What next? Immortality

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Character progress for Nami - 45%

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After emerging from the simulation, Nami still had tears in her eyes. Ban's love had deeply moved her, and even his selfishness was portrayed in a way that resonated with her own experiences. She realized that, in her own way, she had shouldered the burden of trying to save her family and village.

"Nami, are you immortal?" Robin inquired, and to test this, she inflicted a small cut on Nami's hand. Nami almost screamed in pain, but then, to her amazement and that of others, the small cut healed up, and the blood only flowed for a moment or two.

Elated, Nami began to laugh out loud, momentarily forgetting the main revelation of her journey—her newfound immortality.

Luffy, being Luffy, decided to poke her, making her scream again. Luffy was only testing to see if she could heal, but Nami, in her anger, proceeded to beat him up. Despite her irritation, she knew deep down that she was now immortal.

With her newfound abilities, Nami's thieving skills soared, and she was overjoyed. In order to test her stealing skills, Nami proceeded to take some items from the crew. She even attempted to grab Luffy's staff, but found that she couldn't pull it out.

"That is absurd," Nami complained.

"Only he can wield it, like my Mjolnir."

Taking the cue, Nami tried to pull the hammer, but she couldn't. Stealing didn't mean she could take anything. Although she felt dejected, Vivi had to encourage her. In reality, everyone was a bit jealous of her newfound immortality, knowing that she would be safe no matter what.

Ban also had a tough time in the Underworld, so Nami's body would soon be tough enough to handle any kind of fight with minimal pain. The Straw Hats took some time off to celebrate Nami's character development. Nami now had a faint tint of white in her orange-colored hair, making her even more beautiful.

After a grand banquet, the crew returned to the city and enjoyed the day. They spent a few more days training Nami, and Ken decided to intensify her training. She protested, but Ken paid no heed.

The rigorous training continued for a few more days. Another reason for Ken's decision was his concern for Zou, especially with the presence of the Red Poneglyph. Sasaki and Jack were already missing, thanks to Ken. In anger, Kaido might show up or send King or Queen to retrieve the Red Poneglyph. Therefore, Ken wanted to wait and see if there were any movements from the Beast Pirates. Thankfully, there were none.

Meanwhile, Momonosuke got his headaches whenever Zou shouted. Luffy could hear him too but it was Momo who could actively talk. Unlike, the actual story there was no attack of Zunesha and thus it was only for a few words. But the words of Zunesha was clearly heard by Luffy and Momo. And only he could reply. 

This surprised everyone, even Robin. 

"Momo, is there any reason of why you could talk?" 

"I don't know-degozaru." 

"I heard Oden-sama could do the same. Talk and listen to some specific things." Kin'mon said. In fact, Ken too wanted to know about this. At the beginning, he thought only Roger could do it and Luffy too since he was the protagonist. But knowing Oden and Momo, who could even converse. It came as a surprise. 

The world was more layered than he thought it was. 

After a week or so, the Straw Hats were at the gate of the Zou. This was the day they would leave. And this time there were many guests with them. The two rulers of Zou, Pedro, Carrot and Raizo. Raizo was having a tough time with the Straw Hats actually. 

When Luffy came to know that he was a ninja, he was very happy but was disappointed when he saw that he could only do one kind of trick and soon he came to know that it was a Devil fruit and not what he had expected. 

Raizo was very surprised when he came to know what actual ninjas were like and was jealous. Thus he too was trying to learn ninjutsu from Ken and Luffy. Of course, it wasn't possible for him to be a ninja but at least he had the heart. 

The atmosphere on Zou was charged with anticipation as the Straw Hat Pirates and the Heart Pirates prepared for their journey to Wano. The Mink Tribe, their loyal allies, assisted in the preparations, knowing that the impending voyage was crucial for the fate of both their island and their future. 

Ken had already spoken about the Red Poneglyph's location being spread out and thus they needed to silence and also because of their connection to Wano. Under the towering legs of the elephantine island, the Straw Hats gathered on the Thousand Sunny, their iconic ship, while the Heart Pirates prepared the Polar Tang. 

The Polar Tang looked bigger and more modern than it ever was. Franky collaborated with the shipwright of Heart Pirates and made it better. It could dive deeper, had better coverage with upgraded sonar and radar and various other improvements. 

Bepo and others were thrilled seeing the improved ship and thanked Franky. Even Law nodded at Franky. 

"Yosh.. We are ready for Wano."

"Did you call Ace?" Ken asked. 

"Yes. He and the Whitebeard Pirates would be on standby. If they enter Wano directly it would be chaos so they would wait until our green signal. We will have to infiltrate them." Franky said. 

"Luffy.. Remember.. Infiltrate.. Not raise chaos." Ussop spoke of this repeatedly. 

"Yes.. Yes.. I will remember." Luffy said. 

"He will definitely not remember." Everyone spoke with unison, including Ken. 

"Hahahha. I am such a good captain." Luffy laughed only to be punched away by everyone. 

"We will need someone to take care of him once we land." Nami said. 

"I will take care of him." Zoro volunteered. 

"You will lose yourself, baka marimo." Sanji said. 

"What did you say curly eyebrows?" Zoro asked with swords on his hands.

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