Darwin stood before more than a hundred men, his expression grim as he watched Rook.
At the same time, Rook’s gaze swept across the crowd.
Quite a few of them were carrying flintlock pistols.
His eyes grew serious.
Rook glanced back at Norton.
The corner of Norton’s eye twitched.
Then he immediately roared,
“All members of the Norton Pirates, prepare for battle!”
But at that moment—
Darwin pulled a small Den Den Mushi from his pocket.
Without hesitation, he made a call.
The other side answered almost immediately.
Darwin spoke directly.
“Father, I need a large number of reinforcements and weapons over here.”
He made no effort to lower his voice.
If anything, it sounded as though he deliberately wanted Rook to hear him.
But then—
From the sea not far away, Nami’s voice suddenly rang out.
“Rook!!!”
“I GOT EVERYTHING!”
“LET’S GET OUT OF HERE!!!”
Rook turned.
About a hundred meters offshore, Nami had already escaped through the rear of the ship.
She was aboard her small boat, desperately waving toward him while holding an oar.
Norton abruptly turned toward Rook.
He opened his mouth—
But Rook raised one hand to stop him.
“Norton.”
“We came together, so let’s part without making things uglier than they already are.”
“I hope we never see each other again.”
With that—
Rook turned and sprinted toward the railing.
He vaulted over it headfirst.
Splash!
His body plunged into the sea.
Not long afterward—
Rook burst from the water beside Nami’s boat.
He grabbed the side, pulled himself upward, and climbed aboard.
Nami immediately raised the sail.
Taking control of the boat, she caught the sea breeze and rapidly guided the little vessel away from the harbor.
Back aboard the pirate ship—
Norton stared blankly after them.
His eye twitched as his mouth remained slightly open.
Then—
He slowly turned back toward Darwin on the harbor.
The two men stared at one another with grave expressions.
Fight?
Or don’t fight?
The decision could be made in a single thought.
…
Swordsmanship Proficiency +1
Rook dismissed the system panel.
His fight with Darwin had ended abruptly, so it hadn’t provided enough meaningful experience to increase his proficiency.
Barbarian Island had already shrunk into a black dot in the distance.
Rook had wrung the seawater from his shirt and hung it up to dry.
Bare-chested, he sat on the edge of the boat and gazed across the endless orange-red sea.
Under the glow of the evening sunset, the boundless ocean looked as though it had been set ablaze.
The scenery was magnificent.
Vast.
Ever-changing.
Looking at it, Darwin grinned into a pleased smile.
Nami kept glancing at him.
She looked as though she wanted to say something—
Then stopped herself.
Rook found it amusing.
So he pretended not to notice.
After quite a while, Nami finally stood from the opposite side of the boat with a visibly pained expression.
She entered the cabin.
A short while later, she returned carrying a long object in both arms.
She forced a smile.
“Rook, look what I found.”
“I got this from Norton.”
“He hid it pretty well, but…”
Nami reluctantly extended it toward him.
“I figured you’d definitely like it.”
Rook became curious.
He accepted the object and immediately noticed its considerable weight.
He removed the black cloth covering it.
A knight’s longsword appeared before him.
The dark-blue scabbard was wrapped in smoothly tanned brown-black sharkskin.
Rook drew the blade.
It was approximately 120 centimeters long and about three fingers wide.
Its guard was a silver-white curved crosspiece.
At the center of the pommel was a smooth, brilliant blue gemstone roughly the size of a pigeon’s egg.
Overall, the weapon resembled a certain legendary sword embedded in stone from an anime in Rook’s previous life.
But the blade itself was entirely silver-white.
There were no additional colors.
No mysterious inscriptions.
No elaborate engravings.
Rook bent one finger and flicked the blade.
Ding—
A clear, pleasant metallic note rang out.
Rook wrapped his hand around the hilt.
He could faintly sense the sharpness contained within the weapon.
This was the first time he’d ever handled a sword of this quality.
