After thoroughly teaching Luffy a lesson, Tom and Nami finally vented their frustrations. They both felt refreshed, their moods significantly improved.
As for the one who got beaten, while he had offered a sincere apology to Tom and Nami, he still hadn't figured out exactly when he had harmed them, making them feel they had to beat him up to feel better.
Afterward, Luffy told Tom he was looking for Zoro's swords and asked if Tom had seen the three he was searching for.
"Roronoa Zoro? He's a notorious pirate hunter in the East Blue. Rumors say he's like a bloodthirsty tiger, roaming the seas looking for bounties. People call him a monster in human skin—savage and cruel. Why would you help him?"
Nami asked Tom and Luffy, very puzzled.
"What nonsense are you talking about? I think he's a good guy. And I'll judge for myself what kind of person he is. I don't need your opinion."
Luffy spoke to Nami with unusual seriousness.
Earlier, after Luffy told Rika that Zoro had eaten the rice ball Helmeppo stomped on, he learned from her that Zoro had willingly let himself be captured by the Marines to protect her and her family.
Helmeppo often walked an extremely vicious dog around town. The dog, spoiled rotten, was his pet.
The man and his dog, under the protection of the Marines, did whatever they wanted in Shells Town, causing trouble everywhere.
One day, Helmeppo was walking his dog as usual, and little Rika was nearly mauled to death in the street by the vicious animal. Fortunately, Zoro intervened, slicing the dog in two and saving Rika.
But this angered Helmeppo.Unable to deal with Zoro directly, Helmeppo despicably used Rika's family to threaten him: if Zoro didn't do as he said, he would have the Marines execute Rika's family after Zoro left town.
So Zoro made a deal with Helmeppo: if he was tied up in the Marine base square without food or water for a month and survived, Helmeppo would leave Rika's family alone and consider their grudge settled.
But Luffy later discovered that after Zoro had been tied up for three weeks and was still alive, Helmeppo had no intention of keeping his promise. He planned to publicly execute Zoro the day after tomorrow, both as revenge and as a warning to the townspeople not to defy his and his father's rule.
Helmeppo even smugly went around town calling Zoro a "monster idiot," which infuriated Luffy.
Luffy thought of Zoro, unaware of Helmeppo's betrayal, still holding on stubbornly, believing he just had to endure another week to resolve things peacefully.
Finally, Luffy couldn't take it anymore. He charged over and punched the still-boasting Helmeppo hard, sending him flying. As he fled in disgrace, Helmeppo swore revenge.
Luffy ignored him, thinking someone so cowardly and despicable wasn't worth another punch.
Luffy thought of Zoro, unaware of Helmeppo's betrayal, still holding on stubbornly, believing he just had to endure another week to resolve things peacefully.
Finally, Luffy couldn't take it anymore. He charged over and punched the still-boasting Helmeppo hard, sending him flying. As he fled in disgrace, Helmeppo swore revenge.
Luffy ignored him, thinking someone so cowardly and despicable wasn't worth another punch.
But when little Rika said seeing Helmeppo get punched was satisfying, Luffy immediately said he wished he'd hit him more.
When Luffy punched Helmeppo, all the nearby townspeople were kneeling on the ground, cowed by his tyranny.
It showed how much Helmeppo, relying on his father being the base captain, abused his power.
So, after learning the full story of why Zoro was imprisoned, Luffy decided to invite him to join the crew, which is why he snuck into the base to find Zoro's three swords.
"Stop arguing. I support him too. Sometimes rumors aren't true."
Tom glanced at Luffy, then said to Nami.
"I knew you wouldn't object."
Luffy grinned, saying to Tom.
"Whatever. It's none of my business."
Nami gave a light hum, pushed Tom and Luffy aside, and walked straight to the large safe.
"What are you doing? Trying to open that box?"
Luffy watched Nami examine the safe with great curiosity.
"Of course. It's quite difficult. You definitely can't do it, so don't bother me."
Nami said to Luffy quite rudely.
"What? Something this simple? Of course I can do it!"
The single-celled Luffy . He swung his arm, walked up to the safe, raised his fist, and gave it a punch.
CLANG! A huge noise.
Nami stared dumbfounded at the safe, smashed to pieces by Luffy's punch.
Damn it, that was so loud. Unless those Marines are all deaf, someone will definitely come to investigate.
