Cocoyasi Village.
Still immersed in her "dream," Nami walked briskly back to her hometown with her hands clasped behind her back.
As she passed the sheriff's hut at the village entrance, she cheerfully waved at the man inside.
"Hey! Genzo! Long time no see!"
Genzo, the sheriff of Cocoyasi Village with a peculiar windmill hat on his head, stared in disbelief at Nami, who had suddenly regained her bright and cheerful demeanor. He couldn't help but rub his eyes.
The joyful smile blooming on Nami's face...
Genzo hadn't seen it in at least four whole years!
What had happened to Nami?
Genzo instinctively glanced at the unfamiliar man following behind her.
Could it be related to him?
Nami had no idea what Genzo was thinking.
Though she wanted to chat with him, what she longed for most right now was the tangerine grove at home.
The distance between the sheriff's hut and the grove wasn't far.
Within minutes, Nami arrived home and saw her older sister busy with household chores.
"Nojiko!"
Nami quickened her steps, practically skipping over to Nojiko before throwing her arms around her in a tight hug.
"I missed you so much!"
Nojiko froze, feeling something damp seep into her clothes.
Nami's tears...
Ever since Bellemere's death, Nami had never cried in front of anyone else...
Today's Nami...
Like Genzo earlier, Nojiko gently embraced her, patting her back while casting a curious glance at the unfamiliar man who had come home with Nami.
Storm noticed Nojiko's probing gaze and raised his right hand, tapping his temple with his index finger.
His meaning was simple, and Nojiko "understood"—
Nami's mind wasn't right.
Hmm...
Nojiko tightened her arms around her sister.
Nami remained oblivious, pouring out the hardships of the past few years to Nojiko.
"Nojiko, I really hated stealing money..."
"Stealing from pirates is dangerous. They all carry guns, and I got shot a few times—it hurt so much..."
"Sometimes, when I couldn't steal anything, I didn't dare spend the money I'd saved, so I had to go hungry. That felt awful too..."
"But I never told you any of this because I was afraid you'd worry and stop me from stealing more..."
"I've saved almost 40 million Belly now. Just a few more years—three, maybe four?—and I'll have 100 million Belly..."
"Then I'll finally be able to buy our village back from Arlong..."
Nami poured out everything she had endured over the years to Nojiko.
Under normal circumstances, she would never have shared so much of her heart.
But since this was a dream, it didn't matter.
By the end, Nami's voice gradually faded, and her breathing steadied.
She had fallen asleep.
Nojiko carried Nami inside and laid her down before stepping back out.
She found Storm standing outside, examining the tangerine trees in their grove with keen interest.
Noticing the obviously expensive attire on the unfamiliar man, Nojiko's palms began sweating. She quickly wiped them on her clothes before stepping forward and asking softly:
"Hello sir, I'm Nojiko, Nami's sister. May I ask what your relationship with Nami is..."
"Vongola Storm. Nami and I have a 'master and slave' relationship."
Storm withdrew his gaze from the oranges and turned to look at Nojiko, explaining frankly.
"To put it simply, I've bought out Nami's life, and she agreed to it herself."
...Huh?
Nojiko froze completely upon hearing his first sentence.
But after listening to everything, her emotions shifted from "shock" directly to "confusion."
Nami agreed to this... what the hell?
"Master and slave"...
Was this some new-age romantic relationship?
Nojiko couldn't comprehend it.
At least judging by Nami's condition earlier.
Apart from acting a bit sillier, Nami didn't seem worse off—in fact, she'd lost that icy demeanor she used to have.
If this mentally altered Nami could meet a man who made her happy... perhaps it was a blessing in disguise.
Nojiko chose to respect it.
"Miss Nojiko, I have other matters to attend to, so I won't be staying long."
Storm spoke politely to Nojiko.
"Please tell Nami for me—I'll be back to take her away in as little as two days or as long as half a month."
Nojiko initially wanted to ask him to stay, at least for some tea or a simple meal.
But the ground beneath Storm's feet suddenly rippled, and an incredibly lifelike Blue-Eyed White Dragon emerged from below, carrying him into the air.
Nojiko's brain short-circuited.
Her mind must be playing tricks on her too—seeing a dragon in broad daylight...
"Oh, one more thing, Miss Nojiko."
Storm pointed toward Arlong Park.
"That trashy fishman gang over there has already been cleaned up by me. You can spread the word to the other villagers."
Arlong's crew... dead?
Nojiko let out a dry, disbelieving chuckle.
Between Nami's earlier behavior and now this White Dragon... none of this was normal.
She really must be losing her mind...
...
After briefly explaining things to Nojiko, Storm rode off on the Blue-Eyed White Dragon, leaving Cocoyasi Village behind.
