No matter how many times I see it, that sight is always so overwhelming.
Gripping the rail with both hands, Carina—her single ponytail let down into straight long hair, eyes squinting against the gale—sighed. "Karl, that spear… could it be one of the legendary Three Ancient Weapons said to be able to destroy the world?"
"I don't know either. It doesn't even have a name," Karl shrugged.
"Uh… um…"
Only after the wind died and the mushroom cloud slowly dispersed did Nami come back to herself, stumbling over her words.
"Hee-hee, not scared to death?" Carina teased with a grin.
"Mm-hmm…"
Nami nodded again and again, took a few deep breaths, then said in a trembling voice, "Th-that spear—you threw it away. Is that really okay?"
"Not bad. You noticed the key point right away."
Carina gave Nami an approving look and explained, "Don't worry. That spear is a bonded weapon. Once thrown, it unleashes the light within and causes a massive explosion, then, following the master's will, turns into that glow you saw and disappears, waiting for the next summon."
"A divine tool that can't be picked up or taken."
"S-so amazing!"
Nami stared in awe. "A world with a weapon like that… even the twelve Supreme Grade Blades from legend can't compare, right?"
"There's no comparison at all."
Carina sniffed. "The Supreme Grade Blades I know—they're simply the sharpest and most famous cold weapons. Karl's spear, like the legendary Three Ancient Weapons, may well hold the power to destroy the world."
"So that's the Knight's strength!"
Nami gazed at Karl with worship, a light of hope rising deep in her eyes, an urge to beg him for help stirring in her heart.
But she had only just joined them. She couldn't bring herself to ask him to take that risk.
She decided to butter the two of them up from now on.
Once they were close enough, then she would ask for help.
Nami, also fourteen this year, didn't yet have the conviction she would hold four years later that Arlong was unbeatable.
After witnessing that world-rending power, she didn't believe fish-men or the sea cow Momoo could withstand a single throw of that spear of light.
So, from then on, Nami played the servant, warmly fussing over Karl and Carina in every way.
From this, Carina grew more certain the girl was hiding some unspeakable secret or trouble she couldn't bring herself to say.
She also concluded that, after seeing Karl's power, the Cat Burglar would ask them for help.
And that her "trial" could only be solved by force.
Karl didn't refuse Nami's enthusiasm. Smiling, he had her peel fruit, give him a massage—short of ordering up a maid outfit.
That, too, let Nami glimpse the "naughty" streak hidden in his nature.
This Sir Knight was no real knight at all.
Then again, who in this world is a true knight?
If one existed, he'd be a pitiable soul.
The eight knightly virtues are just brainwashing, anyway.
"Carina, where to next?"
Eating the fruit Nami had cut while enjoying her massage technique, Karl looked at Carina across from him—at some point a book had appeared in her hands—and asked.
"Loguetown's bank first, to send some money back," Carina replied.
This world has banks and hospitals; not only member nations or bustling islands have them.
Loguetown is near the entrance to the Grand Line. As one of the last islands of the four seas, in this pirate-ruled Great Pirate Era, as long as public order is kept, rich merchants with cash will flock to invest.
Ever since Marine Headquarters stationed a Logia user there, Loguetown has become the most peaceful and prosperous island in the East Blue.
Banks, hospitals, shipyards… Loguetown has it all.
"Got it. Want me to speed us up?" Karl flashed an OK sign.
"If it's training, do as you like."
"I'll hop down and accelerate us."
The two spoke words Nami didn't understand.
Then, under Nami's gaze, Karl stood, went below, and brought out a thick chain.
He tied one end to the bow, fastened the other end around himself, and leapt into the sea.
Nami felt the deck lurch beneath her feet. When she regained her balance, the scenery ahead was racing backward, spray leaping meters high along both rails.
Turning to look, she saw a long white wake trailing behind the sloop.
"M-monster…"
In that instant, Nami's face went numb.
"Hee-hee… don't be too shocked. You'll see more inhuman feats, and you'll get used to that strength—and the unrivaled sense of safety it brings."
Smiling, Carina said, "Since you're the navigator, head to the bow and guide us to Loguetown. That guy on the open sea has no sense of direction—a hopeless road idiot."
"Got it," Nami nodded.
Over the next twenty-four hours, Nami's worldview was refreshed yet again.
Towing a small sloop at a speed beyond a large sailing ship's was nothing but a snack.
At night, because a sloop can't store enough provisions—and even the holds of small and mid-size ships wouldn't feed Karl—he dove to fish every day.
Not for little fish, but for sea fish and sea beasts as big as the sloop, even bigger.
Today, Karl was lucky. Three thousand meters down, he caught a fish twice the size of their sloop.
Staring at a sea fish only a third smaller than the sea cow Momoo, Nami looked at Karl with burning eyes.
It's possible. I can save Cocoyasi Village.
The Arlong Pirates and the sea cow Momoo are no match for Karl.
But right now, opening her mouth to ask Karl for help was the hardest part.
Nami was torn up inside.
Little did she know that while she wrestled with it, Carina was getting ready to probe her secret.