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[Under the pitch-black night sky, five fierce bandits slipped out from the Marine 16th Branch Base...]
[Each of them carried several large treasure chests!!]
[This was all the "private stash" accumulated by Captain Nezumi and his cronies over so many years. Luffy and the others naturally accepted it with beaming smiles.]
[As for where this money came from, it was no longer important.]
[Luffy certainly didn't have the time to find the "original owners" for them...]
[If he did that, then Luffy wouldn't need to go anywhere else in this lifetime; he could just stay here in the Conomi Islands opening a claims office.]
[Moreover, for the same banknote, different "original owners" would surely appear. Then he'd have to adjudicate the cases...]
[Several lifetimes wouldn't be enough!!]
[Even distributing it evenly among the various villages was inadvisable.]
[Once this wealth entered the villages, a new round of treasure scrambles would occur, possibly even triggering bloody incidents among the villagers!]
[Therefore, letting those villages return to a peaceful life was enough. Extraneous matters should be avoided.]
[Wild harbor. On the deck of the Going Merry, a little girl wearing a goose-yellow raincoat leaned against the railing, her face anxious.]
[Only when she saw the five fierce bandit figures return did she breathe a sigh of relief, then quietly disappeared into the night...]
["We're rich!!"]
[Reaching the shore by the Going Merry, Usopp excitedly ripped off his "fierce bandit ghillie suit."]
[Luffy immediately criticized, "Pull it up! Don't want to leave any clues! Wait until we're on the open sea!"]
["Ah! Right, right, right! You're still the most thoughtful!!"]
[Usopp quickly and nimbly picked up the "fierce bandit ghillie suit," then boarded the ship gleefully.]
[The Going Merry sailed away from the port. Once out on the open sea, the five sets of "fierce bandit ghillie suits" sank beneath the rolling waves to the bottom of the sea.]
[A few days later, the Going Merry arrived at the town where the Marine 77th Branch Base was located.]
["Hey! Luffy! Zoro! We meet again!!"]
[Seeing Luffy and Zoro arrive, Commodore Brannew welcomed them warmly.]
["Hello, Commodore Brannew!"]
[Luffy smiled and greeted him, then asked somewhat curiously, "When entering the harbor just now, I noticed the defenses at the docks are much stricter than last time. What happened...?"]
["Oh, you mean that! Sweat! The day before yesterday, we received intel that the Marine 16th Branch, not too far from here, was attacked by a group of fierce bandits called the 'Wooden Club Bandit Gang'. Casualties were heavy; even the base commander, Captain Nezumi, sacrificed his life."]
[Commodore Brannew continued speaking as he led Luffy and the others inside, "Headquarters reminded us to strengthen the defenses of the island where the base is located, to prevent encountering attacks from these people."]
[Hearing this, Luffy and Zoro couldn't help but glance at each other.]
[Slightly awkward...]
[Luffy casually responded, "Oh, then you do need to be careful."]
[Thinking about this matter, Commodore Brannew sighed with emotion: "Speaking of which, this group of people is really audacious, actually entering a Marine base directly to kill people..."]
[Luffy's mouth twitched slightly, then he said with righteous indignation, "Yes, how utterly lawless!"]
[Zoro similarly nodded: "Completely lawless, this is..."]
Nami: "Pfft hahaha!!! How do those two manage to denounce themselves with such straight faces!? Hahaha!!!"
Shanks: "That Luffy over there is too amusing!! Ahaha!!"
Vinsmoke Sanji: "Hey hey! Marimo-head, didn't realize you could spout lies so readily too..."
Roronoa Zoro: "Nonsense! Talking about this kind of thing doesn't require skill¹³! Just say it when you need to say it!"
Onigumo: "This idiot Commodore. The criminals are right beside him, and he doesn't even know to arrest them!"
Shiki: "Are you stupid??? He can't watch the viewing screen like us! How would he know??? Besides, even if he knew, what would he use to arrest them??? His head?"
Franky: "This is SUPER fun!! Luffy over there really knows how to play..."
[After a while, the Marine finances were settled, and someone issued a bounty payment of 112 million Berries.]
[Dozens of Fishman pirate heads exchanged for just over 100 million Berries, about right.]
[Commodore Brannew personally escorted Luffy and Zoro to the docks.]
["Thank you very much for your contributions to the civilians! It's precisely because there are hot-blooded youths like you around that pirates can't act so unscrupulously!! You must also be careful at sea! If you encounter those powerful and ferocious pirates, absolutely do not fight them head-on! Remember to notify the Marines; I will lead troops to exterminate them!"]
