A few days earlier.
Banaro Island.
The wind dragged dust through the empty streets. Shuttered windows creaked. The town felt abandoned—like it was holding its breath.
Five figures walked through the center road without fear.
Marshall D. Teach led them, boots heavy against the dirt.
Behind him—
Jesus Burgess rolled his shoulders eagerly.
Van Augur's calm eyes scanned rooftops through thin lenses.
Lafitte tapped his cane lightly with each step.
Doc Q swayed atop his sickly horse, Stronger, coughing faintly.
"Zehahahaha…"
Teach's laughter broke the silence."Feels nostalgic walkin' through places like this…"
Van Augur adjusted his glasses. "Teach someone is here."
Burgess cracked his knuckles. "Heh, a strong one at that."
Then—
A voice drifted down from above.
"Yo, Teach."
All five stopped.
Teach's grin widened slowly as he tilted his head up.
Perched on a rooftop, sitting casually with one knee raised—
Portgas D. Ace.
Hat shadowing his eyes.
A small flame flickered at his fingertip. "You had enough playing pirate?"
Teach's teeth flashed.
"Well, if it ain't Captain Ace."
"How you doin'?"
Ace didn't smile.
"You've got a lot of nerve."
"After what you did."
Burgess scoffed. "Heh. Sounds angry."
Van Augur remained silent.
Teach scratched his beard.
"Well now…"
"Thatch is restin' peacefully."
"Six feet under."
"Zehahahahaha!"
The laughter echoed against broken walls.
Ace's hand clenched.
Flames burst around him, the rooftop blackening beneath his boots.
"How can he rest in peace…"
"…after you stabbed him in the back?"
Teach's grin sharpened.
"Back?"
"You think I betrayed him?"
He spread his arms slightly.
"I was never one of you."
The air grew heavier.
"I joined Whitebeard's crew for one reason."
"To increase my chances."
"To search."
"To wait."
"For this."
Darkness pooled in his palm.
Thick.
Swallowing the light around it.
Even the dust seemed to fall into it.
Ace's eyes hardened.
"You killed your crewmate…"
"…for a Devil Fruit?"
Teach's voice lowered, almost reverent.
"This ain't just a fruit."
"This is power."
"The strongest power in the world."
"The Yami Yami no Mi."
He flexed his fingers.
Darkness stretched outward like claws.
"Talkin' about it won't do it justice."
"This fruit…"
"…is the key to my dreams."
"Zehahahahaha!"
Ace dropped from the rooftop.
Landing lightly.
Fire coiling around him.
"You disgust me."
Teach tilted his head.
"Still angry?"
Ace's voice burned.
"You murdered a man who called you brother."
"You spat on Pops' name."
"You think I'd let that slide?"
Burgess stepped forward eagerly. "Captain! Let me handle him!"
Teach raised a hand. "No."
His eyes locked onto Ace. "You're valuable, Ace."
He grinned wider. "Join my crew."
The wind seemed to stop.
Ace stared at him.
"…What?"
"We can rule this world together."
"You've got strength."
"You've got a name."
"I'll even make you my second-in-command."
"Zehahahaha!"
Ace laughed once.
Cold.
"You think I'd join trash like you?"
Teach's grin didn't fade.
"Why not?"
"Whitebeard's era is ending."
"The old man's sick."
"You know it."
Ace's flames surged higher.
"You don't know anything about Pops."
Teach continued calmly.
"Whitebeard is already guaranteed to be dead once I'm done with him."
"The other Emperors?"
"They'll have their turn."
"And as for Ada?"
His eyes gleamed.
"I'll surpass her soon enough."
Ace's jaw tightened.
"You talk big."
"But killing your own crewmate…"
"…makes you smaller than dirt."
He pointed forward, fire spiraling.
"Whitebeard is the man who will become King of the Pirates!"
"And he's the only man I'll ever call my Captain!"
Teach's expression darkened slightly.
"Still clingin' to that dream, huh?"
"Then come at me."
Fire exploded outward.
Darkness swallowed it whole.
The town shook.
Flames roared into the sky.
Black voids tore through buildings.
The earth cracked.
Heat and gravity twisted together violently.
The battle raged—
Just as history would remember it.
In the end—
Ace lay on the shattered ground.
Smoke rising weakly from his body.
Teach stood over him, breathing heavy but smiling.
"Zehahahaha…"
"You were strong, Ace."
"But you can't beat darkness with fire."
Ace tried to move.
His body wouldn't respond.
