Nami rolled her eyes at Sandy and explained, "They're fine. After you passed out, Luffy fought with that Krieg, and Krieg lost. I don't know what they're doing now…"
Sandy felt like he had slept forever. "How long was I unconscious?" he asked curiously.
"Three days," Nami replied.
"Three days?!" Sandy exclaimed, then muttered, "No way, how could I be out for so long?"
Realizing the situation, Sandy sighed. "Nami, sorry for the delay. We were planning to go to your hometown…"
Nami shook her head. "So many years have passed. Do a few days even matter? But seriously, you worry me. You're not gonna pull that stunt again and pass out, are you?"
Sandy sat up, pulled Nami into his arms, and grinned. "No, I won't. That was my first time using that move. I wasn't skilled enough and overused my strength, hahaha…"
Nami playfully scolded, "Why are you always taking advantage of me?"
Sandy ignored her words and said seriously, "Nami, have faith in us. You'll be free soon!"
"F-Free?" Nami looked up at him curiously.
Sandy nodded. "After we defeat Arlong, you can do whatever you want."
Nami's eyes filled with hope. "Will that day really come?"
"Don't worry," Sandy said softly. "That day will come very soon…"
Before he could finish, an irritated voice came from outside. "Sandy, you bastard, let go of Miss Nami!"
The moment Nami heard that voice, she quickly jumped out of Sandy's arms. Sandy turned his glare toward Sanji, who had shown up holding a tray of food for Nami.
Sandy snatched the food straight from Sanji's hands and began eating it himself.
Sanji's face turned red. "You bastard! That's not for you!"
Nami asked, "Sanji, where are Luffy and the others?"
Sanji's eyes instantly turned into hearts. "They're outside, Miss Nami!"
Moments later, Luffy and the others came in. Luffy burst out laughing. "Sandy, you're useless! You didn't fight anyone and were unconscious for three days, you weakling!"
Oh no… how did Luffy learn my lines?
Sandy didn't bother arguing. Instead, his eyes landed on Zoro, who was covered in loosely wrapped bandages.
"Zoro, did you treat your wound like that?"
"Huh?" Zoro asked, tilting his head. "Is there a problem?"
"There's a big problem," Sandy said flatly.
Turning to Sanji, he asked, "Do you have high-concentration alcohol here?"
Sanji frowned. "Yeah, I do. What do you need it for?"
"To clean that idiot Zoro's wound," Sandy replied with a smirk. "It's still bleeding! Don't you guys have a doctor here?"
Sanji shrugged. "We did… but he ran away earlier."
Zoro waved him off. "I'll be fine after some sleep."
"You shameless idiot!" Sandy snapped. "If your wound gets infected, it'll rot, swell up, and cause a high fever! You'll be begging for help then. Still think you'll be fine?"
Luffy blinked. "Is it really that serious?"
Sandy sighed. "A bunch of illiterates. Fine, forget it—I'm starving."
At that moment, Luffy said, "Oh right, Sanji agreed to join our crew. We've got six people now!"
Sandy glanced at Sanji and said casually, "Oh."
Sanji looked offended. "What kind of reaction is that?!"
"What kind of reaction do you want?" Sandy asked blankly.
Sanji struck a dramatic pose. "Shouldn't you be happy? A genius like me joining your crew?"
"Sanji," Sandy said seriously.
"Huh?"
"You should take your medicine."
"Pfft—HAHAHAHA!"
Everyone burst out laughing.
Zoro added fuel to the fire. "Sanji, seriously, go take your medicine."
Sanji's face turned red. "Sandy! I'm gonna kill you!"
After Sanji's temper cooled and he said goodbye to the Baratie staff, everyone boarded the Going Merry.
"Cheers! Welcome our new crewmate, Sanji!"
"Hey, Zoro, your wound's too bad for drinking," Sandy reminded him.
"Stop nagging. A little drink won't kill me."
After some celebration, Luffy and Usopp ran over to Sandy.
"Hey, Sandy," Luffy said eagerly, "show us that move again! What was it called?"
Usopp grinned. "Yeah, yeah! Space Slash or something—it was so cool!"
Luffy even imitated Sandy's pose from that day, holding up two fingers and pretending to draw a sword from the air.
Before Sandy could reply, Sanji kicked Luffy aside. "Don't listen to them! If you cause another giant wave like last time, we'll never make it to Nami's hometown, right, beautiful Nami-swan?"
Sanji darted over to Nami instantly, hearts in his eyes.
Zoro stepped forward. "Sandy, how did you even do that? Is the Space ability really that powerful?"
Sandy shook his head. "Not really sure. The Space Fruit is just… amazing. Great. Incredibly great…"
"You're hopeless," Zoro muttered. "Let me see your sword."
Sandy reached into space, pulled out High Wind, and tossed it to him. Then he turned to Nami. "How long until we reach your place?"
"About a day or so," Nami replied. "But we should make a plan for how to deal with the Arlong Pirates first—"
"Punch him away," Luffy interrupted.
"Cut him down," Zoro said.
"Kick him away," Sanji added.
"Kill him," Sandy finished.
Everyone looked at Usopp.
"I—I'll cheer you on from the side…"
Nami slapped her forehead. "I'm telling you, the Arlong Pirates aren't simple! They're nothing like the pirate crews we've faced before—"
"What's there to be afraid of?" Sandy interrupted. "With just one glare from me, they'll drop like flies."
Luffy quickly stopped him. "No, Sandy! You can't use that move! Arlong's mine!"
"Fine, fine," Sandy said with a sigh. "I'll let you have him."
Duang! Duang!
Both Sandy and Luffy were smacked on the head by an angry Nami.
"Fish-Men are over ten times stronger than humans," she shouted. "Do you even realize what that means? And Arlong—"
Sandy smirked. "Luffy's a man who's going to be the Pirate King!"
Luffy's grin returned immediately. "Yeah! I'm gonna be the Pirate King! A mere Arlong—"
Duang!
Nami hit him again.
Sanji clasped his hands dreamily. "Even when Nami's angry, she's so beautiful…"
Zoro groaned. "Pervert cook."
Sanji's head snapped toward him. "What did you say?"
"Pervert cook," Zoro repeated.
"You bastard, getting cocky just because you survived one beating?"
Zoro cracked his knuckles. "You wanna go again?"
Nami sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "It's over. My crew's full of idiots…"