In the dead of night, the vast sea lay shrouded in silence, and Peter's ship was cloaked in a pitch-black hue, gliding like a shadow across the gentle waves of the East Blue. The water lapped softly against the wooden hull, the faint sounds adding to the atmosphere of stillness and mystery. Inside one of the ship's warmly lit cabins.
Peter and his companions sat around a grand round table overflowing with a feast fit for kings: rare fish as large as human arms, dazzling Sea King delicacies, and exotic fruits unlike anything one could find in any market in the world.
The lively chatter in the room ebbed and flowed like the sea itself, occasionally breaking into bursts of laughter and lighthearted quarrels—usually between Nami and Carina, or Nami and Mikita. Peter reclined in his chair with an air of ease, exchanging amused glances with Vivi as they observed the chaos, while Robin cast the occasional questioning look at the others, silently wondering how grown won could behave so childishly.
Yet, there was one person who remained silent, detached from the noise around her—Hina.
She sat at the edge of the table, distant, neither speaking nor smiling. Ever since being taken from the Marines, she had been consud by an unrelenting inner conflict. Should she escape? But how? Peter was far too strong; he would sense her fleeing imdiately. And what of her dreams? Could she abandon them so easily, surrendering to this new reality?
The thoughts gnawed at her mind so fiercely it felt as though her head might ignite.
The other girls had noticed too, especially Nami, who glanced at her with an expression laced with guilt—perhaps for constantly reminding Hina that she was little more than a Marine hostage aboard this ship.
Robin leaned subtly toward Peter and whispered softly,
"Peter..."
He followed the direction of her gaze toward Hina and, with a knowing smile, replied confidently,
"Consider it done, my lady."
Peter rose without another word, leaving the room and calling out for Hina to join him in private.
Robin exhaled quietly as she watched Hina's back disappear through the doorway.
"I think I know how this is going to end..."
Carina smirked from across the table.
"Looks like our Hina is about to receive a dose of Peter's ntal conditioning." She then draped an arm over Nami's shoulder and added with a mischievous grin,
"I'm looking forward to your turn, darling. I even brought the recording device; all we need is the perfect mont!"
"Eh... huh?!" Nami's mind imdiately drifted into embarrassing romantic fantasies about Peter, her cheeks burning crimson. She snapped out of it with a furious punch to Carina's head, shouting,
"You thieving fox! You're not only mischievous but perverted too!"
"You witch!" Carina retaliated by lunging at Nami, knocking her to the floor as the two wrestled yet again—their hundredth brawl of the day.
Up on the deck, the atmosphere was completely different. Peter and Hina leaned against the ship's wooden railing in silence, their eyes fixed on the dark sea where nothing could be seen beyond a re ten ters from the vessel. The stillness of the night was almost suffocating until Hina finally broke it, her voice low and hesitant.
"You know... it hasn't been easy for Hina to adjust here. Even though the other girls have been kind and helpful, I still find it... strange."
Peter took a slow drag from the cigarette he had just lit and handed another to Hina.
"True. And even though I'm not exactly the most emotionally intelligent guy, I could tell you always seem... lost."
He smiled faintly before continuing,
"The other girls are very different from you."
Hina turned toward him, her face marked with curiosity.
"What do you an?"
Though Hina was nearing her thirties, she lacked experience in conversations like these. She had rarely spoken so openly, not even with her fellow Marines or Vice Admiral Gion.
"It's simple," Peter said, exhaling smoke into the cold night air.
"You've never truly experienced the concept of freedom before."
"Freedom?" she echoed, almost as if tasting the word for the first ti.
"Yes," Peter replied. "In my opinion, the Marines are divided into two kinds of people. The first are the low-ranking recruits. Most of them don't even know what freedom is; they joined the Marines out of poverty and beca slaves to the system.
"The second kind are the higher ranks... people like you. Most of them spend their lives in offices, signing papers around the clock. The rest are assigned to protect ridiculous figures like the Celestial Dragons. Their entire lives are pre-written with no room for mistakes... unlike others."
"Like pirates?" Hina interjected.
Peter's words were stirring sothing deep inside her. She suddenly realized she hadn't taken a single day of leave from the Marines in two years. She had always fought for other people's freedom while completely neglecting her own.
Peter smiled as he watched that realization dawn in her eyes. With a aningful glance toward the cabin, he said,
"Freedom is hard, Hina... you have to break its walls one by one. And we already have the first wall to break."
"Perverted pirate!" Hina's cheeks flushed red as she imdiately understood his shaless hint.
Before she could react, Peter moved swiftly, brushing his lips lightly against hers. He then turned and strode toward his cabin with a victorious smile.
"I'll be waiting for you, my al!"
Hina stood frozen for a mont before erupting in anger,
"Pervert! Pervert! Pervert! Why did I get involved with him?!"
Yet despite her anger and embarrassnt, her feet moved nervously after him toward the cabin, her heart pounding wildly with emotions she could barely na.
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