Pagaya stared at the structure, his face pale. "That came out of a capsule?"
"Yes."
"From your pocket?"
"Yes."
"From a capsule small enough to fit in your pocket."
"Yes. Are you going to keep repeating the same thing?"
Pagaya shut his mouth.
Conis inspected the shelves, her fingers brushing the surface. "This is... beyond anything we have."
Nami walked to the warehouse door and turned to face the group. "No one's going to know what they're buying until they use it. By then, we'll be gone."
She paused.
"Let's get to work."
Usopp was already pulling boxes off the shelves. "What do I do with these?"
Nami glanced at him. "You figure it out. That's your job."
Usopp opened his mouth, then closed it. "Fair enough."
Mira bounced. "Do I start waving now?"
"Start waving."
Chopper ran to the front of the stall. "I'll get everyone! Just watch!"
Vivi took her place behind the counter, her hands already reaching for the cash box. "Ready when you are."
Nami scanned the setup one last time. The stall. The warehouse. The team in position.
She nodded.
"Let's see how much we can take from them."
The first few sky people walked past, glancing at the stall with curiosity but not stopping.
Chopper waved frantically. "Cookies! Sweet things! Come see!"
Mira twirled, her dress flaring. "Lightning-proof gear! Protect yourself from the god!"
A group of three sky people paused. One of them, a middle-aged man with tired eyes, stepped forward.
"What's this about lightning-proof gear?"
Nami stepped in, her smile warm and practiced. "We have the latest technology from the Blue Sea. Completely waterproof, flexible, and designed to withstand any lightning strike."
She held up one of the raincoats—smooth, glossy, folded neatly.
"Try it on," she said, offering it to him.
The man took it, turning it over in his hands. "It's... light."
"That's the point. You won't even feel it."
He slipped it on. It fit perfectly.
"How much?"
Nami's smile widened. "Five hundred berries."
His eyes widened. "Five hundred?"
"Worth every berry. You'll never have to worry about lightning again."
He hesitated. Then he reached for his pouch.
"Fine. I'll take it."
Nami took the coins, her face calm. "Conis, wrap it up."
Conis stepped forward, hands trembling slightly, and folded the raincoat neatly. She handed it to the man with a bow.
The man nodded and walked away, still wearing the raincoat.
Usopp leaned in. "That was... surprisingly easy."
Nami glanced at him. "That's because he's afraid. Fear makes people buy things."
Chopper was already dragging another customer toward the stall. "This one wants to see the umbrellas!"
Nami's smile returned. "Perfect."
Vivi counted the coins, her fingers moving quickly. "First sale. Five hundred berries."
Nami nodded. "Keep counting. We're just getting started."
Mira waved at a group of women approaching. "Over here! We have the best PROTECTION in the sky!"
The women stopped. One of them eyed the umbrellas.
"Are those really lightning-proof?"
Nami picked one up, opening it with a flick of her wrist. "Completely. You can stand under this in the middle of a storm and feel nothing."
She handed it to the woman. The woman held it, testing the weight.
"It's so light."
"That's the material. Strong, flexible, and reliable."
The woman looked at her friends. They nodded.
"I'll take three."
Nami's smile didn't waver. "Conis, three umbrellas."
Conis moved quickly, wrapping them up.
The women paid, their coins clinking into Vivi's hands.
Usopp watched in awe. "This is insane."
Nami glanced at him. "We haven't even started."
She reached for a stack of raincoats in a separate pile—slightly different packaging, a small label on each one.
"These are special," she announced, holding one up. "Limited edition. They have scents."
A woman stepped forward, curious. "Scents?"
Nami opened the raincoat and held it out. "This one has a chocolate scent. Perfect for those who want a little something extra."
The woman leaned in, sniffing. Her eyes widened. "It smells... delicious."
"That's the point. We have strawberry, vanilla, and a few others." Nami paused, her smile steady. "These are slightly more expensive. Eight hundred berries."
A man in the crowd spoke up. "Why more?"
"Limited availability. And the scent doesn't fade. It lasts as long as the raincoat itself."
The woman reached for her pouch. "I'll take the chocolate one."
Nami handed it to her. "Excellent choice."
As the woman walked away, Nami turned to grab another raincoat—and her mind wandered for a split second.
'Flavoured condoms. I didn't even know those existed. When I asked Takuya how he came up with the idea, he just smirked and said, "There aren't just flavoured ones. There are ribbed, warming, extra-sensitive..."' She had cut him off there, her face burning. '"If you sell every single type I gave you, I'll let you experience each one. Personally."'
Nami shook her head abruptly, her cheeks warm.
'Focus. Sales. Now.'
