It was almost noon.
While taking a break, the sweat on Nami’s body hadn’t even cooled yet.
Holding a monocular telescope, she looked toward the island on their right.
On elevated ground overlooking the town stood a large compound where the Marine flag fluttered in the wind.
“The Marines…”
After watching for a while, Nami lowered the telescope.
Then she turned toward the left side of the boat.
Rook was swimming through the sea alongside their vessel.
Nami clicked her tongue.
“He’s been swimming for almost two hours.”
“That guy’s stamina is ridiculous.”
Sitting sideways on the edge of the boat, she called out to him.
“We’re approaching two islands!”
“One of them is Shells Town, where the Marines are stationed.”
“The other is the uninhabited Koto Island.”
“We’re carrying quite a lot of treasure, so I suggest we rest on the deserted island.”
Rook continued cutting through the seawater with both arms.
He glanced toward her.
“Then let’s go there.”
The corner of Nami’s mouth lifted.
She adjusted the angle of the sail and changed course toward the left.
Before long—
Their small boat reached a suitable landing point on Koto Island.
After two days at sea, Rook finally stepped onto solid ground again.
Immediately, he felt much more grounded.
On the shore, Nami tugged at her collar and shook it.
She sighed in disgust.
“Everything feels sticky.”
Then she looked toward Rook.
“If I remember correctly, there’s a small lake near the center of this island.”
“Want to go there and wash up?”
“We can look for something to eat along the way.”
“Yeah.”
“Sounds good.”
Rook had no objections.
Nami smiled.
But then she hesitated.
“If we both go inland…”
“What about all the treasure on the boat?”
“Maybe…”
Rook smiled helplessly.
“Don’t we have bags aboard?”
“Put the Berries in one.”
“As for the heavier valuables, we’ll find an easily recognizable place on the island and bury them.”
Nami was still somewhat hesitant.
Rook continued,
“For the foreseeable future, our main goal at sea is going to be training.”
“If you store every bit of your treasure back in Cocoyasi Village, the risk is too high.”
“Arlong obviously knows you’re hiding your money somewhere around the island.”
Nami’s expression immediately became serious.
“You’re right.”
“Never put all your eggs in one basket.”
“If those bastards found everything I’d saved…”
“I’d die of heartbreak!”
Before she had even finished speaking, she rushed back aboard the boat.
She disappeared into the cabin.
Soon, clattering and banging sounds came from inside as she frantically began sorting everything.
Rook held his forehead with one hand and laughed helplessly.
But—
That was Nami.
Despite having known her for only a little over two days, Rook already understood that much very clearly.
He shook his head.
With a thought, the translucent system panel appeared.
Swordsmanship — Skilled: 2 → 15/500
Hand-to-Hand Combat — Proficient: 0 → 8/200
Self-Recovery — Untrained: 4 → 6/10
Underwater Combat — Untrained: 5 → 6/10
Rook examined the different improvements his four skills had gained over the past two days.
His attention settled on the final one.
“With my current strength, deliberately spilling large amounts of blood in the middle of the ocean would be way too dangerous.”
“This little boat couldn’t survive anything too violent.”
“Getting even one point in Underwater Combat is already an unexpected bonus.”
Rook dismissed the panel.
Not long afterward—
Nami jumped off the boat.
A small backpack hung from one shoulder.
She held a shovel in one hand and carried an enormous bundle in the other.
She walked up to Rook, blinked innocently, and held the larger bundle toward him.
“You carry this.”
Rook’s lips curved upward at her obvious attempt to avoid the work.
“Giving all of it to me?”
Nami froze.
Then she rolled her eyes so hard they nearly disappeared.
“It’s not even dark yet.”
“Why are you already dreaming?”
“Have these last two days exhausted you that badly?”
“Maybe you should take a nap later.”
Nami sighed dramatically.
“Look at how tired you are.”
“Forget it.”
“I won’t trouble you with something this minor.”
