Based on her memory and inquiries with passing villagers, Lu Yue quickly arrived at Nami and Nojiko's house.
"Is she inside?" After Lu Yue stopped, Kuina immediately concluded that the person Lu Yue was looking for, the owner of this house, must be inside, and promptly asked.
"Mhm." Lu Yue nodded.
She then immediately walked forward, knocked on the door, and asked, "Excuse me, is anyone home?"
"Coming, please wait a moment." A sweet female voice immediately responded from inside.
Lu Yue immediately felt relieved. Fortunately, Nojiko was still home; she had assumed she would be out working like the other villagers.
With a creak, the door was quickly opened.
Standing inside was a beautiful woman with short blue hair and a red headband. She had blue tattoos on both arms and her upper chest, but Lu Yue knew that Nojiko had gotten these tattoos to comfort Nami after she was tattooed by the Arlong Pirate Crew.
She was wearing a vest and long pants, barefoot in flip-flops. Although her attire was simple, it enhanced Nojiko's beauty.
"Hmm? May I ask who you are?" Nojiko asked, confused by the three strangely dressed women standing before her.
One was wearing strange armor, another a swordsman's outfit, and the one in front looked like... a Pirate Captain?
"Well, I mean no harm. My name is Lu Yue, and they are Kuina and Platinum Longlong, respectively."
"Oh, hello. My name is Nojiko."
"Could you let us come inside first?"
"Of course, no problem. After all, you don't look like bad people."
"Haha, you're too kind."
After their brief conversation, Nojiko finally invited the three women into her home.
Just as she had said, she genuinely felt that Lu Yue and her companions were not bad people; call it a woman's sixth sense.
Nojiko led them to the living room and announced she would go to the kitchen to fetch some water and snacks.
She asked Lu Yue and her companions to sit down first. Lu Yue quickly found an armchair, while Kuina and Platinum Longlong sat together on a long sofa.
Nojiko soon emerged from the kitchen carrying a tray containing some small biscuits, four glasses of lemonade, and oranges.
"This is all I currently have at home, please excuse the lack," Nojiko said, placing the food on the table and sitting down in the remaining armchair.
Lu Yue and her companions first assured her they didn't mind, then each picked up a glass of lemonade and drank. They also took some of the snacks.
The three women quickly started eating.
"I still don't know what you want from me. You aren't from our village, and you must be pirates, right?"
As Nami's older sister, Nojiko was naturally intelligent and had long recognized that Lu Yue and her group were pirates.
She stated this aloud, wanting to know the true purpose of this group visiting her.
"You are indeed as smart as I expected. Let me ask you a question first. As Nami's older sister, you must also know navigation, right?"
Kuina and Platinum Longlong glanced at Lu Yue, seemingly telling her to handle it herself.
After a wry, helpless smile, Lu Yue directly posed a question to Nojiko. Although it was a guess, she had to confirm it, or the rest of the conversation would be difficult.
"I actually do. Because of Nami, I studied and read many books about navigation. Nami would also tell me about some of her experiences at sea when she returned, and I learned from them."
Nojiko's eyebrow twitched slightly, but she immediately admitted that she was indeed skilled in navigation.
Moreover, she was very confident in her navigation skills.
"Hahahaha, that's wonderful!" Lu Yue immediately burst out laughing.
Kuina and Platinum Longlong, who had learned about the Pirate World over the past two days, now understood: Lu Yue wanted to invite this woman to be their Navigator!
But they had to admit that a Navigator was extremely important for a Pirate Crew.
The main duty of a Navigator is to draw sea charts, calculate routes to avoid reefs, and correctly guide the crew out of danger during storms.
The Navigator's job also includes figuring out the trajectory in complex sea conditions, such as whirlpools, to prevent the ship from sinking.
Aboard the ship, although the Navigator's position is not that of the Captain, their instructions and decisions are crucial for the ship's safe journey, and all other personnel must follow the Navigator's orders.
And to be chosen by their own Captain, it seemed this blue-haired lady's navigation abilities must be quite good.
But the problem was, according to Lu Yue's requirements, she didn't seem to be a strong person, did she? At least they didn't sense the aura of a strong person from Nojiko.
"What, you want to invite me to become your Navigator?" Nojiko realized this, retorted directly with a smile, looking as if she held the winning hand.
But clearly, she had also guessed the purpose of Lu Yue and her companions visiting her.
