The large birds had Tom's fishing net in their beaks. Before he could let go, they dragged him, net and all, into the air, flying swiftly across the sky.
The wind howled constantly in his ears. Glancing at the vast sea below, Tom clung tightly to the net and began climbing upward.
The bird carrying the net occasionally swerved during flight, causing Tom's body to swing uncontrollably. Several times as he climbed, he nearly lost his grip and was thrown off.
If I can reach the top of the net, I can climb onto the bird's back. That's definitely better than hanging here, ready to fall into the sea at any moment.
With that thought, Tom kept climbing. He didn't dare relax his grip for a second. The rough net fibers ground into his palms until they bled.
Though both Tom and Luffy had been taken skyward by birds, Tom's current situation was decidedly more arduous.
As for Luffy, he'd been snatched up by a bird that clamped onto his head, spun him around a few times in the air, and was now flying behind Tom.
Zoro rowed with all his might, trying to catch up to Tom and Luffy as they were carried through the air, but the small boat's speed was no match for the birds' flight.
All Zoro could do was watch helplessly as Tom and Luffy disappeared into the distance.
Some time later, as Tom was about to reach the top of the net, he saw land ahead—what appeared to be a town. His heart lifted with hope.
But then he realized: even if they flew over land, how was he supposed to get down?
These birds were at least forty or fifty meters above the ground. If he fell from this height, he'd be lucky to survive without serious injury.
After all, Tom wasn't like Luffy—a rubber man with far superior impact resistance.
Just as Tom was thinking he should focus on reaching the bird's back first, he spotted a cannonball flying toward him from a distance.
Tom was utterly stunned.
You've got to be kidding me! I haven't even figured out how to escape, and now I'm under cannon fire? This isn't just bad luck—this is downright cruel!
Tom watched as the cannonball shot toward him at incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, it was upon him.
Just before impact, Tom released his grip. He fell to the lowest part of the net and desperately grabbed it again, preventing himself from plummeting to the ground. However, the coarse net fibers tore at his hands as if stripping off a layer of skin, the pain intense.
BOOM!
Tom had barely stabilized his grip when the cannonball exploded.
A moment before the explosion, Tom clearly saw a large red nose printed on the cannonball. Isn't that Buggy's special "Buggy Ball"? That so-called "Immortal" pirate's signature ammunition?
Damn it! That red-nosed Buggy is shooting at me! I'll make him regret this!
Tom mentally cursed Buggy's ancestors a thousand times over. But he knew survival was the immediate priority.
When the cannonball exploded, Tom's world turned fiery red. The heat around him was terrifying, a wave of scorching air rushing toward him as if trying to roast him alive. His mouth felt parched and dry, the discomfort overwhelming.
Though he'd avoided a direct hit by letting go in time, the bird that had been carrying him was blown to pieces by the blast. Naturally, Tom began to fall.
The shockwave from the explosion affected his trajectory. Instead of falling straight down, the powerful blast of air sent him tumbling diagonally.
His clothes were torn in several places, scorch marks evident. His body suffered numerous burns, the pain hot and sharp.
Unbelievable. The wound on my back was almost healed, and now I'm injured again.
Tom was extremely frustrated. This was natural—old wounds hadn't faded, and now new ones were added. Feeling good about it would be strange.
But what do I do? If this continues, I'll definitely die from the impact.
Tom glanced downward. He was less than thirty meters from the ground now, anxiety creeping into his heart.
Since his decisive battle with Morgan, Tom had made his peace with death, no longer fearing it and able to face it calmly. But that didn't mean he would meekly accept the Reaper's sickle when it swung his way.
Got it!
As he fell diagonally, Tom spotted the chimney of a house in the town below. A plan immediately formed in his mind.
If I time it right and use this net to snag that chimney, it could slow my fall. I might not die from the impact.
Thinking this, Tom tightened his grip on the somewhat tattered fishing net in his hands.
As Tom plummeted at a forty-five-degree angle toward the roof of a house, he threw the net with all his strength. The net hooked onto the chimney atop the roof.
"AGHHH!!!"
Tom gripped the net with all his might. The tremendous inertial force from his high-speed fall drove the rough net fibers deep into his palms. The pain was so intense it felt as if his hands were being severed. He couldn't help but cry out.
Though the net prevented him from crashing heavily to the ground, after snagging the chimney, his rapidly falling body still swung with the net and slammed into the roof several times. The pain made him feel as if his entire body might fall apart.
But Tom was still profoundly grateful to be alive. Lying on the roof, staring at the blue sky, he gasped for air. A wave of joy at having survived washed over him.
