Chapter 22

"That was dangerous just now. You almost got hit."

Luffy slowly walked towards Eden , looking at the scattered debris from the roof he had smashed, and said casually.

"Ah? Eden, are you wearing a stone hat on your head? It looks a bit like my straw hat, hahaha."

Seeing Eden lying on the ground with five pieces of rubble neatly placed on the back of his head, with the top one being larger than the others, Luffy laughed out loud, thinking it looked like Eden was wearing a stone hat.

Since he was standing behind them, Luffy didn't know what had happened between Eden and Nami.

Eden was still in a semi-petrified state. If it were any other time, he might have jumped up and beaten Luffy for making such a comment.

But Eden had no mind to argue with Luffy now. When he noticed Luffy walking over, his first reaction was to immediately get up from Nami.

When Eden stood up, he felt dazed and slow-witted, as if he had dementia.

Looking at Nami, whom he had just pulled up, Eden saw that she also had a dumbfounded expression, clearly still not recovered from the shock.

Everything had happened so suddenly. Without any psychological preparation, Eden and Nami had kissed.

Most importantly, it was the first time both of them had kissed someone of the opposite sex, and it felt terrible.

Eden thought, "I came to the world of One Piece, and the first time I met Nami, I touched her chest. The second time, I kissed her. Although it was an accident, it is still a fact."

It wouldn't have been a big deal, Eden thought, since he's a man. If Nami didn't mind, he would take responsibility.

But what Eden couldn't accept was that his first intimate contact with the opposite sex he had five stones on his head during their first kiss.

Which man in the world would look like a fool with five stones on his head while kissing a girl? This made Eden feel deeply embarrassed and think that he had ruined his image in front of Nami.

It's normal for a man to want to show his best side when kissing a girl.

Nami's feelings were more complicated. She clearly had some affection for Eden but wasn't at the stage of kissing yet. But now, it had already happened.

What made Nami feel ashamed was that Eden's first kiss was far from gentle; it was forceful.

When Eden kissed her, Nami clearly felt her lips hurt from the impact.

There was no helping it; Eden had been hit by an external force, something he couldn't control.

Nami was still most concerned about her hometown. Although she had considered working with Eden to quickly gather 100 million Berries, her primary goal was to solve her hometown's problems first.

As for her feelings for Eden, honestly, Nami hadn't thought that far ahead.

Nami had always dreamed of using her navigation skills to sail around the world and create a world map of what she had seen.

But all this had to wait until she resolved her hometown's issues before she could pursue her dream.

However, Eden had unexpectedly entered her life, making her feel like she had changed.

For many years, Nami had lived a life of stealing from pirates, constantly facing danger, all to gather enough money as quickly as possible.

Every time she escaped death and lay in silence at night, Nami would think of her hometown, the orange grove, her sister, the people of her hometown, and the one she loved most in her heart, Bellemere, whom she considered her mother.

These were Nami's emotional anchors, supporting her to live on and giving her the courage to steal treasures from vicious pirates time and time again.

But after separating from Eden last time, Nami found herself missing this man during her free time, making her realize that some things can't be forgotten just because she wants to.

When she saw Eden again in Orange Town, Nami felt a bit happy. But before she could express this inner joy, a big "surprise" happened between her and Eden, making it hard for her to accept.

"Hey, Luffy, do you know what mistake you made?"

Eden grabbed Luffy by the collar, thinking that if Luffy hadn't smashed the roof, he wouldn't have had this awkward incident with Nami. This foodie had screwed him over again.

"I know I went a bit too far."

Luffy seemed to realize his mistake and said sincerely, "I actually damaged someone's house. When the owner comes back, if I get the chance, I must apologize to them."

"No, you should apologize to us. No, this isn't something an apology can fix."

Eden was driven crazy by Luffy's simple-mindedness, grabbing his collar and spraying spit all over his face.

"What's wrong with you two? Your lips are swollen. Did you both get lip swelling disease?"

Luffy, not understanding why Eden was so upset, looked at Eden and Nami, noticing their swollen lips and curious expressions.

"It's not that. We just..."

Eden, who had come to his senses, was about to make an excuse when Nami, recalling the warmth of Eden's lips on hers, blushed and suddenly exploded, "Stop talking about it!"

Before Eden could finish, he was punched by Nami.

"Ouch, that hurts!"

Eden crouched on the ground, holding his head. Earlier, he had been hit by rubble, which didn't break his head open but did leave a bump. Now, being hit by Nami's "haki"-filled punch was really painful.

"I remember you. You're with Eden. What's your name again?"

Luffy scratched his chin and asked Nami.

"I'm Nami, a thief who steals from pirates. Let's find a place to talk."

Nami glanced at Eden crouching on the ground and told Luffy. She felt a bit speechless, thinking about how her encounters with Luffy had led to "bad luck" for both her and Eden. Now, her mind was in turmoil, and she didn't even feel like beating Luffy.

A while later, in an empty house in Orange Town.

"Is this your home?"

Luffy asked Nami while sitting on a chair in the hall.

"No, I'm a wandering thief. I don't know whose house this is. Everyone in town has fled to avoid the Buggy Pirates."

Nami casually sat on the table and told Luffy.

Eden was in the house, finding some bandages and simple medicine to treat his wounds.

"Oh, are they that scary, that pirate called Nami?"

Luffy's words made Nami crazy: "Nami is me. The pirate is called Buggy."