He pinched the sword tip with his left hand.
Then—
He bent it with all his strength.
Even under his current physical power, the blade only curved slightly.
The moment he released it—
It immediately returned to its original shape.
“Good sword.”
Nami looked at the weapon with undisguised reluctance.
Hearing the pleasure in Rook’s voice, she immediately snapped,
“Obviously!”
“With all my years of experience judging valuables, that sword is definitely a high-quality weapon.”
“Its market value starts at no less than four million Berries.”
Then she pointed toward the brilliant blue gemstone embedded in the pommel.
Her eyes practically stuck to it.
“Do you have any idea how much a gemstone of that quality costs?”
“At least two million Berries.”
As she spoke, Nami clutched her chest.
She looked genuinely heartbroken.
Then she glared at Rook through gritted teeth.
“Norton even kept this sword locked inside a treasure chest.”
“That alone proves how valuable it is.”
“And for your sake, I went through a tremendous amount of effort to bring it out!”
Rook rubbed his forehead.
Then raised one hand to stop her.
“Speak normally.”
“Stop beating around the bush.”
Nami’s expression stiffened.
Then she glared fiercely at him.
“Did you forget something?!”
“I’m still poisoned!”
She thrust one hand toward Rook’s face.
It nearly went straight into his mouth.
“Give me the antidote!”
“If I die, you can sit out here in the middle of the sea and wait to die with me!”
Rook tilted his head.
His expression became genuinely confused.
“Antidote?”
“What antidote?”
Nami froze.
Her lips immediately began trembling.
Even her eyes reddened.
Her voice shook.
“Y-You…”
“How can you do this?”
“Don’t tell me you’re planning to keep controlling me with poison!”
Rook stared at her speechlessly.
Then slapped her hand aside.
“Control you, my ass.”
“There was never any poison.”
“So how could there possibly be an antidote?”
“What I gave you was just a crystal candy that costs thirty Berries a bag.”
Nami clearly didn’t believe him.
Rook sighed.
He reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out the half-empty bag of candy that had been soaked by seawater.
He took out one sticky piece and held it in front of her mouth.
Nami’s eye twitched.
Still suspicious, she took it.
Then she put it into her mouth.
Sweet.
With a faint trace of salt from the seawater.
Nami’s face turned completely black.
She abruptly stood—
And kicked Rook in the shin.
Then she extended a hand toward him with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
“Since you’re clearly going to waste it…”
“Give the sword back.”
“I’ll sell it.”
“Or at least let me pry that sapphire out.”
Rook slapped her hand away.
“This sword is mine.”
“I won’t take a single Berry from the rest of the treasure you stole this time.”
“Just cover my food, clothes, accommodation, and other daily expenses afterward.”
Nami’s expression instantly transformed.
A smile appeared.
Then became brighter.
And brighter.
“Deal!”
“No taking it back!”
“Hehehe!”
“We made a fortune this time!”
“I should have at least ten million Berries here!”
“If I hadn’t been unable to carry the rest, I could’ve taken at least thirty million!”
The cool sea breeze blew around them.
Rook glanced toward the enormous bundle of treasure inside the cabin.
Then he looked at Nami’s excited expression.
Rook smiled faintly.
He continued familiarizing himself with his new sword.
Once Nami’s excitement gradually faded—
She began looking at Rook again.
Once more, she seemed hesitant to speak.
Noticing her stare, Rook finally asked,
“Something else?”
“Um…”
Nami bit her lip.
“How about…”
“I give you twenty percent of the treasure?”
“Huh?”
Rook’s eyes widened slightly.
“A money-grubber like you is actually willing to hand over treasure that’s already in your pocket?”
Nami’s eye twitched.
The disguise on her face had already been washed away.
Her fair cheeks gradually reddened.
Her chest rose and fell heavily.
After several breaths, Nami pursed her lips and spoke quietly.
“We’ve already agreed to work together.”
“And we already decided how we’re supposed to divide our earnings.”
