Where Did Dad Go?

What mattered was that this combined ship had none of the assorted foul smells that had filled Buggy's pirate ship. The Buggy Pirates were a bunch of roughnecks, including animal trainers and circus performers, and the smell of the ship they had thoroughly marinated in their own odors was truly indescribable.

"It's just like a brand-new ship!"

Nami boarded the new pink ship and inspected it inside and out. When she returned to the deck, she looked at Ruidio and wondered to herself, What Devil Fruit did this man eat?

Ruidio spent one essence to produce several hundred pounds of raw meat, which he fed to the lion like animal feed.

"If there's nothing wrong with the ship, let's set sail."

Ruidio clapped his hands and kicked the big lion, whose belly was round from eating, aside so it wouldn't get in the way. He and Nami raised the blank sails together, then went to the helm.

And so the brand-new pink ship slowly sailed away from shore.

"You said you went out to sea to find Kuro, the captain of the Black Cat Pirates..."

Nami held the helm and asked curiously, "Even if Kuro is still alive, he must be hiding to avoid the marines. How are you going to find him?"

Ruidio sat nearby with his arms crossed. "He's in Syrup Village."

"Syrup Village..." Nami thought for a moment, then pulled out a rough sea chart she carried with her. "Found it. It's a small village west of the Moonlight Archipelago. Not too far from here."

She turned the helm to adjust their course, but Ruidio stopped her.

"Let's go to Mirrorball Island first. It's closer," Ruidio said with a smile. "It's not every day you get so much gold for free. Don't you want to do some shopping?"

Your ship, your call. Nami readily adjusted their course and smiled. "Oh, how thoughtful. But we have to exchange the gold for Beli before we can spend it. I've never been to Mirrorball Island, so I don't know if there's a gold exchange there."

Ruidio said, "How much do you think that gold will fetch?"

Nami looked puzzled. "You gave it to me. Don't you have any idea?"

Ruidio smiled. "If you could copy gold whenever you wanted, you wouldn't have any idea either."

Nami was speechless. She estimated, "They're all solid gold, and each one weighs about eight kilograms... At East Blue gold prices, all of them together should fetch at least 1.5 billion Beli!"

That's enough to buy one of the Five Emperors?

Ruidio remarked, "That's not much."

How is that not much?!

It's 1.5 billion Beli! Not fifteen coins!

Nami took a deep breath and held the helm steady. Pretending to be calm, she changed the subject and continued, "By the way, how did you find out where Kuro is?"

Ruidio crossed his legs and said leisurely, "Ever since we met, it seems you've been the one asking about me. I did spend 1.5 billion Beli, after all, so let me ask you a question too: why do you want money so badly? Is something going on?"

Nami forced a smile. "Who doesn't love money? Someone like you is a special case."

"Hey, we're friends, more or less, aren't we?"

Ruidio spread his hands and gave her a look that said, Quit fooling around. "Give me the truth."

Nami fell silent. She stared quietly at Ruidio and sighed. "That person from the Tulip Pirates might remember what I look like at most, but he doesn't know me at all. You, though... I've always felt like you knew a lot about me from the start. Even the way you're asking me now."

She said quietly, "Ruidio, how much do you really know about me?"

Ruidio smiled. "You go first. Once you're done, I'll see how much I know."

Nami laughed in exasperation, then took a deep breath and slowly let it out. For five years, she had borne a heavy burden and endured pain that made her life worse than death, yet she had never had anyone to confide in.

Pour my heart out to my sister Nojiko? That would only put needless pressure on her without helping anything.

A stranger I don't know? What did strangers know? Nami wouldn't accept their pity.

Besides, those Fish-Men were terrifying... If someone got fired up and tried to take them on, it would only lead to their death. Nami didn't want her own misfortune to drag other innocent people down with her.

So she chose her words carefully when speaking to Ruidio. "My family... owes a lot of money because of some things. I need to raise 100 million Beli to resolve the problem."

"Try again," Ruidio said.

"Huh?" Nami froze. Ruidio's gaze felt as if it could burn her.

Ask him for help!

Doesn't he like it when people ask him for help anyway?

This is Ruidio's own strange habit. Even if he goes after Arlong because of it and gets killed, he'll have brought it on himself. It has nothing to do with me.

Ruidio is so strong. If it's him...

"Bang!"

The gunshot from that day echoed in her ears again.

Nami bit her lip. The Fish-Man's face, as terrifying as a vicious dragon's, and his nightmarishly wild laughter surfaced yet again... "Hahahaha! Under my rule, anyone without money dies! Understand, you inferior race?!"

Suddenly, a hand covered hers, which was trembling slightly. "Forget 100 million. Even if you gave all 1.5 billion to Arlong, he still wouldn't let you go."

"How do you know—?!"

Nami looked at Ruidio in utter shock, then immediately retorted, "That's impossible! Arlong may be a hateful pirate, but he's never broken a promise involving money!"

"Then let's do the math."

Ruidio said, "How much protection money does Arlong charge each month?"

Nami gritted her teeth. "100,000 Beli for an adult, 50,000 for a child."

"Give me the total. How much does your village pay each month?"

"...We paid 20 million Beli last month."

"Heh. He can squeeze over 200 million a year out of your village alone. How many villages does Arlong's crew control in total?"

