The humid air of the Sabaody Archipelago shimmered beneath the light filtering through its giant mangrove trees. Resin bubbles floated lazily overhead, bursting with soft pops that mingled with the chatter of the bustling groves. It was business as usual with merchants bartering, tourists laughing, and pirates pretending to be merchants.
Yet, amidst the crowds, excitement crackled like static. "Did you hear? 'Straw Hat' Luffy formed an alliance with Trafalgar Law!" one man said, waving a newspaper high above his head. "Pfft, you mean the Trafalgar Law? That surgeon guy?!" another replied, leaning in.
"Yeah! They're already making waves in the New World!" another said before a woman hummed. "Why are those pirates so active now?" she wondered before looking at another paper. "Like here, apparently, the Red Cinders are on the radar of the World Government," she said.
"Bah," a drunken patron scoffed from a nearby stall. "Who cares about those minks?" he said before receiving a mug in the face by... a mink. His earth-like features showed he was a geo mink.
The mink shook his head before paper and sighed. "While I like to see someone from the tribe being on the front page, I didn't expect this," he said before another guy chuckled and put his arm around his shoulder. "Then focus on the ones I'm banking on!" he said before pointing at another page.
"Bludgeon Pirates! Plus their captain's bounty just jumped to five hundred million berries!" he said before taking a big swing of his drink. The crowd stirred, murmurs rising like the tide. The name rolled across the marketplace like a spark catching dry leaves.
*Tap*
*Tap*
Through the commotion, a cloaked figure moved quietly between the people, her steps calm and unhurried. Beneath the plain brown hood, sharp golden eyes flicked from face to face, taking in the world's noise without truly joining it.
The woman's lips curved faintly. She hummed under her breath, a low tune lost to the wind as she slowed near a cluster of news posters nailed to a wooden board. Her gaze caught the fresh ink of a familiar name.
There it was, his face. Y/n's grin, cocky and bright even in monochrome. "Five hundred million berries, huh? You've really gone and done it, Y/n," she said before a quiet laugh followed.
The sound was warm, but the edges trembled with worry disguised as pride. She closed her eyes for a moment, seeing his face not as the wanted man plastered on the paper, but as the boy who once tugged at her sleeve, asking if clouds tasted like cotton candy.
"I'm going to be the next Pirate King, I promise you, mom," she recalled his words. The memory echoed like an old melody. Her smile deepened, bittersweet. "You always did dream too loud...But I know you will make it," she murmured under her breath.
As the voices of the market faded behind her, her thoughts wandered. Is he eating well? Is he sleeping? Is he remembering what she taught him: never fight when hungry, and never fight without reason? But she chuckled softly to herself. He probably forgot the first part already.
*Tap*
*Tap*
The streets grew quieter as she moved away from the bustle of the main grove. Her boots clicked against the resin path until she reached a familiar old establishment nestled between two larger buildings.
The sign above the door was weathered and straightforward, but the faint smell of rum and tobacco drifting from within was unmistakable. "Figures I would end up here," she said before exhaling softly and letting a faint chuckle.
*Creak*
With a quiet hum, she pushed open the door of Shakky's Rip-Off Bar. Behind the counter, Shakuyaku polished a mug with lazy efficiency, her half-lidded gaze drifting toward the door. Sitting nearby, drink in hand, Rayleigh let out a faint chuckle.
"...heh. How many years has it been, huh?" he asked, but he didn't turn at first. He simply swirled his drink, the ice clinking gently, before setting it down and looking over his shoulder. His grin came easily and knowingly.
"'Howling Tigress' Tora L/n..." said Rayleigh. "Didn't think I would see that face in Sabaody," he said. Tora's hood slipped back as she laughed, the sound low and rich. Her now longer orange hair tumbled down as her (E/C) eyes looked at Rayleigh. "Guess I just missed the good rum," she said with a grin.
Rayleigh chuckled, raising his glass in greeting. "Or maybe you missed trouble. Seems to follow you around anyway," he joked before taking his drink in hand. "What can I do for you?" asked Rayleigh before watching Tora take something from her pocket.
"I heard you now coat ships," she said as Rayleigh noticed the vivre card in Tora's hand. The older man hummed before straightening. "You want to go to the New World? Why now?" he asked before letting out a faint chuckle. "Don't tell me it's because you miss your son," he said, making Tora laugh.
"While I miss my little bull, it has nothing to do with him," said Tora, making Rayleigh nod. "Yeah, I figured," he said before Tora walked and sat beside him. Shakky slid her a drink as Tora nodded her thanks before taking a sip.
Letting out a faint chuckle, she looked at the vivre card she had set on the table. "I'm heading to the New World to try and help a long conflict that needs ending," she revealed as Rayleigh furrowed his brows before looking at his drink.
"Are you saying..." he lingered, making Tora nod before taking a big gulp of her drink and looking at Rayleigh. "Yes, I'm heading toward the Land of the Samurai because the time is soon for them to move," said Tora.
To be continued
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New Shining Star |『 Male Reader 』• One Piece
FanfictionA year after the historical war between the Whitebeard fleet and the Marines, the revelation that the One Piece truly existed sparked a new wave of aspiring pirates to take to the seas. Y/n is a young man who has always dreamed of becoming a pirate...
