Eavesdropping on Thoughts, To Arlong Park!?

At this moment, reading.

Looking at Nami, a thought stirred in Natsuya's heart.

Might as well test out the eavesdropping ability, too.

Yes, Natsuya had also developed the effect of eavesdropping on inner thoughts!

Therefore, his current "Open Heart Door" had a total of three effects.

One was the standard opening, the kind that allowed for surgical procedures.

Another was stealing Devil Fruits.

And the final effect was eavesdropping on inner thoughts.

In fact, the eavesdropping effect had only been developed yesterday.

Natsuya intended to continue familiarizing himself with it.

With that thought in mind, he didn't hesitate and immediately poked his finger forward.

"Door-Strike Dog, Open Heart Door."

One of Natsuya's fingers vanished without a trace, instantly reappearing at the spot on Nami's back, where it gave a light tap.

Under the influence of the Door-Door Fruit's power, a nearly illusory small door appeared on Nami's back, right over her heart.

Unlike when he first experimented, this small door did not flash and vanish, but remained constantly present.

And this was the reason Natsuya could hear the target's inner thoughts.

After activating it, Natsuya immediately said to Nami, "Let's find a place to rest first. Do you have any recommendations?"

Come to think of it, Natsuya had been drifting at sea for nearly half a month; he truly needed to step onto land and get some rest.

However, his final question was clearly a probe.

Next, a miraculous thing happened.

Nami's mouth clearly hadn't moved, yet Natsuya heard a voice.

Hm? He's asking me to recommend a place to rest?

In that case, could I lead him to Arlong Park?

Since Olig and the others aren't there right now, if I bring him to Arlong Park, could I make him clash with Arlong!?

With his strength and such a high bounty, he should be able to take care of Arlong, right?

But then again, Arlong is in cahoots with the Navy, which is why his bounty hasn't increased, and there are his subordinates too.

But even if he can't beat them, it doesn't matter. I can report his whereabouts to the Navy. If I can get that one hundred million Beli bounty, the village will be saved!

But would that be too heartless?

Without a doubt, these were Nami's inner thoughts.

Natsuya had truly heard them.

However, the inner thoughts soon grew faint and then vanished completely.

It wasn't that Nami had stopped thinking, but that the Door-Door Fruit's power had worn off.

It was worth noting that there was a time limit to eavesdropping on inner thoughts.

This was related to the amount of Door-Door Fruit power Natsuya poured into it.

The less he poured in, the shorter the time; conversely, the longer it would last.

Natsuya had only used a casual burst just now, so he could only listen for a short while.

Of course, even so, this effect was truly remarkable.

If used in combat, Natsuya could completely treat it as Observation Haki!

Just imagine, if an opponent had their "Heart Door" opened by Natsuya during a fight, it would mean their every thought was under Natsuya's control!

The advantage this brought was self-evident!

To a certain extent, it was even better than Observation Haki!

Thinking this, Natsuya couldn't help but reveal a smile.

"How about it? Have you decided?"

"Oh right, you seem to be from around here, right? Where is the place you live?"

As Natsuya asked, he began to activate the Door-Door Fruit's power once more.

This time, he poured in even more of the Door-Door Fruit's power.

Nami's inner thoughts immediately surfaced once again.

He wants to go to Cocoyasi Village!?

Fine, it's not like I invited him; he's the one who insisted on going!

In that case, even if something happens to him, he can't blame me, right?

"Right, I can't be blamed for this!"

Thinking this, Nami's expression firmed up: "I have a place to stay, it's called Cocoyasi Village."

"Shall we head there now, then?"

As she said this, Nami looked into Natsuya's calm gaze and, for some reason, suddenly felt a bit guilty.

Natsuya's expression remained unchanged as he nodded: "Sure, let's go there."

In truth, Natsuya could guess most of Nami's inner thoughts even without listening to them.

The reason she, like Robin, drifted between pirate crews only to betray them later, was due to circumstances beyond her control.

Robin did it to survive, while Nami carried the burden of an entire village.

To put it plainly, she was just a kind-hearted young girl.

This could be seen in the original story on Punk Hazard, where she risked her life for children she had never even met.

If Natsuya hadn't run into her, that would be one thing, but since he had, helping her out was no trouble at all.

After all, Arlong and his crew posed absolutely no threat to him.

Most importantly, if he wanted to apply his ability to eavesdrop on inner thoughts in combat, Natsuya needed some practice.

Naturally, this required opponents with a bit of strength.

Olig, who originally possessed the Monkey-Monkey Fruit, would have barely sufficed.

But since Natsuya had stolen his ability, his combat power was likely inferior to an ordinary person's now, so he was naturally unsuitable.

In that case, helping Nami while using Arlong and the other fish-men as practice targets was a win-win situation.

And so, it was decided.

Natsuya and Nami began their journey toward Arlong Park.

A few days later.

On the waters near Cocoyasi Village.

Kuroobi and Hatchan of the Arlong Pirates, accompanied by several fish-men, were returning while laughing heartily.

They had just won a great battle.

While patrolling the outskirts of Arlong's territory, they had encountered a pirate crew.

It was none other than the Beast Pirate Crew!

Kuroobi and the others had heard of this Beast Pirate Crew; it was a newly emerged crew led by a captain named Olig, who had a bounty of ten million Beli and the nickname "Beast," and was a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user!

However, unfortunately for them, the one thing fish-men feared least were Devil Fruit users!

So, after the encounter, they clashed without a word.

But what puzzled Kuroobi, Hatchan, and the others afterward was that Olig, nicknamed "Beast," hadn't used any Devil Fruit abilities at all, nor had he transformed.

But for them, this was naturally a good thing.

Thus, Kuroobi, Hatchan, and the others didn't think much of it and continued the fight.

As for the final result, it went without saying.

With Olig not using his abilities, Kuroobi and Hatchan didn't even need to contact Arlong; they and the other fish-men wiped out the Beast Pirate Crew themselves.

And now, they were returning to Arlong Park to report this good news to Arlong.

Given Arlong's hatred for humans, they believed this news would keep him happy for days.

However, upon reaching the waters near Cocoyasi Village, Kuroobi, Hatchan, and the others made an unexpected discovery!

They had actually found a pirate ship here!!

"Huh, isn't that Nami?"

What surprised them most was that they had spotted the familiar figure of a young girl on the pirate ship.

It was Nami!!

Upon discovering Nami, Kuroobi, Hatchan, and the others all wore mocking grins.

They exchanged glances, then swam toward her one after another.