Nami the Thief and the Beast Pirate Crew?

"Nami!!!"

"You little thief!!"

"Stop right there!!"

Somewhere in the East Blue, a chase was unfolding.

A pirate ship was pursuing a small boat ahead.

From the pirate ship came the frantic, exasperated shouts of numerous pirates.

On the small boat, a young girl with orange hair and delicate features wore a smile of successful mischief.

It was none other than Nami.

Although Nami was only eleven or twelve years old at the time, she had long since begun striving toward her goal of one hundred million berries.

Her target this time was the Beast Pirate Crew, currently active in the East Blue.

Naturally, she had succeeded; she had stolen the Beast Pirate Crew's treasure and was making her escape on a small boat.

Logically, her small boat could not match the speed of the Beast Pirate Crew's ship.

However, her formidable navigational skills bridged the gap, even allowing her to gradually pull away from the Beast Pirate Crew.

If things continued this way, she would be able to return to Arlong Park in half a day, at which point she would be safe.

Arlong's bounty was twenty million, while the captain of this Beast Pirate Crew, Olig, had only half of that.

Once she reached Arlong Park, she was certain he would realize the futility and retreat.

On the side of the Beast Pirate Crew, they clearly understood Nami's intentions, and their expressions turned grim.

"Captain, what do we do!?"

"Our ship can't even catch up to her!"

"If this keeps up, she's really going to make it back to Arlong Park!"

Following this, the men turned to ask a thin, short, blonde man.

He was the captain of the Beast Pirate Crew, a man with a ten-million-berry bounty known as "Beast" Olig!

At this moment, Olig's expression was incredibly ugly.

They had been played for fools by Nami this time!

They had thought they were rescuing a stranded wealthy young lady to exploit for a fortune, only to realize the other party was the notorious young thief, Nami!

As a result, they had tried to steal a chicken only to lose their own rice; all their wealth had been stolen by Nami!

To make matters worse, this Nami seemed to be a member of the Arlong Pirates!

Olig naturally looked down on that group of fish-men.

However, he had no desire to clash with Arlong and his crew because he was a Devil Fruit user!

He had no major issues dealing with others, but he was not confident against these fish-men who excelled in naval combat, let alone their leader Arlong, whose bounty was higher than his own!

Therefore, Olig also believed that, at all costs, he should avoid crossing paths with the Arlong Pirates.

But were they just going to watch Nami escape?

Of course not!

A flash of ruthlessness suddenly crossed Olig's eyes, and he gritted his teeth as he ordered, "Fire the cannon! Aim at that boat and fire!"

"What!?"

Hearing this, the surrounding pirates widened their eyes in shock.

Olig actually wanted to fire a cannon at Nami!?

In truth, while their pirate ship wasn't large, it was indeed equipped with a cannon.

But until now, they had never considered using it on Nami.

That was because if a shot hit Nami, the treasure might be blown to bits along with her!

That would be a pyrrhic victory!

However, noticing Olig's fierce gaze, the gunner on the Beast Pirate Crew ship shuddered and quickly began to operate the weapon.

He knew that Olig had snapped and was prepared to kill Nami at any cost!

Seeing this, the other pirates also began to show glints of malice.

That was right!

If they let Nami escape back to Arlong Park just like that, they would be helpless.

Since that wealth was going to be lost anyway, they might as well vent their anger now!

Thinking of this, the pirates grew excited.

"Captain is wise!"

"Yes, that's it! Blow her to pieces!"

"Daring to provoke our Beast Pirate Ship, this is the price you pay!"

Compared to the jubilant pirates on this side, Nami, on the other hand, felt her small face turn pale.

She had not expected Olig and his men to be so ruthless as to actually fire cannons at her!

Did they not care about the money anymore?

Come to think of it, Nami was simply too inexperienced in the ways of the world.

One had to realize that being a pirate was a profession where one lived with their head tucked under their arm; which of those who became pirates were easy to deal with?

Now that they realized the money could not be retrieved, Olig and his men naturally chose a more extreme approach.

Before Nami could think much further, a deafening roar suddenly erupted!

BOOM!!!

A pitch-black object shot through the air.

With a loud bang, the surface of the sea was momentarily blasted open, creating a hole.

This shot did not hit Nami, but it caused the sea around her to surge violently.

Affected by this, the small boat Nami was riding swayed intensely, and its speed dropped sharply.

"Keep firing!"

Seeing this, Olig coldly issued another order.

"Yes!"

The gunner shouted in response and began operating for the second shot.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

It had to be said that the skill level of gunners in such small pirate crews was very limited.

They fired four shots in succession, yet none of them hit Nami's small boat.

However, Olig did not reprimand him; instead, his eyes lit up.

Because under the influence of the bombardment, Nami's small boat not only slowed down drastically but its direction also became erratic.

Having encountered such a situation for the first time, Nami was completely panicked.

What should I do!?

The smug look on her delicate face had vanished, replaced by sheer terror.

Watching the pirate ship drawing closer, she gritted her teeth and began steering blindly, ignoring the direction, wanting only to put more distance between herself and the Beast Pirate Crew.

"Give chase! Don't hit her yet; try to use the cannon fire to force her to stop!"

Olig noticed that Nami had veered away from the direction of Arlong Park, and his expression brightened further as he shouted the order.

Having realized there was a chance to catch up to Nami and reclaim the money, he naturally changed his mind again.

And so, the two ships continued, one chasing and one fleeing, moving further and further away from the Arlong territory.

The next moment, the corners of Olig's mouth curled upward.

"Caught you, Nami!"

As his words fell, his thin, short figure suddenly began to expand, and golden fur surged out from every part of his body.

In the blink of an eye, Olig transformed from a short man under five feet tall into a robust ape standing a full three meters high!

The surrounding pirates looked up at him with instant awe!

With a sinister grin, Olig prepared to leap toward the small boat that was now right before his eyes.

Nami's face was pale and filled with despair.

But just then, an unexpected situation occurred!

On the sea ahead, a pirate ship suddenly appeared.

Leaning against the railing of the pirate ship, a young man, seemingly drawn by the commotion, looked silently toward them.

His face was handsome, his build slender, and his demeanor calm.

That appearance was strangely, unexpectedly familiar!

Olig and his men glanced over and were instantly stunned.

Nami noticed the anomaly, took one look at the young man, and also gasped sharply.

She had seen this face just a few days ago on a bounty poster worth one hundred million Beli!