Chapter 212 - 70

Chapter 70 / Chapter 92: Nami's FeverThe going merry rode the calm current carved out by Dorry and Brogy's Hegemony, slowly sailing away from the primal lands of Small Garden.The sea surface returned to the eerie calm peculiar to the Grand Line, though the air seemed to still hold the lingering scent of the giants' heroic spirit and roasted T-Rex meat.They had resupplied everything necessary; at least, there was no need to worry about food. According to Sanji, the stored provisions would last until they reached Alabasta, even with Luffy's bottomless stomach to feed.If all went according to plan, Alabasta would be their next stop.A reputation precedes a man.No matter how you looked at it, Crocodile was one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and the kind of work he did involved toppling a nation's government. According to Robin, Crocodile had quite a few powerful subordinates under his command.Mr.1 and Mr.2, along with their partners, added to the thousands of members in Baroque Works.Thousands of people—even if they were just pigs, it would take half a day to cut them all down.On the deck, Zoro stared at the horizon where the sea met the sky, his gaze sharp.He recalled the powerful move Luffy had used, mimicking the giants: Gomu Gomu no Bajrang Gun.With Mr.3 completely encased in wax, if he had been in that situation, there would have been no way for him to cut through, no matter how long he tried.It was like holding a small knife while the opponent hid inside a turtle shell.Remembering his own helplessness when facing Hawkeye, a fierce desire to become stronger burned in his chest.He suddenly drew wado ichimonji and slashed at a lump of solidified wax left behind after the battle with Mr.3 in the corner of the deck."Clang!" Sparks flew, leaving only a shallow mark on the wax statue.Zoro sheathed his sword, his brows furrowed: "Just as that guy said, it's harder than steel once it solidifies."Zoro was very clear about the levels of swordsmanship; it was the rank of a "Steel-Cutting Swordsman" that he had yet to reach.Cutting through steel was the essential path toward becoming a higher-level master swordsman. He had to break through this bottleneck as soon as possible, otherwise, he wouldn't even have the qualifications to help Luffychallenge the Seven Warlords of the Sea.Without a doubt, Hawkeye, whom Zoro had encountered, had long since surpassed this level, becoming what was known as a Great Swordsman.And so, his words became: "Hey, Luffy, hit me again.""How much power do you want?"Luffy was shirtless, squatting with a barbell on one shoulder, while Merry sat on the barbell. On the ship, Merry could manipulate a portion of its weight, much like the Float-Float Fruit, making it a perfect assistant for weight training."Four-tenths, or maybe five."Initially, he hadn't really believed Luffy's claim that getting hit could help him learn Armament Haki. But recently, he had vaguely felt an inexplicable power within his body.So, Zoro had been volunteering to take hits more often."Hiss... Luffy, did your strength increase again?" Zoro took a punch and winced."I guess so. I can handle the five-thousand-kilogram stage now." Luffy had been eating well and training hard during this period, and his physique had changed significantly; lean, strong muscles had emerged, and sweat dripped down his well-defined lines."I can't take many of your Rubber Bullets now," Zoro complained.Back in the East Blue, he could handle one of Luffy's Rubber Bullets for every ten of his own punches. Now... he'd probably need to throw a hundred punches first.After declaring war on Crocodile, Luffy hadn't been careless. Strengthening his own training was one thing, but he had also gone to Robin to learn more intelligence about Crocodile.As the saying goes: Despise the enemy strategically, but take them seriously tactically!He didn't know which book he'd read that in, but in any case, reading more never did any harm.Besides, there was plenty of experience to digest. For instance, the battle with Dorry and Brogy last night.The essence of the Giant Race's combat techniques could be learned and imitated. Everything begins by standing on the shoulders of giants; those things that are created from nothing, heaven-opening and earth-shattering, are few and far between. The faint layer of white flame-cloud around his body seemed to have solidified a bit more than before. Even Zoro could see it now.Over here, the weight-lifting duo was exchanging experiences."Hey, Usopp, stop bragging and go reef the main sail a bit!""Eh? Isn't the weather fine?""Cut the crap. The wind direction and cloud formations are changing. Something feels off. Go!"Nami's voice carried a hint of imperceptible urgency. Her tone was rarely this lacking in its usual vigor, even revealing a touch of weakness.Though Usopp, who was busy writing his grand adventure story, was confused, he dared not neglect the Navigator's order and scrambled up the mast.Nami leaned against the doorframe of the cabin, her face pale, with fine beads of sweat seeping from her forehead.She took a deep breath and turned her gaze to Robin, who was leisurely sitting on the railing reading a book. Her lips moved, seeming somewhat hesitant, but she still spoke: "Um, Miss Prisoner, you go help Usopp too. The wind direction is getting a bit chaotic; one person can't adjust it alone.""Oh? Miss Nami is actually asking me, a prisoner with an unclear stance, to help?" Robin closed her book, stood up gracefully, and smiled.But soon, she noticed that Nami's fingers, which were gripping the doorframe, were trembling slightly, and her complexion was much worse than usual."Stop, stop talking! Just go if I tell you to!" Namiforced herself to glare at her, but her voice clearly lacked conviction.Just as Robin was about to say something else, Luffy's arm stretched over to them.His rudimentary medical knowledge, forcibly instilled through his plans, allowed him to see at a glance that something was wrong with Nami. Her face was flushed, and cold sweat was faintly emerging on her forehead.The last time Luffy saw this situation was with