The chaotic chin debacle was abruptly cut short as angry shouts erupted outside. A mob of white-winged Skypieans had gathered around the house, their faces twisted in fury.
"CRIMINALS! SEND OUT THE BLUE SEA DEVILS!"
"PAGAYA! YOU TRAITOR! YOU'RE PROTECTING LAW-BREAKERS!"
"IF YOU SHELTER THEM, YOU'LL FACE GOD'S JUDGMENT TOO!"
Inside, Conis paled so dramatically her freckles stood out like stars. Her father Pagaya dropped the teapet he was holding, the porcelain shattering like his nerves.
Luffy's massive chin wobbled as he jumped up. "I'll beat 'em up!" he declared, his words slightly muffled by the chin currently serving as his personal neck pillow.
Zoro's hand went to his swords. "Tch. Annoying flies." His visible eye sharpened - he'd been itching for a real fight since they arrived in this fluffy heaven.
Nolan cracked one eye open from his floating cloud. "Should I erase them... captain?" he asked mid-yawn, as casually as someone asking if they should take out the trash. His gun, The Third Eye, materialized in his hand with a quiet hum.
Luffy actually paused - a rare moment of consideration. The rubber captain scratched his stretched-out chin. "Nah... they're just scared." His unexpected wisdom made Chopper's eyes water with pride.
Nami, however, was already at the window assessing the mob. "They're calling us criminals? For what?" Her grip on the table turned her knuckles white. "And they're threatening these nice people for helping us?"
Usopp peeked between the window slats. "There's like fifty of them! Ohhh this is bad..."
Conis suddenly collapsed to her knees, her wings trembling. "P-please, you must understand... our god Enel..." Her voice dropped to a terrified whisper. "He decreed that all Blue Sea dwellers must pay the toll..."
"Hm?" Robin prompted gently, though her sharp eyes missed nothing.
"Or else," Pagaya finished, his shoulders slumped. "They are only worthy of extermination or... or sacrifice."
A heavy silence fell over the room. Even Luffy's ridiculous chin seemed to droop in solemn understanding.
Sanji's cigarette nearly fell from his lips. "Sacrifice? What is this, the dark ages?"
Conis flinched as if struck. "You mustn't speak of God that way! He can hear everything! He—"
BOOM!
A blinding bolt of lightning suddenly struck the roof, vaporizing part of the ceiling. The mob outside screamed and scattered like frightened birds.
Conis squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for divine punishment... but nothing happened. When she dared to look, she saw Nolan casually twirling his smoking gun, his other hand scratching his stomach.
"Damn birds keep pooping on my cloud," he muttered to no one in particular. The Straw Hats immediately understood - he'd erased Enel's lightning strike before anyone noticed.
Luffy, completely unfazed by the near-death experience, plopped his chin-heavy face right in front of Conis. "So this Enel guy... he's strong?"
Conis looked ready to faint. "H-he's invincible! He controls lightning itself! He's destroyed entire islands that displeased him! They say he can hear conversations across Skypiea and—"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Three more lightning strikes hit around the house in rapid succession - each one mysteriously fizzling out mid-air with quiet "pops" from Nolan's gun.
"Wow, rude," Luffy pouted, his chin wobbling indignantly. "We're having a conversation here!"
Zoro grinned, his fighting spirit igniting. "A god who throws lightning? Sounds like my kind of warm-up."
Nami smacked both of them. "Focus! These people are risking their lives for us!" She turned to Conis, her expression softening. "Why help us if it's so dangerous?"
Pagaya answered before his daughter could, placing a trembling hand on her shoulder. "Because... because we sense no malice from your group"
The genuine kindness in his voice made even Nolan pause his lazy gun-twirling. Luffy's rubbery face stretched into a wide grin.
"Alright then!" he declared, slamming his fist into his palm. "Let's go meet this 'god' and have a chat!"
Conis looked ready to have a heart attack. "Y-you can't! He'll—"
BOOOOOOM!
The entire house shook as a lightning bolt the size of a ship's mast struck directly at Luffy... only to splash harmlessly against an invisible barrier inches from his nose. Nolan blew smoke from his gun barrel.
"Persistent little god, isn't he?" the sloth mused.
Luffy just laughed, his chin jiggling with mirth. "This is gonna be fun!"
Meanwhile...
SENGOKU'S roar shook the entire building, "GAAAAARP! YOU BASTARD! YOU ATE MY SPECIAL SENBEI AGAIN!"
The sound of Sengoku's sandals slapping against marble echoed through the halls as he stormed toward his office. He kicked open the door to find Garp lounging in his chair, feet on his desk, happily munching on the exact rice crackers that had gone missing from Sengoku's secret stash.
