"Now I get it."
After hearing Nami talk about growing up, even Ikki, who already knew the story, couldn't help but feel sorry for her. The way her face filled with anger and helplessness when talking about the Arlong Pirates really hit him hard.
"Ikki, can you help me?" Nami asked, looking up at him with serious eyes.
She was worried. At first, she planned to trick Ikki into going to Cocoyasi Village to take down the Arlong Pirates. But when he accidentally let slip that he knew about her connection to Arlong, she had to tell him the whole painful story between her and the fish-men crew.
Now Nami worried Ikki might not only refuse to help but might also punish her for trying to trick him.
"Arlong from the Arlong Pirates?" Ikki thought for a moment.
"A bounty of 20 million berries? Yeah, I can take that on."
Hearing this, Nami's eyes lit up with joy. But before she could thank him, Ikki's next words made her eyes go wide.
"But I won't be the one dealing with Arlong," Ikki said, putting his hands on Nami's shoulders and speaking seriously. "You will, Nami."
"Me?! No way, I'm not strong enough," she protested.
"Don't worry," Ikki laughed. "I can teach you how to become strong enough to beat Arlong."
"Teach me?" Nami couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"That's right!" Ikki nodded confidently. "I can give you special potions that will make you stronger, and you'll be able to use the Sword Enlightenment Room whenever you want. I can even give you a special sword that changes in your hands. If you train hard, I believe you'll soon be strong enough to take down all of the Arlong Pirates."
Nami stared at Ikki with her mouth open. After a moment, she snapped out of it.
"Let's forget for a second whether I can actually become stronger than Arlong by training with you," she said carefully. "Ikki, why do you want to teach me to be strong? We just met today."
"I want to collect all the famous swords in the world," Ikki explained. "That means I'll have to sail all over the ocean. And you, Nami, you said your childhood dream was to make maps of the world. I bet you still want to do that, and you're clearly a great navigator. So I want to invite you to join my crew as my navigator."
He went on, "Plus, I'm trying to build a fleet with the best swordsmen around. So of course I want to train you, my future partner, to become a great swordsman too."
After a quick pause, Ikki added, "As you've seen, I have some pretty unusual items. Even if you don't know anything about swords right now, I'm sure I can turn you into a skilled swordsman pretty quickly."
"You can say no and leave if you want. But I should warn you, Nami," his voice got more serious, "you were right not to trust Arlong to keep his promise, and you were right to try to get me to help. Most pirates are sneaky. If you leave now and go back to trying to save up 100 million berries, even if you manage to get all that money, Arlong might not give Cocoyasi Village back to you. Nami, it's crazy to expect pirates to keep their word. Taking matters into your own hands is the smart move. Think about it—I'll wait for your answer."
Ikki patted Nami's shoulder and turned to leave, wanting to give her space to think. His body was soaked in sweat from his earlier training session. All he wanted now was to hit the shower.
"Wait, I'll do it!" Nami quickly grabbed Ikki's arm, looking determined.
"That was quick," Ikki said, surprised.
"What you said makes sense," Nami told him. "I'll be your navigator."
Still holding his hand, she added, "But I have one condition. If you can't train me to become strong enough to beat Arlong, then you have to step in yourself and help me take down the Arlong Pirates."
Ikki couldn't help laughing. "So you still want me to handle it in the end. Alright, I agree. And you don't have to be so formal—just call me Ikki. To celebrate you officially joining my crew, let me give you our team's mark."
As he spoke, a seal appeared out of nowhere in Ikki's hand.
"Okay, put it on the back of my hand," Nami nodded, stretching out her right hand.
Ikki pressed the seal against the back of Nami's hand, leaving an orange mark of crossed swords. At the same time, system messages appeared in his mind.
[Partner information registered!]
[Name: Nami]
[Age: 18]
[Weapon: None]
[Life force: 36, E-level]
[Sword Realm: None]
[Special ability: None]
[Swordsmanship School: None]
[Congrats on getting your first partner! You're one step closer to building your team of great swordsmen. You've earned: 'E-level nutritional potion' and 'Iron-Cutting swordsman challenge authority.']
Perfect for Nami, who only has 36 points of life force and no sword skills yet.
Ikki checked out Nami's stats and nodded to himself. Then he took out the zanpakutō 'Gonryōmaru' he'd gotten earlier from the system, planning to give it to Nami.
When he pulled out Gonryōmaru, Ikki noticed it looked exactly like the Wado Ichimonji he'd gotten from Zoro.
'I got Gonryōmaru by trading in Wado Ichimonji.' Ikki wondered. 'It seems the system transferred Gonryōmaru's power to Wado Ichimonji.'
Ikki thought about this as he handed Gonryōmaru to Nami.
"Nami, from now on, this is your weapon."
"It's called Gonryōmaru, a zanpakutō that can control thunder."
Nami took Gonryōmaru, raising an eyebrow. "Control thunder? How do I use it to do that, Ikki?"
"First, you need to get stronger," Ikki explained. "If you're not strong enough, you won't be able to use Gonryōmaru properly."
As he spoke, Ikki put his hand on Gonryōmaru's scabbard. "But even though you're not strong enough to unlock Gonryōmaru's power yet, I can still show you what it can do when it's fully released. I hope that after seeing this power, you'll be more motivated to train hard."
With that, Ikki activated his system ability, wanting to let Nami experience Gonryōmaru's power through an illusion.
Nami tilted her head, still thinking about what Ikki meant, when suddenly Gonryōmaru started glowing brightly, making her close her eyes.
When she opened them again, she and Ikki were standing in a strange, empty field. About a hundred meters away stood a middle-aged man with white hair, golden eyes, a black mustache, wearing a black robe with white trim.
"Who's that?" Nami asked, looking at Ikki confused.
"That's Chōjirō Sasakibe, the original owner of Gonryōmaru," Ikki said with a smile. "Watch carefully, Nami. He's going to show you what Gonryōmaru can really do."
As soon as Ikki finished speaking, Chōjirō Sasakibe, like he'd heard some silent command, quickly drew the sword from his waist.
"Pierce, Gonryōmaru!"