Kon lay unconscious on the deck of the Baratie, blood seeping from a diagonal gash across his chest, his straw hat fallen off, revealing the arrow mark on his forehead.
The sea around the floating restaurant was calm now, the wreckage of Don Krieg's ship bobbing in the distance.
Luffy, bandaged from his own fight shouted, his voice breaking. "KON!"
Goku sprinted to his side, chattering frantically, his eyes blazing with anger.
Goku whipped out all four pistols, aiming at Dracule Mihawk, who stood nearby, his massive sword Yoru resting on his shoulder.
The monkey fired rapidly, bullets flying from each hand, but Mihawk dodged without looking, his movements a blur.
Mihawk back was already turned as he faced the injured Zoro, who leaned against a crate, clutching his chest wound.
Mihawk's voice was calm but firm. "I'll leave you alive for now, Roronoa Zoro. This isn't pity. I'm giving you a chance to grow stronger, to surpass me and achieve your dream of becoming the world's greatest swordsman."
'His skills would be worth testing again,' he thought, his hawk-like eyes studying Zoro.
Zoro gritted his teeth, blood dripping. "I swear… I'll never lose another battle until I defeat you."
'Mihawk's my goal, and I'll reach it,' he thought, his resolve burning despite the pain. He nodded, sealing his vow.
Mihawk's gaze shifted to Kon, his eyes lingering on the arrow mark now visible.
'So that's how it is,' he thought, a flicker of surprise crossing his face.
'An Avatar in a rookie crew, alongside a swordsman with unshakable ambition and a captain Shanks sacrificed an arm for.'
His mind drifted to Vice Admiral Garp. 'He'll lose his mind when I tell him his grandson's already captaining a pirate ship with this crew. And I was not able to bring him in. Not my problem, though.' He turned, stepping toward his small boat, ready to leave.
Nami knelt beside Kon, wrapping bandages around his chest, her hands steady despite her worry.
Luffy hovered, his voice anxious. "Is Kon okay?" 'He's gotta be fine,' he thought, chewing his lip.
Kon muttered, eyes closed, "Sweet rice, yum, yum…"
'Sweets… so good,' he thought in his unconscious haze, dreaming of mochi piles.
Zoro, waiting for his own bandages, smirked despite his pain. "Yeah, he looks fine."
'Kid's dreaming of sweets even half-dead,' he thought, shaking his head. 'He's tougher than he looks. Mihawk decided to spare him too.'
Luffy turned to Sanji, who stood nearby, lighting a cigarette. "Now you have to join our crew!"
'We saved the Baratie, so he's ours,' Luffy thought, grinning wide.
Sanji sighed, exhaling smoke. "Guess I've got no choice. Old man Zeff'd kick me out if I refused."
'This crew is made of idiots but they've got guts,' he thought, glancing at Zeff, who nodded sternly.
Sanji's face softened. "Before you take me, my dream's to find the All Blue, where fish from all four seas swim. It's every chef's ultimate dream—to have that resource. Will you help—"
Luffy cut him off, bouncing. "That's so cool! Tastiest fish ever? Let's find it fast! We will have a feast after finding it."
Sanji blinked, stunned, then smiled, his cigarette glowing. 'This captain's insane, but… I like his enthusiasm,' he thought, warming to the idea. "Alright, Captain. I'm in."
Nami stood, brushing off her hands, and glanced at Krieg, unconscious on the deck, his golden armor glinting.
"We need to grab that armor. It's gotta be worth a ton of Berries."
'Finally, some real treasure,' she thought, her eyes gleaming as she walked toward him.
A surviving Krieg pirate, soaked from swimming after Mihawk sank their ship, shouted, "Don't do that! Krieg's armor's got MH5 poison gas stored in it! It'll kill us all! That stuff's deadly."
Nami froze, her face paling. "Poison gas?" She stepped back quickly from the armor, her dreams of riches crushed. She sighed, glaring at the armor regretfully.
'It seems that after joining this crew, no treasure wants to come to me.' Nami thought almost on the verge of crying in frustration.
Usopp, wiping sweat from his brow, piped up. "Let's just take the treasure from Krieg's drowned ship. We'll find it in the sea."
'Better than poison,' he thought, adjusting his goggles.
Nami's eyes lit up again, Berries dancing in her mind. "Yes! Let's dive for it!"
'Treasure's still out there,' she thought, already plotting. She turned to the crew, her voice sharp. "You guys better help me search!"
Kon stirred, muttering more about sweets, while Goku guarded him, chattering protectively. Luffy laughed, slapping his knee. "Kon's gonna want sweets when he wakes up! Hey cook, Make him sweets before he wakes up and make me some meat!"
Zoro, now bandaged, leaned back as he looked at his only remaining sword. 'I would have to find new swords too.'
His thoughts then drifted to Kon.
'Kon took on Mihawk and held his own. At least, better than me. It seems that he deserves to be the vice captain. At least, he has strength to back it up. I don't know about his smartness though.'
'Mihawk seems to have recognised something when he looked at Kon's forehead. Kon told us that his arrow mark is the symbol of him being an Avatar. Since Mihawk recognised it and decided to spare Kon, it means that it's something big. He also mentioned a fire bender.'
'And I am pretty sure Kon can manipulate Fire too since he used it to burn Kuro. So he can manipulate Water, Fire and Air. Mihawk seemed to have thought that a person could bend only one element but Kon can bend three. Is it because he is an Avatar? So many questions.... I am sure Kon would answer them if I ask but what's the fun in that.'
Zoro smirked, 'A little mystery is what would make this journey fun. It would be better to find more about Kon on my own rather than asking him.'
-------Author Notes------
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