𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙃𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙄𝙣 𝙀𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 ꒐ ℤ𝕠𝕣𝕠

(9) 𝓖𝓮𝓬𝓴𝓸 𝓘𝓼𝓵𝓪𝓷𝓭 : 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓢𝓽𝓻𝓪𝔀𝓱𝓪𝓽'𝓼 𝓝𝓮𝔁𝓽 𝓠𝓾𝓮𝓼𝓽

~𝔖𝔶𝔯𝔲𝔭 𝔙𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔞𝔤𝔢~

"Hey, guys," Luffy called out to both of them, interrupting their separate tasks. Nami had her glasses perched on her nose, meticulously examining the map while perched precariously on a stack of crates, while Scarlet was attempting to fix a hole in her cloak with what looked suspiciously like a chewed-up piece of gum.

"Guys!" "What?" Nami and Scarlet responded simultaneously, their attention finally drawn.

Luffy's face lit up with excitement as he unsheathed a massive cloth, nearly knocking Scarlet overboard in the process. "It's ready!" "And what is it?" Scarlet inquired, unable to see what he was holding due to the cloth obscuring her entire field of vision. "Our Jolly Roger! Every pirate crew has to have one. And now we do!" Luffy's grin widened at the thought of having their own emblem. "It looks...pretty neat?" Scarlet commented, her view still completely blocked. "I mean, I can't exactly see it, but I'm sure it's the most magnificent thing ever!" she added with a sarcastic lilt.

"We're not a crew, and you're not hanging that out on my boat," Nami retorted, unimpressed, her brow furrowing.

Suddenly, a door behind Luffy swung open, revealing Zoro with his distinctive mossy green hair. "Zoro! Zoro, check it out!" Luffy exclaimed, proudly displaying the Jolly Roger. Zoro gazed at the emblem for a solid minute, then raised an eyebrow. "That's...unique," he remarked before casually taking a seat on a nearby barrel, completely ignoring the boisterous Luffy. "Nami, I think the toilet's busted," he informed, sounding quite serious.

"What did you eat, you walking disaster?" Scarlet chimed in, her voice dripping with playful mockery. Zoro ignored her completely, not even glancing in her direction. He simply continued, "We don't have a toilet," Nami pointed out, her voice laced with exasperation. "Oh," Zoro deadpanned, a faint hint of surprise in his tone. He shrugged and gestured toward the room with his thumb. "Well, something back there's leaking."

Nami stormed back into the scene, her countenance now clouded with frustration. "We're taking in water, what did you do?!" Quick to defend himself, he responded earnestly, "I didn't do anything." Before Nami could unleash her fury, Scarlet interjected with a sly grin, "He ate something. A whole cow, probably."

Zoro, growing tired of their back-and-forth, let out a sigh. "Would you stop?" Scarlet shrugged playfully, maintaining her smug expression. "Nope. It's way more entertaining than watching you try to explain yourself." Nami wasn't ready to concede, though, and insisted, "The way you're clanging those swords around, you must've broken something," gesturing towards Zoro's swords hanging from his waist. Zoro looked up at her with a glare. "Maybe you should've stolen a better boat."

Scarlet chimed in once more, repeating her previous claim, "Maybe he ate something...and then tried to digest it with his swords?"

"You brat-" Zoro's head snapped towards Scarlet with terrifying speed. "You really want me to cut you in half?"

Nami's frustration continued to escalate, and just as she was about to unleash a colorful tirade of words directed at Zoro, Luffy swiftly intervened, raising his hands to calm the brewing storm. "Guys, guys, guys. Okay, crew meeting." "Not a crew!" Nami and Zoro corrected him in unison.

Scarlet couldn't help but snicker. "I can predict what you guys will say now. Probably something about needing a better ship and a crew that doesn't nearly drown itself every five minutes." She earned a death glare from both Nami and Zoro. "Sorry," She added sheepishly, raising her hands in mock surrender.

"We're gonna need a better ship to make it to the Grand Line. A real pirate ship," Luffy's expression shifted to one of seriousness, his eyes locked on the horizon, before he flashed a confident grin. "Worthy of the Straw Hat Crew!"