“I’ll carry it myself.”
With that, she strode straight past Rook and headed toward the forest.
Rook watched her back.
His left hand rested on his sword hilt.
He laughed helplessly.
“That’s so like you.”
Nami glanced back and clicked her tongue.
“Why are you standing there?”
“Hurry up and follow me.”
As they traveled deeper into the island, the surroundings grew increasingly wild.
Koto Island had no particularly tall mountains.
Instead, it was dominated by dense forests, streams, and lakes.
At the base of a gently sloping rise—
Rook leaned against a nearby tree and watched Nami dig.
She had already excavated a pit more than two meters deep.
“You planning to keep digging?”
Rook asked.
“Trying to make a well?”
Nami wiped the sweat from her forehead and looked back at him with a grin.
“I can tell the environment here is relatively dry.”
“There’s no underground water source nearby.”
Rook’s eyes showed genuine surprise.
“You can tell that too?”
Nami immediately looked smug.
She stopped digging and pointed toward him.
“All right.”
“Your turn.”
“Put those wooden boards you cut down into the hole.”
“I’m going to fill it back in.”
Rook shrugged.
He walked over carrying several boards, each about a meter long and half a meter wide.
One by one, he fitted them against the walls of the pit.
Before long—
A simple wooden container without a lid had taken shape underground.
Nami dropped the bundle inside.
Rook placed the final wooden boards over the top.
They fitted almost perfectly.
Then—
Rustle.
Rustle.
Rustle.
Nami rapidly shoveled dirt back into the pit.
Soon, almost a meter of soil covered the hidden compartment.
Finally, she scattered dry earth and weeds across the surface.
After a little adjustment—
Almost nothing looked unusual.
Give it another two days, and there probably wouldn’t be any trace at all.
Nami clapped the dirt from her hands.
Pat!
Pat!
Then she stomped on the ground and nodded proudly.
“Not bad.”
“Not bad at all.”
“You can’t tell anything was disturbed.”
“I’m a genius.”
“At digging holes and filling them back in?”
Rook asked, barely holding back his laughter.
Nami’s eyes immediately narrowed.
“Rook…”
“Has anyone ever told you that sometimes you really deserve a beating?”
“Actually, yes.”
Rook grinned.
“But first, you’d have to be able to beat me.”
“Tch!”
Nami clicked her tongue.
Then she countered shamelessly,
“Can’t you let me win once?”
“I’m a beautiful young girl, you know.”
Rook pinched his nose.
Then waved his right hand in front of his face with an expression of disgust.
“Come tell me you’re a beautiful girl after you’ve washed yourself.”
“You stink right now.”
“Aren’t you embarrassed?”
Nami bared her teeth in fury.
She stormed over, snatched the backpack off the ground, threw it onto her shoulder, and walked away.
All Rook got was the back of her head.
“With that poisonous mouth of yours, no one’s ever going to want you.”
“I’m calling it now.”
Her mocking voice drifted back through the forest.
“Yes, yes.”
“Whatever you say.”
The two walked one behind the other through the dense trees.
Rook held the knight’s sword he had named Steelbreaker.
Every now and then, he casually swung it.
Sword light carrying sharp gusts of wind swept through the vegetation.
A broad path was forcibly carved through the forest.
After two days of use, Rook had completely familiarized himself with the weapon’s characteristics.
He could now use it freely in combat.
Nami followed about two meters behind him.
Her orange eyes kept darting suspiciously around the surrounding forest.
“Rook.”
“We’ve been on this island for quite a while now.”
“How come we haven’t seen any large predators?”
“The biggest things I’ve noticed are rabbits and rats.”
Rook didn’t even turn around.
“Maybe you smell so bad that all the large animals ran away.”
Nami smiled sweetly.
“You know…”
“I’d really like to beat you up.”
“Can I?”
“Sorry.”
Rook replied calmly.
