Nami Joins the Crew, A Grim Future

"Let's go,"

After Luffy's fight ended, Roman quickly dealt with his opponent with a few punches and kicks. Then he called Nami, ready to leave. He also 'gentlemanly' helped carry the bag of treasure belonging to the Buggy Pirates. The orange-haired girl smiled on the surface, but inside...

For the sake of money, it seemed they had to continue to 'play along' with the other party for a while.

Soon, the three arrived at the town's pier. Besides the ships belonging to the Buggy Pirates, there was also a merchant ship slowly approaching.

"Huh?"

"Zoro, you actually managed to sail the ship here," Roman said, looking at the green-haired, three-sword swordsman standing at the bow of the ship, stroking his chin. "It seems I misunderstood you. Your navigation skills..."

"No,"

Zoro pointed behind him with his thumb.

"I didn't sail the ship. It was these three guys."

"Master Zoro..."

"See, we've reached the port."

"Can... can you let me go?"

Three bruised and swollen... pirates groveled obsequiously at Zoro, who stood at the bow of the ship. After receiving his permission, they immediately jumped off the merchant ship without hesitation with a splash.

Weren't these the three unlucky guys who had fallen into the water when they came?

Whatever, as long as they met up safely. So:

Before the merchant ship could dock, Roman directly grabbed the treasure bag with one hand and Nami with the other. Amidst the girl's "Eyah eyah eyah!" he first crouched down and then jumped. Then:

Boom!

Immediately, a ring-shaped ripple exploded along the ground, shattering bricks and stones, and the earth trembled. The spot where he stood on the dock was left with only two 'footprints' with cracks spreading in all directions!

Roman and Nami had already vanished from their original positions. Like boulders thrown by a catapult, they flew in a long arc towards the merchant ship! With a bang, they landed on the deck, causing the entire merchant ship to tremble violently.

"Eyah, eyah, eyah—?!"

After landing, the girl named Nami hadn't recovered from this 'quick' mode of transportation when a pair of long hands already grabbed the ship's railing! Then, the next second:

"Rubber-"

Swish—

"Rocket!"

A figure wearing a Straw Hat flew into the air above the merchant ship with a snap, landing on the deck after a few somersaults to dissipate the force.

"Hahaha, Zoro, you're too slow."

"We not only found a navigator, but we also beat up a guy named Buggy and his pirate crew~~"

"Oh? Is that so."

However, Zoro, with three swords hanging from his waist, was concerned about another issue.

"Were the enemies strong? Were there any swordsmen?"

"Uh... they weren't that strong?" Luffy thought again. "I didn't see any swordsmen, but there was an acrobat..."

Never mind then.

The man named Zoro immediately lost interest and leaned against the ship's railing, closing his eyes to rest.

"Come, come, Nami."

Roman patted the orange-haired girl's shoulder affectionately, almost causing Nami, who had just experienced 'aerial flight', to collapse onto the deck.

"From now on, you'll be in charge of sailing the ship."

Finally, he could free up his hands to continue developing his Devil Fruit ability! Instead of sailing ships all day and doing...

"Roman, I'm hungry~~"

?

"Didn't you already eat at Buggy Pirates' place?"

Don't think I didn't see it. Nami clearly fed you...

"I just fought, so I'm starving~~"

Facing Luffy, who was completely slumped on the ground, and looking at Nami who was dutifully sailing the ship, and then:

"Hmm? You want me to cook—"

"No need!"

Zoro's cooking skills... were only at the level of not being fatal. Roman felt that for the sake of his own stomach, it was better to do it himself.

In the merchant ship's dining room...

Chew, chew...

"So, we must recruit a cook immediately!"

"Huh? Roman, aren't you cooking?"

Luffy, with a look of utter shock, dropped the piece of meat in his hand onto the plate. He lunged at Roman and wailed.

"Nooo, Roman, your cooking is so delicious! I've never eaten anything this good..."

"Don't wipe your tears and snot on me!"

Roman pushed the goofing-around Luffy away with disdain, rubbing his temples.

"I'm curious what you used to eat. Was it garbage...?"

"My cooking is average at best, and I need to make time to train and develop my Devil Fruit abilities. Oh, right—I wanted to ask you guys something."

Facing Roman's serious expression, Luffy could only pout and sit back down to gnaw on his meat. Even Zoro and Nami sat up straight.

"Do you guys really want to go to the Grand Line?!"

In an instant, all three present wore serious expressions, and then:

"I've heard there are many skilled swordsmen in the Grand Line," said Zoro, his fighting spirit ignited. "If I want to become the world's greatest swordsman, there's someone I absolutely must defeat!"

