoro and Nami nodded at the idea, but Nami raised a critical issue.

"Even if they have a ship for sale, how are we going to afford it? We don't have the money. Are you suggesting we… rob them?"

Her tone was sharp, and the word rob carried a clear note of disgust.

Ikki shook his head firmly. "Of course not! We'll earn the money by catching pirates and turning them in for bounties. After one or two big catches, we should have enough to buy a decent ship."

While pirates with high bounties were rare in the East Blue, there were still enough million-berry targets to make it a viable plan.

Nami seemed relieved by this answer, though her skepticism lingered. She wasn't ready to fully trust them yet, but at least Ikki's proposal didn't involve stealing.