The crew tried to persuade Nami to see a doctor, but she insisted it wasn't necessary, claiming it was just heatstroke and she'd recover on her own.
"In short, we should stick to the original plan and head straight for Alabasta," Nami said before walking out of the room on unsteady legs.
Seeing Nami pretending to be fine when she could barely walk straight, Tom wanted to say more. But since Nami stubbornly insisted she was okay and wouldn't listen to persuasion, he didn't press further.
Luffy, seeing Nami walk out seemingly perfectly fine, thought she was cured. Usopp told him Nami was just forcing herself.
Indeed, Nami was forcing herself. By the time she reached the cabin door, she was already so tired she was panting nonstop, leaning against the wall with no strength left, needing a good rest before recovering.
Tom initially didn't understand why Nami, so weak, insisted on going to the deck. But after hearing her conversation with Zoro, who was responsible for watching the ship outside, he understood.
"Seriously, what are you even looking at?"
"What do you mean? Isn't the ship going straight?"
"Yes, at a right angle. You need to watch this pointer properly."
"No need for that. Just aim for the largest cloud in the sky."
"Clouds move and change shape!"
As soon as Nami stepped onto the deck, she saw Zoro sitting on the railing, training with dumbbells. Checking the Log Pose direction, she confirmed the ship's course had drifted, just as she feared.
After waking up and not seeing Zoro, Nami guessed he was outside watching their course. She immediately realized letting a naturally directionless person like Zoro be in charge of navigation was asking for trouble. That's why she insisted on coming out.
It couldn't be helped. Vivi was preoccupied with caring for Nami, and the other men on board were all rough guys who didn't think leaving the directionally challenged guy outside was a mistake.
Seeing Nami, with a 40-degree fever, still fulfilling her duty as navigator, Tom didn't know what to say for a moment. Despite Nami's fierce attitude toward the male crew, she never neglected her responsibilities. While the crew was usually laid-back, everyone knew their job. So, Tom didn't stop her.
After talking with Zoro for a bit and seeing he relied solely on watching clouds to judge their course, Nami couldn't take it anymore, her head pounding terribly.
Zoro, seeing Nami's pained appearance, told her to go back and rest, to leave things to him.
"Because I can't leave it to you, that's why I came out here," Nami replied.
As soon as she finished speaking, Nami keenly sensed the air had changed. Zoro said the weather hadn't changed at all; it was still clear.
"Enough talk. Call everyone out, now." Nami had a bad premonition and told Zoro to summon the others.
Zoro then raised his loud voice and called Luffy and the others out to work.
Sanji, hearing orders from Zoro, felt completely unmotivated. Used to following Nami's commands, he openly said he didn't want to listen to Zoro, questioning why Zoro was giving orders.
Zoro ignored Sanji's protest, told him to shut up, and urged him to hurry.
With clear weather and calm seas, everyone wondered why Nami was so urgently calling them to move the ship away from the area.
"It's the wind," Nami said, both hands supporting the railing, gazing at the distant sea. Her eyes seemed lifeless, her voice weak and faint. "A very strong wind should be blowing directly at us..."
Nami was seriously explaining the reason when Luffy's voice interrupted. "Feels so leisurely. I want some tea."
"Didn't you hear me?! You idiot!" Nami nearly blew up, angry that Luffy was thinking about tea at a time like this.
Luffy, seeing Nami's uncomfortable appearance, had initially wanted to check her temperature. But after taking a few steps, he stepped on a green graffiti and suddenly felt relaxed enough to want tea.
"Such a completely tensionless captain."
"Now's not the time for tea. Let's do as Nami-swan says." Usopp and Sanji both told Luffy.
Tom, seeing the green pattern under Luffy's foot, knew it was Miss Goldenweek's doing. The little girl was scribbling randomly again.
But when Tom dragged out Miss Goldenweek, she hid behind Nami, looking pitiful at him. Hearing Tom might "educate" her again and remembering the last spanking, she trembled inside, not daring to say another word.