"...As far as I know, about twenty."

"Five billion a year. That's 25 billion over five years."

Ruidio said, "It's so easy for him to make that money. Do you really think he'd take your 100 million and give up one-twentieth of his steady income?

"Not only that, but once he sets that precedent, what if the other villages follow your example? That would be a problem. Sure, they could still use violence to suppress them, but it would create a lot of extra trouble for no reason. Why would he bother?

"And even if he does keep his word and let your village go, fine, the people in your village are free. Then what? Can you escape his control and go wherever you please? Wouldn't Arlong worry about you reporting him to the marines? Even if you're too scared to do it yourselves, what if the poor people in the other villages beg you to ask the marines for help on their behalf? What then?"

With every sentence he spoke, Nami grew paler and quieter. Even as the new pink ship slowly sailed into the harbor at Mirrorball Island, she didn't say another word.

"Don't bottle it up."

Ruidio led the silent Nami off the ship and patted her on the back. "I'm only talking. It is 1.5 billion in gold, after all. Maybe Arlong will be so happy he'll actually keep his promise. Come on, let's go shopping for a while."

Nami neither agreed nor refused. She simply let him lead her along, numb.

Before disembarking, Ruidio warned the lion, "Set one foot off the ship and we'll have braised lion for dinner. Got that?"

Haba Lion stuck out his tongue, nodded repeatedly, and waved a paw as the two went ashore and entered the fashionable commercial island, where the word FUNKY was written on the mountainside.

As it turned out, Nami really wasn't in the mood to shop. She followed Ruidio through a few stores, then waited for him alone under a parasol by the roadside, staring into space.

But when Ruidio returned, he had not only more than a dozen shopping bags of various sizes in his hands, but also a person following beside him.

She was a tall, thin woman.

Her long, gray-streaked hair was permed into fashionable waves. Though her face was covered in wrinkles, she wore a midriff-baring outfit and even had a ring in her navel.

What a fashionable old lady.

Nami was so surprised that she forgot her gloom for a moment.

Kureha carried a bottle of East Blue's famous liquor. She lifted her sunglasses, looked Nami over, and said with a grin, "Hee hee hee hee, little girl, are you happy?"

Chapter 14: Where Did Dad Go?

"..."

For a moment, Nami didn't know what to say. She looked at Ruidio, who had returned from shopping laden with bags, and questioned him with her eyes.

Ruidio handed her some of the shopping bags and said casually, "This is Kureha, a 136-year-old lady who's very young at heart."

"That's Dr. Kureha!"

The old lady in the fashionable midriff-baring outfit rapped Ruidio on the head with her bottle and grinned at Nami. "Want to know the secret to my youth?"

"136 years old?!"

Nami was stunned. "Dr... You're a doctor?" Carrying the shopping bags, she got up and followed the two back toward the harbor. When she looked down, she suddenly noticed something wasn't quite right.

"Ruidio, why did you buy so many little girls' clothes?"

She pulled out a little black dress with lace trim. Judging by its size, it would fit a girl of seven or eight at most. She couldn't help asking curiously, "Do you have a little sister?"

"Hehe." Kureha chuckled beside them and took a swig of liquor.

"A little sister?" Ruidio said. "You could say that. You'll find out when we get there."

"Where are we going? Weren't you going to find Ku—"

Nami was utterly bewildered. Carrying the bags, she followed the two all the way back to the brand-new pink ship. As soon as the three stepped onto the deck, a huge lion charged out, only for Kureha to kick him back.

"Hee hee, is that your pet?"

Kureha held up her foot. "He's lively!"

Nami was astonished. Old lady, you're the lively one here. What 136-year-old can send a lion that big flying with one kick?

Soon, they weighed anchor, raised the sails, and set out once more...

Nami glanced at Ruidio in puzzlement. He was still carrying the bags of gifts he'd bought for a little girl.

Why isn't he using his ability to "put" them away?

Is he wary of the old doctor drinking beside him?

How strange. Ever since I met Ruidio, I've never seen him deliberately hide from anyone when using his Devil Fruit ability...

"Where are we going?" Nami spread out the rough sea chart, and Kureha leaned over to take a look.

"Still Syrup Village. That hasn't changed." Covered in shopping bags, Ruidio spoke as he awkwardly rummaged for something in his pants pocket.

"Your little sister is in Syrup Village?"

Nami felt she understood now. No wonder Ruidio knew Kuro was hiding there; he knew someone in the village. The little sister over there had probably secretly told Ruidio about Kuro...

With someone as talented and hardworking as Nami personally at the helm, the huge new pink ship sailed swiftly and steadily across the sea with its sails full.

"You're quite skilled, young lady." Kureha had been watching Nami the whole time, and she offered her assessment with a smile. "When this boy goes out to sea in the future, you can be his navigator."

"..." Nami froze.

Ruidio finally pulled out a coin and flicked it to Kureha with a ting. "Old lady, you don't need to concern yourself with my affairs."

[You have hired Kureha for approximately 1 hour]

"Nami, come here."

With shopping bags hanging from his arms, Ruidio beckoned to Nami. Meanwhile, Kureha drank and casually rested a finger on his shoulder.

Nami didn't know what he was going to do, but she reached out and took his hand anyway.

The next second, everything before her eyes changed.