Chapter 23 - New Weapons! The Dangerous and Unshakable Dreams!

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At the Loguetown docks, Nami was seen slowly approaching the ship with a large bag on her back, its contents unknown. Upon reaching the ship, she hopped lightly onto the deck and headed straight for the kitchen.

"Where's Noah?" She asked as soon as she arrived, her nose getting excited by the delicious smell of frying meat.

Nojiko was skillfully stirring a risotto while frying meat in another pan, and soon after turned off the fire when she saw that it was already good. Wiping her hands with a cloth, she looked at Nami.

"I don't know. I also thought he would come for lunch, but apparently not. He must be dealing with his own things in the town." Going to the counter, she sat on the chair, "Anyway, did you manage to buy the stuff?"

"Yes." Nami also put aside the issue of Noah and placed the bag on the table, soon after opening it, "And I hope it is worth the price, or else I go back there and hit that crooked merchant."

"Well, he sells to the Marines, so it should be something of quality." Nojiko laughed at her sister's temperament and just evaluated what was inside the bag.

And these were their weapons, hers and Nami's.

First, Nami took the staff she had just bought, and this was a great luck of hers. Completely made of a sturdy black metal, the 1.65m staff had a striking design, its ends composed of thicker parts of a sharper and shinier metal. Its weight was only a few tens of kilos, but for the current Nami it was something irrelevant. And the best part was that, just like her previous bo staff, this one could be split into two parts and used separately.

As her Wind Manipulation powers grew, and even Fire in the future, to complement her combat style she decided to adopt a flintlock pistol as well. And as she didn't want to rely on the pistol, she just picked up a quick-reloading three-barrel flintlock. It would be quite useful in close combat or if she lost the staff.

As for Nojiko, she did not hesitate to spend on weapons and ammunition. Nami even managed to convince the seller to sell their special stock, and that's why the weapons they had here were nothing less than powerful.

With five guns in front of her, Nojiko first picked up one of the pairs of normal flintlock pistols.

This pair, which was the smallest compared to the other one that was in the bag, had an impressive but at the same time dangerous design. White in color with gold and black details, the two pistols were ideal for combat that required little firepower, but quick fire. Thanks to an internal compartment and an improved firing system, they focused more on agility than power.

Meanwhile, the second pair of flintlock pistols were different. With a longer and thinner barrel, the aim of these two was to inflict damage at a greater distance, and if very close, they would present greater firepower. Despite having fewer bullets, the two have a larger powder compartment than the others, and therefore are more lethal. They have a more normal design, with dark brown wood and black metal making them look threatening.

And last but not least, was Nojiko's show's star. A weapon that the vendor swore on his mother would be unique in all of East Blue and even in the Grand Line it was hard to get one of these.

Picking up the Flintlock Rifle from the table, Nojiko smiled as she ran her fingers over the wood, the texture of the golden designs tickling her finger. This Rifle is capable of firing a bullet at a speed and power that even a steel plate would still be damaged by it. Besides its exceptional beauty, the power could be discharged quickly due to the fast bullet reloading compartment.

"Can you stop wooing your guns, please?" Nami looked strangely at her sister, who was almost drooling over the weapons. She didn't want to admit that she had been doing this for the staff before as well.

"Well, Noah isn't here, so I can't admire his weapon." Winking at Nami, Nojiko smiled at how her face became sullen and put the rifle back on the table.

After that, the two of them made their own lunch and sat at the kitchen counter, since the table was occupied.

"Are we going to look for him after lunch? It's not safe to be exposed when the reward is about to be released." While eating, Nami remembered that she had not seen Noah's wanted poster yet and was worried about him.

"Don't worry, he knows when to return." Nojiko shook her head, unconcerned. But then she continued with a smile on her face, "And if he doesn't come back, we just threaten not to do what he wants."

"As if that would work somehow. But it's worth a try." Nami remembered some scenes from last week and just laughed at her sister.

Eating in silence and tranquility, the two just stared into space and thought about the same thing: Noah. And after a while, they both sighed. Unbeknownst to both of them, they thought the same thing at the same time.

'Why do I feel like he's up to something mischievous?…'

°°°

In a high-class restaurant in Loguetown, at one of the tables outside, two people could be seen having a pleasant conversation while drinking coffee. They were, of course, Noah and Tashigi.

"Hahaha, Noah, that's not how things work!" Tashigi laughed at the 'work of art' he had just made, her heart beating as fast as she hadn't felt in a long time. In front of her was a small piece of paper that she had cut perfectly into a web.

"Well, I really thought it was just grabbing the scissors and start to cut randomly." Noah, on the other hand, was left with a poorly cut piece of paper that could look like anything but a web.

From one conversation to another during lunchtime, she talked about her hobbies and one of them was Kiri-e, or Kirigami, which is the art of cutting papers into certain shapes and turning them into art. As an "apprentice," Noah was learning from Tashigi how this worked.

"This is an art, just like any other. It took me a few years to learn this, so don't feel pressured." Tashigi smiled at him, seeing how he seemed frustrated with it. For the first time in a long time she seemed to completely forget her stressful job as a marine and enjoyed her free time.