If Buggy's cannonballs are here, then this must be Orange Town.
After resting a moment, Tom climbed to his feet and muttered angrily, "That damned Buggy, daring to fire cannons recklessly. I'll make him pay sooner or later!"
"Who dares to insult our Captain Buggy so boldly?!"
"Show yourself! We'll teach you a lesson! How dare you speak of Captain Buggy that way!"
The moment Tom cursed Buggy, several rough voices rang out.
Tom was already in a terrible mood. Hearing that people wanted to punish him for insulting Buggy was the last straw.
"It was me who insulted Buggy. Do you have a problem with that?" Tom walked to the other side of the roof and saw three vicious-looking pirates on the street below. They bore the mark of Buggy the Clown, clearly his subordinates. No wonder they sought trouble after hearing Tom's insult.
To his surprise, Tom also saw Nami, whom he'd parted with only about a week ago.
Nami stared up dumbfounded at Tom standing on the roof. He seemed covered in wounds, his face blackened with soot, his hair slightly standing on end—clearly effects of a violent explosion.
What happened to this guy? It's only been a few days, and he's already covered in injuries!
Nami saw Tom's hands were red and bloody. She hadn't expected that upon seeing him a second time, he'd be in such a pitiful state. For some reason, it made her heart ache.
"So you're here. Did you manage to steal that Grand Line map?" Tom felt extremely uncomfortable under Nami's gaze, which seemed both concerned and angry. Seeing a navigational chart in her hands, he asked.
In truth, Nami had successfully stolen the Grand Line map from Buggy. She'd been chased by these three pirates who were trying to reclaim it.
During her escape, she'd heard a loud explosion from the sky, but she never imagined that while she was fleeing for her life, Tom had been blasted by one of Buggy's cannonballs right above her.
"You know she stole our Buggy Pirates' navigational chart? Are you her boss, then?"
"It must be so. Look at their shifty appearances. Let's capture them first and let Captain Buggy decide their fate."
Seeing that Tom and Nami seemed acquainted, the three pirates immediately concluded they were accomplices.
"Hey, you brat! Get down here!" The three pirates surrounded Nami while shouting up at Tom on the roof.
Tom was already boiling with anger from Buggy's cannonball attack, with no outlet for his rage. Now Buggy's lackeys had delivered themselves to him.
Their captain shot at me. If I don't take my anger out on them, what kind of pirate am I?!
With a cold expression, Tom jumped directly from the two-meter-high roof. He loosened up his hands, a cold smile appearing as he addressed the three fierce-looking pirates. "You brought this on yourselves!"
Nami watched Tom approach. She opened her mouth several times but found herself speechless, as if something were stuck in her throat.
If she hadn't coincidentally run into Tom here, Nami would likely have been caught by the three pirates. If that had happened, being taken back to the Buggy Pirates would have meant certain death.
When the pirates called Tom her "boss," Nami initially wanted to refute it. But stealing a glance at Tom, covered in wounds, she felt an unexpected softness in her heart and remained silent.
A thought even surfaced in her mind: Traveling with Tom from now on might not be so bad.
Last time they parted, Nami had worried about dragging Tom down. But seeing him again, especially seeing him injured, she found herself not wanting to separate from him anymore.
At least if I'm with this guy, I'll know how he dies.
Watching Tom thoroughly beat the three pirates, making them howl in pain, Nami touched the nunchaku strapped to her left leg. She remembered how fiercely he'd fought at the Shells Town Marine base. A soft laugh escaped her lips.
"We're members of the Buggy Pirates! If you treat us like this, our captain will never let you go!" Within moments, the three pirates were beaten black and blue by Tom. They tried to escape but were blocked, forced to endure the beating—a truly miserable situation.
Seeing Tom showed no intention of stopping, and being unable to fight back, they resorted to threats.
"Buggy?" Tom let out a low laugh, then said angrily, "If your captain dares come find me, I'll make his nose even redder and rounder!"
Thump! Thump! Smack! Smack!
Mentioning Buggy only fueled Tom's anger, making him deliver another round of blows.
Buggy's three subordinates, seeing Tom pummel them relentlessly without any regard for their fearsome Captain Buggy, inwardly lamented their terrible luck today, having run into this fearless scourge.
He's really skilled. It's a good thing he didn't become a pirate. He doesn't kill indiscriminately like those vicious pirates. Teaming up with him as thieves might not be so bad. I could even let him be the boss. I'll just take all the money. Hehe.
As Nami thought this, her gaze toward Tom unconsciously grew increasingly tender. Even the smile at the corner of her mouth carried a hint of warmth.
