Chapter 45Nami looked at Luffy's profile, her face flushing red; she could no longer act so carefree in front of him.When she was a child, Belle-Mere said she wanted to check her physical development, and Nami had lifted her chin and said she would show her for ten thousand Berries.Now, if it were Luffy... it felt like a completely different matter.Is this what it feels like to be in love?It makes one feel as if their heart is a tangled mess.Nami quickly put down the pitifully short towel and began to scramble into her clothes.During this process, she could feel the atmosphere on the ship becoming increasingly eerie.Luffy stood there motionless, his Observation Hakifully activated.He could sense a certain presence—flickering, elusive, like a drop of oil in water; impossible to capture, yet clearly there.What was that?Chapter 55: The Klabautermann, Merry!It was unusually quiet aboard the going merry.The sound of rain outside seemed to have stopped at some point, replaced by a suffocating silence.Nami buttoned up her shirt and asked in a low voice, "What's going on?"Luffy didn't turn back, his voice very low: "I don't know, but there is something on the ship."His Observation Haki allowed him to sense an omnipresent aura. This eerie feeling made his entire body tense up, and his Rubber instincts were ready to activate at any moment.Just then, the bathroom door silently closed on its own, as if an invisible hand had gently pushed it.Was it the wind?The doors were shut tight, so where would the wind come from?Both of them looked at the door, the air in the room suddenly freezing."Nami, stand behind me," Luffy said.Nami did so without hesitation, her fingers unconsciously clutching the edge of Luffy's bath towel.Luffy suddenly opened the door; the cabin was empty, and in the hallway, only the faint sound of raindrops hitting the deck could be heard.He was about to step out, but Nami suddenly reached out and grabbed his wrist, asking in a low voice:"Luffy, is it really okay out there?"This situation was too strange.There shouldn't be anyone at all on the going merry.Unless it was an enemy, or perhaps a ghost?An invisible enemy was more likely to cause panic; people only change when they have a target.Luffy stopped, glanced at Nami, and took her hand in his, squeezing her wrist with his fingertips to comfort her."Scared?""...A little.""Then do you remember how we got back?"Nami's face flushed bright red.Of course she remembered.She had clung to him tightly like a startled octopus, and he had used his Rubber ability to carry her across most of Loguetown in the middle of the storm.She nodded, her ears burning hot."Then let's do it again."Before Luffy had finished speaking, Nami had already subconsciously jumped up, wrapping her arms and legs around him.Why was she so skilled at this!The skin beneath the bath towel was warm, and the scent of rain mixed with the faint citrus fragrance from her recent bath. The two were pressed tightly together, almost able to feel each other's rapid heartbeats.Their gazes met briefly, then quickly darted away.Nami didn't dare to make eye contact with Luffy at all.Luffy could clearly feel Nami's warm breath brushing against his neck, and his Adam's apple bobbed.Before, outside, he hadn't thought much of it, but now, back in this private setting, it felt completely different.For some reason, the shy expression on Nami's face made him want to tease her.If[Warning...]The romantic thoughts in Luffy's mind instantly vanished; he hurriedly flooded his brain with navigation knowledge, and then,"Gear Second!"Steam rose, and Luffy's figure shot out like a cannonball. Nami squeezed her eyes shut, burying her face in his shoulder, feeling only the wind whistling past her ears.It was too fast.His Observation Haki followed the source of the aura and quickly locked onto the target's location.Almost the next second, Luffy stopped abruptly at the door of the storeroom, his Rubber arm darting into the ajar door like lightning."Gotcha!"A small cry of surprise came from inside.Luffy retracted his arm, his expression suddenly becoming rather strange.He was holding a little one in his hand.It was a little girl who looked only seven or eight years old, wrapped in a small cloak that seemed to be made from old canvas. Because it was too big, only a puff of fluffy, light-gold curly hair was visible.She looked a bit panicked, and she was clutching a mini carpenter's hammer tightly in her hand.Nami poked her head out from behind Luffy, her eyes widening in surprise:"Luffy, why is there a little kid on the ship?""