An Offering to the Sea God

With a final, deliberate slash of his sword, Moonlight brought the fight to a halt. Don Acchino was sent flying. He landed in a heap on the ground, his eyes wide as he stared blankly at Moonlight. Blood trickled from his eyes, nose, and ears.

He was bleeding from every orifice.

"Father!" Campacino and the other members of the Aquino family cried out, rushing forward in a panic. However, Don Acchino's body had reached a terrifying temperature of 20,000 degrees, and a shimmering heat distortion surrounded him. Who would dare approach? The group could only watch from a distance, their faces etched with anxiety.

Moonlight casually swung his longsword, preparing to end it. The Hot-Hot Fruit was indeed powerful, capable of raising one's body temperature to an incredible 20,000 degrees, causing the very air to warp and the surrounding icebergs to melt at an exaggerated speed. But it was no match for Moonlight's Armament Haki, which could bypass such defenses and strike his organs directly, causing devastation from within. Don Acchino's internal organs had been shattered; he was already dying.

"Don't kill our father!"

"You bastard swordsman, I'll kill you!"

"Die!"

Seeing their patriarch on the verge of death, the remaining members of the Aquino family charged toward Moonlight. They unleashed their signature attacks, desperately trying to prevent him from delivering the final blow.

"Insignificant ants," Moonlight sneered. A single, sweeping slash was all it took to send the entire group flying. They were already severely injured; in their current state, they stood no chance. The Aquino family was utterly defeated.

Moonlight felt no hesitation. These people were pirates who preyed on others; they deserved their fate.

"BOOM!"

Just as he was about to strike, a colossal cloud of lava erupted from the very island they stood on, shooting high into the sky. A moment later, a rain of magma began to fall.

"Look out, it's magma!" someone shouted in shock.

The members of the Aquino family, seemingly accustomed to such events, immediately dove into the sea with practiced familiarity. Luffy, Puzzle, and the others, however, were caught completely off guard. The magma rained down from the sky, falling with terrifying speed. Molten rock slammed into the deck of the Thousand Sunny, instantly burning large holes through the wood.

Though Zoro and the others reacted quickly, slashing at the burning projectiles, the range of the downpour was too wide. Scattered drops of magma still found their mark. No matter how strong the Adam Wood of the Thousand Sunny was, it couldn't withstand the intense heat of magma. Holes began to appear all over the deck. If this continued, the ship would suffer catastrophic damage.

"We have to get out of here, now!" Nami yelled.

Her shout was hardly necessary. Usopp was already at the helm, frantically steering the Thousand Sunny away from the eruption.

"A volcanic eruption?" Moonlight frowned, pausing his attack. He reasoned that Don Acchino, a user of the Hot-Hot Fruit, wouldn't live in just any ordinary place. Still, he hadn't expected their base to be built directly inside an active volcano. The intensity of their battle had been too much, triggering the eruption. Against a natural disaster of this scale, even he was powerless. He sheathed his sword and boarded the ship as the crew made their hasty retreat.

After a frantic effort, they finally escaped the dangerous waters and could breathe a sigh of relief.

"To the Straw Hat crew, thank you for saving our lives," Puzzle said, leading his crew in a bow of gratitude. If not for the Straw Hats' intervention, the Phoenix Pirates would have surely perished at sea. Puzzle himself had been gravely injured, and if it weren't for Chopper's expert medical care, no ordinary doctor could have saved him. Most importantly, they had finally recovered their pirate flag.

The Straw Hats waved off the thanks with casual smiles. Chopper, ever so shy, twisted his body in a bashful, squiggly dance, clearly flattered.

"So, are you still heading for the New World?" Luffy asked, looking at Puzzle and his crew.

"Of course! I am a phoenix!" Puzzle declared, his spirit renewed as he held the chains attached to his pirate flag.

Stanson and the other Phoenix Pirates were moved. The captain from their memories was finally back.

"In that case, we'll see you in the New World," Luffy said with a wide grin.

"Goodbye, Straw Hats," Puzzle nodded. With that, the Phoenix Pirates set sail once more.

The Straw Hats waved their farewells. Nami consulted the Log Pose, and they set off for their next destination. Because the ship had been damaged by the magma, Franky immediately organized everyone to begin repairs. As one of Tom's disciples, Franky's skills were superb, and by the time they finished, the ship was almost perfectly restored.

With the ship repaired, they continued their journey. The recent events had put everyone on high alert. The Grand Line was a place where any kind of person could exist, and they couldn't afford to be careless.

However, barely five minutes passed before the tension evaporated.