[Commodore Brannew patted Luffy's shoulder with one hand and Zoro's shoulder with the other, earnestly instructing them.]
["Mm! Uncle Brannew, you take care too! With you guarding the civilians here, they are very happy!"]
[Luffy's words weren't flattery but came from the heart for this Marine officer!!]
[If Marines like Captain Nezumi lowered the baseline for the Marines, then Commodores like Brannew undoubtedly raised the ceiling!!]
[Leaving the port of the Marine 77th Branch, the Going Merry once again entered the open sea.]
["Luffy, calculated it! We now have a total of 1,532,000,000 Berries!"]
[Usopp held a small ledger, his mouth trembling from counting.]
[Within this amount, the bounties from the Black Cat Pirates and the Arlong Pirates only accounted for a small portion, just over 100 million.]
[Mainly, Captain Nezumi's private stash contributed over 300 million Berries, and the Arlong Pirates' large treasury contributed 1 billion Berries.]
[Besides these, there was also one Devil Fruit!]
[This Devil Fruit was originally kept by Luffy to sell, to repay Shanks for the Devil Fruit he gave him. Now that the family coffers had suddenly become abundant, clearly this Devil Fruit didn't need to be sold.]
["This is the Sube Sube no Mi (Smooth-Smooth Fruit). Its uses are here. If either of you wants to eat it, you can."]
[Luffy took out a hand-copied small booklet of the Devil Fruit encyclopedia, placing it before Usopp and Sanji.]
[As for the other two...]
[Buggy himself was already a Devil Fruit user, couldn't eat another.]
[Zoro, on the other hand, had previously clearly stated he was unwilling to eat one.]
["I don't need it! I want to become a brave warrior of the sea! How can I become a hammer!"]
[Clearly, Usopp's thoughts were the same as Zoro's.]
[Sanji picked up the Smooth-Smooth Fruit, carefully read the introduction about its abilities again, then shook his head: "I don't refuse eating Devil Fruits, but this Devil Fruit's ability isn't suitable for me."]
[As a cook, the Smooth-Smooth Fruit was clearly not a wise choice.]
[Seeing this Devil Fruit couldn't be promoted, Luffy pursed his lips speechlessly.]
[He said resignedly, "Alright then, I'll put it away."]
["Wait!!! Look quickly over there on the island! It's Durami trees!"]
[Suddenly, Sanji shouted excitedly.]
["What fruit tree???"]
["Looks like fruit, but is it worth getting so excited?"]
["We bought quite a lot of fruit back in that town by the Marine 77th Branch! If we knew earlier, we could have just gotten it here!!"]
["No no no!! You few unqualified idiot apprentices! Durami fruit isn't eaten as fruit! It's something that can be made into delicious sauce! Steer the ship over!"]
[When it came to ingredients, Sanji certainly had the right to speak!]
[Hearing it could make delicious sauce, Luffy immediately perked up!!]
[Without ordering anyone else, he went to steer the rudder himself...]
[Shortly after, the Going Merry docked. Luffy swish jumped onto a tree!]
[Climbing up, he started shaking violently!!!]
[Durami fruits rained down pitter-patter.]
[After shaking one tree bare, Luffy jumped to another tree.]
[These Durami fruit trees somewhat resembled coconut trees; the fruit grew at the very top, but the trunk height was at least three times that of a coconut tree.]
[So, from the top of this tree trunk, Luffy could see the scenery far away...]
[!?]
[Luffy was just preparing to shake again when he suddenly paused!!!]
[His gaze immediately looked towards the beach on the other side of the jungle!]
[If traveling normally in this sea area, almost no one would come to that side of the beach, because it was a Gobi beach, with no vegetation whatsoever.]
[However, at this moment, Luffy saw a group of people on that beach, and also... a boat!]
[Moreover, from the situation over there, Nami was bound hands behind her back with iron chains, lying prone on the sand!]
[Clearly, Nami had been captured by that group of people!!!]
[Nani???]
[Luffy absolutely never expected that the brief encounter in Cocoyasi Village last time would actually become an eternal farewell!]
[If Sanji hadn't happened to see the Durami fruit trees on this island, if Luffy hadn't climbed to such a high treetop, Nami might have vanished from the face of the earth!]
[Without a shred of hesitation, Luffy grabbed the treetop, then stretched his body elastically!]
[Twang!!]
[Like a slingshot, Luffy's entire person immediately shot outwards!!!]
["Hm? Where's Luffy???"]
["Wasn't he up there shaking fruit?"]
