One piece :I open the locks of the heart

I slowly woke up, still a bit groggy, on the beach, drawn by the delicious smell of food. Shaking my head to clear it, I noticed Luffy, fast asleep, his stomach bulging with a big bubble of air inflating and deflating under his nose with each breath. A sight that was almost comical in itself.

A little farther away, Nami was quietly preparing breakfast, a mischievous smile on her lips. When she saw me emerging, she called out in a teasing tone, "Who would've thought the great pirate Heartless D. Jordan couldn't hold his liquor?"

I clutched my chest theatrically, putting on a dramatic expression. "Forgive the weakness of this poor man, Miss Nami… I never imagined you'd set such a sneaky trap for me by challenging me to a drinking contest..."

I was interrupted as she stuffed a piece of bread into my mouth, an amused smile on her face. "Stop your theatrics and eat! I'm excited to get stronger."

I chewed on the bread with a grin, then put a finger to my lips. "Shhh…" I murmured, sneaking up on Luffy, who was still snoring peacefully. In an alarmed tone, I yelled, "HELP, LUFFY! YOUR GRANDPA IS EATING ALL OUR SUPPLIES!"

Nami quickly covered her mouth with her hands to stifle her laughter, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

The effect was immediate. Luffy sprang to his feet, his eyes wide with terror, and before I could say it was a joke, he devoured all the food in a flash, his arms flying in all directions. "This is MY food, Gramps!!" he yelled, curling up under his arms like a frightened child.

I stared at him, dismayed, before looking down at the single piece of bread Nami had generously given me. With imaginary tears, I sighed. "You know, Luffy… you'd be more convincing if you stood tall instead of curling up like that."

Nami, who had managed to keep her composure until then, burst out laughing as she watched me sadly munch on my lone piece of bread. She shook her head, unable to contain her amusement. "You two are incorrigible…"

Luffy finally straightened up, crossing his arms and giving me a mock-angry look. "Jordan! That wasn't funny! You scared me for nothing!" He stomped his foot, his mouth in a pout, but his face betrayed his barely concealed amusement.

I raised my hands in surrender, a smirk on my face. "Come on, Captain, it was just a little joke. Admit it was pretty good!"

Luffy furrowed his brow, but his seriousness quickly faded. "Yeah, maybe, but it wasn't cool to wake me up like that." Then, turning to Nami, he winced as he realized what he'd done. "Uh… Nami? Sorry for eating all the food…" He scratched the back of his head, looking a bit sheepish.

Nami, still amused by the scene, raised an eyebrow but didn't seem too upset. "You ate it all, but given your reaction, I'll forgive you… this time." She crossed her arms, pretending to be stern, but the look quickly faded into a playful smile. "On one condition—you make up for it at the next meal!"

Luffy nodded vigorously, all smiles. "Promise! I'll give you even more meat next time!" he said happily, as his stomach let out a loud growl that made Nami burst into laughter.

I joined in the laughter, putting on a mock-serious face. "At this rate, Luffy, you'll end up eating everything we find before we even have a chance to cook it. I think we're going to have to keep an eye on you at every meal."

Nami nodded, playing along. "Absolutely. You'll be under close watch from now on, Captain!"

Luffy, as carefree as ever, raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright! But I'm warning you, I can't promise I'll hold back!"

Just then, we spotted a group of Primates costauds, all muscular and strangely disciplined, approaching us. They were carrying large baskets filled with juicy fruits—bananas, mangoes, and other tropical fruits. The monkeys advanced in a line, carefully setting down their offerings before us.

Nami and Luffy watched the scene in surprise, but I crossed my arms, frowning. "Wait a minute… since when do Sans-cœur bring food?"

Nami, wide-eyed, turned to me. "Wait, these are your Sans-cœur?!" She looked at the monkeys as they calmly walked away, then back at me, puzzled. "I thought they only patrolled or fought..."

Luffy, always simple-minded, just scratched his head with a delighted smile. "Well, as long as they're bringing us food, I'm good with it!" He reached down, grabbed a banana, peeled it in a second, and took a big bite with enthusiasm. "These monkeys are cool, Jordan! You should keep them."

