The Carnival of the Fox
If there was one thing the Foxy Pirates were good at—besides cheating—it was throwing a party.
In the span of an hour, the grassy plain of Long Ring Long Land had been transformed. Tents striped in purple and orange popped up like mushrooms. The smell of popcorn, takoyaki, and cotton candy wafted through the air, warring with the salty breeze. A massive scoreboard was erected, and balloons floated everywhere.
It wasn't a battlefield. It was a carnival.
"Fehfehfeh! Welcome to the Davy Back Fight Festival!" Foxy announced over the loudspeakers.
On the main stage, two chairs were set up facing each other. In one sat Foxy the Silver Fox, looking smug. In the other sat Monkey D. Luffy, looking... confused, but mostly excited about the nearby food stalls.
An announcer with a microphone that looked like a bird beak stepped forward. "Ladies and Gentlemen! Pirates and... well, mostly pirates! It is time to introduce the Captains!"
"In the Red Corner! With a bounty of 24 Million Berries! The Silver Fox! FOXYYYYY!"
The crowd cheered. Foxy stood up and waved.
"And in the Blue Corner!" The announcer checked his cue cards, then paused. His eyes widened. He pulled out a fresh stack of papers that had just been delivered by a News Coo. "Oh my! We have a breaking update! The newspapers just came in!"
He cleared his throat. "With a freshly updated bounty of 100 MILLION BERRIES! The Straw Hat! MONKEY D. LUFFY!"
A massive poster of Luffy dropped down behind the stage.
[Monkey D. Luffy - DEAD OR ALIVE - 100,000,000 Berries]
The crowd gasped. Foxy choked on his own spit. "Hundred... million?!"
Down in the crowd, Nami froze. Her eyes popped out. "ONE HUNDRED MILLION?!" she shrieked. "How?! Last time we checked, it was 30 Million! We haven't even done anything since Nanohana that the Marines know about!"
She looked around frantically. "Usopp! Do you know about this?"
Usopp, who was standing right next to her, was sweating. Like, really sweating. He was looking everywhere except at Nami. He whistled innocently, though the tune was shaky.
"Something is fishy..." Nami narrowed her eyes.
A nearby Foxy pirate, seeing Nami's confusion, helpfully handed her a stack of the new wanted posters. "Here, miss. It's all over the news today. Your crew caused quite a stir."
Nami snatched the papers. She flipped past Luffy's.
The next poster made her heart stop.
[God Usopp - DEAD OR ALIVE - 50,000,000 Berries]
The picture was majestic. It showed Usopp hovering in the sky with his falcon wings spread wide, looking like a deity descending from the heavens.
"FIFTY MILLION?!" Nami screamed. "FOR USOPP?!"
She flipped to the next ones.
[Cotton Candy Lover Chopper (Pet) - 50 Berries]
[Iron Duck Caroo (Pet) - 50 Berries]
The rest of the crew had no bounties (the marines didn't know Robin, Dorry, and Brogy had joined the Straw Hat Pirates). But the quartet suddenly had bounties.
Nami slowly turned her head toward Usopp. A dark, demonic aura flared around her.
"Usopp," she said, her voice deceptively calm. "Why there is a bounty in your name? And why is Luffy's tripled? And why are the pets suddenly wanted criminals?"
"I... uh..." Usopp backed away, trembling. "It's a funny story, really..."
"Talk," Nami cracked her knuckles.
"OKAY! I'LL TALK!" Usopp squealed. "Remember a few days ago? When Ben let us take the Iron Man suits for a flight?"
"Yes..."
"Well," Usopp twiddled his fingers. "We were just flying around, having fun! And we saw an island! We thought it was uninhabited, so we landed to explore and maybe find some snacks. We got out of the armors and were walking around..."
"And?"
"And... it turns out it wasn't an uninhabited island," Usopp whispered. "It was Marine Base G8. Navarone."
Nami's jaw dropped. "You landed inside a MARINE STRONGHOLD?!"
"We didn't know!" Usopp cried. "By the time we realized, we were surrounded! So we... uh... we fought back. Luffy punched a lot of people. Chopper turned into Monster Point to escape. Caroo kicked a Vice-Admiral in the shin."
"And then?" Nami asked, feeling faint.
