The White Sea stretched before them, calm and strange.
The ships floated on the soft clouds, the surface rippling like water but thicker, heavier. Nami leaned over the railing of the Dune Serpent and dipped her hand into it. The cloud felt solid and liquid at the same time—like touching cold silk that pushed back.
"This is insane," she said. "This is completely insane."
Robin stood beside her, her eyes scanning the horizon. Her fingers tapped lightly on the railing. The archaeologist in her was already curious about the strange clouds, the floating islands, the history she hadn't yet seen. She wanted to explore. To touch. To understand. The mystery of this place pulled at her like a thread she couldn't help but follow.
Vivi gripped the railing, her knuckles white. "I can't believe we're actually here. In the clouds. On a sea made of clouds."
Mira bounced. "A sea made of clouds! That means we can walk on them, right? Right?!"
"We're about to find out," Robin said quietly.
Takuya joined them at the railing, his eyes fixed on the distant shapes forming in the clouds. He didn't say a word. His face was calm, almost bored. One hand rested casually on the railing. The other stayed at his side. He looked like a man watching a scheduled arrival.
Nami glanced at him. He wasn't tense. He wasn't worried. He just stood there, as if he had already seen this moment a hundred times, well actually he actually has both read and watched the whole manga till he lost count.
Seeing him so relaxed, she felt her own shoulders drop, the tight knot in her chest loosening. If he wasn't afraid, she didn't need to be either.
The shapes grew clearer. Human figures—but not quite human. They had wings sprouting from their backs, small and feathered, like angels from old paintings. There were three of them, riding strange clouds that acted like their mode of transport, gliding through the cloud sea.
Vivi's mouth fell open. "They have wings! Actual wings!" Her voice was full of wonder, like a child seeing something impossible for the first time.
Robin stared, her mind racing. "People with wings. I've never read about anything like this. They seem to be from a race I've never heard of before in any of the books."
Mira gasped. "Are they angels? Did we die and go to heaven?"
"Not yet," Takuya said, his voice quiet and steady. He just watched. "And with how dumb and chaotic I've made you, heaven would probably reject you on the spot. They don't take troublemakers like you."
Mira blinked. Then she beamed. "So I'm too fun for heaven? That's the best compliment I've ever gotten!"
She struck a pose, the south bird still perched on her shoulder, wings fluttering.
Nami's lips twitched. "That wasn't a compliment." She crossed her arms and turned to Takuya. "And you admit you fucked her up, didn't you, Takuya?"
Mira bounced. "Yes! He fucked me up a lot! It's always fun when he fucked me up. A lot. Like, a whole lot. In every way possible."
Nami's face went red. "That's—you can't just—"
Takuya sighed. "Maybe choose your words more carefully, Nami. Especially when talking about her. If you have a poor choice of words, one day she'll start narrating exactly how many times I've 'messed her up' in vivid detail. Apparently, she remembers all of it."
Nami's eye twitched. "You turned a beautiful, innocent girl into a full-blown perverted drug junkie!" She spun toward Mira. "And you—it's not a compliment, you idiot! Stop treating everything like one!"
Mira twirled again, completely unbothered. "Everything is a compliment if you believe hard enough!"
Nami buried her face in her hands. Robin smiled. Vivi shook her head.
Nami lifted her head and pointed a finger at Takuya. "New rules. From now on, I'm making sure Robin, me, and Vivi don't turn into Mira. Especially when I can see Robin becoming more and more unhinged, slowly and steadily.
You're pampering her too much. Letting her do whatever she wants. Either her true colors are showing, or you're corrupting her. And looking at Mira, I'm leaning toward the latter." She jabbed her finger toward his chest. "I'm going to make sure she doesn't get any more corrupted."
Takuya raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing on his lips. "Oh? Is this your new way of getting closer to me? Trying to spend more time with me than my own wives?"
Nami's face flushed. "That's not—"
"Because you know," he continued, his voice light and teasing, "I'd be impaled on an iron bar if I cheated on them with you. Having an affair with someone when one wife has dark humor and the other is royalty? Very risky. You understand."
Nami's jaw dropped. Then she recovered, her eyes narrowing into slits. "First of all, I'm not trying to get closer to you. Second, I'm not asking for an affair. Third—" She poked his chest with each word. "—I. Am. Protecting. Their. Sanity."
"From me?"
"From you."
Mira giggled. "I love it when they flirt."
"WE'RE NOT FLIRTING!" Nami and Takuya said together.
Robin smiled serenely. "They're flirting."
Vivi nodded. "Definitely flirting."
