Luffy and the others found a relatively remote dock to moor the Merry.
Having descended from Skypiea and survived the battle with an Admiral, finally arriving at such a bustling new city had everyone feeling excited.
"Speaking of which, why don't the people here seem afraid of pirates?" Chopper tilted his head and asked in confusion.
"Generally speaking, the more prosperous a place is, the more desensitized they are to pirates." Vivi explained. "Places that can't defend themselves from pirates would be constantly intrusive and couldn't develop. Conversely, a city that's grown to this scale must have masters, or is under someone's protection."
"Besides, Water 7 is a world-famous shipyard. To them, pirates are just an endless supply of customers base."
After all, pirates like Luffy's crew—fresh from acquiring large amounts of gold on Skypiea, flush with cash—were exactly the kind of customers you wanted.
Once the ship was secured, everyone discussed how to split into groups.
"Whatever happens, let me and Nami be together." Luffy was the first to raise his hand, his voice booming. Just as he couldn't be away from Robin before, now his plan required him to be near Nami.
Nami's face flushed bright red. Feeling the various looks from her friend, she forced herself to explain, trying to appear composed. "That's fine. We need to exchange the gold treasure for Berries! It's a huge sum, so it's safer if Luffy and I go together!"
Yes, that's right!
No other reason.
Zoro, arms crossed, looked indifferent. "I'll just wander around. See the city."
Sanji immediately complained, "Hey, marimo-head. In a city this big, with your super road-crazy tendencies, if you get lost, are we going to have to post missing person flyers?"
"What did you say?! You want to fight, curly-brow?!" Zoro's forehead veins bulged.
"Who's afraid of who?!"
Seeing them about to fight again, Nami shut them down with one stick each. "Enough! Zoro, you're with Sanji! Sanji handles food purchasing. Zoro, you keep an eye on Sanji so he doesn't cause trouble, and try not to get lost yourself!"
Usopp rubbed his hands together eagerly. "I'm going to purchase various supplies to upgrade the Merry! The Dials we brought from Skypiea, and stuff we might need for the new ship—I need to study it!"
Chopper's eyes lit up. "Usopp, I want to come too! I'm really interested in those new and exciting tools and materials!"
"No problem, Chopper! Leave it to me!" Usopp patted his chest proudly.
Vivi thought for a moment. "Then Robin and I will take Granny Kokoro's letter of introduction and go find Mr. Iceburg to discuss building a new ship."
She indeed had an innate talent for communication and negotiation.
Robin smiled and nodded. "I'm fine with that."
Little Merry excitedly raised her hand. "Merry wants to go too!"
Finally, everyone's eyes fell on Nika, leaning against the gunwale alone, shaking her glass.
Now you remember me?
No one spoke up for me?
Nika yawned lazily. "Fine, fine. Looks like everyone's arrangements. I'll reluctantly stay and watch the ship."
Luffy ruthlessly complained, "That's exactly what you wanted, isn't it? So you can sneak drinks."
"Shut up!" Nika glared at him.
She was still complaining about Luffy giving away her sake.
Luffy and Nami were the last to depart.
After everyone else had left, Nami excused herself to go back to the girls' dormitory to grab something and disappeared into the cabin.
Luffy Nami waited on deck for quite a while before finally emerging stealthily.
"So slow, Nami," Luffy yawned.
"I'm ready. Let's go." Nami stepped out, somewhat awkwardly sweeping her orange hair from her shoulder. A barely noticeable blush tinged her face. She shot Luffy an irritated glare. "What's wrong with waiting a bit? Girls need to prepare when going out!"
Luffy noticed—Nami had dressed up carefully.
She had changed out of her usual simple vest and shorts into a blue-and-white striped short-sleeved shirt with a playful orange tie at the collar, paired with a beige pleated skirt.
Her long, fair legs were mostly exposed, glowing with a healthy sheen in the sunlight. This outfit perfectly accentuated her slender, well-proportioned figure—fresh and bursting with youthful energy.
So she secretly went to change.
A little sly.
Luffy blinked and directly praised, "Very pretty."
Nami's heart felt like it had eaten honey, but outwardly she lifted her chin. "Hmph. At least you have good taste."
"Then let's hurry!" Luffy grabbed Nami's wrist and pulled her close.
"What's the rush?" Nami stumbled slightly, quickly catching up. The sea breeze lifted her hair and skirt, and she quickly pressed them down with her hand, muttering dissatisfied. "I still have things to buy. I'm running low on clothes. Need to stock up."
"So does that mean you're out of black stockings and white stockings?" Luffy responded instinctively—and immediately faced the consequences.
Nami's cheeks burned crimson. Her other hand accurately twisted the soft flesh at his lower back.
"Die, you pervert captain! I'm never wearing those again!" Nami's face was a mix of shame and vexation.
"What a shame." Though Luffy winced in pain, he kept grinning, returning to his usual carefree self.
Nami couldn't help glacing down at her own legs. She had struggled for ages in the cabin, actually considering wearing something sexier, but ultimately thought it would be too deliberate and give up.
And this jerk actually brought it up!
Luffy wanted to tease Nami more, so he said, "Should we pretend to be someone?"
"Why?" Nami was confused.
Luffy said with mock seriousness, "We're exchanging so much gold. Having an identity might make us less suspicious, right?"
"You actually thought of that?" Nami was surprised.
She asked, "Then what identity should we pretend to be?"
"Do we look like we could be a couple?"
"What?! How do we look like that?" Nami hurriedly denied. "Don't say such strange things!"
"Right. Right now, we really don't."
Luffy's words made Nami sigh in relief.
The two walked side by side down Water 7's broad streets, bantering back and forth.
"Nami, your face is really red." Luffy suddenly leaned in, staring at her.
"Huh? Wh-where?! It's probably because the sun is so hot! Yeah, it's too hot!" Nami hurriedly fanned herself, trying to hide her embarrassment at being seen through.
Her little schemes had been discovered, making her a bit embarrassed. To divert attention, she quietly asked, "Hey, Luffy. When Granny Kokoro mentioned Enies Lobby earlier, you seemed really interested?"
She noticed.
***
Dive deeper into the story with 30+ advance chapters, available now on Patreon!patreon.com/CNBLUE
If you're enjoying the novel, please consider leaving a review. Your support is crucial and helps the story grow immensely. Thank you!