I turned around to face my crewmates, fully intending to explain the next phase of our tactical approach with calm, logical reasoning that would make perfect sense to anyone with functioning brain cells.
What I got instead was a wall of shocked faces that looked like they'd just witnessed me perform a miracle or commit an unspeakable act against nature. Possibly both.
The silence stretched for several uncomfortable seconds, broken only by the gentle lapping of waves against the small ship's hull and what sounded suspiciously like Usopp's soul leaving his body through a series of strangled gasps.
'Okay…This is awkward…Why is this awkward? I literally just stored the ship in a bottle using perfectly reasonable mystical means. This shouldn't be more shocking than any of the other impossible things they've seen me do.'
But apparently, it was.
Luffy's mouth was still hanging open wide enough that I could probably fit my fist inside it.
Zoro looked like someone had just told him sake was actually poison.
Nami had frozen mid-breath, her eyes had gone completely blank, indicating that her brain had apparently short-circuited or was having an existential crisis from trying to process what she'd just witnessed.
Sanji's cigarette had finally stopped smoldering on the deck where he'd dropped it earlier, completely forgotten.
Even Vivi and Karoo were staring at me with expressions that mixed awe, terror, and what might have been a growing suspicion that I wasn't entirely human.
'Great. Just great. I've officially crossed some invisible line from "mysterious and useful" to "possibly an eldritch abomination." This is exactly the kind of attention I've spent my entire life trying to avoid.'
The awkwardness was becoming physically painful. I could feel heat creeping up the back of my neck, and my usual analytical mindset was short-circuiting under the weight of their collective stares.
So I did what any reasonable person would do when faced with overwhelming social discomfort—I defaulted to my most emotionally distant tone and pretended everything was completely normal.
"...What?" I asked, keeping my voice as flat and monotone as physically possible.
The word hung in the air like a lead balloon, and I watched as Usopp's face went through about fifteen different shades of disbelief before settling on something that looked like offended bewilderment.
"WHAT?!" he shrieked, his voice climbing into ranges that probably violated several maritime noise regulations.
His arms flailed wildly as he gestured between me and the bottle.
"WHAT?! You're asking WHAT?! Do you—do you not know what you just DID?!"
'I'm fully aware of what I did. I used a magical sword to compress a ship into a bottle through mystical means that violate approximately seventeen laws of physics. But saying that out loud would probably make this worse.'
"I stored the Going Merry inside a bottle," I replied, maintaining my monotone delivery with the kind of desperate commitment usually reserved for people trying to convince themselves that everything is fine when it very clearly isn't.
"THAT'S EXACTLY THE PROBLEM!" Usopp's volume somehow increased further. "You're so CALM about it! You just—you just put our SHIP in a BOTTLE like it's the most NORMAL thing in the WORLD! I don't—I don't know what to think of you right now! Are you even human?!"
That's a surprisingly philosophical question from someone who's usually too busy being terrified to contemplate existential matters. And the answer is "technically yes, but with some supernatural enhancements from another universe." Though I'm definitely not explaining that.
"The ship..." Nami's voice was soft, almost reverent, as she took a tentative step forward. Her eyes never left the bottle in my hand, wide with wonder and what looked like dawning comprehension.
"The Going Merry is really inside that bottle? Like... all of her?"
"Yes," I confirmed, resisting the urge to fidget under her intense scrutiny. "Complete and intact. Just... smaller."
"THAT'S SO COOL!"
The shout came from directly beside my ear, and I nearly jumped out of my skin as I realized Luffy had somehow materialized next to me without making a sound.
'When did he—how did he move that fast?! One second, he was on the other side of the deck, the next, he's invading my personal space like gravity and distance are optional!'
Our Captain was practically vibrating with excitement, his face pressed so close to the bottle that his nose was nearly touching the glass.
His eyes had gone impossibly wide, reflecting the miniaturized ship inside with childlike wonder that was somehow both endearing and mildly terrifying.
"Why didn't you do something like this sooner?!" Luffy demanded, his grin stretching impossibly wide.
"This is amazing! How does it work?! Can you do this to other stuff?! Can you make ME small?!"
"No...…I think?" I replied, not sure if that was accurate. However, the last thing this world needed was a pocket-sized Luffy with the ability to get into even more trouble than usual.
"I can only do this with ships. The Barbossa sword has specific abilities related to vessels and sailing. Other objects are out of the question."
Vivi had moved closer as well, her expression shifting from shock to something approaching analytical curiosity. She studied me with the kind of attention usually reserved for examining historical artifacts or particularly interesting specimens.
"That's still a remarkable feat of power," she said, her voice carrying genuine awe mixed with confusion.
"But Sorcerer-san... you can really do all these things without a Devil Fruit? The combat abilities, the mysterious powers, and now this? It seems impossible."
"My abilities come from different sources," I replied vaguely, which was technically true without revealing anything useful. "The sword has its own properties. My other capabilities are... specialized techniques."
'Specialized techniques from another universe that this world doesn't have a framework to understand. But let's not open that particular can of worms right now.'
Sanji had finally retrieved his dropped cigarette, though he was still staring at me with an expression that suggested he was rapidly revising his entire understanding of reality.
"This is one of the most bizarre things I've seen you do," the cook said slowly, smoke curling from his lips. "And considering everything else—the floating, the golden energy, the mysterious artifacts—that's saying something. I don't even know what to categorize you as anymore. Sorcerer? Magician? Some kind of supernatural entity disguised as a depressing guy?"
'Depressing guy. That's... actually accurate. Though I prefer "realistic" to "depressing." There's a difference between acknowledging life's inherent disappointments and being actively miserable about them.'
"Does it matter?" I asked because getting into a philosophical discussion about my nature seemed counterproductive when we had an ambush to prepare for.
"The point is I can do it, and it solves our ship-guarding problem."
