68: Chapter 68 Refusal! The Strongest NavigatorHer voice was low, tinged with a mysterious longing: "It's a secret, but."
As long as we have this chart of the Great Sea Route…
Her fingers pressed lightly against the spot on her chest where the nautical chart was hidden, her eyes flashing with a sharp light, ".One hundred million Berries will no longer be a distant dream!"
"Naval chart?"
Luffy's eyes lit up instantly, and he swallowed the food in his mouth."Are you a navigator?"
For a pirate determined to conquer the Grand Line, the importance of a navigator is self-evident!
Nami raised her chin slightly, her short orange hair swaying gently with the movement, and a confident, even slightly arrogant, smile returned to her face:
"Hmph, my skills are far superior to those of the average navigator!There's no nautical chart or weather condition on this vast ocean that I can't understand!"
These words were like a signal light igniting in Luffy's heart!
He jumped to his feet excitedly, placing his hands on the table, leaning forward, his eyes blazing with intense light as he stared intently at Nami: "Really?That's perfect!"
He practically yelled, "Would you like to join us as a navigator?"
"Really?"
Nami blurted it out almost without thinking, her face instantly breaking into a smile of surprise and delight.Her body involuntarily leaned forward, as if she had seen a shortcut to achieving her goal!
However, Luffy's next words were like a bucket of ice water poured over his head:
"Join our pirate crew!"
"A pirate crew?"
Nami's smile froze and shattered instantly, turning into undisguised disgust and coldness!
She took a step back as if she had been pricked by a needle, as if Luffy carried a deadly plague.
"So.you're a pirate." Her voice lost its warmth, and her eyes were sharp as knives.
Luffy seemed completely oblivious to Nami's sudden change in attitude.He gently touched his iconic straw hat, his expression becoming incredibly serious, even carrying a sense of sacred nostalgia.
"Yes!I swore an oath."
He took off his straw hat, held it in his hand, and stared intently at the slightly worn hat that carried a heavy promise.His voice was deep and firm, "I told the person who gave me this straw hat.I would gather my crew and become a pirate!"
"In this world—the thing I hate most is pirates!"
Nami could no longer suppress her disgust and anger.She slammed her hands on the table, making the dishes jump!
Her chest heaved violently, her orange eyes burned with raging fury, and her voice was resolute:
"The only things I like are money and oranges!" She seemed to be drawing a clear line in the most straightforward way.
Luffy blinked as he looked at Nami, who had suddenly become incredibly agitated, seemingly puzzled by this sudden surge of intense hatred.
But he didn't press the matter.He simply put the straw hat back on, as if making a perfectly natural decision, and said to Nami again:
"Then.you can be our navigator!"
"I—already—said—I—didn't—want—it—!"
Nami practically roared in refusal.She turned around angrily, strode to the window, her back to Luffy, her shoulders trembling slightly with rage.
Cooperating with pirates?Absolutely not!
Luffy watched her retreating figure, merely shrugged with a hint of regret, and muttered, "You don't want to."
He then sat down with a calm heart, continuing to focus on the food in front of him, as if the heated conversation had never happened.
For him, filling his stomach was the most important thing.
Nami stood by the window, her fingers tapping impatiently on the windowpane, gazing at the deathly silent street outside.Luffy's "quietness" did not alleviate her anxiety.
She needs to deal with the Buggy Pirates' troubles as soon as possible, ensure the safety of the sea chart, and then leave this troublesome place.
Just then, the faint sound of a deliberately hushed conversation drifted in from outside the window:
"Has it been found?"
"Didn't find her.Damn it, where did that woman go?"
"Find it quickly!If we don't get the nautical chart back, we're all doomed!"
"Split up and search!Go check over there!"
It was one of the two Buggy Pirates members who had been chasing her before; their voices were filled with anxiety and fear.
Nami felt a chill run down her spine and instinctively turned to hide herself, leaving only her sharp eyes peeking downwards.
Sure enough, they saw those two familiar figures anxiously looking around and searching in the street.
Nami's fingers unconsciously gripped the window frame, the sawdust stinging her palms slightly.
"Those guys."
Nami frowned, her mind racing as she considered a solution."I need to think of something."
Her gaze involuntarily drifted back into the room—to the man wearing a straw hat, happily eating a loaf of bread, completely oblivious to the danger outside the window.
She suddenly remembered what Bellemere had said: the most dangerous storms are often coated with sugar.
A bold and… "practical" idea instantly popped into my head.
Nami took a deep breath, forced a sweet smile onto her face, and turned to walk towards Luffy.
"That's right!"
Her voice softened, with a hint of a deliberate "flash of inspiration," "Hey, you in the straw hat."
Luffy looked up, his mouth full of food, and stared at her in confusion.
Nami stood with her hands behind her back, tilted her head slightly, and gave a sly smile:
"If you agree to one condition.I might consider your suggestion from earlier, you know?" She cleverly avoided the sensitive word "join a pirate crew".
"Really?"
Luffy's eyes lit up instantly, and he almost jumped up with excitement, not caring that he spat out a little food."I'll agree to anything you want!Go ahead and say it!"
Nami chuckled to herself, "They've taken the bait!"
Her smile remained unchanged as she said casually, "It's simple!I want you to come with me to find the pirate Buggy!But."
As she spoke, she spoke with remarkable naturalness, as if she had transformed.As if by magic, he pulled a sturdy hemp rope from his waist.
Luffy looked at the rope in her hand with a puzzled expression: "What are you doing?"
"It's just a little 'insurance'!Is there a problem?"
Nami smiled innocently, but her movements were as fast as lightning.Before Luffy could react, she skillfully tied him up by the back of his hand!
Luffy tried to struggle, but his rubber body made the ropes seem a bit loose.He grinned:
"Whatever!I want to see that pirate Buggy anyway!It sounds interesting!Let's go!"
After saying that, he took a step to walk out, as if he were not the one who was tied up.
"Hey!Wait a minute!" Nami was caught off guard and stumbled as the rope pulled her, almost causing her to fall.
She quickly grabbed the other end of the rope and shouted angrily, "I said wait!You're going the wrong way, you idiot!And you're a 'prisoner' now!You have to listen to me!"
She began to doubt whether the plan was reliable or not.
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