Chapter 73: The Red-Haired Emperor and the Fleet Admiral

Evening.

Having thoroughly scavenged the wreckage of those giant ships, everyone returned aboard.

Warm orange lights flickered on; the group gathered joyfully on the deck, where Zeff, in mere dozens of minutes and by his own efforts alone, had produced a lavish banquet spread across a large table—no one knew how he managed it.

"I know! He definitely used foot-flame to boost the firepower!" classmate Nami raised her hand high to answer first.

"Your brother just forgave you, and already your skin is itching for trouble, is it?"

Sister Sister Guyina snapped her fingers irritably toward Nami's brow, only to stare in surprise as she missed completely, her finger passing straight through the girl's head.

"Nyah-nyah!" Nami made a face. "Can't hit me, can't hit me! This is the super power of the Mera Mera no Mi! From now on, none of you will be able to bully me!"

Thump!

The moment the words left her mouth, she took a solid punch.

"Ow-ow! That hurts!"

Nami clutched the top of her head. "Brother, you're lying! Didn't you say that once a Logia user transforms into their element, they can't be hit? Then why does it hurt so much?!"

"Because in this world, there exists another power called Haki."

Siano, holding a plate, sat down expressionlessly. "Sister Sister Guyina and Uncle Zeff have already begun showing signs of mastering Armament Haki. Nojiko is progressing more slowly, but within a month or two at most, she'll be able to use it too."

"Which means..."

Nami's face twisted in misery. "I'm about to become the bottom of the food chain again?"

So unfair!

She had only just begun figuring out the tiniest bit of how to use the Mera Mera no Mi!

"Let's talk business."

Siano, too lazy to indulge her, spoke while eating.

"The various items scavenged from those giant shipwrecks exceed even our expectations. Leaving aside supplies and books, the treasures alone are worth over one hundred million Berries. Everyone has worked hard all day and is likely tired, so let's rest early tonight. Tomorrow, we'll brainstorm together on how exactly to escape this strange whirlpool current."

"Wait until tomorrow?" This time it was Nami's turn to stare in shock. "Can't we leave right after dinner? I've already figured out the pattern of the whirlpool current."

"You've already figured it out?!"

The others turned to look at her, faces full of astonishment.

"What, you don't believe me?"

Nami snorted and lifted her chin. "I only let the whirlpool carry me here voluntarily so I could come ashore to find you; otherwise, I would have broken out long ago. Just wait—soon I'll show you what a real genius navigator looks like!"

After finishing dinner,

Nami immediately set to work, picking up a pencil and beginning to chart the surrounding seas, muttering under her breath:

"First, head north for about five kilometers, then sharply turn the helm hard to starboard. Then, roughly one minute later, taking advantage of the slowing convergence speed of the currents, adjust course accordingly..."

Half an hour later.

Gazing at the gradually blurring silhouette of the island in the distance, everyone turned around dumbfounded, staring at the orange-haired girl standing proudly with hands on hips as if she were an alien.

"We... we actually escaped..."

This girl really wasn't exaggerating?!

"Damn it..."

The swordswoman girl hugged her head in frustration. "I racked my brains for so long without the slightest clue. How can the gap between people be so huge..."

"Hee-hee, we're about the same, about the same," Nami whispered consolingly into her ear. "But Sister Sister Guyina, I'm afraid you'll have to give up your position as navigator."

"So unfair!!" Sister Sister Guyina rarely threw her head back and let out a cry of unwillingness, experiencing for the first time what that idiot Zoro must have felt.

Siano, however, was not surprised; he smiled with satisfaction.

In the original manga timeline, Nami, growing up under such harsh conditions, had displayed astonishing talent as a navigator from a very young age.

In this life, with his full support, she had been able to devote herself entirely to her passion since childhood.

She lacked neither books nor reference materials, her horizons were far broader, and every long voyage undertaken to gather resources included her to broaden her experience.

Naturally, her techniques in navigation and charting were far more mature at this age than in the original timeline.

"Sister Sister Guyina, what do you say?" he asked the black-haired girl with a bright smile.

"Sigh, I admit defeat," Sister Sister Guyina sighed. "It seems from now on I can only focus on being a main combatant..."

Nojiko glanced sideways at her; that sour tone suddenly sounded so much like herself.

"Then it's settled. From now on, the position of navigator on this ship shall officially be held by Nami!"

Siano announced, "Let's go. Hoist the sails and set course. Full speed ahead to our final stop in the East Blue: Loguetown!"

"Aye, Captain!"

The sails billowed; under Nami's control, the ship rode wind and waves, speeding toward Loguetown, which lay in the same direction as the entrance to Reverse Mountain.

Sister Sister Guyina, deeply interested in the books retrieved from the giant ships, retreated into the cabin to study them shortly after finishing her meal.

As for Nami, once the vessel entered stable cruising, Siano promptly discarded her like a spent horse, assigning her to the galley to help Zeff wash dishes and clean the kitchen as punishment for her willful act of running away from home.

"By the way, Brother."

Nojiko handed him a newspaper.

"This afternoon, while you were still inside the Ant Nest Cave, a news bird flew by, so I bought a copy. The front page says something major has happened again in the second half of the Grand Line, in that place called the New World."

A major incident in the New World?

Siano took the newspaper with a puzzled expression and was instantly drawn to the headline; the title boldly proclaimed—

"Red-Haired Shanks Becomes the New Sea Emperor; the Four Emperors' Standoff in the New World Is Now Set in Stone!"

Have the Three Emperors finally become the Four Emperors?

Siano stared at the photograph in the paper: Shanks, Benn Beckman, Yasopp... one familiar face after another. He narrowed his eyes. When would it be his turn to stand on a stage of that caliber...

"Brother?" Seeing him so absorbed, Nojiko grew curious. "You seem very familiar with this Red-Haired fellow. Do you know him? Have you had dealings before?"

"... Acquaintance?"

In a daze, Siano recalled that swaying, bumping night, nodded, and felt a touch of emotion for a moment:

"Yes, he once lent me a helping hand."

At the same time.

A luxurious cruise ship, under the escort of three Navy vessels, was crossing the Calm Belt from the South Sea and entering the East Sea region.

The warships on both sides each flew their base numbers, while the warship in the middle bore only the blue seagull-and-scales emblem on its Bai Fan.

—It was unmistakably the Navy from Headquarters, Marineford.

On the bow deck.

"..." Smoker bit down on two cigars, leaned against the railing, gazed at the cruise ship where a lavish banquet was underway, and let out a faint sigh.

"What's wrong? After all these days, are you still upset with those few Their Majesties the Kings?"

A cold laugh came from behind; Smoker turned his head and happened to see a tall figure draped in a white Justice cloak, with messy long hair like a spider's, striding over with a cigarette in his mouth.

Thanks to Adjudication Black and 08a for the donation.

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(End of Chapter)