The sea swallowed the little ship of Barock Works slowly.
Its broken hull vanished beneath the surface with a final hiss of bubbles, leaving only drifting debris and fading ripples behind. The crew of the Going Merry watched in silence, as the last sign of pursuit disappeared.
Luffy stretched his arms lazily. "Guess they won't bother Laboon anymore."
Laboon answered with a deep, gentle cry, the sound echoing against the Red Line like a promise carried by the sea itself.
Cassandra stood at the railing, arms folded, watching the horizon. Crocus stood on the shore of the little island looking at the crew with a smirk.
"You're heading into a cruel sea," Crocus said calmly. "But you don't look like people who will break easily."
Luffy waved. "We'll come back stronger!"
Nami bowed politely. "Thank you for everything."
Nojiko smiled warmly. "Take care of Laboon."
Bartolomeo saluted dramatically. "Guard that whale with your life, Crocus-jiisan!"
Crocus snorted. "Get lost already."
Laboon lowered his massive head toward the ship. Luffy jumped onto the railing and pressed his fist against the painted flag.
"Wait for us!"
The whale answered with a joyful cry, water spraying high into the air.
The Going Merry turned.
The Grand Line awaited.
The Going Merry glided forward under a gentle wind.
Cassandra stood at the center of the deck, arms crossed.
"Everyone," she said.
Her voice was calm, but serious enough that even Luffy slowly sat up.
"We need to talk."
Nami looked up. "About what?"
"Haki."
Silence.
Sanji raised an eyebrow. "What is Haki?"
Bartolomeo gulped. "I never heard of it Cassandra-senpai?"
"Can you eat it?" Luffy asked
Cassandra shook her head. "The foundation to become strong."
She walked slowly, looking at each of them.
"There are three types. Observation. Armament. Conqueror's. I won't talk about the last one yet. You don't learn that. You either have it, or you don't."
Luffy tilted his head and sighed. "More boring training stuff."
Cassandra ignored the comment and continued.
"Observation Haki lets you feel intent, presence and movement before it happens. It's not seeing. It's feeling."
She turned to Nojiko.
"For a sniper, it means you don't aim where the target is. You aim where they will be."
Nojiko's eyes sharpened.
Cassandra turned to Nami.
"For a navigator, it means sensing storms before they exist."
Nami swallowed.
"To Sanji," Cassandra continued, "it means reacting without thinking. Your body moves before your mind does."
Sanji straightened slightly.
"Armament," Cassandra said, her voice lowering, "is the difference between a sword that cuts… and a sword that matters."
She placed her hand on her blade.
"It coats your will over your body or over your weapon. It allows you to strike things that can not be touched. It can hurt people, who think themselves untouchable. Like the smoke guy you mentioned Luffy."
Luffy bored for the most part now looked at Cassandra with interest.
Bartolomeo raised a hand timidly. "S-so it can make my barrier stronger?"
"Yes," Cassandra said immediately. "If you learn to layer it."
Luffy yawned. "Sounds hard."
Cassandra turned to him.
Her eyes were sharp.
"Gol D. Roger didn`t ate a Devil Fruit so how was he so strong?"
Luffy froze. He didn´t know the answer to that. He knew Roger was strong, but he didn`t knew how he fought.
"He wasn't the Pirate King because he was loud," Cassandra continued. "He wasn't because he was lucky. He wasn't because he had friends."
She stepped closer to him.
"He was Pirate King, because he could stand in front of monsters… and they took him seriously."
Luffy slowly sat up.
Cassandra looked directly into his eyes.
"If you don't learn Haki, Luffy, the world won't notice you."
"It will ignore you and your dream will always stay a dream."
Silence.
Luffy stared at her.
Then he grinned.
"Okay. I'll learn it."
Sanji blinked. "That worked?"
Cassandra exhaled softly.
"I'm not asking you to master it," she said. "Not now, but we start by understanding and awakening it. Little by little, or we die later like small frie."
She looked around at all of them.
"Even in the Grand Line not a lot of people know about Haki. So learning it early will boost our combat strength."
"Trust me on this. Without Haki none of our dreams will ever come true."
No one argued.
Even Luffy looked thoughtful.
The wind carried them forward.
After the Log Pose was carefully attached and calibrated, its needle began to spin wildly… before slowly settling in a single direction.
Nami watched it closely. "Crocus said that Whiskey Peak is next."
Sanji raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like a bar."
Cassandra's expression darkened slightly. "It's not."
On the deck sat two figures bound with thick rope, who just woke up.
One was a young woman with long blue hair, dressed as a dancer, eyes sharp despite her calm posture. The other was a man with orange hair ans a little crown on his head. He was bruised, but glared at the crew.
"We had orders," the woman said quietly. "To kill the whale."
Silence fell over the cabin.
Luffy blinked. "Why would anyone want to kill Laboon?"
The man hesitated. "Baroque Works. I mean that is none of your business."
Cassandra's eyes sharpened.
"So," she said calmly, drawing a finger lightly along the rope at her waist, "should I kill them?"
Nami immediately smacked her on the head.
"No! You can't just jump to killing people!"
Cassandra looked at her, genuinely confused. "They admitted intent to murder an innocent creature."
"That still doesn't mean you execute them!" Nami snapped.
Cassandra frowned slightly… then sighed.
"…Fine."
The blue-haired girl studied Cassandra carefully a drop of sweat running down her face. "You're dangerous."
Cassandra shrugged. "I'm honest."
The girl exhaled slowly. "My name is Miss Wednesday and this is Mr. Nine. We are part of Baroque Works."
Nami tilted her head. "You failed pretty badly."
Mr. Nine groaned. "We were supposed to be heroes…"
Cassandra turned toward the crew.