Nami, seeing Tom's darkened face approach and the little girl nearly scared to tears, raised her hand to stop Tom. "Don't you dare..."
Before she finished, Miss Goldenweek, who was clinging to Nami's leg, burst into tears. "It's so hot! Ow, it burns!"
Miss Goldenweek's small, childish hands had only held Nami's leg briefly but were so hot that she cried.
Seeing Nami's body temperature was so outrageously high that it burned a child to tears, Tom was so shocked his mouth hung open, losing all mood to educate the already-crying girl. He touched Nami's forehead—sure enough, it was burning hot. "Do you understand how high your temperature is? Even a child got burned crying."
"Don't worry. My body temperature is always like this," Nami said to Tom. Anyone could see she was being stubborn.
"Nami-swan, I know you're doing this for Vivi, but don't push yourself too hard," Sanji couldn't help advising. Even Usopp began urging Nami to go back and rest. But Nami told them to hurry up and operate the ship as she instructed.
"Honestly..." Nami sighed, relieved they were finally doing as she said. She crouched down, touched Miss Goldenweek's little red hat, and gently comforted her, making the girl stop crying. Gazing at the sea ahead, she thought, What is it? It doesn't feel quite like a storm...
Some time later, Vivi emerged from the cabin. She had been in her room, thinking about what to do, and had finally reached an answer.
"There's something I must ask of you all," Vivi said, looking down at Luffy and the others on the deck solemnly. "I've already ridden on your ship. I really shouldn't make another request. But my country is in unprecedented crisis. So, I want to return quickly."
"There's not much time left. I hope we can now sail for the Alabasta Kingdom at this ship's maximum speed."
Her words brought a brief silence to the deck.
"Of course. We already promised," Nami said, her face full of redness but looking terrible, cold sweat covering her forehead. Still, she forced out a smile for Vivi.
"I object!" Tom looked up at Vivi. "Swirl-Head, I know you're concerned about your country. But curing Nami's illness is the most important thing right now."
"Why are you suddenly objecting?! I said I'm fine!" Nami was happy Tom cared, but didn't want to delay the voyage because of her.
"Why are you imitating Usopp all of a sudden?" Tom's words made Usopp jump up angrily nearby. "Why drag me into your argument?!"
"Stupid fisherman! Don't say things that make Nami-swan angry!" Sanji scolded Tom, then asked Luffy, "What do you say?"
Luffy pressed down his straw hat, looked at Vivi, and said nothing.
"He's right. So, we need to immediately find an island with a doctor, cure Nami's illness quickly, and then head straight for Alabasta!" Vivi had actually intended this from the start, but Tom's objection came too fast for her to finish. She gave Nami a shallow smile. "That's this ship's fastest speed, right?"
"Yeah! That's the fastest speed!" Luffy said with a confident smile.
"Is that alright? As a princess, shouldn't you be more worried about the safety of a million citizens?" Usopp asked Vivi.
"Yes. That's why we need to cure Nami's illness quickly." Vivi's words made Sanji very happy, saying he liked her even more now.
Even Zoro looked at Vivi differently. He thought that despite learning of her country's serious unrest, being able to make this decision showed impressive resolve.
"I'm sorry... for making you worry about me too," Nami said to Vivi, her head spinning badly. She couldn't hold on any longer, and collapsed straight down, caught by Vivi.
Tom, seeing Nami faint again, prepared to check on her when he heard Luffy's cry of alarm. "Look! What's that?!"
"A huge tornado!"
"Good thing our ship isn't over there."
Looking where Luffy pointed, they saw an abnormally massive waterspout on the distant sea, seemingly sweeping waves into the sky. The sky there was dark, covered in dense black clouds. Violent winds howled, lightning flashed and thunder roared, with several thunderbolts striking down.