Zoro had been quiet during this entire exchange, his expression thoughtful in a way that indicated he was actually processing the implications rather than just reacting emotionally.
"Is it really alright like this?" he asked, his tone practical despite the absurdity of what we were discussing.
"Can we get the Going Merry back out? Or is she stuck in there permanently?"
'Finally. A tactical question instead of philosophical speculation about my existence. Thank you, swordsman, for being the voice of pragmatic reason.'
"We can retrieve her easily," I explained, holding up the bottle so everyone could see it clearly.
"All we need to do is break the bottle and throw the ship inside into the seawater. She'll return to normal size immediately. The process is completely reversible."
I demonstrated by tilting the bottle slightly, showing how the miniaturized Going Merry moved with the motion, her tiny form perfectly preserved inside the glass.
[This Is Fun!]
The ship's presence echoed through the bottle, and I had to suppress a smile at her continued enthusiasm despite being compressed to bottle size.
'At least someone's enjoying this situation. Though I suppose if I were a ship spirit, being temporarily small might actually be an interesting experience rather than terrifying.'
Nami's expression had shifted from awe to something approaching calculating interest, and I recognized that look—it was the same expression she got when planning a particularly elaborate theft or con.
"This is so convenient," she said, and I could practically see the gears turning in her head.
"You could transport valuable things without anyone knowing. Hide them in plain sight. Is that how you make things appear and disappear from under your clothes? Some kind of shrinking ability?"
'Ah. There's the money-grubbing thinking. Of course, her first instinct after witnessing impossible magic is to figure out how to monetize it.'
"That's a completely different mechanism," I replied, carefully not explaining exactly what that mechanism was.
I held out the bottle toward Nami, watching her eyes widen with surprise.
"Here. Keep this with you."
She blinked, her hands coming up automatically to accept the bottle even as confusion crossed her face.
"Me?" Her voice carried genuine uncertainty, like she couldn't quite believe I was entrusting her with something this important.
"Are you sure? This is the Going Merry. The whole ship. Shouldn't you keep it?"
"It's better this way," I said, and meant it. "You'll be with the infiltration team, which means you'll be in less direct danger than those of us playing decoy. And if something goes wrong with my group, you'll be able to get the ship back and escape."
'Plus, if I'm being completely honest, you're the most responsible person on this crew when it comes to valuable objects. Luffy would probably try to play with it, Zoro would lose it along with his sense of direction, and I don't trust Sanji not to do something stupid if a pretty woman asks nicely.'
Nami's expression softened slightly as she carefully cradled the bottle, and I caught a glimpse of something that might have been genuine delight beneath her usual sly demeanor.
"Alright," she said quietly. "I'll keep her safe."
'Good. That's one less thing to worry about. Now let's get moving before someone else asks uncomfortable questions about my abilities.'
We maneuvered the small abandoned ship toward the beach, the shoreline of Little Garden growing larger with each passing moment. The prehistoric landscape loomed ahead—massive trees that looked like they'd been growing since the dawn of time, cliffs that rose at impossible angles, and an overall atmosphere that screamed "here be monsters" in about fifteen different languages.
'Wonderful. A tropical prehistoric death trap. Exactly what I needed to round out my already fantastic day.'
As we approached, I gathered the infiltration team—Nami, Usopp, and Sanji—for final instructions. They huddled close, and I kept my voice low and professional.
"Listen carefully," I said, pulling out Nami's hand-drawn map and pointing to the marked location where Sparrow's compass had indicated the enemy base.
"Your priority is stealth. Make sure no one is following you on the way to this position."
Usopp nodded nervously, his fingers fidgeting with his slingshot.
"After you infiltrate the enemy base and hijack their communications," I said, moving to the next phase, "you need to send the false report immediately. Don't waste time searching for additional intelligence if it means delaying that primary objective."
Nami's expression was focused, professional. "And after the false report?"
"Steal every communication device you can find," I replied. "Den Den Mushi, paper records, anything that might contain operational intelligence or agent rosters. Then leave the base as quickly and quietly as you arrived."
I marked another location on the map—the stretch of coastline where ships would be anchored.
"Next objective: locate where they've hidden their ships. It should be somewhere along this section of beach, probably camouflaged or concealed. Once you find them, destroy them."
Sanji's curly eyebrow went up. "Destroy them? Isn't that a bit extreme?"
'Extreme? We're fighting a criminal organization led by a Warlord who wants to overthrow a kingdom. This is the opposite of extreme—this is basic tactical necessity.'
"You really want to lock the enemy on this island?" Usopp's voice climbed with concern. "That seems... that seems like…too much…?"
"If the enemies leave after the battle and report their failure back to Crocodile," I interrupted, keeping my tone flat and logical, "then everything we're doing here becomes pointless. The deception fails, they know we're still alive, and we're back to being actively hunted across the ocean."
I could see them processing this, their expressions shifting from uncertainty to reluctant understanding.
"Moreover," I continued, because apparently I needed to spell out every tactical consideration.
"A group of individuals with Devil Fruit abilities isn't going to be contained on this island for long. They'll find a way off eventually—build rafts, signal passing ships, use their powers creatively. Destroying their ships only slows them down, gives us the time we need to reach Arabasta with our deception intact."
'And hopefully by the time they do escape and report back, we'll already be deep into whatever mess Crocodile has created in Arabasta. But that's future Hachiman's problem.'
Nami's eyes had taken on that calculating gleam again. "Can I steal their ships before destroying them?"
'Yeah, that's her first question. Not "how do we destroy ships effectively" or "what if we're discovered." No, it's "can I profit from this before completing the mission?"'
"That's a given," I replied, because honestly, I'd been expecting this question the moment I mentioned ships, which made her smile.
"Take whatever you want. But don't forget to grab their communication devices from the ships, too. And all the Log Poses and Eternal Poses they have."
