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Chapter 19: Buggy's Defeat and a New Beginning
Leaving aside Luffy's renewed battle with Buggy.
On the edge of the battlefield.
"Hey, Mr. Great Swordsman Who Can't Tell Which Way Is Which, are you still alive?"
Just as Zoro handed over the battle to Luffy, a teasing voice reached his ears.
"Not good. Almost died."
Zoro replied instinctively, then turned his head.
Because he was lying down, all he could see were two pairs of legs approaching.
One pair was bare, snow-white, long, and shapely.
The other pair was encased in black pantyhose. Though not as long, they appeared even slimmer.
Zoro's gaze swept over those long, snow-white legs, finally stopping on the slender legs in black stockings. Following the curve of the calf upwards, he indeed saw a familiar, pretty face.
"Enjoying the view?" The pretty face blinked.
"What are you talking about?"
"Hmph, you were clearly watching, but you pretend not to understand!"
"I don't know what you're talking about. Anyway, what are you doing carrying that empty box?"
"This is not an empty box."
Ganyu chuckled, squatting down next to Zoro while holding the box, and opened a crack to show him.
"It's full of gold. Nami said it's worth 5 million Berries."
"Get your legs away from me." Zoro tilted his head in disgust, his face feeling uncomfortable as the black-stockinged legs brushed against him.
"Tch. Other people would love to be this close. You really don't know how to appreciate things." Ganyu rolled her eyes at him and moved to the side.
Zoro's eyes flickered as he glanced at the box in Ganyu's arms, then turned to Nami beside her. His gaze suddenly sharpened.
"It's you!"
This orange-haired woman was the culprit who had caused his earlier conflict with the Buggy Pirates.
What happened?
How did Ganyu end up with this woman? It sounded like they even went to steal things together.
Zoro was already intimidating. He carried the murderous aura of a recent battle, coupled with the smell of blood. The mere mention of "It's you" made Nami tremble with fear.
"Um… what a coincidence… hahaha…" She hurriedly hid behind Ganyu, shrinking her neck and awkwardly greeting him.
Seeing that the atmosphere was not right, Ganyu gently kicked Zoro's arm. "Her name is Nami. She will be our ship's navigator from now on. You can't hold a grudge."
Zoro was taken aback. When he looked at Nami again, the hostility in his eyes had faded, replaced by scrutiny.
"Her? A navigator? Is her navigation skill comparable to yours?"
"You…!" Ganyu was furious upon hearing this.
This guy was ostensibly questioning Nami, but in reality, he was mocking her as well.
Damn it. If I hadn't seen you were injured, I would have stomped on you.
Ganyu clenched her fists, but ultimately suppressed her anger and decided to let him off this time.
For Nami, these words were undoubtedly a disrespect to her professional field.
People tend to react most strongly when their area of expertise is questioned.
At this moment, Nami didn't bother to maintain her delicate demeanor. She proudly raised her head, pointed at herself with her thumb, and declared:
"I'm not sure about Miss Ganyu's seafaring skills yet, but I can guarantee that you won't find a better navigator than me in the entire East Blue!"
Zoro stared at her for a moment, then said noncommittally, "Another one who talks big. Whatever, as long as we don't capsize the ship."
"Hmph, I wasn't exaggerating."
Nami put her hands on her hips. "Your standards are too low. How could anyone be so stupid as to capsize the ship? Is someone like that really a navigator?"
Is it possible that that person is standing right next to you right now?
Before Zoro could finish speaking, a certain embarrassed and annoyed Coconut Lady roughly covered his mouth.
"Alright, stop talking about useless things." Ganyu eliminated the noise using physical means and said with a serious expression:
"What we should be doing right now is focusing all our attention on Luffy!"
Her expression was serious, clearly showing concern for her companion.
Of course, that assumed one ignored the pitiful figure struggling under her palm.
...
At the same time.
The battle between Luffy and Buggy was finally nearing its end.
Without any interference, Luffy, young, energetic, with amazing potential and monstrous fighting talent, naturally became the final winner.
"Gomu Gomu no… Bazooka!"
A powerful, twin-palmed attack struck Buggy squarely in the chest, blasting him away to an unknown distance.
As the dust settled, Luffy took off his straw hat, gently patted off the dust, and then put it back on.
After doing all this, he grinned, beaming with pride, and waved one hand in the air.
"I won!"
He shouted loudly. As pirates, the joy of victory should be shared with their comrades.
A dozen meters away, Ganyu, who witnessed all of this, responded with a sweet smile and waved back.
"I saw it!"
As expected of the protagonist, he really did it.
"He actually… won…" Nami was stunned, never expecting that this ordinary Straw Hat boy could actually defeat Buggy.
Are he… no, are they… really that strong?
Zoro sat up at that moment, touching the still-visible red mark on his face. His voice was neither loud nor soft, but loud enough for all three to hear:
"You won."
...
Local residents only arrived after the battle was over.
When Ganyu and her crew defeated the Buggy Pirates, the entire town was moved to tears. They not only provided them with all sorts of supplies needed for their voyage, but also carefully bandaged the wounded Zoro and Luffy.
Looking at the residents who had been persecuted by the Buggy Pirates for months, Luffy made a decision that broke Nami's heart.
He left behind one chest of gold, worth five million Berries, for the reconstruction of the town.
The town was ravaged by Buggy Balls and would require a great deal of financial and material resources to recover.
That was all.
The newly formed Straw Hat Pirates decided to rest on the island for one night and set off again the next morning.
Nothing was said that night.
Early morning, at the port.
"Your ship is pretty good, but it might be a bit cramped for four people."
Nami boarded the ship, took a quick look around, and then shook her head as she got off.
In terms of space, it was definitely enough for four people, since it could fit three more pirates before.
Nami's use of "cramped" referred to the lack of living space and inconvenience when two men and two women were sailing on one ship.
Luffy didn't quite understand where the "squeeze" was, but he still asked, "Then what do we do?"
"If you ask me, we should just steal Buggy's ship. After all, we defeated them, so it should be our spoils of war." Zoro knew very well the trouble of living with a woman; after all, they had already been eating and living together for more than ten days.
Now that there was another woman, this little boat was definitely not enough.
Nami shook her head. "I really want to sell that ship, but it's just too big. Four people can't possibly sail it."
Ganyu thought for a moment. "How about we make do for now? A few days will pass quickly. I have a feeling we'll get a big ship soon."
This was a lie. It wasn't a premonition; it was a spoiler.
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