“We agreed on fifty-fifty.”
“In my opinion, that sword is only worth about thirty percent of your share.”
“I’ve seen too many groups end up trying to kill each other because the loot wasn’t divided fairly.”
“And I can’t beat you.”
“So if I take too much advantage of you, I’m worried it’ll eventually create resentment between us.”
Her words were blunt—
But reasonable.
Rook raised an eyebrow.
He looked at Nami.
Even faced with such a large amount of treasure, she hadn’t allowed greed to overwhelm her judgment.
“Also…”
Nami continued.
“Since we’re partners now, we can create a shared fund for things like food, accommodation, and other necessities.”
“I think when two people travel together, some things should be kept clearly separated.”
“If too many things become muddled, it can eventually damage the relationship.”
Hearing this, Rook chuckled.
“Not bad.”
“All right.”
“We’ll do it your way.”
“But you can keep my money for me.”
“Just make an account book and keep track of how much belongs to me.”
“Huh?”
Nami stared at him in surprise.
Then she couldn’t stop herself from asking,
“This is only the second time we’ve really interacted.”
“You already trust me that much?”
“I think I’ve already said it.”
Rook looked at her calmly.
“I’m alone in this world now.”
“Since I’ve decided to travel this sea with you as my partner, I’ll give you the most basic level of trust.”
“As for money…”
“Personally, as long as I have enough to use, that’s fine.”
“And in my opinion…”
“A companion I can trust with my back is worth far more than some boring pile of treasure.”
Nami’s lips parted slightly.
She blinked.
Then lowered her head.
Under her breath, she murmured,
“A real companion…”
“And one who even lets me manage the money.”
A sense of reassurance appeared inside her.
Along with unease.
“Nami.”
Rook suddenly spoke again.
“You said earlier that you can’t beat me.”
“I can tell your coordination and agility are both excellent.”
“You’ve got plenty of potential.”
“So…”
“Do you want to learn some swordsmanship or hand-to-hand combat?”
Nami abruptly looked up in surprise.
But the light in her eyes quickly dimmed.
She shook her head.
“Waste of time.”
“I don’t have that kind of time or energy to spare.”
“I need to collect enough Berries as quickly as possible.”
A heavy, oppressive aura seemed to radiate from her small, slender body.
Rook bent down.
He reached out and ruffled the orange hair of Nami, who was sitting on the deck hugging her knees.
Nami raised her head.
She lifted her left arm and pushed Rook’s hand away.
She looked at him helplessly.
But then—
Her expression froze.
Rook’s face had hardened.
While Nami was still uncertain what was happening, his calm voice reached her.
“Nami.”
“I still don’t know why you need so much money.”
“Even treasure worth more than ten million Berries isn’t enough to let you relax for even a moment.”
“I doubt it’s because someone in your family is seriously ill and needs some absurdly expensive treatment.”
“So…”
“There must be some person—or something—threatening you.”
Panic appeared in Nami’s eyes.
Rook’s gaze flickered.
When she had raised her arm to push his hand away, the sleeve had shifted.
Beneath it—
He had glimpsed part of a strange dark-blue tattoo on her upper arm.
Rook suddenly reached out and pulled her sleeve higher.
Nami reacted almost instinctively.
She immediately struggled against him.
But it was too late.
Rook had already seen the entire tattoo.
“You…”
Nami’s voice trembled.
“You saw it?”
Then anger flooded her expression.
She glared at him fiercely.
“You bastard!”
“The Arlong Pirates.”
Rook’s voice remained calm.
“Fish-Man pirates from the Grand Line.”
“A group of scum who broke away from the famous Sun Pirates.”
Nami froze.
Rook continued.
“I’ve heard they’re extreme racial supremacists.”
“They despise humans.”
“About four years ago, they came to the East Blue.”
“And they caused quite a bit of chaos when they arrived.”
His gaze settled on Nami.
“So, Nami…”
“They’re the ones who’ve been threatening you all this time, aren’t they?”