Uta. It was a fever.Nami's situation seemed slightly different from Uta's. "Nami, you..."Before Luffy could finish, Nami suddenly reached out, her somewhat cold palm covering his mouth, and then, without explanation, pulled Luffy's arm, dragging him toward the girls' room. "You come in with me."Luffy was half-pushed, half-pulled into the room by Nami. Everyone else was still executing the orders Nami had just given and didn't notice this for a moment, but Robin frowned slightly.Inside the room, as soon as Nami closed the door, the strength she had been forcing herself to maintain seemed to vanish instantly. Her body went limp, and she looked like she was about to slide to the floor.Luffy was quick-witted and agile; he grabbed her waist, catching her steadily.Nami leaned into his arms, her voice so weak it was almost inaudible, "Sorry, my legs feel a bit light; I can't stand..."Luffy looked down and saw that Nami's cheeks were flushed with an unnatural crimson, her breathing rapid and hot.He reached out and touched her forehead with the back of his hand; it was burning hot to the touch."You have a fever, Nami. And the temperature is very high; it's not a normal fever.""I'm fine." Nami still wanted to be stubborn, struggling to stand on her own, but she was completely powerless, "I'll be fine after a rest... maybe I just caught a slight cold yesterday..."Chapter 93: This is a CaptainWithout a word, Luffy scooped her up, gently placed her on the bed, and pulled the quilt over her.Looking at Nami lying in the blankets, having lost her usual shrewdness and toughness, her messy orange short hair stuck to her sweat-dampened forehead. Those eyes, which always flashed with Berries symbols or calculating light, were now half-open in a daze, looking at Luffy expectantly, revealing a rare kind of fragility and docility, like a sick kitten with drooping ears.Luffy said: "I'll go get you some medicine." He turned to go rummage through the ship's medical kit. Although his skills as an acting ship doctor were half-baked, he still recognized a few types of fever medicine."Wait, Luffy." Nami reached out from under the quilt and gently tugged at his hem, saying: "Don't tell anyone about this... especially Vivi."Luffy turned back, puzzled, and asked: "Why?""The route should follow the log pose, straight to Alabasta." Nami was a bit delirious, panting as she spoke intermittently: "We have no time to delay."Luffy refused: "The patient has no say right now. The best thing for you to do is to listen to me."Nami tried hard to search for something on her person, "Listen to me first; I have a newspaper on me... a three-day-old newspaper..." She searched for a long time but couldn't find it.Luffy lost his patience; worried about delaying her treatment, he reached directly into her jacket pocket and quickly pulled out a folded newspaper.He picked up the newspaper, which still had a hint of residual warmth, and flipped through it; the date was three days ago. Luffy realized the reason immediately.It was a report on the Kingdom of Alabasta. The Royal Army, suppressing the rebel army, originally had an absolute numerical advantage, but now half of their forces had defected. It was clearly Crocodile's doing.Now was the most critical moment for Vivi's country. The situation was indeed grim; the civil strife in Alabasta was escalating. As a princess, she had to hurry back."So I'm saying, this illness of mine might have come at a bad time... *cough cough*."It wasn't like Nami had never had a fever before, but this time the feeling was completely different. It was aggressive, and she had a vague sense of foreboding in her heart.She didn't believe that Luffy's meager medical knowledge could handle this strange illness, and she was more worried that if she delayed Vivi's return to her country because of herself, she would feel very guilty. Although she had disputes with Vivi over some matters, those were internal affairs.As a partner, Nami recognized Vivi, and she recognized her in every aspect. A princess of a nation going undercover as an agent—that was not something anyone could do.Nami herself had experienced the oppression of Arlong and knew that feeling of helplessness well. She didn't want Vivi's hope to be shattered because of her illness.Nami's eyes narrowed, her tone weak: "Don't worry, it's just a fever...""I cannot agree to that." Luffy stood up. This kind of self-sacrifice and consideration for partners was certainly good."But Nami, you should tell the person herself about things like this."As if to confirm Luffy's words, the room door was gently pushed open a crack. Vivi stood at the doorway, her face full of worry and anxiety. Behind her were Usopp, Sanji, and Zoro, all huddled together, along with Robin holding Merry. Clearly, the partners outside had long since sensed that something was wrong.Why did everyone come? Nami couldn't help but laugh and cry. Did her state really look that wrong? She had been quite confident in her acting skills before.Sanji and Usopp rushed in immediately, looking like they were on the verge of tears. The importance of a Navigator to a ship was self-evident; when Nami gave an order, even the most difficult-to-manage Zoro acted without hesitation, which showed the authority of the ship's boss."Why are you all acting like Nami is dying?" Luffystepped out and pushed the two of them out. He had truly matured. If it were before, he might have joined them, but as Captain, he could not lose his composure."Nami needs to rest now. Tell me about the sailing matters. I don't know what illness she has for now, but it probably isn't a normal fever. Don't come any closer for now...""Sanji, go cook some light porridge; Nami needs to replenish her strength. Usopp, Zoro, you two coordinate with Merry and continue sailing steadily along the established route for now, but be ready to change course at any time."The commands were clear and concise, without any hesitation. Although Merry was struggling in Robin's arms, its little face full of anxiety, wanting to come over, once Luffy said that, it followed Usopp and the others out, looking back every three steps.