"Let's not talk about this anymore. The current speed is indeed a bit slow. Plus, I'm hungry. I'm going to speed this ship up."
Lock stood up, stretched, and said with a laugh.
"Do you have a way to make this ship faster, Lock?"
"Sir, we're already rowing at the fastest speed. We really can't go any faster!"
When the three pirates heard this, they thought he was accusing them of slacking off, so they quickly explained in a panic.
Hearing this, Lock casually took out his comb and ran it through his hair.
"I didn't say I wanted you to row faster. With your strength, who knows how long it'll take to reach shore?"
"Then… sir, what do you mean?" the pirates asked nervously.
Lock ignored them and turned toward Zoro.
"Zoro, you'd better hold on to the boat. Try not to fall off."
With that, Lock moved to the center of the boat and whispered:
"Ode to the Wind Wings."
"Could it be… this gentleman is also a Devil Fruit user?" The three pirates exchanged terrified looks, but they still gripped the sides of the boat for dear life.
After all, if he really was a Devil Fruit user, and the boat flipped, they'd all be fish food.
"Lock, you can speed up the boat? Don't worry, even if you speed it up, I won't—hululululu…"
Before Zoro could finish, the boat blasted forward with a violent whoosh, moving faster than the naked eye could track.
If anyone was watching, they would've seen everyone on board — except Lock — nearly ripped apart by the sheer force of the wind.
Lock's spell channeled the element of wind, forming an invisible energy field around the boat.
The energy condensed, shaping itself into a pair of roaring, invisible wings on either side.
Air funneled into spiraling cyclones, converting into raw thrust. The boat became a dart of wind itself, slicing over the waves.
—Shoreline.
"Ugh—" The three pirates collapsed the moment they staggered off the boat, retching on the sand.
"What the hell was that ability? My bones feel like they've been pulled apart…" they groaned in terror.
Snap. Crackle.
Zoro slapped his head, twisted his neck, then glared at Lock.
"I'll admit I spoke a little too loud back there, but did you really have to launch us off like that before I could finish my sentence? I've been swallowing wind the whole damn way."
Lock blinked at him innocently.
"Why are you blaming me? Didn't you tell me not to worry?"
"That's true, but… why didn't you tell me from the start you could speed up the boat? That way we wouldn't have lost track of that idiot."
Lock shrugged.
"You didn't ask."
Zoro: "…"
He wanted to argue but couldn't find a single counter. In the end, he just gave up.
—BOOM!
An explosion thundered from the direction of town.
Zoro narrowed his eyes. "What was that?"
"That'd be Captain Buggy's ultimate weapon. The Buggy Bomb," one of the pirates explained nervously.
Lock nearly snorted. The Buggy Bomb, huh… Still the only thing you can read backwards and it makes you laugh either way.
"Alright. Take us to Buggy," Lock said flatly.
The three pirates paled. "No, no, no! If we bring you there, Lord Buggy will kill us!"
"What? You think we won't?" Zoro unsheathed a blade, pressing it lightly to a pirate's throat with a friendly smile.
Immediately, the three fell to their knees and kowtowed. "We'll take you! We'll take you! Please don't kill us!"
So, unwilling guides or not, the pirates led Lock and Zoro toward Buggy's base.
[Hi, I'm your fast-forwarder. Time to skip the filler and summarize what happened before Lock and Zoro arrived.]
[Luffy got carried into town by a giant bird. Buggy's men blasted it out of the sky. Luffy crashed down, met Nami, and saved her from pirates.]
[Nami treated Luffy to dinner. She revealed her dream of earning 100 million berries, her love of money and oranges, and her hatred of pirates. She also bragged her navigation skills were top-tier.]
[Luffy instantly invited her to join his crew. Nami almost agreed, but the moment she heard he was a pirate, she refused. She then made a condition.]
[Her plan: return Buggy's stolen map, earn his trust, then rob him blind. To do that, she decided to frame Luffy as the thief.]
[End summary.]
"Since you've joined us, I'll reward you with a Buggy Bomb. Use it to blow up your new crewmate." Buggy tossed Nami a matchbox.
Luffy sat tied up in a steel cage, watching quietly.
Nami froze, her hands trembling. She had no intention of killing Luffy, but Buggy's eyes bored into her.
"How about we hold the welcome party first, and ignore that guy?" she tried, forcing a smile.
Buggy's face darkened. "This is your initiation. Light it."
The matches rattled in her shaking hand.
One of Buggy's men snatched them. "If you can't do it, I'll do it for you!"
He struck a match and bent toward the cannon's fuse.
Bang!
"Ugh!"
Before he could fire, Nami cracked a wooden pole against his head.
"What are you doing, Nami?!" Buggy roared.
"I-I'm sorry," she stammered, hands clasped.
Buggy's jaw dropped. "You think sorry cuts it?!"
Luffy, shocked, grinned through the bars. She saved me…
Nami, however, shouted back, "I just acted on impulse! Pirates killed my family, I'll never side with pirates!"
The fuse kept burning.
"The fire's lit!" Luffy yelled.
Buggy sneered. "Enough tricks, girl! Kill her — and make it flashy!"
"Die!" Buggy's men charged with swords raised.
Nami dove aside, rolled, then sprinted to the cannon. She clutched the burning fuse with her bare hand, desperately smothering the fire.
"Ahhh!" she cried, the flames searing her palm.
"Nami, behind you!" Luffy shouted.
A pirate loomed over her, blade poised. "I'll give you a glorious death!"
"Huh?!" Nami gasped, eyes wide.
Da-da-da—
"Breath of Frost!"