Observant Nami had noticed the strange look that briefly flickered across Luffy's face back then, and instinctively felt somewhat uneasy.
"Oh, that." Luffy paused mid-step, glancing at the crowd around them. He lowered his voice. "Don't tell the others yet."
Nami blinked, caught off guard. Before she could react, Luffy suddenly took her hand.
Not her wrist—he clasped her hand directly and tightly in his palm.
Nami froze instantly on the spot. Her orange eyes widened slightly as she looked at Luffy in disbelief.
Luffy met her gaze directly.
"Why?" Nami felt her own voice trembling, her palm quickly becoming damp.
"We need to have some secrets the others don't know." He said this with a mischievous grin curling at the corner of his mouth.
Nami felt dizzy, her mind went blank.
Why was Luffy suddenly so aggressive?
And what secrets did the others not know? Could it be that Luffy had already realized she fed him that thing on Drum Island...?
The more she thought, the redder her face became.
She completely failed to realize that this was merely because Luffy had noticed her concern about the Enies Lobby incident. Afraid she'd dug deeper and discovered his intention to cause trouble for the World Government—and subsequently get scolded—he'd used this ambiguous method to change the subject.
Ever since Granny Kokoro introduced Enies Lobby, Luffy had actually considered stirring up trouble.
The World Government had done so much to Robin. With his protective personality, shouldn't he take revenge?
But upon second thought, he decided against it. Too dangerous.
Yet Nami had noticed something. If she found out, he'd definitely get reprimanded.
But then he realized—Nami seemed to be completely under his control?
"What secrets?"
"Let's pretend to be a couple." Luffy pushed his advantage with a grin, tightening his grip on her hand.
"H-how do we pretend?" Nami's voice was barely a whisper, her cheeks were shockingly hot.
"Like this. Holding hands."
"O-okay." Nami agreed almost instinctively, completely unable to think.
"Just as I thought. Nami's hands are so soft." Luffy felt the delicate touch transmitted through his palm and heartily remarked.
He'd held her hand before on Skypiea to control the electricity, but his mind had been on the ability then. Now, purely holding it made his heart inexplicably race.
"D-don't say things like that!" Nami was too nervous. Her palm sweated even more. She instinctively tried to pull away, but Luffy only held tighter.
"So soft."
Luffy, like he'd discovered a new toy, deliberately said it again.
"Stop saying that! It's too, too embarrassing!" Nami bit her lower lip, her face so red it looked ready to bleed. She felt like every passerby was staring. "This is so embarrassing."
Luffy watched her shy expression—so completely different from her usual shrewdness—and felt an inexplicable pleasure.
He found he really enjoyed seeing Nami like this.
Just then, Luffy noticed people wearing strange white masks and matching uniforms passing through the streets from time to time. Their bearing was steady, their gait strong.
His expression converges slightly.
Nami sensed the change and followed his gaze, nervously whispering, "What is it? Are those people Marines?"
Luffy shook his head slightly, frowning slightly. "Doesn't seem like it. Their target doesn't appear to be us."
But that sense of disciplined training made him instinctively suspect they were no ordinary people.
The two set aside their concerns for now and followed the route they'd inquired about to Water 7's The largest laboratory and bank to exchange their gold.
Inside the laboratory, when Nami and Luffy brought out that small chest of highly pure Skypiean gold, they were immediately ushered into a quiet VIP conference room.
An elderly appraiser with glasses carefully examined it and quoted a price. "One hundred million Berries! With my twenty-five years of experience as an appraiser, this is a very fair price."
Luffy's eyes instantly turned into Beli symbols upon hearing one hundred million, thinking it was already a huge sum of money.
But Nami slammed the table, leaning forward. Where was the shy girl from moments ago? When it came to money, her shrewd momentum as the "Cat Burglar" instantly emerged.
She yanked Luffy in front of her and deadpanned said to the appraiser, word by word. "I'll only say three things."
"First, look carefully. This man is the two hundred million Berley pirate, Straw Hat Luffy!"
"Second, I don't accept your appraisal just now!"
"Third, if you're lying about the price, watch your head!"
Luffy didn't quite understand what was happening, but he cooperated, glaring at the old appraiser.
The appraiser was intimidated by Nami's rapid-fire words and Luffy's fierce expression. Especially that very real two hundred million bounty—cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
He picked up the gold again, examined it carefully, wiped his glasses, and finally... the price skyrocketed from one hundred million to three hundred million Berries!
"Deal!" Nami's face lit up with a victorious smile, like a cat that had stolen cream.
Meanwhile.
The trio of Vivi, Robin, and little Merry, armed with Granny Kokoro's introduction letter, successfully met with the mayor of Water 7—also president of the Galley-La Company—Iceburg, in his imposing office.
Iceburg was a composed and capable middle-aged man with short, dark blue hair.
After reading the letter, his attitude was reasonably polite. He agreed to the Straw Hats' request to build a new ship and said he would send his secretary to discuss the details with them.
Soon, the office door opened and a female secretary entered.
She had sharp, golden short hair, wore glasses, and a tight yellow shirt with a wide-open collar, revealing two mounds of white skin.
Below, she wore a black mini-skirt paired with black high heels, revealing her long, slender, fair legs. Her sexy and alluring attire invited endless fantasies.
"This is my secretary, Kalifa," Iceburg introduced.
Kalifa pushed up her glasses, her tone stiff and formulaic. "We can discuss the detailed requirements for the new ship thoroughly."
"Thank you very much, Mr. Iceburg, and Miss Kalifa." Robin suddenly spoke, cutting off Kalifa's words. Her face bore an impeccable smile, her gaze lightly sweeping over... Kalifa. "Regarding the new ship's design, we still need to discuss in detail internally. We'll contact you again later, if that's acceptable?"
Iceburg raised an eyebrow slightly, seeming somewhat unexpected, but nodded. "Of course."
Compared to the two beautiful women, Robin and Vivi, Iceburg was actually more interested in the little girl eating a lollipop. He'd wanted to ask about her further.
***
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