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[+200 power stones = +1 extra chapter]
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The scent of something burning mingled with the salty sea air as Lucas entered the galley, his nose wrinkling at the acrid aroma. Sunlight streamed through the portholes, illuminating swirling tendrils of smoke rising from what appeared to be... breakfast?
"Sweet mother of the sea," Usopp whispered, poking at the blackened lump on his plate with visible terror. "Is this food or something that crawled out of the Grand Line?"
At the head of the table, Apis stood proudly, her hands on her hips. "I wanted to thank you all for saving me! So I made breakfast!" The girl's cheerful grin contrasted sharply with the culinary disaster spread across the table.
Sanji stood frozen near the stove, his cigarette dangling precariously from his lips as he stared at his usually pristine kitchen now coated in a fine layer of soot. His eye twitched violently. "My... my beautiful galley..."
Lucas cautiously took his seat, eyeing the charred, unidentifiable mass before him. He lifted his fork and gently tapped it against the plate, the food made a suspiciously metallic clink. "Apis... what exactly were you trying to make?"
"Pancakes!" she declared proudly. "Well, they were supposed to be pancakes. Then I added some special spices to make them exciting!"
Zoro, still half-asleep, blindly shoved a forkful into his mouth before anyone could stop him. For three terrifying seconds, there was complete silence. Then his eye snapped open, bloodshot and watering, as his face turned an alarming shade of crimson.
"WATER!" the swordsman roared, lunging across the table for Luffy's juice glass. The rubberman easily stretched out of reach, laughing uproariously as Zoro collapsed to his knees, gasping like a fish out of water.
Nami pushed her plate away slowly. "You know, I think I'll just have some fruit..."
Sanji's foot slammed down on the bench between her and Usopp with enough force to rattle the silverware. "This," he growled through clenched teeth, smoke practically pouring from his ears, "is our guest's heartfelt gesture." The unspoken threat hung heavy in the air as his glare swept across the crew. "You. Will. Eat. It."
Turning to Apis, his expression transformed unnaturally fast into a sickeningly sweet smile. "By the way, darling, what should we call you?"
"Apis!" she chirped, completely oblivious to the crew's distress.
Under Sanji's murderous gaze, the Straw Hats reluctantly picked up their utensils. Lucas took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself as he speared the smallest possible bite. The moment the "pancake" touched his tongue...
"HOLY HELLFIRE!" Lucas shot to his feet, knocking over his chair as his mouth erupted in what felt like molten lava. He scrambled for his water glass, chugging desperately as tears streamed down his face. "What in the name of all that's holy did you put in this?!"
Apis counted on her fingers. "Well, there was chili powder, ghost pepper flakes, some of those little red seeds from that jar labeled 'DANGER' in the back..."
"THAT WAS MY EXPERIMENTAL SPICE COLLECTION!" Sanji shrieked, momentarily forgetting his gentlemanly demeanor.
[Ding! Host's emotional spike detected. Emotion Points +1000]
Lucas froze mid-gulp, water dripping from his chin.
'Wait, this torture gives emotion points? He'd been starving for points for days. This was an opportunity he couldn't waste.'
Forcing a grin through tear-filled eyes, Lucas took another massive bite. "D-Delicious!" he choked out, his voice an octave higher than normal.
[Ding! Host's emotional spike detected. Emotion Points +1000]
Zoro, still recovering on the floor, looked up in horror. "Lucas, have you finally snapped? That's clearly poison."
Usopp nodded vigorously. "I've seen less toxic substances in my uncle's alchemy lab! And he once accidentally turned himself into a newt!"
Luffy, meanwhile, was happily shoveling forkfuls into his mouth, tears streaming down his face. "It's like fireworks in my mouth!" he laughed between bites. "Try it, Zoro!"
"No chance in hell," the swordsman growled, crawling toward the door in what might have been the first display of self-preservation he'd ever shown.