Nami spun toward Vivi, her face still red. "Vivi, I understand Robin siding with him—she's already becoming his reflection—but you? I'm trying to make sure you don't turn into her."
She pointed at Mira, who had somehow wrapped the south bird in a headlock and was trying to teach it to salute. The bird squawked furiously, its wings flapping, its south-pointing head spinning in panic as it tried to escape.
"Salute, Mr. South Bird! We're in the sky! This is a formal occasion!"
The bird pecked her hand. Mira didn't let go.
"See?" Nami said. "That's what I'm trying to prevent. And you think I'm flirting?"
Vivi tilted her head, a small smile playing on her lips. "Nami... look at yourself."
Nami blinked. "What?"
Vivi gestured downward. "Your hand."
Nami looked down. Her free hand—the one not pointing at Mira—was resting on Takuya's arm. Holding it very dearly. Like it belonged there. Like she hadn't even noticed.
Her face went from red to crimson. She snatched her hand back as if burned.
"That—that doesn't mean anything!"
Vivi crossed her arms. "You've been standing close to him this whole time. Arguing. Poking his chest. Holding his arm at every opportunity you get. You closed the distance without even realizing it." She smiled softly, like a sister teasing a sibling. "You're more invested than you think."
Nami opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.
"I—that's—" She pointed at Takuya. "He's distracting! He does that! It's a skill!"
Takuya shrugged. "I'm very skilled. Ask Mira. She's had firsthand experience."
Mira beamed. "Ten out of ten! I would recommend it!"
Nami's face went from red to purple. "SHUT UP!"
Mira finally released the south bird, which immediately flew to the highest point of the mast and refused to come down. Mira pouted. "He doesn't appreciate my training methods."
Robin patted her head. "He'll come around."
Vivi looked at Nami, then at Takuya, then back at Nami. "Just saying. If you're going to protect us from corruption, maybe start by not holding the corrupter's hand."
Nami's eyes twitched. "I hate all of you."
"No you don't," Robin said.
"In fact, you love us," Vivi added.
"Obsessively," Mira chirped.
Nami buried her face in her hands. Takuya smirked and turned back toward the winged people, but before he could take a step, he reached out and pulled Nami into a loose one-armed hug, keeping her tucked against his side.
"Alright, you two," he said, looking at Vivi and Robin. "Stop teasing her."
Nami blinked, her face still hidden. 'Wait. Is he... siding with me?'
Vivi raised an eyebrow. Robin tilted her head, amused.
Takuya continued, his voice calm but firm, like a parent scolding children. "Only I have the right to tease her and rile her up any more than this."
Nami's head snapped up. "WHAT?!"
She kicked his leg. Hard.
"I hate you the most!" she shouted.
Takuya didn't even flinch. He just looked down at her, one eyebrow raised. "You sure about that?"
Nami opened her mouth to scream again.
"Because," he said, reaching into his cloak, "I made new tangerine cookies this morning. They taste exactly like you said the very first tangerines you grew with Belle-mère tasted."
He held up a small pouch.
Nami's mouth snapped shut. Her eyes locked onto the pouch. Her entire body language shifted—shoulders relaxing, arms dropping, face softening into something dangerously close to affection.
"Those are mine," she said, her voice suddenly quiet.
"Are they?"
"Yes." She snatched the pouch from his hand. "They're mine. All mine. Don't touch them."
She clutched it to her chest, exactly like she had clutched the money pouch on Jaya. But this time, she wasn't looking at the pouch. She was looking at him. And she was smiling. A real smile. Soft. Warm. Completely at odds with the screaming from thirty seconds ago.
Vivi and Robin exchanged a glance.
"They're flirting again," Vivi whispered.
"Definitely," Robin agreed.
"I'M NOT FLIRTING!" Nami shouted, but she didn't step away from Takuya's side. She didn't move his arm from around her shoulders. She just stood there, holding her cookie pouch, glaring at everyone.
Takuya looked at Vivi and Robin. "See? She loves me."
"I DO NOT!"
"You kept the pouch."
"BECAUSE IT HAS COOKIES!"
"And you're still standing in my arms."
Nami looked down. He was right. She hadn't moved. Her face went red one more time, but she didn't pull away.
"...Shut up, that's your punishment," she mumbled.
Takuya's eyebrows rose. He leaned down, his lips brushing her ear, his voice low enough that only she could hear. "Holding you in my arms is punishment? Then what would be my reward, I wonder?"
Nami stiffened.
He continued, his breath warm against her skin. "When did my little vixen become this bold? This... kinky?" He almost chuckled. "Now I'm curious. What would your reward look like, Nami? You'll have to show me sometime."
