When Naruto hurried back to the palm tree, Usopp was lying on the beach, drawing something in the sand. A closer look revealed a rough map of the town with several crosses marked on it.
"What are you drawing?"
"Suspicious spots I noticed." Usopp pointed at the crosses with a stick. "Two sentry posts at the eastern dock. One outside the workshop to the west, but people keep going in and out. Someone's guarding the southern road to the hill behind town, pretending to repair the road. And to the north-" He drew a circle. "There's an entrance to an underground passage behind that big wooden house."
Naruto crouched down for a closer look. "An underground passage?"
"When I was spying on them, a young woman came in carrying wine, but she didn't use the front door. She lifted a stone slab behind the house and went down. Then the slab closed again."
Sanji came around from behind the tree, an unlit cigarette between his lips. "That means they're hiding something under the house. Either an armory or somewhere to hold prisoners."
"Or a command center." Nami approached from the other side, holding the Log Pose. "The needle's moved another notch. At this rate, it should finish recording after dark."
Luffy sat cross-legged in the shade with his chin propped on one hand, unusually still. Zoro leaned against the trunk with his eyes closed, his hand never leaving his sword hilt.
Naruto looked around at everyone, running through the plan in his head. Just as he was about to speak, a commotion broke out in town. Several of them craned their heads to look.
The main street had come alive again. The young women who hadn't appeared that morning emerged from the alleys one after another, carrying bowls of wine