Tom thought miserably. He had wanted to stop Luffy from doing something stupid, but it was too late.
"See? I wasn't bragging. Opened it just like that."
Luffy laughed heartily, looking very pleased with himself. He didn't notice Nami's face gradually darkening.
"You idiot! What if the map inside was damaged?!"
Nami, her face dark, didn't hesitate to punch the still-happily laughing Luffy, knocking him flat.
"Hurry up and get the stuff out. We need to leave here, fast."
Tom watched the door warily, urging Nami. If there was time, he'd love to beat Luffy again.
"But we still have to find Zoro's swords! Why leave in such a hurry?"
As soon as Luffy said this, several Marines rushed into the room, saw them, and immediately shouted, "Who are you? Thieves sneaking in here?"
"Daring to steal from a Marine base! Such audacious thieves!"
Three Marines charged in. Another one ran off, clearly to alert others.
"Don't talk nonsense! I'm not a thief! Listen, I'm going to be the—"
Before Luffy could finish, Tom charged at the three Marines and knocked them out in an instant.
"Who has time to chat with them now?!"
Tom said to Luffy. "Don't we need to find Zoro's swords? Then hurry up. Things might change if we're late."
"You're so impatient! Alright, I'm off. Let's meet up outside in the open square."
Luffy casually plopped his straw hat on his head and whooshed out of the room, vanishing from Tom's sight in a blink.
Tom was speechless. I didn't say I wouldn't go with you. Why run so fast? Who's the impatient one here?
"Why are you just standing there? We need to leave."
Tom vaguely heard a lot of noise from above. Seeing Nami standing still, he walked over to look.
"'The map is mine now! Bagged by the great Buggy!'"
Tom saw that sentence written at the top of the map in Nami's hand. Below the line was a large skull insignia with a very prominent big red nose in the middle.
"This isn't a map. This insignia is..."
Nami stared in shock at the paper in her hand, muttering, "Captain Buggy! Known as 'Buggy the Clown'!"
As she said this, Nami clenched the paper tightly, her expression serious, her bright eyes showing a determined glint, as if she'd secretly made up her mind about something.
Damn that big red nose! He really sent his men to steal the map hidden here first.
Tom cursed inwardly. Judging by Nami's look, she seemed to want to go to Buggy alone to steal back the map she wanted.
"Let's go."
As Nami spoke to Tom, she hurried toward the door.
Seeing this, Tom could only follow quickly. They encountered about a dozen Marines along the way, but with Tom's current skills, dealing with them wasn't a problem.
By the time Tom and Nami exited the Marine base and reached the open square, any Marines who tried to intercept them had been taken down by Tom.
But to Tom's surprise, the moment they rushed out of the base, everything suddenly went dark. Looking up, they saw a giant half-statue falling toward them from above.
"What is that?!"
Nami was scared stiff on the spot.
"Move!"
Tom grabbed the still-stunned Nami and dodged to the right. He knew at a glance that the falling object was the giant stone statue of Captain Morgan that had been commissioned, now broken at the waist. No need to guess, Luffy was responsible.
Tom could also hear Captain Morgan's voice from above: "Catch him! I'll chop up that straw-hat brat myself! He destroyed the statue I worked on for years! I won't let him off!"
BOOM!
The giant half-statue hit the ground and shattered to pieces.
Tom, holding Nami, threw them both to the ground. Shards of stone exploded from the shattered statue like bullets, shooting rapidly toward them.
Although Tom reacted quickly, grabbing Nami in time to avoid the falling statue, moving hastily while holding someone, he couldn't dodge far. Staying alive was an achievement.
Tom rolled over, covering Nami with his body. The stone shards shooting toward them all landed heavily on his back.
Damn. I didn't think tiny stones could hurt this much.
Tom didn't realize that some of the shards hitting his back were sharp, and the powerful recoil from the statue hitting the ground gave them bullet-like speed. Such forceful stones hitting his unprotected back—he wasn't made of iron, so of course it hurt.
Nami, pinned beneath Tom, was unusually quiet. She kept her head slightly down, hiding in Tom's arms, her face slightly red, her heart pounding. She wasn't a fool; she knew Tom's actions just now were purely to protect her.
Almost without thinking, Nami's hand reached up and touched Tom's back.
