Soon, the entire crew was on the deck as the Going Merry drifted along the sun-baked coastline of Alabasta. Mario found it curious that no one had gone inside the cabin. He could feel another presence there, a familiar, quiet energy. But he just smiled and said nothing. She would reveal herself when the time was right. For now, he was simply glad she was here.
It didn't take long for the Marine patrols to spot them. A chorus of alarms blared, and the pursuit began in earnest. The crew snapped into a well-practiced defense.
"Incoming!" Sanji yelled, leaping into the air to deflect a giant, spear-like harpoon with a spinning kick.
Usopp was a whirlwind of activity, sniping Marines who tried to take aim with their rifles. Luffy, with a cry of "Gomu Gomu no Balloon!" inflated his torso, bouncing cannonballs back towards their source.
Zorro wrestled with the helm, following Nami's frantic commands as she charted their escape through the worsening barrage. Mario moved like a blur, using Soru to intercept harpoons, his fists sheathed in Haki to shatter them mid-air.
But the assault was relentless. With a sickening crunch, several of the massive projectiles embedded themselves deep into the Merry's hull.
"Stop them! Stop them! I can't fix all the holes!" Chopper cried out in a panic, his voice trembling.
A vein bulged on Mario's forehead as he saw the wooden splinters fly. The sight of their ship being wounded ignited a primal rage.
"You sons of bitches! Stop hurting Merry!" he roared. He caught a freshly launched harpoon, spun on his heel, and with all his strength, hurled it back at the lead Marine ship. It sailed through the air like a javelin, striking the main mast and sending sailors scrambling.
"Nice one, Mario!" Usopp cheered, before expertly firing a cannon that hit another ship's bow.
"Amazing, Usopp!" Luffy laughed, forever his sniper's biggest fan.
"What are you doing?!" Bon Clay screamed, his voice pitched with panic. "Why are we not sailing towards the open sea?!"
"We need to get our friend!" Luffy stated simply, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, deflecting another cannonball with his stretched arms.
Bon Clay was stunned into silence for a moment. "Friend?"
There was no time to explain. The crew fought on, but the Marine net was closing. More than nine ships now converged, herding them into a deadly encirclement.
"Mr. Bon Clay, we have trouble! It's the 'Black Cage'!" one of the okamas shouted, pointing to a formidable Marine vessel cutting off their last escape route.
"Gyaaaah! Black Cage Hina!" Bon Clay wailed, collapsing in despair. "She's a Marine HQ Captain! We're done for! We need to get out of here!"
"You go, but we will stay," Luffy said, his voice firm and resolute.
"You WHAT?!" Bon Clay shrieked.
"We have a promise to keep," Nami stated, her eyes hard.
"We NEED to get our friend," Luffy repeated, as if that single sentence justified any risk.
Bon Clay stared at them, tears welling in his eyes. "You... you are doing this for friendship?"
"Yes," Luffy said, the word carrying the weight of his entire philosophy.
A strange, powerful emotion seemed to possess Bon Clay. His despair melted away, replaced by a radiant, defiant resolve. "If I run away here... I would disgrace the name of Okama!" he declared, striking a final, glorious pose. "Listen, my friends, and listen well!"
He laid out his plan with dramatic flair. The okama ship would create a diversion, drawing the Marines away while he, using his Mane Mane no Mi power, would impersonate Luffy and lead the entire Marine force on a chase, taking the fall for them all.
And so they did. The Utan Sonar sailed bravely in the opposite direction, a bright, defiant target. As the Going Merry made its desperate escape, the crew watched in horror and awe from the distance. They saw all nine Marine ships turn their cannons on the lone swan-shaped vessel, firing relentlessly until it was swallowed by plumes of smoke and spray.
"NOOOOO! BON-CHAN!" Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper screamed in unison, tears streaming down their faces.
Mario didn't cry, but a profound, respectful smile touched his lips. The flamboyant, theatrical okama had proven that beneath the makeup and performance was a heart of the truest, most selfless friendship. It was a sacrifice they would carry with them forever.
***
Finally, they managed to slip away from the Marine pursuit, the silence of the open sea a stark contrast to the recent chaos. They drifted near the South Port, the promised meeting place. The air was thick with anticipation and the unspoken question: would Vivi join them?
Mario, having just finished patching the worst of the harpoon damage with Chopper, wiped the sweat from his brow. He'd been muttering angrily under his breath the entire time, each splintered plank a fresh insult from the Marines. As he stepped back onto the deck, he found the entire crew already gathered at the railing, their attention fixed on the shore.
