"Swordsman… please, I beg you!"
Igaram lifted his head. That comically large face of his was now streaked with tears and snot, looking utterly miserable. Yet in his eyes burned the final flame of something called loyalty.
"If you can safely escort the princess back to the distant eastern kingdom—the Kingdom of Alabasta—you will absolutely receive a tremendous reward!"
"Gold, treasure, status, fame… anything! Please! Please save Princess Vivi!"
Veins bulged on Zoro's forehead as he tried to shake his leg free, only to find the man clinging to him like a barnacle stuck to a reef.
"Are you kidding me?!"
Zoro roared, his eyes icy cold. "Don't forget—just a few minutes ago, you people were attacking us!"
"And now you want to talk about rewards? I haven't chopped you down already out of sheer mercy! Let go of me!"
Just as the light in Igaram's eyes was about to go out—and the moment Zoro was about to walk away—
"…You said a tremendous reward?"
A crisp voice suddenly cut into the noisy argument.
The corner of Nami's mouth curled upward into a textbook "devilish smile." She raised one finger.
"I heard that loud and clear. Since you said 'tremendous reward'… then I'll agree. Ten billion Beli. Sound good?"
The air froze solid.
"W-WHAT?! T-Ten billion?!"
Igaram was so shocked his jaw nearly dislocated, his eyes threatening to pop out of their sockets.
He stammered at the seemingly harmless young woman before him. "Th-This is a bit too—"
"What? Too much?"
She tilted her head, her tone turning sharp.
"Captain of the guard, you should understand the situation. If we don't help, that princess is absolutely going to die."
"Are you saying the life of a princess of a great nation isn't even worth a mere ten billion Beli?"
"N-No! That's not what I meant!"
Cold sweat poured down Igaram's face as it turned deathly pale.
"Princess Vivi's life is priceless! But I—I'm only a guard captain! I don't have the authority to agree to such an enormous sum!"
Nami clicked her tongue in disdain, then her eyes suddenly lit up.
"A princess of a kingdom isn't worth even that much money? Just agree already!!"
Zoro stared at the scene, dumbfounded, and muttered,
"Hey… this is straight-up extortion, isn't it? This is robbery in the middle of a fire."
Standing off to the side, Ronan watched Nami's smooth, effortless blackmail and couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
"That's Nami for you. The moment money's involved, her combat power skyrockets—scarier than a Devil Fruit."
"Just look at her eyes. That's the gaze of someone who's fallen into a pit of money… a kind of Haki called 'Greed.'"
"Ronan!"
Sanji, who had been standing by, suddenly snapped his head around, flames practically shooting from his eyes as he glared at Ronan.
"Don't you dare talk about Nami-san like that! This is clearly her brilliant diplomatic strategy!"
"This is her benevolent spirit, saving a princess in distress! How enchanting!"
"…."
Ronan rolled his eyes, completely speechless.
By now, Igaram had been utterly crushed by Nami's aura.
Gritting his teeth, as if grasping his last lifeline, he said,
"A-Alright! If you can truly escort the princess safely back, then… then it might be possible if you speak with her directly! In any case, saving her comes first!"
"That's more like it!"
Nami clapped her hands, her eyes instantly turning practical.
"So we save her first and talk money later, right? Fine by me. After all, if the princess dies, my ten billion Beli goes down the drain too."
She turned around to face the three men behind her, standing tall like a queen issuing orders.
"You hear that? A job's come in! Go, Ronan, Sanji, Zoro! Go get my ten billion Beli—oh, right—go save the princess!"
"Huh? Who said I'm going?" Zoro turned his head away, scowling. "I'm not your hired muscle."
Ronan twirled the ebony staff in his hand and replied lazily,
"I don't have any obligation to save them either. That explosion guy is arrogant, but he hasn't really crossed the line yet. Doesn't fit my personal code."
Only Sanji reacted completely differently.
It was as if he'd been injected with pure adrenaline. Pink flames practically ignited around his body.
"UNDERSTOOD!! NAMI-SAN!!!"
Before the words had even finished echoing, Sanji had already transformed into a black whirlwind. His legs kicked up clouds of dust as he sprinted madly in the direction Vivi had fled.
All that remained in the air was a love-filled cry:
"VIVI-CHAAAN—! I'M COMING TO SAVE YOU—!!"
Watching Sanji vanish in an instant, Nami nodded in satisfaction, then turned to the two remaining "problem children."
"Honestly, that perverted cook sure runs fast."
Zoro clicked his tongue and looked at her.
"I'll say it again—why do I have to help you make money? I'm not going."
"I don't see the need to make this complicated either," Ronan added.
"Those two low-level agents are nothing special. Sanji alone can handle it. I'll pass."
Nami didn't panic in the slightest.
She knew these two far too well.
She turned to Ronan first, a sly glint in her eyes.
"Ronan, haven't you always wanted a really good weapon?"
"You know as well as I do—whether it's materials or cost, forging a truly great weapon isn't cheap."
She raised a finger and waved it in front of him.
"Do you know how much it takes to make a real top-tier weapon?"
"Adam Wood for the shaft. Rare metals with extreme hardness. Or even the techniques needed to forge Seastone—those are all worth a fortune."
She leaned in closer, lowering her voice enticingly.
"Do you really want to keep fighting with a wooden stick for the rest of your life? If this deal goes through, I'll fund it."
"I'll have a legendary weapon made just for you—"
"A zhangba spear forged from Adam Wood and a Seastone alloy. How about it?"
Ronan's pupils shrank instantly.
For a martial artist, a perfectly matched divine weapon was more tempting than beautiful women or fine wine.
In his mind, an image surfaced at once—him wielding a zhangba spear crafted from Adam Wood and Seastone, sweeping through enemies like a storm.
What overwhelming presence. What absolute dominance.
"Really?" Ronan stared straight into Nami's eyes, his breathing quickening. "You'll really pay to have a top-tier weapon made for me? No backing out?"
"Absolutely guaranteed!"
Nami patted her chest confidently.
"I love money, sure—but I'm very generous when it comes to investing in my partners' gear!"
"So get moving! If the princess dies, your spear turns into firewood!"
"Deal!"
Ronan didn't hesitate for a second. He grabbed his ebony staff, the laziness in his eyes vanishing, replaced by surging battle intent.
"Then it's settled!"
With that, his body shot forward like lightning. Pushing off the ground, he moved like a hunting leopard, disappearing into the night after only a few bounds.
Only Zoro remained.
Watching Ronan's retreating back, Zoro's mouth twitched.
"That guy… sold out that easily. No backbone at all."
He turned to Nami, arms crossed, his expression cold.
"I'm not like them. I don't lack swords, and I don't like being ordered around—especially by a woman like you."
"Oh, come on, don't say it like that."
Nami smiled sweetly, not the least bit angry. Instead, she wore an expression that said she'd expected this all along.
"Acting all tough, but you're just afraid you can't beat them, right?"
"Huh?!"
Zoro exploded like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
"Don't try that cheap provocation! Even if you say that, it won't work! I'm not going—and that's final!"
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