-----
-----
"That's my treasure!!!"
Nami completely forgot about pirates or anything else the moment Bai Ye picked up the treasure she'd painstakingly gathered .
Fuming, she launched herself at the handsome man like a wildcat.
[Taoist Secret Art – Golden Light Barrier]
BOOM!!!
"Ouch!!!"
Nami smacked into Bai Ye's golden shield like she'd hit a wall.
Holding her head, she stared at him in disbelief. "What kinda magic is that?!"
Damn, this hot guy is literally glowing!
"Nope, not magic. Just a little Taoist trick."
Bai Ye grinned.
In the original story, Nami's basically the boss lady on the ship—Luffy and the others often got smacked around by her for fun.
But Bai Ye wasn't the type to enjoy that kind of thing, so...
"If you're not gonna be our navigator, then this treasure's officially ours now."
He tossed the pouch in his hand, making a rough estimate.
"Looks like... maybe two million Berries? Not a lot, but enough for Luffy to throw a big party—and maybe even get Zoro a nice new sword."
Watching Bai Ye shamelessly claim her treasure as his own, Nami clenched her teeth.
This guy is so not hot anymore.
"Party?!"
Luffy's eyes lit up immediately.
"A new sword, huh? Sounds nice."
Zoro, sipping his drink nearby, casually chimed in.
"(Hey hey hey—what the hell?!) That was her hard-earned treasure!"
That was her hard-earned treasure! Just a bit more, just a tiny bit more, and she'd have had enough to buy back her village.
Thinking of how long her home had suffered under Arlong's rule, Nami looked up and said,
"I can help you guys navigate, but I'm not joining your crew."
She was still clinging to her last bit of resolve.
"Huh? Why not?"
Luffy tilted his head, confused.
"Because I hate pirates. I really hate them."
"Huh?"
Just as Luffy was about to say more, Bai Ye stepped forward and patted his shoulder.
"Let it go for now, Luffy. Don't rush her."
Hearing that, Luffy nodded without hesitation.
"Okay."
Bai Ye was his first crewmate—and the one who convinced Zoro to come aboard. When it came to stuff like this, Luffy really trusted him.
"Well then, Miss Nami, congrats. You've won your treasure back."
Bai Ye turned to her and handed her the bag.
He already knew from the original story—Nami would never truly join the crew until they took down Arlong and freed her village.
And that was something Bai Ye was more than ready for.
So there was no need to say more right now—as long as they could keep her on the ship, it was enough.
"Think of this as Miss Nami's payment for the upcoming voyage."
"Fine, fine, just give me..."
Nami was mid-sentence when something suddenly felt off.
Weren't those treasures hers? How did they end up in this guy's hands for just a little while and suddenly turn into her payment?
Wait a sec... was she just scammed for free labor?
"You guys are the poorest pirates I've ever seen!!!"
Nami roared.
Before getting caught, she'd already snuck into the treasure room on the ship.
She had looked around, feeling kinda conflicted.
Honestly, the place was so clean, any self-respecting thief would feel obligated to leave some money behind.
As for Nami? Are you kidding? No one was getting a single Beli from her!!!
Not a single one!!!
"Ah, now that you mention it, I think we should set up some insurance."
As Bai Ye spoke, he took back Nami's bag, dumped out half of it, and handed that part back to her.
Then with a swipe of his right hand, the rest of the Beli disappeared into his storage space.
"To prevent Nami from running off mid-journey, we'll just give her half for now."
Nami: ...
What do you mean "give me half", you jerk?! That was ALL mine!!!
It's bad enough you're freeloading off me, but now you're stealing on top of it?! Isn't this going too far?!
Nami was absolutely fuming inside, too pissed to even notice Bai Ye's mysterious disappearing trick.
"We've been at sea for a while now, and our navigator's gotten used to the ship. I think it's time we talk about our next destination."
Bai Ye looked at the three people in front of him.
Unlike the Grand Line, the East Blue doesn't have any special navigation pointers.
In other words, they could pick any place to go next.
"Doesn't matter to me, as long as there's someone to fight."
Zoro was the first to speak. Now that he'd broken out of his small world, all he wanted was a good fight.
"I want to find more crewmates and head for the Grand Line!!!"
Luffy was clearly more fired up than before.
"I've got no opinion. I'll just use my navigation skills to help you get there faster."
After sailing with them for a while, Nami had figured out who these guys really were.
Turns out—they were the heroes who saved Shells Town!
Funny enough, right after Luffy and the others left, Nami had arrived at Shells Town too.
That's when she first heard the news—three guys who claimed to be pirates had taken down the ruthless Marine Captain ruling the town.
Nami's first reaction? No way.
But the whole town was talking about them like legends. She couldn't help but start to wonder...
Could pirates like that actually exist?
She never would've thought that just a few days later, she'd meet them in person.
And after spending some time together, Nami got a better feel for who they were.
Luffy? Total idiot. Zoro? Either training or drinking all day.
Those paper dolls? Basically Bai Ye's worker drones.
And Bai Ye? The guy who took half her treasure? The worst!
"Hmm... is that so?"
Bai Ye nodded, totally unaware he'd just been cursed out again, and continued:
"In that case, I have a suggestion."
"Back when I made a deal with the Marines at Shells Town, one part of it was that they'd give me a map of the Grand Line."
"But when I finally got it... it had already been stolen. And as for who stole it..."
As he spoke, Bai Ye flipped his wrist, and a piece of paper appeared in his hand.
He unfolded it, showing everyone what was on it:
A jester-like pirate logo and the words: 'Thanks for the gift – Yours truly.'
"Wanted for 15 million Beli. The infamous pirate known as 'The Genius Jester'—Buggy the Clown."
He was also a trainee on the Pirate King Roger's ship, and an old buddy of Red-Haired Shanks.
…Not that Bai Ye bothered to mention that part.
"You mean that Buggy guy who supposedly can't be killed?" Zoro crossed his arms and muttered, "I think I've heard of him. A bounty over 10 million? Sounds like a decent challenge."
"Alright!"
Luffy clapped his hands together, all serious now. "Then let's go find him and take that map back!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! That's a 15 million bounty pirate we're talking about! And people say you can't kill Buggy no matter how many times you cut him!"
Nami was losing it. Seriously, were these guys a pair of lunatics? Not even a little scared?
Sure, she had dreams of mapping the Grand Line too, but against someone like that? There's no way they'd win!
The guy's literally immortal!
"He's not actually unkillable," Bai Ye explained calmly. "Buggy's just like Luffy—he's a Devil Fruit user. He ate the Chop-Chop Fruit."
"....."