Nami had accepted the fact that Franky was truly gone. She no longer looked at the resurrected Emet and instead turned away to search for Luffy.
She finally found him on a rooftop.
Luffy stood by the railing, gazing at the distant sea, lost in thought.
Nami slowly walked up to his side and softly called his name. Luffy snapped out of his daze, turning to look at her with vacant eyes.
The two of them silently stared at each other until Luffy was the first to speak.
"Nami… are you afraid? This time it was Franky… next time—"
Before he could finish, Nami raised her hand and covered his mouth.
"Idiot, Luffy! How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not afraid! I'll always be by your side. Don't we still have our dreams to chase?"
Taking advantage of Luffy's stunned expression, she withdrew her hand, placed her hands on her hips, and said,
"Aren't you the man who's going to become the Pirate King? A Pirate King doesn't fear anything! Pull yourself together, Luffy!"
Hearing the words "Pirate King," a complicated expression flashed across Luffy's face. He clenched his fists tightly and said,
"Pirate King… I will become one!"
Nami's eyes lit up with joy. She immediately wrapped her arms around him.
"Luffy, I believe in you! You will definitely become the Pirate King!"
Luffy nodded, his teeth clenched.
"But if I don't get rid of that Celestial Dragon, I can't call myself the Pirate King! Franky… Ace… they would have died for nothing! I have to get stronger! Stronger than that Celestial Dragon!"
His voice was laced with deep hatred. It was the first time someone like Luffy had ever felt such overwhelming loathing for a single person.
Nami cast a worried glance at him, checking his pupils to make sure they hadn't changed. Then she asked,
"Luffy… what do you plan to do next?"
Luffy steadied himself, his expression serious.
"The few of us left are too weak on our own. I need to inherit my father's army and form the Straw Hat Grand Fleet!"
Hearing this, Nami felt as though she was looking at a stranger. She bit her lip and hesitated.
"But—"
"There's no 'but'! I've already decided! We'll retreat to the East Blue and quietly build up our strength. I also need time to train… My power… is too weak! The weak can't accomplish anything!!"
At that moment, Luffy's pupils flickered red. His suppressed emotions were on the verge of erupting. Seeing this, Nami could only hold her tongue.
...
Meanwhile, on Blackbeard's ship…
Teach sat cross-legged on the deck, his bare chest wrapped in bandages.
Beside him, Chiffon gently handed him a cherry pie. Teach snatched it up and took a large bite, chewing roughly.
Chiffon spoke softly, "Dear, you're still injured. Eat slowly."
Teach chewed with his mouth full, his voice muffled.
"Mmph… I'm fine. I've pretty much recovered. Heh, that Straw Hat kid… there's something strange about him. And his Devil Fruit…"
His eyes gleamed with greed. That was Gol D. Roger's Devil Fruit! If he could get his hands on it… well, even then, he still wouldn't be able to defeat a Celestial Dragon. Roger had already proven that to the world.
But!
At the very least, he'd stand a chance!
Even after obtaining the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, he still had no confidence in facing Carl head-on.
And by "confidence," he meant lasting even ten rounds against Carl.
Thinking about this, Teach spat on the deck.
"Tch! That lucky little brat! Made me nearly cough up my old man!"
With that, he ripped off the bandages around his chest. He wasn't being reckless—his injuries had indeed healed.
Just then, the ship's navigator, Lafitte, approached and reported,
"Captain, we should reach Sabaody Archipelago in about a day."
Teach nodded.
"Good. Once we arrive, we'll get the ship coated and then set sail for Fish-Man Island!"
Lafitte hesitated.
"Captain, I must remind you… both Sabaody and Fish-Man Island are crawling with Marines. Most of them aren't a threat, but both locations are very close to Marine Headquarters. If we attract their attention, they might send someone from the top brass…"
Teach grinned widely.
"Of course, I know that! But being a pirate is all about taking risks, ain't it? The bigger the risk, the greater the reward! I have to go to Fish-Man Island!"
Chiffon, curious, asked,
"Dear, what's on Fish-Man Island that's worth such a risk?"
Teach patted his belly and laughed.
"It's the key to every pirate's ultimate dream! Back on the old man's ship, I once heard him mention it when he was drunk. If we get our hands on it, we'll have a real shot at claiming One Piece!"
At the mention of One Piece, everyone on deck froze. Even the sickly Doc Q perked up, listening intently.
Burgess, simple-minded as ever, shouted,
"Captain, what is it? What's this thing?"
Teach swept his gaze over his crew. These were all his trusted subordinates—there was no need to keep secrets from them. He spoke directly.
"Poneglyphs."
Chiffon gasped.
"Poneglyphs? Dear, you mean those stone tablets covered in strange symbols?"
Teach nodded. It wasn't exactly a secret that Big Mom had a Road Poneglyph on Whole Cake Island. After Roger secretly made a copy, she hadn't bothered hiding it anymore.
After all, nobody had the guts to make a move on Whole Cake Island while Big Mom was there.
Chiffon frowned.
"But dear, there are very few people in the world who can read those symbols. Even if we get one, it's just a useless stone to us!"
Teach's expression didn't change.
"We still need to grab it first. If nothing else, we can't let anyone else get ahead of us. Especially that Straw Hat brat! I remember that Kozuki woman is still on his ship! She's Kozuki Oden's wife—there's a good chance she can read the Poneglyphs!"
Burgess cracked his knuckles and grinned.
"Then we'll just snatch that woman!"
Teach remained silent. Lafitte, glancing at Burgess, sneered internally.
Idiot! Captain just got his ass handed to him by the Straw Hat kid, and you expect him to go grab someone from his ship?
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+230 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg