"Ugh\~ that hurts."
Smoker woke up from unconsciousness and touched his face. He seemed to have just had a dream where a woman gave him a thorough beating.
At that moment, a kind little girl passerby came up to him and asked concernedly, "Big Navy Brother, do you want to see a doctor?"
While Smoker was still confused, the girl took out a mirror and held it up in front of him. "Big Navy Brother, look for yourself."
Smoker took the mirror and looked at his own reflection.
"Who is this pig-headed idiot?!"
At that moment, unprecedented anger and shame filled Smoker's heart. In his mind, he recalled what Su Xiaoqi had told him earlier:
"Don't be fooled by her innocent looks; she's actually a ruthless pirate."
"Nami of the Yorozuya Pirate Crew, I won't let you off."
Thinking this, Smoker gritted his teeth through the pain and headed to the naval base. He wanted to report the Yorozuya Pirate Crew's situation to the Marine Headquarters and have an official bounty issued.
Meanwhile, the instigator of all this, Nami, was currently "guiding" the newly joined Tashigi.
"Since you've joined us, you have to completely cut ties with the Navy. Don't even think about running away. I hate being abandoned more than anything, understand?"
Tashigi could only obediently nod; that scene was still vivid in her mind.
Nami nodded with satisfaction and smiled, "Don't worry, I'm easy to get along with. Since you're Zoro's twin sister from childhood, just let him take care of you."
Tashigi wanted to say she wasn't, but she didn't dare. She glanced at Zoro and obediently nodded again. Compared to him, the green-haired man was easier to deal with.
Lu Linglong looked at Nami, rolling her eyes. The recent events confirmed her previous guesses, so she opened the chat group and found Su Xiaoqi.
[(Private chat) Lu Linglong: Did you mess with Nami again?]
[(Private chat) Su Xiaoqi: Mess with Nami? I don't understand what you're talking about.]
[(Private chat) Lu Linglong: We just ran into Smoker. Guess whose trouble he's looking for this time?]
[(Private chat) Su Xiaoqi: How would I know? If nothing's up, I'm going to get busy.]
[(Private chat) Lu Linglong: Oh, alright then. I'll go find Nami and share some of my thoughts with her.]
[(Private chat) Su Xiaoqi: Go ahead, what do you want to do?]
[(Private chat) Lu Linglong: Tell me your plan. If it's fun, let me join in.]
[(Private chat) Su Xiaoqi: Isn't Nami your good sister? Are you doing right by her?]
[(Private chat) Lu Linglong: Then I'll just tell her.]
[(Private chat) Su Xiaoqi: You win. I'll tell you, but swear you won't tell Nami, or I won't help you win first place at the Luotian Festival.]
[(Private chat) Lu Linglong: Fine, fine, hurry up. I'm dying of curiosity.]
Nami and her group searched all over Canola Flower Town but couldn't find Ace. After discussion, they decided to stay one more day. If Ace still didn't show up, they would head to their next destination, Amamizu.
Elsewhere, Su Xiaoqi informed Zhu Zhuqing and Vivi about Lu Linglong joining them. The two women were surprised and worried for Nami — they could only hope she wouldn't break down in the end.
Two days later, Lu Linglong arrived at Su Xiaoqi's place, accompanied by Kaito Kuroba and Kurumi Tokisaki.
Kurumi Tokisaki's arrival in the pirate world was thanks to Lu Linglong, who vouched for her, convincing Nami to let her come.
Su Xiaoqi briefly introduced Kurumi Tokisaki and Kaito Kuroba to Vivi, then looked at Lu Linglong: "Linglong, you didn't raise suspicion when you left, right?"
Lu Linglong smiled, "Don't worry, I found a good excuse. The 'enemy' won't suspect a thing."
The others twitched their mouths hearing Lu Linglong call someone "enemy" — she got into character faster than Su Xiaoqi.
Su Xiaoqi nodded and asked Kaito, "Are all the things ready?"
Kaito patted his backpack and smiled, "Everything's inside."
After distributing scripts to everyone, Su Xiaoqi said, "No time to waste, let's rehearse. Memorize your lines well. I saw some Baroque Works executives here today. I suspect their move will be within these two days."
While everyone prepared, Kurumi Tokisaki looked at Su Xiaoqi and smiled, "Everyone else has things to do, what about me?"
"Your task is heavy. You have to protect Kaito and Vivi. If you see anyone trying to harm them, handle it however you want. I've already warned Vivi."
Su Xiaoqi then looked closely at Kurumi Tokisaki. No wonder she was so popular — her cute and sweet image was a big part of it.
Kurumi smiled and took out an exquisite gift box, "This is a gift for you — my special edition figure. The feel is definitely better than the ones you pulled before."
"Ugh."
Su Xiaoqi was tempted. The Tokisaki figures he got before were confiscated by Zhu Zhuqing. He had no other meaning — just wanted to keep them for appreciation.
Seeing no one noticed them, Su Xiaoqi quickly put the box into his storage ring, then pretended to ask, "Sansan, how's your situation over there?"
Kurumi Tokisaki said, "The general situation is like what's described in 'Date A Live,' but one important person is different. I don't have a Shido Itsuka there, only a girl named Shiori Itsuka."
"What the heck?"
Su Xiaoqi exclaimed, "What is this Itsuka Shiori?!"
But soon, Su Xiaoqi understood — this Kurumi's world must be a parallel universe. Then the Kurumi before him...
With strong curiosity, Su Xiaoqi looked seriously at her, "Sansan, I have a very important question."
"Are you a lesbian?"
He wasn't blaming himself — their way of sealing spirits was too unusual. If it were like the original story, two girls kissing mouth-to-mouth, isn't that a lesbian relationship?
Kurumi was momentarily stunned by the question, then leaned close to Su Xiaoqi and smiled, "Am I a lesbian? Do you want to check personally?"
At that moment, Lu Linglong's voice came from behind, "Su Xiaoqi, can we skip that line? It's so embarrassing."
"I'll go check it out. You play by yourself."
Su Xiaoqi said and hurriedly fled. Although he knew she was probably teasing him, it was still a bit hard to handle.
Kurumi smiled at Su Xiaoqi's back, "What an interesting man. Maybe next time we should mess with him with others."
Returning to Lu Linglong, Su Xiaoqi looked at the line she mentioned and said righteously,
"Linglong, this line is the soul of the whole play and must be kept. If it's embarrassing, wear a mask, but you'll lose a lot of fun that way."
Lu Linglong blinked at Su Xiaoqi and said, "Really? You won't drag me into your mess, right?"
Su Xiaoqi snapped, "Why would I mess with you? Didn't you see I have a part in the lines too?"
"That's true." Lu Linglong nodded after seeing Su Xiaoqi's lines but still warned, "If you dare mess with me, I'll expose you and never team up with you again."
"Rest assured, this time I'm only messing with Nami."
Just as Su Xiaoqi persuaded Lu Linglong, Chopper called out,
"Su Xiaoqi, why do I have so few lines? I want more scenes!"
That day, as the director, Su Xiaoqi was very busy. Not only did he have to explain lines to everyone, but also prepare for all kinds of unexpected situations on site.
But for him, all the hard work was worth it — he wanted to give Nami an unforgettable memory.