Luffy lay sprawled on the deck, looking utterly dejected. "So boring!"

Usopp lay beside him. "My eyes are going to pop out from staring at nothing!"

Chopper was also on the deck, his eyes spinning in circles. "So dizzy..."

The rest of the crew could only sigh.

Sanji couldn't help but complain, "You idiots, no one asked you to stare at one spot. Besides, with Moonlight on watch, you don't need to worry. If you're that bored, come to the kitchen and wash the dishes."

The moment he heard this, Usopp shot up, looking around for an excuse. Clutching his stomach, he was about to speak, but Chopper beat him to it. The little doctor stood up, mimicking Usopp's posture. "I... I have a disease! It's... it's the 'I'll-die-if-I-wash-the-dishes' disease!"

Usopp was left speechless.

Robin couldn't help but smile at the scene. Nami looked at Usopp with a teasing expression. "Well, Usopp, Chopper has a disease that will kill him if he washes dishes. What about you?"

Usopp broke into a cold sweat, his mind racing. Suddenly, an idea struck him. He looked at Chopper and then dramatically collapsed to the deck with a clatter. "Doctor, save me! I'm dying!"

"No! Usopp is dying!" Chopper cried, his medical instincts taking over completely.

"Yes, it's a terminal illness, Chopper! We have to go to your room for immediate treatment!" a hint of pride flashed in Usopp's eyes as he continued his act.

Hearing the urgency in his voice, Chopper didn't hesitate. He transformed into his heavy point and carefully carried Usopp back to the infirmary.

Moonlight watched the display with a blank expression.

"I'll wash the dishes, Sanji!" Luffy volunteered, running toward the kitchen.

Sanji intercepted him with a swift kick, sending him flying to the bow of the ship. Lighting a cigarette, Sanji said disdainfully, "I don't have enough dishes for you to break." He had learned his lesson back at the Baratie. Even on the Going Merry, while Luffy had shown some improvement, every time he washed the dishes, the food in the refrigerator would mysteriously disappear. The main reason Sanji had wanted a lock on the new refrigerator was to keep Luffy out. Why would he invite the wolf into the henhouse now?

"Aww... so weird, what is that?" Luffy sighed in disappointment. Just as he turned his head, he spotted a wooden barrel with a flag floating on the sea.

"Hm?"

"What is that?"

Hearing him, everyone turned to look. On the waves bobbed a wooden barrel, tightly bound with rope and sealed with a paper talisman. Nami and Robin's eyes widened slightly as they recognized what it was.

"Do you think there's treasure inside?" Luffy asked, his face lighting up with excitement as he stretched his arm out to grab it. No one stopped him, as their curiosity was just as piqued.

Just as Chopper and Usopp were about to enter the infirmary, they heard the word "treasure" and immediately forgot their ailments. They ran back frantically, just in time to see Luffy haul the barrel onto the deck.

"Treasure, treasure!" they cheered, jumping up and down.

"This isn't treasure," Nami corrected with a soft laugh. "It's a sacrificial barrel."

"A what?" the trio of idiots—Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper—stared at her blankly.

"People at sea sometimes make offerings like this to pray to the Sea God for safe passage," Nami explained, pointing to the talisman. "See? It says, 'An Offering for the Great Sea God'."

"An offering for the Sea God!" Luffy's eyes gleamed as if he'd misunderstood. "That means it's treasure!"

"Treasure!" Usopp and Chopper cheered even louder.

"I said, show some respect for the gods!" Nami sighed, exasperated. "There's no treasure in there. It's usually just food and wine."

"Wine for the Sea God? It must be delicious," Zoro said with a grin, walking over.

Luffy got even more excited at the mention of food.

"You guys..." Nami was speechless.

"Once the offering is complete, it's acceptable to consume the contents, as long as you replace them with a new offering," Robin chuckled. "Besides, wine that has drifted on the ocean currents often develops a uniquely mellow flavor."

"Really? Now I'm really looking forward to it," Zoro's eyes lit up.

Luffy had already stepped forward. He put his hands together in a quick, respectful gesture toward the gods before eagerly reaching to untie the rope.

However, at that moment, Moonlight suddenly spoke. "There's a flare inside."

"A flare?" everyone stopped, stunned, and looked at Moonlight.

"Yes, I saw it," Moonlight said, his eyes closed. With his Observation Haki at level six, he could briefly glimpse the future. "When you open it, a red light will shoot out."

"What..."

Everyone exchanged uncertain glances. If anyone else had said it, they would have dismissed it as a joke, but this was Moonlight. Had he ever been wrong about something like this?

"BOOM!"

