With Momoo pulling the ship.
Very soon.
Natsuya and Nami arrived at one of Loguetown's docks.
Almost the instant they arrived, Tashigi and the others spotted them.
"There's a pirate ship!!"
"Damn, is that a Sea King?"
"A Sea King is towing a pirate ship!?"
Because of Natsuya, Tashigi and the others had been assigned by Smoker to guard every dock.
Under such circumstances, even the slightest disturbance would draw their attention, let alone the bizarre sight of a pirate ship appearing while being dragged by a gigantic sea beast suspected to be a Sea King!
At that moment, Tashigi took the situation extremely seriously and hurriedly led her men into a defensive formation on the dock.
At the same time, the lookouts began their work.
The next moment, Tashigi and the others' expressions changed.
After taking a few looks through his telescope, a lookout shouted, "Petty Officer Tashigi, the target has appeared on the pirate ship, along with an unfamiliar little girl!"
Wasn't their target Natsuya!?
As for the unfamiliar little girl, she was not particularly important at the moment.
Tashigi came back to her senses and immediately had someone notify Smoker. At the same time, she mobilized personnel from several nearby docks and ordered them to come reinforce them at once.
One could imagine that a fierce battle was bound to follow.
That Natsuya had really come!
And he had arrived in an incredibly flamboyant manner!
A massive sea beast suspected to be a Sea King was actually towing his ship!!
That alone proved that Natsuya was far from ordinary.
Thinking of this, Tashigi's expression turned grave, and she drew the sword at her waist without hesitation.
"What!? Natsuya was spotted!?"
Elsewhere, Smoker was also greatly surprised when he received the news.
He had not expected Natsuya to really show up!
And it had only been a few days since he had received the earlier intelligence.
Of course, no matter what, this was good news.
Without another word, Smoker turned into smoke and rushed toward the dock where Natsuya had reportedly appeared.
Meanwhile, at the dock.
Under Tashigi's lead, all the Marines had already assumed attack positions.
At the same time, a steady stream of Marines was rushing over from the surrounding area.
"Lord Natsuya, those Marines seem to have found us. What do we do!?"
On the pirate ship, Nami saw the formation before them. The thrill of having Momoo pull their ship instantly vanished, and her little face went pale.
Judging by this, the Marines seemed to have been waiting for them here all along.
The next instant, countless bullets would probably rain down and turn them into sieves, right!?
But Natsuya remained calm.
To be honest, Tashigi and the others guarding the docks had caught him somewhat by surprise as well.
But so what?
"Momoo, take the pirate ship for a little stroll. Nami and I have something to do. We'll find you afterward."
After giving Momoo his instructions, Natsuya immediately took Nami's small hand and pulled open a Hell Gate in the air before them.
"That's right! I almost forgot about Lord Natsuya's ability!"
Seeing this, the fear on Nami's face instantly vanished, replaced by a smile.
At that moment, she could not help recalling the time Colonel Mouse and the others had surrounded Natsuya!
The forces Colonel Mouse had brought then seemed to have been even larger than Tashigi's group at the dock.
Yet Natsuya had handled them with ease back then, so this time would naturally be no exception.
And as if confirming Nami's thoughts.
When Momoo suddenly turned around and dragged the pirate ship away from the shore, Natsuya had already vanished into the air with her.
"What!?"
Tashigi and the others froze at the sight.
Tashigi in particular had been about to order the Marines to open fire, but Natsuya and Nami had vanished in the most bizarre way!
"Wait, could that have been the Door-Door Fruit ability!?"
Tashigi quickly realized something, and her face darkened.
Though she had never dealt with Natsuya directly, she naturally knew about his intelligence.
He had eaten the Door-Door Fruit and gained the Door-Door Ability!
Moreover, because Smoker had considerable connections within the Marine Government, Tashigi also knew some information about the Door-Door Ability.
Thus, Tashigi quickly understood that Natsuya and Nami had vanished so strangely because Natsuya had used the Door-Door Fruit ability!
But once she understood, Tashigi's expression became even graver.
Because Natsuya's Door-Door Fruit ability seemed capable of spatial transfer.
And that would clearly make capturing him much more difficult!
"Petty Officer Tashigi, what do we do now!?"
Seeing Natsuya and Nami vanish so strangely, one of the Marines could not help asking in confusion.
"Notify Captain Smoker first."
In a secluded corner of Loguetown, a Hell Gate suddenly opened in the air, and a boy in a suit and a little orange-haired girl stepped out.
They were, without question, Natsuya and Nami!
Seeing the empty surroundings, Nami could not help praising him. "Lord Natsuya, your ability is truly incredible!"
Come to think of it, Nami had already experienced being taken away by Natsuya like this many times, but every time, she still found it utterly miraculous.
Such an ability was simply too convenient!
He could go wherever he wanted, completely ignoring the laws of space!
"By the way, Lord Natsuya, this is Loguetown, right? Why didn't you just bring me here directly while we were still at sea? Why did you wait until the Marines saw us before using your ability?"
"And Momoo left with the ship by himself. He'll be fine, right? Why not put him in that green world?"
Nami then asked curiously.
It seemed she had an intense desire to learn more about Natsuya's ability.
Natsuya laughed.
In fact, Nami's questions were perfectly reasonable.
Why had he waited until the Marines discovered them before using the Door-Door Ability to transfer away instead of doing so beforehand?
And since the Different Dimension was practically limitless, why had he not put Momoo and the pirate ship inside?
Those two questions did seem difficult to explain.
But to Natsuya, it was only natural.
First, the Door-Door Fruit could indeed cross spatial distances.
But doing so did not come without a cost.
The same went for placing Momoo and the pirate ship into the Different Dimension. There was a cost to that as well.
That cost was the consumption of the Door-Door Fruit's power.
The greater the distance crossed, the more power it consumed.
Likewise, the longer Momoo remained in the Different Dimension, the more power it consumed.
So Nami's questions could both be answered the same way.
He wanted to reduce the consumption of his power and conserve his stamina.
That was why things had unfolded as they did.
Of course, if necessary, Natsuya would not hold back to conserve his strength.
But Tashigi and the others posed no threat to them at all, so Natsuya naturally waited until they were close before openly using his ability to leave.
Just as Natsuya and Nami arrived in Loguetown.
Smoker received another report from Tashigi's side.
"What!? They disappeared!?"
After receiving the news, Smoker still made his way to that dock.
After personally hearing Tashigi recount what had happened, Smoker fell into deep thought.
He shared Tashigi's view.
Natsuya and Nami had likely vanished so strangely by using the Door-Door Fruit ability.
But the question was, where had the two gone after disappearing with the Door-Door Fruit ability?
At that moment, Smoker also found himself in a difficult position.
If the Door-Door Fruit was that strange, they might have trouble even encountering Natsuya, let alone stopping or capturing him.
Of course, difficulties had to be overcome.
After thinking for a moment, Smoker said, "Immediately send men to search all of Loguetown. If you spot the target, do not act rashly. Notify me at once!"
For the time being, Smoker had no good way to counter Natsuya's Door-Door Fruit ability, but he had some idea of Natsuya's whereabouts.
If he was not mistaken, Natsuya was definitely somewhere in Loguetown.
Otherwise, there would have been no need for him to have that sea beast tow him here.
And so, Tashigi and the others hurriedly began searching Loguetown.
But just as Smoker had expected.
With the Door-Door Fruit ability, there was no way Natsuya would let them catch him.
Yet two days later, Smoker still met Natsuya!
Because Natsuya had come looking for him himself.
Before you continue