Keep Fooling Her / Partners ...

Arthur didn't care about money, but he wasn't about to turn down a free handout.

With so much money right in front of him, he naturally wasn't going to ignore it.

Chapter 5: Keep Fooling Her

"Hey... you. If you want to live, go pack up the treasure in there and bring it to me."

Holding his invisible sword, Arthur casually sent a slash flying to the side and pointed at the nearest pirate. His tone was calm, but it brooked no refusal.

"Y-yes!"

Seeing Captain Buggy, the man they all feared, dangling from Arthur's grasp, the pirate Arthur had pointed at answered in a trembling voice and rushed into the building as though fleeing for his life.

Swish—

The other pirates Arthur glanced at dropped neatly to their knees in two rows, moving as if they had rehearsed it countless times. They looked like obedient children.

Only then did Arthur put Excalibur away in satisfaction.

He stood there waiting, and before long, the pirate from earlier came running out with two large cloth bags.

"Lord Wind Sword, this is Captain Buggy's treasure. I swear nothing was left behind," the pirate said, panting.

"All right, get lost." Arthur grabbed both bags by their ties with one hand and carried Buggy in the other, departing under the pirates' awestruck gazes.

"Phew—that scared me to death."

Only after Arthur, that great demon king, had disappeared from sight did all the members of the Buggy Pirates breathe a sigh of relief and topple over together like bowling pins.

"Quick, hurry and treat Lord Cabaji's wounds..."

Even as they relaxed, they hadn't forgotten Cabaji, whom Arthur had cut down.

The crowd immediately sprang into a flurry of activity again.

As for whether they would discuss rescuing Buggy afterward, Arthur didn't know.

Even if he did, he wouldn't care.

Arthur carried the two cloth bags and Buggy down the slope. As soon as he rounded a corner, he came face-to-face with Nami, who was leaning against a wall.

Looking at her, Arthur deliberately pretended he hadn't known she was spying on him from behind and asked with a puzzled expression, "What are you doing here?"

"I really admire your courage, taking on the whole Buggy Pirates by yourself. And you're incredibly strong..." Nami looked at the unconscious Buggy and clicked her tongue in wonder. "Buggy was said to be immortal, and no one in the East Blue dared challenge his position. Yet you took him down all by yourself."

"Immortal? He just ate a Devil Fruit, that's all," Arthur said dismissively. "As long as it isn't true immortality, it's just like a deceptive trick. It's completely useless in the face of absolute strength."

Arthur's words made Nami pause, seemingly awed by his bearing.

Then she looked at Arthur's handsome face, covered her mouth, and smiled. "As expected of the Wind Sword Knight. You're so confident and strong."

"You still haven't answered me. Didn't I tell you to leave earlier?" Arthur fixed Nami with a needle-sharp gaze and spoke in a "grave" tone. "Or are you still after Buggy's treasure?"

Idiot, who's after his treasure? I was worried you'd get killed! Under Arthur's piercing gaze, Nami couldn't come up with an excuse. Silently cursing him, she admitted with an awkward smile, "Yeah. I was going to steal Buggy's treasure while you were fighting him, but you finished him off before I could do anything."

"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. I took not only Buggy, but all his treasure too," Arthur said "smugly," though there was a hint of appreciation in his gaze as he looked at Nami. His Observation Haki clearly sensed the fluctuations in her emotions. Her character really was just like in the original story; she was kind at heart.

Yet after hearing Arthur's words, the awkwardness vanished from Nami's face in an instant, replaced by undisguised admiration. Her eyes shining, she cried out like a fangirl, "As expected of Lord Wind Sword, you're amazing!!"

Arthur, however, subconsciously backed away a few steps under her gaze. Being admired by a beautiful girl was undoubtedly enough to make a man feel on top of the world.

But not if the golden gleam in Nami's eyes was shaped like dollar signs.

"All of this is mine. You don't get a share, and another thing..."

Seeing Nami like that, Arthur suddenly wanted to tease her.

So he said, "Since you didn't leave, I won't be giving you the ten million either."

"Ah, no, you can't! Absolutely not..." Nami bristled at once, looking at Arthur warily and shielding her chest with both hands, as if he intended to molest her. "You clearly promised to give it to me! You're a knight, you can't go back on your word!!"

"All right, I can give it to you, but you have to promise me one thing."

"What is it? Even if you want to touch my breasts, that's fine..." Nami cupped the two treasures in front of her and winked at Arthur, wearing a seductive expression. "It's only one million Beli per touch."

