She was immediately moved.
But the more it was like this, the less she could let Reno put himself in danger.
Trembling, Nami suddenly lost control of her emotions. "Reno, you don't understand anything."
"That's Arlong. You can't beat them. Please don't go there, okay? I'm begging you!!"
"I don't want that ten million Belly anymore, isn't that enough?!!"
Nami nearly roared those words.
As she spoke, Nami helplessly collapsed onto the ground again, tears soaking her face.
Scenes from the past flashed through her mind like fragments of a memory reel.
Every villager who had tried to resist Arlong had ultimately been killed by him, including her adoptive mother, Belle-mère.
After eight years of subtle conditioning, she had long branded Arlong as invincible in her mind.
She could only submit. She absolutely could not resist.
"Nami, what's wrong?!"
Hearing the commotion, Kaya and Makino hurried over, helped Nami sit down again, and asked with concern.
It was the first time they had ever seen Nami break down like this.
What exactly had happened?!
Reno walked over to Nami, gently stroked her forehead, and said softly,
"Nami, I know you're terrified of Arlong, but he isn't unbeatable."
Feeling the warmth of Reno's palm, Nami slowly raised her head, and her emotions gradually calmed.
"You may not know this yet, but Arlong only came to the East Blue to throw his weight around because he couldn't survive in the New World. There are plenty of people stronger than him."
"Also, Fish-men may be ten times stronger than humans, but that's only compared to ordinary people. Do you think I'm ordinary?!"
As he spoke, Reno flexed his arm muscles.
Nami burst out laughing.
He was still trying to make her laugh at a time like this.
"Nami, you have to believe in Brother Reno. He even defeated Kuro."
Kaya clenched her fist and waved it around convincingly.
"That's right, Nami. After spending so many days together, do you still not trust the captain's strength?!"
"Since he says he can defeat Arlong, then he definitely can," Makino encouraged Nami as well.
"Is that really true?!" With everyone persuading her one after another, Nami's resolve began to waver slightly.
Thinking about it carefully, Reno really did seem quite powerful.
If nothing else, at least in terms of speed, even Arlong probably couldn't catch him.
"Nami, when we go to Cocoyasi Village this time, not only will we get rid of Arlong, but you'll personally take him down."
Nami stared at Reno. Had she heard him right?!
Under Nami's stunned gaze, Reno flipped his hand over, revealing a strange fruit covered in multicolored patterns in his palm.
Makino recognized it at once and exclaimed in shock, "A Devil Fruit?!"
Luffy had once eaten this kind of fruit and become a rubber man.
She hadn't expected Reno to have one too.
Kaya was equally surprised. "Huh?! Brother Reno, you have another one?!"
"These two Devil Fruits aren't the same," Reno explained with a shake of his head.
"Nami, as long as you eat this Devil Fruit, you'll gain the power to defeat Arlong." Reno's voice seemed to possess magic, causing Nami's eyes to suddenly light up.
Everyone, please send flowers and votes.
Nami in Tears!
"If I eat it, can I really gain the power to defeat Arlong?!" Nami murmured, half-believing and half-doubting.
It wasn't that she didn't trust Reno.
She simply had no concept of Devil Fruits and had no idea how much power such a small fruit could grant someone.
"Of course it's true," Reno said firmly.
Even with only a little development of the Weather-Weather Fruit, killing Arlong would be as easy as crushing an ant.
"Nami, hurry and eat it. Don't waste the captain's kindness."
"Once you eat the Devil Fruit, you'll have the ability to protect everyone," Makino continued persuading her.
"That's right, Nami. I only became this strong because I ate the Devil Fruit Brother Reno gave me," Kaya chimed in at just the right moment.
"Protect everyone?!" Nami suddenly thought of her adoptive mother, Belle-mère, and her gaze gradually became firm.
"I'll eat it." Nami took the Weather-Weather Fruit and took a huge bite under everyone's expectant gazes.
"So sweet."
