One Piece: Born to Betray

A while later, Taiga and Zoro finally trudged back into the main street—Zoro looking mildly unbothered, Taiga looking like she was five seconds away from committing a homicide.

The moment she spotted Makoto leaning lazily against a barrel, arms crossed, wearing that infuriating grin, she exploded.

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA—?!" she shrieked, stomping right up to him and jabbing a finger into his chest hard enough to dent his shirt. "Your damn moss-headed mountain goat has no sense of direction! NONE! We went in circles for twenty minutes! We ended up in the same alley twice! He thinks the sun sets in the EAST, Makoto—THE EAST!"

Makoto burst into laughter so sudden and loud he had to slap a hand over his mouth to stifle it. Zoro just scratched his ear, looking entirely unbothered by the rant.

Makoto wiped a fake tear from his eye, his crimson gaze sparkling with mischief as he straightened up.

"Relax, short-stack. Problem solved—" He threw an arm around the slim shoulders beside him—Nami, who instantly shot him a death glare but couldn't escape in time. "—I got us a navigator."

Nami elbowed him in the ribs, but Makoto didn't even flinch, only grinning wider.

"Don't get too cozy," she snapped, then turned—

—and the moment her eyes landed on Taiga, she froze.

Taiga blinked back, still mid-glare. "...What?"

For exactly one heartbeat, Nami's eyes softened. Her mouth fell open slightly. Then—

"OHMYGOSH, YOU'RE ADORABLE!"

Makoto's arm slipped off her shoulder as Nami shoved him aside, launched forward, and practically tackled Taiga into a hug.

Taiga squeaked. Actually squeaked. Arms pinned to her sides, wooden sword clattering to the ground.

"What—?! Hey—?! Get OFF!"

Nami ignored her completely, clutching Taiga like she'd found a lost puppy.

"You poor thing! Did this creep kidnap you? Are you okay? Do you want me to help you escape? Blink twice if you need help—oh my god, you're so soft—!"

Taiga's eye twitched so violently it looked like it might pop out.

"MAKOTO!" she screeched from inside the hug. "HELP me— Agh!"

Makoto leaned lazily back against the barrel, arms crossed, absolutely no intention of helping.

"Huh. I knew you two would get along."

Zoro tilted his head at the scene, unimpressed.

"This crew gets weirder by the minute."

Nami finally pulled back just enough to cup Taiga's cheeks in her hands.

"You're just the cutest! What's your name? How old are you? Are you eating properly? Blink three times if you're malnourished—"

Taiga, red-faced and vibrating with rage, sucked in a deep breath—

—and bit Nami's hand.

"OW—!"

Makoto just burst into another round of laughter.

"Alright, alright—enough bonding. Let's get moving before Captain Stretch-Armstrong finds a new way to get kidnapped again."

Nami shot him a dirty look while rubbing her bitten hand, then crossed her arms and muttered, mostly to herself,

"Speaking of—how the hell does that rubber idiot stretch like that? He says he ate some fruit? What kind of fruit turns a human into rubber?"

Zoro snorted. "Devil Fruit. Get used to it."

Taiga yanked her wooden sword off the ground, shooting Makoto a look that promised violence later, and stomped behind him—pointedly avoiding eye contact with Nami, who was already scheming exactly how to braid Taiga's hair when she wasn't paying attention.

Zoro fell in step beside them with a grunt.

"Next stop?"

Makoto grinned and slung an arm over Zoro's shoulder, ignoring the swordsman's irritated grunt. "Next stop? Trouble, obviously."

Then, without warning, he bellowed, "LUFFY! GET OVER HERE BEFORE YOU EAT EVERYTHING IN SIGHT!"

Luffy, cheeks stuffed with stolen food from the Buggy Pirates' abandoned feast, blinked at them innocently. "Shishishi! But they left it!"

…

A Few Hours Later:

The crew lingered in Orange Town longer than planned—mostly because Luffy had chased a meat-stealing dog halfway across the island, leading them to discover the full extent of Buggy's cruelty.

Abandoned homes. Starving townsfolk. A once-thriving port reduced to ruin under the clown's reign.

Nami's fingers clenched around the stolen treasure map in her pocket, her stomach twisting. She knew pirates were monsters—she knew—but seeing it up close still made her blood boil.

Then Luffy did something unthinkable.

He handed back all the money Nami had looted from Buggy's ship. Every last berry.

The townspeople stared in stunned silence. A child clutched a single coin like it was a miracle.

Nami's breath caught in her throat.

"Why?" she demanded, grabbing Luffy's arm. "Why give it back? You're a pirate!"

Luffy tilted his head, as if the answer was obvious. "Because it's theirs."

Nami's nails dug into her palms. "But-"

"Makoto's got way more money anyway!" Luffy added cheerfully. "Like, mountains of it! I've never seen so much-"

THWACK!

Makoto's foot connected with Luffy's head, sending the rubber captain face-first into the dirt. "Shut up, idiot."

Nami's eyes narrowed. Her thief instincts immediately perked up at the mention of money, but her confusion only grew. She whirled on Makoto. "You're pirates! Pirates take! They don't just give things back!"

Zoro shrugged. "We're not like them."

Taiga, arms crossed, huffed. "Speak for yourself. I would've kept it."

Nami's gaze darted between them - Luffy's simple honesty, Zoro's indifference, Taiga's blunt greed, Makoto's infuriating smirk. Her chest tightened with conflicting emotions.

Makoto pushed off the fence he'd been leaning against. "What's wrong, Thief-chan? Disappointed we're not living up to your expectations of pirate scum?"

Nami opened her mouth to retort when a tiny hand tugged at her skirt. The child who'd taken the coin stood looking up at her with wide eyes.

"Thank you," the girl whispered before running back to her mother.

Nami froze. Something uncomfortable twisted in her gut. She turned away abruptly, crossing her arms tight across her chest. "Whatever. Just don't expect me to return anything I steal."

As they walked back to the ship, Nami stole one last glance at the townspeople already putting their money to use. A shopkeeper restocking shelves. A fisherman repairing his nets. The little girl buying bread.

She quickly looked away, but the image stayed burned in her mind.

Luffy, now recovered from Makoto's kick, bounded ahead. "Next island! Next adventure!"

Zoro immediately went the wrong direction.

Taiga facepalmed. "We're never getting off this island."

Nami watched the chaotic scene unfold, that uncomfortable feeling in her chest growing stronger. What had she gotten herself into?