'Both as navigation aids and as things we can make use of later.'
"After securing or destroying their ships," I said, moving to the final phase, "take out the Going Merry from the bottle and wait for us near the beach. Right about here—"
I marked a location on the map that would give them a good vantage point while remaining concealed from the interior of the island.
"We'll rendezvous there after dealing with the ambush team. If we're not there within two hours of your completion time, assume something went wrong and leave without us."
"WHAT?!" Usopp's voice cracked. "Leave without you?! But—"
"If we're not there in two hours, we're either captured or dead," I said bluntly, because sugar-coating tactical reality helped no one.
"It is the worst-case scenario, and hopefully it won't happen with all of the retreat plans and preparations we have. But it is still a possibility, so keep that in mind."
The silence that followed was heavy with implications none of them wanted to acknowledge.
Sanji lit a fresh cigarette, his expression grim but determined. "It won't come to that."
'Confident. But confidence without preparation is just optimism waiting to be disappointed. Still, I suppose that's better than panicking before we even start.'
SPLASH!
The small ship's hull scraped against sand as we reached the beach, and I found myself staring at the prehistoric forest that stretched before us like a wall of green impossibility.
'These trees had to be the size of skyscrapers, probably home to creatures that haven't existed in my original world for millions of years.'
Everyone disembarked with varying levels of grace—Luffy practically flying off the ship with excitement, Zoro stepping down with casual confidence, the others moving more cautiously as they took in their surroundings.
The moment we were all on solid ground, the sheer scale of Little Garden hit with full force.
The trees were massive—each trunk easily as wide as a house, rising hundreds of feet into the air before their canopies even started. Vines thicker than my torso hung between them like natural bridges. The undergrowth was dense enough that I couldn't see more than twenty meters ahead in most directions.
And the sounds...
SCREECH! ROAR!
Distant calls echoed through the forest—some recognizably bird-like, others decidedly not. Something massive was moving through the trees far to our left, heavy footfalls shaking the ground with rhythmic tremors.
"Whoa..." Luffy's eyes had gone impossibly wide, stars practically visible in them as he took in the prehistoric landscape.
"There's gotta be huge monsters in here! This is so cool!"
Sanji was studying the forest with a different kind of interest, his expression taking on that focused quality he got when thinking about food.
"This would be a good opportunity to hunt," the cook observed, already scanning the undergrowth for potential prey. "We're running low on provisions. If there are large animals here, we could replenish our stock."
He turned to address the group, cigarette smoke curling upward.
"Everyone should hunt what they can while completing their tasks. Don't let good meat go to waste just because we're busy with missions."
'Practical. And surprisingly forward-thinking for someone whose brain usually short-circuits around women. Though I suppose when it comes to food, Sanji's professionalism overrides everything else.'
"Oh yeah!" Zoro's grin took on a competitive edge, his hand moving to rest on his sword hilts.
"I'll hunt something way bigger than whatever you losers catch. Maybe one of those giant things is making noise in there."
"HAH!" Sanji's response was immediate, his own competitive nature flaring. "You couldn't hunt your way out of a paper bag even if you tried! I'll bring back enough meat to feed us for a week while you're still trying to find your way back from wherever you get lost!"
"What was that, you curly-browed cook?!"
"You heard me, you direction-challenged idiot!"
'And here we go. From tactical mission planning to schoolyard insults in approximately five seconds. This crew's ability to lose focus is truly impressive in its consistency.'
But before they could escalate into actual violence, Luffy's voice cut through their argument with infectious enthusiasm.
"This sounds fun!" Our Captain was practically bouncing now. "Let's make it a competition! We can finish the fishing contest from this morning! I'm gonna catch—no, hunt—way more than all of you combined!"
'No. No, we are not turning our crucial infiltration and deception mission into a hunting competition. We are professionals executing a tactical operation with clear objectives and—'
"Shishishi! Hachiman and Usopp have to join too! Make it fair!"
'—and apparently we're now running a hunting competition alongside our spy operation. Because why would we ever do one thing at a time when we could do multiple stupid things simultaneously?'
"It's okay," I said, trying to salvage some semblance of tactical focus, "but it's better to prioritize your actual tasks first. Whatever comes next won't be simple. Hunt if you have the opportunity, but don't compromise the mission for game."
'At least try to sound like you're taking this seriously, even if your actual behavior suggests otherwise. Please. I'm begging you. Just this once.'
The two teams stood together for a moment longer, and I could feel the weight of what we were about to attempt settling over everyone in different ways.
Nami looked determined but nervous, her hand unconsciously moving to touch the bottle containing the Going Merry.
Usopp was pale but holding his slingshot with steady hands, his survival instinct warring with his loyalty to the crew.
Sanji's expression was serious, his usual playfulness replaced by focused professionalism.
Luffy just grinned, because of course he did.
Zoro looked ready for violence, which was his default state.
And Vivi... Vivi was watching all of us with an expression that mixed hope and disbelief, like she couldn't quite process that these chaotic individuals were her best chance at saving her kingdom.
'Don't look at us like that. We're not heroes. We're just idiots with good intentions and an alarming lack of self-preservation instincts. Though I suppose that's basically what heroes are, so maybe the distinction doesn't matter.'
"Alright," Nami said, breaking the moment. Her voice was steady, professional. "Team Two, let's move out. The sooner we complete our objectives, the sooner we can get off this monster-infested death trap."
Sanji nodded, already moving to lead them into the forest. "Stay close and stay quiet. Follow me."
They disappeared into the undergrowth with surprising stealth—even Sanji managed to move quietly despite his dress shoes, and Usopp's natural cowardice apparently translated into excellent sneaking abilities when properly motivated by fear.
Within seconds, they were gone, swallowed by the prehistoric forest like they'd never existed.
