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This was his own personal theory, but Sterling believed that just like how Luffy was destined to inherit the will and dream of Joyboy, the Nika Fruit, and eventually defeat Imu to liberate the world… those who would help him on his journey until he finally reached that goal were predetermined as well.
He had always noticed this pattern.
"I know a lot of people have badmouthed the Straw Hat Pirates," Sterling thought. "Calling them a weak Yonko crew because of their lack of Haki, and how they never showed any will or interest in learning it."
And honestly, he couldn't blame the people who complained.
"I mean, for fuck's sake," Sterling mentally continued, "Nico Robin was with the Revolutionary Army for two whole years, two entire years where a ton of members knew Haki. But the only thing she learned was fucken Fishman Karate."
It was ridiculous.
He could still picture it: all the Straw Hats during the timeskip were training like maniacs because they wanted to help Luffy become Pirate King… and then Nico Robin, seeing Sabo use Haki for the first time, reacting like:
"Brother eww, what's that? Luffy definitely wouldn't want this ability in his crew."
You could excuse people like Chopper and Nami because they were improving on their roles in the ship. But the rest of them had no excuses.
Sterling snorted at his own thought, then refocused.
But all jokes aside… back to the actual point.
What he was trying to say was that each and every Straw Hat was instrumental to the person Luffy ended up becoming. Even if just one of them was missing, Luffy might have never awakened as Nika in the first place.
Of course, like he said, this was only his personal theory. But as far as Sterling was concerned, it made sense.
And then back to the topic of butterfly effects.
As a transmigrator, Sterling knew a lot of future events for each of the Straw Hats and some tragically painful ones. But even though he knew these, interfering was dangerous, because the current Straw Hats as he knew them wouldn't exist anymore.
He already had one perfect example:
Giving Bellé-mer a Devil Fruit could lead to Nami's death. A single change could collapse the chain of events that forged someone's identity.
What other example could he make?
Well, with Zoro and Kuina, there was nothing he could realistically do anyway. What, was he supposed to go to Shimotsuki Village and tell Zoro:
"Hey bro, watch the stairs. They are going to murder your closest friend."
Anyone would look at him like he was insane.
All he could do was silently hope that the butterfly effect of his presence in this world would make Kuina pay more attention to the stairs herself. That was the best he could wish for.
But then another thought came.
If Kuina survived…
Would Zoro have the same drive to become the world's strongest swordsman?
Would he hold onto that ambition with the same fire as after her death?
Would he still leave the island and become a bounty hunter? Because if he didn't leave the island, the chances of him and Luffy meeting would drop drastically.
And then Luffy would lose one of the greatest first mates in One Piece history.
Someone who was willing to take on all his pain.
On the topic of pain.
Till today, Sterling wondered how the rest of the Straw Hat Pirates would react if they had actually seen Luffy's pain that Kuma had taken from him during the Thriller Bark Arc. That was probably the amount of pain he endured after every single major fight.
Would they then realize how much Luffy suffered for them?
Would they finally force themselves to learn some goddamn Haki?
But that was just a little rant of his.
Nothing worth paying too much attention to.
---
xxx days later, an island finally came into view.
After traveling all the way from the North Blue to the East Blue, Shanks, Benn Beckman, and Sterling were sunburned, worn out… and, according to Shanks, starving to death.
"Sterling!" Shanks shouted dramatically, pointing at him like he was accusing a criminal. "Thanks to you we no longer have any food! Why do you eat so much!?"
Sterling shot him a glare right back. "Don't blame this on me, Shanks. You eat just as much as me."
"Impossible!" Shanks declared with absolute certainty. "I do not have the stomach capacity for such deeds! Your stomach is otherworldly, Sterling. I've never seen anything like it."
Sterling rolled his eyes. "You're just putting all the blame on me, that's all."
"No, no, no," Shanks argued, raising a finger. "Sterling, you can digest an insurmountable amount of food in an instant. That shouldn't be possible unless you ate a Devil Fruit or something."
Before Sterling could respond, Benn Beckman spoke up, voice calm but firm.
"Shanks. Sterling. I see someone in the distance. And he seems to be observing us."
Both turned.
Shanks squinted at the approaching island and at the figure perched on a high vantage point by the trees, staring down toward the sea.
"Indeed," Shanks murmured.
---
On the island, the man with the binoculars lowered them slightly.
"What's that… a traveler's ship?" he muttered. "That's rare."
He lifted the binoculars again.
Three figures.
Two carried swords.
One held a flintlock pistol.
His brows furrowed.
"Are they here to cause trouble…?"
His finger tapped the side of his gun holster.
Should I shoot first? Could I realistically get all of them?
A second later, he clicked his tongue.
"No. Impossible. All of them have unnaturally high Observation Haki… even if I could get one, I can't get them all."
His expression tightened.
"Who are these monsters…? I'll have to wait and see what they want."
He stayed crouched at his lookout, watching silently as the small boat drifted to the island's shore.
When it finally touched land, he raised an eyebrow.
Let's see what they want.
---
Shanks stood up in the boat, dusted off his pants, and placed a hand on the straw hat atop his head.
He looked up directly at the man watching them.
"I came here for a man named Yasopp."
The man froze.
He's… here for me?
Shanks continued, voice strong and clear.
"My name is Shanks, and I'm a Pirate."