From Alvida to the hundred-meter Sea King, Luffy had killed everything with a single punch.
That level of power left Nami utterly stunned.
"So he wasn't lying… He really is strong," she murmured. At the same time, a dangerous thought crept into her mind. But can he beat Arlong…?
A tiny flame of hope flickered in her eyes.
She didn't know what kind of person Luffy truly was, nor whether he was good or bad. But she could feel that he seemed to have that kind of interest in her. If she used herself as bait, there was a very real chance he would go and challenge Arlong for her sake.
"No… what am I even thinking…?"
"Arlong isn't some ordinary pirate. He's a fish-man from the Grand Line, and his crew is huge. Even if Luffy is strong, he's all alone. If he can't beat Arlong… wouldn't that just be sending him to his death?"
With that, the hope that had just taken root in her heart withered again.
Kind-hearted as she was, she couldn't bear to use Luffy as a weapon and push him into a life-or-death battle with someone as dangerous as Arlong.
"Hey, what are you thinking about?" Luffy asked, glancing at her.
Startled, Nami forced a smile and shook her head. "Nothing. I wasn't thinking about anything."
"Oh. Then let's chat a bit."
"About what?"
"Hmm… how about my childhood?"
Maybe he was trying to comfort the girl quietly licking her wounds.
Or maybe he wanted to pry open the door to her tightly shut heart.
As they talked, Luffy shared stories from his past with easy enthusiasm, occasionally making Nami burst into laughter.
And as he looked at her bright, playful smile, Luffy felt a chill settle deeper into his heart.
Arlong… He couldn't be allowed to die easily.
…
"We're here!"
An hour on the open sea passed quickly.
At the very least, it felt that way to Nami and Luffy on their little boat.
They'd chatted the whole way, and it felt like only ten minutes had gone by.
"Huh? Already?" Luffy was sitting cross-legged at the bow, eyes wide in surprise.
"I thought it'd take way longer."
Nami looked up at the sun and muttered, "It really has been over an hour…"
"Well then, let's dock!"
With that, Luffy shouted, "Gomu Gomu no—!"
His arm shot forward like lightning, stretching across dozens of meters to latch onto a massive rock onshore.
Then, with a flash of motion and Nami's terrified scream—
Whoosh!
Boat, man, and girl were flung through the air in one smooth arc.
When they finally landed, Nami trembled with anger and punched Luffy straight on the head.
Even without Haki, the strike made him howl in pain.
Back when he'd watched the anime, he'd always wondered about this.
Was Nami "weak on land, invincible on the ship"?
How was her tiny fist so painful? It was practically on the level of Garp's Fist of Love!
"Wow… it's really lively," Nami said after venting her anger, her attention caught by the bustling town before them.
She glanced sideways at Luffy's handsome face, a faint light shimmering in her eyes.
Come to think of it, she'd never seen him fight at full strength.
This man was like a mystery wrapped in another mystery.
Grandson of a Marine hero… yet he insisted on being a pirate.
What in the world was he thinking?
"That over there should be the Marine base," she said after a moment, pointing toward the distance.
A large compound stood there, fenced with iron bars, the seagull-emblazoned flag of the Marines fluttering high above it.
"Ready? Let's go!"
Full of energy, Luffy adjusted his straw hat—his iconic trademark.
Then he swung both arms forward, spanning tens of meters, and grabbed onto a building on the other side.
"Gomu Gomu—!"
Nami's eyelid twitched in immediate alarm. Instinctively, she tried to dodge—
But she was too late.
An arm wrapped tightly around her slim waist.
"Hey—!" she shrieked as they were yanked into the air.
"Rocket!"
With a powerful pull and a hard kick off the ground, Luffy launched them forward.
Nami didn't even have time to react.
They landed with a heavy thud, though Luffy held her safely the entire time.
"Are you trying to kill me, you idiot?!"
Nami stumbled out of his arms, her face pale.
She kicked him in the backside in fury.
It was like kicking a wall.
Luffy just dug in his nose without a care, completely ignoring her.
"If you ever grab me and start flying without my permission again, I'll kill you!"
She wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, still trembling.
She could only be thankful she'd managed to cling to his shoulder at the last second.
Otherwise, she would've been blasted away like a human cannonball.
…Still.
Come to think of it, his arms were strangely warm.
Her cheeks flushed slightly, and for a brief moment, she didn't even want to step away.
Staring at his sharp profile, Nami suddenly asked, almost without realizing it:
"With your background… why did you choose to become a pirate?"
"Your grandpa is Vice Admiral Garp. By all logic, you should be a Marine, right?"
After the talk on the boat, she mostly believed what he'd told her about himself.
But she couldn't understand it.
A man this strong, with this kind of backing…
Why would he sail around in some broken little boat and recruit a cat burglar to form a pirate crew?
"That question, huh?" Luffy blinked in surprise, noticing she still hadn't moved out of his arms.
Then he grinned.
"Sure, if I became a Marine, I'd have tons of underlings and an easy path to a high position."
"But I don't like a boring life. I like приключения—adventure. And I hate the Celestial Dragons. The atmosphere in the Marines makes my skin crawl."
Ignoring the way Nami stiffened in shock, he went on calmly:
"And being a pirate doesn't mean I live just to kill."
"What I'm after is what every pirate on the sea dreams of—ONE PIECE."
"But more than finding it… I enjoy the journey itself."
Nami blinked. "So you're just… a good pirate who loves adventure?"
Luffy thought for two seconds.
Then—
"No. You've got it wrong."
"On my adventure, anything that pisses me off…"
"I kill."
Nami: (⊙﹏⊙) "…Huh?"
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T/N:
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