No plans, just action—that's the pirate way.
Kaito Sakamoto had decided it was time to get a ship and enjoy some real food. Luffy and Nami immediately steered their little boat south, heading for a nearby town.
But fate had other plans.
Surprises always strike out of nowhere. Life is never smooth sailing.
After a short while, a pirate ship appeared on the horizon—massively larger than Luffy's and Nami's boat, at least ten times the size. The ship's flag depicted a skull shaped like a cat's head, complete with vertical yellow pupils like a cat's. The ship itself was pitch black, with the bow designed to resemble a black cat's face. This was none other than the Black Cat Pirates' ship, the "Hundred Tricks, Black Lu."
Kaito Sakamoto furrowed his brows. He wasn't expecting to encounter the Black Cat Pirates here. As he thought, something had gone awry because of him.
"That's a huge ship."
"If we could get our hands on something like that…" Luffy muttered.
But the people on that ship weren't exactly friendly.
"Two tiny ships like these think they can sail alongside us? Ha ha ha!"
"And we need to keep our movements secret. If we piss off the captain, it's going to be bad."
"Fire!"
Zangao, the Black Cat Pirates' vice captain, immediately gave the order. Cannons aimed at Kaito and Luffy's boat. With a burst of flames, two cannonballs shot toward them.
Neither Luffy nor Kaito were fazed by cannonballs.
Both of them leaped into the air, inflating like balloons to bounce the cannonballs right back.
That was how it was supposed to go.
Luffy succeeded in sending his cannonball back, but Kaito...
"Huh?!"
"Damn it! I hit the time limit!!"
The cannonball hit Kaito squarely. It should've been deflected, but just as it made contact, Kaito felt his body suddenly lose its tension. His rubbery form returned to its normal state. The power of his "Replicate Fruit" could only last so long, and it had reached its limit.
Unlucky? Definitely. But there was a sliver of luck in the misfortune—the cannonball didn't explode. It was a dud. Still, the force sent Kaito flying off the boat.
He was carried far into the distance, until his small figure disappeared from Luffy and the others' view. Then, with a loud splash, he plunged into the sea.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Kaito!!"
Luffy, Zoro, and Nami froze, unable to process the situation. After a moment, they quickly snapped into action, shouting as they rushed to the side of the boat. Luffy immediately grabbed the oars, paddling furiously toward the spot where Kaito had fallen.
The crew of the Black Cat Pirates, on the other hand, was lying on the deck, laughing at how Kaito had used his body to block the cannonball.
They had already forgotten that Luffy had sent the cannonball back into the air to explode.
...
Kaito, meanwhile, had hit the water with a loud splash. But he was close to Usopp's hometown, just a short distance from the shore.
The feeling of helplessness as the sea weighed down on him slowly drained Kaito of his strength. Just as he was about to slip beneath the surface, a small white snake emerged from his wrist. Despite its size, it bit onto Kaito's hair and began dragging him toward the shore.
Under the water, Kaito's consciousness began to fade.
...
"Kaito!!"
Back on the boat, Luffy was paddling with all his might, but there was still no sign of Kaito by the time they reached the shore.
"Could it be… could Kaito already be…"
Tears welled up in Luffy's eyes as he feared Kaito had sunk to the bottom of the sea. Just as he was about to dive in after him, Zoro grabbed him by the arm.
"Are you crazy?!"
"But Kaito..."
"Look! It's Kaito's headband!!"
At that moment, Nami spotted something—a blue headband, lying on the shore not far from them. It was the one Kaito always used to tie his hair back.
Luffy rushed over, grabbing the headband.
"Right! This is Kaito's!!"
"It was Ace who gave it to him!!"
Luffy laughed as he looked at the headband. "Looks like he made it to the town! Ha ha!"
"Probably washed up on shore and got saved by someone." Nami added.
"Or maybe he made it to the town by himself," Zoro suggested, joining the conversation.
"We'll head to the town and ask around," Nami said, eyeing the headband.
Luffy nodded in agreement and tucked the headband into his pants pocket.
"Let's go ask around."
Zoro's gaze shifted. "There's someone over there."
On the cliff above, the members of the "Usopp Pirates" were visible.
"Captain Usopp" and his three crewmates—three little kids: Green Pepper, Carrot, and Onion—were spotted.
"Ahh!! They saw us!!"
As soon as Usopp realized he was spotted, he panicked and tried to make a run for it, but the kids were faster than he was.
Seeing Luffy and the others approaching, Usopp had no choice but to brace himself and confront them.
...
Meanwhile, Kaito—the "Invincible Lucky Star" himself—despite being blasted away by the cannonball, was now lying on a soft, large bed. Still unconscious, though.
In his stupor, Kaito's consciousness drifted into a vast white space. The system's voice, which hadn't spoken in ten long years, unexpectedly echoed once more.