Bang!
With the thud of a heavy body hitting the floor, the second pirate hiding in the cabin was knocked out by a single hand chop from Karl.
After the two followed their sensing and reached the door where the third aura was—
Click!
As Karl pushed the door open and stepped in, a folded three-section baton slammed down on his head.
The baton snapped instead; not even his hairstyle was mussed.
"A kid?"
Seeing who had attacked Karl, Carina said, slightly surprised.
"Sorry, sorry… I thought those pirates found me. You're okay, right?!"
Seeing that the newcomers were a boy and girl about her age, the orange-haired girl bent to apologize to Karl.
"I'm fine. Are you with that lot?"
Looking at the orange-haired girl before him, Karl's expression turned odd—he clearly recognized her.
"Heehee, a second ago I was. Now I'm not."
Once she saw Karl was indeed fine, the orange-haired girl beamed at Karl and Carina and introduced herself. "Nice to meet you. Like you, I'm the Cat Burglar, Nami."
"I see."
Carina nodded slightly. "Cat Burglar—the rookie thief who shot to fame this year."
"I'm no rookie."
Nami shot Carina a glare. "I started at eight. Only a year later than you."
"You know who I am?" Carina was even more surprised.
"I'm not blind."
Nami rolled her eyes. "Who in the East Blue doesn't know that duo—the Knight and the Phantom Thief."
"Since you know me, aren't you afraid I'll kill you?" Carina pulled a fearsome face to intimidate her.
"Heehee… I'm not scared, because I trust the Knight's character."
Unafraid, Nami's eyes shone as she looked at Karl like a fangirl meeting her idol. "I finally get to see the Knight in the flesh. Sir Knight, can I have your autograph?"
"So you're his fan. No wonder you're not scared of me at all," Carina said, speechless.
"Uh… sure. I'm Karl."
Karl hadn't expected Nami to be a fan. His Observation Haki also told him the girl wasn't acting—she truly felt no fear of him, only excitement and admiration.
Come to think of it, if Carina hadn't stopped him earlier—
A future member of the Straw Hat Pirates, destined to be the world's greatest navigator, might have been killed.
Since none of the three had a pen, the autograph would have to wait.
Glancing around the room, Carina realized this was the ship's treasure hold—but there were no gold or silver coins, only a very small safe.
Carina asked, "Can you open it?"
"Huh?"
Nami blinked, then shook her head. "No. It's a combination lock."
"A combination lock? Then there's probably something valuable inside." Carina's blue eyes brightened.
"Don't flatter it. If there's anything valuable, it'll be in the captain's quarters," Nami said with disdain. "You don't even know that—are you really a 'phantom thief' on par with me?"
"You…"
Scorned, Carina glared, eyes blazing.
Nami glared right back, though a hidden envy flickered deep in her gaze.
Her worship of Karl was real, and so was her dislike of Carina.
But there were reasons—nothing comes from nowhere.
Karl and Carina started roaming the East Blue at seven. Nami only put to sea to steal at eight.
Back then, Karl and Carina worked jobs for money and moonlighted as bounty hunters; they weren't nearly as famous as now.
After their first rise to fame, Nami was among the earliest to take notice.
Because of Carina's title Phantom Thief, Nami had always kept tabs on this peer close to her age and trade.
Watching with her own eyes as Karl and Carina became the East Blue's strongest bounty-hunter duo, Nami couldn't help but envy Carina.
If she had a partner as strong as Karl at her side, she might already have gathered a hundred million Beli to buy her village back from Arlong.
So the greater her envy of Carina, the greater her admiration for Karl.
Bang!
While the two fated "rivals" were dueling with their eyes, Karl stepped up to the safe and smashed the combo dial with one punch.
The tremendous crack made both Carina and Nami jolt.
"Ahem…"
Catching each other's awkward moment, the two girls coughed lightly and glanced aside toward Karl.
"How poor. Just a single stack."
After tearing off the safe's door, Karl pulled out a bundle of ten-thousand-Beli notes, face full of disdain. "Barely around a million. And they dare sail as pirates."
"I'll check the captain's quarters."
Carina had to admit Nami had taught her a lesson.
They'd always searched the treasure hold first, overlooking the captain's room.
Most pirates are selfish and greedy. If anything precious exists, it's unlikely to sit in the vault; if not carried on the person, it'll be hidden in their quarters.
"Cat Burglar, know where the captain's room is?" Carina asked Nami.
"Yeah. I wasn't confident I could sneak into it, so I chose this place."
Nami nodded, then tested, "Those pirates handled yet?"
"Of course. Karl threw them all overboard." Carina straightened her chest, proud of the work.
"Must be nice…"
Nami's envy finally overflowed.
"Hoh…"
Taking in that expression, Carina seemed to understand why this little Cat Burglar bristled at her.
She was a defeated underdog.