His flames flickered weakly—
Then faded.
Teach leaned closer. "You'll make a fine bargaining chip."
Ace's vision blurred.
Sounds grew distant.
The sky above him dimmed.
Inside his fading consciousness—
Thoughts surfaced.
Pops…
He remembered Whitebeard's massive hand resting on his head.
Luffy…
That stupid grin.
That reckless charge.
Aunt Ada…
The way she scolded him and still smiled.
I'm too weak.
I couldn't defeat him.
His breathing grew shallow.
I couldn't protect our name.
I couldn't stop him.
I guess…
This is it for me.
A faint ember sparked in his chest—
Then dimmed.
I'm sorry.
Darkness closed in.
And the fire went out.
————————-
Fast forward to the current day.
The Thousand Sunny sailed peacefully across glittering waters.
A bright afternoon.
Clear skies.
Luffy stood at the bow, grinning. "I'm hungry!"
Usopp groaned. "You're always hungry!"
Zoro leaned against the mast. "Didn't you just eat?"
Luffy ignored them. "There's something big under the ship!"
Chopper rushed to the railing. "Eh?! A Sea King?!"
The water suddenly exploded upward.
A massive Sea King burst from beneath the waves.
"MEAT!!!" Luffy shouted.
Within minutes—
Ropes tightened.
Franky flexed. "SUPER haul!"
The enormous Sea King crashed onto the deck with a heavy thud.
The ship tilted slightly.
Sanji already had knives out.
"Fresh ingredients…"
"Dinner's looking good."
But suddenly—
Something moved inside the Sea King's open mouth.
Everyone froze.
"…Did that thing just twitch?" Usopp whispered.
A small, pink blur crawled out—
Slipped—
And landed on the deck with a soft splash.
Silence.
Slowly—
She sat up.
Short green hair.
Bright brown eyes.
A shimmering fish tail instead of legs.
The Straw Hats' jaws dropped.
"A… mermaid…?" Chopper whispered.
Their first one.
In person.
Up close.
Luffy's eyes sparkled like stars.
"WOOOOAAAHHHHH!!!"
Usopp screamed. "IT'S REAL?!"
Robin smiled calmly. "How fascinating…"
Franky struck a pose. "SUUUUPER beautiful!"
Sanji froze.
Then tears burst from his eyes.
"This…"
"…is paradise."
Brook leaned forward.
"Yohohoho…"
"May I see your panties?"
Nami's foot smashed into his skull.
"STOP THAT YOU PERVERTED SKELETON!"
Brook's head spun around. "Yohohoho! Worth asking!"
The mermaid blinked.
Then smiled nervously.
"Um… hello."
"My name is Camie."
Beat.
Then her eyes widened in horror.
"EH?! HUMANS?!!!"
Nami deadpanned.
"That's a little late."
Luffy crouched in front of her. "Do you poop?"
Camie blinked. "Of course I do!"
Sanji grabbed Luffy by the collar. "STOP ASKING HER STUPID QUESTIONS!"
He turned dramatically toward Camie, hearts in his eyes.
"My lady…"
"This is a dream come true."
"It's my first time meeting a mermaid."
Zoro lazily cut in. "What about that old woman in Water Seven?"
Chopper nodded. "Yeah! Granny Kokoro was a mermaid!"
Sanji froze.
Color drained from his face.
He collapsed to his knees.
"DON'T REMIND ME OF HER!!!"
Brook laughed loudly. "Yohohohoho!"
Camie tilted her head. "You guys are… strange."
Robin only smiled. "We know."
———————
Later—
The Sunny anchored near a rocky inlet.
Camie hovered nervously near the edge of the deck, wringing her fingers together.
"My friend was taken…" she said, voice small. "By some bad guys… they ride flying fish…"
Usopp stiffened. "Flying fish?! That sounds expensive."
Franky's eyes lit up. "Flying fish? That's SUPER cool."
Camie shook her head quickly. "No, no! They're scary! They capture people and sell them!"
The mood shifted.
Luffy cracked his knuckles with a wide grin.
"Bad guys?"
He stepped forward.
"Let's go beat them up."
Nami sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Of course that's your solution…"
Robin smiled faintly. "It usually works."
Zoro adjusted his swords. "Where are they?"
Camie pointed toward the coast. "Over there! They use that cove as a base!"
They followed her to a narrow stretch of shoreline.
Broken boats.
Fishing nets scattered carelessly.
And standing near the water—
An octopus fish-man with six arms, nervously pacing inside a cage.
