Nami's Plan / The Arlong Pirates

The beam swept across the sea, evaporating the water and dispersing the mist. The enormous sailing ship did not even make a sound as it broke apart under the attack. Like burning paper, it turned to ash, becoming dust that scattered on the wind.

"Excalibur

Holder: Arthur Pendragon

Rank: EX

Type: unknown

Range: unknown

Maximum targets: unknown

A shining sword that saves the planet. A golden blade made to defeat those who would destroy the planet, capable of repelling all evil.

It has thirteen seals, and its power grows with each seal released. Once seven seals are released, Avalon disappears, revealing the true golden blade. At that point, its true name can be released to unleash its full power."

This was the first time Arthur had unleashed Excalibur's power, but his True Name Release had not actually been complete.

Excalibur had thirteen seals. As Arthur poured Mana into it, he had clearly felt that only two of them had been released.

Yet those two seals had exhausted most of his Mana.

Excalibur was already terrifyingly powerful with only two seals released. Arthur truly could not imagine how terrifying it would be with all thirteen undone.

Nami, standing behind him, was thinking the same thing.

Nami knew Arthur was powerful. He had defeated the Buggy Pirates single-handedly and unleashed a slash that split a house in two, but she had never imagined his strength would be so absurd.

That light just now had made her feel as if she were looking at a god.

Could a human really be that powerful?

That ship, as huge as a mountain, and the pirates aboard it had not been shattered or killed before that light. They had been reduced to nothing.

"He's... not even human." Nami sank helplessly to her knees, gazing bitterly at Arthur's back. She had panicked for nothing. As it turned out, she was just a fool with a pitifully narrow view of the world.

At the same time, a surge of irrepressible excitement and longing welled up in Nami's heart.

He can... he definitely can...

With power that great, he can definitely defeat Arlong.

At the thought, Nami felt her heart racing and her blood boiling.

Compared with raising a hundred million berries, the light of hope radiating from Arthur shone even brighter.

But... how can I get him to help me?

Tell him everything? But I lied before and said I didn't know where Cocoyasi Village was.

With that thought, Nami grew troubled again.

"Don't just stand there. Turn the helm and get us out of here." Arthur walked up to Nami and patted her head.

"Oh, right..."

Nami still looked dazed. As she struggled to think of a solution, she turned the helm and sailed away in the opposite direction.

Arthur gazed somewhat gravely in the direction where the Krieg Pirates had vanished.

He knew that before long, a powerful fighter would pass through there.

The World's Greatest Swordsman, the Shichibukai known as Hawkeye—Dracule Mihawk.

"Now's not the time..." Arthur murmured. He was not strong enough yet; challenging Hawkeye now would only end in defeat.

Once he lost, his streak of victories would end, and he would have to start all over again.

Arthur did not want to experience the feeling of being weak and oppressed, so he had to grow stronger.

And just now, destroying the Krieg Pirates with Excalibur had earned Arthur another Victory Index.

He had improved in every respect once again. With every breath Arthur took, his Mana recovered, and he could even feel that after a few more improvements, it would soon rise from rank D- to D.

That was right. Arthur's attributes could improve by defeating opponents. With every victory, the game system granted him an improvement in every respect.

Since it was bodily energy, even his Two-Color Haki could improve.

That was also why Arthur cared so much about victory.

As long as he did not lose, he would keep growing stronger.

So he had to keep victory in his grasp.

Chapter 10: Nami's Plan

Night fell, and stars dotted the sky.

The sea shed its heat relatively quickly that night, leaving the air cool.

On the ship's deck, Arthur sat with a blanket over his feet and a bottle of red wine to his right. Holding a glass of wine, he savored it slowly as he admired the beauty of the night.

A scene like this, with no dark clouds, a sky full of stars, and the occasional shooting star, had been hard to see in his previous life.

In this life, not only could he see it, but he had also experienced a different kind of life.

Only at quiet times like this did Arthur feel how wonderful it was to have transmigrated into the world of One Piece.

If he had not transmigrated, perhaps his life would have been as monotonous and dull as any other.

"Hm? This girl..."

All of a sudden, Arthur furrowed his brows slightly, a helpless look coming over his face.

Creak—

A faint sound came from the cabin door as it was pulled open.

A graceful figure walked silently over to Arthur.

He looked up and, in the moonlight, froze for a moment. A flash of amazement crossed his emerald-green eyes.

Nami stood before him wearing nothing but a snow-white bath towel. Her exposed shoulders and collarbones were sharply defined, and a deep cleft lay between them. With his remarkable eyesight, he could even see the partly exposed, soft white flesh, tinged with pink.

Looking lower, he saw two slender, shapely legs that looked wonderfully smooth. They would surely catch the eye in stockings of any color.

"Nami, what are you..." Arthur set his wineglass aside and asked in confusion.

Whoosh—

The next moment, Nami did something astonishing.

She pulled off her towel, revealing a body enough to make anyone's blood race, and threw herself onto Arthur.

"Arthur, this is the only way I could think of. Please... save my village, will you?" Nami showed neither her usual cunning charm nor her insatiable greed. At last, she revealed the vulnerability she had hidden in her heart for eight years, a side of her that inspired immense tenderness.

"Is it because of the Arlong Pirates?"

Arthur picked up the blanket from his legs and wrapped it around Nami. Holding her slender waist, he looked at her tear-filled eyes and asked softly.

"You... how did you know?" Nami, who had been planning to come clean to Arthur, suddenly looked dumbstruck.