"Whiskey Peak is a town that pretends to welcome pirates. They feast with them. Drink with them. Celebrate them."
She paused.
"Then they collect their bounty."
Sanji's cigarette nearly fell from his mouth. "That's… rude."
Bartolomeo stiffened. "So they're all bounty hunters?!"
"Yes," Cassandra confirmed calmly. "Hundreds of them."
Silence.
Luffy grinned. "Sounds fun."
Nami stared at him. "You're insane."
Nojiko tightened her grip on the railing. "How are we supposed to handle a whole town?"
Cassandra looked at each of them.
"We do exactly what they expect," she said.
"Eat. Drink. Laugh. Relax."
Then her eyes hardened slightly.
"And if they move… I will cut them down."
The crew exchanged uneasy looks.
Sanji exhaled smoke slowly. "I already don't like this place at all."
Bartolomeo gulped. "B-but if Cassandra-senpai is there…"
Luffy laughed. "Then it'll be fine!"
Nami sighed. "You trust her way too much."
Luffy smiled wider. "Of course I do."
Cassandra looked away slightly, uncomfortable with that level of trust.
"Eat well," she added quietly. "Drink enough, but stay cautious. Don't overdo it."
She looked at Nami.
"And keep your money hidden."
Nami smiled slyly. "Already planned."
The Log Pose needle remained steady.
Whiskey Peak awaited them.
A town of smiles.
And knives behind backs.
The Going Merry sailed forward.
Cassandra rested her hand on her sword.
Not in fear, but in preparation.
Everything happened as Cassandra predicted.
The feast had been loud.
Too loud.
Music echoed through the town square. Lanterns burned high. Meat, alcohol and laughter flowed without restraint. The townspeople praised the Straw Hats endlessly, filling their cups, cheering their names, offering beds.
Luffy was already asleep, face buried in a plate.
Sanji laughed, drinking with Nojiko and Bartolomeo.
Nami spoke with the bound Miss Wednesday in quiet conversation.
Cassandra sat slightly apart.
Watching.
Every smile was too perfect.
Every cheer was timed.
Every movement rehearsed.
She did not touch her drink.
She did not eat too much.
She simply memorized faces.
The music stopped, when everyone seemed to sleep.
The lanterns dimmed and the doors were closed.
A man stepped forward with a grin far too sharp.
"Alright, pirates. Party's over." he whispered.
Weapons appeared everywhere.
From rooftops.
From windows.
From behind tables.
The entire town had transformed into a hunting ground.
Cassandra rose calmly.
She did not draw her sword.
Not yet.
"You should have chosen better prey," she said quietly.
The first bounty hunter lunged.
Cassandra moved.
One step.
One slash.
The man fell before he understood, that he was already cut.
The town exploded into chaos.
Most of the other Straw hats awakened.
Bartolomeo shouted and raised a barrier instinctively.
Sanji kicked three attackers into a wall.
Nojiko fired warning shots into the air.
Nami dragged Miss Wednesday back.
As for Cassandra…
Cassandra walked.
She didn't rush.
She didn't spin.
She simply advanced, blade flashing in short, precise arcs.
Wrists cut.
Tendons severed.
Weapons dropped.
She killed every single one of them.
One bounty hunter tried to stab her from behind.
A floating blade impaled his heart and pinned him to a wall.
Cassandra didn't even look back.
Another charged screaming.
She stepped inside his guard and slid his throat with her blade.
Bodies piled up.
Dozens.
Then hundreds.
The town's confidence shattered.
Miss Wednesday stared in disbelief.
"You… you're stronger than they said…"
Cassandra finally turned to her.
"Now you can tell me who you really are."
Vivi swallowed.
"I'm Vivi. Princess of Alabasta."
Silence.
She explained everything.
Crocodile.
Baroque Works.
The civil war.
The agents.
Cassandra listened without interruption.
When Vivi finished, Cassandra simply nodded.
"Then you're not our enemy."
Before Vivi could respond—
A man in a spotted suit dropped from above.
"Miss Wednesday. Mr. 9. You've failed."
Mr. 5.
Beside him floated Miss Valentine.
Vivi stepped forward. "Stop this!"
Mr. 5 laughed. "You were never meant to succeed."
Miss Valentine raised her parasol. "You're in the way."
Luffy finally woke up.
"…Huh?"
Cassandra placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Sit. These aren't your problem."
Luffy blinked. "Okay."
Mr. 5 sneered. "You think you can stop us?"
Cassandra readied her blade.
"You throw mucus that explodes," she said calmly. "And you play with weight. You're not assassins. You're just clowns."
Miss Valentine screamed and charged.
Cassandra sidestepped, slammed her hilt into the woman's stomach, then sent her flying with a wind-infused slash.
Mr. 5 launched an explosive booger.
Cassandra cut it in midair. The two parts landed behind her.
The explosion tore the street apart.
Smoke filled the air.
When it cleared, Cassandra stood untouched.
She appeared behind Mr. 5 in an instant and pinned him to the ground with a mighty trust.
"Baroque Works isn't impressive," she said quietly.
Luffy laughed loudly. "She's scary!"
Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine were not moving. Their fate was unknown.
Then a ship exploded in the distance.
Vivi screamed. "IGARAM!"
A tall woman stood on a rooftop, watching.
Robin alias Miss All Sunday.
Cassandra felt her presence.
She neither hostile nor kind.
Just… observing.
Robin smiled faintly and vanished.
Vivi collapsed in tears.
Cassandra knelt beside her.
"He's probably alive," she said calmly.
Vivi looked up. "How do you know?"
"Because that woman doesn't semm to kill, what she doesn't need to."
The crew gathered around.
Luffy smiled.
"Guess we're going to Alabasta."
Cassandra sheathed her sword.
"Yes," she said. "We are."