Nami froze mid-step. "…Hatchan?"
The octopus turned slowly.
When he saw them, his eyes widened.
"Eh?! Straw Hat?!"
Luffy blinked.
"Oh! The takoyaki guy from Nami's village!"
Usopp pointed accusingly. "You tried to stab Zoro!"
Zoro shrugged. "He wasn't that strong."
Hatchan flinched.
"I—I'm sorry about that…"
Nami's expression hardened. "You've got a lot of nerve showing your face."
Camie looked between them in confusion.
"Eh?! You guys know Hatchi-san?"
Zoro narrowed his eye. "I thought Jinbe brought the Arlong crew back for punishment."
Camie gasped. "You know Boss Jinbe too?!"
Sanji lit a cigarette.
"Yeah."
"The Arlong Pirates enslaved Nami-san's home."
"We went there to free it."
Chopper puffed up proudly. "And we won! Technically it was them since I haven't joined the crew yet."
Camie's eyes widened. "Arlong… I heard Boss Jinbe locked that guy up in Impel Down."
She looked at Hatchan. "As for others like Hatchi-san… they've been going through rehabilitation."
Hatchan bowed deeply, all six arms touching the ground.
"I was wrong!"
"I followed Arlong because I was weak!"
"I didn't think about humans as people!"
Nami crossed her arms.
"So he's a good guy now?"
Her tone was flat.
"I haven't forgiven him."
Hatchan didn't lift his head.
"I don't expect forgiveness…"
"I just… wanted to apologize."
Camie clasped her hands.
"I don't know much about your past, Nami-chin…"
"But Hatchan-san really changed."
"He cooks takoyaki now."
"He doesn't fight anymore."
Usopp blinked. "Takoyaki?"
Luffy's eyes sparkled. "Food?"
Hatchan looked up slightly.
"I opened a small stand…"
Zoro muttered, "From swords to snacks."
Nami stared at Hatchan for a long moment.
"…We'll see."
It wasn't forgiveness.
But it wasn't rejection either.
The tension hung thick in the air—
Until—
A loud mechanical whirring echoed above them.
Everyone looked up.
Shapes descended from the sky.
Men riding enormous flying fish.
They circled like vultures.
The Flying Fish Riders.
Their leader landed dramatically in front of them.
Black leather coat.
Iron mask.
Cape fluttering.
"TODAY IS THE DAY YOU WILL DIE BLACK LEG SANJI!"
He pointed directly at Sanji.
Sanji blinked.
"Eh? Me?"
Usopp whispered, "You did something again, didn't you?"
Sanji snapped, "I didn't do anything!"
The masked man trembled with rage.
"Because of you…!"
He ripped off his helmet.
Gasps erupted.
The face beneath—
Looked exactly like the terrible sketch on Sanji's wanted poster.
Crooked nose.
Distorted jaw.
Unfortunate eyebrows.
Silence.
Then—
Luffy pointed at him.
"Oi, Sanji!"
"Handle that!"
Sanji's eye twitched violently.
"HOW IS THIS MY FAULT?!"
Zoro smirked.
"Two peas in a pod."
Sanji kicked him across the sand.
"SHUT UP, MARIMO!"
Brook collapsed to his knees laughing.
"Yohohohoho!"
"What a cruel twist of fate!"
Franky squinted.
"Wait… that really is the same face."
Usopp nodded. "Even the ugly part."
Sanji grabbed his own hair in frustration.
"I TOLD THEM THAT DRAWING WAS WRONG!!!"
The man—Duval—pointed at Sanji with shaking fingers.
"Because of that poster…"
"Every bounty hunter in the sea chased me!"
"They thought I was you!"
"I had to wear a mask for weeks!!!"
Chopper gasped. "That's terrible!"
Nami muttered, "Well… that sketch is awful."
Sanji fell to his knees.
"I HATE THAT DRAWING!!!"
Duval clenched his fists.
"I swore revenge!"
"I built this crew!"
"I trained!"
"All for this moment!"
He pointed again dramatically.
"YOU WILL PAY!"
Luffy stretched his arms lazily.
"Sanji."
Sanji looked up slowly.
"…Yeah."
"Clean up your mess."
Sanji stood.
Cracked his neck.
"Fine."
He exhaled.
"But after this, I'm suing the Marines."
Zoro snorted.
"In your dreams."
Brook laughed again.
"Yohohoho! This is better than theatre!"
And just beyond the chaos—
The sea shimmered.
