Everything was calm. Only here and there could the rustling of the sea be heard in the distance. A wind came up and blew dust and leaves in the air and played with them. He drove it wildly through the air and let it dance. The straw hat that was lying on the ground was played around and the hat began to move slightly. Before it could be carried away by the wind, it was suddenly picked up and pressed against a woman's chest.
"Where is he?"
The young navigator looked around searchingly. Her eyes darted to every stone, every tree and every bush, always with the hope of discovering the owner of the hat.
"He is gone." someone sniffed behind her.
She turned around and looked at the little reindeer, who looked sadly at the ground and single tears ran down his face.
"We'll find him. He's not just gone." another voice intervened.
The blond Smutje stepped forward and looked first at the navigator and then at the rest of the group.
"They can't be far. That would be laughable if we couldn't do it."
He stared at his friends and shoved his hands into his trouser pockets. The swordsman broke away from the group and stepped forward.
"The wooden spoon is right. We'll get it out of there."
No sooner had he said the words than he turned towards the sea and started walking. Chopper looked up and wiped the tears from his face and straightened his shoulders, then followed Zorro. Sanji gave Nami a quick look before he followed. Right behind him is the cyborg Franky and the shooter Usop.
Nami was still standing there with her hat in hand when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head and looked into the archaeologist's face.
"We'll find him." she promised the younger one.
"What if not? You know what's going to happen."
The voice of the orange-haired woman was shaky. Robin looked up to her friends. She knew what Nami meant. Nami followed her gaze and lowered her arms, the straw hat still in one hand.
"Without Luffy, there will soon be no US either. He's that sticky stuff that keeps us all together."
Her voice was now just a whisper, but Robin understood everything. Nami lowered her head and started moving too. Robin looked after her. She felt the same fear that sat on Nami's neck. It wasn't just the fear that something might happen to the straw hat, there were other fears. The fear broke it all up. The fear of being alone again.
Robin clenched her fists. You would find them. Everything would be fine. So far they had managed everything. You could do that too.

~ * ~ * ~

6 years later

Huge mountains reared up on the horizon. The red cliffs lay before one, insurmountable and indestructible. The redline.
Like a gigantic snake it stretched over the whole world and separated the seas and the people from one another.
Very rarely there were small indentations in the rock that gave the ships sailing past the chance to anchor for a short time. In order to discover these, however, you had to look carefully, as they were very inconspicuous.Ships could be seen at one of the rare indentations. Normal ships and also pirate ships, hidden behind rocks of the Redline. Between one of the huge sailing ships was a small 6 man boat, with only one small sail and paddle on the sides.
The owner of the boat was already on land, adjusting his swords properly. Lorenor Zorro's gaze wandered up the rock face. He could discover a small inconspicuous entrance in the rock and people who gathered in front of it and gradually disappeared. Then he looked down to his right and then left. Many of the skull flags were familiar to him. So the time had come. Today was the day when a decision was made.
Zorro reached behind him and pulled the hood of the black cloak he was wearing over his head and started to climb the massive wall in front of him.

"I wonder what am I supposed to be here anyway?"
Nami looked grimly around the huge stone hall, which was filling up more and more. Huge stone pillars supported the whole structure that was inside the redline. Had Nami had a pleasant reason to be here, she would probably have marveled at this stunning stone hall, but right now she didn't feel like it.
"Very simple. You are a pirate, even if you keep saying that you left it behind."
The blonde Smutje looked lovingly at his girlfriend, who was still looking grimly at the other pirates. She didn't want to hear this because she knew Sanji was right and this made the thief angry.
"But we had just built something up. We wanted to start a new life." The orange-haired woman looked reproachfully at the cook. "We wanted to start a family."
Her last words could be heard softly. She looked at her friend. He could see that she was scared. Afraid of what was to come. But she hadn't just been afraid since they set out here. No, this fear has plagued her for 6 years now. Since then everything broke up and Sanji knew exactly how she felt. The blonde kissed the young woman's head reassuringly.
"And we will do this too."

Usopp was completely lost in his thoughts. For weeks he had been thinking about this everywhere. He wasn't really sure if what he was doing here was right. Had he really thought it over? He did not know.
"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Surprised, the shooter looked into his father's face. "You know it can take years."
Usopp closed his eyes and nodded.
"I know, but I can't sit around uselessly at home even if I'm not of much help."
Yasopp gave his son an encouraging pat.
"Don't tell something like that. You're worth 30,000,000 berries and not without reason and you can believe me: your daughter will understand when she is old enough, just as you understood it when I left. And who knows, maybe everything will be fine too. "
With that, Yasopp disappeared into the cave. Usopp stood there thoughtfully for a brief moment. Yes, his father was right. His little Tara would understand when the time came.With that, the long nose straightened his shoulders and followed his father.

"Are the others there too?" Tony Chopper leaned curiously over the stone wall and looked into the crowd.
"Maybe ... it would be imaginable."
Franky, too, who was leaning against one of the stone pillars, looked around searchingly, but unobtrusively in contrast to the little moose.
"You are definitely here."
Chopper nodded his head with conviction and looked at the center of the hall. There was a rock and the red Shanks sat on it. He had leaned forward and his remaining arm was placed on his knee for support.
"After this meeting, nothing will be the same as it was before, will it?"
Chopper looked at the cyborg, a little frightened.
"It has not been like that for years."
With that, the 2 pirates looked down and waited for what would change their lives.

Nico Robin looked around attentively and sucked in everything she saw. She behaved inconspicuously. She hated falling, but when your name was Nico Robin it was very difficult not to be noticed. Even now she saw one or the other talking to his neighbors and pointing at them. It will never change. She would forever be the devil girl, that with innocent 8 years 79,000. 000 berry was worth it. The only thing that could help her. Was winning this damn war that had raged for centuries and hardly anyone noticed ... until today. That's why she was here. She finally wanted to lead a normal life. Without escape, fear and loneliness. That is why she was here and because of her old friends who she left 6 years ago.

"How is he?" a dark voice echoed through the walls.
"He's weak, but he's alive. I am amazed that he's still alive at all." answered another voice, and a middle-aged woman was recognized as she stepped into the light.
"Yes, probably true."
"I don't understand that the Navy didn't execute him immediately. Why did they risk his escape and lock him in one of the island prisons?"
the woman did not understand any of this. It was a mystery.
"Because you think you have everything under control and you want to go to this island yourself and only someone with the D. in his name will ever find the island."
Even more puzzles that affected the woman. Puzzles that nobody wanted to solve for her, not even for her.
"Go and prepare it. The meeting will start soon."
The woman bowed briefly to the man who was still in the shadows and disappeared.
The shadow turned to one of the few holes in the rock and looked out over the bay. It was full of ships. More had come than he expected.
A grin formed on his face. It would finally begin. The war would finally go to a final round and it would soon become clear who the winners were. The 3 great powers or the rest of the world?