She turned back to the crowd, her voice smooth. "We also have strawberry, vanilla, and a few others. All limited edition. First come, first served."
More customers surged forward, coins in hand.
Usopp, who had been standing frozen, watching the chaos, felt a hand grab his arm.
"Usopp." Nami's voice was sharp. "What are you doing?"
"I—I was watching—"
"You were supposed to be demonstrating products."
"I was—"
"Focus." Her eyes narrowed. "You're not getting pocket money if you keep slacking off. You want to be useless, go to Upper Yard and act as cannon fodder. If you want to be useful, get to work."
Usopp scrambled. "Right! Yes! Demonstrating! I'm demonstrating!"
He grabbed a raincoat and started waving it at a passing customer. "Look at this! Lightning-proof! Waterproof! You'll never get struck again!"
The customer stared at him. "Is he... okay?"
Nami sighed. "He's fine. Just enthusiastic."
She turned back to her own customers, her smile snapping back into place.
"Step right up! Limited edition scented raincoats! Only a few left!"
The crowd surged forward again.
Vivi counted coins, her fingers moving fast. Mira waved and twirled. Chopper dragged in more customers. Conis wrapped packages. Pagaya just tried not to get in the way.
And Nami sold.
She sold raincoats, caps, and umbrellas, her words flowing like water—smooth, practiced, relentless.
To the sky people, she was a merchant with incredible gear.
To anyone listening closely, she sounded like a condom commercial.
But no one listened closely.
And Nami was too busy counting the coins to care.
The crowd grew thicker. Word had spread—strange travelers selling gear that could protect you from the god's lightning. People came from the village, from the outskirts, from everywhere.
Nami's hands moved without stopping. She grabbed umbrellas, unfolded them, and handed them over. Coins clinked into Vivi's hands. Conis wrapped package after package. Mira and Chopper dragged in more and more customers.
"Only three umbrellas left!" Nami called out. "Once they're gone, they're gone!"
A woman pushed forward. "I'll take two!"
"Two umbrellas, coming right up."
Nami handed them over, her smile fixed. The woman clutched them like treasure, a look of pure delight on her face as she walked away, unfolding one immediately to test it. It opened perfectly. She beamed.
Nami watched her go, then turned back to the stall. "And that's the last of the umbrellas."
Usopp blinked. "Wait. We sold all of them?"
"All of them."
He stared at her. "How long did that take?"
"About an hour."
"An hour."
"Yes."
Usopp opened his mouth, then closed it. "That's terrifying."
"I know."
What no one noticed—what no one could have noticed—was the small camera lens embedded at the top corner of each warehouse door. The four capsules Takuya had given her weren't just storage units. Each one had a recording device installed at the entrance.
Every single transaction had been captured.
Every customer. Every expression of delight. Every moment of someone unfolding an umbrella, putting on a raincoat, wearing a cap like it was the greatest thing they'd ever owned.
The data was stored inside the camera units themselves, safely tucked away in the warehouse frames, waiting to be retrieved.
Nami paused for a split second as she reached for another raincoat, her eyes flicking toward the doorframe. She'd seen it earlier but hadn't thought much of it—a small black dot, barely visible.
She filed it away in her mind and moved on.
The crowd dispersed, chattering excitedly about their new gear. They had no idea what they'd bought. They didn't need to know.
Nami stared at the empty stall.
The shelves were bare. The boxes were empty. The counter was clean.
She let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
"We did it," she said.
Vivi looked up from the cash box. "We did."
Nami walked over, peering inside. "How much?"
Vivi's smile was slow. "Enough."
"How much?"
Vivi tilted the box so Nami could see.
Nami stared.
Then she started laughing.
"We're going to need a bigger ship."
Meanwhile, back at the group that was going towards the upper yard
Takuya continued walking, Robin still on his back.
"How did you know about the sky island?" she asked. "Before we even arrived. You knew what was here."
"I read."
"Read what?"
"Old texts. Fragments. Things people dismissed as myths. I spent years collecting scraps of information that didn't fit anywhere else. Eventually, a pattern emerged."
"And the god? Enel?"
"Same pattern. Pieces that didn't fit, until I found enough of them."
She was quiet for a moment. "You said you were an ordinary man. That's what you told everyone."
"I am."
"You're not. I haven't lost all my intelligence—or maybe this is just a reflex action of my body after everything I've gone through. But I know everything you just said is a lie. I'm not asking if you want to tell me the truth or not. I know you're hiding more than you're letting on. You're not an ordinary man. You never were."
He didn't respond immediately.
