The scent of salt and smoke hung in the air, swirling with the distant murmur of waves crashing against the ruined walls of Arlong Park.
The battlefield was still.
Dust hovered above shattered stone, and the lifeless remnants of battle lay strewn across the courtyard—shattered swords, scorched fishman armor, and the faint outline of shadow trails where summoned tendrils had once struck like lightning.
Nami stepped forward slowly.
Her sandals scraped across blood-stained stone. Her legs were trembling, though she tried to hide it. The image before her was one she had dreamed of for years—Arlong, defeated, his towering presence broken… and his corpse standing once more, hollow-eyed and cloaked in shadow.
Behind that shadow… stood Luffy.
She stopped a few feet away, unsure what to say.
"You really killed him," she whispered, her voice brittle and uneven.
Luffy didn't turn around. "I said I would."
"You didn't hesitate."
"No."
His voice wasn't cold.
It was distant.
Detached.
Nami's arms fell to her sides. Her fists slowly unclenched, her fingers aching from having been curled too tightly for too long.
She tried to feel happy.
Relieved.
But all that came was a hollow ache in her chest.
"I should feel free," she said, her throat tight. "I should feel something."
Finally, Luffy turned to face her.
His eyes were calm, but shadowed. His presence still felt heavy—like the battlefield hadn't ended inside him.
"You don't need to feel anything," he said softly. "You're not under his control anymore. That's enough."
Nami's breath caught.
She wanted to argue. She wanted to ask what it had cost him. But the look in his eyes stopped her.
So instead, she just said it.
"Thank you."
And Luffy nodded once.
That was all.
The villagers were the last to enter.
One by one, they stepped past the destroyed gates and looked upon what they never thought they'd see.
Nojiko covered her mouth as tears rolled down her cheeks. Genzo knelt on one knee and touched the broken ground. Old man Kappa fell to his knees and wept openly.
Others just stared in disbelief.
Then someone clapped.
Then another.
Applause rose like a wave—clumsy, uncertain, but gaining power. Cheers followed. Children danced. Parents held their kids and pointed to the Straw Hats like they were heroes from bedtime stories.
After eight years of fear, the village could finally breathe.
Zoro stood with his swords sheathed, arms crossed, watching it all with a rare softness in his gaze. Sanji leaned back against a cracked pillar, lighting a cigarette and smiling under his breath. Usopp struck a pose with one hand raised high, yelling, "No need to thank me! I was amazing as always!"
Even Luffy smiled faintly—for a second.
Then he looked at the reanimated Arlong standing behind him.
And he raised one hand.
With a soft whumph, the shadow general dissolved into mist and returned to his feet.
No one noticed the way Luffy's fingers twitched afterward.
Hours passed.
The village threw a feast, complete with fish stew, tangerine cakes, and bottles of sweet rice wine. Laughter filled the square as people sang and danced.
The Straw Hats didn't stay long.
Luffy stood by the Going Merry, arms resting behind his head, eyes scanning the sea. Sanji hauled supplies aboard. Usopp was fixing his slingshot on deck. Zoro sat beneath the mast, cleaning his blades with methodical patience.
Nami stood at the edge of the party with Nojiko and Genzo.
She held a small tangerine in her hand, plucked from her mother's tree. Her thumb rubbed its skin slowly.
"I'm leaving," she said quietly.
Genzo grunted. "We figured."
"You don't have to explain," Nojiko added. "This time… it's not running away."
Nami shook her head. "No. It's not."
She looked back toward the ship. Toward the figure with the straw hat sitting alone.
"I'm chasing something now."
She hugged them both.
Then she walked toward the ship.
The Straw Hats all turned as she stepped onto the dock.
Her pace was steady. No hesitation. No second-guessing.
Luffy met her halfway at the gangplank.
"I'm back," she said with a smirk.
"Took you long enough," he replied.
Sanji immediately dropped to one knee. "My goddess has returned!"
Zoro raised an eyebrow. "Don't get lost again."
Usopp struck another dramatic pose. "The navigator returns to lead her mighty crew across the sea!"
Nami laughed.
And for the first time since her mother died, it was a real laugh.
A new bond was forged—not from convenience or desperation, but trust.
They were a crew now.
Truly.
Far across the sea, within the cold stone halls of Marineford, a different kind of storm brewed.
A Den Den Mushi buzzed softly on the edge of a polished desk.
Inside the bounty division, stacks of folders lay piled high. Among them—one red-stamped and freshly delivered.
Monkey D. Luffy
Crimes: Assault on Marine Captain Morgan, Destruction of Arlong Pirates, Defiance of World Government Interests
Noted Detail: Possible anomalous power described as "shadow-like ability"
A tall officer in a dark coat reviewed the paper, brows furrowed.
"Thirty million," he muttered.
"Are we certain?" another officer asked.
"Confirmed by two reports. The Arlong Pirates are gone. All of them. And the villagers say this boy did it."
The officer reached for the stamp.
BOOM.
Ink splattered. The paper was sealed.
The bounty was set.
The first poster of the Straw Hat pirate was printed.
The next morning, a News Coo flew down from the sky and landed cleanly on the Going Merry's railing, chirping as it dropped a rolled-up newspaper and bounty poster.
Sanji tossed it a coin and unrolled the parchment.
"What the…"
His cigarette nearly dropped from his lips.
Zoro leaned over.
Usopp pushed between them. "Let me see!"
Nami walked out with a towel over her shoulder. "What's all the noise?"
Then she saw it.
The paper in Sanji's hands.
WANTED
MONKEY D. LUFFY
30,000,000 BERRIES
His face beamed from the poster—grinning, confident.
Luffy stepped down from the figurehead and took the poster.
He stared at it for a moment.
Didn't smile.
Didn't react.
"We're going to Loguetown," he said.
The others looked up at him, surprised.
Then a soft noise rippled beneath their feet.
A shiver in the wood.
Zoro's brow furrowed. "What was that?"
Usopp turned pale. "Uh… tell me that wasn't the ship."
From beneath Luffy's feet, a faint ripple of shadow pulsed outward—barely visible in daylight.
Luffy blinked.
The shadow hadn't moved on his command.
Not fully.
He flexed his fingers.
It pulsed again.
Something was off.
[End of Chapter 87]
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