The harbor shimmered in soft morning sun, deceptively calm. The Thousand Sunny bobbed gently, sails furled. Seagulls wheeled overhead, chasing the scent of bread.
Sanji moved gracefully across the deck with a crate of warm loaves and a cigarette tucked in his mouth, whistling a love ballad under his breath.
Zoro sat nearby on a barrel, blade in hand, slowly polishing.
"Try making less noise, cook," Zoro muttered. "Bread doesn't need jazz hands."
Sanji smirked without turning. "Sorry, didn't realize you were allergic to joy, moss-for-brains."
"Wanna go?"
"With pleasure, algae-head."
"Any time, curly-brow."
"Gentlemen," Robin said as she stepped out from the galley shadows, calm and composed.
Sanji spun on one heel, dropping the bread dramatically and practically levitating toward her.
"Robin-chwaaaaan~! Good morning! Your voice is like dew on rose petals!"
Zoro groaned. "I'd pay good money to have you punched mid-sentence."
Robin ignored both and handed them a folded page, her tone shifting. Serious. Cool.
"The man with the white hair — Kael — he's not just a drifter. He's watching Luffy. Intentionally."
Zoro's eye narrowed. "He's got a bounty?"
"No. He's the one who collects them," Robin said. "Codename: White Reaper. Quiet. Efficient. Selective. He disappears after every job. There's no official file. Only rumors and erased names."
Sanji's cigarette paused halfway to his lips. "And now he's staring at our captain."
Zoro stood slowly. "So what do we do?"
Keep It Quiet
Robin looked at them both, her voice lower.
"We don't tell the others."
Zoro raised an eyebrow. "Not even Nami?"
Sanji gasped. "You want me to keep secrets from Nami-swan?! This feels immoral!"
"We don't know his exact intention yet," Robin said. "If Luffy finds out, he'll rush in — and if Kael senses we've turned our attention on him, he'll disappear."
She folded her arms. "We watch. Quietly. Closely. And we keep Luffy from wandering off."
Zoro crossed his arms. "So we just let this ghost hang around?"
"For now. Yes."
Sanji nodded, though reluctantly. "Fine. But if he touches Robin-chwan, I'm launching him into the next century."
"Focus, cook."
"Shut it, sword rack."
"Say that again, blondie."
The Delay
Nami leaned over the upper deck railing. "Hey! Log Pose is charging slower than expected — magnetic flow's unstable. We're stuck here for seven days."
Zoro exhaled sharply. "Seven days with a ticking shadow."
Sanji twirled a heart-filled gesture. "Seven days near Nami-swan and Robin-chwan~? Truly, the sea provides!"
Zoro muttered, "I hope Kael stabs me first."
Across the Harbor…
Kael crouched atop a distant rooftop, watching.
He didn't need binoculars.
He could read body language like a map — and the swordsman and the cook were reacting now. Tighter. Edgier.
The woman knew.
"They've started closing ranks."
"Let's see how long they can hold."