[ Hahahahaha I can't— ]
[ From the Hild Pirates' wolf den to almost drowning in a storm— ]
[ Finally rescued… only to end up on another pirate ship! ]
[ Kaka, your luck is actually cursed! ]
[ For real—maybe your zodiac clashes with this game? ]
Jokes flew, but a few viewers tried to sound serious.
[ This pirate crew isn't the same as before. ]
[ Psych 101: Kaka woke up with a cloak over her. Someone saved her and covered her up. ]
[ Whoever did that can't be all bad. ]
[ And she's unbound now, which means— ]
[ These pirates are way stronger than Hild's lot. ]
[ She's a lamb in a tiger's jaws—no escape! ]
[ Bro, you wrote a whole analysis just to crush her hope? ]
[ But he's got a point. This ship dwarfs Hild's. ]
[ Look at that presence—you can tell this crew's built different. ]
[ Sailors said Hild's bounty was ten million Beli. ]
[ So bounty = strength on this sea, right? ]
[ I'm calling it: this captain's at least twenty million. ]
[ Pfft—fifteen million tops. Money doesn't grow on palm trees. ]
[ I'll wager eighteen million! ]
Guesses climbed—someone even tossed out forty million. Kaka watched the chaos with a helpless smile, mind racing over her situation. She didn't know how to play it, so, drenched and miserable, she tried to be invisible and sat tight.
A shadow fell across her.
She looked up, startled. A fat man loomed—white-and-green striped bandanna, matching striped shirt. Her eyes went round.
[ WHOA. ]
[ Dude's huge. And wide. ]
[ Two meters easy, right? Taller than pro basketball players! ]
[ King of the chonky kings—respect! ]
While chat went feral, the big man held out a drumstick. "Hungry?"
He took a monstrous bite from another slab of meat—enough to feed Kaka for a day in one chomp.
"For me?"
He nodded. She steadied herself, took the drumstick, and nibbled politely.
The man leaned down, studying her face. That stare prickled her skin; she froze, mid-bite. Then he pulled back and, almost under his breath, chuckled, "You really look like Uta…"
No one else on deck seemed to hear. Kaka blinked. "Uta? Who's Uta?"
[ What Uta? You misheard—he said wa-wa. Like… frog. ]
"How am I a frog?" Kaka sputtered. She didn't need a mirror to know she wasn't.
The big man drifted off and plopped back down midships. Kaka risked a better look.
Next to him sat a long-haired blond with a pirate hat—Limejuice. A hard-faced bruiser with dark red hair—Howling Gab. She swept on: Building Snake; the ship's doctor, Hongo; the performer Bonk Punch with his monkey partner Monster… one by one their faces clicked into place.
Last, her gaze landed on the two she'd noticed even from afar: the sniper Yasopp, and the vice-captain with slicked-back hair and a rock-steady air—Benn Beckman.
And then there was the man slouched off to the side, casual as the tide and somehow the center of everything—a red-haired guy in a white shirt and beach-print shorts.
As Kaka looked over, the redhead turned. Warm expression, easy smile. He stood, lifted a cup, and walked toward her step by step.
White shirt. Floral shorts. Honestly? He dressed like a greasy beach uncle. And yet… from him she felt something else entirely: a quiet, fathomless strength.
Her eyes widened. The chat fell silent without knowing why.
He stopped in front of her, set the cup down, and—almost sheepish—smiled. "Hello. My name is Shanks."
"Shanks…?"
She rolled the name around, baffled. The redhead looked faintly surprised that anyone wouldn't recognize him—then remembered this was the East Sea and let it go.
Lucky Roux wandered back, laughing. "Idiot Captain—picked up a little miss who's never heard of you."
After the routine tease, he turned to Kaka. "I'm Lucky Roux, ship's cook. Over there's our vice-captain Benn Beckman. That's Yasopp on the gun…"
He pointed them out one by one; Kaka nodded, dazed.
Later, under a hot rinse in the washroom, her thoughts finally caught up.
"Guys," she whispered to the stream, "this pirate crew… isn't like Hild's at all. They're… kind. I could feel it when we talked."
"They look fierce, sure—but when Lucky Roux introduced them, they all smiled at me."
"I think… I think I've found my people!"
"Found her organization, she says," the chat cackled.
[ They'll 'take care of you,' all right, and then— ]
[ Hehehe… ]
[ And then what? ]
[ Hehehe… ]
Kaka rolled her eyes and finished washing. There weren't any women's clothes aboard; she ended up in an oversized white shirt and ridiculously roomy floral shorts—clearly Shanks's.
She pushed the door open—several crewmen scattered like startled crabs.
[ LMAO—were they peeking? ]
[ We were too, not gonna lie… saw nothing, though. ]
[ @SeaBreezeDev explain yourselves—why is the camera censored at the good part?! ]
On the Red Force.
Kaka stepped out of the cabin—and hadn't gone two paces when she noticed Shanks and the others staring at her… oddly.
A beat.
"Pfft!"
"Hahahahahaha!"
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