"Click!"
The wooden door swung open.
A slender woman stood in the doorway, her arms folded.
"What are you doing? You're being noisy again!"
"You're back, Nami."
The woman had long deep-red hair tied behind her head, while the strands near her temples were cut shorter. Her posture was firm, yet her expression carried the relaxed confidence of someone who had once lived a soldier's life.
"I'm back…"
Nami looked up at the woman standing only a step away and forced a bright smile.
"You see? This has happened many times already!"
"It's already spreading through the whole village."
The man standing beside the doorway pointed sternly at Nami, who was clutching a thick book tightly to her chest.
His face was filled with disapproval.
Clearly, he had just caught her stealing again.
"So what?"
"A-A-Jian, you must have stolen something before too, right?"
The woman beside Nami spoke casually, wearing an indifferent expression.
She even stepped forward and lightly patted the man's shoulder as if teasing him.
"It's exactly because you're like this!"
A-Jian's brows furrowed in frustration.
He was extremely dissatisfied with her attitude.
Her carefree demeanor made his irritation rise even higher.
The woman was slightly surprised by A-Jian's sudden anger.
Then she chuckled.
"Relax. I'm just kidding."
"I get it. The money must have been paid by A-Jian, right?"
"Thank you."
"But I really don't have any money right now."
"We'll pay next time."
Her voice suddenly turned teasing and playful.
"Or maybe… I could use my… body… to pay…"
A-Jian jumped back in panic.
"Hey! You can't say things like that!"
He never expected Bell‑mère to casually say something so outrageous.
Nami and Bell-mère burst into laughter.
"Wow, you even blushed!"
Bell-mère soon noticed that Nami's smile was even brighter than hers.
She crouched down and looked directly at the girl.
"Why are you laughing so hard, Nami?"
"Hm?"
Before Nami could react
Bonk!
Bell-mère flicked her forehead with a powerful chestnut.
"If you dare steal again, I'll spank your butt a hundred times!"
Bell-mère lectured her sternly.
"I'm sorry…"
Nami rubbed her head and pouted.
"But I really wanted this book."
She hugged the book tighter.
Bell-mère's stern expression softened slightly.
"Why didn't you tell me you wanted it?"
"You wouldn't buy it for me anyway!"
Nami protested immediately.
"I would."
"I still have some secret savings, you know."
Bell-mère blinked, slightly puzzled by Nami's words.
"Everyone in the village said it."
"The weather this year has been great."
"No matter where the orange groves are, the harvest is amazing."
"So our oranges won't sell for much."
"And some might not even sell at all."
Nami repeated everything she had overheard from the villagers.
Bell-mère sighed helplessly.
"What a chatterbox."
Looks like their family would be eating oranges every day this year.
"Nami, you're so clueless."
"If it were me, I'd steal more cleverly."
Suddenly, a head popped out from behind the door.
A blue-haired girl squeezed through the doorway with a mischievous grin.
"I would have planned the escape route first!"
The girl laughed proudly.
Bell-mère gave both of them another chestnut.
Bonk! Bonk!
Why another?
You'd have to ask Nami about that.
"It hurts!"
"I told you not to steal!"
"I was just joking!"
The blue-haired girl rubbing her head was none other than Nojiko.
Just then, "Marines! The Marines are coming!"
A-Jian suddenly rushed back from outside, shouting excitedly.
Clearly, the villagers were thrilled.
For this peaceful East Blue village, the arrival of the Marines was always a reassuring sight.
After all Bell-mère herself had once been a Marine.
Meanwhile, on a warship approaching the harbor.
Standing calmly at the bow was a woman wearing a long Marine coat.
The wind lifted the coat behind her like a white banner of justice.
Her name was Saint Roselith Seraphina.
A noblewoman from the Roselith lineage, a family directly affiliated with the World Government's aristocratic circles.
Though not one of the Celestial Dragons, the Roselith family had served the Government for generations as high-ranking military administrators and special envoys.
Seraphina herself had chosen a different path.
She became a Marine.
