Chapter 66: Nami's Little Scheme [Seeking Follow Reads]

"Yes, yes."

The grocery store clerk dared not say another word and hurriedly bent down to start moving the supplies.

The man before him was taciturn, yet the aura he subtly exuded made it obvious at a glance that he was someone not to be trifled with.

"Judging by your accent, you're from the East Blue?" Hawk Eyes suddenly asked.

"I'm from Loguetown; you could tell just from that?"

The clerk was stunned. "Come to think of it, our town is quite famous. The Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, was executed right there. I wonder if you've ever visited..."

"When Roger died, I was at the scene."

Hawk Eyes stated calmly, "That was eighteen years ago. Since then, I have never returned to the East Blue."

Nor was it worth his while to do so.

"As for this time."

Hawk Eyes gazed toward the end of the horizon, his eyes deep and unfathomable.

"A few years ago, I heard that a quite famous sword master had emerged in the East Blue. By now, he should have come of age. I hope he has grown into an opponent worthy of me seeking him out."

East Blue, night.

Under the dim moonlight, the New Gate continued to cut through wind and waves, sailing at full speed.

Inside the number one VIP suite.

"Ah-choo—"

Siano, sitting on the carpet, suddenly sneezed. He rubbed his nose and clicked his tongue; surely that little girl Nami was secretly cursing him.

"Hard work, Ah Yin. You did well."

He smiled and patted the head of the massive silver wolf before him.

On the carpet lay several wet items the wolf had just spat out: Krieg's severed hand, Gin's cane, and Pearl's fluorescent stone helmet.

Woof... no, Awooo!

Receiving praise, Ah Yin happily circled around Siano, his tail wagging so fast it nearly resembled a helicopter propeller; where was the aloof demeanor he had shown everyone else?

Siano casually sacrificed all the items Ah Yin had brought back, gaining a total of 800 points, which was about the same as Arlong alone.

Tsk, it seemed the Krieg Pirates made a huge fuss, claiming daily to be the overlords of the East Blue, yet their strength still lagged slightly behind Arlong's.

Still, the more points the better; sitting at home and automatically harvesting this much already satisfied him greatly.

As for those bounties still worth tens of millions of Berries, and the remaining pirates who had given up resistance and surrendered.

The Marines of Branch 77 would naturally come to handle them. Come to think of it, over the past few years, pirates frequently harbored similar notions, attempting to defeat him, the renowned strongest swordsman of the East Blue, to boost their own fame and bounties.

And the outcome went without saying: each died more miserably than the last.

It had reached the point where Cocoyasi Village and Branch 77 were nearly forming an assembly-line industry, one claiming military merit while the other collected bounties.

That Colonel Sophia had even stationed a warship nearby year-round; whenever there was the slightest disturbance in Cocoyasi Village, they would immediately arrive to help clear the battlefield.

It was said that by accumulating enough military merit, she would soon be transferred to Headquarters and promoted to a Headquarters Colonel.

"Here, your reward."

Under Ah Yin's eager, expectant gaze, Siano pulled a large box of strawberry milk from the parcel and handed it over.

Ah Yin snatched it impatiently, skillfully bit off a corner, and gulped it down vigorously.

Siano rubbed its head, watching with a beaming smile from the side.

For Ah Yin to have grown to such a massive size, it had naturally consumed plenty of staple foods and meat, yet without a doubt, its absolute favorite over all these years remained strawberry milk.

Just as he was about to retie the parcel, Siano suddenly noticed something and retrieved a small glass sphere from within.

What is this?

Curiously, he held it up and examined it carefully under the lamp light, only then discovering a magnetic needle inside, while a slip of paper was pasted beneath the base.

He tore off the paper and unfolded it.

"This is a Log Pose I made by hand; it's much sturdier than those sold on the market. Even bullets would find it hard to break! The magnetic fields in the Grand Line are chaotic, so a compass is useless; you must take good care of this!"

"—Love you, to my dearest, dearest, dearest, dearest older brother."

A Log Pose made by Nami's own hands?

When did she secretly slip this in?

Siano vaguely recalled that among the books he had bought for Nami, there indeed were introductions to the craftsmanship of making Log Poses.

He hadn't expected Nami to actually manage to craft one herself.

For a teenage girl to accomplish this must have been quite difficult, surely?

Looking at the signature on the note, a warm smile inadvertently graced the corners of Siano's mouth.

This little one has truly grown up; she's quite considerate, isn't she?

"Hehe, success!"

In the bedroom, Nami lay prone on the bed, holding the glass sphere and watching the needle trembling lightly inside; she kicked her feet in triumph.

That idiot brother is probably crying tears of emotion right now.

He might even be filled with regret and guilt for scolding me before I left home.

He would absolutely never guess that the special needle I made, besides functioning as a Log Pose, is also a disguised tracker.

As long as the distance isn't absurdly far, I can sense the specific direction through this directional needle in my hand.

Not letting me board the ship? Trying to leave me behind and run off with Nojiko?

Hmph, dream on!

"Next, I need to figure out how to fool Bell-mère first; otherwise, if I disappear and she immediately calls my brother, that would be troublesome..."

In any case, they couldn't depart today; the suspicion was too great. They would have to wait another couple of days, but what excuse should he find?

The young girl stared at the nautical chart hanging on the wall, lost in deep thought...

Inside a luxurious suite.

Siano Cherish Deeply put away the Log Pose, then walked to the porthole to gaze out at the vast ocean under the dim night sky.

The Garter's destination was Shirley Island, located not far from the entrance to the Grand Line.

That island was renowned throughout the entire East Blue as the capital of brewing and shipbuilding, with more than a dozen shipbuilding companies densely distributed across it.

Two months ago, Siano had already contacted the island's oldest establishment, the Giant Whale Shipbuilding Company.

For a price of three hundred million Berries, he had ordered a vessel with exceptionally high specifications in every aspect.

The huge sum of money he had obtained from Sakuraba Ki two years ago was now more than half depleted.

The reason the price was so exorbitant was that Siano had demanded the use of the company's treasured warehouse artifact for the ship's main structure: the Treasure Tree Adam.

As the tree species with the greatest resilience in the entire world, ships built using Treasure Tree Adam were extremely tough and sturdy.

In this way, even the storms and natural disasters typical of places like the Grand Line need not be a cause for excessive worry.

The shipbuilding company provided the draft for the hull's outline, while the specific interior decoration plans were based on the opinions of Siano and several crew members.

Siano requested a training room with all four walls made of refined steel; Nojiko immediately asked for an identical one of the same model; Sister Sister Guyina was set on having an open-air kendo dojo at the stern; and Zeff's requirement was even clearer: the kitchen must be fully equipped, and the ingredient storage room had to be sufficiently large!

Of course, Nami's mischief was inevitably part of the mix; she insisted on reserving a nautical chart mapping room for herself, filled with bookshelves, with a small tangerine grove situated right beside it.

Originally, Siano had been too lazy to pay any attention.

But unable to withstand Nami's repeated pleas, he had finally, albeit reluctantly, agreed.

He regarded it as leaving a memento on the ship; seeing it would remind him of that little rascal, though he didn't believe these spaces would ever serve any practical purpose.

Now.

Two months had passed, and the ship was complete.

All that remained was for Siano to go to the island for inspection.

This was a custom-built vessel costing three hundred million Berries; not only were the few young people excited and expectant about the ship's interior, but even an experienced old man like Zeff felt the same.

Updating a bit earlier today; the second update this afternoon will also be earlier than in previous days.

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(End of Chapter)