The next second, Nami suddenly felt something tap her shoulder gently. The touch was light, yet carried an unquestionable force.
She whipped her head around, only to discover that Snake had somehow appeared behind her. His twin blades had already returned to his waist, and his eyes behind his sunglasses held a gentle smile. The red dragon tattoo on the right side of his neck still glowed faintly, clearly indicating that he had only just released his "Weather Fusion" state. His breathing was slightly uneven as well; that dodge had clearly cost him a fair amount of energy.
"Not bad, but you're still a little short, young lady." Snake's voice held a smile, the back of the blade in his hand still resting lightly against Nami's shoulder. His tone was full of praise. "Your calculations just now were frighteningly precise. You almost perfectly reconstructed the weather equation for the entire island. You even found my synchronization node."
Nami froze completely, nearly dropping the Clima-Tact in her hand.
Zeus bristled instantly and zipped in front of Nami. The little thundercloud puffed out his round cheeks, lightning crackling inside him as he shouted angrily at Snake, "Hey! You! When did you get behind Nami-san?! That's so underhanded! A sneak attack! I'm going to zap you! I'll fry you into charcoal!"
Nami quickly reached out to hold him back, rubbing his bristling little cloud head as she reassured him with a smile. "It's all right, Zeus. I lost. It wasn't a sneak attack."
Only then did Zeus nuzzle her palm in grievance, muttering softly, "But... but I hadn't even gone all out yet... We had it all worked out... How did this happen...?"
"But you forgot one thing." Snake withdrew the back of his blade and spread his hands, his tone serious. "Weather