Zain continued chuckling at their reactions. "What? You guys seem fun to hang out with."
Usopp yelled, "That's not the problem! Just a second ago you were attacking us and calling us animals!"
Zain finally stopped laughing and took on a puzzled expression. "So what? How else am I supposed to find out if someone's worth being friends with? And since when is calling someone an animal an insult? I love animals!"
They were left speechless—until Zoro, with a massive bulging vein on his forehead, suddenly shouted.
"Are you saying you started a fight with me that almost ended with one of us dead just to see if we were worthy of being your friends?!"
Nami responded calmly, "Uhh, Zoro? We're over here, buddy."
Zoro was currently standing at the edge of the ship, yelling at the sea—his terrible sense of direction made worse by his temporary blindness.
The boys tried not to laugh, while Nami and Zain let out a small chuckle. The vein on Zoro's forehead only grew larger.
Zain finally answered, "Of course not! I came out here because you guys messed up our ship." His tone suddenly shifted, as if remembering he was supposed to be mad…
Nami tilted her head. "That wasn't our fault. The Marines shot at us and the cannonball went astray! ...Somehow. But yeah, it's not like we started it."
Zain smiled goofily. "No need for excuses, all is forgiven. So long as you pay for my vest."
Usopp snapped, "Like hell! You destroyed our ship. It'll take all our supplies to repair this mess! If anything, you owe us!"
"Well then, how about I get our friend here fixed up and we call it even?" He gestured toward the injured swordsman.
Nami perked up. "Oh? Is crazy boy here a doctor? That's surprising."
Zain laughed hysterically. "Bwayayaya! God no, I just have a really cool tree."
Nami turned a little red. "What's that supposed to mean? How's a tree gonna help Zoro?"
"Bah, don't worry about it. Like I said, it's a really cool tree. Besides, it's almost lunchtime," Zain said mysteriously.
Before anyone could ask what he meant, a massive shadow cast itself over the Going Merry. Even the Baratie was nearly eclipsed by the towering figure.
"Oh! Speak of the devil. Pirate guys, meet Beauty. Beauty, pirate guys." Zain waved toward the looming vessel as if it were a friend.
The name may have been simple, but it was perhaps the only word that could describe the ship's mesmerizing presence.
The massive vessel shone with an ethereal blue, with large animal bones hanging off the sides at seemingly random points. Its figurehead was a giant feline skull—clearly once the head of a terrifyingly powerful beast.
The ship's body looked like a mass of twisting vines, with some dented spots gleaming the brightest. The masts, also resembling thick, powerful vines, were draped in black and dark green sails. Vibrant azure vines nearly reached the deck.
The deck itself was blanketed in a thick layer of damp, blue moss that released a glittering mist into the air, creating a glowing haze across the ship.
And at the heart of it all stood the centerpiece—the tree. Its branches stretched outward like the threads of reality, each one adorned with hundreds of glowing leaves. The roots fused into the ship's frame, revealing an astonishing truth: this ship was alive.
The pirates stood speechless once again, uncertain whether to feel awe or outright terror. Until the liar himself finally broke the silence.
"Is that a… Jolly Roger? A-Are you a pirate?"
"Bwayayaya, why yes I am! My name is Toroa D. Zain, and I'm the leader of the Beast King Pirates! Pretty cool, huh?" He grinned proudly.
But instead of awe or applause, he was met with another round of badgering.
"If you're a pirate," Zoro growled, "what was with all that holier-than-thou crap?! I couldn't even get a proper word in!"
Zain twiddled his fingers nervously. "Well, y'know... I've been working here for a year to pay off my debt, so I'm basically not a pirate anymore. Also, I didn't want to risk you saying something that could end the fight."
Zoro looked ready to argue again, but Usopp interrupted with another question.
"You're in debt to this restaurant? How?"
Zain's face went blank with horror, clearly reliving a traumatic memory. "It was all a big misunderstanding, really. My pet Sea King caused some damage to the Baratie, and I didn't have the money for repairs… so they ate my pet and forced me to work here for a year."
Ignoring the trauma, Usopp fired off questions like bullets. "First off, what the hell do you mean 'pet Sea King'? Second, are you saying those chefs are strong enough not only to keep you here, but also kill a Sea King? And wait—if you had to work here for a year 'cause you couldn't pay for repairs, and our captain is flat broke—is he gonna have to work here for a year too?!"
"Ugh, stop talking, it's hurting my head." Zain crouched low, then leapt to Beauty's deck. "Come aboard and I'll consider letting you continue this interrogation."
With that, he disappeared toward the center of the ship—toward the tree.
Back on the Merry, the others had time to catch their breath.
"What do we do?" Usopp asked nervously. "It could be a trap. That guy seems crazy enough for it."
Johnny and Yosaku, who had been uncharacteristically silent, spoke up.
"Yeah, that guy's mad sketchy. I don't trust him, big bro Usopp."
"Yeah, I'm with you guys on this one."
But the trio quickly realized the other two were missing. Zoro and Nami were already walking toward Beauty's tree.
"You damn traitors! What do you think you're doing?! As the captain of the great Straw Hat Pirates, I demand you get back down here!"
Zoro kept rubbing his eyes without turning around. "Do what you want, scaredy-cat. I'm gonna try some of this magic fruit."
Nami flashed a peace sign over her shoulder. "And I think I'll ask if he does birthdays, hehe."
Usopp, legendary captain of the Straw Hats, collapsed to his knees, tears streaming. "What are we gonna do~? And where the hell is Luffy?!"
---
Meanwhile, in the kitchen of the Baratie…
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!? WERE YOU RAISED IN A BARN?!" The burly chef, Patty, screamed.
He was yelling at a boy in a straw hat, who was aggressively slamming dishes into the sink as a form of "advanced cleaning."
"Huh? No," the boy replied, completely unfazed. "Why do you ask?"
At a loss for words, Patty shoved the boy out of the kitchen. "Start taking plates to customers! Our current waiter was already behind before he disappeared—so you better move quick! Unless you wanna work here for another year!"
Luffy, interpreting "disappeared" as a code for killed, started setting tables like his life depended on it. Which, in his mind, it absolutely did.
Patty, on the other hand, clenched his fists and muttered under his breath.
"What the hell are we gonna do? And where is Zain?!"
---
A/N
It's almost 4AM sonI don't have much to say, hope you enjoyed:)
I'll be making an auxiliary chapter soon with character images, or would you prefer they were in the chapter the character first shows up? Lemme know.