As for the pirates' corpses, they had become fish food last night.
Fortunately, there were still plenty of daily supplies in the storeroom.
After tidying up, Reno made breakfast from whatever materials were available.
At the dining table, Nami rubbed her fluffy hair and walked over in an awkward posture.
"Nami, morning."
Reno took a sip of milk and greeted her with a smile.
What he got in return was Nami's resentful glare.
It was already nearly noon. Morning, my ass.
If she had not been worked so hard yesterday, would she have gotten up this late?!
With the time she spent sleeping, she could have stolen hundreds of thousands of Beli already.
Perhaps because they had worked together so well yesterday, Nami casually sat down across from Reno.
Without caring about her appearance at all, she picked up breakfast and started eating.
"I already gave you my most precious thing. Shouldn't you return all that gold and treasure to me?" Nami said through a mouthful of food.
"If you're worried about Arlong, there's no need. You're already the navigator of the Reno Pirates. Your business is my business. I can help you get rid of Arlong."
Reno answered absentmindedly.
At those words, Nami's movements abruptly froze.
Her hand hung in midair, and her widened beautiful eyes were filled with disbelief.
Reno had exposed the secret hidden in her heart with a single sentence.
For a moment, Nami did not know what to do.
But soon, a self-mocking smile appeared on her face. Dejectedly, she said, "You don't understand. They're Fish-men. Their natural strength is ten times that of humans."
"Arlong is even stronger than ordinary Fish-men, and he has many Fish-men companions. You're no match for him at all."
"If we go against them, we won't meet a good end."
For several years, Arlong had lingered in Nami's heart like a nightmare.
People had resisted before. She had once been full of hope too, but what happened in the end?!
Hadn't they all died at Arlong's hands? Little by little, Nami had come to see Arlong as an unbeatable existence.
Even if Arlong and Kaido stood before Nami at the same time and made her choose, unless Kaido slapped Arlong to death, Nami would still choose Arlong.
Watching the despondent Nami, Reno shook his head helplessly.
After eight years, Arlong's invincible image had been deeply engraved in Nami's heart.
No matter what he said now, Nami would not believe him.
Once they reached Cocoyasi Village, he had to chop Arlong up in front of Nami and turn him into sashimi.
He had to completely untie the knot in Nami's heart.
But for now, he had something more important to do.
"After breakfast, we'll head to Goa Kingdom first." Reno did not want to dwell on it, so he changed the subject.
"What are you going there for?! Do you know anyone there?!" Nami asked in confusion.
"Of course, to recruit crew members." Reno patiently explained, "You're the first crew member of the Reno Pirates. There'll be a second and a third in the future. There's so much work on the ship. I can't do it all myself, can I? If I hadn't seen how tired you were yesterday, you should have been the one making breakfast today, understand?!"
Nami:
She bit her lower lip and glared at Reno angrily.
What a huge bastard!
Ignoring Nami's glare, Reno continued eating breakfast by himself.
He was going to Goa Kingdom because of Makino.
Since he had awakened the Subdue Beauties System, he naturally could not leave out a single Plot Beauty.
A new book setting sail—first-day stats are very important. Please support me, everyone.
I guarantee I'll collect them all, not a single one left behind.
Please give flowers, rating tickets, monthly tickets, and positive reviews. Thank you all for your support.
The Gentle Brewer Makino! (Please support with data)
The sky was clear for miles, and emerald waves rippled gently.
A small pirate ship sailed across the calm sea.
Having become a temporary shipwright, Reno irritably listened to Nami's instructions.
"Reno, you idiot, a little to the left."
"Too far, too far! A little to the right."
"Are you a pighead?! You can't even steer in such a simple direction?!"
"..."
Nami seemed possessed by a barrage of insults, roaring endlessly until Reno's eyelids twitched.
Revenge!
This was absolutely revenge!
Especially because every time Nami yelled at him, she would first glance at Reno's expression from the corner of her eye before continuing her relentless barrage.
Wasn't it just that their fun time had gone from four hours to five hours?
Wasn't it just that they had unlocked a few more positions?
Did she have to take revenge so blatantly?!
