"WHAAAAAAT? You ate NAMI? How?!" Luffy shouted, shocked.
Zoro's mouth twitched. He coughed—cough… cough—he didn't want to hear this embarrassing moment.
Nami heard the man say he had eaten her, and when he pointed at her, she flushed with a mix of anger and embarrassment.
She stood up, clenched her fists, and in a burst of frustration, brought her fist down toward the bandage man's squatting head.
But… her fist passed straight through him.
A black fog-like mist seeped from where her hand had gone through his head.
"N-what?!" Nami gasped, shocked.
Zoro's eyes went wide. He had seen the punch coming down, but her fist simply passed through the man.
Luffy pouted. "Tch… That's a stupid power again," he muttered, clearly frustrated.
Zoro and Nami exchanged glances—first the bandage man, then Luffy, and back to the bandage man.
"Is this another one of those Devil Fruits you're talking about?" Zoro asked Luffy.
"Amazing, right?" Luffy said, reverting to his childlike wonder. "When we first met, I couldn't even touch him at all. My hand just swiiishhh—like that!"
Nami stared at the man, still squatting and tilting his head, clearly not understanding what they were talking about.
"What… are you?" she asked finally.
But the bandage man didn't answer. Instead, he asked again, persistent and unflinching:
"W-well… w-whats t-the little m-more?"
♤
Nami wanted to change the topic with that question, but it seemed she couldn't escape it. Still, she answered.
"Well… I kinda need to pay some debt, a-and you know… I n-need m-more m-money," she said. She couldn't seem to lie when this man asked her directly.
Then the bandage man asked, "H-how m-much d-do y-you n-need?"
Nami raised an eyebrow at his response. She clenched her fist and, in a low voice, said, "A-about… j-just a little m-more. T-ten m-million."
Zoro listened closely but didn't pry.
Luffy stayed quiet as well.
"W-well… I-I c-can g-give y-you s-some, i-if y-you w-want," the bandage man said.
Nami's eyes widened. She leaned closer to his bandaged face.
"Really?" she asked, her eyes shining—not with Berries yet, but with pure expectation.
"W-well… c-consider t-this a-as m-my p-paym-ment f-for e-earlier," the man replied.
Luffy, curious as ever, raised his voice. "Pay? For what? The food?"
Zoro didn't waste a second—he clamped a hand over Luffy's mouth before he could ask another stupidly personal question.
Nami would need to clear that misunderstanding later.
Then the bandage man fell silent, and something unexpected happened.
Zoro, Luffy, and Nami all saw it.
Stripes of light appeared in the air. From within that glow, something began to materialize—starting from the bottom, slowly forming upward. A treasure box emerged, its lid opening to reveal brilliant piles of gold inside.
They watched as the white light transformed completely into a treasure chest overflowing with gold.
Zoro and Nami stared, shock written all over their faces.
Luffy's eyes sparkled like stars. "SUGEEE! What was that light?" he asked.
"W-well… i-it's a-around f-fifty m-million," the bandage man said. "Y-you c-can h-have t-the r-rest… t-this i-is m-my t-thanks."
After he said that, they watched his body dissolve into black like smoke. In an instant, he vanished, slipping like starlight into the inner depths of the merchant ship.
Zoro broke the silence. "That's why there were no footsteps at all."
"Wooow! Amazing!" Luffy said, clapping his hands with his mouth wide open.
Nami didn't speak. Her eyes stayed fixed on the treasure box, overflowing with gold. Tears welled up and spilled over.
"Not a little anymore… it's too much now," she whispered.
"T-thank you."
Then just like that, the girl who had been struggling for just a little more had finally gathered enough money to pay off a debt she was never meant to carry in the first place.
Night passed, and morning came.
Nami was the first to wake up. She looked out over the sea—calm weather, steady winds. The ship hadn't lost its way at all. Zoro was already awake, though he was clearly trying to fall back asleep. As for Luffy—he was still drooling, completely out cold. The bandage man was nowhere to be seen.
Then Nami spotted land.
"Syrup Village is here!" she shouted.
Luffy jolted awake. "W-what?! We're here already?!"
Zoro stood up as well. They were finally going to leave this ship.
Slowly, the merchant ship docked along the shore.
Luffy was the first to jump off. "C'mon, let's go!" he shouted.
"You idiot, wait! Don't wander around!" Zoro yelled back, before jumping down after him.
Nami stayed behind for a moment with her treasure on the merchant ship. She covered it with various items, still worried. What if someone came and stole it? She really didn't want to leave it behind.
Then she heard a familiar voice from behind her.
As always, the voice came without any presence—only sound.
"I-it's a-alright. I-I'll g-guard t-the s-ship. D-don't wo-worry."
Nami turned around, but there was no one there.
"Well," she said, "you better guard my treasure. Or else I'll make you pay five times over if it's gone."
She smiled, then jumped off the ship and followed the other two. Together, the three of them marched toward the village.
Unbeknownst to them, a long-nosed man had already noticed the merchant ship docking. Seeing no flag, he assumed they were travelers who had come to resupply.
Excited, he rushed toward them—ready to introduce himself, offer help, and, of course, brag about his greatness.