...Even if you ask me that.""She looks like she knows you well.""Does she?" Luffy put the girl down, and she looked up, revealing large, doll-like eyes. She stared at him unblinkingly, then secretly reached out and tugged at his bath towel.Luffy fell into deep thought.Aside from his two brothers, he didn't remember having any sisters.Could it be that his parents, whom he had never met, decided he was a "failed character" trained by Garp and decided to create a "new account"?But it made no sense to drop the "new account" on his, the "main account's," ship.Luffy had never been confident in his brain capacity; otherwise, he wouldn't have been someone who disliked thinking despite being smart, simply because of a lack of mental space.But there was no helping it; reading now required expanding his brain, and while thinking about this problem, Luffy also needed to keep studying navigation.Now, his single-track mind was completely clogged.His brain had started to glitch.But...Nami wasn't glitching; she curiously examined the girl.This girl's attire was too strange.She looked exquisite, cute enough to make one want to pinch her cheeks, but her appearance on the ship in the middle of this storm was truly bizarre.Nami subconsciously reached out to pat her head, attempting to show friendliness.But the little girl suddenly squeezed her eyes shut, like a frightened little animal, and began waving her little hammer haphazardly, making whimpering sounds of resistance.This reaction didn't make anyone afraid; instead, it made her appear even cuter.How did that saying go?When you are small and weak, even your anger looks cute in the eyes of others.Luffy finally snapped out of his mental block, stared at the little girl, and revealed a look of sudden realization: "You must be Merry!"It's the Klabautermann!Luffy had been brooding over the special rewards from the previous two stages, as he hadn't even seen a shadow of Nika or the Klabautermann.But now, Luffy was satisfied. The going merry had been their partner since the very beginning of their voyage, and being able to see the real, authentic Merry was far better than that elusive Nika."Merry?"Nami was stunned.Is this the Merry from the going merry?What a joke. Her first, absurd thought was that this might be another one of Luffy's childhood friends he had never mentioned, like Uta?If it were the Klabautermann, it seemed to make sense.As an excellent Navigator, Nami naturally knew of this legend.It was said that only ships truly loved and carefully cared for by their crew could give birth to a Klabautermann.But that was just a legend that existed in the drunken tales of sailors, and its authenticity was debatable."Nami, we have a new partner!" Luffy turned his head and said excitedly, then was pushed away by Nami because he was too close.Their lips were almost touching.Nami didn't know how Merry was born, but Luffyhad quite a few clues.Aside from the [pirate king training plan], Uta's uta uta no mi was the most crucial factor, and as one of the singers, Luffy had caused Merry to hold a natural sense of closeness and reliance toward him.She wasn't resisting Nami, just feeling a bit shy.Toward the crew members, Merry treated everyone equally... with Luffy being the exception.Chapter 56: Dragon has the same aura as youLuffy and Nami gathered around Merry.Seeing Luffy waving at her, little Merryimmediately stopped waving her small hammer.She looked timidly at Nami, and finally, clutching her precious hammer, she inched her way toward Luffy, step by step. She reached out her little hand to tightly grasp the edge of his bath towel, buried her little face into it, and peeked at Nami with only her big eyes visible.Luffy laughed heartily, his large hand naturally resting on Merry's fluffy curly hair and rubbing it. No wonder he had always felt like there was an extra person on the ship sometimes, and the feeling was omnipresent. If it was Merry, that made sense.This scene made Nami feel inexplicably bitter. Why was even the Klabautermann closer to Luffy, that idiot who was always damaging the deck, when she was clearly the one who took such careful care of the going merry!A feeling similar to vying for favor made her unable to help but reach out toward Merry as well, softening her voice: "Merry? Why don't you come here?"Merry immediately acted like a startled rabbit, darting back behind Luffy, her little hands gripping Luffy's bath towel even tighter. Luffy tugged at his bath towel, terrified it would be pulled off, and then spread his arms to shield her."Hey, Nami, don't scare her.""Where did I scare her? Have you ever seen me smile so kindly? It's not the same as how I treat you idiots."The way she said that confirmed her title as the overlord of the ship; no wonder Merry was so afraid of her—it wasn't without reason.Merry could be close to me and stand here letting me pet her head; if it stays like this, can't you reflect on your own reasons?Nami was unconvinced and wanted to go around Luffy to pull Merry over.The two of them, one wanting to grab, one wanting to block—in the pushing and pulling, Nami's foot slipped. With a cry of surprise, she lost her balance and lunged forward.Luffy subconsciously tried to catch her, but ended up getting hit head-on. With a thud, his back hit the floor, and Nami, perfectly positioned, landed right on top of his waist.The two froze instantly.Why did this scene look so familiar? It gave a strange sense of déjà vu."Get up, Nami!" Luffy, on the other hand, spoke first, leaving Nami completely dumbfounded.She felt like she had heard this line somewhere before. Wait, if the roles were reversed, it seemed like she was the one who said it.Nami saw Merry's curious gaze nearby, staring at her without blinking.It felt like a live performance, and an inexplicable heat surged into her heart.
