"That's all, Sanji," Nami said, crouching down beside the mountain wall she had led them to.
It had taken them a while to search the base of the mountain, but they found it. The map Nami had made turned out to be quite accurate, but they had searched every nook and cranny to be sure. Finally, they found a small dirt path, created by footprints, that led them to the same spot marked on the map.
However, something was bothering the redhead. If it was supposed to be a "secret entrance," as Carina had said... why was there a path leading directly to it? Secret implied that not many people would know about it... If that was the case, why did it seem like so many people had found it? As she thought about it, many things were starting to seem strange, but one thing in particular caught her attention... How could Carina have found all this information?
"So how do we open it?" the chef's voice called from above the girl. He tapped his boot on the smooth surface of the rock in front of him. "Do you want me to kick it?" he asked sincerely.
The orange stared blankly at Sanji. It was obvious he'd never stolen anything... "No, Sanji. Kick a rock. Big explosion. Loud. Not stealthy," Nami explained as if she were talking to a child.
"Oh, Nami-Swan! You look gorgeous even when you're making fun of me!" exclaimed the boy.
The girl sneered to herself and ignored the chef, staring intently at where the entrance to the hideout was supposed to be. No matter how Carina had gotten the information, it was all they had to go on. Everything she'd told her so far was true, so… Nami's hand slid across the stone and found what she was looking for. If she hadn't known it was there, she probably never would have found it. Her hand sank into the mountain, and a click echoed through the rock.
The two teenagers stepped back as the rock wall slid across the floor with a hiss, revealing a long, dark passageway. They glanced at each other before turning back toward the entrance that led into the mountain and moving on. As they stepped through the doorway, the rock slid upward, blocking their exit, and the lights lining the walls of the passageway flickered on, illuminating the long corridor.
"Well, there's no other choice but to move on," Sanji mused. He smirked at his companion: "Unless you want me to kick him."
Nami laughed as she took her first steps toward where she hoped to find a great treasure. "Come on, cook," she joked.
The chef laughed at her jokes and couldn't help but think that the nickname sounded much better coming from her than from those who usually said it. It was a good thing she wasn't there right now... That made him think, "Hey, Nami. What do you think Mossball and Luffy are up to?"
The redhead froze. She'd completely forgotten about them. Nami slowly recovered and continued on her way. What on earth were those two doing right now? She didn't know exactly when they'd arrived on the small island, but she was sure it was long before her and Sanji. Where on earth were they? She'd told them where the entrance was! She'd even shown them the map! "The truth is, I don't even know, and I can't even begin to guess," the girl huffed, annoyed. "Those two idiots..."
"You don't need them, Nami-Swan! You have me!" the blond chef exclaimed happily. He loved spending time alone with the red-haired beauty.
Nami scoffed for the umpteenth time that day and decided not to open Pandora's box. The two continued down the corridor, chatting casually, until they reached a fork in the tunnel and stopped.
The redhead looked between the two corridors. The situation was getting increasingly strange. Why have a partition at a secret entrance?
"Which way, Nami?" Sanji asked. His feet led him toward the correct tunnel, observing it curiously. His line of thought was the same as his companions'.
Nami headed down the left corridor and scanned it, a look of indecision etched on her face. Carina had never said anything about it. And with that said, choosing the wrong path could be dangerous. She turned to the blonde chef across the room and went to speak to her, but didn't get the chance.
The corridor through which Nami and Sanji had emerged suddenly closed before either of the teenagers could react, an alarm blaring in the air. Their eyes widened in panic as they looked around, searching for the source of the sound. Two pairs of eyes, one brown and the other bluish-gray, looked up at a click on the ceiling above the center of the room, and both teenagers paled.
"Nami!" the blond chef shouted, finally moving toward her. His feet were moving fast, but not fast enough.
"Steal all the treasure you can!" the redhead shouted as Sanji ran desperately toward her. "We'll meet again when this is all over!" Nami watched as the metal wall hidden in the ceiling began to collapse and looked at Sanji once more, giving him a reassuring smile.
"Nami!" Sanji cried out in despair once more. He watched helplessly as the wall drew ever closer to the ground, his feet moving at top speed. However, he already knew he wouldn't make it.
"I'll be fine, Sanji! I'm used to doing these things on my own..." The large metal wall crashed to the ground with a loud bang, interrupting the girl and forcefully separating them.
The blond chef stopped dead in his tracks just as he reached the barrier, growling. "Nami!" he yelled through the metal divider. He waited a moment, but received no response, and kicked the wall in anger. The sound echoed in the area he now occupied alone, and he frowned... His encounter alone with Nami...
Sanji stepped back from the metal barrier, fire blazing in his eyes. He had truly enjoyed spending time with his goddess, and now she was standing there alone... Someone was going to pay. He turned away from the metal wall and stared down the corridor he was now forced to walk, a maniacal gleam in his eyes. Someone was going to pay, probably with their life, and then he would steal their treasure.
I would accept his kiss even if it was the last thing I did.
...
Hi everyone, what do you think of the story so far? The book has over 300 chapters. If you'd like to download the complete book, it's available on my Ko-fi page. Here's the link: 👉 🤩 ko-fi.com/winterstar01 🤩