Nami pushed her untouched plate toward Luffy with a sweet smile. "Here, captain. You should have mine too."
As Luffy gratefully accepted, Lucas saw his chance. "Hey Luffy!" he called, stabbing another massive portion. "Bet I can eat more than you!"
Luffy's eyes lit up with competitive fire. "YOU'RE ON!"
What followed was perhaps the most horrifying eating contest in East Blue history. The two rubber-bodied idiots devoured the spicy abominations with increasing speed, their faces turning progressively redder, sweat pouring down their foreheads as they alternated between cheers of victory and whimpers of pain.
[Ding! Host's emotional spike detected. Emotion Points +1000]
Sanji watched in horrified fascination. "I've created monsters," he muttered, lighting a fresh cigarette with trembling fingers.
Apis, meanwhile, clapped her hands in delight. "I'm so glad you like it! There's plenty more where that came from!"
The color drained from every face in the room, except Luffy's, which was already approximately the shade of a ripe tomato.
"NO!" the crew shouted in perfect unison, a rare moment of complete agreement.
Zoro, having finally reached the door, paused just long enough to deliver his verdict: "If any of you wake me up for lunch, I'll cut you." Then he disappeared, the door slamming shut behind him with finality.
As Lucas forced down another bite (and another precious 1000 points), he couldn't help but notice Nami quietly slipping out after Zoro, followed closely by a pale-faced Usopp muttering something about "sudden wood rot inspection."
Only Sanji remained, torn between his culinary pride and his survival instincts. When Apis turned her bright, hopeful eyes toward him, he visibly steeled himself before taking a small, polite bite.
For exactly three seconds, the galley was silent. Then Sanji's eye twitched violently, his cigarette fell to the floor, and without a word, he turned on his heel and walked straight out the door, and kept walking right off the ship's railing into the cool ocean below.
The splash was oddly satisfying.
...
The wooden door of the ship's head slammed shut behind Lucas with a sound like final judgment. He collapsed against the wall, his stomach roiling like the storm-tossed seas outside. Sweat poured down his forehead as he gripped the edges of the washbasin, staring at his green-tinged reflection in the mirror.
"Never again," he groaned to his miserable reflection. "I'd rather fight Arlong barehanded than..." His threat was cut short by another violent cramp that sent him doubling over the toilet.
[Ding! Host's emotional spike detected. Emotion Points +1000]
A weak chuckle escaped his lips. "At least the points keep coming..." His amusement died as another wave of nausea hit. "Oh god, why did I take that third helping?"
Outside, heavy footsteps approached, followed by Usopp's voice piping through the door. "Lucas? You alive in there? Nami sent me to check if you need... uh... medical attention?"
Lucas groaned loud enough to rattle the porthole. "Tell Nami I appreciate her concern while I'm busy dying!"
"Right! Good! I'll just..." Usopp's retreating footsteps paused. "Wait, is that why Zoro's been camped outside the women's restroom for the past hour? He said something about 'claiming territory' and 'first come first serve' but..."
"DIFFERENT SITUATION!" Nami's furious shout echoed down the corridor, followed by the distinctive sound of a fist meeting skull and a heavy body hitting the deck.
Lucas would have laughed if his stomach wasn't currently trying to escape through his esophagus. He slumped against the wall, counting the wooden panels to distract himself from the agony. His counting was interrupted when the door creaked open without so much as a knock.
"Occupied!" Lucas snapped, then blinked as a familiar straw hat appeared around the doorframe.
"Hey Lucas!" Luffy chirped, looking annoyingly unaffected. "You done yet? I gotta go!"
Lucas stared in disbelief. "How are you not..." His question was answered by the way Luffy's stomach visibly stretched and contracted like a rubber balloon. "Right. Devil Fruit powers. Unfair."
Luffy plopped down on the floor beside him, completely unfazed by the location. "That food was great! Apis should cook more often!"
"Over my dead body," Lucas muttered, then immediately regretted it when Luffy's eyes lit up. "Figure of speech! Not a challenge!"
