Chapter 18 - Orange Town 3.
[Chapter Size: 1285 Words]
Third Person POV
Orange Town, East Blue.
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...
"What's your name?" This was the first thing Luffy asked as he greeted the girl in front of the cell.
"Na-Nami," she replied with a hint of nervousness.
"Well, Nami, you're free now," Luffy said as he unlocked her cell and opened the door.
"Hey, why is everyone already defeated?" A frustrated Zoro's voice echoed as he rushed in, ready for a fight, scanning for any standing enemies.
"Hahaha, sorry, it seems we were faster," Luffy said, freeing the girl with an embarrassed smile.
Seconds later, the place was filled with the entire crew, appearing one after another.
"It looks like you took care of everyone without any problems," Kuina grumbled, observing about 30 unconscious bodies on the ground and some damaged buildings.
"So strong...? Luffy-Sama and Yamato-Sama took care of all the bad guys?" Shirahoshi asked in amazement. She hadn't witnessed their battle.
"A mermaid?" Nami noticed Shirahoshi, who had flown in with the group.
She recognized her as a mermaid because Shirahoshi's tail was partially visible beneath her dress at the moment. Nami studied the princess for a moment before she noticed the other peculiar members of the group, such as Bepo, the bear dressed in beach attire, and Megalo, the shark that floated in mid-air, encased in a bubble of air, seemingly breathing oxygen just like any land-dwelling animal. Nami's full attention remained on the timid girl with a tail, as her previous experiences with fish-men had not been positive, and she had heard the stories about the mermaids that Arlong and others had told.
Seeing a hint of anger in Nami's eyes as she glanced at Shirahoshi, Luffy decided to speak up.
"Yes, she's one of our crew members. We are the Straw Hat Pirates," Luffy confidently declared with a smile, expressing his pride.
Nami, now outside the cell, couldn't help but give the peculiar group an odd look before Luffy's words sank in. She realized that, aside from the mermaid, there was a bear walking like a human and a shark floating in the air in a bubble of air. The shark seemed to be breathing oxygen just like a land-dwelling creature. When Luffy's declaration about being pirates finally registered, Nami's gaze turned icy, but the earlier confusion had left her too disoriented to process it properly.
"Wait, where do you think you're going?" Luffy asked as he suddenly interjected with an amused smile, sensing Nami's desire to distance herself from the group.
Nami stopped for a moment, expecting the pirates, including Luffy, to do something to her. With a mischievous smile, Luffy continued, while the others observed the interaction, curious about their captain's intentions.
"Don't worry; you can go, but you have to go in that direction. Everything related to the pirates is now ours," Luffy declared, well aware that Nami had been heading toward the pirate ship to steal their treasures.
"But the pirates have my things!" Nami protested, raising her voice in alarm and dissatisfaction.
"As I said, the pirates' belongings are now ours. You're free to leave, and we'll take their things as our spoils of victory. That's how pirates operate," Luffy stated matter-of-factly.
He didn't seem to care much about what Nami thought. He was convinced that, no matter how noble her cause might be in saving her village and its inhabitants, she would betray him in the end. Luffy thought the original Luffy had been too soft on her.
Kuina and Lami raised their eyebrows at this, as they had heard Luffy mention earlier that Nami would be a member of their crew. However, before they could raise the issue, Nami spoke up.
"Wait! You are pirates, right?" Nami suddenly found herself with only one option.
Luffy looked at her indifferently, but there was a hidden gleam of amusement in his eyes.
"Yes, I just said that," Luffy said plainly.
"Why don't you let me join your crew? I'm a great navigator!" Nami announced.
This piqued everyone's interest.
Some could see that Nami was more interested in the treasures, but they kept quiet, waiting for Luffy's response.
"A navigator," Luffy mused, rubbing his chin.
"I don't know... I think we actually need a housekeeper... If there were one around, maybe I'd take them under my flag and onto my ship, where we could conquer a lot of gold and money," Luffy muttered aloud.
'We clearly need a navigator!' the entire crew thought simultaneously but refrained from speaking out, hoping to see what Luffy had in mind.
"A housekeeper!?" Nami's face contorted with anger.
"Anyway, everyone, let's gather all their treasures," Luffy ordered as he redirected his attention to his crew, seemingly dismissing N
ami.
"Lami and Bepo, collect all the treasure from the ship. I heard they have a map of the Grand Line," Luffy instructed, and they headed to Buggy's ship, which was parked at the port and hadn't been damaged by cannon fire.
"I'm a great housekeeper!" Nami quickly shouted when she heard this, rushing toward Luffy.
"Great, we have a new crew member!" Luffy announced, his voice dripping with irony. But nobody said anything, patiently waiting for their captain to reveal his plan for the girl who obviously had her eye on their treasure.
"Show more enthusiasm!" Nami scolded him, noting the sarcasm in his voice.
"We have a housekeeper!" Bepo was the only one who spoke, earning an angry glare from Nami.
"Sorry!" the bear quickly replied, cowering under her disapproving gaze.
"Why are you apologizing so easily!?" Nami was bewildered, shouting as she wondered why this talking bear was so quick to apologize just from her glare.
Kuina sighed, wondering whether Nami was really seeing anyone as normal in this group. Luffy had now "recruited" this woman as a housekeeper, but it was clear he was teasing her while she clearly had her sights set on stealing their treasure. Nami couldn't decide who was worse among them.
Luffy received no system notification, realizing that Nami hadn't genuinely joined the crew but had merely spoken in the heat of the moment.
'That's good. It means that everyone who has joined the crew has genuinely put their faith in our flag... Will you eventually put your faith in me and our crew, Nami?' Luffy pondered internally, even as he looked at the girl in front of him.
"Now, while Lami and Bepo are getting the treasure, Yamato, Zoro, Kuina, and Nami, you should tie up all the pirates, including Buggy. Zoro, he's a Devil Fruit user, so I want you to lock him inside a reinforced barrel, as simply tying him up won't help much," Luffy said.
Luffy could have purchased Sea-Prism Stone handcuffs in the system's store, but they were expensive, and he wanted to save money.
"Yes, Captain," Zoro replied, and everyone nodded in agreement—well, almost everyone.
"Wait! Let me help collect the treasure!" Nami exclaimed, earning dubious looks from all of them who were aware that her real intention was to steal the treasure.
Luffy smiled at the woman, who was nicknamed "Cat Burglar" in the original series.
"No, you're the housekeeper now. I'll leave the treasure to the ship's doctor and the crew's assistant," Luffy said calmly.
"Wait..." Nami was about to speak, but Luffy ignored her and continued.
"Shirahoshi, come with me. Let's visit the town so you can see how humans live on the surface!" Luffy declared as he walked ahead.
"Yes, Luffy-Sama," the excited mermaid followed her captain, eager to visit a human town for the first time. Megalo followed closely behind.
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