"What are you talking about?!"

Arthur's face darkened. He glared fiercely at Nami, then handed her one of the cloth bags. "Give this bag to the people of this town, and the ten million is yours."

Nami took the bag instinctively, staring blankly in confusion.

Seeing this, Arthur explained, "Buggy tested the power of his cannonballs on this town and destroyed a lot of it. This is for rebuilding."

"Why?" Nami was even more confused. Whether it was giving her ten million Beli to leave earlier or giving away the spoils he'd risked his life to earn, his behavior didn't fit the image of a bounty-hunter hyena at all. Didn't they love money more than life?

"What do you mean, why?" A confident smile appeared on Arthur's handsome face as he exuded a captivating knightly spirit. He spoke gently. "Didn't I tell you? To me, money is only a worldly possession. I don't need a lot, just enough to get by. I'm a bounty hunter, and the one thing the sea never lacks is pirates. When I want money, I just have to catch a few pirates, like I did today. But unlike me, these townspeople are defenseless and can't fight back against pirates. With a little help from me, they can live a little better, can't they?"

"So... he really is an idiot?" Nami murmured under her breath, head lowered. She finally understood why the Wind Sword Knight was a breath of fresh air among bounty hunters.

Arthur clearly caught what Nami said, but pretended to be puzzled. "What did you say?"

"Nothing. I'll do it." Nami quickly raised her head and beamed, then grabbed the cloth bag in both hands and ran off in the direction of the town.

Little did she know that once her back was turned, a genuinely smug expression appeared on Arthur's face.

If there were such a thing as affection points, it would probably show something like (affection +??), wouldn't it?

Chapter 6: Partners

[To liven up the comments, let's play a game. Before this book goes premium, there will be three updates every day. For every 50 new comments, I'll add another update. This applies until the book goes premium. All it takes is fifty of you moving your fingers to post one sentence each, and the author has to spend dozens of minutes writing. Isn't that fun? Note: numbers and advertisements don't count.]

Out at sea, a small cabin sailboat sailed with the wind.

On deck, Arthur looked helplessly at Nami across from him as she excitedly counted Beli. A mountain of money was piled in front of her.

Above them, a sack hung from the mast. Inside was Buggy, tied up securely, with a towel stuffed in his mouth and his eyes and ears covered.

"Do you really like money that much?" Arthur asked Nami as she counted, sipping his red wine.

"Money and oranges are my favorite things." Nami's face was flushed with excitement, and her eyes had been completely taken over by dollar signs.

"So, are you going to keep stealing pirates' treasure and carry on being a little thief?"

"How about we work together?" Nami's eyes darted around, and she suddenly made Arthur an offer.

"Work together?" Arthur was delighted, but asked in apparent confusion, "What kind of arrangement?"

Even if Nami hadn't suggested it, Arthur would have asked her to stay. She was the navigator he had set his sights on.

But Nami taking the initiative to propose a partnership clearly meant she had developed some affection for him. What he had done in Orange Town had also given her complete confidence in his character.

If Arthur were a pirate, Nami definitely wouldn't have said that. She would probably have parted ways with him long ago.

But the key was that Arthur was a bounty hunter, and a breath of fresh air among them at that. He would definitely make a very trustworthy partner.

And this partner was so powerful that he was practically a money-making machine. Although Arthur's ten million Beli had allowed Nami to gather the hundred million Beli needed to buy back her village from Arlong, she could never have too much money. If she earned more, she could greatly improve life for everyone in Cocoyasi Village.

Hearing Arthur's response, Nami knew she had a chance and said excitedly, "I can be your navigator, cook for you, take care of your daily needs, and gather information for you. All you have to do is give me half the earnings."

"Half? That's asking a bit much, but I don't mind. I wouldn't care even if I let you manage all the money. But what I want to ask is, can you do laundry?" Arthur said, pinching his chin as if considering it.

"Of course. Please, leave it to me!" Nami hurriedly said.

"Deal." Arthur drained his wine in one gulp and casually tossed the nearby cloth bag to Nami.

The bag's ties came loose, and a great pile of gold coins poured out like a waterfall, casting a golden glow over Nami's face.

"I love you so much, Lord Wind Sword..."

What a money grubber! Arthur sighed inwardly as he watched Nami cradle the gold coins and wink at him.

"Since we're partners, there's no need to call me by my title." Arthur set down his glass, slowly rose to his feet, and extended his right hand to Nami with a gentle smile. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Arthur Pendragon. Just call me Arthur."

