Scholar of Strawhat Pirates

The Strawhats crew then slept for the night, but not without throwing a pillow fight first. It was one thing that made Douglas admire this crew; despite having a serious situation on their hands, they still managed to find time to screw around. Seeing Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Zoro, and Nami throw pillows around, Douglas smiled, reminiscing to himself.

"I guess I did join the right crew," Douglas thought, the smile still etched on his face—until he was suddenly hit by a stray pillow, thrown by Usopp. When Douglas pulled the pillow off his face, nearly every crew member pointed at Usopp, who now wore a panicked expression. Douglas then threw the pillow back and joined the pillow fight.

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After the night passed, they woke up and went outside to find Toto guarding the pump Douglas had built, acting like a maniac. He was making sure no sandstorm would destroy it. Toto was also filling up barrels for the Strawhat crew, knowing they'd need a lot of water for the journey across the desert, to avoid another incident like yesterday, when they ran out mid-adventure.

"Here are three barrels filled with water. I also purified it for you, since it could be dangerous to drink water straight from the ground," Toto said, handing the barrels to Luffy, Zoro, and Douglas.

"Do you have any wood to spare? Like, a lot of it," Douglas then asked Toto, as he planned to build a sand-sailer—a vehicle used to sail across the desert, similar to the one from Avatar. It would make crossing the sand easier, something Douglas had forgotten to do back in Nanohana due to the urgency of escaping Smoker.

Toto complied, going house to house to look for wood. Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, and Chopper also helped collect it, while Douglas, Nami, Vivi, and Luffy discussed their next move. After about thirty minutes, Toto and the others returned with a large pile of wood—enough for Douglas to build a sand-sailer big enough to fit everyone.

"What are you going to do with it, Douglas?" Chopper asked, handing over the wood he had collected. Zoro and Sanji followed suit.

Douglas didn't answer. Instead, he began constructing the vehicle he had envisioned. First, he assembled wood for the runners of the sand-sailer, the most crucial part for gliding across the desert. Then he built the body, including a seating area and storage space for supplies. As he worked, the crew watched in awe—this was their first time seeing Douglas use his Devil Fruit powers, except for Zoro, who was still amazed by how the wood disassembled and reassembled itself.

After more than half an hour of construction and another half hour of refining the design, Douglas finished building a sand-sailer. It could capture wind for propulsion and was light enough to push or pull, gliding smoothly over the sand.

"AWESOME! Douglas, you're really a genius!" Luffy shouted as he immediately boarded the sand-sailer, thrilled by the design.

"Yes, great work, Douglas-san," Usopp added. Compliments followed from Sanji, Chopper, and Zoro, who began loading up the storage compartments with supplies.

"Why didn't you make this yesterday? We could've just glided instead of walking," Nami complained, nearly crying as she rubbed her dry skin.

"Don't complain, Nami," Usopp tried defending Douglas—only to be beaten up by Nami.

"I didn't make it yesterday because you all thought it was a good idea to piss off a bunch of Marines instead of shopping quietly," Douglas replied. Nami immediately turned her anger toward Luffy, who tried to whistle innocently, knowing he was the one who ran into Smoker.

"Anyway, let's make sure everything is in place," Douglas said. The Strawhats began their checklist, preparing to start the next leg of their journey.

"ALRIGHT, LET'S GO TO KATOREA!" Vivi cheered.

"ALRIGHT, LET'S GO FIND CROCODILE!" Luffy shouted.

"Huh? Why would we go toward Crocodile? Didn't you hear Toto? The rebel group relocated to Katorea," Vivi said, with Nami backing her up.

"I don't care, I want to kick Crocodile's ass," Luffy replied stubbornly.

"Oi, Luffy, now's not the time to be impulsive," Nami said, agreeing with Vivi about going to Katorea.

"Even if you stop the rebels, do you think Crocodile will just stop?" Luffy asked. Everyone went silent—except Douglas, who already knew this would happen.

"Even if we go with you to the rebel base, there's nothing we can do. We're pirates, after all. In fact, it's better if we're not there at all," Luffy continued. His words shocked the crew and left Vivi speechless.

"I'm surprised he can still hit the bullseye in a moment like this," Sanji said in disbelief.

"Yeah, you said it," Usopp agreed.

"Well, that's—" Vivi tried to respond but faltered, unable to find the words.

"In your mind, it's fine as long as nobody dies—rebels, citizens, even us. But you're up against a Shichibukai in the middle of a civil war involving millions. You're still hoping for everyone to be all right. Don't you think that's naive?" Luffy pressed further, his voice carrying conviction.

"Luffy! You're not thinking about Vivi's feelings!" Nami protested.

"Nami-san, wait. Let him finish," Sanji said, stopping her.

"So what if I am? What's wrong with wishing people wouldn't die?" Vivi shot back at Luffy.

"People die," Luffy answered, his voice firm with rare seriousness. Douglas admired this side of Luffy—blunt, honest, but not cruel.

Vivi's eyes widened, and in frustration, she punched Luffy. He stood up and retaliated, striking her back—causing Sanji and Usopp to react in shock.

"Luffy, don't you think that's going too far?" Usopp asked.

"Luffy, you bastard! How could you hit a woman?!" Sanji yelled.

"ENOUGH!" Douglas shouted, silencing everyone. Vivi and Luffy also stopped mid-fight. Vivi was still on top of Luffy, punching him while yelling about the importance of life, and Luffy continued calmly explaining what Arabasta truly needed.

"You could at least let us risk our lives, too. I thought we were friends!" Luffy yelled. His words hit hard—tears streamed down Vivi's face, the weight of his message finally sinking in. The crew remained silent, somber, as Luffy stood up and adjusted his straw hat.

"So tell me... Tell us where to find Crocodile."