Then, a voice, amplified by speakers, echoed across the water. It was Vivi's.
„I went on a little adventure…"
„It's starting! That's Vivi's voice!" Luffy said, his usual boisterous tone hushed.
The crew listened, rapt, as Vivi's speech unfolded—a beautiful, metaphorical tale of their journey together. She spoke of a dark, stormy sea and a single small ship that pressed onward toward the light.
„Do you think she'll come?" Usopp whispered, hope evident in his voice.
Zorro, ever the realist, shook his head. „Stupid. If we can hear her voice, that means she's in the capital. She won't come." A shared sadness settled over them.
„It's noon. Time to go," Zorro stated, his voice firm. Reluctantly, everyone began to move, turning the Going Merry away from the shore and toward the open sea.
„Everyone!" A voice, real and unmagnified, cut through the air. They spun around. There on the shore, panting, were Vivi and Karoo.
„See! She did come!" Luffy yelled, his face splitting into a grin.
But their hope was short-lived.
„I came to say goodbye," Vivi cried out, tears already streaming down her cheeks.
„I can't come with you. I am so thankful for everything you've done, but I can't!" She took a shuddering breath, pouring her entire soul into her declaration. „BECAUSE I LOVE THIS COUNTRY TOO MUCH!"
Luffy's grin didn't falter; it simply softened into a look of deep understanding. „Sure."
„Although I will remain here now…" Vivi continued, her voice breaking. „IF WE MEET ONE DAY… WILL YOU STILL CALL ME YOUR FRIEND?"
The question hung in the air, a desperate plea for a bond that distance could not break.
„OF CO—!" Luffy began to shout, but Nami's hand clamped over his mouth.
„The Marines are coming! They're watching!" Nami hissed, her eyes scanning the port. „You can't reply! We'll be seen as accomplices!"
The reality of the situation crashed down upon them. They couldn't say goodbye. Not with words. But there was another way, a silent language they all shared.
Understanding passed between them in a single glance. Mario moved to stand with the crew, forming a single, united line along the railing. As one, they turned their backs to the port, to the watching Marines, to the world that sought to define them as criminals. In a powerful, synchronized motion, they threw their fists into the air, raising their arms high.
There, on the back of their left hands, clear for Vivi and only for Vivi to see, was the mark of their friendship—the symbol „X". It was a vow, a promise, and a goodbye, all without a single word. It was bittersweet, but it was theirs.
And as the Going Merry caught the wind, carrying them away, the raised arms of her friends were the last thing Vivi saw, a silent testament that she would always, always be one of them.
The Going Merry raced against the waves, her sails full of the wind that carried them away from Alabasta. Soon, the South Port was a distant speck on the horizon, and their superior speed left the lumbering Marine ships eating their wake. And then, as the immediate adrenaline faded... a profound depression hit the crew.
Usopp, Chopper, Luffy, Nami, and Sanji were sprawled across the sunny deck in a miserable heap, practically melting into the wood. Sanji even had actual tears leaking from his eyes as they all chorused in a mournful whine, "We miss Vivi..."
"Well, that was fast," Mario remarked, leaning against the mast with a wry smile.
"Stop moping around!" Zorro grunted from his spot, where he was diligently cleaning his swords. "If you miss her that much, you should have just kidnapped her."
A collective gasp rose from the puddle of miserable pirates.
"How barbaric!" Chopper snifed.
"Could you sink any lower?!" Nami cried.
"Marimo!" Sanji snarled, tears in his eyes
„Three swords…." Luffy added, trying to help.
Usopp sighed. "Uh, Luffy, 'three swords' isn't an insult."
"Two swords!" Luffy tried again, scrunching his face in concentration.
Zorro just rolled his eye. "Fine, fine. Cry all you want," he sighed, adjusting his swords.
Mario's smile lingered, but it was tinged with his own quiet understanding. Perhaps if he had tried, he could have convinced Vivi to join them. But he knew, with a certainty that went beyond the moment, that her true place was in her country, as its future queen, not as a wandering pirate. Her destiny was to build, not to plunder.
It was then that he heard the soft creak of a door opening from the men's quarters.
Ah. There she is.
A smooth, calm voice cut through the melancholic atmosphere.
"It seems we have finally left the island behind... Well done."
Every head on deck—from the pouting pile to the stoic swordsman—snapped toward the voice. Their jaws collectively dropped.
Standing there, as calm as if she were a paying passenger, was Nico Robin.
"MISS ALL SUNDAY!?!?!?" the crew shrieked in unified shock and horror, their grief over Vivi instantly forgotten in the face of this new, terrifying reality.