Their conversation was interrupted by a new voice from the hallway. "If you two are quite finished," Sanji said, his tone dripping with sarcasm, "some of us actually need to use the facilities for their intended purpose." The cook appeared in the doorway, holding a steaming bowl in one hand and a rolled-up newspaper in the other. He tossed both to Lucas. "Stomach-soothing soup and today's paper. Try not to get them mixed up."
Lucas caught them awkwardly, eyeing the cook with suspicion. Sanji being this nice? Something was definitely wrong. "Thanks... I think?"
Sanji's eye twitched. "Don't mention it. Literally. Especially not to Nami-san." He turned to leave, then paused. "Though if you happen to feel like demonstrating that clone technique later, strictly for culinary research purposes, of course..."
"Not happening today," Lucas groaned, clutching his stomach. "I can barely maintain my own existence right now, let alone duplicate it."
Sanji's face lit up with disturbing enthusiasm. "Then you'll need more restorative meals! I could prepare..."
"No!" Lucas interrupted hastily. "I mean... the soup is perfect. Really."
Luffy, who had been curiously sniffing the soup, suddenly grabbed the bowl. "This smells great! Can I..."
"NO!" Both Lucas and Sanji shouted in unison. Sanji's kick sent the bowl (and Luffy's hands) stretching safely out of reach.
As Luffy chased his rubbery limbs around the small room, Sanji leaned closer to Lucas. "Between us," he murmured, "that was the most terrifying culinary experience of my life, and I once saw Chef Zeff make battle rations out of seaking venom."
Lucas could only nod in solemn agreement as another cramp hit him.
[Ding! Host's emotional spike detected. Emotion Points +1000]
Sanji gave him a pitying look. "You're really milking this for all it's worth, aren't you?"
"Every... painful... point," Lucas ground out between clenched teeth.
Their bonding moment was interrupted when Luffy's stretching limbs finally rebounded, sending the soup bowl flying straight toward...
"MY NEWSPAPER!" Sanji shrieked in horror, diving to intercept. The resulting collision of bodies, soup, and newsprint left all three men in a tangled heap on the floor, just as Nami happened to walk past the open door.
She took one look at the scene, Lucas pale and sweating, Luffy with his arms tangled around a soup-covered Sanji, the ruined remains of what appeared to be the marine weather report scattered everywhere, and slowly closed the door again.
"We're not talking about this," her muffled voice came through the wood. "Ever."
As the footsteps retreated, Sanji extracted himself from the pile with as much dignity as he could muster. "Right. Well. This never happened." He straightened his suit jacket. "I'll be in the galley. Drowning myself in cooking wine."
Luffy, completely unfazed, popped up with a grin. "Hey Lucas, you think if I eat more of Apis cooking, I'll get even stronger?"
Lucas could only groan in response, his forehead thunking against the cool wood of the floor. Somewhere in the back of his mind, the system chimed again.
[Ding! Host's emotional spike detected. Emotion Points +1000]
At this rate, he might actually earn enough points to pay for stomach surgery.
***
The midday sun beat down mercilessly on the deck as Nami's fingers danced across her navigation charts, her brow furrowing deeper with each calculation. The air felt thick not with humidity, but with that peculiar stillness that seasoned sailors recognized as nature holding its breath.
"Hey Nami," Usopp called from the rigging, his voice unusually tense, "why do all the seagulls look... nervous?"
Before she could answer, the crow's nest erupted with panic. "EVERYONE! MARINE FLEET DEAD AHEAD!" Usopp's scream sent the entire crew scrambling to the starboard rail.
Lucas arrived last, still pale from his earlier ordeal, but his discomfort vanished at the sight before them. The horizon bristled with marine vessels, at least fifteen warships forming a perfect blockade, their polished cannons glinting in the sunlight like a predator's teeth.
"Someone really doesn't like us," Lucas muttered, instinctively reaching for the kunai hidden in his sleeve.