RUSTLE! CRACK!
Leaving me standing on the beach with Luffy, Zoro, Vivi, and her increasingly anxious duck.
'Right. Team One. The decoy and assault force. Otherwise known as "the team most likely to cause property damage and international incidents." This should go well.'
"Yosh! Let's go too!" Luffy declared, already heading toward the forest with his characteristic lack of planning or forethought.
I fell into step behind him, unsheathing the Barbossa sword as we approached the tree line.
The blade hummed with familiar power, and I felt its connection extend through the air, responding to my will.
'Time to navigate a prehistoric forest while heading directly toward an ambush we know is waiting for us. Just another day in the Grand Line. Just another series of terrible decisions that somehow constitute my life now.'
The forest interior was even more impressive up close than it had been from a distance.
The trees—towering, ancient things that probably predated most civilizations—created a canopy so thick that the sunlight filtering through took on a greenish quality. The air was heavy with humidity and the scent of vegetation, mixed with something distinctly prehistoric that I couldn't quite identify.
CRACK! SLASH!
I swung the Barbossa sword in controlled arcs, cutting through the smaller branches and vines that blocked our path. The blade moved with supernatural ease, slicing through wood that should have required serious effort to penetrate.
'That's…kind of reminds me of my first few months of my time in this world...which I don't want to be nostalgic for.'
Ahead of me, Luffy had apparently decided that walking on the ground was for boring people.
Our rubber Captain had launched himself into the trees, his body stretching and contracting as he swung from branch to branch with the agility of someone who'd spent his childhood doing exactly this.
"Wow! Look at this bug!" Luffy's voice drifted down from above, filled with childlike wonder. "It's huge! And this plant! And—oh, is that a dinosaur dropping?!"
'Please don't touch the dinosaur dropping. Please don't put the giant bug in your pocket. Please just... please just keep moving forward and try not to get distracted by every single thing you see.'
Zoro was walking beside me, his swords still sheathed but his posture alert. Despite Luffy's antics, the swordsman was taking this seriously—his eyes constantly scanning the undergrowth, his hand never straying far from his weapons.
'At least one person on this team has functional survival instincts. Though given his tendency to get lost even with clear directions, I'm not sure how much comfort that actually provides.'
Behind us, Vivi moved with surprising grace through the difficult terrain, Karoo waddling beside her with nervous quacks. The princess's eyes darted between the massive trees and prehistoric plants, her expression mixing fascination with wariness.
"This is..." she breathed, ducking under a vine I'd just cut. "This island is incredible. I've never seen anything like it."
"It's a preserved ecosystem from millions of years ago," I replied, using the power of the Barbossa sword to shift a boulder blocking our path.
The stone moved with a grinding sound, rolling aside to reveal the continuation of our trail.
'Or at least, that's what it looks like. For all I know, this world's biology operates on completely different principles than my original world. Maybe dinosaurs never went extinct here, just became isolated in stranded environments. Or maybe, I should stop trying to apply Earth logic to a world where rubber people and ghost ducks exist.'
'But still, does this have anything to do with the nonexistence of Crude Oil in this world? However, even if the ancient lifeforms didn't go extinct, they still died, so…what happened?'
For a moment, the memory of that strange dream I had recently returned to me.
The apocalyptic landscape, the smoke, the gears, the factories, the pillar of fire, and the abyss-like hole in the ground.
'I don't know why I suddenly remembered this, but could the reason for the disappearance of the Crude Oil have something to do with this…place?'
WHOOSH! THUNK!
Cutting my line of thoughts, Luffy landed beside us suddenly, having apparently gotten bored with tree-swinging.
He was holding something small and wriggling in his hands, examining it with the intense focus usually reserved for important decisions.
"Look at this weird lizard thing!" he announced proudly. "Should I keep it? As a pet?"
"No," Zoro and I said at the same time, not even looking at whatever prehistoric creature he'd captured.
"Put it back. We're not starting a zoo in the middle of a tactical mission."
"Aww..." Luffy's disappointment was palpable, but he released the creature anyway. It scurried off into the undergrowth with what I assumed was great relief.
As we continued deeper into the forest, I kept one hand on the Barbossa sword for clearing the path and the other free to activate my Hamon Pendulum. The crystal device hung from its chain, and I sent pulses of Ripple energy through it at regular intervals.
BZZZZT! PING!
The feedback came back with impressive detail—the structure of trees, the location of larger animals, the topology of the land ahead.
My Mantra sense extended even further, tracking conscious presences and potential threats before they could materialize into actual danger.
'So far, nothing but wildlife. Large wildlife, admittedly, but wildlife nonetheless. The Baroque Works agents are either very good at concealing themselves, or they're all positioned at the ambush point waiting for us to arrive.'
'Probably the latter. Why waste energy patrolling when you know exactly where your target is heading?'
"You and Luffy seem pretty comfortable in this environment," Vivi observed, her voice carrying genuine curiosity rather than just polite conversation.
"Most people would be more nervous about walking through a forest full of prehistoric creatures."
Luffy's grin was immediate and bright.
"I grew up in a mountain forest!" he announced cheerfully, like this explained everything about his personality. Which, honestly, it kind of did.
"My brothers and I used to go out every day to fight beasts and hunt big animals! It was really fun!"
'Brothers? More than one? I remember Ace, he was an iconic character with a very powerful Devil Fruit, and according to the news, he was also a very powerful pirate here, but it was never mentioned that he had another one. Maybe he wasn't mentioned, or had never gone out to sea. Though I'm more concerned about the casual mention of "fighting beasts" like it's a normal childhood activity. Which, for Luffy, it probably was.'
"That makes sense," Zoro said, his tone carrying approval rather than his usual competitive edge. "Real combat experience from a young age. No wonder you're so strong."
