Chapter 34 – The Straw Hat Girl
Nami's POV
Gold. Shiny, glittering, irresistible gold.
Nami crouched inside Alvida's treasure hold, stuffing jewels, coins, and even a golden candlestick into her satchel. Her lips curled in satisfaction, her fingers dancing across polished surfaces as if she were caressing the face of a lover.
"Treasure," she whispered. "Mama, I'm going to buy us a whole future with this…"
The faint sound of heavy boots above made her freeze. Crew voices. She bit her lip, ears straining. They weren't after her—they were panicking about the chaos on deck. That bought her time.
Still, her thoughts wandered. She wasn't stealing just for herself. Belle-mère, Aqua, Nojiko… and him. That idiot Sunny who always showed up at the most dramatic moments, making everything look easy. The fact that he wasn't here right now left her oddly… exposed.
She shook her head. Focus, Nami. Treasure first, idiotic Sunny later.
---
Sunny's POV
Sunny leaned against the mast of his own small boat drifting near Alvida's ship, arms crossed, eyes half-lidded. He wasn't worried about Nami's little "side job." He already knew how it would play out.
Stealing from Alvida's crew. Brave, risky, and very Nami.
But Sunny's mind wasn't really on Nami. His gaze stretched toward the horizon. So… the timeline finally reaches him, huh? Luffy.
Or rather—his grin twitched—the Luffy of this version of the world.
He chuckled lowly. His thoughts echoed with an almost Garp-like sternness. I'll have to train that rubber brat just like Grandpa did me. Except, you know… better. Tougher. Smarter. Can't let him slack.
The air around him shimmered. A sudden chill cut through his chest. The world slowed, then stopped. Seagulls froze mid-flight. Waves turned into glass. Time itself held its breath.
And then he heard that voice.
---
RBG's Interruption
"Ooooh~ ho ho ho!"
Sunny's left eyebrow twitched. Not you again…
RBG's voice echoed like an annoying narrator in his skull. "You know, Sunny-boy, you're quite the lucky one. Today's lottery prize… was a special roll."
"Lottery?" Sunny asked flatly. "What now? You want me to fight another god? Wrestle the sun? Arm-wrestle with fate itself?"
"Nope! Even better."
Sunny groaned. "That usually means worse."
RBG cackled. "From a pool of twenty different versions of Monkey D. Luffy—including two-piece Luffy, horror Luffy, and, oh, my favorite, tax-collector Luffy—you, my boy, pulled the jackpot. You're not meeting Monkey D. Luffy… You're meeting Lucy."
Sunny's jaw nearly dropped. "Lucy?"
"Yup! Genderbent Straw Hat! A she instead of a he. Same rubber body, same idiocy, but with a bit more charm and—"
Sunny's eye twitched violently. "You've got to be kidding me."
"Enjoy, champ! Don't break her too fast~"
The voice faded. The world started again.
Sunny exhaled slowly, a vein pulsing in his forehead. "I hate you, RBG."
---
Lucy's POV
Lucy sat inside a barrel, legs folded, scarfing down stolen food she had managed to grab before Alvida's men shoved her inside.
"Meat… meat… meat~!" she sang happily, cheeks puffed out as she chewed. Grease ran down her chin, but she didn't care.
Suddenly, sunlight poured in as the barrel lid popped open.
"Oi! Who's in there?"
Lucy blinked up at a gang of Alvida's pirates. Her big, round eyes blinked once. Twice. Then she grinned.
"Shishishi~. Hiya!"
One elastic punch later, the crew went flying like bowling pins.
The ship rattled. Crew screamed. And Lucy climbed out of the barrel, stretching her arms wide. "Ahh! Fresh air! And hey, where's my meat?"
When Alvida herself stormed out, swinging her spiked club, Lucy tilted her straw hat, her grin unshaken.
"I'm Lucy. And I'm gonna be King—no—Queen of the Pirates!"
Her fist slammed forward, stretching like a whip. "Gomu Gomu no… Pistol!"
Alvida went flying, stars circling her head.
---
The Meeting
Nami slipped onto the deck, bag of treasure slung across her shoulder, just in time to see Alvida crash into the railing.
"What the…?" Nami muttered.
Sunny's boat bumped against the side of Alvida's. He stepped up, cloak flowing, eyes glinting with lazy amusement.
"That was… quite impressive." His voice carried easily across the deck, deep and smooth.
Nami's heart skipped once—she'd never get used to the way he always arrived just at the perfect moment.
Lucy spun around, eyes locking onto Sunny. The instant she saw him, something inside her chest sparked like lightning.
"Woah…" she whispered.
Sunny tilted his head, lips quirking in his usual cocky half-smile. "You've got some impressive punching power, Straw Hat girl."
[A/N:Yeah Sunny Aura so hard even one piece MC got smitten]
Lucy's face burned red. She stomped forward, jabbing a finger toward his chest. "You—hey—you're coming with me! I don't know who you are, but you're joining my crew!"
Nami groaned. "Oh no. Another idiot."
Sunny just laughed.
And for the first time in her wild, reckless life, Lucy felt something new. That boy standing before her… the one with eyes like the sky and an aura that bent the world around him…
She didn't just want him in her crew.
She wanted him in her life.