After one bite, Nami's eyes lit up.
Despite looking so strange, the fruit tasted really good.
Even her mood improved along with it.
"Nami, the captain treats you so well, so don't be so harsh on him in the future. I heard that even an ordinary Devil Fruit sells for one hundred million Belly outside." Taking on the role of an older sister, Makino gently stroked Nami's forehead.
"Mm... how much?!!"
"One hundred million Belly?!!"
Nami, who had already eaten more than half of the Devil Fruit, froze abruptly and spoke in disbelief.
This Devil Fruit was worth one hundred million Belly?!
The same price as her village?!
"That's only an ordinary Devil Fruit. This Devil Fruit is worth far more than one billion Belly," Reno explained with a smile.
That was only a conservative estimate.
If the major powers of the New World learned about this Weather-Weather Fruit, someone would buy it no matter how high the price was.
Not to mention, if the Wind-Wind and Thunder and Lightning abilities were developed to the limit, its user could become a top-tier powerhouse.
Who wouldn't be tempted?!
One billion?!
The Devil Fruit she had just eaten was actually worth one billion?!
Nami's expression completely froze.
In that instant,
Reno saw Nami's eyes redden again, as though a dam was about to burst.
"You even snatched ten million Belly from me. I won't believe you."
Nami fought back her emotions, hurriedly wiped away her tears, and continued eating the Devil Fruit as she forced herself to remain calm. "It must be fake. You're definitely saying that on purpose. You're so good at sweet-talking people."
But as she spoke, after swallowing the final bite of fruit,
Nami could no longer hold it together.
Sob, sob, sob...
Why was that bastard Reno so good to her?!
For eight years, no one had ever made her feel so moved.
Reno's light voice came again. "Nami, it's only a Devil Fruit. To me, you're priceless. You deserve it."
Sobbing, Nami punched Reno with her fist. "Bastard, don't make me cry again."
Kaya and Makino smiled at the same time.
Reno caught Nami's soft punch, pulled her into his arms, and wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes.
"All right, now carefully feel the power inside you." Nami nodded obediently.
"Nami, the Devil Fruit you just ate is called the Weather-Weather Fruit. You should be quite familiar with weather."
"There are too many weather elements. I suggest you focus on developing wind, lightning, and clouds."
Wind and lightning were mainly for offense.
Clouds were mainly for defense.
Two offensive elements and one defensive element!
That was right, Reno intended to train Nami into a Combatant.
During their future voyage, they would inevitably encounter powerful enemies.
Combat personnel were indispensable.
Among the beautiful female Combatants in his plans, Nami was one of them.
"I'll listen to you." Nami nodded obediently.
The moment she ate the Weather-Weather Fruit, she had already sensed all kinds of powers welling up inside her.
Wind, rain, thunder, lightning, clouds, snow, rain, mist...
She could freely transform between all kinds of weather elements.
"Nami, try using the Thunder and Lightning ability."
"Watch me." Nami's eyes lit up, and a smile curved her lips.
Lightning Strike!!
With a soft shout, streaks of silver lightning suddenly exploded across the sea dozens of meters ahead of them, churning up waves.
"Wow, Sister Nami is amazing." Kaya stared in astonishment, clapping her little hands rapidly.
Storm!
Nami didn't stop. She flung another swirling gust from her palm.
The gust swept over the sea, raising waves several meters high.
Cloud Wall!
Hundred Year Snow!
Rain Arrow!!
Right after that, Nami displayed ability techniques using different weather elements one after another.
Of course, these techniques were the most basic ones, things she could master simply by eating the Devil Fruit.
Like the initial Lightning Strike, the name sounded intimidating.
But it was merely some very thin lightning, and the area it covered was not large.
The same was true for the other techniques.
Of course, as she developed her abilities further in the future, using the same techniques would become much more powerful.
After demonstrating every elemental technique, Nami froze in place.
She was dazed.
In her heart, Arlong was unquestionably number one.
But—
Only among living creatures.