Vivi had turned her attention to me, her eyes held genuine curiosity, and her expression expectant in that way people got when they assumed everyone had fascinating origin stories to share.
'Right. Because the mysterious sorcerer must have an equally mysterious past. Can't just be a guy who got randomly transported to another universe and had to figure things out through trial and error. That would be too mundane.'
I could feel her waiting for me to share, and the social pressure was building like an itch I couldn't scratch. The silence stretched for a moment too long, becoming awkward in that special way that only happens when someone expects you to volunteer personal information and you're desperately trying to figure out how to deflect.
"I've explored many forests since I started my voyage," I said finally, keeping my voice neutral and my explanation deliberately vague. "Had to deal with many of the dangers lurking in them."
'Technically true without revealing anything useful. The art of the non-answer, perfected through years of avoiding personal questions from nosy classmates and concerned teachers.'
But Luffy, because of course it was Luffy, latched onto that statement with the enthusiasm of a dog hearing the word "walk."
"Really?!" His eyes had gone impossibly wide, practically sparkling with excitement as he stood beside me. "Were you treasure hunting in forests?! Like in ancient ruins and temples hidden in the trees?! With traps and puzzles and—"
"Something like that," I interrupted before he could build an entire adventure narrative in his head.
'Though the reality was usually less "thrilling archaeological expedition" and more "trying not to die while avoiding territorial predators and navigating terrain that actively wanted to kill me." Not quite as romantic as whatever he's imagining.'
My Mantra pinged suddenly, a presence entering the range of my detection with predatory intent.
'Massive. Approaching from the left at nine o'clock. Moving with practiced stealth for something that large.'
I didn't alert the others, maintaining my casual pace as I tracked the creature's movements through my supernatural awareness.
The beast was huge—easily the size of a small truck—and it was stalking us with the patient confidence of an apex predator that knew it held every advantage.
'A tiger. Or something tiger-like enough that the distinction doesn't matter. Either way, it's planning to make us lunch, which is unfortunate for it because I'm going to have a very long day and my patience for additional complications is approximately zero.'
"I went through forests to hunt treasure," I confirmed aloud, answering Luffy's earlier question while simultaneously monitoring the tiger's approach. "Among other things."
The creature was forty meters away now, using the dense undergrowth for cover. Its breathing was controlled, its movements calculated.
This wasn't some mindless beast—it was an experienced hunter that had probably survived in this prehistoric ecosystem for years.
'Which makes it dangerous. But also predictable. Apex predators follow patterns, and I've dealt with enough of them to recognize the signs.'
"That sounds so interesting!" Luffy was practically vibrating with enthusiasm now, his attention fully on me rather than the impending attack. "I've always dreamed of going out to sea since I was really young! You three are so lucky—getting to travel and have adventures before you're even old!"
'Lucky. Right. Because being transported to another universe against my will, nearly dying multiple times, and desperately trying to collect enough magical artifacts to maybe possibly return home someday is exactly the same as fulfilling childhood dreams of adventure.'
I glanced at Vivi, and the word "lucky" suddenly felt even more inappropriate given her circumstances. The princess had gone silent, her expression shifting to something between resignation and barely concealed pain.
And there's the social awareness kicking in. Of course, Luffy didn't mean anything by it—he rarely thinks about how his words might affect others—but calling someone "lucky" when they're on a desperate mission to save their kingdom from a criminal conspiracy probably ranks pretty high on the "tactless things to say" list.
"Lucky is a strong word," I said carefully, watching Luffy's face as understanding slowly dawned.
"Oh..." Our Captain's expression shifted immediately, his usual grin fading as he looked at Vivi with genuine remorse. "Right. Sorry, Vivi. You're not—I didn't mean—"
"It's alright," Vivi said quickly, though her voice carried that particular quality people got when they were trying very hard to sound fine when they absolutely weren't. "I... I didn't leave my country for that long, actually."
The tiger was thirty meters away now, adjusting its angle of approach to account for our movement. Patient. Calculating. Waiting for the perfect moment.
'Any second now. It'll go for whoever looks weakest—probably Vivi or Karoo. Standard predator behavior.'
"Most of the two years I spent undercover were in Arabasta or the surrounding islands," Vivi continued, and I could hear the effort it took to keep her voice steady. "I only left the country for about eight months total. So I can't really compare myself to adventurers like you, Sorcerer-san, or Mr. Bushido."
My Mantra picked up the emotional undertones beneath her words—sorrow deep enough to drown in, worry that twisted like knives, fear that she was trying desperately to suppress.
The combination painted a picture of someone who was holding on by sheer willpower alone, maintaining a brave front while internally screaming.
'She's terrified. Absolutely terrified. Not of the forest or the mission or even the ambush we're walking toward. She's terrified that everything she's done won't be enough. That she'll fail her kingdom, her people, her father. That two years of sacrifice and danger will amount to nothing.'
The realization hit harder than I'd expected. This wasn't just a princess on a mission—this was a barely-an-adult girl who'd voluntarily thrown herself into enemy territory for two years, surrounded by people who would kill her without hesitation if they discovered her identity, all on the desperate hope that she could find some way to save her home.
'And she's been doing it alone. Or as close to alone as makes no difference. Just her, Igaram, and a ghost duck against an entire criminal organization backed by a Warlord. No wonder she's barely holding together.'
The tiger was twenty meters away. Fifteen. Ten.
"Don't sell yourself short," I heard myself say, the words coming out before I could properly think them through.
Vivi's head turned toward me, her eyes widening slightly with surprise. The others had gone quiet too—even Luffy, who usually had the attention span of a particularly distracted goldfish.
'Great. Now everyone's looking at me. This is exactly the kind of emotional moment I'm terrible at navigating. Why did I open my mouth? Why couldn't I just let the conversation die naturally?'
