"Hey, who are you, and why were you floating out at sea?" Luffy stretched his arm out to approach her, his usual curious expression on his face.
"Ah! His arm stretched! A monster!" Abis shrieked, backing away in shock. A normal person's arm shouldn't be able to stretch like that!
"Hey, who are you?" Sanji asked, exhaling a puff of smoke, noticing how she had nearly backed into him.
"Ah! Curled eyebrows!" Abis screamed again and stumbled further back.
"Curled eyebrows, huh? You sure noticed that quickly," Zoro remarked, standing with his arms crossed, watching as Abis now ended up in front of him.
"Green-haired moss-head!" Abis gasped upon seeing Zoro, before collapsing on the ground and bursting into tears.
"It's over! I've not only run into pirates, but a whole bunch of monsters! Waaahhh!"
"Green-haired moss-head?"
"Curled eyebrows?"
Usopp couldn't help but burst into laughter. Those nicknames were spot on! They fit Zoro and Sanji perfectly.
"Shut up!" Zoro and Sanji snapped at the same time, glaring at each other. Their eyes locked in a heated stare, and a wave of tension and killing intent radiated from them.
"Don't worry. We might be pirates, but we're not the kind of pirates you're thinking of!" Nami stepped forward, her kind face offering some comfort.
"Yeah, we're not bad people. If we were, do you think we'd have saved you?" Moonlight added in his usual calm tone.
"You… you won't kill me?" Abis asked, her nerves easing a little, probably thanks to Nami's gentle demeanor.
"As Moonlight said, if we were going to kill you, we would've left you floating out at sea, right?" Nami smiled warmly, her expression as bright as the sun.
Abis's heart gradually calmed down. After a deep sigh, she confessed, "I ran into some really bad people. My family was killed, and I'm the only one left. Please, help me… I'll repay you however I can."
With hope glimmering in her eyes, she looked at Nami for support.
"Bad people? Why are they after you?" Luffy, intrigued, moved closer, asking the question that had been on everyone's minds.
"I don't know… I don't even want revenge anymore. I just want to go home. Please, can you take me back?" Abis pleaded, directing her request towards Luffy.
"Hey, Luffy. We're already close to the Grand Line now. This girl won't even tell us her name and is clearly lying. We don't need to get involved. Helping her could take us way off course," Usopp interjected, his brow furrowed as he looked out at the sea.
As a master liar, Usopp could easily tell when someone wasn't being truthful. He didn't want to waste time on unnecessary detours, especially when they were so close to the Grand Line, the legendary sea they had been aiming for.
"Usopp is right. This girl's been giving people weird nicknames, and it's really annoying," Zoro added.
"It's a perfect nickname for you though, moss-head," Sanji smirked, mocking Zoro.
"Say that again, and I'll cut you down, curled eyebrows!" Zoro snapped, his hand resting on his sword hilt.
"Try me, and I'll kick you straight off this ship!" Sanji shot back, and the two immediately started bickering.
"Luffy!" Nami looked at Luffy, her silence speaking volumes. She agreed with Usopp—there was no need to waste time on this.
They had saved her life. Wasn't that enough?
After all, they were pirates, not the navy.
"So, that's how it is?" Abis's face fell, her hope fading. She couldn't expect more from pirates. Being rescued was already more than she could have hoped for.
"Hey, what's your name?" Luffy suddenly asked, looking directly at her.
"Abis," she replied, her voice filled with disappointment.
"Abis, huh? Well, nice to meet you! We're friends now. And since a friend's in trouble, of course we'll help! Everyone, change course! Hey, where's your home?" Luffy announced with a bright grin, full of enthusiasm.
"R-Really?!" Abis's eyes lit up as if a ray of sunshine had pierced through the dark clouds of her despair. Luffy's smile filled her with newfound hope.
"Of course!" Luffy pounded his chest confidently, then turned to Nami and Usopp.
"Hey, Luffy, are you serious?" Usopp was shocked, not understanding why Luffy was willing to help.
"Well, you're the captain. You have the right to decide our course," Nami sighed, shaking her head with a small smile.
"Tch," Zoro and Sanji grunted, too busy fighting each other to really care about the decision. They didn't mind Luffy's choice as long as they could keep fighting.
"Moonlight?" Luffy turned toward Moonlight, who was standing quietly.
"I have no objections. The captain decides our course. But I don't think we could avoid trouble, even if we wanted to," Moonlight said calmly, his gaze shifting toward the sea.
There, a man with a scythe-shaped hairstyle stood on a small boat, racing across the waves at incredible speed.
"An enemy?" Luffy jumped to the front of the ship, staring out at the fast-approaching figure.
"He's coming in fast. Who is he?" Zoro, Sanji, and the others all turned their attention to the approaching boat.
Abis, however, shrank behind Nami, her face pale with fear.
"What's wrong?" Nami asked, concerned by her reaction.
But Abis just trembled, hiding behind Nami, clearly terrified.
"So, you're pirates? The infamous Straw Hat crew, huh? Well, I've found you!" The scythe-haired man sneered as he spotted the Straw Hats. His eyes locked onto Abis, and with a cruel grin, he launched himself toward the ship.
"Stop right there!" Moonlight moved swiftly.
"Draw Slash!"
A crescent-shaped slash of energy shot out from Moonlight's sword, spreading in all directions like a fan. The air around the ship seemed to shudder from the force of the attack.
The scythe-haired man's eyes widened in shock, and he instinctively dodged.
The slash narrowly missed him, carving a deep gash in the sea behind him, leaving a scar in the water several meters deep.
Moonlight hadn't aimed to kill, but if he had, the scythe-haired man would have been done for.
"What… What kind of monster is this?!" the scythe-haired man gasped, tumbling back onto his boat, his heart racing.
"Who are you?" Luffy asked, his gaze fixed on the intruder.