After giving Luffy a good beating, Alex and Nami finally vented their frustration. Both felt refreshed and much better afterward.
As for the one who got beaten up, Luffy apologized sincerely to Alex and Nami, though he still couldn't understand exactly what he had done wrong to deserve such a thorough pummeling.
After that, Luffy told Alex that he was helping Zoro look for his swords and asked if Alex had seen any of the three he was looking for.
"Roronoa Zoro? He's a notorious pirate hunter in the East Blue! Rumor has it he's like a bloodthirsty tiger, hunting down bounty heads across the seas. People call him a beast in human skin—ferocious and cruel. Why would you want to help someone like that?" Nami asked with visible confusion.
"You're talking nonsense. I think he's a decent guy. I'll decide what kind of person he is myself—I don't need your opinion," Luffy said in a rare serious tone.
He had previously told Rika how Zoro ate the rice balls that had been stomped on by Helmeppo. In response, Rika explained that Zoro had willingly been captured by the Navy to protect her and her family.
Helmeppo often roamed the streets of Shells Town with a vicious dog he adored and spoiled. Backed by his status as the son of the base's naval commander, he and the dog caused trouble everywhere.
One day, while Helmeppo was out walking the dog as usual, the beast almost mauled Rika to death in broad daylight. Luckily, Zoro stepped in and sliced the dog in half, saving her life.
But that act enraged Helmeppo.
Although he couldn't do anything to Zoro directly, Helmeppo resorted to threatening Zoro with Rika's family. If Zoro didn't comply, Helmeppo would have the Navy execute her entire family once Zoro left Shells Town.
So Zoro agreed to a twisted deal: he would be tied up in the naval base's courtyard without food or water for a month. If he survived, Helmeppo would leave Rika's family alone and consider their grudge settled.
However, after three weeks of this ordeal, Luffy discovered that Helmeppo had no intention of honoring the agreement. Instead, he planned to publicly execute Zoro the day after tomorrow, using him as an example to deter the townspeople from rebelling.
Helmeppo even proudly mocked Zoro in the streets, calling him a "stupid beast," which pushed Luffy over the edge. Enraged, Luffy punched Helmeppo square in the face and sent him flying. The coward fled in disgrace, but not before swearing revenge and threatening Luffy with death.
Luffy ignored the threats. In his eyes, a coward like Helmeppo wasn't even worth a second punch.
But when Rika told Luffy that it was really satisfying to watch Helmeppo get beaten up, Luffy instantly regretted not hitting him a few more times.
When Luffy struck Helmeppo, all the townsfolk had been kneeling nearby—afraid of the authority Helmeppo wielded through his father. That incident showed just how much tyranny Helmeppo exercised daily under his father's protection.
After learning all this, Luffy decided to recruit Zoro into his crew. That's why he sneaked into the naval base—to retrieve Zoro's swords.
"Enough bickering. I support him too. Rumors aren't always the truth," Alex said to Nami while giving Luffy a glance.
"I knew you wouldn't object," Luffy grinned.
"Whatever. It has nothing to do with me," Nami huffed, brushing past Alex and Luffy as she headed straight for a large safe in the room.
"What are you doing? Trying to open that thing?" Luffy asked curiously, watching her examine the lock with intense interest.
"Of course. This is a tough one—you wouldn't be able to crack it, so stop bugging me," Nami snapped.
"What? I can totally do it!" Luffy declared stubbornly. He flexed his arms, walked up to the safe, and slammed his fist down hard.
CLANG! A thunderous noise echoed through the room.
Nami stared, dumbfounded, at the now completely wrecked safe.
What the hell?! Alex groaned internally. That kind of noise could draw in the entire base unless every Navy officer nearby was deaf. He'd wanted to stop Luffy, but it was already too late.
"See? Told you it was easy," Luffy laughed proudly, totally oblivious to Nami's increasingly dark expression.
"You idiot! What if the navigational charts got destroyed in there?!" Nami yelled, and promptly punched Luffy so hard he collapsed on the spot.
"Hurry and grab the documents. We need to get out of here—now," Alex urged, keeping an eye on the doorway. If time permitted, he'd have gladly punched Luffy again himself.
"But we still have to find Zoro's swords! Why are we in such a rush to leave?" Luffy protested.
Just then, several Navy soldiers burst into the room and barked, "Who are you? Thieves?!"
"Daring to steal from a Navy base—have you lost your minds?"
Three guards stormed in while another ran off, likely to alert reinforcements.
"Don't get it twisted—I'm not a thief. I'm going to be—" Luffy began, but before he could finish, Alex dashed forward and knocked all three soldiers out cold in a flash.
"This is not the time to talk crap," Alex snapped. "Didn't you say we're still looking for Zoro's swords? Then hurry. Things could spiral if we delay."
"You're really the impatient type, huh? Fine, I'm on it. Let's meet in that open courtyard outside," Luffy said, clapping his straw hat onto his head before zipping out of the room and vanishing from Alex's sight.
Alex was speechless. I never said we're not going together, so what's with the rush? Who's the real impatient one here?
"You just gonna stand there? Let's go!" he heard Nami call.
From above, Alex could hear more movement—things were heating up. Seeing Nami hadn't moved, he walked up to check.
"The chart's mine now. Buggy—gratefully accepted," Nami read aloud from the top of a document she was holding. Below the sentence was a large skull emblem—right in the middle, a prominent red nose.
"This isn't a navigational chart. That mark…," Nami muttered in shock. "Captain Buggy. The so-called immortal Buggy!"
Her grip on the paper tightened, her expression turning grave. A determined glint lit up her eyes—she had clearly made up her mind.
Damn it, Alex cursed silently. That freak with the red nose must've already sent someone to steal the real charts.
Looking at Nami's reaction, he guessed she planned to go steal them back from Buggy herself.
"Let's go," Nami said as she dashed toward the door.
Alex followed quickly. They encountered over a dozen Navy soldiers along the way, but with Alex's strength, none could stop them.
Once they reached the wide courtyard outside the base, every soldier who tried to intercept them had already been knocked down by Alex.
But just as they emerged from the naval base, the sky seemed to darken above them. They both looked up—and saw a gigantic statue crashing down toward them.
"What the hell is that?!"