"So... what's next?"
Ignoring Luffy, who was still radiating his characteristic goofball aura, Zoro shot a questioning look directly at Akira.
"What's our next plan?"
"Next?" Akira's eyes flashed with anticipation as he glanced meaningfully at Helmeppo, who was still crouching nearby.
"Of course, we'll rob the captain of this place and fire the first shot as the Straw Hat Pirates!"
"When pirates go to sea, they have to make a statement!"
"You two..." Zoro lifted the corner of his mouth in an appreciative smile. "You're incredibly brave!"
"Attacking a naval base the moment you set sail. I wonder what else you wouldn't dare do!"
"Hahaha~ Thanks for the compliment!" Akira grinned broadly.
"But I have to correct one thing..." He threw an arm around Luffy's shoulders and put his other hand on Zoro's shoulder.
"You should say... the three of us!"
"Yes! The three of us!" Luffy threw his arms up in the air and laughed with contagious enthusiasm.
Seeing the sincere expressions on Akira and Luffy's faces, Zoro felt something stirring in his chest. Still, he sighed in resigned amusement.
"I hope I can keep my sanity longer than I expect."
"I don't want to become a complete lunatic too soon!"
"Luffy, our new crew member seems a bit confused," Akira said with mock seriousness. "He actually thinks you're a madman."
"Eh?" Luffy blinked innocently. "But why do I get the feeling that he's talking about both of us?"
Smack!
"You don't need to be so sharp at times like this!" Akira smacked Luffy on the back of the head with annoyed affection.
"Anyway, find some time to teach our newcomer a lesson. Show him exactly why you're our captain!"
And while you're at it, Akira thought with satisfaction, let Zoro see that all your incredible power comes from having me as your trainer!.
"Okay... okay!" Luffy nodded innocently, still rubbing his head from the unexpected blow.
"Oh, right!" Akira turned his attention back to Helmeppo, who was desperately trying to become invisible. "Where's Morgan's office?"
"Ah!" Helmeppo startled, then quickly pointed upwards. "It's... it's right above my room!"
"Perfect. That makes things easy." Akira nodded in satisfaction.
"Luffy, break through the ceiling. We'll go treasure hunting in Morgan's quarters!"
"We're still about 100 million berries short of a decent startup anyway."
"Robbing Morgan's treasure should help solve our poverty problem!"
"Treasure!" At the magic word, Luffy's eyes lit up like stars.
In his mind, the concept of treasure was absolutely essential to being a real pirate!
"Leave it to me!"
Reliable as ever when it really mattered, Luffy clenched his fist and pulled his arm back. Under the astonished eyes of Zoro and Helmeppo, he launched his rubber-powered punch upwards with tremendous force.
His arm stretched dramatically and hit the ceiling with devastating force.
"His... his arm got longer!" Zoro was once again shocked by Luffy's impossible abilities.
The next second...
BOOM!
With a thunderous crash, a huge hole was instantly punched through Helmeppo's ceiling. But what Akira hadn't expected was that along with the shower of debris and dust, an orange-haired girl came tumbling down from above.
"Ahhhhh!"
THUD!
Smoke and dust from the shattered ceiling instantly filled Helmeppo's room.
The girl's painful cries and colourful curses echoed clearly through the hazy cloud.
"Ow, ow, ow, that hurts..."
"Damn it! Are these Marines so corrupt that they can't even maintain proper structural integrity?! How can the quality of the ground be so terrible?!"
Nami cursed as she climbed to her feet, brushing dust and debris from her clothes.
At that moment, a sudden gust of wind swept through the room as Akira, who had been standing near the window, pushed it wide open.
The breeze immediately began to carry the thick dust out of the room, and the haze quickly dissipated.
Soon Nami saw that this room, which should have been empty, now contained four men standing and staring at her with different expressions.
A fool wearing a straw hat, his eyes radiating equal parts wisdom and utter innocence...
A man with his hand on the hilt of a sword, watching her with sharp caution...
A pathetic weakling who looked scared enough to wet himself, crying silently in the corner...
And a boy who looked slightly surprised, but somehow gave the impression that he already knew who she was.
"Uh... hello there..." Looking at the unexpected group, Nami swallowed nervously and raised a shaking hand in greeting.
"I think I came to the wrong room. Sorry to bother you!"
As soon as she finished speaking, she turned and headed for the door.
Although she had no idea why so many people were occupying this room when all the Marines had supposedly gone to the roof for Captain Morgan's statue dedication ceremony, her instincts were crystal clear.