Unfortunately, back at the Shells Town Marine base when Nami had held Tom, her attention had been entirely on him. She hadn't heard Luffy and Zoro's conversation. So, she still didn't know Tom was a pirate—the very thing she despised most.
After Tom finished venting his anger on the three pirates, leaving them unconscious, he felt a significant portion of his pent-up rage dissipate.
But when Tom glanced at Nami out of the corner of his eye, he saw her looking at him with a gentle expression, soft light in her eyes. It sent a chill down his spine. He suddenly remembered the last time Nami had acted inexplicably tender toward him, clinging to him desperately.
What followed was Nami's invincible, Haki-filled iron fist that had nearly killed him with pain. Now, seeing her smiling so gently at him again filled Tom with dread. Is this woman planning to hit me again?
Just as Tom was hesitating whether to put some distance between himself and Nami first, he heard a piercing explosion from above, followed by Luffy's startled cry. "Whoa! Who's shooting at me? I'm gonna fall!"
Tom quickly looked up and saw Luffy flying toward him from a diagonal angle above. He immediately shouted, "You idiot! Don't crash into me!"
While yelling, Tom leaped to Nami's side. Nami, watching Luffy fall from the sky, thought, That troublemaker's here again? And he got shot down from the sky with a cannon?
Nami couldn't help it. Every time she saw Luffy, she remembered that because of him, Tom had groped her chest on their very first meeting, filling her with shame, anger, and agitation.
With this, Luffy can't cause trouble for me, right?
Having jumped away from his original spot, Tom estimated Luffy wouldn't crash into him. He felt quite pleased. My improved strength really has quickened my reflexes. It'll be hard for Luffy to cause me trouble now.
But Tom soon discovered he'd celebrated too early.
Just as Luffy was about to hit the ground, he stretched his arms, grabbed the roof where Tom had been standing, performed a 180-degree flip, and landed nimbly and safely.
To everyone's surprise, a large shadow appeared the moment Luffy landed.
It turned out that when Luffy grabbed the roof and jumped to the ground, the tremendous force of the impact actually tore the roof loose. The detached roof now plummeted down toward Tom and Nami.
Tom was truly dumbfounded.
Damn it, Luffy, you jerk!
Seeing the large, heavy roof crashing toward them, Tom tried to grab Nami beside him and jump away quickly. But Nami reacted faster than he did, pushing him to the ground and shielding him with her own body. In this position, the roof would hit her first.
Are you insane or just foolish?!
Seeing Nami trying to shield him from the falling roof filled Tom with both anger and panic. If that roof hit her, she wouldn't survive!
What frustrated Tom most was that if Nami hadn't pushed him down, given his current strength—even injured—he could have dodged the roof with her. But in this situation, even if he wanted to escape, it was too late.
In truth, Nami genuinely believed Tom couldn't avoid the falling roof, which was why she instinctively pushed him down.
She had no idea that Tom, this freak of nature, had nearly doubled in strength in the mere seven days since they last met.
As the roof was about to crush them, and under Nami's astonished gaze, Tom wrapped his arms around her, rolled over, putting himself on top, intending to take the impact.
He really will protect me!
When Tom rolled over, shielding her beneath him, Nami's heart filled with both sweetness and worry.
But Nami misunderstood. Tom was acting purely out of a man's instinct to protect a woman, compounded by the fact that she had actively tried to shield him first. If Tom didn't do something in return, he wouldn't be much of a man.
"Rubber Pistol!"
At the sound of Luffy's voice, Tom heard a tremendous BOOM!
Right, I almost forgot Luffy was here. That was a close call.
Seeing Luffy shatter the falling roof with a single punch, Tom sighed in relief. As he tried to get up, a sudden, sharp pain exploded in his head from a powerful impact, forcing his head to jerk violently downward.
Nami, who had been smiling at Tom, felt her smile freeze. The Tom who should have been getting up instead lowered his head in an instant, with great force, squarely and unavoidably planting his lips directly onto hers.
Feeling the warmth from another person's lips, both Tom and Nami's eyes widened in shock. They stared at each other in a daze, both utterly petrified.
It turned out that after Luffy punched the falling roof to pieces—whether by fortune or misfortune—several larger pieces of debris happened to strike the back of Tom's head. The external impact on his head as he tried to rise caused the scene that just unfolded between Tom and Nami.
Tom's mind was in complete chaos. His head was neatly crowned with five rocks. In other words, his head had been struck by debris five times in succession, leading to his uncontrollable lip-to-lip contact with Nami. It had to be said, this was a true tragedy...
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T/N :
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