Luffy had already opened the barrel. A red light instantly shot into the sky and exploded, turning into a burst of crimson fireworks that painted the surrounding sea red.

"He was right!"

"A red light?"

"It really was a flare!"

Everyone gasped, though no one blamed Luffy. Even though they had been warned, it was like Pandora's Box sitting right in front of them, tempting them. What if Moonlight had been wrong?

"Maybe it was just someone's prank!" Usopp said, forcing a smile. It was the kind of trick he might have pulled himself.

"Who would play a prank like that in the name of the gods?" Sanji countered, shaking his head and pointing at the words on the barrel.

"What if it wasn't a human!" Chopper blurted out, then immediately gasped in horror at his own words.

"If it wasn't a human... then what was it?" Usopp trembled.

"Maybe an evil spirit, or a ghost!" Zoro said with a dark smile, glancing at the two of them.

"Aahhh!" they shrieked, hugging each other and shivering.

"I don't know if it's a ghost or a devil, but I'm afraid we're about to be targeted," Robin said, a trace of cold sweat on her brow. She already had a sinking feeling about what this meant.

"The fog is getting thicker!" Nami, who had been monitoring their course, suddenly exclaimed.

A massive bank of fog had rolled in, seemingly from nowhere. The world around them was consumed by a dense, gray mist that blurred their vision and created an unsettling atmosphere. The offering to the Sea God, the signal flare, the legends of ghosts, and the sudden gray fog combined to paint a strange and gloomy picture.

Usopp and Chopper hugged each other tighter. Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji stood on guard. The fog's appearance was too coincidental to be natural.

"Yohohoho, yohohoho..."

Suddenly, a soft, cheerful singing voice drifted through the thick fog. The song seemed to carry a magical quality, penetrating the mist and floating around them.

"Singing?" everyone muttered, stunned.

"An enemy?" Zoro asked, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

"This is getting exciting!" Luffy was already thrilled. In such a place, in such an environment, a sudden song could only mean a new adventure was beginning. What kind of enemy would appear?

"Hmm?" Sanji took a long drag from his cigarette, his eyes scanning the fog. Nami and Robin stood back-to-back, on alert. Chopper and Usopp hid behind Franky's towering frame, seeking protection.

"We must have offended the Sea God," Usopp trembled. "He sent an evil spirit to punish us!"

"Really, Usopp?" Chopper quaked.

Franky was speechless, but he had to admit, the situation was getting stranger by the second.

"I don't know if it's an enemy," Moonlight said with a sudden smile, "but it is certainly interesting. Or rather, he is interesting, not it." He pointed off to the side of their ship.

Everyone followed his gaze, and even Usopp and Chopper couldn't help but peek. There, drifting silently beside them, was a huge, tattered, and rotting sailboat. The ship looked as if it had been at sea for at least a century. But that wasn't the most shocking part. On the deck of the ghost ship sat a skeleton, leisurely sipping tea. When it saw the Straw Hats looking, it kindly waved at them.

The most bizarre part was that he had a full-blown afro.

"Is... is that skeleton waving at us?"

"A skeleton with an afro?"

"Skeletons have hair?"

The crew stared at each other, and a moment later, they all let out a collective scream of shock.

"How cool!" Luffy, however, was the complete opposite. His face was filled with excitement, as if he'd just seen the most amazing toy in the world.

A battle-ready glint appeared in Zoro's eyes. Though a cold sweat trickled down his palm, his fighting spirit was ignited. He had never cut down an evil spirit before. He didn't believe in ghosts or gods—only in the sword in his hand.

"Aah, it's a real ghost!"

"Mom, I want to go home!"

Usopp and Chopper had completely lost it, sobbing hysterically. The two youngest members of the crew were thoroughly terrified. Robin and Nami's faces were pale. A talking skeleton?

When they blinked and looked again, the fog had swirled back in, and the ghost ship was gone. Everything felt like a dream. But the horror lingering in their hearts was very real and could not be so easily calmed. Luffy, buzzing with excitement, urged everyone to go find it.

No one objected. Although they were terrified, they had experienced so many incredible things on their journey, including a trip to a sky island. A talking skeleton was unbelievable, but after calming down, they were ready to investigate. Besides, the currents around them seemed to be behaving strangely, and they might be trapped in this sea of fog anyway.

Hearing this, even Chopper mustered some courage. Usopp, on the other hand, covered himself in paper talismans and clutched a wooden sword on which he'd written "Dispel the Undead" in red paint.

"Yohohohoho..."

At that moment, a cheerful yet eerie laugh suddenly echoed all around them.

Everyone's hair stood on end.