🔶 POV: Monkey D. Luffy
I'm asleep.
Not just normal asleep.
Dead asleep.
The sun is warm on my face, the sea breeze swishes through my hair, and the figurehead makes the perfect pillow. Nothing could wake me from this perfect nap.
Nothing—
Except…
sniff sniff
Food.
Sniff.
Food?
BIG sniff.
FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD.
My eyes snap open.I sit up so fast I nearly launch myself into the ocean.
"FOOD! I SMELL FOOD! WHO COOKED SOMETHING!?"
There is no cooking happening on deck.Or in the kitchen.Or anywhere near the ship.
But the smell—oh man, the smell—it's like meat, but better.Like soup, but better.Like EVERYTHING, but BETTER.
I drool instantly.
Sniff sniff sniff sniff sniff sniff sniff—
The smell leads…
Inside?
Into the Sunny's hallway?
That makes no sense.I don't care.
I hop down from the figurehead and sprint inside the ship.
🔶 POV: Nami
"What do you mean there's a DOOR in the hallway?"
"That's exactly what I said," Franky replies, arms crossed.
I stare at it.
A new door.
A door that was not here yesterday.
A door that looks like it came from a different century.
Black metal. Smooth. Perfect. Not a bolt or dent anywhere. And a glowing sign above it reading:
VACANCY
Nami feels her wallet cry in fear.
"This is bad. This is REALLY bad."
Usopp is curled in the corner, shaking."IT'S A CURSED DOOR! A DOOR GHOST! A DEMON DOOR! DOORS DON'T JUST—JUST—APPEAR!"
Chopper hides behind Robin."Is it haunted!?"
Robin looks fascinated."There are no historical records of doors that spontaneously materialize. This is new."
Franky slaps the metal."It's SUPER sturdy. I didn't build it."
Sanji lights a cigarette."I don't like it. Something this weird ain't normal."
Zoro, arms crossed, leans against the wall."I'll cut it."
"NO YOU WON'T!" the entire crew shouts.
Brook twirls his cane."Yohoho! A door appearing inside our ship? Spooky~! Though I have no nose, so I cannot smell if it's dangerous. Because I have no skin. Or organs. Or—"
"BROOK STOP TALKING."
The crew forms a semi-circle, debating what to do.
And then—
THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP—
A human-shaped blur barrels through them like a cannonball.
🔶 POV: Luffy (again)
FOOOOOOOOOOD!!!
I run past everyone so fast Sanji spins like a top.
"LUFFY WAIT!" Nami shouts.
Zoro grabs for my collar and misses by two inches.
Franky's jaw drops.Usopp screams.Chopper faints.Brook yells something about souls.Robin still looks amused.
But I don't stop.
Because I found it.
The smell of heaven.
Right behind the new door.
I grip the handle.
The entire crew gasps in horror.
"LUFFY NO—!!"
I throw the door open.
A wave of smells—meat, soup, spices, sweets, and things I don't even have names for—hits me like a punch to the face.
I tear up.
This is the greatest moment of my life.
"Guys," I whisper as I step inside,"I found Paradise."
And I vanish into the Infinite Hotel.
🔶 POV: Sanji
"That idiot just walked into an UNKNOWN DIMENSION because of FOOD!?"
I slam my head against the wall.
"I'M SURROUNDED BY IMBECILES!"
🔶 POV: Nami
I scream.
Not from fear.
From anger.
"He's going to get us ALL killed! AGAIN!"
🔶 POV: Zoro
"Tch."I crack my knuckles.
"If he gets himself eaten, we're leaving him."
We all know this is a lie.
🔶 POV: Robin
She smiles.
"Well," she says calmly, "shall we follow him?"
🔶 POV: Franky
He flexes.
"WE GOTTA GO AFTER HIM! HE'LL BREAK SOMETHING SUPER IMPORTANT!"
🔶 POV: Usopp
"I DON'T WANT TO GO—BUT I ALSO CAN'T LET HIM DIE—WHY IS MY LIFE LIKE THIS!?"
🔶 POV: Chopper
"T-This is terrifying… b-but he needs us!"
🔶 POV: Brook
"YOHOHOHO! A spooky hotel adventure! I hope they have tea! Maybe bones!? Oh wait—no bones for me!"
🔶 POV: The Crew as a Whole
They stare at the door.
At the glowing "VACANCY" sign.
At the trail of drool left behind by their captain.
Nami takes a breath.
"…We're going in."
And the Straw Hat Pirates step through the door—into infinity.