He didn't bother taking over the Arlong Pirates' wealth.
What kind of money could a bunch of fishmen tyrants, who only bullied their way around the East Blue, possibly have?
The "liquid assets" in the Arlong Pirates' coffers might not even match what Nami had saved up!
Such petty cash was better off returning "to where it came from"...
As for Nami...
Storm turned his gaze back toward Cocoyasi Village from high above.
Come to think of it, his crew was still missing a "navigator"!
Across the entire sea, the number of navigators known to surpass Nami's talent wasn't one, wasn't two...
It was zero!
Nami could sense climate changes with her body alone.
Even in the Grand Line, her superhuman instincts would remain effective.
If we're talking purely about "navigational skills"...
Perhaps the grandmother of some die-hard Straw Hat Pirates fan might be taller than Nami.
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But when it comes to pure talent alone...
Among all the navigators Storm had ever met, none could surpass Nami.
He was willing to declare her the strongest!
Accidentally stumbling upon a wild, top-tier navigator like her put Storm in an exceptionally good mood.
Though the East Blue was often called the "Weakest Sea,"
when it did produce someone noteworthy, they were nothing short of legendary.
Absolutely ridiculous!
The Blue-Eyed White Dragon slowly flew away from Cocoyasi Village.
But instead of leaving the Conomi Islands immediately, Storm pulled out a Den Den Mushi near Branch 16 and called Aokiji.
"Hey hey hey~ Is Aokiji there?"
"Storm? You again? What trouble have you caused this time?"
"No trouble yet, but I'm about to cause some. I'm heading to Branch 16 to take care of its captain."
"Huh? Wait! Where is Branch 16? No matter where it is, the captain is the highest-ranking officer there, right!?"
Aokiji was taken aback. He couldn't recall where Branch 16 was located, but Storm's actions surprised him.
"Storm, what did that captain do?"
"Nothing too serious..."
Seated atop the Blue-Eyed White Dragon, Storm could already see Branch 16's headquarters in the distance.
"Just the usual—colluding with pirates, oppressing civilians, enslaving people, and embezzling wealth."
"That's an extremely serious accusation against a fellow marine..."
"It's not an accusation, just a statement of facts. I ran into Arlong's crew in the East Blue... a group of fishmen from the former Sun Pirates who despise humans. The captain of Branch 16 is their protector. They've been working together for at least four years."
Storm briefly recounted the situation at Arlong Park.
Here's a little-known fact:
Arlong claimed to hate humans and wanted to rule over them.
Yet every month, he dutifully bribed Captain Nezumi of East Blue's Branch 16.
And the reason was simple—to keep Nezumi from reporting him to Marine Headquarters.
After listening, Aokiji fell silent for a moment.
With an organization as large as the Marines, it was inevitable that some corrupt elements would emerge.
The G-series branches in the Grand Line were still somewhat manageable.
But the branches across the Four Seas? A breeding ground for corruption.
"Storm, can you give that branch captain a chance?"
Aokiji hesitated before speaking.
"You can punish him, but don't kill him. Let him face justice."
"Huh? Admiral Aokiji, why didn't you say so earlier? I've already taken care of him."
Storm stood amidst the ruins of Branch 16's former base.
Captain Nezumi was dead, and the other marines had all been knocked unconscious.
"But don't worry, I only dealt with the ringleader. The rest can face justice."
"Understood!"
Aokiji replied stiffly.
"I'll report this to Fleet Admiral Sengoku and have him dispatch replacements from other East Blue branches immediately!"
"Also, Storm, the Marines and pirates are different..."
"Of course they're different!"
Storm cut him off before he could finish.
"In my opinion, Admiral Akainu is still far too lenient."
"How can so-called 'Thorough Justice' only point its guns at pirates?"
"There are plenty of scum within the Marine ranks, even within the World Government system!"
"These scumbags are equally threatening to justice!"
"Justice that isn't thorough is thoroughly unjust!"
"If you ask me, we should... hey hey? Aokiji? Ice Pheasant? Did you hang up on me again?"
Storm looked at the disconnected Den Den Mushi and couldn't help but pout.
Little Ice Pheasant, trying to manipulate me? Who do you think I am?
At Marine Headquarters, I might call you Admiral.
But this is East Blue—you should be calling me Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea: White Dragon!
Storm put away the Den Den Mushi and rode his Blue-Eyed White Dragon away from the ruined Base 16.
High in the sky.
Storm took out the East Blue sea chart he'd previously obtained from the map room of Arlong Park.
This was the map Nami had painstakingly drawn stroke by stroke over the past few years—definitely the "latest edition."
Storm then produced the antiquated map from the Vinsmoke family collection.
One old, one new—comparing the two maps side by side.
Storm determined his next destination—
Dawn Island!
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