With a deafening boom, they saw a large shark and a giant octopus fighting on the sea surface get struck by lightning, turning directly into black charcoal before being swept away by the massive waterspout.
Seeing the lightning's power, Luffy and the others were so shocked their jaws nearly dropped.
"Wait... that direction... isn't that where our ship was heading earlier?!!" Vivi cried, supporting the unconscious Nami and staring at the sea tornado and lightning-ravaged waters.
The crew felt fortunate they had followed Nami's instructions and changed course. Otherwise, the Going Merry would have been either swept into the waterspout or smashed to pieces by lightning—a certain ship destroyed and crew killed outcome.
Incredible. They say tornadoes in the Grand Line come with no warning. So she doesn't just predict weather theoretically. It's like she senses it with her body. Vivi looked astonished at the unconscious Nami, deeply shocked by her ability to anticipate danger. She'd never seen a navigator like Nami before.
And so, the Straw Hats' ship temporarily changed course southward, no longer heading for Alabasta, but searching for a doctor.
Another day passed. The further south they went, the colder it got, with snow beginning to fall.
Nami's persistent high fever had Sanji extremely anxious. He and Karoo argued nonstop in Nami's room until Vivi had to tell them to be quiet.
Due to the cold and lacking thick winter clothes for a child, Tom casually took one of Nami's coats for Miss Goldenweek. When the little girl saw the completely ruined coat Tom had "modified," she thought he was giving her rags to wear. It couldn't be helped; Tom knew nothing about tailoring clothes. He just found some scissors, snipped a few times, thought it fit her now, and gave it to her.
Then Tom went back to researching how to reduce Nami's fever.
That morning, Usopp discovered his long nose was crooked and suspected Luffy, who slept next to him. Luffy denied it.
Usopp spent the early morning rubbing furiously at his crooked nose, glaring at Luffy for lack of evidence. But soon, he righteously went to demand an explanation, armed with evidence: a painting by Miss Goldenweek. The scene depicted Luffy, dazed in sleep, kicking Usopp's long nose crooked.
Luffy looked at the painting, laughed loudly and praised it, though he had no memory of bending Usopp's nose. Miss Goldenweek, calling herself a realist painter who wouldn't paint fabricated things, said it truly happened last night. Usopp and Luffy then started fighting.
Hearing this, Tom asked Miss Goldenweek why she was painting instead of sleeping. The little girl blinked her big eyes, glanced at Luffy, then at Tom, and honestly said, "Because you and Luffy snore too loudly. I couldn't sleep." She even took out several drawings of Tom's sleeping posture and showed them to him.
Tom was truly embarrassed. He said nothing and walked away from Miss Goldenweek.
"See any doctors yet?" Luffy asked Zoro, who was on the lookout perch above, after playing in the snow for a bit.
"Idiot. How could we possibly see a doctor?" Usopp said. They were sailing on the open sea with no ships or land in sight.
"Hey... do you think a person can stand on the sea?" Zoro asked, lowering his telescope.
"A person standing on the sea? Impossible!"
"Yeah, Zoro, don't spout nonsense."
Luffy and Usopp didn't believe him.
"Then what is that?" Zoro said, raising his telescope again.
"What's going on?" Tom asked, walking over as Luffy and the others discussed something. Luffy told him Zoro seemed to have seen someone standing on the sea.
Tom initially didn't believe such an absurd thing. Someone floating on the sea wouldn't be strange, but standing? Soon, he, Luffy, and Usopp saw that there indeed seemed to be a figure standing motionless on the sea ahead.
As the ship drew closer, they confirmed it: a person was truly standing on the sea.
Amid the snow falling across the sky, a figure stood alone on the vast, boundless ocean—back adorned with a quiver, unusually long arms, thick wavy lips, wearing a jester-like mask and a thick cotton coat. The bizarre scene of this lone figure staring back at those on the Going Merry left Tom and the others stunned into silence.
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T/N :
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