Feeling Nami's动作, Tom was momentarily confused about what she was doing. Their current position was already awkward enough. Just as he was about to get up, Nami's hand touched his back. His heart skipped a beat, and a strange feeling arose.
Looking at the slightly blushing, somewhat shy Nami before him, Tom's eyes went wide. He felt his breathing quicken slightly, his face a picture of shocked monkey, as if he'd seen a ghost.
Holy crap. Is this girl planning something inappropriate?
Probably not. I'm not drop-dead handsome or amazingly powerful. How could she be interested in me? I'm overthinking it.
In that moment, Tom's mind filled with too many questions . Then he heard Nami's unusually gentle voice, whispering softly, "Since you saved me just now... I'll let you owe me two hundred million more berries."
What?!
So it wasn't what I thought. But I saved you, and now I owe you more money? What kind of logic is that?
In that instant, Tom's mind went completely blank. He had no idea what Nami was thinking.
"You're wet."
Nami's expression suddenly changed. The smile vanished completely, making Tom seriously doubt if he'd just hallucinated.
I'm perfectly normal, not 'moved' like that. If anyone's wet, it should be you first.
As Tom thought this, Nami continued, "Your back seems to be bleeding."
Hearing this, Tom immediately felt a burning pain on his back. Touching it, his hand came away wet and sticky.
Looking at his palm, it was covered in red.
Damn. I really am wet. My back seems to have lost a lot of blood.
Tom thought悲催ly, feeling a sharp pain every time he moved. The injury wasn't light.
Just then, Tom heard Morgan's低沉 voice: "Daring to cause trouble on my turf! What, you pirate hunter, planning a coup with that straw-hat kid?"
"I always work alone. I'm not like you, who only flaunts power with an army behind you!"
Bound to the wooden post, Zoro looked at Morgan and his men, saying each word clearly.
"Roronoa Zoro, don't underestimate me. Your strength is nothing before my authority."
Morgan touched the giant axe embedded in his right arm, then ordered the armed Marines: "Ready!"
Zoro looked at the dark gun barrels aimed at him.
I... I can't die here!
A memory flashed in Zoro's mind: a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl with superb swordsmanship, a heroic bearing, and beautiful blue hair saying to him: "You still haven't improved much, Zoro!"
Hidden behind the giant statue, Tom saw Zoro about to be executed. Koby, clearly shot, was bleeding from his right shoulder, frozen in place.
Luffy was nowhere to be seen. Tom grew frantic. Without overthinking, he picked up a small stone and threw it at Morgan's head.
SWISH!
Tom's thrown stone hit the tall Captain Morgan's head perfectly, raising a small bump.
"Who?! Who dares to throw stones at me?!"
Morgan, hit on the head, flew into a rage. A Marine spotted Tom and reported immediately: "Report, Captain! There are two more people hiding behind the statue!"
"What did you say?!"
Morgan looked in the direction the Marine pointed and indeed saw a man and a woman hiding behind his broken statue. He said angrily, "Traitors keep showing up! I'll kill them all!"
"Send your useless underlings to catch me, you fool! A measly Marine Captain thinks he's king of the world? Don't make me laugh!"
Tom spat very impolitely and shouted scornfully toward Morgan.
Clearly, Tom's words彻底激怒了 Morgan, who valued power highly and considered himself exceptional. His eyes bulged with rage as he commanded the Marines: "Capture that boy! I'll chop him to pieces with this axe!"
"Are you an idiot?! You're already injured, and you deliberately draw the Marines' attention to us?"
Nami, seeing all the Marines charging toward them and the furious Morgan slowly approaching, said slowly to Tom.
"Shut up. Leave this to me. You get farther away."
Tom pushed Nami hard to make her distance herself quickly. If he hadn't thrown that stone at Morgan, Zoro would have been finished.
Luffy, you bastard, what are you doing?! When it's crunch time, you're nowhere to be seen!
As Tom tangled with the Marines, Zoro, tied to the post, asked Koby: "Who is that man? Why is he saving me?"
"I think he's the other crewmate Mr. Luffy mentioned. It's my first time seeing him too."
Koby, clutching his wounded right shoulder, glanced at Tom and spoke.
"Oh?"
Zoro stared intently at Tom. "He's injured, seems pretty badly too. Even so, he dares to provoke the Marines. He's got guts."
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T/N :
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