socalfunplaces Chapter 33 The Warrior with the Straw Hat
Chapter 33 The Warrior with the Straw Hat
Nami had a long dream in which a warrior wearing a straw hat descended from the sky and shattered Arlong Paradise with a single punch. His body could grow larger, and he only knew how to laugh foolishly during battles. His only fighting style was to swing his fists, yet he was so reassuring!
However, when she woke up, she was dismayed to find that without a warrior or a straw hat, she still had to drag her tired body to work at Arlong Amusement Park.
Nami's job was to use her amazing navigator skills to draw nautical charts for Arlong.
And Arlong has promised her that if she collects 1 million Berries and gives them to Arlong, he will set her and Cocoyasi Village free.
Walking along the road to Arlong Paradise, Nami saw a familiar figure from behind, and her eyes widened in surprise.
It was Kuroro. He was strolling leisurely down the street, followed by a burly savage carrying a large box.
She looked angry and chased after him.
"It's you?!?"
"Yo~" Kuroro greeted, "Isn't this the beautiful Nami-san~"
"How dare you call me by my name!" Nami angrily put her hands on her hips and held out her hand. "Give it to me!"
"What?" Kuroro asked, puzzled.
"What else! Of course, it's my money!" Nami glared at him fiercely and yelled at him.
"The money I had on me that night! A total of 173,000 Berries! Give it all back to me—"
"I didn't take your money~ I lost my money that night too, and I thought you stole it..." Kuroro said innocently.
"Huh?" Nami stroked her chin and analyzed, "Could it be that someone else was eyeing you, this easy prey, that night? That despicable third party!"
"Wait..." Nami suddenly realized, "How did you get here?"
"Of course we came by boat."
"No, that's not what I meant." Nami stared intently at Kuroro.
"I mean, there are fishmen guarding the shore all around here. How did you manage to get ashore?"
"Fish-men?" Kuroro looked bewildered. "I haven't encountered any..."
He shrugged. "Maybe I was just lucky—"
Nami stared at him with a strange look: "Then what are you doing here?"
Kuroro replied matter-of-factly, "Of course we're here to trade~"
"I heard that the oranges produced in Cocoyasi Village are sweet, big, and plentiful, so I've come to buy some oranges~"
"Buy... oranges?" Nami's eyes widened.
"Yeah, right." Kuroro nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Go away, what kind of trade are you talking about!" Nami rolled her eyes. No wonder she always gets scammed; this man is too naive!
"If you have nothing to do, get out of here! This isn't a place for you!"
"Why?" Kuroro looked puzzled.
"I'm here to do business with the utmost sincerity, and I've prepared plenty of funds for it~" Kuroro pointed to the large box that Uvogin was carrying behind him.
"We have 100 million Berries here, that's our capital. Miss Nami, do you know where the orange farmer in this village is? We seem to be lost..."
"One...one hundred million Berries?!" Nami's voice suddenly turned shrill as she stared intently at the box on Uvogin's chest.
Kuroro continued talking to himself, seemingly oblivious to what was happening:
"I plan to sell the oranges from Cocoyasi Village to the navy and ships at sea."
Through my observation, I've found that people who spend long periods at sea often lack a certain essential substance, and fruit happens to contain this important substance. The oranges from Cocoa Village are renowned throughout the East China Sea; large, sweet oranges like these are sure to fetch a good price…”
Nami's gaze, however, seemed to be glued to the box on Uvogin's chest, unwilling to look away for even a second!
That's a hundred million Berries!
With this money, she was free! She could go wherever she wanted, and as a navigator, she could set sail to pursue her dreams!
With this money, Cocoa West Village will no longer suffer from Alon's persecution! Yesterday's tragic events will never happen again!
But... Nami looked at Kuroro, who was still talking non-stop, with a struggling expression on her face.
The person in front of him is clearly not a bad person; what should he do if he's robbed of so much money...?
After struggling for a while, Nami gritted her teeth and finally decided to take action. As for Kuroro...
I'm sorry... but my family in the village is more important!
Nami took a wooden stick from Nami Valley and, to the astonishment of Chrollo and Uvogin, smashed it down hard on the arm of Uvogin who was holding the box!
"Thump—" As the box landed, Nami instantly hugged it to her chest, opened it, and saw that it was indeed full of money. She then quickly closed it and held it tightly behind her back.
Uvogin winced in pain, clutching his arm. Kuroro looked on in astonishment: "Nami-san, what... are you doing?!"
"I'll teach you a lesson," Nami said coldly.
"You're such a grown man, don't you know the principle of not flaunting your wealth...?"
"Everyone would be tempted by 100 million Berries... especially since I'm a thief."
"A... thief?!?" Kuroro's eyes widened in shock, then he realized what was happening.
"So...you really did take the money I had on me that night?!"
Nami nodded expressionlessly.
"Of course."
"Here's a piece of advice: get away from here right now. I'm a member of the Arlong Pirates!"
She pointed to the end of the avenue behind her.
"See that castle? It's teeming with fish-men. Don't try to resist me; consider it money you paid for your lives!"
"Get out of here before I lose my temper—" With that, Nami turned away coldly, carrying her suitcase.
Only Kuroro and the other person remained, stunned in place.
Turning around, Nami's expression revealed reluctance.
Kuroro must have imagined her as an incredibly wicked woman.
But it was quickly replaced by a blank expression.
But... this is good...
That way, the village can be saved...
After Nami walked away, Kuroro and Uvogin dusted themselves off and stood up, looking relaxed.
"Commander, how was my performance?" Uvogin asked with a smug look on his face.
"Well done." Kuroro nodded approvingly.
"I'd be the first to disagree if the Oscars didn't give you an Oscar!"
"What is Oscar...?" Uvogin looked puzzled, but he was used to his leader always saying things he didn't understand.
"It's so hot..." Uvogin tugged at his collar, then walked behind a large tree, where... the corpses of fishmen were piled up.
It's not that they didn't encounter any merfolk; it's that all the merfolk they encountered were gone.
He took the straw hat off the head of a fishman corpse and put it on his own head.
"Your hat is nice, can I borrow it?"
Then he followed behind Kuroro and headed towards Arlong Paradise.
"That makes it much cooler..."