"Pfft! Ah! I'm going to die!"
Usopp collapsed dramatically in front of the bonfire, his eyes rolling back as if he had just met his end.
"Usopp! Don't die!"
Luffy and Chopper hugged their "scorched" crewmate, crying loudly as though mourning him.
Chopper, still trembling, pointed at Shirogai, who was leaning against a tree with a mischievous grin. His small voice wavered with indignation.
"Wuwuwu, Shirogai, you're too much! Usopp was electrocuted by you!"
"Yes, yes, I really am too much," Shirogai replied lazily, his tone playful.
"Exactly! Shirogai is so mean!" Luffy pouted, clearly displeased.
"Ah, I'm dead…" Usopp groaned again, sneaking one eye open to peek at Shirogai.
"Dead people should be buried properly," Shirogai said with a smirk. He snapped his fingers, and sand swirled from the ground, covering Usopp entirely in seconds.
Buried beneath, Usopp could only twitch. Fortunately, his long nose stuck out just enough for him to breathe.
"Shirogai is biased! He let Sanji and Zoro try it, but not us!" Chopper protested, puffing his cheeks in frustration.
"Exactly!" Luffy echoed, nodding furiously.
The two, along with Usopp, whined and demanded that Shirogai let them try the same lightning strike Sanji and Zoro had endured. But Shirogai waved them off with a firm refusal, insisting they weren't suited for it.
"You three, stop fooling around!"
Nami sighed as she removed her glasses, her expression caught somewhere between motherly exasperation and command.
"Go to sleep already. Tomorrow we still have to deal with that so-called god, and then explore the Gold City ruins."
"Sleep?"
Usopp suddenly shot up from the sand pile like a man resurrected, his face lit with disbelief.
"No way, Nami! You're going to sleep at a time like this? Luffy, did you hear that?"
"Yeah, Usopp! I heard it! Nami actually wants to sleep at such an important moment!"
Luffy stared at Nami with mock disappointment, shaking his head.
"Nami, this is the perfect time to do that thing."
Usopp dusted himself off, playing along with a serious expression.
"If we don't do that thing now, then what's the point of even coming to Sky Island?!"
Nami blinked, genuinely puzzled by their sudden intensity.
"What thing? You two are acting way too serious."
"Of course it's…"
Luffy and Usopp exchanged a glance, then burst into identical grins before leaping into the air together.
"A bonfire party!!!"
"Yeah! Another party!" Chopper cheered, hopping excitedly.
"Idiots," Nami muttered under her breath.
"A bonfire feast? Then the setup should be like this."
Zoro and Sanji, without anyone noticing, had already arranged a proper bonfire stand.
"Hey! You two are joining in too?!" Nami snapped, throwing her arms in the air.
Sanji smiled charmingly as he lit a cigarette.
"Nami-swaaan, everyone's happy. A bonfire feast is harmless, and besides, it keeps wild beasts away."
"Ow!"
The wolf pack leader nodded in agreement like a wise elder.
Nami groaned and covered her face.
"You're a wild beast yourself! Are you planning to drive yourself away?"
The wolf froze in silence, leaving the others to burst into uncontrollable laughter.
"Hahahahaha!" Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper rolled on the ground, clutching their stomachs.
"Shirogai, lend me a light."
Sanji gestured with his cigarette. Ever since Shirogai gained the powers of the Mera Mera no Mi, Sanji had been the happiest. Cigarettes lit instantly, and cooking outdoors was easier than ever.
Shirogai snapped his fingers casually.
"No problem."
Bang!
A pillar of flame leapt from his hand and ignited the bonfire instantly, startling the wolves until their leader howled them back to order.
"Dance! Dance around the fire!"
"Woohoo! Hahaha!"
"We're dancing on Sky Island! Who'd have thought we'd be having a feast here?"
Luffy, Usopp, Chopper, and Sanji threw themselves into the celebration, twisting, laughing, and dancing wildly around the flames.
The wolves soon joined in, howling toward the night sky as though it were their own celebration.
"Awwooooo!"
Luffy howled along with them, his noises sounding more like a dog bark, sending everyone into fits of laughter again.
Robin stood quietly at the edge of the group, smiling faintly. She almost said something cautious about attracting enemies but stopped herself. Watching her crewmates laugh so freely made her heart soften.
Everything in her life until now had been careful, restrained, and heavy with caution. Yet here, among these "idiots," she found herself slowly changing.
"Perhaps these strange, ridiculous people… are changing me," she thought, her lips curving into a gentle smile.
"Robin, come dance with us!"
Before she could react, Nami grabbed her hand and pulled her into the group.
"Hehe, alright." Robin closed her book, letting herself be dragged into the chaos of the dance.
"Hahaha! Robin, I take back what I said. This bonfire feast really is amazing!" Nami cheered, spinning beside her.
Robin laughed with her, the warmth of the moment erasing any doubts she once had.
Suddenly, Usopp's voice rang out again.
"Hey! Shirogai, do the fireworks! We want to see them again!"
Shirogai grinned. After copying the Mera Mera no Mi, he had discovered a knack for creating flame designs, often serving as the crew's entertainer during parties.
"Of course."
He let flames engulf his body, soaring upward like a comet before bursting into a brilliant display.
Boom!
A fiery phoenix blazed across the sky, its wings spreading light over the entire forest.
"Woooow!" the crew gasped in unison, eyes wide with awe.
"Awwooooo!" The wolves lifted their voices to the heavens, howling in rhythm with the flaming bird above.
Robin, her face aglow in the firelight, thought quietly to herself—
This, right here… feels like freedom.
____
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