Her authority within the East Blue was extraordinary.
Officially she carried the title:
World Government Special Envoy of the East Blue.
At that moment, the warship slowly approached the harbor near Cocoyasi Village.
During their journey across the East Blue, they had already captured several pirate crews.
The pirates were now chained below deck.
The only remaining question was where to send them.
Seraphina turned slightly.
"Which Marine branch is closest to here?"
Beside her stood Fran, her trusted adjutant.
"It's Marine Branch 16."
Fran had carefully studied the geography of the East Blue.
She knew the locations of the Marine bases by heart.
"Then send them there."
Seraphina's single sentence decided the fate of the captured pirates.
"Should we personally escort them to Branch 16?"
Fran asked.
Seraphina's eyes turned cold.
"No."
"I want them to come and collect them."
Her tone carried unmistakable dissatisfaction.
During their patrol earlier, they discovered pirates occupying a small coastal town.
Judging by the traces left behind, those pirates had lived there for quite some time.
Yet the Marines of Branch 16 had done nothing.
They had turned a blind eye.
For such negligence, Seraphina had no intention of showing them courtesy.
"Contact them using the Den Den Mushi."
She spoke calmly.
If she held the title of Special Envoy of the East Blue, then she intended to use that authority properly.
Fran immediately picked up the snail-shaped communicator.
"Is this Marine Branch 16?"
"This is the unit of World Government Special Envoy Captain Saint Roselith Seraphina."
"Our division has captured numerous pirate criminals."
"You are required to retrieve them."
"Our warship is currently stationed near Cocoyasi Village."
"This is an official directive from the East Blue Special Envoy!"
The voice on the other end froze for several seconds.
Then came a flurry of nervous replies.
"Yes! Yes! Understood! Yes!"
The officer speaking was Colonel Corvus, commander of Marine Branch 16.
Clearly, Marine Headquarters had already issued notice.
The East Blue Special Envoy Saint Roselith Seraphina would be overseeing operations in the region.
Rumors even said that the commander of Branch 17 had already been summoned to Marine Headquarters for investigation.
No one wanted to be the next example.
While waiting for Branch 16 to arrive,
Seraphina decided to take a walk through the village.
After months of sailing across the East Blue, she had barely stepped onto land.
Cocoyasi Village was small.
Orange trees filled nearly every corner.
Bright fruit hung from the branches like little suns.
They looked so ripe they made people want to bite into them.
As Seraphina walked through the village streets, villagers gathered curiously.
Some smiled warmly.
A little girl even handed her a small bouquet of flowers.
It was obvious this was a village that loved the Marines.
Perhaps she had judged Branch 16 too harshly.
Maybe the pirate incident had simply been an unfortunate exception.
As she walked deeper into the village, Seraphina noticed a small bookstore.
Curious, she stepped inside.
Rows of books filled the modest shop.
An elderly woman greeted her kindly.
"Marine lady, are you looking for a book?"
"Would you like me to recommend something?"
Seraphina shook her head.
"I'm just browsing."
"You don't mind, do you?"
"Of course not!"
The old woman laughed warmly.
"The Marines protect our safety. Why would we mind?"
"Our village has even produced several Marines."
"Many young men from here have joined the bases in the East Blue."
"We respect the Marines very much."
Seraphina paused for a moment.
It felt strange to enter a bookstore and leave without buying anything.
So she randomly selected a book and paid for it.
After leaving the shop, she walked down the street with the book in hand.
Not far away, two young girls were watching her curiously.
"Nami, look!"
"I didn't expect a Marine to look like that!"
"That long coat is so cool!"
"Is she wearing sunglasses?"
"Do Marines wear sunglasses?"
"Do they go out to sea often?"
"Do Marines also need navigators?"
"Nojiko…"
Nami's eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Do you think I could become a navigator for them one day?"
Her thoughts ran endlessly.
Because they were the Marines.
The guardians of the sea.
And Nami's dream was simple.
One day she wanted to become the greatest navigator in the world.
She wanted to sail across every ocean…
…and draw a map of the entire world.