"How much longer until we reach Goa Kingdom?!" Reno asked unhappily as he controlled the Ship Rudder.
He was the captain, yet he had to personally handle even something as minor as steering the ship.
And he still got scolded for doing it badly.
"About half a day." Having regained her confidence, Nami was in a wonderful mood. Wearing a bikini, she lay on a deck chair, sipping delicious juice while enjoying a sunbath.
Nami's curvaceous figure drew Reno's gaze, and combined with the scorching weather, a wicked fire soon stirred within him.
The next second, he immediately drew his blade.
Nami jumped in fright and stood up from the deck chair. Carefully, she asked, "Y-you... what are you doing? I'm your navigator."
Reno ignored her and directly stabbed the blade into the Ship Rudder, fixing it in place.
Nami sighed in relief, then shook her head. "That won't work. The moment the wind blows, the direction will immediately shift."
"We'll deal with it when it shifts." Reno walked toward Nami with a wicked grin.
It was over.
"Reno, you bastard, wasn't last night enough for you?!" Nami snorted, stomping her foot in anger. "I won't let you have your way."
Nami glared at Reno, turned around, and ran toward the cabin.
"Trying to run?!" Reno chuckled. "Soru!!"
His body flashed, and when he reappeared, Reno's large hand was already wrapped around Nami's slender waist.
"You big bad guy!!" Nami puffed up her cheeks and glared at Reno.
God, someone save her!
Ignoring Nami's protests, Reno carried her into the cabin.
Goa Kingdom, Foosha Village.
Inside Makino's tavern.
"I wonder how Luffy is doing. I'm really a little worried."
The proprietress Makino rested her chin on both hands, her face full of concern.
She had watched Luffy grow up and knew full well how much he loved causing trouble.
"Hahahahaha... Makino, don't worry. That kid Luffy will be fine."
Dadan boldly downed her rum in one gulp and grinned. "If Luffy really runs into danger, Ace definitely won't stand by and do nothing."
"And there's Garp too."
Dadan's underlings strongly agreed with her and chimed in one after another:
"Hahahahaha! Luffy is the grandson of Hero of the Marines Garp. How could he possibly be in danger?! He must be having a great time on his journey."
Everyone's words gave Makino a little comfort.
What they said seemed to make sense.
His grandfather was the renowned Hero Garp, a pillar of the Marines.
His brother Ace was one of the Division Commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Yonko Shanks was Luffy's guide.
No matter what, nothing should go wrong, right?!
If they knew that Luffy's father was the Revolutionary Army Leader Dragon, and that Sabo was not dead but had even become the Revolutionary Army's second-in-command,
they would be even more shocked.
With so many powerful connections backing him, Luffy was not going on an adventure at all. He was simply a second-generation heir experiencing life.
Just as the conversation in the tavern revolved around Luffy, the front door was suddenly pushed open.
Two figures walked in from outside.
Makino looked at Reno and Nami and spoke gently. "May I ask what you need?"
Facing her question, Reno's lips curled into a smile. "I heard the proprietress here is very skilled at brewing wine, so I came all this way to have a taste."
Nami shot Reno a glance.
Pretend.
Go on, keep pretending.
Now she was certain that the tavern proprietress before them was Reno's target.
Traveling thousands of miles just to recruit a beautiful female crew member—Reno definitely had some kind of weird fetish.
In her heart, Nami had already labeled Reno.
Receiving Reno's praise, Makino's face flushed slightly, and she looked a little embarrassed.
"You flatter me." Makino smiled gently as she handed two cups of wine to Reno and Nami.
"Hahahahaha! Makino, don't be so modest. The wine you brew is famous throughout all the nearby villages."
"Kid, you've got good taste."
The somewhat drunk Dadan sprayed spit everywhere as she spoke.
As Reno tasted the wine, he surveyed the other people in the tavern.
After a moment, he withdrew his gaze and said with a smile, "The wine is very good. I like it."
He genuinely meant it.
Everyone's praise for Makino was not exaggerated.
It really was delicious.
"I'm glad you like it." Makino was as gentle and elegant as ever, with a faint smile on her face.
"By the way—"
It's coming, it's coming.
He's here.
Before you continue