The sun beat down on the grassy plains of Long Ring Long Land, baking the carnival atmosphere into a frenzy of heat and excitement. The smell of popcorn and sea salt mixed with the tension radiating from the two pirate crews.
"Fehfehfeh! Let the games begin!" Foxy announced, his split-head bobbing as he stood atop his massive ship, the Sexy Foxy.
The announcer, perched on a tall wooden tower, brought his beak-shaped microphone to his lips. "Ladies and Gentlemen! Pirates and... well, mostly pirates! Welcome to the first round of the legendary Davy Back Fight! The event is... THE DONUT RACE!"
A cheer went up from the Foxy Pirates. The Straw Hats looked less enthusiastic, mostly because half of them were still recovering from the shock of learning their captain had bet their freedom on a boat race.
"The rules are simple!" The announcer boomed. "Each team must build a boat using three empty barrels provided by us! You must sail around the island, navigating the Long Ring Reef, and return to the finish line right here on the beach! The first team to cross the line wins the point—and the right to steal a crew member!"
"Three barrels?" Nami frowned, looking at the flimsy wooden casks sitting on the sand. "That's barely enough to make a raft, let alone a boat capable of navigating a reef."
"And here is the twist!" The announcer continued. "The currents around Long Ring Long Land are treacherous! If you drift too far, you might never return! Therefore, each participating team is given an Eternal Pose pointing back to this island! Even if you get lost, you can find your way back... eventually!"
He held up two small, glass compasses containing floating needles.
"Now, Captains! Choose your racers! Three members per team!"
Foxy pointed dramatically at his crew. "Go, Porche! Hamburg! And... Capote!"
Porche, the idol-like navigator of the Foxy crew, waved her baton. Hamburg, the gorilla-man, beat his chest. Capote, a Fishman, cracked his knuckles.
"A Fishman?" Sanji narrowed his eyes. "That's cheating in a boat race."
"It's not cheating if he's on the boat!" the announcer clarified quickly.
Luffy looked at his crew. He rubbed his chin, thinking hard (which usually resulted in smoke coming out of his ears).
"Okay!" Luffy pointed. "I choose... Nami! Vivi! And Ben!"
"Eh?" Nami blinked. "Me?"
"Yeah!" Luffy grinned. "You're the navigator! You know the ocean! Vivi knows boats because she's a princess! And Ben can make cool stuff!"
"That logic... surprisingly holds up," Robin noted.
"Fine," Nami sighed, tying her hair back. "If I'm racing, we're winning. I'm not becoming a Foxy Pirate. Their fashion sense is offensive."
"I'll do my best!" Vivi nodded, rolling up her sleeves. "Let's show them what the Straw Hats can do!"
Ben stepped forward, cracking his neck. He looked at the three barrels sitting on the sand. "Three barrels, huh? A bit minimalistic, but I can work with it."
The two teams brought their "boats" to the water's edge.
The Foxy Pirates had somehow constructed a sleek, aerodynamic raft using their barrels, customized with fins and a propeller system that Hamburg was already winding up. It looked suspicious, prepared well in advance.
The Straw Hats stood around three lonely barrels.
"Ben," Nami hissed. "We have five minutes before the start gun. We need a boat. Do you have a hammer?"
"I have something better," Ben smirked. He waved his hand.
The wood of the barrels groaned. The metal hoops snapped and reshaped. The structure elongated, warped, and fused together.
In seconds, the three clunky barrels dissolved and reformed into a sleek, streamlined catamaran. The wood was polished and reinforced. A mast sprouted from the center, rigging weaving itself out of the fibers of the wood.
"Whoa..." Vivi touched the smooth hull. "You made this from barrels?"
Ben shrugged. "It's still just wood and iron, just reorganized. Hop in, ladies."
Nami and Vivi climbed into the cockpit. Ben jumped into the back, taking the tiller.
"Ready?" The announcer shouted, raising a starting pistol.
"Ready!" Porche yelled, winking at the crowd.
"Ready," Nami called out, gripping the side of the boat.
BANG!
"AND THEY'RE OFF!"
The Foxy Pirates' boat exploded off the line. Hamburg was pedaling a hidden bicycle mechanism furiously, churning the water and propelling them forward at incredible speed.
"They're fast!" Vivi gasped.
"Not fast enough," Ben said calmly. He raised his hand. "Ventus."
A concentrated blast of wind shot from his palm, filling the small sail of their transfigured boat.
WHOOSH!