"The Grand Line is teeming with pirates. As long as I... we steal... take their treasure," said Nami, looking like a money-grubber, "I'll quickly be able to gather 100 Million Berries..."

"Roman, what are you talking about?"

Luffy pressed down on his Straw Hat, uncharacteristically serious.

"I'm going to be the King of the Pirates!"

"If I don't enter the Grand Line and find One Piece, how can I become the King of the Pirates?"

As expected, Roman nodded and suddenly posed a question.

"Do you think I'm strong?"

Uh...

"Very strong."

Zoro was the first to nod, his face full of fighting spirit.

"It's a shame you don't use a sword, otherwise, I'd really want to have a match with you."

"Roman, of course, you're strong, we all know that..."

"You're wrong, Luffy."

Roman waved his hand, interrupting Luffy's words, and looked around seriously.

"I'm weak—very weak!"

What?!

"Strength and weakness are concepts that only exist in comparison."

"It's like a frog in a well. To small fish and shrimp, it's 'very strong'."

"But to the world outside the well, how strong can a frog be? It's nothing more than 'weakness'."

"You mean..."

Zoro, with his short green hair, split his lips into a grin, revealing his white teeth. His eyes emitted a blade-like glint, like a wild beast!

"'We' are all weak?"

"Yes."

Roman nodded without hesitation and continued.

"As everyone knows, the danger level of pirates can be seen from their bounties."

"Although bounties don't equate entirely to strength, pirates with higher bounties are generally more powerful," Roman said, looking around. "I don't think you have any objections to that, do you?"

Nod x3

After all, the three present were all people who dealt with pirates and understood the relationship between bounty and strength very well. Although there were some fluctuations, a pirate with a 10 Million Berry bounty would never be a match for one with a 20 Million Berry bounty!

"I estimate that the bounties of those of us here... excluding Nami... should be around the 20-30 Million level."

Amidst Nami's muttering about "Why am I excluded?", Roman dropped a 'bombshell'.

"And in the Grand Line, pirates with bounties over 100 Million are everywhere!"

Silence—

"You might not have a clear understanding of this,"

"Zoro."

Roman first looked at the Three-Sword Style swordsman with short green hair.

"Can you cut steel with your sword?"

Facing Zoro's shake of the head, Roman tapped his fingers on the table.

"In the Grand Line, swordsmen who can cut steel are as common as carp crossing a river!"

"What?! Even if they can cut through steel, their bounty is only 50 million."

Strength—!

"Nami, regarding the wealth of pirates on the Grand Line... to put it simply, I know several pirate crews that possess their own 'nations'."

In other words, the '100 million' goal the girl mentioned was as laughable to those pirates whose wealth was measured in 'nations' as a peasant imagining an emperor eating two steamed buns in one meal!

Wealth—!

"Finally, Luffy."

Roman ignored the other two, who were frozen in shock, and looked at the boy wearing the straw hat.

"If you aim to be the King of the Pirates, your opponents will be powerful pirates with bounties of hundreds of millions, billions, or even tens of billions!"

"Each of them commands thousands of subordinates, possesses the strength to split mountains and break seas, and can destroy nations single-handedly! With our strength of 30 million, it wouldn't be strange at all to be instantly killed by a mere glance from them."

Absolute difference—!

Dead silence—

After a long pause, "I... I want to get off the ship..."

Nami, on the verge of tears, felt her body go limp, as if she would have to crawl to move.

"Hahaha, too late! Nami, you'll just be our navigator obediently."

Facing Roman's booming laughter, Nami, whose soul had been shattered by the terrifying future he described, collapsed onto the table, weeping.

"You can still laugh?"

"According to you, aren't we just walking to our deaths by going to the Grand Line!"

"Yes, theoretically, that's the case."

Facing Nami's question, Roman spread his hands and then pointed to the side.

"But do you see them preparing to back down?"

"Hehehe, Roman."

Zoro, with battle intent blazing in his eyes, instinctively placed a hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist.

"Are you saying we're all frogs in a well?"

"However, the thought that there are so many strong swordsmen in the world makes me tremble with excitement!"

"As long as I can defeat them, won't I be one step closer to the throne of the world's greatest swordsman?"

"Exactly!"

Luffy on the other side also flashed a wide grin, his face showing no trace of fear, still his signature cheerful smile.

"It's precisely because there are so many strong rivals competing that finding the One Piece has meaning! The title of King of the Pirates, I, Luffy, am determined to claim it!!!"

As expected, even knowing the hardships of the Grand Line in advance, you all would never back down...

"Then, I'll explain the powerful enemies you might encounter in the future."

"So you don't die mysteriously one day~~"

Although his words were harsh, the smile on Roman's face was clearly...

...enjoying himself.