As the Going Merry sailed under the sun, Jack suddenly smacked his palm against his forehead because he almost forgot something the most important for any pirates in this world.
"Wait a second… we don't even have a pirate flag!"
Everyone froze.
"Eh?" Luffy tilted his head. "How can I forget about my flag."
Zoro sighed. "You're right, what kind of pirate crew sails around without a flag?" Nami crossed her arms. "If we don't put one up soon, other pirates will laugh at us."
Luffy face lit up with excitement. "Alright! Then I'll draw it!"
He grabbed some paper and brush, sat cross-legged on the floor and began drawing. After a few minutes, he proudly held it up.
"TA-DA! Our pirate flag!"
Everyone leaned in to look and froze.
"…What is that supposed to be?" Jack blinked.
"It looks like a melon that got stepped on," Zoro deadpanned.
"It's scary… but in a really ugly way," Nami muttered, trying not to laugh. Usopp couldn't hold it in. "Bwahaha! Luffy, that's the worst flag I've ever seen!"
Luffy pouted. "Oi! Don't laugh! It's awesome!"
Usopp wiped his tears from laughing and grabbed the brush. "Leave it to me! I'm the artist here."
He quickly drawing a new design and held it up proudly.
"There! Our new flag!" Everyone stared at the drawing… which was just a giant skull with Usopp nose and bandana.
Jack tilted his head. "…So we're the Usopp Pirates now?" Nami facepalmed and Zoro smirked. "Yeah, I'm not sailing under that."
Luffy cheeks puffed up in anger. "Usopp! It's MY crew!"
"Fine, fine," Usopp said, grinning. "I'll make it look like you then."
This time he draw carefully, adding a straw hat on top of the skull, giving it a wide grin that almost seemed alive.
When he was done, he held it up for everyone to see.
"…Whoa." Jack commented. "That's actually… really good."
Nami nodded in approval. "That looks like a proper pirate flag."
Even Zoro smirked. "Not bad."
Luffy face lit up, his lips stretching ear to ear. "YOSH! That's our flag! The flag of the Straw Hat Pirates!"
Together, the crew worked to raise the freshly painted flag to the top of the Merry mast. The black cloth flapped proudly in the wind, the smiling skull with the straw hat glaring down at the endless sea.
Luffy stood at the front of the ship, hands on his hips and grinning like a king.
"From now on, everyone will know we're the Straw Hat Pirates!"
Zoro rested his swords against his shoulder and smirked. "Guess there's no turning back now."
Usopp puffed out his chest with pride. "With a flag this good, the whole sea will fear us!"
Nami sighed, but a small smile tugged at her lips. "Well, let's just hope it doesn't attract too many enemies…"
Jack, watching the flag flutter above them, felt a strange sense of pride swell in his chest.
"This… this feels like the real beginning of something big."
The crew cheered, their laughter echoing as the Going Merry sailed onward, their flag flying proudly for the first time.
***
Everyone was busy with their own tasks, Nami steering at the helm and Zoro napping as usual, Usopp scribbling ideas for new gadgets and Luffy sitting on the merry head, staring at the endless blue sea with a big grin.
Jack, however, wasn't smiling because he is doing something important.
(System… can I ask something?)
A soft ding echoed in his mind as the familiar mechanical voice answered.
[System: You may ask your question.]
"Can I eat a Devil Fruit?" Jack whispered under his breath.
There was a short pause before the answer came.
[System: Negative. Your current body is not compatible with Devil Fruits. You are classified as another entity, I believe you have watched eternal movie and your body is similar to robot.]
Jack eyes widened slightly. "…A Robot?"
He clenched his fists, his mind flashing back to the memories that he had forgotten. The image of the Eternals standing on the assembly line and it is similar to robot in a factory.
"Wait… am I really here? Or am I just sitting somewhere in a pod, controlling this body like some kind of VR avatar?"
The system stayed silent for several seconds.
[System: You do not have permission to access this information.]
Jack frowned. "So… I might not even be real here?"
[System: Reality is subjective. You are here, interacting, thinking, feeling and that is enough.]
He stared at the wall, feeling a strange weight in his chest.
[System: Your primary directive is to experience this world. To have fun, to grow stronger and to see where this journey leads. Do not waste time questioning existence... live it.]
Jack let out a small laugh. "You sound almost philosophical, System."
[System: …Perhaps.]
He leaned back against the rail, the salty wind blowing against his face.
"Fine," he said at last, a small grin forming. "If this is my world now, then I'm gonna enjoy it. Devil Fruit or no Devil Fruit, I'll make my own power enough to stand with them."
At that moment, Luffy shouted from the bow, waving his arms.
"Jack! Stop being gloomy! We're gonna find a cook next!"
Jack smiled faintly and stood up. "Yeah, Captain. Let's go find him."
He glanced one last time at the sea. 'Maybe I'll figure out the truth one day. But for now… let's just have some fun and it is my dream to become strawhat pirates.'
***
Suddenly Jack saw a tiny boat drifting endlessly.
"Captain!" Jack called out. "There's a boat up ahead... looks like it's falling apart."
Nami quickly adjusted the rudder to bring them closer. When they finally approached, two men were waving frantically from the wreck.
When they saw Zoro.
"Zoro Bro! Zoro Bro!"
His eyes widened slightly. "…Johnny? Yosaku?"
Sure enough, the two figures were Zoro old friends or sidekick, fellow bounty hunters who used to hunt pirates with him before he met Luffy.
"Zoro bro! We thought we were done for!" Johnny shouted, tears streaming down his face.
"Yeah, we were almost become food for the fish!" Yosaku added dramatically.
They were quickly pulled aboard the Merry. Both of them collapsed on the floor, breathing hard.
"You two look exhausted," Zoro said bluntly.
"Well, excuse us for nearly starving to death!" Johnny shot back.
"Yeah! If you hadn't shown up, we'd be skeletons by now!" Yosaku sniffled.
Luffy crouched next to them with a big grin. "You guys are bounty hunters, right? That's cool! Wanna join my crew?"
Both Johnny and Yosaku froze.
"Join… a pirate crew?" Johnny blinked.
"Uh… thanks for saving us, but…" Yosaku scratched his head awkwardly. "We're bounty hunters, not pirates and our job is to catch guys like you."
Jack chuckled softly. "Yeah, but if you stick around for a while, you might see that this crew is… a little different."
Zoro smirked. "They're not bad people."
The two bounty hunters exchanged a look.
"Well…" Johnny rubbed the back of his head. "We don't have a ship anymore."
"And no food, either," Yosaku added. "So… maybe we'll tag along for now but we are not a pirates."
"YOSH!" Luffy cheered, grabbing both of them in a big bear hug. "That means you're part of the crew!"
"Temporary!" both bounty hunters shouted at once.
"Jack did your power return?" asked Luffy.
"Nope, I don't think hiring more swordsman would return my power," replied Jack.
"Eeeghhhhh," Luffy shocked.