Chapter 177: Carrot Follows
The Thousand Sunny
"Right rudder... a little more..."
"Just a touch more..."
Nami lay sprawled across the deck, her voice barely a whisper, her limbs splayed at angles that suggested she had given up on life approximately three hours ago.
"Yes..." Chopper wheezed beside her, his small body flattened against the Sunny's grassy deck like a fur rug someone had dropped from a great height.
"HEY! YOU GUYS!"
Luffy bounced around them in circles, his energy level completely undiminished by their near-death experience.
"GET IT TOGETHER! THE SHIP'S GONNA SINK!"
Nami's fist connected with the top of Luffy's skull with enough force to leave a visible lump. "THIS IS YOUR FAULT! You jumped off Zou with all of us tied together! We nearly DIED!"
"I was terrified! And I don't even have a heart to be terrified with! Yohohoho... ho..." Brook's skeletal frame rattled weakly against the mast.
Pekoms lay flat on the deck, his turtle shell rising and falling with each labored breath. "I'm experiencing... the joy of being alive... right now. Also, Straw Hat. Remember this. Benefactor or not... I will bite you to death. Gawu."
Pedro gripped the railing with both paws, his legs still visibly trembling. "Why... why did I volunteer for this mission... I have so many regrets..."
In the cabin, Itachi pushed open the galley door and released a long, slow exhale.
"Really..."
The small rabbit mink who had been happily chewing carrots on the galley counter froze mid-bite. Her enormous ears perked up. Her whiskers twitched.
"Oh! You found me!"
She bounced past Itachi and exploded onto the deck in a blur of white fur and boundless enthusiasm.
"THAT WAS SO EXCITING! SO THRILLING! I'M FINALLY AT SEA! KARUQIU!"
"Hey—why is SHE so energetic?!" Luffy pointed at the bouncing rabbit.
Then everyone processed what they were seeing.
"GAROTT?!"
Carrot beamed. "Is this really the sea?! It's so BIG! And so BLUE! And so—"
"Carrot!" Nami scrambled to her feet. "Why are you HERE?!"
"Oh, I didn't actually come with you." Carrot waggled her ears mysteriously. "I had the little monkey bring me down earlier. On the cable boat. When they were treating the Elephant Lord's wound."
She tapped her chin.
"I had to give him three carrots before he'd agree. Karuqiu!"
Before anyone could respond, Carrot had already launched herself at Luffy. Her teeth clamped gently around his ear.
"Karuqiu!"
"Nami!" Another ear-bite.
"Chopper!" A third.
"Corpse Baron!" A fourth.
"OUCH! That's surprisingly firm!"
"SHIT!" Brook's bones rattled.
And then—
POOF.
Carrot's teeth closed on empty air. A cloud of smoke dissipated where Itachi had been standing. The man himself reappeared at the bow of the ship, arms crossed, expression unreadable.
Carrot's eyes went wide. "WAS THAT MAGIC?! THE LEGENDARY MAGIC?! ITACHI, KARUQIU!"
She launched herself toward the bow. Pedro's paw closed around her collar mid-leap.
"Sorry. We're going back."
"WHAT?!" Carrot's ears drooped so fast they nearly turned inside out. "NO! If I go back now, Wanda will FLAY me! Please! Just let me sail with Luffy and the others! Just for a little adventure!"
Adventure.
The word hit the deck like a thunderbolt.
Itachi visibly shuddered.
Nami lunged forward and clamped her hand over Carrot's mouth. "Shhh! Carrot! That word is FORBIDDEN right now!"
Even Luffy looked nervous. "Yeah. Say that word again and you'll find out what rabbit roast tastes like."
"Is he really that scary?" Carrot's ears went limp.
Pedro knelt to her level. "This isn't a pleasure cruise. We're infiltrating an Emperor's stronghold."
"PLEASE! I'll do anything! I won't cause trouble! Just take me with you!" Carrot tore open her backpack and began pulling out items with increasing desperation. "LOOK! I brought supplies! Lunch! Juice! A change of clothes!"
She held them up one by one.
Lunch: three wilting carrots. Juice: a small flask of carrot juice. Change of clothes: a single, very tiny carrot-patterned t-shirt.
Pekoms adjusted his sunglasses. "How long exactly did you think this voyage was going to be?"
Carrot's eyes grew even wider. "Is the sea... THAT big?!"
"I'M SO EXCITED! This is my first time outside Zou!"
Luffy sat down heavily. He picked up one of Carrot's carrots and bit into it with a crunch.
"Ah, whatever. Can you protect yourself?"
"Of course I can! I'm a—"
In the next instant, Carrot's teeth were buried in Luffy's throat.
"WHY ARE YOU EATING MY CARROTS?!"
"LUFFY! PET HER HEAD! QUICKLY!" Nami shouted.
Luffy reached up and patted Carrot's head. The rabbit mink's expression instantly softened. Her jaws released. Her ears went floppy. Her face flushed pink.
"That was close! I almost died!" Luffy collapsed backward.
"Here! You can have some carrots if you want!" Carrot's rage had vanished as quickly as it appeared.
Chopper watched the entire exchange with his jaw hanging open. "Luffy... almost got killed..."
From the sail mast, Pedro spoke up. "She can fight. I've trained her myself."
"Yeah! I'll definitely take care of—oh!"
Carrot's rabbit head swiveled toward the helm, where Itachi was silently adjusting their course.
"Itachi hasn't done Karuqiu yet!"
She flew across the deck at a speed that genuinely impressed Pedro—
And Itachi caught her by both ears.
Carrot dangled from his grip, her long legs kicking uselessly. The expression on Itachi's face—the black lines, the half-lidded eyes, the quiet promise of violence—made her blood run cold.
"If you touch me... I will use you as shark bait."
"AAAAH! ITACHI IS TERRIFYING!"
Nami walked over, waving a dismissive hand. "He's fine with it. If he really wanted you gone, you'd already be in the water."
Itachi released Carrot's ears. The rabbit mink scrambled behind Nami, peeking out with wary eyes.
"However." Itachi's voice cut through the chaos. Everyone went still. "I need everyone to understand. We are retrieving Sanji. We are NOT starting a war. We are NOT on an adventure. We are NOT on vacation. Is that clear?"
Chopper opened his mouth to respond—
Luffy's stomach roared.
"I'M STARVING! WHO'S COOKING?!"
"...Itachi-san." Pedro's voice was very gentle. "I'm... sorry."
"Forget it. This is normal now." Itachi turned back to the helm. His expectations had been adjusted. His standards had been lowered. His will to resist had been systematically dismantled over the course of his time with this crew.
Carrot, meanwhile, had been circling Itachi like a nervous animal approaching a predator. She sniffed at his cloak. She sniffed at his shoulder. She leaned in close, her whiskers twitching—
And bit his ear.
The silence that followed was deafening.
"HEEEELP!!!"
Carrot's scream echoed across the New World as a wooden crossbar extended from the Sunny's mast and dangled her over the open sea.
Nami sighed. "Well. At least Carrot's presence serves one purpose."
"What's that?"
"She gives Itachi someone to vent his frustrations on."
She tied her hair back and strode toward the galley. "Fine. I'll cook. The rest of you—watch the sea."
"NO PROBLEM! MA'AM!"
Nami paused at the galley door. "Except Itachi. Everyone else: one hundred thousand berries per meal."
"WAIT! THAT'S ALL OUR POCKET MONEY!"
Luffy, Brook, and Chopper scrambled after her.
"If I don't cook, who will?" Nami's smile was pure navigational cunning.
Luffy rolled up his sleeves. "Fine! I'll do it myself!"
(End of Chapter)
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