“And take this too.”
Nami handed Rook a hand-drawn map showing the distribution of the island’s villages and towns, then pointed at it and began explaining carefully.
“Gosa Village is on the right, where we are now. Our village is in the middle, and Arlong’s base is all the way on the left. Our house is…”
Nami went over everything in detail, even explaining the exact route to the mountain behind the village.
“Oh, right, Rook.
You keep my backpack with you.
I need to avoid running into Arlong’s people the moment I get back.
We definitely can’t let them discover the Devil Fruit.
“I’ll go home first and tell my sister, Nojiko, about you.
When you come over later, she’ll arrange somewhere for you to stay.
“I’ll be back home tonight.”
Rook took the backpack containing only the Slip-Slip Fruit and glanced at her with a smile.
“I’m planning to check out the mountain first. I’ll probably be back around evening.”
Watching Rook walk away, Nami took a deep breath before a smile appeared on her face.
“Thank you! And remember to be careful!”
With that, she furtively looked around like a suspicious little cat.
After waiting for quite a while without seeing anything unusual, she finally relaxed and steered the small boat straight ahead.
Before long, she docked along another section of the island’s coast.
After securing the boat, Nami looked toward a narrow path running straight through the forest.
At the end of the path, she could make out a house.
That was her home.
Carrying a small bundle, she walked forward with light steps and soon passed through a neatly maintained orange grove.
Several trees were already bearing seasonal oranges, their skins a vivid orange-red.
Breathing in the familiar fragrance in the air, Nami murmured,
“Almost there. Just a little longer, Bellemere.”
She arrived at the house and knocked on the door.
Knock, knock.
A spirited young woman’s voice soon came from inside.
“Who is it?”
The door opened.
A pretty blue-haired girl wearing a short-sleeved shirt and denim overalls appeared.
She looked around sixteen or seventeen.
The instant Nojiko saw Nami, a bright smile blossomed across her face.
“Welcome home, Nami.”
“Hehe, Nojiko! I’m back!”
Nojiko immediately noticed that her younger sister seemed unusually cheerful this time.
That actually made her a little worried.
Had Nami gotten hit on the head while stealing treasure somewhere outside?
She was about to ask when Nami spoke first.
“Come with me.”
Instead of entering the house, Nami grabbed Nojiko by the arm and pulled her toward one of the orange trees arranged neatly in rows.
She brushed aside the covering soil.
A wooden board was soon revealed underneath.
Lifting it exposed a long wooden chest resembling a coffin.
Nearly half of the chest was already filled with various treasures and Berries.
However, quite a few of those treasures and bills were stained with dried blood and dirt.
Nami opened the bundle she was carrying and poured its contents inside.
Several million Berries’ worth of money and gold coins spilled into the chest.
Nojiko couldn’t help sucking in a sharp breath.
She turned toward Nami with a frown.
“Did you go somewhere dangerous this time?”
The corner of Nami’s mouth curved upward.
Her lively eyes rolled slightly before she answered with complete seriousness.
“It really was pretty dangerous. That bastard almost broke my legs.”
Nojiko’s face immediately paled.
But she soon realized Nami was teasing her.
Her chest rose and fell with anger.
“Are you asking for a beating? Tell me what actually happened!”
Seeing that she had caught on, Nami stuck out her pink tongue and giggled.
“Let’s close this first. I’ll tell you afterward.”
…
A short while later.
Inside the living room, the two sisters sat opposite each other at the dining table.
After listening to Nami briefly recount what had happened during her latest adventure, Nojiko slowly released the breath she had been holding.
“That former pirate boy named Rook Vane… is he really reliable? Did you not tell him how dangerous Arlong and his people are?”
Nami pursed her lips and lowered her gaze toward the glass of orange wine in front of her.
Her fingertip gently tapped the side of the glass.
Ripples spread across the surface.
Only after the ripples faded did Nami raise her head.
Her expression was calm.
“In the past, I had no choice.
“So I kept fooling myself into believing that maybe Arlong would actually keep his promise.
“But will he really?
“I don’t want to leave our fate in his hands anymore.
His kindness?
His mercy?
“That scumbag makes me sick just looking at him.
“Even with me doing everything I can, everyone in the village is still living like slaves.
“So I’ve decided to take the gamble.
“And if the worst possible outcome is death… then so be it.”
Looking at Nami, who had clearly made up her mind, a gentle smile appeared on Nojiko’s face.
“I understand.
“I’ll always stand by your side.”
Nami had just relaxed when she noticed Nojiko’s teasing expression.
Nojiko rested her cheek in her palm and looked at her with a faint smile.
“I really wonder what kind of magic that Rook guy used on you to make you trust him this much.”
Nami’s pretty face immediately reddened.
She turned her eyes away.
Nojiko raised an eyebrow.
Seeing that reaction, her expression nearly collapsed.
The corner of her eye twitched.
“He’s coming here tonight, right?
“Then I’m definitely going to get a good look at exactly what kind of person he is.”
She couldn’t help feeling a little unsettled by this Rook she had never even met.
Nami rarely trusted outsiders, yet somehow this stranger had earned enough of her confidence to change how she viewed Arlong.
As Nami’s older sister, Nojiko wanted to see for herself exactly what kind of person he was.
The sisters chatted for a while.
After eating something simple, Nami stood up.
“I’m going to Arlong Park.”
