Bang bang bang!
A knock on the door woke Nojiko from her sleep.
"Who is it?" she mumbled, rubbing her eyes as she rolled out of bed in her pajamas and walked toward the door.
"Nami, is that you?"
Opening the door, Nojiko saw Nami standing there, and a surprised smile immediately lit up her face.
"Yeah, I'm back, Nojiko," Nami nodded, returning the same warm smile.
"Come in, Nami! I hope there weren't any problems during your voyage this time." Nojiko happily extended her hand and pulled Nami toward the room.
"Wait a minute, Nojiko. I didn't come back alone this time," Nami said, gently patting Nojiko's hand before pointing to Ikki standing outside.
Only then did Nojiko notice someone standing behind Nami.
"Eh? Nami, you brought a man back with you?" Nojiko's eyes widened slightly as she peered curiously at Ikki. "Could this be the boyfriend you found during your travels?"
"What are you talking about, Nojiko? He's not my boyfriend!" Nami protested, giving Nojiko a light tap on the shoulder while a faint blush colored her cheeks as she glanced at Ikki.
"Well, you've never brought anyone home before," Nojiko teased with a smile playing on her lips. "The one time you make an exception, it happens to be a handsome guy. You can't blame me for jumping to conclusions."
"Hello, I'm Ikki Kurogane," Ikki stepped forward with a polite smile, extending his hand to Nojiko. "I'm Nami's partner and instructor."
"He's quite polite and handsome," Nojiko nodded approvingly as she shook his hand. "Please come in. If Nami brought you here, she must trust you quite a bit."
After hearing Nojiko's words, Ikki smiled and followed Nami into the house.
Dawn was just breaking. Nojiko turned on the lights, and the three of them sat down at the dining table.
"So tell me how you two met," Nojiko asked meaningfully, glancing at the zanpakuto at Nami's waist.
"Well, it's like this..." Nami began, explaining everything that had happened since meeting Ikki.
At first, Nojiko remained calm, but when she heard that Ikki was training Nami to defeat the Arlong Pirates by herself, her face showed complete surprise.
And after learning that Nami had actually defeated Jango, the captain of the Black Cat Pirates, plus Buchi and Sham who together had a bounty of 7 million berries, her expression grew even more astonished.
"That can't be possible," Nojiko couldn't accept it no matter what. How could Nami, a weak young woman, defeat pirates with bounties worth millions of berries in just a few days?
The corners of Nami's mouth curved into a slight smile as she pulled the zanpakuto from her waist and placed it on the table before them.
With rhythmic breathing, Nojiko watched in amazement as Nami's blade began to glow with arcs of golden electricity.
Seeing this, Nojiko's eyes widened with wonder. She turned to Ikki and asked, "Ikki, if Nami continues training with your methods, how long will it take before she can defeat the Arlong Pirates?"
"Well, considering Nami's current progress and the nutritional potion I've formulated for her, it shouldn't take too long before she's capable of facing Arlong," Ikki replied, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
He still wasn't certain how effective the D-level nutritional medicine would be, so he didn't dare give a precise timeline.
"I see..." Nojiko pondered for a moment before suddenly standing up and bowing deeply to Ikki.
"What are you doing, Miss Nojiko?" Ikki asked, surprised by the gesture.
"Mr. Ikki, I want to thank you for helping Nami and, by extension, Cocoyasi Village," Nojiko said earnestly, her eyes serious as she raised her head.
Although Ikki wasn't planning to take action himself, his willingness to train Nami and help her grow stronger enough to deal with the Arlong Pirates was sufficient for Nojiko to express her gratitude.
"Nami and I are partners now. Helping my crew become stronger is what I, as captain, want to see," Ikki replied simply.
"Alright, sit down, Nojiko," Nami stood and took Nojiko's hand. "This man isn't as noble as you think. He's a captain who's very good at exploiting his crew!"
"Normally, he spends most of his time in training, while the navigation of that large ship is operated entirely by a 'weak' woman like me," Nami continued with mock indignation. "It's a sailboat that should require several people to operate properly. You have no idea how exhausted I've been these past few days sailing it."
After saying this, Nami shot Ikki a resentful look, while he deliberately turned away as if he hadn't heard a word.
In truth, since Nami had joined his crew, Ikki had indeed devoted most of his time to spiritual practice.
"Nami, I'll wait for you on the Explorer," Ikki said, standing up. "When you return, we'll continue your training."
With a polite farewell to both Nami and Nojiko, Ikki left their home. As an outsider, he felt it was appropriate to give the sisters some time alone.
After Ikki departed, Nami complained even more about how he made her handle various responsibilities like navigation and cooking.
Nojiko listened with an amused smile, nodding occasionally.
"It seems you have quite a lot of responsibilities on Mr. Ikki's ship," Nojiko observed. "Tell me, if I were to join his crew to help share some of your workload, do you think he would agree?"
"Hmm? Nojiko, you want to come aboard Captain Ikki's ship?" Nami tilted her head, looking at her sister with confusion.
Nojiko nodded slightly. "Ikki is giving you nutritional potions to help you gain the strength to defeat Arlong and his crew, but you're still far from achieving that goal. I want to ask if I can join the training as well. I don't want you to face the Arlong Pirates alone."
Nami blinked, touched by Nojiko's words.
"Well... if two of us are training, we might gain the power to defeat the Arlong Pirates more quickly," Nami reasoned. "I just don't know if Captain Ikki has enough nutritional medicine on hand."
"Let's do this, Nojiko. Come with me to the Explorer, and I'll ask Captain Ikki for you."
Both Nojiko and Nami shared the same hope—to defeat the Arlong Pirates as soon as possible and free Cocoyasi Village from their grip.