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On the calm, sparkling waters of the East Blue, a pirate ship was sailing steadily forward.
Its figurehead was shaped like a goat, and sitting on it was a boy wearing a straw hat, humming in boredom.
"Sanji! Is my meat ready yet???"
Luffy sat up, holding down his hat with one hand and rubbing his stomach with the other, yelling toward the kitchen.
"It's not mealtime yet! At least think about our food supplies, will you?"
Sanji popped out from the kitchen, looking seriously at Luffy.
"Even if Bai Ye stocked up a ton of food in his personal space, we still have to be ready in case something happens and we can't resupply for months."
He was totally sincere—though his credibility would've been higher if he wasn't carrying a plate of food in his hands.
"Sanji? My afternoon tea's not ready yet?"
Nami's voice drifted in from the other side of the deck.
"Coming, Nami-swan~~~"
At her call, Sanji instantly twirled over to her side.
Nami was stretched out on the deck, enjoying the sunshine.
Sanji placed a beautifully arranged fruit tea and dessert tray beside her, his eyes turning into hearts.
"As long as Nami-swan wants it, I'll keep making more for you!"
"Thanks, Sanji~"
"Hahaha, serving Nami-swan is my greatest honor!"
"...Huh?" Luffy just stared at them in disbelief.
Then he turned to Nami.
"Nami, can I eat some of your oranges?"
"No way!!!" Nami refused immediately. "With how much you eat, my orange grove would be wiped out in no time!"
"Sanji, you have to protect my orange trees, okay?"
Nami added sweetly, turning on the charm again.
"Yes, Nami-swan! I swear I'll protect your orange grove with my life!!!"
Watching this scene—so familiar from the original story—Bai Ye couldn't help but chuckle.
He glanced at Luffy sympathetically. Being a captain treated like that? What a joke.
Of course, Bai Ye knew Sanji was just talking big. The moment Luffy yelled that he was hungry, Sanji was already in the kitchen cooking.
It's just that Nami's afternoon tea got done first.
Sure enough, not long after, Sanji came out with a plate of grilled meat and set it down in front of Luffy.
But then, watching Luffy devour his carefully marinated, perfectly seasoned meat in just a few bites, Sanji lost it. He kicked Luffy and yelled:
"Enjoy the damn food properly, you idiot!!!"
The noise brought Usopp—who had been holed up working on who-knows-what—and Zoro—who was lifting some monstrous barbell in the training room—out of their respective corners. Bai Ye had called them over.
Now that everyone was here, Bai Ye walked over to Luffy.
"Well then, Captain, it's finally time to do what we talked about."
In the original story, the crew raised their Jolly Roger right after getting the Going Merry.
But Bai Ye, for his own reasons, had proposed a delay.
"Hold off on officially forming the crew until the timing is right."
He had a whole speech prepared to convince Luffy why this was a good idea. But what he didn't expect was—
Luffy tilted his head, thought about it for a second, then just grinned and said:
"I trust Bai Ye."
That moment really got to him. Just a little.
Back to the present, Luffy's eyes lit up at Bai Ye's words.
He'd been waiting for this.
He jumped to his feet, clapped his hands together, and shouted:
"Then from today on, our pirate crew is officially formed!!!"
A brief silence followed.
Bai Ye facepalmed. "Captain, aren't you forgetting something?"
Luffy looked confused. "Huh? Like what?"
Bai Ye: ...
"The crew name, the Jolly Roger, and everyone's roles, obviously!"
Ugh. Why did I ever expect anything else?
"Oh yeah!!!" Luffy smacked his palm again, enlightened. Then, without a trace of embarrassment, he continued:
"My crew is gonna be called the Straw Hat Pirates!"
He took off his hat and held it up.
"Shanks gave me this straw hat. It means a lot to me."
"So I want our pirate crew to be named after it."
No one had any objections.
In stuff like this, the captain's word was law. And besides, Luffy had already told them about his promise to Shanks, and Bai Ye had explained it too.
In the second half of the Grand Line—known as the New World—Shanks had made it to the top as one of the Four Emperors.
After learning that, Luffy wasn't overly emotional. He just became even more determined to become the Pirate King.
Usopp, though, was stunned. His dad had actually been a crew member of a Yonko? That kept his ego puffed up for quite a while.
"As for the flag~"
Luffy suddenly got mysterious. "I already drew one!"
He dashed off to his room.
"Wait, Luffy can draw a Jolly Roger?" Nami asked, puzzled.
"I don't know why, but I've got a bad feeling about this," Usopp muttered, nodding.
A moment later—
"What is this?!" x4
All four of them stared at the incredibly abstract drawing Luffy was proudly holding up and just couldn't hold it in.
Bai Ye laughed. "Classic Luffy."
"Heheh!" Luffy grinned proudly at the praise.
"Alright then, let's hang this flag—"
"No way!!!" x4
Zoro and the others flat-out refused, dead serious.
Suddenly, they all felt like… yeah, maybe the captain shouldn't get the final say on everything.
Eventually, Usopp showed off his drawing skills, and the Straw Hat Pirates finally had a decent-looking Jolly Roger.
"Alright, now all that's left is assigning everyone's roles…"
Bai Ye started, but before he could finish, Luffy jumped in:
"I'm the captain!!!"
Bai Ye sighed. Did anyone even try to take that from you?
Once Luffy declared it, the rest chimed in one by one:
"I'm the swordsman. Combat crew." Zoro said coolly.
"I'm the navigator. Non-combat crew."
Nami immediately followed up after Zoro, just to make it clear. Even with her improved physical strength, brawling wasn't really her thing.
"I'm the cook. But I can fight when needed." Sanji lit a cigarette and spoke calmly.
"I'm the sniper. And I can cover ship maintenance for now too."
Usopp added. The Going Merry meant the most to him out of everyone, so he was usually the one fixing her up anyway.
"Guess that leaves me."
Bai Ye stepped forward.
"Daoist warrior. Combat crew. I can also provide support for everyone as needed."
Then Luffy came over and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Bai Ye's also my first mate!!"
"....."