71: Chapter 71 The Ultimate Weapon! Nami's StruggleHe completely ignored Nami's instantly pale face, his crimson eyes flashing with cruelty and warning:
"It also means.swearing allegiance to me, Nami!"
His voice was like the hiss of a venomous snake, emphasizing the word "loyalty" with a naked threat!
As he spoke, Bucky's men grinned maliciously and worked together to slowly turn the heavy, gunpowder-smelling Bucky Cannon around!
The dark, gaping cannon muzzle, seemingly capable of swallowing everything, was precisely pointed at Luffy, who stood frozen in place, his hands still bound behind his back!
Wherever the cannon was pointed, the pirates who were just celebrating instantly scattered like they were avoiding a plague, scrambling and crawling in all directions, afraid of being caught in the crossfire.
In the blink of an eye, only Luffy and the giant cannon exuding an aura of death remained on the spot.
Nami swallowed with difficulty, feeling a dry and painful sensation in her throat.
She forced out her hands, managing a smile that looked more like a grimace at Bucky, in a final attempt to make a show of strength:
"Captain Bucky.I think.I think we should just forget about it?"
Her voice trembled slightly, "Compared to.compared to all this.since we've had a welcome party, let's have a good time, shall we?"
"Let's drink!Let's eat meat!How about it?"
Bucky slowly turned his head.His clown-painted face held no smile, only a chilling cruelty and an unyielding authority.His deep voice was like a cold winter wind:
"Let's get started—this is our welcome party!"
He gave Nami no further chance to hesitate, and personally placed a box of matches bearing the clown symbol into Nami's cold, trembling hands.
The Buggy Pirates symbol on the matchbox, in Nami's eyes, was like a summons from hell.
"fire--!"
"fire--!"
"Blast that kid away—!"
The surrounding pirates, like brainwashed fanatics, brandished their weapons and let out deafening howls filled with violence and destructive desire!
Nami stood frozen in place, the box of matches in her hand feeling as heavy as a thousand pounds, burning her palms and her very soul.
If I don't fire.I'll be killed.The instinct for survival frantically battered her reason.
But.if we fire the cannons.
She looked at the boy wearing a straw hat who was quietly watching her.There was no fear on his face, and even.a hint of curiosity.
I'll become one of the pirates.the kind of person I hate the most.
Bucky reveled in the suffocating atmosphere, raising his hands like a conductor leading an evil symphony, and screamed:
"Alright!Fire down—in style!"
He looked at Nami, who was still stunned and silently staring at Luffy, his patience wearing thin, and his voice was icy as he urged her:
"Nami.don't let us.down."
Just then, Luffy, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up.
His voice was calm, even slightly playful, and clearly pierced through the noise: "What's wrong?Your hands.are shaking."
Nami was jolted awake from a nightmare, and looked sharply at her hand—the box of matches was indeed trembling violently, and the clown mark was becoming blurred.
Luffy looked at her, his eyes no longer filled with the previous naivety, but with a sharp insight:
"It's because you didn't fully realize your mistakes.that you wanted to challenge pirates, and that's why you ended up like this."
"consciousness...?"
Nami repeated it subconsciously, then, as if stung by the word, she abruptly looked up, her eyes filled with pain and anger, her voice rising sharply as she questioned:
"To kill others so easily?Is this.the resolve of a pirate?"
"wrong!"
Luffy immediately denied it, his voice resolute!
He grinned, revealing an incredibly radiant, even slightly manic, smile, as if stating something utterly natural:
"It's a resolve to risk one's life—!"
A willingness to risk.his own life?Luffy's words exploded in Nami's mind like a thunderclap!
The sounds of gunfire around her seemed to fade away instantly, and she was plunged into a deep shock and contemplation.
However, the fervent atmosphere did not allow for prolonged silence.
"Stop dawdling!Newcomers, don't make us anxious!"
An impatient pirate henchman rushed forward, his face filled with bloodthirsty excitement, "Light the fire—that's how it should be!"
As he shouted, he roughly snatched the trembling box of matches from Nami's hand!
He quickly took out a lit match head and thrust it straight at the cannon's fuse!
That tiny spark was about to trigger the switch to death!
Oh no!
Nami's body moved before her brain gave her a clear command!
Whoosh—!
Like a nimble female leopard, she instantly drew, assembled, and extended the three-section staff at her waist!The movements were fluid and lightning-fast!
A muffled thud!
With all her resolve and anger, she lashed the long wooden stick hard across the face of the pirate who had stolen the matches!
"Whoa!" The pirate screamed as he was sent flying, the match slipping from his hand and falling to the ground.
In an instant, the once noisy rooftop fell into a deathly silence!
All the pirates stared in disbelief at this sudden turn of events, their fanaticism freezing into astonishment.
Nami herself was stunned, looking at the long staff she was still holding and the groaning pirate on the ground, a chill ran through her heart:
Oh no.Oh no.I accidentally.
Seeing this, Luffy burst out laughing: "Pfft, hahaha!"
Bucky's face instantly changed from smug to extremely gloomy, like the sky before a storm.
He stared intently at Nami, his voice barely audible, as if squeezed out from between his teeth: "Nami.what exactly are you."…What do you want to do?
The immense pressure caused Nami to instinctively stand at attention, bow, and blurt out:
"I'm so sorry, Captain Bucky!I.I accidentally dropped it!"
"What--?"
Bucky's rage finally erupted like a volcanic eruption.He roared shrilly, "An apology.is that all?"
"Well done, Nami!"
Luffy's voice rang out again, filled with praise and joy, "You've finally agreed to be my navigator!That's great!"
"Stop talking nonsense—!"
Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Nami turned to Luffy and shouted excitedly, trying to hide her inner panic and wavering, "I just acted impulsively!Because."
Because I don't want to become.one of those cruel pirates!
Her voice carried long-suppressed pain and anger, as if she were explaining to Luffy, or as if she were declaring to herself.
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