Nami felt strange. She had only taken a nap, so why did it feel like everything had changed?
On the deck of the merchant ship, surrounded by the crew, she looked at Luffy, who was hugging a box and grinning like an idiot, then at the fierce-eyed swordsman with green hair and bandages wrapped all over his body. Completely confused, she asked, "What's going on? Where's that pink-haired guy named Koby? And who's this seaweed-head?"
"Stupid woman, who are you calling seaweed-head..."
The green-haired swordsman immediately roared in anger.
But the moment he struggled, the pain from his wounds twisted his face.
Seeing that, Nami's initial fear faded.
Merry quickly tried to calm him down.
"Mr. Zoro, please don't get worked up. Your wounds will reopen."
"Zoro!"
Nami was shocked when she heard the name.
"This is that pirate hunter Zoro? What exactly happened? Why is he on our ship?"
Only then did Merry explain.
"Mr. Luffy and Mr. Zoro defeated Morgan. Mr. Zoro has now become Mr. Luffy's companion, and as for Mr. Koby, he joined the Marines!"
"Huh?!"
Nami was startled again. Then her expression changed drastically, and she said in a panic, "Oh no. Those Marines won't know these two are connected to us, will they?"
"Don't worry, Miss Nami!"
Merry hurried to reassure her.
"Since Mr. Luffy and Mr. Zoro helped the villagers and the Marines on the island defeat Morgan, the Marines agreed not to reveal what happened today as thanks."
"Is that so?"
Nami thought it over. She still felt uneasy, but in the end, there was nothing she could do but nod.
"Well, I guess that's that. Then what's with this box? Why does it look so familiar..."
Merry smiled awkwardly.
"Well, since Morgan has been defeated, we won't need to pay him so much protection money anymore. So I took the liberty of giving this money to Mr. Luffy as a reward. That way, Mr. Luffy and the others will have money to buy a pirate ship of their own."
"What?! That's eight million Belly!"
Nami was stunned. Even when she went out on a trip, she could not earn much money, yet this clueless guy had somehow ended up with that much.
But when she saw how happy Luffy looked, and then thought about how he had actually defeated Morgan and freed the town from Morgan's reign of terror, a faint trace of admiration appeared in her eyes.
"Fine... fine. It's your money anyway. It has nothing to do with me..."
At that point, she thought for a moment, then looked at the two of them and spoke with clear intent.
"Still, eight million isn't enough to buy a pirate ship. But if you can defeat the next guy, then maybe you'll have enough..."
In that instant, the pirate hunter named Zoro looked at the woman in front of him and sensed a sly air about her. Luffy's eyes, on the other hand, lit up.
"That guy is the ruler of the waters we're heading to next. The boss of the Buggy Pirate crew and Buggy Express, Red-Nosed Buggy!"
And while Nami was tempting Luffy and Zoro...
...
East Blue, a Marine base near Orange Town.
Inside his office, the Marine Captain named Nezumi suddenly received a call.
"I have a piece of information to sell you, Captain Nezumi!"
"Oh? What information?"
"It's about Bell-mère's daughter, Nami."
At the sound of Bell-mère's name, Nezumi's expression darkened instinctively.
He was supposed to be the highest-ranking Marine officer in the area, but Bell-mère had transferred from Marine Headquarters to the East Blue and served as the local commander for nearly ten years. Even after retiring, she still had tremendous prestige, which made it inconvenient for him to carry out many of his money-making schemes.
Getting in the way of someone's fortune was no different from killing their parents.
Captain Nezumi hated her so much his teeth itched.
Just then, the Den Den Mushi continued.
"Haven't you always thought Bell-mère was in your way, stopping you from making money? This information can help you deal with her!"
"How much?!"
"One million Belly!"
"Are you joking?!"
"Of course not. Don't worry, this information is absolutely worth the price!"
"..."
Captain Nezumi hesitated again and again, but in the end, he nodded.
"Fine. I agree."
"Excellent. I'll tell you now. I trust you don't have the nerve to go back on your word!"
After that threat, the voice over the Den Den Mushi revealed the details.
"You probably haven't received the news yet, but that arrogant fool Morgan was taken down by a pirate!"
Nezumi froze at that.
Although the two of them held the same rank, their strength was worlds apart.
"Besides that, the pirate Alvida was taken down too!"
That shocked Nezumi even more.
"And the one who took down both of them was the same person. A pirate wearing a straw hat. The pirate hunter Zoro has also become his companion. Of course, none of that is the most important part. The important thing is that I have reliable information saying those two are currently on a Koya family merchant ship, and the one who let them on board was Bell-mère's daughter, Nami. I believe I don't need to say any more than that."
Nezumi's eyes lit up at once. He stroked his small mustache and said, "Is the information accurate?"
"Of course. If you don't believe me, you can wait a little longer. It won't be long before they reach Buggy Express's territory."
"..."
The voice from the Den Den Mushi was right. Three days later, a piece of news arrived.
In the East Blue, the great pirate with a bounty of fifteen million Belly, the captain of the Buggy Pirate crew and also the boss of Buggy Express, Red-Nosed Buggy, had been defeated by Straw Hat Luffy.
In an instant, the entire East Blue was shaken.
Naturally, Nezumi did not care about that. He only cared about one thing.
In the information he received, he did indeed see Nami. And from the look of it, she was clearly with them.
"Hehehe, Bell-mère, you won't get away this time!"
With that thought, he picked up the Den Den Mushi and dialed East Blue Marine Headquarters.
"Hello, this is Captain Nezumi. I have a report to make..."
...
At the same time, in a certain small town in the East Blue.
On an island ruled by the Buggy Pirate crew.
The battle had just ended, and Nami stared at Luffy and Zoro in disbelief.
Just moments earlier, the three of them had worked together to defeat the captain of the Buggy Pirate crew, Red-Nosed Buggy, and obtained all of the Buggy Pirate crew's treasure. But the two of them had not kept the treasure for themselves. Instead, they had returned all of it to the island's residents.
During the battle, the Buggy Pirate crew had used their special cannonballs and destroyed most of the residents' homes on the island.
"Why?"
Nami could not understand it.
"Aren't you short on money to buy a ship?"
"It's fine. If we have to, we'll just take down another bad guy like him. We're pirates, after all."
Luffy said it with a pure smile. Beside him, Zoro was still bleeding, but as he looked at his captain, his eyes were filled with pride.
Seeing that, Nami felt for the first time that although the guy in front of her really was an idiot, he might actually be a pretty decent guy...