"Na... Nami. Just call me Nami." Looking at Arthur, who gave off a gentle air, Nami paused, then extended her right hand with a sweet smile and shook his.

The smooth softness of Nami's slender hand sent a faint ripple through Arthur's heart, but he showed nothing on his face. With a slight smile, he let go.

As Arthur sat back down, Nami returned the gold coins to the bag and secretly studied her new partner.

It had to be said that bearing really was important. Whenever Arthur got serious, he gave off a presence that couldn't be underestimated.

And when he was gentle, he was like the sun, making people feel warm.

His knightly spirit filled his words with sincerity, making others instinctively trust him.

It was this bearing that earned him the admiration and respect of countless people in the East Blue, and allowed him to gain the trust of Nami, a little thief with eight years of experience, so quickly.

As the saying went, good looks were justice!

"Arthur, where are you headed?" After packing away the gold coins and Beli, Nami breathed a sigh of relief. Her face still flushed with excitement, she turned to Arthur.

"Let's go to Loguetown first. We'll turn Buggy in for Beli," Arthur said after a moment's thought, pointing at Buggy above them.

"No problem, but I want half." At the mention of Beli, Nami, who had just calmed down, had dollar signs in her eyes again. Arthur was left speechless. "Whatever you say."

They would be on the same side from now on anyway, so Arthur didn't mind Nami being so greedy for money.

Besides, unless he was forced by some circumstance, Arthur probably wouldn't become a pirate.

As for money, they would only have more and more of it in the future.

Arthur wouldn't begrudge giving it to Nami.

"Yay... love you!" Nami blew Arthur a kiss. Having latched onto such a powerful backer who treated money like dirt, she felt wonderfully happy.

Loguetown was known as the "town of the beginning and the end," the place where the Pirate King Roger was born and executed.

It was also near the entrance to the Grand Line, a place one had to pass through to reach Reverse Mountain.

Because of these two things, pirates frequented Loguetown. Marine Headquarters had therefore transferred Marine Captain Smoker there. Under Smoker's watch, Loguetown, once a favorite stop for pirates, had suddenly become the safest town in the East Blue.

Arthur knew this was because Smoker was a Logia user. Even if it was the Smoke-Smoke Fruit, it was still a Logia, and Logia powers were practically a symbol of invincibility even in the Grand Line, let alone the weakest of the seas, the East Blue.

Pirates who knew nothing of Seastone's power and had no Haki were essentially doomed if they ran into a Logia user.

"We'll split up and meet back here in an hour." After coming ashore, Arthur picked up the sack containing the constantly muffled Buggy and spoke to Nami, who was carrying the bag of gold coins.

"Mm-hmm, no problem." Nami nodded repeatedly. She needed to find a shop to exchange the gold coins anyway.

Chapter 7: Log Pose

A room was filled with smoke. It was Smoker's office.

Smoker opened a window to let the air circulate. With two cigars clenched between his teeth and a fierce expression on his face, he looked nothing like a Marine officer and more like the leader of a gang holding turf.

From his appearance and bearing alone, one could tell he was a rebellious tough guy who would never back down.

"Buggy the Clown, fifteen million Beli. Finally making a move against these major pirates, are you? So, will you tell me whether you're leaving the East Blue soon?" Smoker took a bottle of red wine from a cabinet and personally filled Arthur's glass, speaking in a low voice as he looked at the handsome, composed young man before him.

"More or less. My next target is the Arlong Pirates." Arthur took a sip and nodded, making no attempt to hide it.

"The overlord of the East Blue?" Smoker nodded and said no more.

Many people thought Don Krieg was the overlord of the East Blue. In fact, the Krieg Pirates really were the largest pirate crew in the East Blue, but the true overlords were the Fish-Men from the Grand Line—the Arlong Pirates.

"Your item has arrived. Do you want it now?" Smoker suddenly seemed to remember something and spoke to Arthur.

"Oh? That was pretty fast." Arthur's eyes lit up with anticipation.

"Hmph. The Marines specially train their delivery seagulls, so of course they're fast." Smoker snorted, pulled open a drawer, and tossed Arthur a box.

Arthur caught the box and opened it. Inside was the item essential for traveling between islands after entering the Grand Line—a Log Pose.

"Thanks. Take whatever it costs out of Buggy's bounty," Arthur said. He put the Log Pose back in its box and stored it away, intending to give it to Nami once they reached the Grand Line.