The cheers didn't come all at once.
They started small—uncertain voices testing the air—then swelled into something raw and unrestrained. Relief broke through years of fear like ice cracking under spring water. Some villagers laughed. Others cried openly. A few simply stared at Luffy, as if the snow itself had taken human shape and spoken judgment.
Dalton did neither.
He stood rigid, eyes unfocused, as if the world had moved a step ahead of him without permission.
"…Hang the flags at the harbor," Luffy said calmly, brushing snow from his coat sleeve. "And in the major towns. That's enough."
Dalton flinched. "Y-you're serious."
"I usually am," Luffy replied.
A long silence followed before Dalton finally nodded. "…We'll do it."
Luffy smiled faintly. "Good."
Dalton hesitated, then added carefully, "If nothing else… it may stop further attacks."
Luffy turned.
"Further attacks?"
The temperature in the room dropped—not from the snow outside, but from the way his voice flattened.
Usopp shifted on the floor near Nami's bed. "Ah… right. You didn't hear this part."
Gem pushed off the wall, expression grim. "Wapol didn't abandon this kingdom on a whim."
Luffy's eyes locked onto him. "Talk."
"A pirate crew attacked Drum Island months ago," Gem continued. "Five people. No fleet. No warning."
Dalton clenched his fist. "They tore through our defenses like they weren't there."
"And instead of defending his people," Nojiko added quietly, "Wapol withdrew his forces and fled."
Luffy's jaw tightened.
"What was their name?"
Gem didn't answer immediately.
When he did, he spoke slowly, deliberately.
"Marshall D. Teach."
The room went silent.
"…Blackbeard."
Luffy stopped breathing for half a second.
Then he laughed.
Not loudly.
Not humorously.
It was the kind of laugh that meant someone had crossed a line they didn't understand.
"So that's where you're crawling already," he muttered.
Everyone stared at him.
"You… know him?" Vivi asked carefully.
Luffy's smile vanished.
"Yeah," he said. "I know him."
He lifted his gaze, distant now.
"He's the man who scarred Shanks."
Shock hit the room like a cannon blast.
"WHAT?!" Usopp yelped.
Nojiko stiffened. "Shanks… the Red-Haired?"
Luffy nodded once. "Shanks doesn't underestimate people. Ever. And he doesn't walk away from fights he can win."
He tapped under his own eye unconsciously.
"That scar? Shanks got it before becoming a Yonko. And he never forgot who gave it to him."
Dalton swallowed hard. "Then… a man like that attacked us?"
"Yes," Luffy said flatly. "And Wapol ran."
The villagers' expressions twisted into fury and shame.
Inside Luffy's mind, Shanks' warning echoed again.
That man's ambition is rotten. Keep your eyes open.
Ace.
Paradise.
Blackbeard.
The puzzle pieces clicked together with brutal clarity.
"So if Teach shows his face here again," Luffy said calmly, "I'll erase him."
No shouting.
No threats.
Just inevitability.
Usopp shivered. "Captain… Dalton said they were only five."
"That's enough," Luffy replied. "The world only needs one spark to burn."
He turned back to Nami. "How are you?"
She smiled weakly. "Much better."
Relief softened his posture for just a moment.
"We're leaving soon," she added. "We need to get Vivi home."
Luffy nodded. "We will."
Before anyone could move, Dr. Kureha's voice cut through the tension.
"Dalton."
"Yes?"
"Where are the armory keys?"
Dalton blinked. "Wapol carried them."
There was a pause.
"…Which means they probably went flying with his body."
Luffy chuckled dryly. "Ah."
"Well," Kureha shrugged. "That's unfortunate."
"Zoro," Luffy said. "Cut the door."
Zoro scratched his head. "…I don't have my swords."
Luffy stared at him.
"…Of course you don't."
He turned. "Gem."
Gem cracked his neck. "Finally."
As villagers were ushered out, Luffy faced Nami again.
"Get ready."
Vivi shot to her feet. "Luffy, she still needs rest!"
"I know," he said calmly. "That's why we're taking a doctor."
Zoro frowned. "Who?"
Luffy pointed.
Chopper froze.
"…Me?"
"I can't," Chopper said, voice shaking. "I'm not human. I'm a monster."
"I wanted to thank you," he rushed on. "But I can't leave this place—"
"Oh, shut up," Luffy said, already turning away. "We're going."
Chopper broke down, sobbing, and bolted from the room.
Zoro sighed. "You're terrible at recruiting."
Outside, Luffy stepped onto his cloud and opened a chest filled with Den Den Mushi.
He tossed one to Dalton.
"If anyone threatens this island," Luffy said, "press the straw hat."
Dalton stared at it, hands shaking. "…You're really serious about this."
"I don't raise flags as jokes," Luffy replied.
The cloud descended.
"Nami?" Nojiko asked again.
"I'm fine," Nami said, smiling.
Far away, on another sea, a black flag fluttered.
And beneath it, a man laughed.
Luffy stared toward the horizon, eyes sharp.
"Blackbeard," he thought.
"This time… you won't be the one choosing where the fire spreads.".