"Ahhhh, I'm so bored," Lucen groaned, staring blankly at the endless sea.
"Nami! When will we reach the next island?" Luffy shouted from the next boat.
"For the last time—stop asking me that again and again!" Nami snapped, gripping the map with growing irritation.
It had been three days since they set sail. At least now, with Nami's navigation skills, they weren't drifting around like lost ducks.
"Why did you even set out to sea with this little patience?" Zoro asked, leaning against the side of the boat with his eyes closed.
"Yeah? Then why did you set sail when you don't even know how to get back, Zoro?" Luffy shot back.
"HAHAHA!" Lucen burst into laughter, clearly enjoying the banter.
A vein popped on Zoro's forehead as he angrily glared at both Luffy and Lucen.
Nami sighed and rubbed her temples. "They're at it again…"
As Luffy and Zoro argued, Lucen suddenly pulled out a board from his pocket, instantly grabbing everyone's attention.
"What's that?" Luffy asked curiously.
"This? It's a Snakes and Ladders game! Just got it today." Lucen beamed like a proud merchant.
"Oooh! Let's play!" Luffy jumped up excitedly.
"I don't believe it's just a simple game," Zoro said suspiciously. He'd been around Lucen long enough to know nothing he brought out was ever simple.
Nami stepped closer, curiosity in her eyes—while also subtly backing away at the same time.
"C'mon, it's just a game, shishishi~" Luffy laughed, grabbing the dice from Lucen's hands.
He gave it a good shake and rolled it across the board. Everyone watched as the dice bounced and tumbled, finally landing.
"Oh! It's a two! Hmm… where's my piece?" Luffy looked around the board, confused. "I need a figure to move, right?"
"You are the piece," Lucen grinned and gave him a little push.
"Wha—?!"
Before Luffy could react, he was suddenly sucked into the board. Nami and Zoro's eyes widened as Luffy shrank and landed on the first square like a living action figure.
From Luffy's perspective, everything around him had suddenly grown massive. He looked up in awe.
"Hey, guys! How'd you all get so big?!"
"We didn't get big, you got small," Zoro said dryly.
"SAY WHAT?!" Luffy yelled, though his tiny voice barely registered.
Lucen sat back down on the boat and started explaining with a smug smile. "So here's the deal—once you roll the dice, you become part of the game. After ten seconds, you shrink automatically, though you can also do it manually. The rules are pretty much the same as normal Snakes and Ladders."
"Oh! That sounds interesting!" Nami clapped her hands with enthusiasm.
"Hey! You guys come play with me!" Luffy shouted, taking two steps forward—only to bump into an invisible wall.
"Alright, let's go!" Lucen rolled his dice, walked up to the board, and shrank with a flash.
"Well, this might actually be fun," Zoro smirked as he did the same.
Now only Nami was left.
"Hey Nami! Come join us!" Lucen called up, waving like a tiny toy.
Nami stared at the doll-sized Lucen and said calmly, "You guys go ahead and play."
She wasn't stupid. After spending three days with Lucen, she was fully aware of what kind of chaos followed him. If she still fell for his nonsense, she might as well throw herself into the sea.
Even if the game looked safe, she preferred to let the guinea pigs go first.
Lucen pouted. 'Well, at least Zoro and Luffy are in.'
"Woah! A ladder!" Luffy shouted happily and started climbing.
Inside the board, the game world looked completely different. The board became a massive mountain landscape with winding paths, towering ladders, and snakes that looked frighteningly realistic—varying in size and color.
From outside, however, everything still looked like a regular board game.
Each player got their own dice after the first roll, and had to physically walk the number of steps shown.
"Oh no…" Luffy's voice trembled as he came face-to-face with a gigantic snake.
"Looks like Luffy's luck ran out," Nami observed dryly as he stepped into the snake's path.
"WAHHH!" Luffy was instantly swallowed by the snake and spat out at its tail, drenched in goo.
Luckily, it wasn't poisonous. Just extremely gross.
"What… what's going on? My body feels heavy…" Luffy groaned, now walking like an old man.
"What's wrong with you?" Zoro narrowed his eyes.
Nami smirked. "Knew it."
"Oops! I may have forgotten to mention that if you get swallowed by a snake, your body gets sore and heavy," Lucen said with a cheeky grin.
"You forgot? Like I believe." Zoro growled.
"HAHA! Oh, and one more thing—you can't leave the board until you reach the top!" Lucen added gleefully, like a true villain.
With no choice, Zoro rolled again… and landed on another snake.
Next thing he knew, he was back at the start, covered in goo.
Lucen rolled his dice. "Hehe, three. Okay."
He jumped two steps and bumped on the third. Standing up, he rubbed his head and stared at the snake in front of him. From his shrunken view, the snake was as big as a two-story house.
To Nami, though, it just looked like a weird bug squirming on the board.
"Shishishi~ Now it's your turn," Luffy laughed gleefully, while Zoro grinned, both ready to watch Lucen suffer.
But then…
WHAM!
Lucen casually punched the snake.
The beast flopped over, completely knocked out, and Lucen calmly stood on top of its body like a hero on a trophy.
"...Wait. Is that even allowed?" Nami blinked, confused.
"HEY! THAT'S CHEATING!" Luffy shouted from below.
"Cheating? What are you talking about, Luffy?" Lucen tilted his head, all innocent.
Luffy and Zoro shared a look—fire in their eyes.
With renewed determination, they both rolled their dice.
And just like that, a simple game of Snakes and Ladders had turned into an all-out battlefield.
To Be Continued...
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A/N:
Do you like this kind of chapter?
Nami's bit cowardly nature can really help her huh?
I personally find it interesting. I even plan to write something interesting before they go to Grand Line.
Comment you view or even ideas.
Bonus Chapter on way!