The Straw Hat boat lurched forward, accelerating instantly. It cut through the water like a knife, skipping over the waves.
However, Ben wasn't the only one generating wind.
On the shoreline, Sanji watched the boat take off. Seeing his two favorite women (and Ben) racing, he couldn't contain himself.
"NAMI-SWAAAAAN! VIVI-CHWAAAN!" Sanji screamed, hearts shooting out of his eyes. "RUN LIKE THE WIND! THE WIND OF MY LOVE!"
He began to spin. Fast. So fast he turned into a blur.
"Love Hurricane!"
A visible, pink-tinted tornado erupted from the cook, tearing across the water and slamming into the back of the Straw Hat boat.
ZOOM!
The extra boost nearly launched the catamaran out of the water.
"Whoa!" Nami grabbed her hat, her hair whipping forward. "What was that?!"
Ben looked back, seeing the pink tornado on the beach. He sighed. "Pervert-turbo. Don't question it. Just steer!"
"Keep her steady, Navigator!" Ben laughed, controlling the magical wind stream to stabilize Sanji's chaotic love-power.
They overtook the Foxy boat in seconds.
"Hey! No magic allowed!" Porche screamed as they zoomed past.
"It's not magic, it's... uh... a Dial!" Ben shouted back. "A Love Dial! Totally legal!"
"Curse you!" Porche stomped her foot.
The Straw Hat boat tore through the water, leaving a white wake behind it. They reached the first turn of the reef miles ahead of the competition.
"Easy!" Nami cheered. "At this rate, we'll finish before they even reach the halfway point!"
"Don't get cocky," Ben warned, scanning the coastline. "This is a Davy Back Fight. The obstacles aren't just the waves."
As they rounded the long, stretching cape of the island, the water grew turbulent. whirlpools swirled near the coral reefs.
"Hard to starboard!" Nami commanded, reading the currents instantly. "There's a hidden reef!"
Ben adjusted the tiller. The boat leaned sharply, carving a perfect arc around the danger zone.
"Nice call," Ben praised.
"I'm the best," Nami flipped her hair.
They were cruising. The sun was shining. The wind was at their backs. Victory seemed inevitable.
On the shore, watching through binoculars, Foxy ground his teeth.
"They're too fast!" Foxy whined. "That magician guy... he's cheating better than us!"
"Fehfehfeh... don't worry, Oyabin," a crewmate whispered. "Use it."
Foxy grinned. A dark, devious grin.
He positioned himself on a cliff overlooking the narrowest part of the channel the Straw Hats had to pass through.
"Get ready, Straw Hats," Foxy muttered. He raised his hands, forming a peculiar gesture with his fingers—the thumb, index, and pinky extended, middle and ring fingers curled.
"Noro Noro..."
Back on the boat, Ben's Observation Haki—honed by the recent training and his natural high stats—pinged a warning.
He looked up. He saw the purple coat. He saw the ridiculous hair.
"Foxy," Ben narrowed his eyes.
"What?" Vivi followed his gaze. "Is he... aiming at us?"
"...BEAM!"
From Foxy's fingers, a beam of slow-moving, pink photons shot out. It spiraled through the air, humming with a strange, lethargic energy. It was aiming directly for their boat.
"What is that?!" Nami screamed. "A laser?!"
"Worse," Ben said grimly. "It's the Noro Noro Beam. Slow-Slow Beam. If that hits us, we slow down for 30 seconds. In a race like this, 30 seconds is a lifetime. We'll be sitting ducks for the whirlpools."
"Dodge it!" Nami yelled.
"Can't," Ben analyzed the trajectory. "The channel is too narrow. If we turn, we hit the reef. If we stay, we get hit."
The beam drew closer. It was wide. It covered the entire width of the passage.
"Fehfehfeh! You're finished!" Foxy's laughter echoed from the cliffs.
Vivi grabbed her Peacock Slashers, ready to try and cut it. "I'll deflect it!"
"No," Ben stopped her. "You can't cut photons, Vivi. But..."
Ben used Momo's quirk. Instantly, a massive, ornate, full-length mirror erupted from the deck of the boat, positioning itself directly in the path of the incoming pink beam.
"A mirror?!" Nami shrieked. "Ben, are you trying to check your hair?!"
"Just watch," Ben held the mirror steady.
The Noro Noro Beam collided with the glass surface.
Normally, a Devil Fruit power might smash through a barrier. But the Noro Noro Beam was light-based. Or at least, it behaved like light.
BZZEEEOW!
