Boy With a Scar

Chapter 31: That Day in Whiskey Peak

"Land ho!" Usopp's shout rang across the entire ship, reaching the ears of everyone onboard.

Nami perked up where she was leaning against the railing and watching the sea. Zoro opened his eyes and moved to stand up, yawning. Sanji appeared from inside the galley with Miss Wednesday and Mr. Nine cautiously trailing behind him.

Leaning forward, Sabo patted Luffy on his back and murmured something into his ear.

Luffy stirred. "Wha—island?" he muttered, rubbing at his eyes with his hand. It took a few seconds for those words to sink into his still drowsy mind. His eyes widened once they did sink. "We reached an island?!"

"Whoaaa!" Usopp exclaimed from the crow's nest. He watched the approaching island through a spyglass. "Check out those huge cacti!"

Luffy scrambled to his feet, pushing his straw hat back onto his head. He stretched his arms to grab the neck of Merry's figurehead and pulled himself directly on top of it. Peering at the horizon, he was treated to his first glimpse of a new island. "Whooooaaaa! What big cacti!" He practically vibrated in excitement. "The first island of the Grand Line looks fun!"

Because none counted before this one. This was the first one he was going to step on by his own violation and explore freely. The first island in the Grand Line on his journey to becoming the Pirate King!

Luffy couldn't wait!

"So this is Whiskey Peak," Sanji noted, standing on the front deck with the rest of the crew and ship guests. "What a weird looking island."

"Such pleasant weather after that ridiculous beginning!" Nami cheered.

While the crew rejoiced, Mr. Nine and Miss Wednesday shared a knowing glance. As one, they sprung forward and dashed for the railing. Leaping on and landing in a dramatic crouch, they spun around to face the bewildered pirates.

"Now then, this is our stop!" Mr. Nine declared.

Miss Wednesday cocked her chin up. "Thank you for the ride, my ho—" Her words died on the tip of her tongue, eyes going wide.

Straw Hats just watched in utter confusion when she suddenly flung herself across the deck, almost flipping over the opposite railing in her rush. Her gaze never left the shore of the island, probably seeing something no one else had noticed.

Mr. Nine was equally dumbfounded by his partner's behavior. "Miss Wednesday?"

Instead of reacting to his call, the young woman climbed over the railing and dived into the sea without any of that previous flamboyant dramatics.

"M-Miss Wednesday?!" Mr. Nine shrieked, scrambling past the pirates and after his partner. On top of the railing, he paused. "We're taking our leave now!" he announced in an attempt to salvage their image. He was in an obvious hurry as he blurted the next words pretty much without a break. "Iffatewillsitletusmeetagain! Bye, bye, baby!" he tacked on at the end before back-flipping off the ship and into the water below.

The Straw Hats stared for another moment.

"Well, that happened," Sanji deadpanned.

"Seems like something indeed happened," Sabo observed.

Zoro smirked. "Trouble in the paradise of bounty hunters?"

Usopp gulped. "T-that's right, this is an island full of bounty hunters." He nervously looked around as if those bounty hunters were hiding on the ship and were ready to swoop down on him any moment now. "C-can't we just pass this island and go straight to the next one?"

"We can't!" Luffy and Nami denied it at the same time.

"See? Even Luffy gets it," Nami said, pleased. "We have to wait until—"