Rocks’s small sailboat had been successfully upgraded to a proper sailing vessel.
“Proper sailing vessel” was perhaps generous.
It was roughly the same size as the Going Merry.
A two-masted ship.
It wasn’t the Arlong Pirates’ ship.
That vessel was too large for just three people.
Rocks had traded the Arlong Pirates’ ship at a small shipyard on a neighboring island and come away with this one.
A few days had passed since the Arlong Pirates’ defeat.
After staying in Cocoyasi Village for that stretch, Rocks was ready to set sail again.
At the coast.
Rocks turned to Nami.
“Aren’t you going to say goodbye?
Once you leave this time, there’s no knowing when you’ll be back.”
Nami shook her head.
“It’s fine.
I joined her killers’ crew.
They must want me gone as quickly as possible…”
“Have you considered that they might already know everything?
What you were thinking, what you were doing.
And that they’ve been pretending not to know just to keep you from worrying?”
“That…
that can’t be right.”
“Don’t underestimate the people around you.
Go say goodbye.
They’re your family.”
Nami looked in the direction Rocks was pointing and saw a crowd making their way toward the coast.
Nojiko and Genzo were at the front, and behind them were faces she knew from all over the village.
Nami froze.
An emotion she couldn’t name rose up and made her eyes go red.
They had known all along?
What she was thinking, what she was doing?
And they had pretended not to know just to keep her from worrying.
To go along with the role she was playing.
She had thought she was hated.
Pushed away.
She had already steeled herself for that.
And it had been this instead.
Watching them come closer, Nami’s voice caught in her throat.
“You…
all of you…
how did you…”
“I couldn’t help it.
They came straight to the grove looking for you.
I couldn’t keep hiding it.
I had to tell them you were leaving.”
Nojiko shrugged helplessly.
“And the moment they heard you were setting sail, they all came rushing here.
I couldn’t stop them…”
Genzo’s voice was urgent.
“Nami…
why are you going to sea?
Is it because of those Marines?”
We’ll protect you.
Not even the Marines will take you from us.”
He had watched Nami grow up.
She was no different from his own daughter.
Hearing that she wanted to leave hit him hard.
He suspected the reason was that she didn’t want her past as an Arlong Pirates member to drag the village down with her.
“That’s right, Nami.
We’ll handle it.”
“You don’t have to worry.
We’ll keep you safe.”
“The Arlong Pirates are finished, wiped out by the Buggy Pirates.
We’re free now.
We can actually live properly here.”
The rest of the villagers all chimed in at once, voices overlapping.
The noise was overwhelming.
Nami tried to get a word in.
“Everyone…”
“So you’re the one trying to take Nami away, are you?”
Genzo’s voice drowned her out entirely.
He turned on Rocks, his tone not friendly at all.
“Who exactly are you?
Where did you come from?”
“Why have I never seen you before?”
“You don’t have to shout, old man.”
Rocks gave him a sideways look.
“I came specifically for Nami.
She’s the navigator I’ve chosen.”
“Absolutely not.
I’m not handing Nami over to some unknown kid from nowhere.
She’s fifteen years old!!”
Genzo was gritting his teeth.
He had clearly decided Rocks was the reckless sort who would abduct a man’s daughter.
That was absolutely not happening.
Nami was fifteen.
A minor.
He pointed at the sea and roared.
“Do you have any idea how dangerous the ocean is?
How can you take a girl that young out there?”
“I’ll keep her safe.
You don’t need to worry about that.”
“Says you?”
“That’s right.
Me.”
The corner of Rocks’s mouth pulled up.
A marble-sized ball of jade-green energy lit at his fingertip.
Because of the angle, only those standing close could see it.
The Cero flashed and was gone.
Rocks spoke in a voice only Genzo could hear.
“I was the one who took out the Arlong Pirates.
I was the one who dealt with those Marines.”
“You think I can’t protect Nami?”
“You…”
Genzo’s pupils contracted sharply.
His face went through something he had no name for.
it was you?!”
Not the Buggy Pirates.
This teenager in front of him?
And the Buggy Pirates crew member who killed those Marines who had come for Nami.
Also him, in disguise?
His mind was sharp.
He put it together fast.
All of it had been this person’s plan.
Everything pinned on the Buggy Pirates.
Himself completely clean.
And everyone had been played.
A sharp intake of breath.
Working it all out, Genzo couldn’t help drawing a sharp breath.
The nerve on this person.
The strength.
“Reassured now?”
Rocks smiled.
“Besides, Cocoyasi Village isn’t the right place for Nami anymore.
A lot of people know she was with the Arlong Pirates.”
“You saw what kind of Marines showed up here.
Nami isn’t necessarily safe from them settling scores.
There are plenty of rotten ones.”
This wasn’t an exaggeration.
Nami’s history was known in the surrounding villages.
Former Arlong Pirates member.
A thief who specialized in stealing from pirates.
Walls had ears.
Information always leaked.
Nami staying in Cocoyasi Village carried real risks.
Genzo went quiet.
He had seen what those Marines had done with his own eyes.
Marines who acted worse than pirates.
That kind would absolutely find reasons to cause trouble.
The village was made up of ordinary people.
They couldn’t stand against a Marine threat.
What Rocks said was right.
Nami staying here wasn’t necessarily safe.
They might not be able to protect her.
“I understand.”
Genzo sighed, and when he looked at Rocks his expression had gone serious.
“You took out the Arlong Pirates.
That was for Nami’s sake, wasn’t it?”
“The fact that you would do something like that for her tells me you think highly of her.
We don’t have the ability to keep her safe the way you can.
After this, she’s in your hands…”
Letting Nami sail with this person might be the best choice available.
And Nami herself had made up her mind to leave.
He couldn’t stop her.
“Understood.”
Rocks gave an easy OK and smiled.
“Nobody gets to mess with my crewmates.
That’s what being a captain means.
You can count on that.”