Riven was building a sandcastle.
Not because he wanted to, but because the tide had taken his barrel, and now he needed something to sit on.
Across the small beach, Marlo was sitting on a flat rock, flipping through a worn, salt-stained newspaper she pulled from her fishing bag. Occasionally, she chuckled to herself like the world's most sarcastic librarian.
Riven glanced at her. "So… still not joining my crew?"
"Nope."
"What if I get a really big ship?"
"Don't have one."
"I'll name it something cool. Like the… uh… Bone Voyager."
"That's disgusting."
"Okay, fine. What about Sea King Slayer?"
"You screamed at a crab."
"…It was an aggressive crab."
Marlo flipped a page and didn't respond. Then she suddenly paused.
Her one good eye widened.
Riven noticed the shift. "What is it?"
She didn't answer, instead she was reading the headline.
A big headline: "Strawhat Pirates Cause Chaos at Marine Gala!"
Below it, a photo — Luffy laughing, Zoro unconscious, Usopp throwing up confetti, and in the background—
"Nami…" Marlo whispered, barely audible.
And just beside her in the picture: Sanji, in full dramatic pose, tray of flaming food in one hand, and hearts practically coming out of his eyes as he stared at Nami.
Riven squinted. "Hey… is that the cook guy? He looks like he's doing a ballet about soup."
Marlo snapped the paper shut. "None of your business."
"You know them?"
"Nope."
"You said Nami's name—"
"Lots of people are named Nami."
"You were staring at Sanji like you've seen him flambee someone."
She stood, brushing off her pants. "Forget it. And forget about me joining your crew. You're all bone and no brain."
"I have some brain!"
"Sure you do," she said, grabbing a stick and drawing a crude map in the sand. "City's that way, genius. Go straight, hug the coast. Don't go inland — the forest's full of wolves and maybe a cult."
Riven blinked. "A cult?"
She shrugged. "Could also just be really weird old fishermen. Either way, you scream like a flute, so they'll find you first."
He narrowed his eyes. "Why are you helping me?"
Marlo smirked. "Because watching you crash and burn sounds like good entertainment."
She started to walk off, then paused.
"And maybe…" she said without turning around, "if you ever do run into him—tell Sanji his food smells better than his flirting."
"What?"
"Nothing."
Then she disappeared into the trees.
Riven stared after her.
Then back at the sand map.
Then at the sky.
"…Right. Step one: find city. Step two: find first crewmate. Step three: don't get eaten by cult wolves."
He dusted himself off and marched toward the city.
The camera (if there were one) would pan upward dramatically.
Then it would cut to Riven walking in the opposite direction again.
"Wait—no. This way. Definitely this way."