"And then we found the Commander," Usopp gulped. "Commander Shepherd. He was really mean! So we... beat him up. And then we accidentally blew up the munitions depot when we took off. We agreed to keep it a secret between the four of us so you wouldn't yell at us!"
"YOU DESTROYED A MARINE BASE AND KEPT IT A SECRET?!" Nami roared, shaking him by the collar. "DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH DANGER WE ARE IN?!"
"I'm sorry!" Usopp wailed. "But look at the poster! I look so cool! 'God Usopp'! 50 Million!"
While Nami strangled the sniper, the announcer on stage continued.
"Ahem! Well then! Since Captain Foxy is the challenger, the choice of rounds falls to the defender! Captain Luffy! How many games do you wish to play? One round? Two rounds? Or the traditional Three Round Coin Game?"
Nami dropped Usopp. She realized they were in public. She turned to the stage, desperate.
"Luffy!" Nami hissed. She held up a single index finger, staring at him intensely.
"One!" Usopp echoed beside her, recovering from the strangulation and also holding up one finger.
Luffy looked down at his crewmates. He saw Nami holding up a finger. He saw Usopp holding up a finger.
Luffy blinked. He looked at Nami's finger (1). He looked at Usopp's finger (1). He looked at Hamburg's finger (1).
He did the math.
"I got it!" Luffy slammed his fist into his palm. He turned to the announcer with a confident grin.
"Three Games!" Luffy declared.
"EHHHHHHHH?!"
Nami and Usopp collapsed face-first into the grass, their souls leaving their bodies.
A giggling sound caught their ear.
"Puhuhu!"
Hamburg, the giant gorilla-man of the Foxy Pirates, was standing there. Seeing Nami and Usopp gesturing, he decided to join in on the 'fun'. He held up one massive, furry finger and grinned at Luffy.
"HE ADDED THEM UP!" Usopp screamed into the dirt. "HE THOUGHT WE WERE VOTING! WHY IS HE LIKE THIS?!"
"Three rounds it is!" The announcer roared. "A full Davy Back Fight! Get ready for the first event!"
Luffy hopped off the stage, grinning ear to ear. He jogged over to his crewmates, dusting off his shorts.
"Shishishi! Did you guys see?" Luffy laughed, oblivious to the dark aura radiating from his navigator. "I picked three! More games mean more fun, right? It's gonna be awesome!"
He stopped. Nami was standing there. She was smiling. It was a beautiful smile, the kind that usually preceded a natural disaster. Behind her, Usopp was frantically shaking his head, making 'stop' motions with his hands.
"Fun?" Nami repeated sweetly. "Yes, Captain. We're going to have so much fun."
CRACK.
Nami's fist, wreathed in the Haki of pure financial rage, collided with Luffy's head.
"YOU IDIOT!" Nami roared, grabbing him by the collar and shaking him back and forth. "FORGET THE GAMES! YOU DESTROYED A MARINE BASE?! AND HID IT FROM ME?!"
"Owwwww! Nami!" Luffy whined, sporting a massive, steaming bump on his head. "It was an accident! The base was just in the way!"
"BASES DON'T GET IN THE WAY! YOU LAND ON THEM!"
The Festival Grounds
While Nami and Usopp lamented their captain's math skills and the impending Marine threat, the rest of the Straw Hat crew were taking full advantage of the enemy's hospitality.
The Foxy Pirates, adhering to the strange code of the game, were actually serving the Straw Hats.
Ben strolled through the carnival, looking like a cool dad on a weekend outing. He held a skewer of grilled squid in one hand. Walking beside him was Mini Merry, who was vibrating with excitement.
"Papa! Look! Ice cream!" Merry pointed at a stall.
"Go for it," Ben handed her a few coins (looted from Enel, so technically he was rich).
Merry ran to the stall. "One chocolate-vanilla swirl, please! With sprinkles!"
"Sure thing, little lady," the pirate vendor grinned, handing her a cone that was almost as big as her head.
Nearby, Chopper was buried in a cloud of pink cotton candy. "It's so fluffy! It sticks to my fur, but it tastes like clouds!"