Garp grinned, crumbs tumbling down his chin. "Oh, Sengoku! You're here? BWAHAHAHA! Relax, have some senbei!" He casually tossed a cracker at Sengoku's face.
Sengoku caught it mid-air, his eye twitching violently. "...This IS from my stash." His voice was dangerously calm.
"Of course it is! BWAHAHAHA!" Garp slapped his knee. "Why would I bring my own when yours taste better?"
With speed that belied his age, Sengoku lunged across the desk, grabbing Garp's collar and shaking him violently. "You bastard! that was a limited edition Toto Island seaweed flavor! I was saving those for my weekly dealings with the celestial dragon's therapy session!!"
Garp remained completely unfazed, still chewing. "Mmm, tastes like regret and poor life choices. Fitting!"
Before Sengoku could strangle his oldest friend again, the door opened to reveal Vice Admiral Tsuru and Gion, the latter holding a stack of urgent-looking documents.
Sengoku immediately switched to pleading mode. "Tsuru! Thank the seas you're here! Please talk some sense into this bastard!"
Tsuru sighed, the weight of decades of dealing with these two evident in her expression. She calmly took a seat. "Garp, stop stealing Sengoku's snacks. Sengoku, stop hiding food in your office."
Gion, ever the professional, tried to steer things back on track. "Sirs, we have urgent matters to discuss regarding—"
"My grandson? Bwahaha! What's Luffy done now?" Garp interrupted, eyes sparkling with grandfatherly pride. "Did he punch another Warlord? Sink a battleship? Or did he declare war on the World Government again? That's always fun!"
Sengoku's eye twitched so hard it nearly closed. "No! Worse! He's somehow made an entire island... nice!"
Silence fell over the room.
Gion blinked. "...Nice?"
Sengoku slammed a stack of reports on the desk. "Jaya Island! Former pirate haven! Average of fifteen murders a week! Now?" He flipped open a file to show shocking before-and-after photos. "Flower gardens! Public libraries! VOLUNTEER WORK!"
Tsuru nodded gravely. "Our undercover agents report zero crime in the past five days. The worst offense was an old man forgetting to return a library book on time."
Garp scratched his head. "Huh. That doesn't sound like Luffy. He'd rather eat a history book than read one."
Sengoku groaned. "It's not him! It's that new crewmate of his!" He dramatically flipped to a wanted poster showing Ranvil D. Nolan's perfectly smiling, unfairly handsome face. "This walking disaster somehow convinced an entire island of cutthroats to become upstanding citizens!"
Gion, who had been politely listening, suddenly froze when she saw the poster. Her face turned an interesting shade of pink. "Oh my... I mean, oh dear. That's... concerning."
Tsuru side-eyed her protege. "Gion. Breathe."
Garp leaned in, suddenly interested. "Wait, so this guy's more dangerous than we thought? What'd he do, brainwash everyone?"
Sengoku threw his hands up. "WORSE! He... he..." The Fleet Admiral struggled to explain the unexplainable. "He just talked to them! For like, 30 seconds! Suddenly, pirates are planting community gardens! Thugs are hosting charity bake sales! And a bastard named Cricket is running a damn museum tour!"
Tsuru added dryly, "Our agents say the locals now call it 'The Miracle.' Apparently just being near this man makes people want to be better versions of themselves."
Garp blinked. Then burst into laughter so loud it rattled the windows. "Bwahahaha! So my grandson's crew has a guy who makes pirates into boy scouts? That's hilarious!"
Sengoku grabbed his own Buddha head in frustration. "It's not funny! Do you know how many undercover operations this has ruined? Our agents can't blend in anymore because everyone's too damn helpful! One marine got caught because a former pirate insisted on carrying his groceries home!"
Gion, still staring at the poster, murmured dreamily, "How noble... turning criminals into good citizens just with his presence..."
Tsuru snapped her fingers in front of Gion's face. "Vice Admiral. Focus."
Meanwhile, Garp was wiping tears from his eyes. "This is the best thing ever! I can't wait to meet this guy! BWAHAHAHA! Hey, do you think if we left him in Mariejois for a week, the Celestial Dragons would start volunteering at soup kitchens?"
Sengoku considered this for a moment. Then shook his head violently. "NO! Absolutely not! The last thing we need is this... this... dangerously charismatic slacker turning the World Government into actual decent human beings!"
Garp grinned. "Too late. Looks like my grandson's already got himself the most dangerous crewmate yet." He popped another stolen senbei in his mouth. "A guy who makes the world better just by being in it. BWAHAHAHA! Roger would've hated him!"
Sengoku groaned, already reaching for his secret emergency liquor stash which Garp had already emptied out. Meanwhile, Gion quietly pocketed Nolan's wanted poster when no one was looking, her face flushed.
Tsuru sighed, muttering to herself, "I'm too old for this..."
---
Thank you for the support..