"Nobody is perfect, right? But give me a few days and I will be a master at this." Putting things back on the table, he set it aside and looked at Tashigi, "We can bet on this, if you want. If I lose, I'll admit that you're the best swordsman and kiri-e Master in the world. And if I win, we have lunch together again. What do you think?"

"Best swordsman in the world?" Tashigi was a little shocked by his words, but just laughed after he invited her to lunch again. She was an adult woman, so she knew what she was doing now. And she also knew what her heart desired, "So it's a bet then. I give you three days."

"I can do it in two." Noah shrugged and took a sip of his coffee at the table.

Laughing at him, Tashigi drank her coffee, unaware that her cheeks were a little flushed now. And after a while, she finally realized that she had spoken a lot about herself, but knew almost nothing about him.

"Noah, I know it's a bit intrusive this question, but what do you do for a living? O-of course, I'm asking this because I don't remember having seen you in the city."

"Well, I do a lot of things in my life." Noah smiled at her mysteriously, "But if we go too deeply into it, I have a dream, just like yours of taking all the swords from the bad guys."

"It isn't just that..." Listening to how he made her dream sound childish, Tashigi continued with a pout, "B-but please, go on."

"I want to adventure. I want to go as far as I can and look back without regret. See what this world has to offer me, so that I can offer something in return to it. After all, we only have one life and we have to make the most of it." Speaking candidly about what he desired, Noah felt a kind of freedom in talking about it.

Even before, on Earth, he watched the worlds of different animes and wondered what it would be like to go to any of them. About the different things he would do if he had the power in his own hands, if he had the key to freedom within himself, and not from some useless paper.

"Wow..." Watching him speak so deeply about his desires like that, Tashigi felt something inside her open up, but she didn't care about that. She got a little closer to him and asked curiously, "A-are you talking about the Grand Line, right? Isn't that very dangerous?"

"And isn't that what makes it fun? If a dream was easy to achieve, it wouldn't be a dream in the first place. The adversities and burdens we carry are what make us smile in the end. Don't you agree?"

"This is something to think about..." In her heart, Tashigi agreed with what Noah was saying, in every word. After all, she also had a dream that seemed impossible and childish if anyone else listened.

Even the Navy would lose its meaning if there was no need for protection, and Justice would not even be a word if everyone were fair. The adversity of something, the need to take a step forward in some direction is what makes this path exist.

"Tashigi, what would you do if someone forbade you from dreaming?" His voice suddenly caught her attention, making Tashigi look deeply into his eyes, "If someone put chains on you because your dream does not meet the interests of a higher power? What would you do?"

"I would continue!" Tashigi suddenly covered her mouth, having spoken louder than she wanted, blushing all over. After a while, she spoke softly, "This is my dream, so as long as I don't harm anyone innocent, I'll keep going."

A momentary silence filled their table, as if wanting to sink the words into the memories of the two.

"It's good to know that." Smiling at her, Noah rose from the table while leaving the lunch money under the coffee cup, "It was a pleasure having lunch with you, Miss Tashigi. I hope we can meet again soon."

"O-Oh, yes, definitely- Aah!" Tashigi saw him getting up and immediately got up too. But as she was still shocked by the conversation, she accidentally knocked her own coffee cup, which ended up flying towards Noah.

Even if he could have dodged it, he watched the cup hit him and spill coffee on his jacket. The stain was quite apparent and he felt his chest warm, but nothing beyond that.

"Oh my God, sorry! I didn't do it on purpose and- AAh!"

Now counting on her own clumsy personality, Tashigi stumbled and fell straight into his arms. Her glasses almost flew away too, but Noah managed to catch them in the air.

"You didn't tell me you could be quite so clumsy…" Noah teased her, smiling as he put her glasses on top of his own and realizing how blind she was, "And you can't see nothing without it, do you?"

"I-I'm not clumsy!" Tashigi pouted at him, but couldn't resist laughing when she saw his appearance with both glasses on his face. Staying firm on the ground, still without moving away from him, she took them and put them back on her face, "And I'm not blind, it's the average..."

After a strange moment with them almost hugging, Noah politely moved away.

"If you say so." He smiled at her, "Anyway, I have to go. I've taken enough time from a responsible marine."

"It's alright, I was on lunch break. See you later and take care." Tashigi blushed a bit when she realized that she had been hugging him just now, and she said goodbye trying to stay calm.

"Likewise..." Taking off his jacket, Noah was left in a white tank top when he waved to her and started to walk away.

And after a while, he disappeared from her sight. And again, that same warm feeling that parked in her heart throughout the entire lunch slowly went away, as if it depended on his presence.

'Should I have offered to wash his clothes?... it was me who made them dirty and-' Tashigi stared into space, pondering these thoughts until she realized and turned completely red, 'Tashigi, where is your head to offer to wash the clothes of a person you don't know?!'

Lost in thought, she also began to leave the restaurant. And obviously tripped and bumped into a nearby table, spilling the juice from the jar on a woman.

"A thousand apologies!"

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