Chapter 256: The Navigator's Wild Punishment! The Crimson Lotus Drained Dry
On the soft, cotton-like cloud streets of Weatheria, a gentle breeze drifted by.
Nami buried her face deep into Tatsuya's broad, warm chest, crying her heart out without any restraint.
Scalding tears soaked through the man's black coat.
It was as if she was finally releasing all the fear, anxiety, and terror that had been accumulating in her heart day and night since the outbreak of the Marineford War.
After a while, Nami's emotions gradually calmed.
Sniffling, she slowly raised her head. Her once bright, clear eyes were now red and swollen from crying, like a little rabbit that had been wronged.
However, when her gaze met Tatsuya's face, which wore a familiar, somewhat teasing, and mischievous smile...
All the grievances and lingering fear from just moments ago instantly transformed into a kind of blazing, uncontrollable impulse in her heart.
"What are you looking at?"
Nami shouted, her face flushed red.
Under the stunned, jaw-dropping, spectacle-breaking stares of the meteorology old-timers—Haredas and the others—surrounding them...
This usually penny-pinching little miser now displayed a side that was truly astonishing.
Without any hesitation, she reached out both hands, firmly grabbing the collar of this 'most heinous criminal with a bounty of 2.5 billion berries who just shocked the world in the newspapers'.
"Come with me!"
Nami, having bottled things up for too long, fully displayed the domineering aura of the big sister of the Straw Hat Pirates.
Biting her moist red lips tightly, she unceremoniously and forcefully dragged Tatsuya, striding purposefully towards her own private little cottage.
Tatsuya let himself be dragged, a smile playing on his lips as he followed behind.
The moment the two entered the room, a dull thud sounded.
The heavy wooden door was slammed shut by Nami with a backhanded motion, and she unhesitatingly turned the deadbolt, locking it firmly.
The very second after the door closed, a cheerful flapping of wings suddenly came from the sky.
Tatsuya's pet, Clay, had finally excitedly flown over from the other side of the clouds.
Sensing his long-lost master's presence, Clay fluttered up and down anxiously outside the door, letting out loud "coo-coo-gah-gah" cries.
He even desperately pecked at the wooden door with his hard beak, wanting to get inside and get close.
However, Nami, who had entered some sort of crazed mode, paid no attention to the commotion outside at this moment.
And Tatsuya inside the room had even less time to spare for his noisy little companion.
Poor Clay called out for a long time outside the door without getting any response. He could only circle in the air a few times with a pitiful look, before finally landing helplessly on the eaves to preen his feathers alone.
Inside the room, the light was somewhat dim due to the drawn curtains.
In this private, personal space, Nami completely shed her usual touch of tsundere and bashfulness.
The wild, pent-up longing she had suppressed alone on Skypiea for these past few months all transformed, in this moment, into the most proactive, most fervent demands.
There were no unnecessary words, only heated breaths and entwined figures.
Once, again, and yet again.
Time seemed to lose all meaning within this little cottage atop the clouds.
Light and shadow shifted through the gaps in the curtains, transitioning from bright day to starry night, and from the deep darkness back to the break of dawn.
Even though he had just... 'handed in his report' to Robin on White Soil Island not long ago...
Even with the monstrous regenerative foundation provided by the perfect Hashirama cells within his body...
Facing Nami, who had now fully entered a crazed 'juice extractor' mode, Tatsuya, for the first time ever, truly experienced what it meant to be utterly spent.
Time, amidst the tireless demands, directly arrived at the morning of the third day.
The pure, warm sunlight of Weatheria, refracted through the clouds and filtering through the curtain gaps, dappled onto the utterly disheveled bed, illuminating the clothes scattered all over the floor.
This prolonged, exhilarating 'battle' finally reached its ultimate conclusion at this moment.
After a brief moment of lingering afterglow...
Having completely exhausted the last shred of strength in her body, Nami, like a puddle of melted spring water, lost all support.
She collapsed heavily, sprawling limply atop Tatsuya's solid chest.
At this moment, she couldn't even lift a single finger anymore, only able to gasp for breath in large, ragged gulps.
Tatsuya lay flat on his back on the pillow, letting out an incredibly contented sigh.
He was truly, completely drained of his last ounce of strength, having become the literal embodiment of 'not a single drop left'.
Gazing at the ceiling, Tatsuya let out a somewhat helpless sigh.
He extended his two arms, which were noticeably sore, and gently wrapped them around the soft, orange-haired girl in his embrace.
The corner of his mouth involuntarily curled into a faint, helpless smile as he whispered softly:
"Truly terrifying... Miss Navigator."
Nami kept her eyes closed, pressing her burning cheek tightly against his chest where a strong, steady heartbeat could be felt.
Hearing Tatsuya's teasing, she let out a tsundere 'hmph' from her nose.
Her voice, though somewhat hoarse from prolonged crying out, still carried a triumphant, smug tone:
"Hmph, this is your punishment."
"Who told you... to come find me so late."
"Making me worry and be scared all alone for so long..."
Listening to her tone, carrying three parts grievance and seven parts coquettishness, Tatsuya's gaze softened completely.
He lowered his head slightly, looking at the girl in his arms.
Only now did he realize with surprise that the girl he first met in East Sea, who always kept her playful, short orange hair...
Over the unnoticed passage of time, her hair had actually grown quite long.
That smooth, silky orange hair now lay unguarded in the crook of his broad arm, spilling across the rumpled white sheets.
This long hair had shed some of her former immaturity and childishness.
Bathed in the sunlight, it added an extra touch of an incredibly alluring, heart-stirring mature femininity.
The amusement in Tatsuya's eyes grew deeper.
His long, strong fingers gently combed through her soft hair, which carried a faint scent of citrus, stroking it gently, over and over, as if soothing a bristling cat.
"Sleep, Nami."
Tatsuya lowered his head, placing a kiss filled with deep affection on her hair.
His low, magnetic voice held a kind of magic that could soothe all unease and bring immense peace.
"Rest well. When you wake up... I'll show you something good. I have a surprise for you."
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