Little Wildcat, Nami

Looking at the ugly-faced brute before him, Rody said indifferently, "What a noisy insect."

Gry Dong's face twisted viciously as he moved to step toward Rody. Suddenly, the huge axe in his hand fell to the ground with a light clang.

Then Gry Dong's upper body slid diagonally down from his right shoulder to the left side of his abdomen. Blood burst from his still-standing lower half, splattering his younger brother, Gry Rumen, from head to toe.

Ignoring the blood all over himself, Gry Rumen trembled as he looked at his brother's upper body lying on the ground, his eyes wide and his face filled with despair.

"H-How could this be...!"

"Brother, you're a great pirate with a bounty of over ten million!"

The pirates who had been noisily clamoring in the square also fell silent, and the plaza sank into deathly silence.

[Slaughter Value +1]

"Oh, that's interesting."

Hearing the system prompt in his ear, Rody silently opened the system panel in his mind:

Host: Rody (Ryomen Sukuna)

Age: 24

Slaughter Value: 1

Abilities: 1. Reverse Cursed Technique, 2. Exceptional Learning Talent, 3. Domain: Malevolent Shrine, Chimera Shadow Garden, 4. Ten Shadows Technique, Black Box--Open, 5. Powerful Soul

As Rody pondered the newly appeared Slaughter Value on the system panel—

Suddenly, Gry Rumen dropped his weapon and fell to his knees before Rody, pressing his forehead against the ground. Trembling, he said, "Please spare our lives, my lord. We are willing to follow you."

Hearing this, the pirates in the square hurriedly threw away their weapons and knelt before Rody as well, shouting, "Please spare our lives, my lord! We are willing to follow you!"

Looking at the pirates kneeling all over the square, Rody said coldly, "What am I, a garbage dump? Taking in anything and everything?"

With that, Rody waved one hand, and every pirate kneeling in the square was cut in two at the waist. Blood gushed from their severed bodies.

The spurting blood slowly stained the town square crimson like a curtain of rain.

At that moment, the townspeople who had been dragged into the square let out terrified, panicked screams. Some elderly people, children, and women fainted from fright.

Rody looked toward those screaming townspeople, and the cries immediately stopped.

One by one, the townspeople clamped their hands tightly over their mouths, their bodies trembling. Their eyes were wide and vacant as they stared at the ground, not daring to meet Rody's gaze.

Rody walked past the blood-soaked severed corpses and slowly arrived at the edge of the square.

There was a large high-backed chair there. Rody turned and sat down, resting his right elbow against the chair back with his fist beneath his cheek as he looked at the old town mayor slumped on the ground.

The mayor shakily walked up to Rody and asked in a trembling voice, "M-My lord, is there anything we can do for you?"

Rody said calmly, "Bring me all the wine, drinks, food, and every delicious thing in this town. Go."

After the mayor went to prepare the food, Rody looked toward the narrow alley beside the square, hemmed in by small houses, and said, "Woman, you've watched long enough. It's time to come out."

"W-What should I do?"

"If I don't go out, I'll definitely die. But what will happen to Nojiko, Uncle Genzo, and everyone in Cocoyasi Village? I was so close to gathering one hundred million Berries and buying Cocoyasi Village back from Arlong."

"I can't die. I can't die yet. No matter what, I have to survive," Nami thought as she leaned against the pitch-black wall in the alley.

Just as Rody was beginning to grow impatient, Nami walked through the blood-soaked field of severed corpses, her body trembling as she came before him.

Looking at Nami—her short orange hair, blue-and-white striped short-sleeved top, and short orange skirt—Rody noted that she had yet to go through countless adventures with Straw Hat Luffy. Compared with her mature, sexy appearance later in the original story, both her figure and face were still somewhat youthful and immature.

However, because she bore the debt of the entire town and had become a "thief who only stole from pirates" from a young age, strength still shone through her eyes despite her trembling body.

"Nami... right? I know a little about your circumstances, so I won't waste words."

Rody smiled. "My name is Rody. I'll help you get rid of Arlong. In exchange, how about you serve me for the rest of your life?"

Trembling, Nami froze. "How do you kno—no, wait. Don't joke around. They're fish-men! Don't tell me you don't know? Fish-men are naturally ten times stronger than humans! And they can fight underwater too. Even warships led by a Marine branch commodore can't deal with them!"

Rody smiled and said, "Then do you know that fish-men are merely one of the most popular types of slaves in the population trade on the Grand Line?"

"S-Slaves?"

"Yes. Slaves."

Nami was stunned. She seemed unable to believe that those arrogant, wildly conceited fish-men who claimed to be noble were merely relatively popular merchandise on the Grand Line.

As he spoke, Rody stood and walked up to the dazed Nami. His tall body blocked all the light before her. He reached out, lifted her chin, and stared at her still-youthful face.

"Well? Become my little wildcat, mine alone. I'll clear away every obstacle for you and let you draw a nautical chart of the world."

"Let's put aside why you know about me..."

After sorting through her thoughts, Nami stared into Rody's eyes and asked, "Just who are you? You suddenly appeared in town and killed every pirate."

"A pirate? A Marine? Or a bounty hunter?"

Rody said proudly, "I am neither a Marine nor a pirate, nor am I a bounty hunter. I am simply myself. I kill whoever I want to kill and save whoever I want to save—a person who is truly free."

"O-Okay!"

"Then what is your goal?" Nami asked again.

"I want to taste every delicious food in the world, and I want to go to the Grand Line to fight powerful opponents," Rody replied.

"Grand Line?"

Nami had also calmed down from the shock of the blood and corpses strewn across the ground, her mind much clearer now. "That place is dangerous, but plenty of merchant guilds in the East Blue have the ability to sail there, don't they? Why come to me?"

"Because of talent."

"Talent?"

"Because I want to make a trip to Sky Island. I'm quite interested in the dials there, as well as its ruler. But that place is ten thousand meters up in the sky, and you need to ride a Knock Up Stream to get there. Not many people have that kind of navigational talent," Rody replied.

"Ten thousand meters in the sky..."

"A Knock Up Stream..."

Hearing that, Nami stared blankly at Rody. "Sky Island? M-Me?"

Rody nodded. "Yes, that's right."

"Will you really help me take down Arlong?" Nami asked.

"Of course," Rody replied.

"Alright. I accept."

Suddenly, Nami put on a flattering smile. "Captain~ when are we leaving?"

"Don't rush."

Flames ignited in Rody's right hand as he placed it against Nami's left shoulder.

"I don't want my little wildcat to have such an ugly mark on her body." Rody turned and headed toward where the townspeople were preparing food, both hands tucked into his pockets.

"Also, call me Rody."

Nami looked at her fair left shoulder. Her body trembled, her upper teeth biting into her lower lip as tears rolled uncontrollably from her eyes. The ugly symbol that had filled her with revulsion and humiliation had vanished from her shoulder just like that.

"Yes, Captain Rody."