Sanji was inspecting a takoyaki stand with a critical eye. "Hmph. The batter is too thick. And you're overcooking the octopus. Step aside, amateur." He shoved the pirate chef aside and started cooking himself, instantly drawing a line of swooning female pirates.
Zoro sat on a bench, clutching a bottle of sake he'd 'found'. Vivi and Caroo were playing a ring-toss game (Caroo was winning).
And towering over everyone—though still shrunk to human size—were Dory and Brogy. They were holding normal-sized turkey legs, which looked like toothpicks in their hands.
"Gebababa! This festival lacks the roasted Sea Kings of Elbaf!" Dory laughed.
"But the ale is decent!" Brogy downed a tankard in one gulp. "Though the cups are too small!"
Robin walked alongside Ben, holding a cup of coffee. She watched the festivities with a calm, analytical gaze.
"It is strange," Robin noted. "A ritualistic game to steal crewmates. It feels... archaic."
Chopper trotted over, his face sticky with sugar. "Robin! Who is Davy Jones? The announcer said this game is named after him."
Robin looked down at the little doctor. "Davy Jones... legends say he was a pirate from long ago who was cursed by the devil to live at the bottom of the sea. All things that sink into the ocean are said to belong to him. His 'Locker'. The game is a tribute to the ancient island of pirates, where they would gamble their crewmates to honor him."
"Scary..." Chopper shivered. "A cursed pirate at the bottom of the sea?"
"Close," Ben interrupted, taking a bite of his squid. "But the history books missed a few details."
Robin turned to him. "Oh?"
Ben wiped his mouth. "First of all, there's a correction in the name."
"It's not just Davy Jones," Ben stated. "It's Davy D. Jones."
Robin froze. Her eyes widened slightly. "A 'D'?"
"Yep," Ben nodded. "And the part about him being a legend or a ghost? Not entirely true. He's still alive. Cursed, yes. But very much alive, wandering the depths."
The casual way Ben dropped a bombshell that could rewrite pirate history was maddening to Robin. She gripped her coffee cup tighter.
"Davy D. Jones," she repeated slowly. "Another carrier of the initial. Just like Luffy. Just like Saul."
She looked at Ben. "And... just like you."
Ben paused. He looked at her.
"Edgar D. Benjamin," Robin said his full name quietly. "You are also from the 'D' family, aren't you?"
"Guilty as charged," Ben smirked.
"What does it mean, Ben?" Robin stepped closer, her voice urgent. "The Will of D. The Void Century. How do you know about Davy Jones? Is he connected to the Ancient Kingdom?"
Ben opened his mouth to answer—perhaps to drop a hint about Joyboy or the nature of the curse—when a loud, happy shout interrupted them.
"PAPA! PAPA!"
Mini Merry ran over, her face smeared with chocolate ice cream. She pointed frantically at a massive, spinning structure in the center of the carnival.
"The Ferris Wheel!" Merry cheered, jumping up and down. "It's huge! I want to ride it! Can we go? Can we? Please?"
Ben looked at Merry's shining eyes. He looked back at Robin, who was waiting for the secrets of the universe.
Priorities.
"Sorry, Robin," Ben shrugged, his grin returning. "Duty calls. The Giant Wheel awaits."
"It's a Ferris Wheel, Papa!"
"Whatever it is, let's go."
Ben let Merry drag him away toward the ride.
Robin stood there, watching his back. A small, exasperated smile touched her lips.
"Davy D. Jones..." she whispered to herself, looking out at the ocean. "The mystery deepens. And he just walks away to ride a carnival attraction."
She shook her head and followed them. After all, if the world was going to turn upside down eventually, she might as well enjoy the view from the top of the wheel.
The Regrouping
Just then, the rest of the crew returned from their tour of the carnival grounds. Ben, Robin, Sanji, Zoro, Vivi, and the Giants strolled back, holding various snacks.
"Hey," Ben said, taking a bite of his grilled squid. "We heard the announcement. Three rounds? Bold choice."
Then they noticed the scene. Luffy was lying on the ground, bruised and battered, smoke rising from his head. Nami was breathing heavily, clutching a stack of papers. Usopp was trying to merge with a nearby bush.
"Whoa," Sanji blinked. "What happened to Luffy? Did Foxy attack him?"