She continued, her voice steady. "I'm not asking you to tell me everything. I'm not asking you to explain, cause I know you won't reveal what you don't want to. I just want you to know that I see it. The gaps. The things you don't say. I see them."
"You've always been observant."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only one you're getting."
She let out a breath. "You're not going to explain further, are you?"
"Not today."
"Will you ever?"
"When it matters."
She considered this. "You're answering my questions. You didn't dodge a single one."
He kept walking.
She rested her chin on his shoulder. "That's not a response."
"It's not a question either."
He stopped walking. Just for a second.
"I risked your life," he said. "Yours. Nami's. Vivi's. All for an experiment I wanted to do for fun. I never intended it to affect your cognitive functions. And you still need to be in this state—which could degrade your condition even more." He resumed walking.
"You asked me if I love you even one percent of what you love me, I should give you the cure. If I didn't love you, do you think I would have done anything I had done for you?
When I forced you to be with me and marry me, I actually saved you from your fate. You were supposed to die back then in the Alabasta desert after being betrayed by a Crocodile and having lost all hope."
Robin was quiet for a moment. Then: "I'm impressed. You're actually apologizing to me."
He didn't respond.
"You should be grateful I'm even apologizing," he said flatly. "Do you think I'd apologize to Nami or Vivi?"
"No," she said. "You wouldn't."
She paused, her grip tightening on his shoulders. "That's why I want to know. Why do you do so much for me? Why save me from Alabasta? Why brighten my life? Why do all those things for me that just make me happy—or bring back the one thing in my life that was taken away from me years ago?"
She pressed closer. "What have I even done to deserve that from you?"
He kept walking. Silent.
Robin waited. The silence stretched.
She finally spoke again, her voice quieter. "You knew, didn't you? You knew what was going to happen to me long before you even met me didn't you?"
"Yes."
"And you stopped it."
"Yes."
She pressed her face against his back. "Why?"
"I told you. You were useful."
She shook her head. "Those answers might work on Nami or Vivi, but not me. If anything, I know my worth isn't that shallow—to be saved just because I'm useful."
She paused, her voice dropping. "The way you look after me... I know you're protecting me. And no matter what I try to tell myself, everything you've done for me wasn't just because I was useful.
It was because you wanted to shower me with love and protection. After all, with the kind of power you have, you could find anyone who's useful to you. I don't have anything special that makes me more useful to you than any other woman around me."
She trailed off, her thoughts scattering. She couldn't find the words. Her mind felt foggy.
He simply asked, "And?"
She stayed silent for a long moment. Then:
"And no matter how much I try, every time I see you, I end up falling more and more in love with you. Every time, I have this urge to be the most loyal person to you—someone who's worthy of your love and everything you've done for me."
She let out a breath, shaking her head. "I didn't know I could feel these emotions this vividly."
He kept walking. He didn't answer.
But his pace slowed. Just slightly.
She finally spoke again, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Tell me, what is it exactly that you wish to know from me? The reason why you won't abandon me? The reason why you chose me?"
He didn't answer.
"This," she continued, her voice shaking. "This is what I want to know. Why do you act so good to me when I have done nothing for you? If it were anyone else, I would have considered them a simp and used them.
But not you. Because you treat everything as a game. You could kill anyone you want at any time. And someday, when you're bored... I could be the one that dies because I couldn't be of amusement to you anymore."
She paused, her voice cracking. "The power you've shown and your behavior aren't just contradicting—they bring chills down my spine. I keep having this constant fear that the bill is going to come due for the happiness I'm getting right now.
As if it's the last of my loans, and soon the bill will come due, and I won't even have the power to run away or do anything."
She pressed her forehead against his back. "I just want to know if I'm going to be toyed with or killed when I'm no longer interesting enough for you. When you get bored of me. This is killing me."
He stopped walking.
For a long moment, he didn't move. The clouds drifted around them. The wind was quiet.
Then he spoke. His voice was flat, measured.
"You think I keep you around because you're useful. You think I'll discard you when I get bored."
She didn't respond.
"That's what you're afraid of."
"Yes."
He turned his head slightly, not quite looking at her. "Then let me tell you something you haven't considered."
She waited.
"I don't keep people around because they're useful. I keep them around because I choose to. There's a difference."
She blinked. "That's not—"
"I could have killed you in Alabasta. I could have taken what I needed and left you to die in the desert. I didn't."
She was silent.
"I didn't save you because you were useful. I saved you because I wanted to. And I didn't give you back your history because I needed something from you. I gave it back because it was yours to begin with."
He resumed walking.
If my story made you smile even once, that's a win for me. That's what I want to live for—brightening dull days and reminding people that joy still exists. My dream is to keep getting better, to someday become the best storyteller in the world.
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