At noon the next day, at Cocoyasi Village's pier,
Yami and Carina moved the villagers' farewell gifts aboard, along with Nami's beloved tangerine trees.
Nami was saying goodbye to the villagers.
"Nami, take good care of yourself out there!"
"If you've had your fill of adventure, remember to come home early."
"Be careful—don't be as reckless as Bell-mère."
…
Listening to their warm reminders, Nami nodded with a face full of smiles. "Mm-hmm… I got it. Don't worry, everyone—my captain is one heck of a guy."
Because the Arlong Pirates were wiped out five years early, Nami's mood now was completely different from the original story.
She didn't sneak around lifting wallets as a mischievous farewell like when she was a kid.
She said proper goodbyes to the villagers, and she didn't feel much reluctance to part.
At only thirteen this year, Nami was full of curiosity about the world outside.
No longer bearing a village's fate, she reclaimed her childhood dream—to draw a map of the entire world.
"…Goodbye, everyone!"
After a long hug with Nojiko and a few whispered reminders, Nami waved to the villagers.
Then she returned to her post as navigator and helmswoman and steered the ship away from Cocoyasi.
"Goodbye, Nami!"
The villagers waved and watched the ship recede, torn between reluctance and worry.
…
"Master, are we heading for the Grand Line next?"
Peeling an orange, Carina handed a slice to Yami as she asked.
"Mm. But first I'm swinging by Loguetown to swap ships."
Yami ate the orange and nodded.
"I agree. This boat is too big, and a lot of space goes unused."
Having secured the helm, Nami immediately raised her hand in support.
"Honestly, the stink of those men lingers too much," Carina added with a nod.
Yami only smiled.
To him, this ship wasn't big at all—it was actually small.
When they bought their own in the future, he'd commission something much larger so life at sea wouldn't be so dull.
But protecting a large ship requires absolute strength.
Before that, he'd downsize.
Three days later, Yami arrived in Loguetown again.
He hadn't taken Arlong's corpse; he'd left it to dry in the sun in the square.
After disembarking, the three bought a local map and headed straight for the shipyard.
Loguetown is the most famous town in the East Blue—and one of the best-known islands in the world.
It's where the Pirate King was born and died.
Before Smoker took office, it was the East Blue's messiest island.
After Smoker arrived, it became the safest.
Either way, the foot traffic was always astounding.
Since the start of the Great Pirate Era, countless merchants had poured money into this island.
Weapon shops, nautical shops, shipyards… everything you could want.
At the shipyard, after a brief talk with the manager, Yami successfully traded Mad Treasure's ship for a new one.
The new vessel was a small single-masted sloop, similar to the Going Merry.
After Nami sailed it back and they moved all valuables aboard, Yami completed the exchange with the shipyard.
On paper, swapping a big ship for a small one meant Yami lost out.
But both girls knew the larger ship was just a secondhand prize they'd taken.
Trading a looted secondhand hull for a brand-new vessel felt like a great deal.
Once they brought the new ship to the pier, the three went to buy furnishings and clothes.
On the way, Yami briefed them on Grand Line basics: "The Grand Line is a very special sea. The magnetic fields are chaotic and the weather changes without warning—sometimes all four seasons in a single day."
"So we need extra clothing and medicine. Fruit and fresh water are non-negotiable every day."
Then Yami removed a glass-ball bracelet from his wrist and handed it to Nami. "This is a Log Pose—the Grand Line's compass. Regular compasses from the Four Seas fail there. With a Log Pose, I won't get lost."
"As expected of the Grand Line—unbelievable."
Nami stared in amazement, then played lovingly with the Log Pose.
Her horizons expanded once again.
Carina produced a notebook from who-knows-where and wrote down everything Yami said.
Collecting intel had already become a habit.
At the furniture district, Yami didn't presume to choose; he left it to the girls.
They were better at this than he was.
Indeed, Carina and Nami not only had great eyes—they were killer hagglers.
With just 15,000,000 beli, they bought high-end mattresses, sofas, wardrobes, a dining table, coffee tables, and more.
Then the three hit a clothing store and bought outfits for all four seasons.
They didn't leave Loguetown that day—they stayed three more.
Because Yami had ordered a batch of clothing.
Maid outfits.
Since they were maids, of course they needed uniforms.
So Yami commissioned a mountain of maid outfits for the two of them.
Summer and winter sets.
Long sleeve and short sleeve, black and white.
Classic styles, modified styles, and… certain "just-for-his-eyes" designs made purely to please.
Even bold Carina and Nami blushed at the heap of uniforms.
Yami, however, felt a tad regretful.
They were too young—both thirteen—figures still flat as boards.
At eighteen and twenty, those maid outfits would have set blood boiling.
Once the maid uniforms were ready, the three left Loguetown that day and headed for the Grand Line's entrance.
When the ship reached the entry and they first saw Reverse Mountain, both Carina and Nami were awestruck by the world-shaking spectacle.
"The sea is flowing up the mountain… this is the Grand Line's entrance?" Carina gasped.
"What a vicious current—reef the sails, now!"
Nami didn't have time to marvel. Her innate talent told her something was off, and she shouted an order.
As soon as the words left her mouth, she noticed the sails were already in.
Yami had walked over, patted her head, and said, "Don't tense up. Do it your way. No matter what happens, I can protect you."
"Mm! I understand, Master."
Nami, coiled tight for the greatest challenge of her seafaring life, felt the pressure ease and a powerful sense of safety settle in. She nodded hard.
Then Yami witnessed the skill of the world's future number-one navigator.
Age didn't matter—once relaxed, Nami seemed to commune with the currents themselves.
Though not yet a master helmswoman, every turn she made aligned the ship with the flow, changing position without a jolt and sliding into the narrow chute.
Once in Reverse Mountain's channel, the ship's speed surged, racing upward toward the summit.
Nami didn't relax; both hands clamped the wheel.
This was the most dangerous moment.
With the ship accelerating so fast, any slight drift would mean total ruin.
She didn't dare slacken.
Carina, by contrast, clung to Yami's arm—safer than any rail—and turned to look back at the East Blue.
For the first time in her life, she stood so high and gazed down on her homeland.
Spray filled the chute from the currents slamming the Red Line.
Shrouded in mist, the East Blue below looked like a fairyland.
Sadly, the view vanished quickly.
They crested the summit; three other channels' waters merged with theirs and all plunged into the chute leading to the first half of the Grand Line.
Upward rush flipped to headlong dive; the fierce air nearly flung Nami and Carina overboard.
At that instant, Yami wrapped one arm around Carina and pressed his other palm between Nami's shoulder blades, steadying them both.
Feeling his firm hand, Nami exhaled, then focused on the wheel again.
Moments later, the ship burst from the chute and slammed onto the sea.
Their luck was good—they didn't meet Laboon crashing into the Red Line.
Even if they had, it wouldn't have mattered to Yami.