"I know you want to look after the tangerine grove your adoptive mother left behind, but couldn't you completely entrust that to the villagers? Especially Uncle Gen. Moreover, your sister Nami has already gone ahead to pursue her dream. I don't think you want to stagnate at the starting line, do you? I believe you also have a dream in your heart."
Familiar with the storyline, she naturally knew many truths and details, so Lu Yue immediately spoke a torrent of persuasive words. Her goal was to convince Nojiko to join them as the Navigator of their team.
But it must be admitted that Nojiko was somewhat convinced by Lu Yue. That was right, she also had a dream in her heart, and she could completely entrust the tangerine grove to the villagers, especially Gen.
But there were some things she needed to clarify, or rather, test.
"Could you introduce yourselves in detail? Your professions, strength, and dreams." She immediately asked again.
"Dreams must be taken one step at a time. My ultimate dream is to become the Queen of this world. For now, I want to invite some companions to establish a Pirate Crew."
"My dream is to become the world's greatest Great Swordsman, alongside one other person. Lu Yue showed me kindness, so I decided to become her companion and accompany her. I am currently the first mate of the team, and a swordsman."
"My dream is to build my own Machine Kingdom. I am a Scientist, specializing particularly in mechanics. Lu Yue is my friend, so I am willing to join her team and travel this journey with her."
Lu Yue, Kuina, and Platinum Longlong spoke one after another with determined eyes and confident smiles.
That's right, Platinum Longlong was the same. She was not a cold machine; she possessed her own intelligence, emotions, and thoughts.
After a conversation with Lu Yue earlier, she had already decided on her own dream.
Lu Yue also hoped that everyone in her team had a dream, even if it was a small one.
And without a dream, what difference is there between a person and a salted fish?
And Lu Yue's Pirate Crew must be like the Straw Hat Pirates, with everyone having dreams and goals in their hearts.
After listening, Nojiko was stunned into silence.
Especially since she had a premonition that these three were not joking, but truly had the ability to realize their dreams in the future.
Perhaps if she joined them, she would also have the opportunity to realize her dream.
"My dream is to travel to every corner of this world, to see different perspectives, different scenery, and different people. Can you help me achieve that?"
Nojiko immediately stated her dream, but her last sentence clearly implied: Are you strong enough?
"Is the nearby Marine Branch 16 still there? Is the Colonel there still Captain Mouse?" Lu Yue asked again with a smile.
"Of course it is, and Captain Mouse is still there. However, Nami and the others will expose Captain Mouse's wicked deeds over the years when they leave, so I guess his good days are coming to an end." Nojiko didn't understand why Lu Yue suddenly mentioned this, but she answered anyway.
"Then let us show you our strength, because that mouse's end is today." Lu Yue said, already standing up.
She understood that the final step was now to display their strength in front of Nojiko.
It was perfect timing; when she watched the Pirate King in her previous life, she also hated that mouse very much, so she might as well take this opportunity to deal with him here.
"What... are you planning to do?" Nojiko widened her eyes. She had a feeling that this group was about to do something terrifying.
At the same time, she had already guessed what they intended.
"Come with us." Lu Yue smiled and walked out first.
Kuina and Platinum Longlong followed closely. Nojiko gritted her teeth and finally followed them. She still wanted to witness firsthand what this group intended to do and how strong they were.
Before leaving, Nojiko locked her front door and immediately hurried after them.
But suddenly, Lu Yue stopped in her tracks, turned around awkwardly, and gave her a slightly sheepish smile.
"How do we get to Marine Branch 16?"
Nojiko: "... (Speechless)"
"Hoo—, follow me." After taking a deep breath, Nojiko said, while also comforting herself internally: They are outsiders, they don't know the way, don't get angry.
Meanwhile, Kuina and Platinum Longlong felt awkward, thinking internally, You can only be cool for three seconds, Captain.
But there was nothing they could do. Lu Yue truly didn't know the way. Of course, she wasn't directionally challenged; she just genuinely didn't know the route since it was her first time here.
Led by Nojiko, they still encountered villagers on the road. The villagers were surprised to see Nojiko walking with these three unfamiliar girls from out of town, but they didn't ask many questions.
Perhaps they just wanted to buy some goods, at least that's what they thought. These villagers were too simple and honest.
Soon, in about fifteen minutes, led by Nojiko, they quickly arrived at Marine Branch 16.
Looking at the building before her, a hint of murderous intent appeared in Lu Yue's eyes.