But I'd started this, so I might as well finish it. The trick was to say something meaningful without it sounding awkward or forced or like I was reading from a script written by Zaimokuza.
'Just... be honest. Tell her what you actually think instead of what you think you're supposed to say. That's worked before…Sometimes…Occasionally.'
"You're actually very brave," I said, keeping my voice level despite the uncomfortable warmth spreading across my face.
The tiger was a few meters away, coiled and ready to spring. I tracked its position through my Mantra while maintaining eye contact with Vivi, because apparently I'd decided that multitasking during emotional moments was a skill worth developing.
Vivi was looking at me with an expression I couldn't quite read—surprise mixed with something that might have been gratitude or confusion or possibly both. Her mouth had opened slightly, like she wanted to say something but couldn't quite find the words.
'Okay. This is getting awkward. Social awkwardness levels are approaching critical mass. Need to either commit to this completely or find an exit strategy, and backing out now would just make it worse.'
I felt my face heating up, that familiar sensation of embarrassment that came from being the center of attention during an emotional moment.
My tongue felt thick in my mouth, and I had to actively resist the urge to just turn around and pretend this conversation had never happened.
'Come on, Hachiman. You've faced down pirates, sea monsters, and criminal organizations. You can handle one conversation with a hot spy princess without having a social anxiety meltdown.'
I took a breath, forced my brain back into analytical mode, and continued before I could lose my nerve.
"Most people don't bother leaving their home island," I said, the words coming easier once I framed them as observations rather than emotional support. "Much less leave their entire region. And infiltrating a criminal syndicate? That's not something normal people even consider attempting."
The tiger was completely locked on target and was ready to attack.
"But you didn't just do all of that," I continued, watching Vivi's face carefully.
"You did it alone. Well, mostly alone—you had your servants, but they couldn't be with you constantly. And you were good enough to maintain your cover for two full years while you were essentially operating behind enemy lines."
RUSTLE! CRACK!
I sensed rather than saw the exact moment the tiger decided to attack, its muscles coiling for the spring, its attention locked on Karoo as the perceived weakest member of our group.
'Bad choice, predator. Should have gone for someone who couldn't alert the group. Now you're just proving my point.'
"You could have quit anytime," I said, my hand moving to my pistol in one smooth motion even as I maintained eye contact with Vivi. "Could have decided that what you'd accomplished was enough. Could have asked your people to extract you, get you to safety, let someone else handle the rest."
ROAR!
The tiger burst from the undergrowth, its massive form launching toward Karoo with the kind of speed that would have been impressive if I hadn't already mapped its entire attack vector through my Mantra three seconds ago.
"But you didn't quit," I continued, drawing the flintlock and channeling Hamon through it in the same motion.
The golden energy crackled along the barrel, charging the bullet with Ripple power. "You kept going, even with how dangerous it was being surrounded by enemies like that."
BANG!
The Hamon-charged bullet hit the tiger mid-leap, impacting its skull with the force of a sledgehammer wrapped in supernatural energy.
CRACK! THUD!
The massive creature dropped like a puppet with cut strings, its momentum carrying it forward to crash into the ground barely two meters from where Karoo had been standing.
The prehistoric predator was dead before it hit the dirt, killed instantly by the combination of kinetic force and Ripple energy vibrating its skull like a meat grinder.
"And that by itself," I finished, lowering the pistol slightly, "is pretty impressive."
The silence that followed was profound and slightly uncomfortable.
Vivi was staring at me with an expression that had shifted from surprise to something I couldn't quite identify.
Her eyes were wide, her mouth slightly open, and there was a faint flush spreading across her cheeks that suggested she was processing multiple things simultaneously.
'Okay. Was that too much? Did I overdo it? I was trying to be encouraging without being patronizing, but maybe combining emotional support with casual monster-slaying sent the wrong message. Though what other message could it possibly send except "I respect your bravery enough to multitask while discussing it"?'
"QUACK?!" Karoo's delayed reaction was almost comical, the duck's head swiveling between me and the dead tiger with increasing panic as it realized how close it had come to being lunch.
"Nice shot!" Luffy laughed, completely unbothered by the fact that we'd nearly lost our duck to a prehistoric predator. "You didn't even look at it!"
"Smooth," Zoro added with what might have been approval in his tone. "Taking it down mid-sentence like that. Very efficient."
'Yes, thank you both for completely missing the emotional context of the situation and focusing instead on the technical execution of monster-slaying. Very helpful. Really advancing the conversation.'
On the side, I heard Zoro lean toward Luffy and whisper in a voice that was definitely not as quiet as he thought it was: "It's starting again."
Luffy nodded sagely. "Yeah! Hachiman's really good at this!"
'What. What is that supposed to mean? "Good at this?" Good at what, exactly? Killing oversized cats? Having awkward conversations while multitasking? Being emotionally constipated but occasionally saying the right thing by accident?'
I felt my eye twitch involuntarily as I tried to figure out what the hell was going on in their heads.
Were they... were they commenting on my social skills? Was this some kind of running joke I wasn't aware of? Had they been discussing my interactions with people behind my back?
'I need to stop overthinking this. They're probably just being idiots. That's their default state. There's no deeper meaning, no hidden subtext. Just Luffy and Zoro being their usual unhelpful selves.'
I turned my attention back to Vivi, who was not letting her gaze meet mine, making me increasingly uncomfortable, and I desperately needed to redirect this conversation before it became any more awkward than it already was.
The dead tiger provided a convenient opportunity.
"I'm not as great as you might think," I said, gesturing at the massive corpse with deliberate casualness.
"I was completely lost during my first few months of sailing. Had no idea what I was doing, made countless mistakes, and nearly died more times than I can count. For example, my first forest exploration was a complete disaster."
'Which it was, though I'm carefully leaving out the part where I'm from another universe and had to learn literally everything about this world from scratch while also trying not to get killed by the first pirate crew I encountered.'