Nami's face went from red to something deeper—a shade that shouldn't exist on a human being. Her eyes welled up, not from sadness, but from sheer overwhelming embarrassment. She couldn't speak. Couldn't think. Couldn't do anything but hide.
She buried her face in his chest, her fingers clutching his shirt.
"You're the worst," she whispered, her voice cracking. "You made me cry in front of so many people."
Takuya's smirk softened. He wrapped his arm around her properly and rested his chin on top of her head. "I'm sorry," he said quietly, just for her. "I'll make it up to you. Later. When we're alone. Maybe pamper you a little bit. Maybe I'll spoil you a little."
Nami didn't respond. She just stayed there, hidden, her tears soaking into his cloak.
Robin and Vivi exchanged a glance. Mira stopped trying to catch the south bird and watched with wide eyes.
"Did he break her?" Mira whispered.
"No," Robin said, smiling softly. "He just overwhelmed her."
"Is that bad?"
"Not necessarily."
Vivi shook her head but smiled anyway. "They're hopeless."
Above them, the winged people stared down at the scene with expressions ranging from confusion to mild terror.
One of the guards—a young man with a spear—turned to the older man beside him. "Are they... ignoring us?"
The older man blinked. "I think they forgot we exist."
Another guard whispered, "Did we become invisible?"
Conis tilted her head. "Should we say something?"
"STATE YOUR BUSINESS!" the lead guard tried, louder.
Nothing. The Blue Sea people were still arguing about corruption and wives and whether the girl in the maid dress was a compliment addict.
The guards exchanged confused glances. One of them waved a hand in front of his face. "Hello? We're right here? Humans on flying clouds? Wings?"
Still nothing.
Conis sighed. "Father, I don't think they see us."
The lead guard's eye twitched. "WE ARE RIGHT HERE!"
One of the guards leaned toward Conis. "Are sea dwellers always like this?"
Conis watched Nami argue with everyone while Mira tried to retrieve the south bird from the mast. "I think so."
"And they're... together?"
"Apparently."
Below, Nami finally pulled back from Takuya's chest, her face still red, her eyes wet. She took a shaky breath, wiped her cheeks, and tried to compose herself.
That's when she noticed the winged people. Still hovering. Still staring.
Something snapped.
Her face twisted into the terrifying demonic expression she usually reserved for Luffy when he tried to steal her money. Her eyes widened. Her mouth opened.
"WHAT?!" she screamed, her voice echoing across the White Sea. "CAN'T YOU SEE I'M CRYING AND HE'S CALMING ME DOWN, PAMPERING ME?! DON'T YOU HAVE ANY MANNERS? ANY PATIENCE?! IS THIS HOW YOUR PARENTS TAUGHT YOU TO TREAT PEOPLE?!"
The guards flinched. One of them dropped his spear. Another stumbled backward on his ray, nearly falling off. A third guard's ray creature whimpered.
Conis's father raised his hands in surrender. "We're sorry! We didn't realize—we'll wait—take all the time you need!"
"We'LL BE RIGHT HERE!" another guard added, his voice cracking. "INVISIBLE! AS ALWAYS!"
The lead guard raised his hands. "Nothing! Nothing! Just... whenever you're ready. No rush. Take your time. We'll be here. Invisible."
Conis stared at Nami with wide eyes. "She's... scary."
Mira, still holding the south bird, nodded proudly. "That's just her love language."
"IT IS NOT!" Nami screamed.
Takuya sighed and turned toward the approaching figures, ignoring the chaos behind him. "Now. Let's see what they want."
The lead guard cleared his throat nervously. "We... we were going to ask your business, but now we're too afraid."
Takuya smiled. "Smart man."
The guards huddled together, whispering.
One of them—the young man with the spear—murmured, "Should we just... tell the orange-haired woman to make that demon face and put her in front of Enel? See if the god gets frightened?"
The others stared at him.
"That's... actually not a terrible idea," another guard whispered.
Conis crossed her arms, her wings fluttering with irritation. "Absolutely not. We are not weaponizing the Blue Sea woman's rage against our own god. As a woman, I refuse to be part of whatever this is."
"Why not? She looks scarier than Enel. Just one scream and he might run back to his flying ship."
"Because I said so. And because I don't want to be responsible for whatever happens when you poke a crying woman with a demon face."
The young guard sighed. "Fine. But I'm keeping that idea for later."
Conis pinched the bridge of her nose. "You do that. I'll be over here, pretending I don't know any of you."
The guards fell silent, their rays bobbing gently on the cloud sea. The young guard with the spear muttered something about "wasted potential" but didn't push further.