The next island waiting in the distance.
Unaware—
That Sabaody would change everything.
——————-
After the chaos—
After Sanji forcibly "fixed" Duval's face with one devastating kick—
After the Flying Fish Riders swore loyalty out of pure awe—
Peace finally settled over the shore.
Hatchan had been rescued from captivity.
Camie hovered anxiously beside him.
And a large, pink starfish clung dramatically to Hatchan's shoulder.
"CAMIEEEEE!!!"
The starfish sobbed loudly. "I THOUGHT YOU DIED!!!"
Camie's eyes watered. "Pappag!"
She hugged him tightly despite having no arms long enough for a proper embrace.
"I'm okay!"
"I'm okay because of them!"
Pappag turned dramatically toward the Straw Hats.
He adjusted his tiny crown.
"I am Pappag!"
"World-famous designer!"
"And Camie's childhood friend!"
Usopp blinked. "…You can talk?"
Pappag sniffed proudly.
"Of course I can talk!"
"I thought I was human until I was three!"
Everyone stared.
"…What?" Chopper whispered.
Hatchan laughed awkwardly.
"He's… special."
Luffy grinned.
"You're funny! I like you!"
Pappag beamed.
"Of course you do!"
Then Hatchan grew serious.
He turned to the Straw Hats.
"I owe you everything."
He bowed deeply again.
"I know I can't undo the past…"
"But I want to help."
Nami crossed her arms but didn't stop him.
Hatchan continued.
"You're heading to the New World, right?"
Robin nodded.
"That is the plan."
Hatchan scratched his head.
"To reach the New World…"
"You have to pass through Fish-Man Island."
Franky tilted his head.
"Isn't that underwater?"
Hatchan nodded.
"Ten thousand meters below sea level."
Chopper's eyes bulged.
"THAT DEEP?!"
Usopp turned pale.
"We'll be crushed!"
Hatchan shook his head quickly.
"That's why you need a coating expert."
"A ship has to be coated in special resin bubbles to survive the pressure."
Luffy leaned forward.
"So… like putting soap on the ship?"
"Not soap!" Usopp yelled.
Hatchan smiled slightly.
"I actually know someone."
"A master craftsman."
"The best coating mechanic on Sabaody."
Nami perked up.
"You do?"
Hatchan nodded.
"He lives on Grove 13."
"He's a bit strange…"
Zoro muttered, "Everyone we meet is strange."
Hatchan continued.
"But he's the best."
"If anyone can get you to Fish-Man Island safely…"
"It's him."
Robin smiled faintly.
"That's convenient."
Pappag puffed out his chest.
"We'll guide you!"
Camie nodded eagerly.
"Yes! We'll take you to him!"
Sanji's eyes turned to hearts again.
"A mermaid guiding us personally…"
"This is fate."
Zoro rolled his eyes.
"You're pathetic."
——————————
Later—
The Thousand Sunny sailed forward once more.
The shoreline faded behind them.
Hatchan and Pappag stood near the railing, pointing ahead.
"Almost there!"
The sea changed.
The air felt different.
And then—
They saw it.
Ahead—
Something enormous shimmered on the horizon.
Massive mangrove trees rose directly from the ocean, their roots forming natural islands.
Bubbles floated upward endlessly—
Like drifting glass spheres catching the sunlight.
Usopp's mouth fell open.
"…What is that place?"
Robin stepped forward, calm as ever.
"…That's it."
"Sabaody Archipelago."
Franky let out a long whistle.
"Now that's SUPER."
Chopper pressed against the railing.
"It's so big…"
Hatchan explained.
"The 'islands' are actually giant mangrove trees."
"The bubbles come from their roots."
Sanji flicked his cigarette away.
"So this is the last stop before the New World…"
Zoro adjusted his swords.
"Smells like trouble."
Sanji smirked.
"Smells like beautiful ladies."
Nami placed her hands on her hips.
"Everyone behave."
She glared specifically at Luffy.
"And no causing trouble."
Luffy blinked.
"…Why would I cause trouble ?"
Zoro smirked.
"Because you're you."
Brook laughed.
"Yohohoho! This island already sounds lively!"
Pappag pointed dramatically.
"Welcome!"
"To the gateway of destiny!"
Camie smiled brightly.
"And the path to Fish-Man Island!"
The Sunny sailed toward the towering mangroves—
Toward bubbles.
Toward the unknown.
Toward the edge of the first half of the Grand Line.
None of them—
Had any idea—
That this island would split their world apart.