Zoro's hand found the hilt of his new sword, his grin widening with each ship he counted. "Finally," he breathed, "a proper warm-up."
Luffy stretched his arms experimentally, his usual carefree expression sharpening into something more dangerous. "Looks like we're fighting our way through!"
Lucas stomach dropped, and not just from residual spice trauma. "Hold on!" He stepped between his crewmates and the railing. "They outnumber us fifty to one. This isn't a fight, it's an execution."
Usopp nodded so vigorously his nose wobbled. "Tactical retreat! Very honorable! the great philosopher said..."
"Who cares what some dead guy said?" Zoro scoffed, already testing his sword's balance.
Nami's charts fluttered to the deck as she grabbed Luffy's shoulder. "Listen to Lucas! Even if you three monsters survive, the Merry won't!"
A sudden gust whipped across the deck, strong enough to make the sails snap. Everyone turned to see Abis standing perfectly still at the stern, her unbound hair whipping around her face like a dark halo. "The wind is coming," she murmured, her voice carrying an eerie certainty. "A big wind."
Nami's eyes widened in realization. That unnatural stillness, the way the gulls had been acting, it all clicked. "Usopp! Sanji! Hard to starboard, now!" she barked.
Luffy blinked. "But the Marines are...."
"A hurricane's forming!" Nami cut him off, already spinning the wheel. "If we catch the edge, we can outrun them! If we stay here, we're dead!"
Zoro sighed dramatically, sheathing his sword. "Tch. Cowards way out."
Lucas, meanwhile, had gone pale again, but for a different reason. He checked their heading, then the rapidly darkening sky. "Nami," he said slowly, "if we go south at this angle..."
The color drained from Nami's face as she followed his gaze. "The Calm Belt." The words dropped like stones into sudden silence.
Usopp made a noise like a deflating balloon. "Sea Kings. No wind. Certain death. Got it."
The storm hit with terrifying suddenness. One moment the sea was glassy calm—the next, the Merry heeled violently as a wall of black water lifted her starboard side clear out of the water. Lucas barely caught Abis before she slid overboard, slamming them both against the mast.
"CHANGE COURSE!" Nami screamed over the gale.
Sanji fought his way to the rigging, his cigarette somehow still lit. "To where? Marines or monsters?"
"MARINES CAN'T SHOOT IN THIS!" Luffy laughed, riding the bucking deck like it was an amusement park ride. "LET'S GO THROUGH!"
Zoro's manic grin returned as he drew all three swords. "Now you're talking!"
Lucas tightened his grip on Apis as another wave crashed over the deck. The girl clung to him with surprising strength, her eyes wide but unafraid. "You've done this before," he realized.
Apis met his gaze, and for the first time, he saw something calculating behind her cheerful facade. "The Grand Line eats weaklings for breakfast," she shouted over the storm. "Better learn quick!"
A flash of lightning illuminated the nightmare scene, the marine ships scattering like frightened ducks, the towering black funnel cloud forming behind them, and the ominous stillness of the Calm Belt looming to the south.
Nami made her choice. "ALL HANDS! BATTLE STATIONS!" She spun the wheel hard to port. "WE'RE GOING THROUGH THE EYE!"
As the crew scrambled to obey, Lucas caught the determined set of Nami's jaw. She wasn't just saving them from the Marines or the Calm Belt, she was proving they could weather the storm literally and metaphorically. The realization hit him like one of Zoro's practice swings: this was their true baptism into the Grand Line.
And judging by the wild grin spreading across Luffy's face as he stretched an arm around the mast, their captain wouldn't have it any other way. The storm might break them, Lucas thought as he braced for the next wave, but it would never bend them.
....
T/N: Thanks for the support from: Lam Sha, Black Widow, Hamza Masfar, Lord Of the Mysteries, Andrew, Jiri Stehule, trey hill, Agustin Monti, Tightless, Impulsionimulsion.