I paused, deep in thought. It was strange. The Sans-cœur released by the island's keyhole were supposed to only hunt people with dark hearts, but here… they were helping outside of their usual mission. "Yeah… it's strange. Maybe they're reacting to the general mood, or to what we want." I shrugged, puzzled but not unhappy with their initiative.

Nami picked up a piece of fruit and raised an eyebrow, laughing. "If your Sans-cœur start taking initiative, we might as well recruit them as chefs. At this rate, they could prepare us banquets!"

Luffy burst out laughing, his mouth full of banana. "Haha! Sans-cœur chefs—I love it!"

I smiled as I looked at the fruits carefully placed before us. "Well, if that's the case, I'll hire them right away. But unfortunately, I can't store the ones created by the islands."

I decided to summon a Soldier Sans-cœur to help me wash and peel the fruits. With a simple demonstration, it performed the task perfectly, cutting the fruits with precision. "Looks like our future cook will have some assistants," I said, laughing softly and giving the Soldier a light pat on the head before sending it back into my shadow.

After a quick meal filled with fresh fruit, I got into position to trigger the dungeon. Just then, a piercing whistle tore through the air. I looked up just in time to see a cannonball hurtling toward us at frightening speed.

"Damn it!" I shouted, but before I could move, Luffy jumped in front of me. With a quick, skillful motion, he used his shield to deflect the cannonball into the air, away from us. The projectile whistled as it flew back, crashing into the ocean a few meters from the ship. Luffy landed on the ground, looking serious, his fists clenched.

I lifted my head, and there I saw the ship that had fired at us. The prow was sculpted in the shape of a dog's head, and my heart skipped a beat. "Damn… this can't be… Did I really jinx us by talking about him earlier?"

Luffy, still in a defensive stance, suddenly froze as he saw the imposing figure on the prow of the ship. He instantly turned pale, his eyes widening in terror. "It's… It's him! It's Gramps!" he yelled, his voice trembling with unusual panic.

I glanced quickly at the warship, my stomach twisting as I recognized the massive silhouette of Garp, the illustrious Vice Admiral, standing on the deck. The wind whipped his Marine coat, and he looked down at us with a wide, terrifying grin—the kind of grin that sends chills down your spine, especially when you know what this man is capable of.

"Captain, QUICK!" I yelled, feeling the panic rise within me.

Without wasting a second, I grabbed Luffy and Nami under my arms and bolted toward our ship, the Excalibur. We reached the rope I usually used for training. Without thinking, I dove into the water, towing the ship with desperate speed, putting as much distance as possible between us and the warship.

Luffy, still trembling under my arm, looked back with wide eyes. "It's Gramps… He's going to kill me this time, for sure!"

"Captain, block any cannonballs that might hit the ship! Nami, take the wheel and shout if I need to turn!" I yelled, swimming with all my strength, pulling our small ship as fast as possible to escape Garp.

Luffy, still in shock, gave a simple nod before jumping onto the deck, ready to deflect any cannonball that came near. Nami grabbed the helm with a firm hand, her eyes narrowed with concentration.

"LUFFY, DON'T YOU WANT TO SAY HELLO TO YOUR GRANDPA?" Garp shouted with a laugh, his booming voice echoing over the crashing waves and the thunder of cannonballs.

On the warship, the marines watched the scene, sighing with a mix of exasperation and silent respect for their vice-admiral. "Is this really our mission?" one of them asked, barely able to believe it. Most of the soldiers had witnessed Garp's eccentricities before, but this spectacle never failed to surprise.

Another soldier, arms crossed, looked over at the fleet of pirate ships they had captured earlier, the crews totally terrified by tales of ghosts. "Who would have thought we'd come across these runaways, trembling like leaves? They kept talking about haunted ships and moving shadows… Now we find out it was all the work of the vice-admiral's grandson. It's ridiculous, isn't it?"

But the conversation was quickly interrupted when one of the men shouted, "Vice-admiral, they're going too fast! We won't be able to catch up at this speed."

Garp, with his usual grin, turned slightly toward his men. "Keep following them. I'll go myself."

Without warning, he leapt into the air using Geppo, jumping higher and higher, propelling himself directly toward us. The soldiers watched, slack-jawed, as their commander launched himself through the air as if he were flying.

"JORDAN! Gramps is flying toward us!" Luffy screamed, his eyes wide with terror.

My heart raced. I could hear the wind whistling around us as Garp approached at a frightening speed.

