Splash...
Twenty years passed in the blink of an eye.
The East Blue.
On the calm sea, a huge light-blue merchant ship cut through the waves with the wind at its back.
Two enormous flags stood at the center of the ship.
One was marked with a three-legged firebird wreathed in flames, while the other bore the shape of a white goat.
Beneath those two flags, on the foredeck under a colorful parasol, a beautiful young girl in light, revealing clothes lay comfortably on a deck chair, her youthful figure on full display. Wearing sunglasses, she basked lazily in the sun.
She casually picked up the honey orange juice from the small table beside her and drank it down. The sea breeze brushed across her face, drawing a satisfied sigh from her.
Just then, footsteps sounded behind her. A man in a black suit, with a goat-like head and the air of a gentleman, walked over and asked gently, "Miss Nami, won't you go inside and rest? This kind of sun isn't very friendly to a girl's skin."
"Don't worry, Mr. Merry. A little sun like this is nothing to me."
The beautiful girl named Nami only lifted her sunglasses slightly and spoke with complete confidence.
Seeing this, Merry nodded gently.
"That's good to hear. As our navigator, Miss Nami, we'll be counting on you again for this voyage."
The girl's eyes were filled with pride and a sly gleam.
"Relax, it's nothing. Besides, Kaya paid me plenty. By the way, how is Kaya doing now? She always hides things from me over the Den Den Mushi."
At that, Merry looked a little troubled.
"She's still the same. The deaths of Master and Madam a year ago were a heavy blow to Miss Kaya."
Hearing this, concern appeared on Nami's face. In the end, she encouraged him and said, "Don't worry. I'm sure Kaya's health will recover soon. Once this is over, I'll go see her. By the way, how is that idiot Usopp? Is he still sneaking off to see Kaya...?"
At the mention of Usopp's name, Merry's face showed a hint of embarrassment.
"Ah, Mr. Clabauter has already ordered Usopp several times not to see Miss Kaya, and even had people use force, but..."
"Clabauter..."
Hearing that name, Nami frowned deeply.
"I don't like that idiot Usopp either, and I have no idea what Kaya sees in him, but Clabauter always gives me the feeling he's not a good person."
Merry smiled awkwardly and tried to persuade her.
"Miss Nami, you've always been biased against Mr. Clabauter. Miss Kaya trusts him very much."
"Tch... Compared to you, Merry, that guy just feels incredibly fake. Forget it. It's your family's business anyway. It has nothing to do with me."
After saying that, Nami put her sunglasses back on and lay down comfortably again.
Seeing this, Merry could only shake his head.
Just then, a crew member's voice suddenly rang out from the deck not far away.
"Hey... Look over there. What's that...?"
"It's a small boat. There are two people on it..."
"Are they still alive? Are they shipwrecked?"
"Should we save them? Could it be a pirate trap...?"
The shouts caught Nami and Merry's attention.
"Let's go take a look!"
As a navigator, Nami paid close attention to everything that happened at sea.
The two walked over. Under the lecherous gazes of the other crew members, they looked in the direction the men were pointing and, sure enough, saw a lonely little wooden boat drifting on the sea not far away.
Two boys were lying on it. One wore a straw hat, a red vest, and blue shorts, while the other wore a white T-shirt and had pink hair.
Clearly, the two of them had run into trouble. They were slumped against the side of the boat, looking almost lifeless.
Scenes like this were not uncommon out at sea.
Generally speaking, any passing ship that saw them would lend a hand.
After all, on the unpredictable sea, no one could guarantee they would never run into trouble themselves.
But that was exactly why many pirates used this kind of thing as bait to lure passing ships.
"Nami-chan, should we save them?"
Although everything on this huge merchant ship belonged to the Kaya family of Syrup Village in the East Blue, and Nami, who had just turned eighteen, was only a navigator hired by the Kaya family, many people in the East Blue, whether pirates, Marines, or merchants, knew of her.
In the East Blue, from a place called Orange Town, there was an incredibly skilled navigator. As long as one could hire her, there was no need to worry about any danger from the weather at sea. Some rumors even said she could control the weather.
So although Nami's sexy figure drew plenty of lecherous looks from the crew, deep down, everyone respected this navigator greatly.
No one would joke around with their own life.
After all, on the sea, an excellent navigator greatly improved a crew's chances of survival.
"Don't rush. Give me the telescope. And have the lookout check the area. See if there are any pirates nearby."
"Got it..."
A telescope was handed to Nami. She raised it and scanned the surrounding sea.
As far as the eye could see, there was no sign of any pirates.
There should not be a problem.
Thinking that, she turned the telescope back toward the small boat, wanting to see whether the guy aboard looked like a pirate.
But the moment she looked over, their eyes met.
"Huh...?"
On the small boat, the straw-hat boy, who had been sticking out his tongue and looking as if he were about to die at any moment, seemed to notice Nami looking at him. His eyes instantly widened with delight.
Nami was startled and instinctively stepped back.
At that moment, the crew on the ship also noticed the movement on the little boat.
"He's still alive?"
Then they saw something utterly unbelievable.
On the small boat not far away, the straw-hat boy grabbed the other boy, then swung his arm with an impossible twist.
"Rubber Rubber... Pistol!"
In an instant, his arm stretched to an unbelievable length, crossing the sea between them and grabbing the merchant ship's railing. Then, carrying the other boy with him, he flew straight over.
With a slap, under everyone's terrified gazes, he landed directly on the deck and immediately cheered at the top of his lungs.
"Great! We're finally saved! Water... Meat..."
The scene left everyone stunned.
In the end, Nami stepped forward and asked cautiously, "Hey, who are you?"
"Me?"
The boy grinned brightly and innocently, holding onto his straw hat as he said, "My name is Luffy... and I'm the man who's going to become the Pirate King!"