"You, Sorcerer-san? With how extraordinary you are?" Vivi had finally found her voice, a bit taken aback by my admission, though it came out slightly breathier than usual.
"Ye-Yeah…I wasn't as capable as I was right now…nor as strong," I said as I was resisting a blush at the genuine praise, deciding to go with a story that was both true and relevant to our current situation.
"I got attacked by a large tiger that was guarding the area where my target was, actually. One very similar to this one. But unlike this clean shot, I had a fight to the death with it, struggled a lot, and almost died."
I holstered the flintlock, keeping my expression carefully neutral despite the adrenaline still pumping through my system.
"Oi! Hachiman! Is it edible?" Luffy asked, already moving toward the tiger corpse with culinary interest.
"Yeah, can we eat it?" Zoro added, his swords still sheathed because apparently, he didn't consider truck-sized predators worth drawing steel for.
'This crew's priorities are simultaneously admirable and deeply concerning.'
"No," I replied flatly. "Carnivore meat is generally unappetizing. The diet affects the flavor."
'Not that I've personally tasted prehistoric tiger meat, but the principle should apply universally. Or at least, it does in every world where tongues and tastes function similarly. Which this world mostly does, despite the existence of rubber people and talking animals.'
Luffy looked genuinely disappointed, his shoulders slumping like I'd just told him Christmas was canceled.
"Aww... but it's so big..."
"Size doesn't equal quality," I said, already moving past the dead tigers. "Now, can we please continue before we attract every predator within a kilometer radius?"
'Because gunshots in a prehistoric forest full of carnivores is exactly the kind of dinner bell that leads to additional complications. And I've had enough complications for one conversation.'
We continued deeper into the forest, the massive trees growing even larger as we progressed. The canopy above had become so thick that the light filtering through had taken on a greenish quality, making everything look slightly surreal and otherworldly.
CRACK! RUSTLE! STOMP!
The sounds of the forest surrounded us—distant roars, the crash of something massive moving through trees, the calls of creatures that had no business existing outside of paleontology textbooks.
"Oh! What's that?!" Luffy's voice carried his trademark enthusiasm as he pointed ahead.
I followed his gesture and felt my analytical mind short-circuit slightly as I processed what I was seeing.
A dinosaur. An actual, honest-to-god dinosaur that I recognized from every cheap educational documentary I'd ever seen.
The Triceratops stood about ten meters ahead of us, its massive horned head lowering as it registered our presence.
The three horns that gave it its name gleamed in the filtered sunlight, each one easily as long as a sword blade.
Its frill rose behind its head like a natural shield, and its eyes tracked us with the wary intelligence of an herbivore that had survived in a world full of predators.
'A Triceratops. I'm looking at an actual Triceratops. A creature that went extinct millions of years ago in my world, standing right there in front of me like it's the most normal thing imaginable.'
"Three horns..." Zoro murmured, and I could hear the wheels turning in his head as he stared at the dinosaur's horns.
'No. No, don't you dare—'
"I see, fellow practitioner of the Three Sword Style." Zoro declared, his hand moving to his blade hilts with the kind of excitement usually reserved for meeting legendary masters, even when it was clearly a joke.
"This should be fate. But if you want to challenge me for a duel, as a fellow Three Sword Style Swordsman, I won't back down!"
'He's going to fight a dinosaur. He's going to have a sword duel with a Triceratops. This is happening. This is actually happening, and I can't even be surprised anymore because this is exactly the kind of thing that happens on this crew.'
SHING! SHING! SHING!
Zoro drew all three swords in one smooth motion, his teeth clenching around the Wado Ichimonji as he settled into his combat stance.
The Triceratops, for its part, seemed equally ready for violence. It pawed at the ground with one massive foot, lowered its head, and bellowed a challenge that echoed through the forest like a war horn.
ROOOAAAAR!
"This is so cool!" Luffy was practically vibrating with excitement. "A sword fight with a dinosaur! Go Zoro!"
'I hate this. I hate everything about this. We're supposed to be sneaking toward an ambush site, maintaining some semblance of stealth, and instead we're having an interspecies martial arts tournament in the middle of a prehistoric forest.'
CHARGE!
The Triceratops launched itself forward with surprising speed for something that size, its horns aimed directly at Zoro with lethal intent.
The swordsman didn't dodge. Instead, he charged to meet it head-on, his swords raised and his expression carrying absolute focus.
CLASH! CLANG! CRASH!
The impact when they met was like watching two natural disasters collide. Zoro's blades caught the dinosaur's horns, the strength required to stop several tons of charging prehistoric reptile apparently just another Tuesday for our crew's swordsman.
"ONI—" Zoro's voice carried absolute confidence as he pushed back against the dinosaur's charge. "—GIRI!"
SLASH! CRACK!
The technique cut through horn and bone with devastating efficiency, and I watched as the Triceratops collapsed with all the grace of a building being demolished.
BOOM! THUD!
The ground shook from the impact, dust and debris kicking up as several tons of defeated dinosaur hit the earth.
"That was awesome!" Luffy cheered. "Zoro won!"
"Alright, is one edible?" the victorious swordsman asked, completely unbothered by the fact that he'd just had a sword duel with a creature from sixty-five million years ago.
"Herbivore," I replied, because apparently I'd become the crew's designated wildlife expert. "Should be fine. Probably tastes like really, really big beef."
And now we're harvesting dinosaur meat for the ship's provisions. This is my life now. This is what I do. I provide tactical analysis and culinary advice about prehistoric creatures. Hiratsuka-sensei would be so proud.
Luffy immediately began trying to figure out how delicious several tons of Triceratops meat would be, which led to an animated discussion about which cut would taste the best, and somehow it devolved into an argument about whether dinosaurs counted toward the hunting competition.