"This mark is the symbol of the Arlong Pirates. Are you one of them too?" Arthur pulled back the blanket over Nami's left shoulder and tapped her tattoo.

"Yes." Nami nodded. As if she had remembered something terrible, she leaned into Arthur's embrace and softly began to recount her experiences.

Holding Nami, gently patting her bare back to comfort her as she began to tremble, and listening to her tell him about the bleak childhood he already knew of, Arthur never had any other thoughts.

Knowing was one thing, but listening was another.

Knowing was one thing, but listening was another.

Although Arthur knew Nami's fate from the original story, listening to her tell it of her own accord, with all the emotion she let spill out—dread, hatred, fear, concealment, self-deception, and the strength she had maintained alone in her loneliness—affected him deeply. Before he knew it, he was filled with rage.

"Arthur, help me..." Nami lifted her head and pleaded with him, tears streaming down her face.

"Yeah... leave it to me."

Like Luffy, Arthur nodded without hesitation in response to Nami's plea, his expression already ice-cold.

"Waaah..." Hearing Arthur's answer, Nami could no longer hold back. She buried herself in his embrace and wept aloud, her cries heart-rending, as if she were venting the grievances and pain she had endured alone for eight years.

That night, the two finally tore down the barrier between them and became true partners.

The next day, Arthur awoke from his sleep with a tickle in his nose.

Opening his eyes, the first thing he saw was Nami holding a feather quill. Dressed in a simple set of pajamas, she looked at him with a smile and teased, "If you don't get up soon, the sun will be out. If you get a tan, you won't be handsome anymore."

"Thanks for your hard work." Arthur rubbed his eyes, got up, and headed into the cabin.

By the time Arthur had washed up, a dazzling golden light had appeared over the sea.

Nami had set a table on the deck, with a hot breakfast laid out on it.

After opening up to each other the night before, the two no longer had their earlier reservations. Like old friends who had known each other for years, they sat facing each other in their respective pajamas and enjoyed the fragrant breakfast.

Neither of them mentioned what had happened the night before.

"I mentioned to the Marine officer in Loguetown that the Arlong Pirates are in league with Captain Nezumi. Once I've dealt with Arlong, I'll contact him. If he doesn't thoroughly investigate Captain Nezumi, I'll deal with him myself," Arthur said seriously to Nami after breakfast.

"Mm, thank you." Nami broke into a smile, her gaze full of tenderness as she looked at Arthur.

Any man would feel as though he were floating on air under the gaze of such a beautiful girl.

Arthur knew that after last night, the feelings between them had undergone a fundamental change.

But those feelings could not yet be called love; they were only a budding fondness. At least, until the shadow in Nami's heart was removed, various factors meant that even if Arthur confessed to her and she accepted, the relationship would be imperfect.

What Arthur could do was deal with Arlong, then invite Nami aboard and let their feelings develop naturally.

Their next objective was much simpler: deal with the Arlong Pirates, then enter the Grand Line.

Arthur's original plan had been to take out the East Blue's major pirates—Buggy the Clown, Kuro of a Hundred Plans, Don Krieg, and Arlong—before entering the Grand Line and beginning his journey of challenges across the seas.

As it turned out, a storm had led him to meet Nami ahead of Luffy and form a bond with her.

For the sake of his promise to Nami, Arthur did not intend to detour to Usopp's hometown. Besides, Kuro's bounty had been withdrawn after he faked his death, so Arthur could do without that inessential Victory Index.

Chapter 11: The Arlong Pirates [Third update]

The East Blue was not very large, and Arthur's ship was no ordinary small boat.

After more than a day of sailing, they drew ever closer to Cocoyasi Village.

Before they reached it, however, they ran into a little trouble.

"This is Momoo the sea cow, a pet Arlong and the others brought from the Grand Line." Looking at the sea cow's bared fangs and fierce eyes, Nami was somewhat afraid.

This was the monster that had easily destroyed a village and stopped every ship from approaching Cocoyasi Village.

Bang—

With a heavy impact, Arthur appeared atop the sea cow's head, and a single blow from his black fist, tinged with purple, knocked it into the sea. When it floated back up, its eyes had turned into spirals.

"Let's keep sailing." Landing back on the deck, Arthur gave Nami a confident smile. "Don't be afraid. With me here, nothing will happen to you."

"Mm..." Perhaps Arthur's punch had reminded Nami of his godlike figure that day. The fear vanished from her face, replaced by profound trust.

With the sea cow out of their way, they soon arrived at Cocoyasi Village's dock.

"Arthur... maybe we should just forget it!"

But just as they came ashore, Arthur stopped. Nami had seized his arm, and with her body trembling slightly and a strained smile on her face, she said, "We've already raised a hundred million anyway. Let's not take any more risks..."

"Fool, don't tell me you still naively believe they'll give the village back to you?" Arthur had not expected Nami to back out at the last moment even after he had shown her his unmatched strength, and he could not help feeling even more tenderness for her.

He reached out and tousled her hair, comforting her. "Don't worry. I won't lose. Let's split up for now. Pretend you don't know anything and act just as you usually do. I'll deal with Arlong alone."

"No, let's go together... I don't want to be separated from you." Nami shook her head vigorously and spoke with determination.

She had made up her mind. Even if Arthur lost, she would protect him with her life.

With her talent for drawing nautical charts, as long as she threatened to kill herself, there would at least be a glimmer of hope.