Nami

Biodata

Background

Nami spent five years burdened by Arlong’s control of her village. She agreed to raise 100 million Beli to buy the village’s freedom and stole pirate treasure to gather the money. She avoided confiding in her sister Nojiko or seeking outside help, fearing that anyone who challenged the Fish-Men would be killed 1 9 11.

Nami’s adoptive mother, a former Marine, died when Nami was young. Under Arlong, Nami was assigned to draw nautical charts; despite where the work took place, she loved making maps 5 7 17.

Appearance

Nami has a neat, practical crop of orange hair and large, lively eyes. When she first meets Ruidio, she wears a blue-and-white short-sleeved sailor top and a miniskirt 1.

• Keeps three short staff sections strapped to her thigh 1.
• Bares pointed teeth when angry or distressed 1 9.

Personality

Nami is cautious around strangers and quick to question claims that seem too good to be true. She is openly attracted to money, but her efforts to acquire it are tied to freeing her village 1 9 11.

She cares deeply about others and is reluctant to put them in danger on her account. On learning how serious Bonney’s illness is, she nearly cries; later, she gives Bonney a pocket watch to help her keep track of safe time in the sun 11 12 13.

Abilities & Skills

Navigation and Cartography

Nami can determine her approximate position at sea by looking at her surroundings and the sky, without consulting instruments. She is also an accomplished mapmaker 5 17.

• Identifies the 99th Marine Branch as the nearest base and gives a course toward it 5.
• Notices changes in air pressure, temperature, humidity, wind and the sun’s position immediately after teleporting to the Sorbet Kingdom 12.

Staff Fighting

Nami fights with an assembled staff and can use it to overcome multiple opponents 1.

• Knocks down two bodyguards with a single sweep aboard the Kira 1.
• Cannot effectively swing Ruidio’s much heavier Seastone staff, Playful Cloud 9.

Theft

Nami says she steals only from pirates. Three months before meeting Ruidio, she took the Tulip Pirates’ accumulated treasure, including the Tulip gemstone 1 9.

Equipment and Possessions

• Assembly-type staff — Three short sticks that join into a long staff; she normally carries them strapped to her thigh 1 9.
• Gold — Given to her by Ruidio and estimated by Nami to be worth at least 1.5 billion Beli 8 11.
• Pink ship — Created by Ruidio from Buggy’s and the Tulip Pirates’ ships. Nami takes it when she leaves Syrup Village 10 18.

Relationships

• Ruidio — Initially captures her for a quest, then frees her after she hires him. Their partnership is fraught with teasing and distrust, though she eventually confides part of her situation to him. She leaves without him because she fears pursuing Arlong would cost him his life 1 8 11 18.
• Nojiko — Nami’s sister. Nami avoids sharing her burden with her because she does not want to add to her pressure 11.
• Arlong — The pirate controlling Nami’s village and the person with whom she made the 100-million-Beli agreement 9 11.
• Tashigi — A Marine who travels with Nami after Buggy’s attack and invites her to join the Marines; Nami declines 3 5.
• Bonney — A sick girl Nami meets in the Sorbet Kingdom. Nami gives her a pocket watch and later asks Ruidio to greet her on Nami’s behalf 12 13 18.
• Kureha — The doctor who treats Bonney. She praises Nami’s navigational skill during their voyage 11 12.

Story Role

The *Kira* and Buggy’s Ship

Ruidio identifies Nami as the thief who stole the Tulip gemstone aboard the passenger ship Kira. When another passenger wrongly accuses her of stealing a necklace, Ruidio catches Nami for a quest, then accepts her payment to free her. Nami identifies one of the accuser’s bodyguards as the actual thief 1 2.

After the Buggy Pirates attack, Buggy forces Nami to follow Ruidio aboard the pirate ship. She helps subdue the crew’s lion while Ruidio and Tashigi defeat the pirates. Following their victory, she navigates toward the nearest Marine base 3 4 5.

The Tulip Pirates and Mirrorball Island

Ruidio gives Nami gold and hires her for approximately thirty days. He then ties her up and presents her to the Tulip Pirates to complete another quest. At his prompting, Nami asks him to defeat them; afterward, she discovers that her bonds were tied with a slipknot 8 9 10.

On the way to Mirrorball Island, Nami admits she needs 100 million Beli for her family’s problem. Ruidio argues that Arlong’s income from the villages makes it unlikely he would let hers go, leaving her shaken 11.

Sorbet Kingdom and Syrup Village

Ruidio teleports Nami and Kureha to the Sorbet Kingdom, where Kureha treats Bonney. Nami accompanies Bonney on an outing and helps her keep track of her limited time in sunlight 12 13.

Back in the East Blue, Nami spots the Black Cat Pirates stealing her gold. She and Ruidio continue to Syrup Village, where they expose Captain Kuro’s plot against Kaya’s family. After Ruidio defeats Kuro and is injured, Nami helps support him on the way to Kaya’s home 15 16 17.

Nami subsequently leaves aboard the pink ship with the gold, leaving Ruidio the Black Cat ship and a letter asking him not to follow. She believes Arlong may keep his promise and decides she must try paying him 18.