“At your current level, that’s probably impossible.”
“If I punched you seriously, you’d cry for a very, very long time.”
“Hmph!”
“I don’t cry!”
At that moment—
Rook’s eyes flashed.
He stopped.
Rustle…
Something moved in the bushes ahead.
She moved behind Rook for protection, both hands pressing against his lower back as she cautiously poked her head out from behind him.
“What is it?”
“Something dangerous?”
“Awooo!”
Suddenly—
A black panther nearly three meters long burst from the bushes.
Its green eyes gleamed viciously.
It bared its fangs and crouched low.
Rook could clearly feel Nami’s body stiffen behind him.
“You can handle that, right?”
Her voice had noticeably changed.
The panther seemed to sense the fear coming from Nami.
It suddenly leaped.
Its two sharp front claws came sweeping toward them through the air.
But at that moment—
Jingle!
A crisp, pleasant bell sound came from beneath the panther’s neck.
Surprise flashed through Rook’s eyes.
But his hand didn’t slow.
His arm moved.
A streak of sword light swept upward.
Puchi!
Blood burst from beneath the panther’s jaw.
It screamed miserably.
Rook immediately followed with a heavy kick.
Bang!
The panther was sent flying.
It traveled more than three meters before crashing into the grass and rolling several times.
However—
Other than its lower jaw having been split open, the animal hadn’t suffered much additional damage.
Rook calmly watched the panther climb back out of the grass.
From the sensation of his kick just now—
It had almost seemed as if the beast had deliberately tightened its abdominal muscles at the moment of impact.
Strange.
The panther glared viciously at Rook.
Blood poured from its mouth as it growled.
Rook moved.
But before he could close the distance—
The panther abruptly turned and fled.
Its reaction was incredibly sharp.
Within moments, it had already covered more than fifty meters.
As expected of a cunning feline predator.
Rook immediately gave chase.
His eyes remained fixed on its rapidly retreating body.
He pushed his legs hard and followed the trail of blood.
At the same time—
He could hear rapid footsteps behind him.
Nami was keeping up.
Ten minutes later—
They crossed a low-lying section of forest.
Rook finally stopped before a rocky hill several dozen meters tall.
He looked down.
The blood trail continued straight toward a concealed crack at the base of the hill.
Bushes covered the entrance.
The opening itself was only about half a meter wide.
Blood had been smeared across the vegetation.
He crouched down and crawled inside with his sword raised.
As he advanced—
The crevice gradually widened.
The space became larger and larger.
Several dozen meters later—
The passage suddenly opened up.
A huge, dim cavern appeared before him.
Rook narrowed his eyes.
At the farthest end of the cave—
The heavily bleeding panther was lying atop a blue-gray rock.
Its weakened eyes locked onto Rook the moment he entered.
Suddenly—
It growled.
Then lunged.
The instant it came within range—
Rook shifted sideways and swung his sword.
A spray of blood erupted.
The panther’s ferocious head flew through the air.
Thud!
Its body collapsed.
Swordsmanship Proficiency +1
Nami arrived shortly afterward.
She held a flashlight in one hand.
Its beam fell across the panther’s corpse.
She pursed her lips.
“Unlucky idiot.”
“Of all the people you could’ve attacked, you picked him.”
“Huh?”
Nami suddenly noticed something as her flashlight swept deeper into the cavern.
In one corner sat a badly decayed wooden chest.
Her eyes instantly lit up.
“An unknown treasure stash?!”
She hurried over.
The old chest clearly didn’t contain any traps.
Nami immediately opened it.
Inside—
There was a small pile of gold coins.
Along with stacks of Berries so moldy and rotten that most had become useless.
Then—
Nami noticed something else.
Inside the treasure chest was a much smaller metal box.
She pulled it out.
Using a thin metal tool she carried with her, Nami pried open the lock.
Then—
Her expression turned blank.
“Why…”
“Why is there a fruit in here?”