["Where???"]
["Woah!! Could that idiot have lost his grip and launched himself off?"]
Monkey D. Luffy: "Huh? What happened??? Nami, when were you captured by a group of pirates???"
Usopp: "Yeah! The event shown in the red frame video, did the 'you' over here experience it too?"
Vinsmoke Sanji: "Impossible!!! How could Nami-swan fall into such a dangerous situation???"
Franky: "Could the experiences of the Nami on both sides be different???"
Nami: "No... That indeed is something I experienced. When I was 15, I went out to sea once and met a fellow thief named Carina. The two of us made a plan and stole the treasure of the treasure hunter Mad Treasure. If that time went smoothly, I would have gathered 100 million Berries early. But just as we obtained it, we were pursued by Mad Treasure and his men..."
As Nami recounted her experience from that year, the red frame screen continued playing.
[Gobi Beach]
[Nami, in despair, still clung luckily to a sliver of hope.]
[Just now, about half an hour ago, Carina, who was captured with her, proactively offered to retrieve the treasure, then return here to exchange for Nami's safety.]
[But Nami knew in her heart... Carina most likely wouldn't return.]
[However, facing this situation, Nami didn't expose Carina either, because in her view, only her dying alone was better than both dying together...]
["Boss! Were we tricked???" a pirate suddenly slapped his head, saying.]
[Mad Treasure rubbed his chin, then also took a deep breath: "Damn it!!! Why didn't we just take both of them directly to the place where the treasure was buried just now!?"]
[He stomped his foot angrily: "Damn it! Didn't react just now! Go! Let's head back!!"]
[Boom!!]
[Just then, a figure suddenly descended from the sky!!]
[The ground cracked, earth and stone flying!!]
[Mad Treasure's group was startled, subconsciously retreating several steps.]
[Subsequently, they noticed Luffy was alone. Instantly, some drew swords, others drew guns...]
[However, the next moment, when Luffy turned his head to look at them, an indescribably terrifying aura instantly enveloped the few of them!]
[It was the kind of terrifying aura that meant certain death if they dared move even slightly!!!]
[Ah!!]
[Several pirates instantly felt their hearts skip a beat (4.73), immediately scared stiff, standing at attention, not daring to move...]
[Nami was currently bound hands behind her back with iron chains, lying prone on the ground, so she didn't know what happened.]
[Thought it was a landslide...]
[But the next second, Nami felt her body lighten, leave the ground, then rotate 90 degrees, being stood upright...]
[Only then did she see someone standing there.]
[Just one glance...]
["Ah! It's you!!!"]
[The moment she saw Luffy, the frustration of being dominated by Luffy's Conqueror's Haki resurfaced in Nami's mind...]
[However, thinking Luffy's impression of her wasn't good, Nami tactfully shut her mouth.]
[This guy could heartlessly leave her drifting on a small boat; he definitely isn't someone who can be easily fooled.]
[The plan to borrow a knife to kill someone that instantly surged in Nami's mind was immediately dismissed.]
[However, just as she prepared to accept her fate, Luffy grabbed the iron chains on Nami's body.]
[Pitch-black Armament Haki instantly covered his arm! With a forceful squeeze!!]
[The iron chains instantly shattered into pieces!!!]
["Nani!!!"]
[Mad Treasure's group saw this scene, instantly scared until their hearts were about to leap out of their mouths...]
[Holy crap!!! What kind of big shot just arrived!!!]
[Although with their limited knowledge they didn't recognize Armament Haki, they still knew how sturdy those iron chains were!!]
[They knew even better how terrifying it was to crush iron chains with bare hands!]
[Without any foolish thoughts, several pirates quickly stood even straighter!]
[As for Nami... she was even more utterly bewildered!!!]
[Before she could say anything, Luffy's two hands grabbed Nami's left and right shoulders, carefully looked her over, then turned Nami around, looked at her back, finished looking, then turned her back to face front again.]
["Did they do anything to you? Are you injured?"]
[Luffy now already knew everything about Nami, and Nojiko had also agreed to be their peacemaker. So Luffy clearly already treated Nami as a comrade.]
[However, Luffy's words made Nami even more bewildered.]
[Wh... What's the situation?]
[This inhumane guy is worrying about me...???]
[Shouldn't be!!!]
[No... he must be teasing me...]
[Instantly, Nami's cheeks trembled slightly. She asked somewhat unconfidently: "B-.. Big Brother... there's no need to tease me like this... If you really hold such a grudge... just give me two punches, Bang Bang... "]