"No," Nami straightened up, adjusting her hair. "I did."
Chopper, who had been riding on Zoro's shoulder eating cotton candy, looked down at his captain. "Luffy? Are you okay?"
Nami's head snapped toward the little reindeer. It moved mechanically, like a rusted robot. Her eyes locked onto him.
"Chopper..." Nami's voice was low. "Can you tell me... what exactly did the four of you do a few days ago when you took the Iron Man suits for a flight?"
Chopper froze. The cotton candy fell from his hoof. He looked panic-stricken at Usopp.
Usopp, sweating buckets, nodded his head vigorously. 'Stick to the story! We were just... bird watching! Yeah!'
Chopper looked at Nami's demon face. He looked at Usopp's desperate nodding.
He made a choice.
"IT WAS ALL LUFFY'S FAULT!" Chopper screamed, diving behind Robin's legs. "I didn't do anything! Luffy punched the Commander! I just hid!"
"QUACK!" Caroo immediately abandoned ship, sprinting to hide behind Vivi's dress.
"TRAITORS!" Usopp yelled.
"So it is true," Nami sighed, massaging her temples. She held up the wanted posters for the rest of the crew to see. "Look at this."
Ben, Zoro, and Sanji gathered around.
"100 Million for Luffy," Sanji whistled. "That's a big jump."
"50 Berries for the pets," Robin noted amusingly.
Then they saw the third one.
[God Usopp - 50,000,000 Berries]
"FIFTY MILLION?!" Zoro's eye twitched. "FOR HIM?!"
"Why does he look so cool in the picture?" Sanji asked, sounding offended.
"What did you guys do?" Ben asked, genuinely curious.
"They destroyed Marine Base G8," Mini Merry spoke up.
Everyone turned to the small android girl standing beside Ben.
"Merry?" Ben asked. "You knew?"
"Affirmative," Merry nodded innocently. "I possess the flight logs. Captain Luffy, Usopp, Chopper, and Caroo engaged Marine forces at the Navarone stronghold. Damage report includes: Destruction of the main gate, theft of food supplies, and the physical assault of Commander Jonathan Shepherd(Con. D. Ariano). It was... highly explosive."
Nami stared at the little girl. "Merry... if you knew all of this... why didn't you tell us?"
Merry looked down at her shoes, twiddling her fingers. "Usopp... told me it was a top-secret mission."
"And?" Nami pressed.
"And..." Merry looked up, her eyes wide. "He said if I kept it a secret, he would give me lots of ice cream. Double scoops. With sprinkles."
Silence.
Slowly, every single pair of eyes on the crew turned toward Usopp.
"You bribed her?" Vivi asked, disappointed.
"You corrupted a child with sugar?" Robin added.
"You made my daughter an accomplice to a felony?" Ben cracked his knuckles.
"I... I..." Usopp shrank under the collective glare. "It was... strategic diplomacy?"
"Whatever," Zoro grunted, looking at the poster again. "It's just a mistake. There's no way the Navy actually thinks Long-Nose is a threat."
"Mistake or not," Usopp suddenly straightened up. He snatched the poster from Nami's hand. A smug, arrogant grin spread across his face.
He walked up to Zoro. He held the poster right in front of the swordsman's face.
"Mistake?" Usopp scoffed. "Read the numbers, Moss-head. Count the zeros."
Zoro frowned. "So what?"
"So," Usopp puffed out his chest, pointing a thumb at himself. "My bounty is 50 Million. Your bounty is... oh wait. You don't have one yet."
Zoro's hand went to his sword. "What did you say?"
"I said," Usopp leaned in, grinning like a maniac. "Meet the Second-in-Command of the Straw Hat Pirates. God Usopp."
He struck a pose.
"Now... who doesn't want me, huh?"
Zoro drew Yubashiri halfway. "I'm going to cut you."
"Help! Mutiny!" Usopp shrieked, running to hide behind Ben.
"Alright, settle down," Ben laughed, pushing Zoro's sword back into its scabbard. "We have a Davy Back Fight to win. Usopp can preen later. Right now, we need to focus on Foxy."
"Fehfehfeh!" Foxy's voice boomed from the speakers. "The Captains have chosen! Let the first event begin! Prepare for... the Donut Race!"