I tuned it out, focusing instead on my Mantra as we continued deeper into the island.
No human presence yet. Plenty of animal life—large, dangerous, and increasingly exotic—but no Baroque Works agents. They're definitely all clustered at the ambush point or stalking us from a very far distance.
The forest grew denser as we progressed, the trees reaching heights that seemed physically impossible. Some of them had to be at least thirty meters tall, their trunks so wide that it would take twenty people holding hands to encircle them.
"Oi! Look at that!" Luffy's voice carried sudden excitement.
I followed his pointing finger and felt my breath catch slightly at what I saw.
It wasn't a pillar. It wasn't a tree. It was a neck.
A neck that stretched up, and up, and up, rising from behind a cluster of prehistoric trees to disappear into the canopy so far above us that I couldn't even see where it ended.
'That's... that's a Sauropod. A long-neck dinosaur. One of the biggest creatures that ever lived. And it's right there, just... existing. Like this is completely normal.'
As we got closer, pushing through the undergrowth, the full scale of the creature became apparent.
The Sauropod was magnificent in a way that made my analytical mind struggle for adequate descriptions. It was easily as tall as a ten-story building, its neck alone longer than our entire ship. Its body was massive—a living mountain of flesh and bone and prehistoric majesty that shouldn't exist but somehow did anyway.
The creature was moving slowly through the forest, each step making the ground tremble slightly, its long neck swaying as it browsed on the upper canopy that no other creature could reach.
'This is... actually incredible. Even knowing this world is insane, even after two years of witnessing impossible things, this is genuinely awe-inspiring. A creature from before human civilization existed, walking around like time never touched it.'
"Whoa..." Even I couldn't quite keep the wonder out of my voice. "That's... remarkable."
The view from the Sauropod's top would be incredible—you could probably see the entire island from that height, map out terrain, identify potential threats, and resources.
Apparently, Luffy had the same thought, because before anyone could stop him, our rubber Captain had already launched himself toward the dinosaur's leg.
"I wanna see the whole island from up there!" he declared, his arms stretching as he began climbing the massive creature like it was a particularly interesting mountain.
'No. Luffy, no. Don't climb the gentle giant. Don't disturb the peaceful herbivore. Just this once, could you not antagonize the local wildlife—'
STOMP! SHAKE!
The Sauropod noticed the small rubber human clambering up its neck and responded with the kind of annoyed irritation usually reserved for dealing with particularly persistent insects.
It shifted its weight, trying to shake Luffy off, its massive body moving with surprising agility for something that size.
But Luffy just laughed, stretching and swinging with the motion, treating the entire thing like a carnival ride rather than a potentially lethal encounter with a creature that could accidentally step on him and not notice.
"This is fun!" Luffy shouted, already halfway up the creature's neck.
ROAR!
The Sauropod's bellow was like thunder given physical form, a sound so deep and loud that I felt it in my chest cavity. Birds—or whatever passed for birds in this prehistoric ecosystem—took flight from the surrounding trees in panicked flocks.
"Luffy!" Vivi called up, genuine concern in her voice. "Maybe you shouldn't—"
But our Captain had already reached the creature's head, standing triumphantly on its crown like he'd just conquered a mountain.
"Shishishi! The view is amazing from here! I can see—"
The Sauropod had apparently had enough of hosting uninvited guests. Its neck twisted with surprising speed, its massive head swinging around to get a better look at whatever was bothering it.
And Luffy, grinning like an idiot, met the dinosaur's eyes.
"You wanna fight?" Our Captain's grin widened impossibly. "Alright! I'll take you on! This can be my entry for the hunting contest! Giant dinosaur meat! That'll beat whatever Zoro and Sanji catch for sure!"
FLASH! WHOOOOSH!
The sword appeared out of nowhere—or rather, it appeared from behind the treeline where we couldn't see its wielder. But the blade itself was impossible to miss.
It was massive. Easily as large as a building. The metal gleamed in the filtered sunlight as it cut through the air with a sound like a hurricane being born.
And it was aimed directly at the Sauropod's neck.
SLASH!
The sound of the impact was like nothing I'd ever heard—metal meeting flesh meeting bone, except scaled up to dimensions that shouldn't be possible. The blade cut through the dinosaur's neck in a single, impossibly clean stroke.
Time seemed to slow as I watched the Sauropod's head separate from its body, the massive creature's eyes going wide with shock and pain before everything ended.
THUD! BOOM! CRASH!
The head hit the ground first, creating a crater and sending a shockwave through the forest floor. The body followed moments later, its massive weight shaking the earth like an earthquake.
Trees bent and broke under the impact. Dust and debris filled the air. Somewhere in the distance, I heard smaller creatures fleeing in panic from the sudden violence.
And standing there, holding the building-sized sword like it weighed nothing, was a giant.
An actual giant.
As tall as the Sauropod's neck had been when it was attached to its body.
Easily twenty meters tall, maybe more. He wore what looked like Viking warrior armor—furs and leather, and metal that had been scaled up to fit his massive frame. His beard was long enough that it reached his stomach.
And his face...
His face held the kind of expression that came from decades of battle. Scars crisscrossed his features. His eyes were sharp, intelligent, carrying the look of someone who'd survived countless fights through skill and strength.
The giant's eyes scanned the area, taking in our small group with the kind of assessment that came from extensive combat experience. His gaze lingered on each of us for a moment before moving on.
When he spoke, his voice was deep enough that I felt it in my bones, like standing next to a massive speaker at a concert.
"GEGYAGYAGYA!" The laugh was booming, echoing through the forest like rolling thunder. "What do we have here? Tiny warriors in my hunting ground?"
'This is…This is fine. Everything…is fine. It is just another perfectly normal day in the Grand Line.'
…
A/N: Well, that's it for now.
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