Natsuya's Helpful Meaning!?

Natsuya watched silently as Nami approached.

Meeting his half-smiling gaze, Nami felt a bit indecisive.

Did Natsuya believe her, or did he believe Olig?

However, Nami gritted her teeth and climbed onto Natsuya's pirate ship.

Just as she had said before, she was out of options.

Regardless of whether Natsuya believed her or not, she had no choice but to lean on him.

Otherwise, if Olig caught up and captured her, she would be in an even more passive position.

Watching this scene, Olig also felt uncertain.

What exactly was this Natsuya planning!?

Hesitating, Olig did not leave for the time being.

Just like that, the distance between the two pirate ships grew shorter and shorter.

As the distance closed, the expressions of Olig and his men gradually became strange.

They hadn't been able to see clearly before, but as they drew closer, they realized that Natsuya was injured.

His upper body was wrapped in thick bandages, and his injuries appeared to be quite severe.

His slightly pale complexion seemed to confirm this as well.

At this moment, Nami also noticed the situation, and her expression couldn't help but turn ugly.

She saw that Natsuya was wearing a suit jacket over his upper body, but underneath, he was heavily bandaged with large amounts of bloodstains; it was clear he had been seriously wounded.

Nami suddenly snapped back to reality.

Right!

Natsuya was wanted, clearly because he had done something to warrant it.

Moreover, his bounty was a staggering 100 million Beli, which showed that whatever he had done must have been earth-shattering!

In that case, it was perfectly normal for him to be injured.

And since only a few days had passed since the bounty poster was issued, it was not at all strange that his wounds had yet to heal.

But this was clearly disadvantageous for her.

While it was true that a wounded criminal's bounty wouldn't drop, the question was, did he still possess the strength worth 100 million Beli?

Realizing this, Nami's face turned somewhat grim.

As for Olig and his men, their expressions shifted; the panic they felt upon recognizing Natsuya earlier had dissipated by more than half.

A wounded powerhouse and an uninjured one were, naturally, two different matters.

Yet, as if he hadn't noticed the change in everyone's expressions, Natsuya turned toward Olig after Nami boarded and beckoned with his finger: "You come over, too."

Oh?

Olig's expression flickered.

Because of Natsuya's injuries, he felt much calmer.

After a moment of hesitation, he went directly onto Natsuya's ship.

Of course, to be safe, he maintained his ape form.

Seeing this, Nami's pretty face changed, and she instinctively clutched the bag of money and hid in a corner.

"Brother Natsuya, what do you have to say?"

Olig shot a vicious glare at Nami before asking Natsuya.

The corners of Natsuya's mouth curled up: "Between the two of you, I can't tell who is lying, and I don't have the mood to figure it out."

"How about this, let's make a deal."

A deal!?

Olig was stunned.

Nami also blinked, feeling deeply confused.

This Natsuya didn't seem to play by the rules.

Ignoring their reactions, Natsuya continued: "I believe you both know about my ability. I only recently acquired it, and I need people to cooperate with me to test and develop it."

"How about this: whoever cooperates with me to test and develop my ability, I will help that person."

Hearing this, Nami, Olig, and the members of the Beast Pirate Crew nearby were all stunned.

They had all seen the bounty poster and knew about Natsuya's ability.

The Paramecia-type Door-Door Fruit, right?

But what did Natsuya mean by this?

Having people cooperate with him to develop his ability?

Help whoever cooperates?

Coming to her senses, Nami hurriedly shouted, "I'll cooperate with you, big brother Natsuya, I'll cooperate!"

As she said this, Nami gave Natsuya a sweet smile.

Natsuya then smiled and looked at Olig.

Olig's expression turned ugly at once.

Nami had given up on all pretense, but he had not.

Cooperating with the development of a Devil Fruit ability was one thing if it were a different type, but Paramecia-type fruit abilities were unfathomable and carried no small amount of danger!

He was not willing to throw his life away for the sake of that money.

"Brother Natsuya, I cannot cooperate."

After replying, Olig's expression became uncertain.

It seemed he was about to retreat right then and there.

Yet, he remained unwilling to give up.

Nami was right in front of him, yet he could not make a move.

Furthermore, Natsuya appeared to be injured; if they fought, would he really be unable to defeat Natsuya?

Olig was incredibly hesitant, but in the end, he dared not harden his heart to attack, so he could only say with a sense of grievance, "I'm leaving."

"Wait."

But just then, Natsuya spoke up to stop Olig.

"What?"

Olig was puzzled, only to hear Natsuya say, "Your name is Olig, right? You can't leave."

Hearing this, Olig was stunned.

Nami was also confused; she had been hoping for Olig to leave as quickly as possible, so why had Natsuya stopped him?

They heard Natsuya say with a half-smile, "If you won't cooperate, then I can only help Nami."

"And to ensure you don't cause her trouble in the future, I have no choice but to deal with you."

Hearing this, Olig was completely dumbfounded.

What kind of logic was this!?

Nami was also stunned, but after realizing what he meant, her eyes immediately lit up.

She had not expected that Natsuya's help would go beyond just intimidating Olig; he intended to finish Olig off!

For her, this was naturally a good thing!

The members of the Beast Pirate Crew were dumbfounded—could things even work like this!?

As for Olig, once he came to his senses, his expression was as ugly as it could possibly be.

He suspected that Natsuya was deliberately making things difficult for him!

And in fact, that was exactly the case.

Because Natsuya had suddenly realized that Olig, just like Nami, could be used to test his own ability development, and by comparison, Olig was even more suitable!

Since that was the case, Natsuya naturally could not let him slip away.

Thus, he used the situation as a pretext to keep Olig there.

Olig's expression grew gloomier by the second.

"Natsuya, don't push me too far!"

At this moment, he let out a low growl.

Natsuya's smile remained unchanged: "How am I bullying you? You were the one who said you wouldn't cooperate."

Seeing this, the expressions of the Beast Pirate Crew members turned fierce.

It seemed that this matter could not be settled peacefully.

Fortunately, Natsuya was already injured, and not lightly at that; if they really fought, they might not necessarily be at a disadvantage!

Olig thought the same, so he gritted his teeth and lunged toward Natsuya!

"Let me show you what I'm capable of!"

Seeing this, the members of the Beast Pirate Crew couldn't help but feel a surge of spirit.

Their captain, known as the "Beast," did not earn his reputation for nothing.

The brute force he would unleash would surely give this Natsuya a huge shock.

However, just as they were thinking this, a loud crash suddenly rang out.

BOOM!!!

The head of the ape that Olig had transformed into was grabbed by Natsuya's hand and slammed violently into the deck.

Seeing this, Nami was instantly stunned.