The pink beam didn't pass through. It bounced.
It reflected off the perfectly polished surface of Ben's created mirror, angling sharply upward—straight back toward the cliff where Foxy stood laughing.
"Fehfehfeh... eh?"
Foxy stopped laughing. He saw the pink light rushing back at him.
"WAIT! NO! THAT'S MY BEAM!"
ZAP.
The beam hit Foxy square in the chest.
Everything stopped.
Foxy froze mid-flail. His face was stuck in a horrified grimace. He began to fall backward, but he fell... s l o w l y. Like a feather drifting in thick syrup.
"Cuuuuuuurrrrssssseeeee yoooooooouuuuuuuuuuu..." Foxy's voice dragged out, deep and distorted, like a tape recorder running out of batteries.
On the boat, Nami and Vivi stared at the mirror, then up at the cliff.
"Is he... still falling?" Nami asked, squinting.
"Yep," Ben grinned, dissolving the mirror back into particles of light. "Light reflects. Even slow light."
Back on the shore, the Straw Hats stopped cheering and just watched the cliff.
"He's taking a really long time to hit the ground," Usopp noted, checking his watch. He took a sip of juice. "Still falling."
"Is he flying?" Luffy asked, tilting his head.
"No, he's just slow," Robin chuckled.
Up on the cliff, Foxy continued his agonizingly slow descent. His eyes watered. A fly landed on his nose, cleaned its wings, and flew away before he could even blink.
"So he basically just sabotaged himself?" Nami started to giggle on the boat.
"Yep," Ben nodded. "And now that the coast is clear..."
He pumped more magic into the sails.
"Full speed ahead!"
The rest of the race was a victory lap.
Without Foxy's interference, and with the Foxy Pirates' boat struggling against the currents (and lacking magical wind propulsion), the Straw Hat catamaran tore through the final stretch.
They rounded the last cape and saw the finish line on the beach.
"We see them!" Chopper screamed from the shore, waving his hooves. "They're coming!"
"GO BEN! GO NAMI! GO VIVI!" Luffy cheered, mouth full of hotdogs.
With one final burst of wind, Ben's boat surged onto the sand, crossing the line a full five minutes before the opposition even came into view.
"WINNER! THE STRAW HAT PIRATES!" The announcer roared, though he looked disappointed.
"YEAH!" Nami and Vivi high-fived.
Ben stepped out of the boat, dusting off his coat. "Easy game."
Ten minutes later, the Foxy boat limped across the line. Porche was pouting, and Hamburg looked exhausted.
Up on the cliff, Foxy finally finished falling over.
THUD.
"Oww..." Foxy groaned, rubbing his head. "Thirty seconds is up..."
He looked down at the beach. He saw the Straw Hats celebrating. He saw the "1-0" on the scoreboard.
He fell to his knees again.
"I lost the first round... to a mirror..."
"Fehfehfeh..." Foxy walked onto the stage, trying to regain his composure despite the crushing defeat. "Well! A thrilling first round! But it's not over yet! The Straw Hats take the lead!"
"Okay!" Luffy jumped up. "Since we won, we get to pick someone, right?"
"That is the rule!" Foxy gritted his teeth. "Who do you want? Hamburg? Porche? Me?"
The Straw Hats huddled.
"We don't really need anyone," Zoro muttered. "Their crew is weak."
"We could take the flag?" Usopp suggested.
"No," Nami's eyes glinted. "We take the most useful thing."
She pointed at the Foxy crew. Specifically, at a small, trembling creature near the back.
"We'll take... Shelly!"
The crowd went silent.
"The horse?" Foxy blinked. "You want the horse?"
"Yes!" Luffy declared. "We're taking the horse back!"
"But... Shelly isn't a crew member!" Foxy argued. "She's just an animal!"
"She's Tonjit's nakama!" Luffy shouted. "And you hurt her! So we're taking her back! Is that a problem, Split-Head?"
Foxy flinched at the nickname. "Fine! Take the horse! It's useless anyway!"
Tonjit, who was watching from the sidelines with crutches, burst into tears. "Luffy-san! You saved her!"
Shelly trotted over to the Straw Hats, nuzzling Luffy and Nami.
"One point for us," Ben smiled, patting the horse's long neck. "Two more to go. And Foxy... you better get a better mirror for the next round."
Foxy glared at him, hatred burning in his eyes. "Next round... next round is the Groggy Ring. Let's see how your magic helps you when you're being crushed by monsters!"
"Bring it on," Ben grinned, stepping forward.