"Don't you have anything to explain?"
Nami asked, narrowing her eyes.
"I've always wondered which comes first, tomorrow or the unexpected... Now I know."
With the warning chime ringing in his head, Luffy swiftly got out of bed. "You understand, right?"
"No, I don't."
Nami pinched his cheek, not about to let him get away with it.
The rubber stretched.
"Anyway, that's just how I found myself when I woke up."
Luffy adopted a "do your worst" attitude.
He looked at Nami, and a sudden inspiration struck. He turned the tables on her. "Well, then you explain first why you were hugging me when I woke up."
"..."
Since when did he get so sharp?
Nami let go, then turned to Merry with a composed expression. "The weather seems really bad today. It's quite cold."
"Okay." Merry nodded obediently.
Wow, that's a masterful level of topic diversion.
It finally dawned on Luffy. Dealing with Nami meant he couldn't just give in. Charge head-on and you'd realize she was tough on the outside but soft inside!
That's what he thought, but he still didn't charge. Nami made a show of starting to take her clothes off, revealing her smooth back. She glanced back at him, her eyes saying trash. "Aren't you leaving? Do you want to stay for a striptease?"
That might not be a bad idea!
Despite thinking that, Luffy still walked out of the room first.
On the tumultuous sea, goose-feather snow was now falling. The Merry was sailing through a sky full of drifting snow.
"It was raining until dawn, now it's started snowing. You overslept."
Zoro walked over, lifting weights, a trace of smugness on his face. In terms of strength, he might have pulled ahead a bit, but in terms of effort? That's a different story!
Looking at Zoro's expression, Luffy didn't know what to say.
Should he tell him, What you think is oversleeping is actually me having a full extra day of training in a dream?
He'd get beaten up.
Coincidentally, Luffy wanted to test out his newly developed moves, so he asked Zoro to spar with him.
"Has the weather already become this bizarre even before entering the Grand Line?"
"The sea's getting rougher too."
"Don't worry..."
On deck, Merry, who had just stepped out, worked her magic with a slight gesture. The previously rocking ship immediately stabilized.
"Merry, you're amazing!"
Nami pressed her cheek against Merry's. This child was practically an angel for a navigator. It seemed they could even do without a helmsman.
And because the weather had turned cold, Merry was like a little furnace. Nami held onto her, unwilling to let go.
"I say, Nami, if you're cold, why not just put on some pants?"
After warming up, Luffy couldn't help but comment, seeing Nami wrapped in a down jacket but wearing a skirt and stockings, her pale thighs exposed. "You're treating Merry like a space heater."
Nami shot him a glare. As if you didn't treat me like a heater last night.
Who wasn't hugging whom?!
But for a fashion-loving woman like Nami, wearing a thick down jacket was already the limit. These pale thighs absolutely had to be shown off, for this rubber-brained idiot to see.
"Nyah! You leg fetishist, does looking at them get you excited?" Nami raised her chin triumphantly.
Me? A leg fetishist? That's a complete fabrication!
"You don't like looking? That's not what you said before."
Nami's "before" referred to when Luffy was slacking off and he'd stubbornly insisted on "looking at legs."
He had looked. And they were nice.
Luffy felt a bit flustered but didn't know how to retort.
He was a bit stuck in the middle.
"I'll sue you for slander."
After struggling for a long time, that was all Luffy could muster. He then buried his head and continued warming up with Zoro.
When Sanji and Usopp got up, everyone had their tasks.
The cook was naturally responsible for preparing breakfast and lunch. Usopp noticed Merry watching Luffy and Zoro spar the whole time, occasionally clapping and cheering. He resolutely decided to end his state of perpetual slacking and requested to join!
The result was being bullied mercilessly by the deranged duo of Luffy and Zoro, nearly being sent to an early grave.
Not long after, the surrounding climate grew even more complex and volatile. Weather, currents, wind direction—everything became a mess. Luffy's basic nautical knowledge was utterly insufficient in this chaos. Even Nami was a bit flustered.
However, it proved that remembering things definitely paid off. Several times when Nami got stuck, even Luffy just reading passages verbatim from the book he'd memorized turned out to be surprisingly useful.
This greatly surprised Nami, giving her a sense of urgency.
I can't let Luffy outdo me!
With Merry's help, the situation soon stabilized.
Accompanied by an excited cry, Merry pointed ahead. "Everyone, I think we're here!"
Everyone looked up and saw the so-called Incredible Mountain, so vast it made Usopp's expression change.
The entrance to the Grand Line, the Red Line!
In Luffy's past seventeen years, after deciding to become the Pirate King, this Incredible Mountain had become a place that appeared even in his dreams.
He had imagined this scene countless times.
Arriving before this mountain with like-minded nakama, starting the beginning of all adventures, fulfilling a certain promise.
It started with Shanks. Before they left, Luffy had said, One day, I'll gather an even better crew and head out to that sea.
When Ace set sail, Luffy had also said, I'll gather a great crew and become the Pirate King!
And now, it was like the starting point of a dream taking flight.
[Notification: New Nakama Day activated.]
[Please proceed with nakama recruitment behavior.]
[Nakama recruitment target: 0/2]
[Countdown: Six hours.]
Luffy's body stiffened for a moment, then a strange expression crossed his face.
He genuinely liked Nakama Day.
But...
His requirements for nakama weren't many. To put it simply, it came down to a feeling, a vibe.
This seemingly simple requirement was actually the hardest.
Even Luffy himself felt that finding two people who clicked with him in such a short time was too difficult.
He was somewhat self-aware that his tastes could be eccentric.
It wasn't about filling a role on the ship, either. If he met someone like a robot, he'd absolutely want them to stay!
Whatever, take it one step at a time!
Entering Nakama Day pulled Luffy out of his grueling training state. For a moment, he actually felt a bit unaccustomed to it.
I must really be sick.
But no matter what...
"We're almost there, almost there!"
Luffy grabbed the shoulders of the person next to him, shaking them excitedly.
Sanji's hand trembled. He'd only come to deliver some tea, and now his shoulder felt dislocated. He glared at Luffy with murderous intent. "That hurts, you know!"
"Hahaha, sorry, sorry!"
"Where's the entrance to the Grand Line?" Zoro asked.
"It's on the mountain." Luffy grinned.
***
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