When in doubt, run and ask questions later!
After years in this dangerous business, Nami was confident in her ability to react quickly in unexpected situations.
But just as she thought she could escape in the confusion, she heard a young man's voice behind her.
It was the boy who had been standing at the window!
"Don't let them get away, Zoro!"
"Understood!"
Zoro, who had positioned himself strategically near the door, was ready. He stepped forward and reached the exit one step ahead of Nami, then slammed his foot down hard.
Bang!
Although he hadn't yet mastered the Soru technique, Zoro's explosive power had already reached levels beyond the comprehension of ordinary humans.
His move completely cut off Nami's escape route.
"What... what are you going to do?!" Seeing Zoro's intimidating expression, Nami's voice trembled as she turned back to Akira with panic in her eyes, switching to an innocent, helpless act.
She could tell that the person giving the orders was Akira, so she immediately focused all her considerable acting skills on him.
"You... you wouldn't bully a defenceless girl like me, would you?"
At that moment, Nami's eyes filled with tears, her face took on a pitiful expression, and even her voice became weak and trembling.
Combined with her delicate, beautiful features, most men would probably let their guard down completely.
But Akira, who knew Nami's true character, wasn't fooled by her performance.
"This little thief really is a born actress," he thought amusedly.
"Too bad you're not polished enough yet."
As Akira watched Nami's performance with obvious interest, his mind couldn't help but recall her impressive development over the past few years.
Meeting this skilled little thief here was completely unexpected.
Although it hadn't been part of their original plan, since fate had brought her here, there was no way he was going to let her leave!
After a moment's thought, Akira decided to call her bluff by using her name directly.
"Don't be so nervous, Miss Nami."
!!!
Nami's pupils contracted in shock. "You... you know me?!"
Oh no! I must have stolen from him before!
The first thing that popped into her head was the possibility that she had robbed Akira at some point in the past.
"You could say that," Akira replied with a slight smile, ignoring Nami's paranoid assumptions.
To be honest, he was really surprised by her unexpected appearance. After all, he and Luffy had deliberately timed their departure to avoid the whirlpool incident, skipping the encounters with Alvida and Coby altogether and sailing straight to Shells Town.
He never expected that they would run into Nami, who had come to the 153rd Branch to steal the Grand Line navigation charts.
And in such a fortuitous way, no less.
"I didn't expect to meet the notoriously beautiful Thief of the East Blue here," Akira continued with genuine appreciation. "It seems that our luck today is absolutely extraordinary."
"Luffy, I think we found our fourth crew member!"
"Huh?! Really?" Luffy, who had been completely lost during their conversation, suddenly looked excited. He shaded his eyes with his hand and began to look around eagerly.
"Where is he?! Where is he?!"
"Idiot," Akira chuckled as he stepped forward and physically turned Luffy's head towards Nami. "Our fourth crew member is obviously this lovely young lady right here!"
"Huh?" To Akira's surprise, Luffy immediately made a sound of disappointment after his explanation.
"But... she looks really weak!"
His basic observation haki allowed Luffy to easily sense the fighting strength of a person. In his perception, Nami's fighting ability was indeed far below the norm - completely incomparable to Zoro's powerful, animal-like aura.
"Weak?" Akira feigned surprise at Luffy's assessment and then smiled knowingly.
"You're completely wrong, Luffy!"
"The girl standing before you is the most promising navigator in the entire world!"
"Unlike Zoro, our future World's Greatest Swordsman, her navigational skills are already among the best in the world!"
"We are incredibly lucky to have found her!"
"Really?!" Hearing Akira's enthusiastic explanation, Luffy's eyes immediately lit up and his look towards Nami was filled with genuine respect and admiration.
Zoro, who was still guarding the door, also looked at Akira with surprise. Although they had just met, he hadn't thought that Akira was the type to exaggerate or lie about something as important as this.
As a result, even his expression when looking at Nami changed to one of newfound respect.
Though he did feel a little strange hearing Akira use him as a point of comparison! Was Akira implying that he wasn't as valuable as that little girl? That couldn't be right... could it?
Luffy slapped his palm against his fist with sudden determination. "Alright! Akira, I've decided! She'll be the navigator of our pirate crew!"
"A wise choice!" Akira smiled calmly, then turned his attention back to Nami.
"Well, you heard that, didn't you, Miss Nami?"
"I hope you're prepared for what comes next."
"Anyone who attracts my captain's attention is doomed!"