Chapter 22
"You… you okay?"
Nami looked at her own clenched fist, her pretty face flushing bright red. She asked Kai cautiously, embarrassed. Yet deep down, she felt incredibly happy—she hadn't felt this carefree, this childlike joy since the days she spent with her mother Bell-mère!
"I'm fine! Your punches are like cotton—how could they possibly hurt me?"
Kai sensed the joyful emotion in Nami's heart and smiled inwardly. Then he replied casually with a relaxed grin.
"So… how about it? One Berry! You in or not?"
Seeing Nami about to explode again, Kai quickly asked. In his mind, he recalled Nami's performance in the original story—agile movements, sharp wits. She clearly had great natural talent. If she had trained seriously from a young age, Nami could have become a real powerhouse. That's why Kai already had a plan in mind for teaching her!
"I'll learn! Of course I'll learn!"
Hearing the "tuition" was really just one Berry, Nami's eyes lit up with delight.
"Great! To celebrate taking on such a cute little beauty as my disciple, I'm treating you to a big meal!"
Kai laughed heartily, then sped off with Nami toward the nearest island town!
Along the way, Kai and Nami chatted freely and happily. With the subtle help of the Emotion Fruit gradually lowering her defenses, Nami opened up layer by layer. She told him everything from her earliest memories to her childhood at age ten. The only thing she kept hidden was her village being taken over by Arlong. Kai didn't ask—Nami would tell him when she was ready. He was confident of that.
What shocked Kai most was learning from Nami that her adoptive mother Bell-mère—along with her older sister Nojiko's mother—hadn't died at Arlong's hands. Instead, she had been gravely injured and left in a vegetative state, never waking up!
Upon reaching the island town, when Nami saw Kai make the Phantom vanish into thin air, she gasped in amazement—then immediately screamed that all her treasure had disappeared and demanded Kai compensate her. Only when he pulled her bag of loot out of "nowhere" did she calm down!
"Kai! How is that thing so amazing?!"
On the way into town, Nami kept marveling at the car.
"Of course! There's only one in the whole world! But it's not a ship—it's a sports car! It runs even faster on land!"
Kai replied proudly.
"No way! That amazing? Only one in the world? I don't believe it!"
Nami's eyes sparkled.
"It must be worth a fortune, right?"
"Uh… not really. Maybe 1 billion Berries at least!"
Kai laughed when he heard her constantly talking about money. The Phantom was the only one of its kind in this world—the fastest travel and sea vehicle imaginable. Even 10 billion Berries wouldn't tempt him to sell the one thing that had crossed over with him!
"Ten… ten billion… for something that small?"
Nami stared in disbelief.
"Heh heh! Just kidding! More like 10 million Berries!"
Kai quickly laughed it off when he saw her stunned expression.
Once in town, Kai and Nami found a hotel and booked two rooms. They washed up and changed out of their blood-stained clothes!
"…Should I… steal all of Kai's treasure?"
That night, Nami stood alone under the starry sky, murmuring to herself. Her eyes were filled with struggle!
In the past, whenever she met a bounty hunter or pirate, she would have stolen their valuables and vanished. But with Kai… she just couldn't bring herself to do it!
Even though they had only spent one day together, Nami felt happier than she had in years—like she could forget everything: no more worrying about Arlong's 100 million Berry debt, no more anxiety about Bell-mère's condition.
Scenes from the day replayed in her mind: Kai slaughtering the entire Gatt Pirates to save her… vomiting after his first kills… laughing freely while driving her across the sea… not getting angry even after she punched him twice… joking about absurd lesson fees… teasing her by saying the Phantom was worth 10 billion… Somehow, without realizing it, Nami discovered she loved being around Kai—not just because he had a lot of money!
But Nami knew she couldn't stay with him forever. She still had to steal 100 million Berries. Her village was still waiting for her to buy it back from Arlong!
"One week! Just one more week, then I'll leave. At least I'll learn something useful from Kai—make it easier to steal without getting caught!"
In the end, Nami whispered to herself, finding an excuse to stay with Kai a little longer!
Over the next week, Kai stayed on the island with Nami. He didn't teach her swordsmanship—her age was already past the ideal starting point, and she couldn't train all day. Instead, he focused on training her body's agility and flexibility. He also bought her a collapsible staff—Kai thought Nami looked coolest wielding a staff!
He bought her several lead weights too. He told her she only needed to wear them until she could comfortably carry 20 jin (≈22 lbs) on each limb. Women's bodies were different from men's—their advantage lay in flexibility and speed, not raw power. A moderate amount of strength was enough—just like with Kuina. Kai had already stopped making Kuina wear weights long ago; otherwise she'd end up too muscular!
Every day, Kai clearly sensed Nami's growing reluctance to leave through the Emotion Fruit. He knew she was planning to go—but he didn't stop her. Right now, he wasn't strong enough to take on Arlong. Forcing her to stay wouldn't make her happy. Besides, if Nami hadn't gone through these difficult years, she wouldn't have developed into the clever, resilient Cat Burglar Nami from the original story!
So while training her, Kai carefully explained how to exercise flexibility and agility in detail!
"Arlong… hmph! I won't let you live long enough to see Luffy set sail…"
As he watched the small boat carrying Nami sail away from the island, Kai murmured coldly.
He would recruit Nami onto his pirate crew sooner or later—the best navigator in the One Piece world, and one of his favorite women. How could he possibly let her go? As for Luffy… sorry. Whether he could still set sail without Nami wasn't Kai's concern!
"Heh heh! Nami! Wait for me—I'll come to Cocoyasi Village to pick you up. When that time comes, I'll use a different identity. No more 'Maple Leaf Hunter'!"
Smiling as he watched Nami disappear into the distance, a mischievous grin curled on Kai's lips. He could already imagine how shocked she would be when he "changed jobs"!
"Tomorrow… Foosha Village, then…"
Kai looked at the suddenly empty interior of the Phantom and let out a helpless sigh. Nami had stolen every single piece of gold and treasure she had decorated the car with before leaving!
"Oh well… Nami, I'll get it all back from you eventually!"
Kai laughed softly. He felt a pang of reluctance and sadness at her departure—yet her parting act of robbing him blind also made him laugh. Thinking of her adorable money-loving personality instantly lifted his mood!
"Set course—Foosha Village!"
With a light smile, Kai revved the sleek Phantom and sped off toward Luffy's hometown!
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