Watching her leave, Nojiko’s eyes filled with helplessness and heartache.
She stood and called after her.
“Come back early tonight! I’ll make you a big dinner!”
Nami didn’t turn around.
She only raised one hand and waved.
Her cheerful voice drifted back.
“Then make extra! That guy eats a lot!”
Nojiko froze.
She quickly realized who “that guy” was.
Her expression became increasingly strange.
Nami walked along the familiar streets of Cocoyasi Village.
When the simple villagers saw that she had returned, one after another, they froze.
Though their hearts ached for her, disgust and contempt quickly appeared on their faces.
A few uncles and aunties who had once doted on her even began cursing her harshly.
“You ungrateful little brat! Who told you to come back? Get lost!”
“Mind your own business, old man.”
“You rotten little brat! Who said you could walk past my stall?”
An auntie behind a fruit stand grabbed a clean apple and threw it at her.
It was aimed directly at Nami’s forehead.
Nami’s expression remained calm.
Her instincts picked up the change in airflow.
She reached out and caught the apple perfectly.
After wiping it against her clothes, she took a big bite.
Sweet juice burst across her tongue.
“Ugh, this tastes terrible. Rotten apple. Ptooey!”
She spat it out and tossed the apple away.
The auntie’s face turned blue with anger.
All along the street, hostile words were thrown at Nami.
But every single time, she fired back without giving an inch.
Even so, she still felt a little hurt inside.
After all, she had never told the villagers about her agreement to buy the village back for one hundred million Berries.
The only person she had told was Nojiko.
What Nami didn’t know was that Nojiko had already betrayed her secret long ago. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
The villagers’ hostility was nothing more than an act meant to drive her away.
They couldn’t bear watching her continue to suffer like this.
Once Nami had disappeared into the distance, the people on the street looked at one another.
Those who had cursed her couldn’t help slapping themselves across the face.
Soon, the news that their beloved little Nami had returned spread throughout the village like the wind.
When she arrived at Arlong Park, Nami ignored the cold gazes directed at her.
Without saying a word, she headed straight into a spacious surveying room at the top of the tower-like building.
Several towering stacks of nautical charts and maps filled the room, some piled even higher than she was.
Here and there, dried dark-red bloodstains could still be seen on the paper.
…
Nami rubbed her aching shoulders.
Glancing outside, she realized that the sky had darkened without her noticing.
She walked to the window and looked down at the banquet taking place in the courtyard below.
Fish-Men of all bizarre shapes and sizes laughed loudly like a gathering of demons.
Nami left the room and headed downstairs, preparing to return home.
As she passed through the courtyard, an arrogant laugh suddenly rang out.
“Yo!
Isn’t this our navigator?
“When did you get back? You didn’t even come tell me. That really hurts my feelings!”
The instant Nami turned around, the calm expression on her face transformed into a fake smile.
She waved a hand and rubbed her shoulder.
“Lord Arlong!
I was so busy working that I completely forgot!
“You guys just keep having fun. No need to worry about me.”
The tall, muscular Fish-Man with pale blue skin and a sharp saw-like nose grinned.
Rows of razor-sharp teeth gleamed inside his mouth.
“It’s dinner time anyway. Aren’t you going to eat something?”
Nami acted as though she had just remembered.
“Hehe, you’re right. I am pretty hungry.”
She walked toward the grill nearby, picked up a huge chunk of meat on the bone, and took a decisive bite.
Then she waved her hand, speaking indistinctly through the mouthful.
“My sister’s waiting for me, so I’m heading home first!”
With that, she walked away under Arlong’s wildly smug grin.
When she reached an intersection some distance away, she ran into a stray dog.
Nami immediately opened her mouth and spat out the meat she had barely chewed.
Then she tossed the remaining chunk of meat on the bone toward the dog as well.
Her expression was flat.
“I really wish I could feed you to the dogs too.
“Disgusting bastard.”
She let out a long breath and glanced up at the moon.
Then, with much lighter steps, she headed toward her home outside the village.
“That guy should already be back by now, right?”
Meanwhile, deep in the mountains beneath the night sky.
Inside a dense primeval forest.
Rook swung the longsword in his hand, flinging the blood from its blade onto the ground.
Then he sheathed it.
Around him lay the corpses of several gray-blue wolves, each as large as a young calf.
Rook walked toward the fresh carcass of a spotted deer lying beneath a nearby tree.
He lifted it and slung it over his shoulder.
Looking toward the direction of the mountain’s edge, he began running while carrying the additional weight.
His breathing remained rhythmic.
His figure rapidly moved through the forest as tree after tree flashed past in his peripheral vision.
Less than half an hour later, Rook arrived outside Cocoyasi Village.
He took out the map Nami had given him, checked the direction, and entered the thick woods beyond the village.
The rustling of leaves in the evening wind filled his ears.
Before long, he reached a house standing in a clearing among the trees.
Just as he arrived at the door, he heard an unfamiliar female voice complaining from inside.
“What’s taking that guy you mentioned so long? Don’t tell me some tiger in the mountains dragged him off and ate him.”
Nami’s helpless voice followed.
“Maybe he got too absorbed in training. Once that guy starts working out, he gets ridiculously focused.”
Knock, knock!
Someone knocked on the door.
Rook’s voice immediately came from outside.
“It’s me, Nami.”