Eden, seeing Nami and Luffy chatting for a while, felt she had recovered a bit. He admired Luffy for his ability to unintentionally drive people crazy with his words.

"Buggy is known for his love of cannons. A child once laughed at his nose, and he used a cannon to blow up the entire town. Also, he uses some strange moves."

Nami's expression became serious as she talked about Buggy, introducing him to Luffy and Eden.

Eden listened without much reaction, continuing to treat his wounds.

Luffy looked around and asked a question that almost made Nami explode, "But why isn't anyone in this town?"

"I told you, everyone fled! Weren't you listening?"

Nami yelled at Luffy and Eden.

Eden thought some of his wounds needed him to remove his clothes for proper treatment, so he ignored Nami's yelling, took the bandages and medicine, and went into an empty room to treat himself.

Eden's actions almost drove Nami crazy. Her impressive patience was the only thing keeping her from beating him.

Eden's actions were because of his unclear relationship with Nami. Whenever he looked at her, she would avoid his gaze, and he couldn't look her in the eye either. It was really awkward.

Ten minutes later, Eden finished treating his wounds and came out of the room, only to find that Nami had tied Luffy up with a rope.

"What are you doing?"

Eden hurried to Luffy and started untying him while questioning Nami.

"Why are you a pirate? Why did you lie to me?"

Nami's once bright eyes were now dim, filled with despair, as she looked at Eden and asked him.

Hearing Nami's words, Eden's hands froze while untying Luffy. Turning to look at Nami, he saw her sorrowful expression, pale face, and couldn't say anything.

While Eden was treating his wounds, Nami learned from Luffy that both he and Eden were pirates.

This news hit Nami like a thunderbolt. For someone who had always hated pirates, it was the first time she felt utterly disheartened.

In a daze, she felt like she had returned to eight years ago, to the day Bellemere was killed by pirates. A heart-wrenching pain filled her heart.

The person she thought she could trust, who she thought she could spend her life with, turned out to be a pirate, the very thing she had hated for so many years!

At that moment, Nami felt deeply ironic.

"Do you know that in this world, the people I hate the most are pirates! I only like money and oranges! Why, why didn't you tell me earlier that you are a disgusting pirate!!!!"

Nami's emotions were clearly out of control, tears filling her lifeless eyes as she shouted at Eden.

"Hey, Eden, why did you make our navigator cry!"

Tied up, Luffy saw Nami, who had just agreed to join them as their navigator, crying.

Thinking it was Eden's fault, Luffy, who always valued his comrades highly, shouted at Eden.

In fact, Nami had agreed to join Luffy's crew to trick them into confronting the Buggy Pirates. She had controlled her emotions until she saw Eden. Seeing him, she couldn't hold back her feelings and easily tricked the naive Luffy, saying she needed to tie him up before taking him to see Buggy.

As a result, Luffy was easily tied up by Nami.

"Yes, he bullied me so badly. You must help me."

Nami said tearfully to Luffy, her words half-true. Luffy, with his simple mind, couldn't tell the difference and believed Nami completely.

Nami still had a glimmer of hope for Eden. She naively thought that if Eden and Luffy fell out, he wouldn't continue as a pirate and might change his ways.

"She's our comrade now. How could you make her cry, especially since she's a girl? You're too despicable!"

Luffy said angrily as he stretched his head towards Eden, "Gomu Gomu no Kane!"

Boom!

Eden dodged Luffy's attack, watching as Luffy's extended head smashed a hole in the wall, clearly not holding back. Eden's anger flared up, "You idiot! Are you trying to kill me?"

"Yes, you should die! For bullying our comrade, I will knock you out!"

Luffy's expression was serious, with traces of anger in his brows, showing he wasn't joking.

What?

Eden, already frustrated by the situation with Nami, felt even more annoyed by Luffy's misunderstanding and his insistence on fighting. Even a saint would be angry at this point.

"Can't you make your own judgments? Don't you know how to listen to explanations?"

Eden clenched his fists, stepped forward, and asked Luffy, suppressing his anger.

"Alright, I'll ask you. Did you bully her? Is she crying because of you?"

Luffy stared at Eden and continued, "You can't deny it because it's the truth! What else do you have to say?"

Eden was stumped by Luffy's questions. Strictly speaking, he had indeed taken advantage of Nami twice, and her crying was indeed his fault.

"It seems no matter what I say, you won't listen. I'll ask you one last time, are you serious?"

Eden's eyes turned cold as he looked at Luffy, asking word by word.

"I'm not joking. I said, people who bully their comrades deserve to be knocked out!"

Luffy stepped forward, not backing down.

"In that case..."

Eden passed by the tearful Nami, sighed imperceptibly, picked up the fruit knife on the table, and threw it at Luffy without hesitation, "You're tied up. I won't take advantage of you!"

Whoosh!

The fruit knife cut through the ropes binding Luffy.

Luffy immediately swung his fist at Eden, "You're injured, but I won't hold back. Be prepared!"

"The one who should be prepared is you. Don't regret your foolishness in hell!"

Eden clenched his fists and charged at Luffy.

"Eden Ragnell!"

"Monkey D. Luffy!"

In front of Nami, Eden and Luffy called each other's names as their fists collided with each other's faces.

The impact of their punches blew Nami's orange hair up. Both took a heavy punch and flew out in opposite directions like cannonballs.

Boom!

Eden and Luffy, both punched through the walls, flew out of the house, leaving Nami standing there in shock...