The Going Merry sailed gracefully upon the calm, azure waters of the East Blue. For the first time, the Straw Hat Pirates had a real home, a proper vessel worthy of a crew with grand ambitions. The air was filled with a sense of new beginnings and unbridled optimism.
"Alright, guys!" Luffy announced, gathering his small crew on the main deck. "Now that we have a ship, we need one more thing to be a real pirate crew!"
He proudly held up a piece of canvas, on which he had drawn his masterpiece. It was a skull and crossbones, but the skull was lopsided, the eyes were mismatched, and the straw hat perched on its head looked more like a deformed, lumpy pancake.
There was a moment of dead silence.
"What is that supposed to be?" Nami asked, her eye twitching.
"It's our Jolly Roger!" Luffy declared with pride.
"My 5-year-old cousin could draw better than that," Zoro grunted without opening his eyes.
Usopp, however, saw an opportunity to shine. He scoffed, pushing Luffy's disastrous drawing aside. "Leave it to a professional. The flag is a pirate's soul! It requires the delicate touch of a true artist!"
With a confident flourish, he took out a piece of charcoal and began to sketch. In minutes, he had created a brilliant design: a fierce, grinning skull with crossed bones behind it, perfectly capturing the spirit of rebellion. And on top, a flawlessly rendered straw hat.
"Whoa, that's amazing!" Luffy cheered.
"Now for the finishing touch!" Usopp said, and he began to add a small sketch of his own long-nosed profile onto the back of the flag.
"No," Luffy and Zoro said in unison, their voices flat and final.
After some grumbling, the personal mark was erased. With the design settled, the four of them worked together under the sun, a chaotic but happy team, painting their new emblem onto the massive mainsail. As the iconic Straw Hat Jolly Roger was unfurled for the first time, fluttering proudly in the sea breeze, it felt like their adventure had truly, officially begun.
"NOW FOR THE CANNONS!" Luffy roared, his excitement boundless.
He ran to one of the four cannons Merry had so thoughtfully installed, aiming it at a large, distant rock formation.
BOOM! The cannonball sailed high, missing the rock by a mile and splashing uselessly into the sea.
BOOM! This one fell short.
BOOM! This one went completely sideways.
"Let me do it," Usopp said with a sigh, gently pushing his captain aside. He calmly assessed the distance, calculated the wind's direction, and adjusted the cannon's angle with a practiced eye.
"FIRE!"
BOOM!
The cannonball flew in a perfect, graceful arc. It struck the rock dead center.
KABOOM!
The entire rock formation shattered into a million pieces.
Luffy, Nami, and Zoro stared in stunned silence.
Luffy's face broke into a massive grin. He pointed a finger at Usopp. "AMAZING! Okay, it's decided! You are officially the sniper of this crew!"
Usopp's chest swelled with pride, tears of joy streaming down his face. "Captain…" he sniffled. He finally had a real role. He was Sniper of the Straw Hat Pirates.
Later that day, a "serious" discussion was underway in the Merry's small galley.
"Okay, our crew is starting to take shape," Nami said, ticking points off on her fingers. "We have a captain, a combatant, a navigator, and a sniper. But there's one position that's absolutely essential for a long voyage, especially if we're heading to the Grand Line."
"Yeah, you're right," Zoro agreed, his arms crossed. "We definitely need one."
"We'll die without one," Usopp added grimly.
Luffy burst into the room, his face lit up with a brilliant idea. "I know! I've been thinking about it too! We absolutely need to find one right now!"
The crew looked at him, relieved that their simple-minded captain was finally on the same page.
"We need…" Luffy declared, his eyes sparkling with excitement, "…A MUSICIAN!"
There was a moment of stunned silence, followed by a collective, furious outburst.
"A MUSICIAN?!" the other three screamed in unison.
"ARE YOU AN IDIOT?!" Nami shrieked. "WE'RE GOING TO STARVE TO DEATH AND YOU WANT SOMEONE TO PLAY A SONG ABOUT IT?!"
"We need a cook, you moron!" Zoro yelled, shaking him.
Their argument was cut short by a loud thump from the deck above, followed by a shout.
"Aha! A pirate ship! Prepare to be boarded, you scum!"
They rushed outside to see a man with a sword standing on their railing. Zoro sighed. "I'll handle this."
The "fight" was over in two seconds. Zoro simply disarmed the man with a single, non-lethal strike of his sword's hilt.
"Z-Zoro-aniki?!" the defeated swordsman stammered, looking up from the deck.
Zoro squinted. "Johnny? What are you doing here?"
It turned out to be an old acquaintance from his bounty hunting days. Johnny quickly explained that his partner, Yosaku, was gravely ill on their small boat nearby.
They brought Yosaku aboard. He was a ghastly sight. His skin was pale, his eyes were sunken, and his gums were bleeding. He looked like he was on death's door.
"He's going to die, aniki!" Johnny wailed. "Some incurable disease of the sea has got him!"
Nami took one look at Yosaku, rolled her eyes, and walked over to a crate of supplies Kaya had provided.
"He's not dying," she said, her voice dripping with exasperation. "He has scurvy, you incompetent fools."
She pulled out a handful of fresh limes and shoved them into Yosaku's mouth. "Squeeze these into his mouth. Now."
Luffy and Usopp did as they were told. And to Johnny's absolute amazement, Yosaku began to recover almost instantly. Color returned to his face, his breathing evened out, and within minutes, he was sitting up, looking completely revitalized.
After their recovery, the two bounty hunters stood at attention and gave a formal, synchronized introduction.
"We are the pirate-hunting duo, Johnny and Yosaku!"
Seeing Yosaku's near-death experience firsthand finally made the reality of their situation sink in for everyone.
"WE NEED A COOK!" Luffy, Zoro, Nami, and Usopp all shouted in perfect unison.
Johnny, overhearing them, lit up. "A cook? Aniki, if you're looking for the best cook on the high seas, I know just the place!"
He explained that a few days' sail from their current position, right near the entrance to the Grand Line, there was a legendary sea restaurant.
"It's a floating restaurant, a paradise for any seafaring man, called the Baratie!"