Encounter

"What… what?" Nami wore an expression that said she did not know what to say. "Those people’s backgrounds… aren’t they way too bizarre? Why did all of them become pirates? No… why do these people usually act like orphans?"

Just now, Yota had explained Luffy and the others’ backgrounds to Nami.

Luffy went without saying. His grandfather was the Navy Hero, and his father was the Leader of the Revolutionary Army.

Zoro had merely resembled Shimotsuki Ushimaru before, so he had not had much of a background. But now, he had Ryuma as his grandmaster.

Usopp’s father, Yasopp, was a Great Elite of the Red Hair Pirates. Although his bounty had not been announced yet, it was surely at least 500 million Beli.

As for Sanji, who had joined later, Nami was not familiar with him at all. She did not even know he had joined, so there was no need to mention him yet.

Even so, Nami was already completely dizzy and questioning her life.

"Um… even if you ask me that, I can’t answer. Perhaps you could only say that people who yearn for freedom are generally willing to give their children the greatest freedom?"

"No, I just think those guys’ dads simply don’t want to take responsibility." Nami hit the nail right on the head.

"So, even if I hadn’t helped you wipe out the Arlong Pirates, once your companions arrived, they still would have destroyed the Arlong Pirates."

"Even if you don’t have faith in them, you should have faith in the backgrounds behind them."

After spoiling everything for Nami, Yota left with a mischievous grin, leaving behind only a Nami with an expression of utter existential doubt.

"Something feels off about the timing. I remember that not long after Nami returned to her hometown, Luffy and the others caught up with her."

Yota, who had already been waiting in Cocoyasi Village for four days, rubbed his chin in confusion.

Still, he did not remember the exact timing all that clearly, so he did not think much of it.

Nami, on the other hand, was different. Dark circles had visibly appeared beneath her eyes over the past few days. Clearly, she had been overthinking every day and sleeping poorly every night.

After all… what if Luffy and the others felt that she had deceived them, were deeply dissatisfied with her as their navigator, and decided not to come looking for her anymore, choosing another navigator instead? That was not impossible.

If that happened, would the regret in her heart not become something she could never make up for?

As the wait grew longer, Nami even considered taking the Going Merry to search for Luffy and the others. But on the vast sea, the efficiency of such an action was simply too low. It was even more likely that she would miss them, so she did not set out.

Fortunately, on the evening of the fourth day, a battered little boat carrying several people finally approached Orange Island.

"This should be the Arlong Waters, right? Is Nami here?"

The Straw Hat Kid, wearing a straw hat and a red vest, stretched his head far out as he looked toward the distant island.

"I see it! That docked over there is the Going Merry!" The long-nosed Usopp cried out joyfully. "That pirate thief really is here!"

"Nami is our companion, and she’s our navigator!" Hearing Usopp’s words, Luffy spoke to him with a serious expression.

"Fine, whatever you say." Usopp muttered under his breath.

"Of course, Nami-swan must have her reasons! We have to bring her back!" Sanji shouted, his eyes filled with hearts.

However, even though they had only known each other for a short time, everyone in the Straw Hat Pirates knew Sanji’s lecherous nature inside and out. Even Luffy, who agreed with him on this matter, merely picked his nose and gave an "Mm."

Zoro, who would normally have argued with Sanji, was currently wrapped tightly in bandages from head to toe. He leaned against the deck in the breeze, his eyes seemingly still recalling something.

When the Straw Hat crew spotted the Going Merry, Nami, who was performing maintenance aboard it, also saw Luffy and the others.

Joy first appeared on her face, followed by a somewhat embarrassed expression. She did not know how to face them.

But even though she had only briefly shown herself on deck, the Straw Hat crew had seen her.

"Ah! Nami-swan, I see her!"

Sanji wore an utterly lovestruck expression as he said to the others, "Hurry up and speed up!"

Yet Luffy moved faster than Sanji. In an instant, his rubber arm shot out and grabbed hold of the Going Merry.

Then Rubber Man Luffy flew across the vast distance in an instant and leaped onto the Going Merry.

"Nami, I came to find you!"

"So, Nami, you wanted to buy Cocoyasi Village back from the Arlong Pirates?"

Luffy tilted his head as he asked.

"That’s right." Nami let out a long breath. "But I never expected that when I came back, the entire Arlong Pirates would already have been wiped out by someone."

"Wait a second!" Usopp, the only male member of the One Piece crew with relatively normal common sense, spoke up. "Then there’s no evidence at all, is there? What if you’re one of the Arlong Pirates’ remnants? Maybe you were planning to deceive us from the beginning, but after seeing that the Arlong Pirates had been destroyed, you had nowhere else to go. That’s possible too, right?"

"Bastard! How could Nami-swan possibly be that kind of person?!" Sanji immediately bared his sharp teeth and snarled furiously at Usopp.

"I’m just saying it’s a possibility, a possibility!" Chased by Sanji, Usopp ran wildly around the deck until Luffy reached out and stopped them.

"Don’t worry, I believe in Nami!" As he spoke, Luffy grinned, revealing an incredibly infectious, foolish smile.

"Captain…" Nami suppressed her excitement and wiped her eyes. "Then… please take care of me from now on."

Usopp did not say anything else. In this world, the captain was the one who truly made decisions aboard a pirate ship.

Besides, Usopp was only worried. He was kind by nature and was more inclined to believe that Nami had her own reasons.

"All right, to celebrate Nami joining us, let’s throw a party!" Seeing Nami rejoin them, Luffy immediately shouted loudly.

Nami gave a radiant smile. "Perfect… I still have nearly 100 million Beli in savings. This time, we can hold a grand party."

However, as smiling Nami looked at Luffy and the others’ battered little boat, as well as Zoro, who had been lying there all along with severe injuries, she asked curiously, "After I left, it looks like you went through quite a lot too?"