Luffy was jostled about in the crowd, and after passing by several restaurants, he finally stopped in front of a fruit shop.
Normally, he didn't care much for fruit — meat was always his favorite — but the sweet, fragrant aroma wafting from the shop made his stomach growl uncontrollably.
He swallowed hard and walked into the fruit shop.
As soon as he entered, a beautiful young woman with long wavy blue hair greeted him with a warm smile.
"Hello, what would you like to buy?"
Luffy looked around and noticed that most of the fruits sold here were oranges. There were also various orange-based desserts — orange cakes, orange puddings, and so on.
At the counter, an orange-haired girl was leaning over, focused on drawing something.
But what caught Luffy's attention most was a framed photo hanging on the wall. In it, two girls stood on either side of a tall, handsome man, all three smiling brightly.
The two girls were clearly Nojiko and Nami.
And that man — Luffy recognized him immediately. It was Kaito.
Nojiko noticed Luffy staring at the photo and waved a hand in front of his face. Luffy blinked and came back to his senses, pointing at the picture.
"You… know him?"
Nojiko smiled gently. Lately, many outsiders had come to the village, and she'd been asked that question plenty of times. Her answer was always the same.
"Mm. He's Kaito."
Luffy nodded slightly.
"Looks like you're close with him. So… what kind of person do you think he is?"
That question caught Nojiko off guard. Even Nami lifted her head from her drawing — this was the first time anyone had asked them that.
What kind of person was Kaito?
To most people in the pirate world, he was a king who had saved the world — a man of unimaginable power, a living symbol of absolute strength.
He was merciless toward his enemies, sometimes even cruel. But to those close to him, Kaito was like a warm sun, protecting everyone around him.
Before Nojiko could answer, Nami spoke first.
"To my sister and me, he's someone very important. That's all I have to say."
She couldn't help but feel a hint of hostility from Luffy toward Kaito, and so her tone became sharp and dismissive.
Nojiko picked up on it too, her warmth fading.
"All right then. Why don't you just tell me what you want to buy?"
Luffy awkwardly scratched his head and pointed at an orange cake.
"I'll take that one…"
Of course, one little cake wasn't enough for him, but before he could ask for more, Nojiko had already taken out the orange cake and handed it to him, saying flatly,
"Go pay at the counter."
Without another word, she turned and walked away, leaving Luffy standing there awkwardly.
The sweet aroma rising from the orange cake made his stomach growl again. Not wanting to make things more awkward, he followed Nojiko's advice and went to the counter.
Nami didn't even look up, still focused on her work, as she said,
"Five thousand Belly."
That wasn't really expensive — after all, a single cotton candy in this world cost five hundred Belly. On Earth, you'd be lucky to find a cake this good for ten times that price.
Luffy didn't argue. He placed the money on the counter. But when he glanced down and saw what Nami was drawing, he couldn't help asking,
"Are you drawing a map?"
"It's a nautical chart."
"That's awesome! I didn't expect you to be a navigator!"
Hearing that, Nami's expression softened slightly. She shot him a sideways glance.
"Not yet. But one day, I'll become the greatest navigator in the world."
"That's amazing! Then why don't you join my crew? I'll take you to see the whole ocean!"
Nami finally put down her pen and looked at him like he was an idiot.
"With Kaito around, do you really think I need someone else to take me sailing?"
"That's totally different! He's still a Marine, after all. With me, you'd be free!"
"Free? And what exactly are you?"
"Haha! Forgot to introduce myself! I'm Luffy — the man who's going to become the Pirate King!"
At that, both Nami and Nojiko froze.
Nami rose slowly from her seat, her eyes narrowing as she stared directly at Luffy.
"So you're… a pirate?"
"Of course! I—"
BANG!
Nami's fist slammed squarely into Luffy's face. Her punch carried serious power — maybe even a bit of natural advantage — and the unprepared Luffy was sent flying straight out of the shop.
The Nami of this timeline was far from the "fragile" navigator she used to be. Kaito had personally arranged for her and Nojiko to train under Gion's female instructors at Marine Headquarters.
With such top-tier training resources, her strength had grown rapidly — and she was even planning to join the Marines herself.
Nojiko looked at the human-shaped hole in the wall and sighed.
"Again? Nami, fixing walls isn't cheap, you know!"
From that tone, it was clear this wasn't the first time Nami had lost her temper.
And who could blame her? The two sisters had grown into stunning beauties, and with more and more outsiders coming into the village, there were always a few idiots who got the wrong idea.
Those guys all ended up beaten to a pulp — and the shop walls always suffered along with them.
Nami stuck her tongue out playfully.
"Sorry, sis, but he did say he was a pirate!"
Outside, Luffy climbed out from the rubble, covered in dust but otherwise completely unharmed.
He brushed himself off, ignoring the stares of the people around him, and shouted with excitement,
"That was awesome! I'm definitely making you my crewmate!"
Inside the shop, Nami's face twisted in disgust, and even Nojiko — normally so gentle — looked irritated.
"Is this guy insane? He just won't quit!"
Nami was about to storm outside to give that loudmouthed fool another lesson when Nojiko followed after her.
But just as they stepped out of the shop, the sound of many footsteps echoed down the street.
A moment later, a tall woman with long pink hair appeared, leading a squad of Marine soldiers.
The moment Nami saw her, her eyes lit up.
"Hina-san!"
----------------
Fanfic is finished on Patreon (516 chapters in total.)
Patreon(.)com/Jixo (for only $4.50, read this entire fanfic)