Night fell over the outskirts of Cocoyasi Village.
Here stood a small, solitary villa—Nami's home.
Logan only asked a few villagers for directions before finding the place without difficulty.
Behind the house was a sizable orange grove, the branches heavy with plump, golden fruit.
Seeing that Nami wasn't home yet, Logan didn't enter. Instead, he sat cross-legged on an open patch of ground.
He ate the sweet, juicy oranges one by one while silently planning for the great battle that would come sooner rather than later.
The Mythical Spirit Tree was powerful, but he still hadn't found a suitable place to cultivate it. Even if he did, assembling an army of eight hundred Mythical Zoan beasts in a short time was unrealistic.
A Mythical Zoan army was destined to be a long-term project—something that required patience, not haste.
For now, the most important things were either strengthening himself or doing everything possible to stop Ace.
Here, he wasn't worried about Luffy.
That kid had absurd luck. At the very least, on this island, there was no one capable of threatening Luffy's life.
What worried him more was Nami.
If Arlong ever saw through her small tricks, her situation would instantly become extremely dangerous.
So before anything else, he had to make sure Nami stayed safe.
At that moment, he noticed Nami returning home. She had also spotted him and was walking straight toward him.
Logan remained calm. There was no reason to hide.
He smiled, waved lightly, and greeted her while eating an orange.
"Hello, Nami."
Nami held a three-section staff, staring warily at the white-haired swordsman before her, her tone sharp.
"Who are you? You'd better leave immediately, or don't blame me for being rough. I'm an officer of the Arlong Pirates."
Logan smiled with amusement.
"I know. But soon enough, you'll be my little brother's partner."
Seeing the confusion on Nami's face, he added casually:
"My brother's name is Luffy. My name is Logan. I'm a swordsman."
Hearing that he was Luffy's brother, Nami's expression eased slightly—but her face remained cold.
"That's impossible. You'd better tell Luffy to leave this place as soon as possible and find another navigator."
"My brother's stubborn," Logan said, peeling another orange and popping it into his mouth.
"He won't listen to me."
Nami flared up instantly and held out her hand angrily.
"Compensation. One orange—one hundred Berries."
Logan didn't get angry at all. Instead, he reached out and picked another ripe orange.
Weighing it in his hand, he said calmly:
"That's the tenth orange."
"I'll eat ten of your oranges… and I'll give you one hundred million Berries in return."
"How about it? Sounds like a great deal, doesn't it?"
Nami looked at him like he was insane.
"Get lost. Right now. Otherwise, even if you're Luffy's brother, I'll beat you up."
Seeing that Logan still had no intention of leaving, Nami swung her staff straight down at him.
Before the weapon could touch him—
His figure vanished.
Just as Nami thought the strange man had finally left, Logan reappeared in the same spot.
"I'm staying right here," Logan said casually.
He closed his eyes, lay down on the ground, and fell asleep on the spot.
"Ah… it's been a long time since I slept properly. Suddenly, I'm exhausted."
Nami stamped her foot in anger.
"Suit yourself! I hope you sleep yourself to death!"
With the last bit of one hundred million Berries still missing, she planned to pull off one final job. Once that was done, her agreement with Arlong would finally be complete.
Then everyone in the village would be free.
Thinking of that, a faint smile returned to her face.
The next morning.
As Nami stepped out, she found—to her disbelief—that the man from last night was still sleeping there.
Just as she was about to leave, she noticed a group of Marines approaching head-on, with Genzo leading them.
At the front of the group was a thin, short man with long, narrow mustaches. His face was sharp and sneaky, looking like a rat that had gained human form.
The man's eyes lit up when he saw Nami.
"So you're the thief, Nami?"
Nami's heart sank.
A terrible premonition surged through her, cold sweat instantly soaking her back.
The rat-faced Marine officer continued:
"I've received reliable information that the gold and treasure you stole from pirates are hidden here."
Nami's eyes widened in shock.
"You don't need to be afraid," the officer said smugly.
"You stole from pirates—those are stolen goods anyway. As long as you hand them over, I'll generously consider not pursuing your crimes."
"However, stolen goods naturally belong to the government."
"I will now confiscate them in the name of justice."
Nami's pupils trembled violently. She quickly regained her composure and sneered.
"So this is Marine justice?"
"There's a vicious pirate right in front of you, yet you ignore him and come harass a weak woman like me instead?"
"Let me warn you—I'm an officer of Arlong's crew. If you offend me, Arlong won't let you off."
The rat-faced officer let out a sinister laugh.
"You think I'm afraid of that?"
He waved his hand sharply.
"Search the place! Tear it apart—dig three feet deep if you have to!"
The Marines responded in unison and marched past Nami, preparing to search.
Nami exploded in fury.
She snapped her three-section staff together into a long pole and swung it fiercely.
In the blink of an eye, three Marines were knocked to the ground, screaming in pain.
"Is this really all the Marines do every day?" Nami shouted through clenched teeth.
"Don't you know that Arlong's crew murders people and destroys towns?"
"To this day, this island is still under their control!"
"And yet you turn a blind eye to those monsters and come after a thief like me—"
"Is this what you call Marine justice?!"
The rat-faced officer sneered.
"Enough nonsense. Keep searching!"
The Marines obeyed and resumed their search.
One Marine spoke up hesitantly:
"Colonel, I think the orange grove looks suspicious."
"With that much money, hiding it in the house would be unsafe."
The rat-faced Colonel waved his hand.
"Focus on the orange grove."
Immediately, over a dozen Marines grabbed shovels and headed toward the trees.
Nami's expression changed drastically.
She rushed forward desperately, swinging her staff to stop them.
Only then did she realize—
The white-haired swordsman was still lying there, fast asleep, completely unmoved by the chaos.
And the spot he was sleeping on—
By some cruel coincidence—
Was exactly where her treasure was buried.
Nami rushed over and shook his shoulder frantically.
"Hey! Wake up! The Marines are here! If you don't leave now, they'll arrest you!"
Logan slowly sat up, stretched his arms wide, and yawned.
"It's fine," he said lazily.
"I've been waiting for them."
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