"Damn, damn, damn!" I thought, battling against my own panic. Without wasting a second, I made a bold decision. I launched cannonballs from my inventory into the air and detonated them with my dark bullets to create a smoke screen.

I quickly stored the ship in my chest and, without warning, grabbed Luffy and Nami under my arms before diving into the water, creating a dark portal that led directly to Fuschia Village. But just as we were about to cross through, an enormous hand suddenly grabbed me by the collar. I threw Luffy and Nami into the portal before closing it.

"Where did that rascal go?" Garp roared, his voice booming like distant thunder. His strong fingers gripped me with a force I had no hope of breaking.

My mind raced. "No… I have to get out of here, fast." My body froze under the terrifying grip of the man who, in a split second, could crush me without the slightest effort. I felt the shadow of the legend looming over me, every fiber of my being screaming in silence at the sheer power he exuded.

In a moment of absolute panic, I made a desperate decision. The only option that came to mind, the one that might save me, was to trigger the dungeon.

"Activate Destiny Island dungeon! Hard Mode!" I mentally shouted, hoping it would work before Garp could crush me.

A moment later, the floating interface appeared before my eyes, and everything shifted.

You will be teleported to Destiny Island – Hard Mode – with your companion.

Objective: Defeat 600 Shadows, 4 Darkside + (important character of the island).

All defeated Sans-cœur will come under your command.

An intense light enveloped both of us, and everything changed in an instant. The air twisted around us, and I felt Garp's grip loosen as we were propelled through the darkness. We landed in the middle of the golden protective circle on Destiny Island. My heart was pounding, but what awaited me froze my blood.

In front of me, a sea of Sans-cœur stirred, but that wasn't the most terrifying part. At the center of this army stood a familiar yet distorted figure—Sora. Not the warm, heroic Sora I knew from the games, but a cold, impassive version, as if hope had been ripped from him. His eyes, once full of light, were now an icy blue, his face hard and emotionless.

Garp, having landed beside me, looked around in confusion. His usual jovial and laid-back smile was gone, replaced by a serious expression as he took in the situation. He might never have seen a world like this, but his fighter's instinct never left him. He stepped out of the protection zone, unaware of his role here.

Sora wasted no time. He launched a powerful Thunder spell toward Garp, immediately followed by a barrage of Ice projectiles. Lightning crackled through the air as ice lances shot toward the vice-admiral at terrifying speed. At the same time, the wave of Sans-cœur surged toward him, hundreds of Shadows rushing in his direction with terrifying precision.

But Garp didn't flinch. He burst out laughing, his mocking tone echoing across the island. "You really think you can take me down, kid?" he scoffed, swatting away the Thunder and Ice spells with his bare hands, the magical blasts shattering against his skin like mere raindrops.

Without hesitation, he charged forward, his powerful figure plowing through the wave of Sans-cœur. At his touch, the Shadows dissipated into fragments of darkness, unable to withstand the raw power emanating from him. Every punch was a cataclysm in itself. He charged relentlessly, crushing the creatures underfoot, brushing off their claws as if they were nothing but twigs.

Sora, seeing Garp's formidable strength, took a step back, a look of concentration in his cold eyes. He retreated toward the four Darkside standing farther back—towering black giants with glowing eyes, seemingly controlling the darkness around them. They raised their massive arms, summoning spheres of dark energy above their heads. Garp paused momentarily, assessing the situation.

The remaining Shadows leapt onto him all at once, clinging to his back, arms, and legs like a black wave seeking to engulf him. Their claws dug into his clothing, but they didn't stand a chance. With a powerful roar, Garp unleashed an uppercut so fierce that the air whistled. The Shadows were thrown into the air, flung like lifeless puppets. In an instant, there wasn't a single one left at his feet.

Garp, fists clenched, now fixed his gaze on the four Darkside and Sora. "So, it's just you left, huh?" he said, a glint of challenge in his eyes. I was completely shocked by the old man's power compared to Luffy and me, confirming that I stood no chance in a face-to-face fight.

I followed Garp from a distance to avoid being caught in the aftermath of their battle.

(Author's Note: Hello everyone, thank you for your support! Feel free to repost some of the images I provide to illustrate certain paragraphs, as I used AI for that purpose. The next chapter is coming soon, likely around early afternoon.)