"So... what's next?"
Without paying attention to Luffy, who was giving off a comical aura, Zoro directly turned his questioning eyes to Red.
"What's our next plan?"
"Next step?" Red's eyes flashed as he subconsciously looked at Helmeppo.
"That doesn't need saying!"
"Of course I'm going to rob the Marine captain here, and then fire the first shot of our Straw Hat Pirates!"
"When a pirate goes to sea, how can he not cause trouble!"
"You two guys..." Zoro raised his lips and praised with a smile. "You're really bold!"
"You've set your sights on a Marine base as soon as you go to sea. I really don't know what else you'd dare not do!"
"Hahaha~ Thank you for the compliment!"
"But I have to correct something..."
Red put one arm around Luffy and placed the other on Zoro's shoulder.
"What you should say is... the three of us!"
"Yes! There are three of us!"
Luffy raised his arms and laughed.
Looking at the sincere eyes of Red and Luffy, Zoro's expression softened slightly, but he still sighed softly:
"I hope I can last longer."
"I don't want to turn into a madman so soon!"
"Luffy, our new crew member seems a little ignorant. He actually called you a madman."
"Huh?" Luffy blinked. "But why do I feel like he's talking about you?!"
Snap!
"...You don't need to be so smart at this time!"
Red gave Luffy a tap on the back of his head.
"Anyway, listen to me and find time to teach the new guy a lesson. You have to let him know why you're our captain!"
'By the way, let Zoro know...'
'The fact that you've become so powerful is all thanks to me as a Trainer!'
"Okay... okay!" Luffy, who was hit for no apparent reason, nodded innocently.
"Oh, by the way!" Red turned his gaze to Helmeppo again. "Where is Captain Morgan's office?"
"What?!"
Helmeppo, who was originally trying to be inconspicuous, was startled, then quickly pointed to the ceiling and replied:
"Just... right above my room."
"Really? That makes things easier."
Red nodded.
"Luffy, break through the ceiling. Let's go search for Morgan's treasure!"
"It just so happens that we still need start-up capital."
"Robbing Morgan's riches, giving to us poor!"
"Treasure!"
Hearing those two words, Luffy's eyes suddenly lit up.
In his opinion, the words treasure and pirates were a perfect match!
"Leave it to me!"
Luffy, reliable as ever, clenched his fist and then, under the astonished gazes of Zoro and Helmeppo, thrust it upward with force!
His arm suddenly stretched out and hit the ceiling with terrifying power.
"His hands... his arms stretched longer!" Zoro was once again shocked by Luffy's abilities.
And the next second...
BOOM!!!
With a violent crash, a large hole was instantly opened in the ceiling of Helmeppo's room.
But what Red didn't expect was...
Along with gravel and dust, what fell from above was an orange-haired girl.
"What--!"
THUD!
Smoke and dust from the ceiling suddenly filled Helmeppo's room.
Through the hazy dust cloud, the girl's screams and curses of pain could be heard.
"Ow~ it hurts, it hurts..."
"Damn it! These Marines are to corrupt! How can there be such poor quality floors?!"
Nami cursed and got up from the ground.
At that moment, a gust of air suddenly blew through the room.
It was Red, who had opened the window nearby.
Affected by the airflow, the dust in the room immediately flew out of the window, and the dust cloud quickly dissipated.
Then...
Nami saw four men standing in the room that was supposed to be empty. They were staring at her with different expressions.
A fool with a straw hat and eyes full of curiosity and innocence...
A green-haired man gripping his sword hilts and looking at her warily...
A coward who was so frightened that he'd wet himself and was huddled in the corner crying quietly...
And a boy who looked slightly surprised, as if he knew her already.
"...Ah...um..."
Seeing the sudden appearance of several people, Nami was instantly startled. She swallowed hard, then stretched out her trembling hand as if to say hello.
"Hello... nice to meet you all!"
"I seem to have gone to the wrong room, sorry to bother you!"
As soon as she finished speaking, she immediately turned around and ran toward the door.
Although she didn't know why there were so many people in this room when the entire Marine base had gone to the rooftop to watch the unveiling ceremony of Captain Morgan's statue...
But regardless, there was absolutely nothing wrong with running first!
After so many years in her profession, Nami was quite confident in her ability to think on her feet. However...
