Nami was stunned, but then quickly waved her hands dismissively. "No, I don't need it. Besides, the amount I need is huge."
"Huge? How huge are we talking? Hundreds of millions?"
"Hundreds of millions... you know, the kind of chest that can hold tens of millions..."
Before Nami could even finish explaining, she saw a gold bar materialize in Marcus' hand.
"I don't know exactly what this will sell for, but it's gotta be worth at least sixty or seventy million berries."
"..."
The sudden display of wealth left Nami dizzy, her breathing becoming rapid and shallow. Her body instinctively leaned toward the gold bar like a moth drawn to fla.
She'd seen countless treasures during her years as a thief, and she could imdiately tell the gold bar in his hand was pure.
And if it really was a standard gold bar, then its value would be absolutely ridiculous.
She swallowed hard, her eyes transforming into gold coin shapes as greed took over.
"You're really willing to just give this to ? On the black market, this thing would fetch over a hundred million berries easy."
"I saw plenty of shiny jewels and gold coins in Buggy's treasure hoard. This is worth that much more?"
"It's completely different! Those are already my treasures anyway. And most of those jewels and coins are just gold-plated on the surface, mixed with lots of other tals to keep them hard. But this thing of yours..."
Marcus tossed the gold bar to Nami without warning.
She fumbled to catch it, nearly dropping the precious tal in her panic. The mont it landed in her hands, she knew it was pure. Acting on instinct, she bit into it, leaving a clear tooth mark.
This was a gold bar with absolutely no impurities.
Only gold this pure would be soft enough to bite into.
"The purity is incredible! If that's the case, the price would be closer to two hundred million. Do you... do you own a mine or sothing? Just handing this out so casually?" Nami's expression turned odd halfway through her sentence.
Marcus just shrugged. To him, that gold bar was worth at most 432 EMC points, which equaled roughly two iron ingots. Even if he had to buy it back at double price, it would only cost 864 points. With all the junk Luffy and the others had fished up over the past few days, he could already exchange for more than a dozen bars like this one.
"Is it enough? If that's not enough, I've got more where that ca from." Marcus produced three more gold bars and held them out.
The overwhelming display of wealth was too much for Nami to handle. Her legs gave out completely, and she collapsed onto the deck with a thud.
Seeing Marcus about to continue his gold bar assault, she quickly held up her hands in surrender.
"Stop, stop! Any more and I won't even be able to carry them all!"
She looked at Marcus with complicated emotions swirling in her eyes.
The problem that had been weighing so heavily on her mind, consuming every mont for years... in his eyes, it probably wasn't even worth considering a real problem.
Taking several deep breaths to steady herself, she picked up just one gold bar and held it close to her chest.
"Just one is more than enough. I'll pay you back slowly over ti, I promise."
Marcus watched her expectantly, hoping for so experience orbs, but nothing ca. His money attack hadn't triggered any approval.
"So... tell what's really going on. Do you have a seriously ill mother back ho? Kids who need feeding? Is that why you went to sea alone?"
Nami hesitated, clearly wrestling with how much to reveal. But when she thought about how this gold bar ant she finally had enough money, how she could finally lay down the burden she'd been carrying for so long, she looked at him and made her decision.
"I guess I can tell you..."
She gave him a brief version of the Arlong situation.
But it was obvious she was leaving out crucial details and painting an incomplete picture. From her words, you could even hear her trying to portray Arlong as soone who actually kept his promises and could be trusted to honor agreents.
Watching this girl who was clearly trying to downplay the severity of her situation and hide the worst parts, Marcus listened quietly before giving his response.
"Are you sure they'll keep their word? They are pirates, you know?"
"At least for the past years, he's never broken a promise."
"Have you thought about letting Luffy and the others help you? Don't be fooled by how carefree they act all the ti. In terms of strength... you should know by now, considering what happened with Buggy and Kuro. Those were seriously... powerful opponents."
Nami shook her head. "It's different with fishn. You guys are Devil Fruit users, which ans you're vulnerable to seawater. If those fishn avoid direct confrontation and use hit-and-run tactics instead, and since Luffy can't stay in Cocoyasi Village forever, the ones who'll suffer in the long run will be the ordinary villagers who can't defend themselves."
She paused.
"But right now, if I just convert this gold into cash, my village will be safe. And then I can be your navigator, can't I?"
She smiled as she spoke, already imagining the freedom she'd longed for all these years.
Marcus listened in silence, not interrupting her explanation.
Up in the crow's nest, Zoro had heard every word clearly. Down by the stairwell, the other crew mbers had also been listening to the entire conversation.
But they all remained silent.
As for Luffy, he was still inside the restaurant wiping down tables as part of his punishnt duty. But the cloth in his hand moved slower and slower as he processed what he was hearing through the open windows.
The night at sea was quiet.
Quiet like the calm before a storm.
---
The next day arrived, and the very first thing Luffy did was seek out Zeff.
He stated his request directly, without any of his usual roundabout approach.
"I want Sanji to join my crew."
"So sudden? That damn brat won't co with you easily, you know." Zeff had obviously known this conversation was coming. After all, the ship wasn't that big, and Luffy hadn't exactly been subtle about his intentions.
Just yesterday, when Sanji had delivered food to Gin, they'd talked at length about the legendary All Blue. He had overheard their passionate discussion about dreams and the ocean. He'd been thinking to himself that the brat was finally growing up and finding his path.
And then, the very next day, this Straw Hat kid ca asking about recruitnt.
Talk about impatient.
But he didn't dislike that kind of straightforwardness.
"I know. That's why I'm asking for your help."
"Oh? What kind of help?"
Luffy's expression beca completely serious.
"Before we co back, don't let him get recruited by any other pirate crew!"
Zeff looked puzzled. "And where exactly are you all going?"
"Just dealing with a little trouble."
Seeing the sudden shift in the young pirate's deanor, Zeff fell silent. But before he could give an answer, a commotion erupted from the dining area above them.
"It's Krieg!"
"Don Krieg?!"
"What the hell is he doing here?! Didn't he head for the Grand Line?!"
In an instant, the restaurant beca a chaotic ss of panicking custors and staff.
At that mont, Sanji was already carrying out a plate of perfectly prepared seafood fried rice, completely focused on his duty as a cook.
On deck, Marcus and the others naturally noticed the disturbance developing inside the restaurant.
Marcus nudged Zoro with his shoulder. "Think you can cut through that wootz steel armor he's wearing?"
Zoro considered the question seriously, his hand instinctively moving to rest on his sword hilts. "Maybe. Won't know for sure until I try."
What followed unfolded exactly like Marcus rembered from the original story. Krieg would pick up the bowl, eat Sanji's food, put the bowl down, and then imdiately start a fight.
He watched the familiar scene play out and shook his head.
He was ready to intervene.
Let things develop the sa way as before? Hell no.
As for Sanji's principle about letting everyone eat their fill, well, they could defeat Krieg first and then let Sanji deliver food to the half-dead pirates afterward. Problem solved, right?
The mont he started moving, the others naturally followed his lead.
After all, Luffy had already invited Sanji to join their crew, which ant that cook was essentially a reserve crew mber at this point. And when soone hurt a reserve crew mber, how could they possibly just stand around and do nothing?
But Luffy was the first to actually strike.
Instead of standing by and watching like in the original story, he launched himself into action imdiately.
"Sanji gave you food to eat!"
Marcus saw this and felt surprised, but then realized it made perfect sense.
Of course, this was reality, not a story that had to follow a predetermined script. Luffy valued Sanji for feeding him for free and treating him well. How could he possibly just stand there and watch while soone attacked the cook who'd shown him kindness?
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