Just when she thought she could take advantage of the chaos to escape, she suddenly heard a young man's voice from behind her.
It was the boy by the window!!!
"Don't let her go, Zoro!"
"Got it!"
Zoro, who was near the door, was well prepared. He moved and reached the door at a speed much faster than Nami, then blocked it firmly.
THUD!
Although he hadn't mastered Shave, Zoro's explosive power had already reached a level that ordinary people couldn't comprehend.
And his move completely cut off Nami's escape route.
"What... what are you going to do?! I really just walked into the wrong room."
Seeing Zoro's fierce expression, Nami suddenly looked frightened, turned around with a panicked face, and acted like a helpless little girl towards Red.
She had observed...
The person giving orders here was Red.
So she used all her acting skills on him.
"You... please don't bully me~"
At that moment, Nami's eyes were glistening with tears, her face looked pitiful, and even her voice became soft and vulnerable.
Combined with her smooth and delicate features, ordinary guys might really lower their guard toward Nami because of this act.
However, Red, who somehow seemed to know Nami's character well, couldn't be deceived by her appearance.
'This little girl is really a natural actress!'
'It's a pity that the two big reasons of your fame are still missing' (T/N: Prove me wrong)
Red watched Nami's performance with interest, but his mind couldn't help recalling her future situation two years later.
How unexpected to meet this little cat burglar here.
Although it wasn't part of the plan, now that she was here, he wasn't about to let her leave!
After pondering this, Red directly called out Nami's name:
"Don't be nervous, Miss Nami."
!!!
Nami was shocked and her pupils suddenly contracted. "You... you know me?!"
Crap! I've met an unlucky person who recognizes me!
The first thing she thought was... she must have stolen something from Red before.
"That's right."
Red smiled slightly and paid no attention to Nami's inner thoughts.
To be honest, he was also a little surprised by Nami's appearance.
After all, he and Luffy had deliberately staggered their departure time to avoid the whirlpool, and they had come directly to Shells Town without experiencing the storyline with Alvida and Coby.
Yet surprisingly, they'd met Nami, who had come to Branch 153 to steal the navigation map of the Grand Line.
And in such a coincidental way.
"I didn't expect to meet a member of the famous gang of beautiful female thieves in the East Blue here. It seems we're quite lucky today."
"Luffy, I think we've found our fourth crew member!"
"Huh?! What?"
Luffy, who was completely confused, was stunned for a moment, then quickly showed a surprised expression, put his hand above his eyes, and started looking around.
"Really? Where is he?! Where is he?!"
"Idiot~" Red stepped forward and pushed down Luffy's head, forcing his eyes to turn toward Nami, and said with a smile:
"Our fourth crew member is of course this lovely girl!"
"WHAT?!"
Unexpectedly, after Red's words, Luffy immediately let out a disappointed cry:
"But... she seems very weak!"
The entry-level observation Haki that Luffy possessed already allowed him to easily analyze a person's strength and weakness.
In Luffy's eyes, Nami's strength was indeed somewhat below standard, and she was incomparable to Zoro, who radiated a beastly aura.
"Weak?" Red looked slightly annoyed at Luffy's words, then said with a smile:
"Then you've made a mistake, Luffy!"
"The girl in front of you is potentially the most talented navigator in the world!"
"Unlike Zoro, the future world's greatest swordsman!"
"Her current navigation ability is already considered among the best in the world!"
"We're incredibly lucky!"
"SUGEEE~!"
Hearing Red's explanation, Luffy's eyes suddenly lit up, and even his gaze toward Nami became full of respect.
When Zoro, who was guarding the door, heard this, he also looked at Red in surprise.
Although they had just met, he didn't think Red would be the kind of person who talked nonsense.
At the same time, even his way of looking at Nami changed.
Just hearing Red compare him with the girl felt strange!
Was he saying that Zoro wasn't as good as this little girl in some way? Surely not!?
Luffy clapped his hands together: "Okay! Red, I've decided! She'll be the navigator of our pirate crew!"
"Wise choice!"
Red smiled calmly and immediately turned his gaze to Nami.
"So, you heard it too, right, Miss Nami?"
"I hope you're ready."
"After all, those who are targeted by my captain are doomed to join us!"