One Piece: Who still has dreams?

The villagers of Cocoaxi Village rushed over after seeing the fire and thick smoke.

Since it was merfolk territory, they hadn't even brought fire-fighting tools; they were just there to watch the spectacle. If the merfolk had accidentally started a fire, they'd be happy to hide away, drink, celebrate, and laugh at each other…

But they never expected that this would be the result when they arrived here.

Police officer A-Jian, with a windmill on his head, stared dumbfounded at Nami, who was covered in blood and grime, and exclaimed in shock, "Nami, you...you...you..."

"It stinks." Nami suddenly realized her situation. "I need to go back and take a shower. Nojiko, you explain to everyone."

She turned and left. Redio wanted to stay and watch the show, but she hooked his collar with two fingers and dragged him away.

Nuoqi Gao's explanation, along with A-Jian and the other villagers' exclamations, curses, cries, and cheers, quickly faded into the distance behind them...

Redio and Nami walked side by side on their way back. Dusk had fallen, and the sunset was beautiful.

Alon Paradise is located west of Cocoa West Village, while her home is in the eastern suburbs of the village.

“Even though we’re not related by blood, Bellemere still raised me and Nojiko all by herself with great difficulty. She’s truly a wonderful mother…”

Nami kept talking to herself and wiping away tears the whole way, as if she wanted to pour out all the emotions she had no one else to confide in.

Redio didn't say anything, he just walked alongside her.

“That’s it.” Nami pointed to an ordinary house deep in an orange grove. “This is Bellemere’s orange grove. Here, have some.” She picked an orange as she passed by, smelled it like a little girl, and happily handed it to Redio.

……

Nami took a shower, changed into some clean clothes from Nojiko, and walked out feeling relaxed. She saw Redio looking at a map of the island where Cocoyasi Village was located, which she had drawn when she was a child.

"If you want to board my ship, you must bring a wish that you want the captain to help you fulfill."

Redio waved the map in his hand and laughed, "You know what I mean, just say it."

Why are you still using this tactic?

Nami sat down beside her, stroking the yellowed old map, and said irritably, "Didn't you say you wanted to be my captain? You were the one begging me. Humph!"

Her eyes darted around, and she reached out to Redio.

Whoosh!

Redio appeared silently in the doorway, smiling, "What do you want?"

"You messed with me the first time we met! You knew I didn't steal anything, but you still deliberately pinned me to the table!" Nami clenched her fists and lunged forward, her sharp teeth bared. "Don't run away!"

"Just kidding, why are you holding a grudge? Haha..."

"Let me press it once, and see if you hold a grudge!"

The two grew faster and more agile, their blurry figures darting back and forth, turning the once peaceful little wooden house into a chaotic mess of clanging bells and chickens flying everywhere...

After a long while, they wrestled on the ground and lay down together, panting.

"I knew you were strong, but... I didn't know you were this strong!"

Nami let out a sigh of relief, rested her head on Redio's arm, tilted her head and nudged Redio's chest, and whispered, "Thank you."

Reddio smiled slightly, about to speak, when Nami's eyes lit up and she shouted, "Now!" She flipped over, her taut legs clamping Reddio's arm, and with a twist, she pinned him to the ground.

But suddenly there was nothing between her legs.

Reddio, with a bit of the Gojo family's taijutsu sense inherited from Gojo Satoru's mode, nimbly broke free, turned around and sat on Nami, pinching her angry cheek: "Little thief, brute force alone won't get you anywhere."

Nami was twisted into a strange position, unable to use any of her strength.

Redio laughed, "Before my teacher taught me Domineering, I met a master of joint locks. If you used the right technique, you couldn't use your strength. The human body is amazing, isn't it?"

Nami showed no self-awareness as a strong person, patting the floor and pretending to cry, "Okay, okay, I know, just let me go..."

What are you doing?

When Nojiko opened the door to her home, she saw this mess. "Nami, you've made such a mess of the house. You'll have to clean it up yourself later."

"Oh." Nami straightened her hair and clothes, and even pulled Redio up with her.

Nojiko leaned against the doorway and smiled, "But let's go to the party first. Everyone's informed all the villages on the island, and they're all celebrating the defeat of the Arlong Pirates."

Not far to the west, one could faintly hear the sounds of lively celebration.

“Great,” Nami said with a smile, “I happen to have something to do and need to see a doctor.”

-----------------

[Day 3, early morning]

"Nami, are you sober yet?" "Sober? She's never been drunk!" "Haha, what a heroine!"

"Nami is amazing now..." "Shh! Nojiko told us not to talk nonsense!"

Good morning, Nami-neechan!

Before dawn, Nami had already run around the island several times. Along the way, not only in Cocoyasi Village, but also in many other villages and towns that were also oppressed by the Arlong Pirates, people recognized her and greeted her warmly. If she hadn't refused, she would have eaten several rounds of free breakfast along the way.

The celebration of the Arlong Pirates' disappearance lasted for two days and three nights. Every time it was about to end, people from other villages would join in, some laughing and some crying, bringing wine, meat, and fruit... It went on and on until this morning when everyone finally dispersed, having had their fill of fun.

During this time, Ken took out an account book he found in the ruins of the building that Aaron had thrown out. It recorded the monetary bribes he had received from the Navy, including Captain Rat of the 16th Branch. He asked Nami to decide what to do with it.

Nami consulted Redio. Redio smiled and gave her a reminder. Nami then turned and told Ken to take the ledger to Loguetown to find Colonel Smoker or Tashigi...

As for the money exchanged for the gold given by Redio, Nami left the remaining 1 billion along with the 30 to 40 million she had accumulated over the years to her sister Nojiko.

"..."

Nami, wearing a tank top and shorts, ran towards the rising sun.

She moved with the speed of a fast horse, having already run over a hundred kilometers, yet her face remained relaxed. Her long, slender legs strode out, muscles undulating, covered in a fine layer of sweat that glistened in the morning light… The original tattoo of the Arlong Pirates on her left shoulder had been replaced with a windmill connected to an orange.

On the shore ahead, the villagers had helped repair the mast of a new pink ship, and the large ship of the Arlong Pirates, whose pirate flag had been taken down, were moored side by side.

Nami smiled broadly as she saw Redio standing at the bow of the ship.

"Why don't we go together?" Nami laughed, slowing her pace. "You believe you can't outrun me?"

Redio pointed to the shore, and Nami looked over to see Nojiko.

"Got to go?"

Nuoqi asked with a loud laugh.

“Hmm,” Nami said, “I’ll come back when I have the chance.” She pointed to Redio on the ship, “My captain… is rather unusual! He knows ‘magic,’ hee hee.”

Nojiko hadn't seen Nami smile so happily in countless years.

Nokiko stepped forward and hugged her sister, gently patting her back: "Aren't you really going to tell A-Jian and the others to come and see you off?"

"No need." Nami hugged her sister, turned around gracefully, and leaped high onto the new pink ship. She laughed loudly at Redio on Arlong's ship next door, "Captain, my dream is to draw a world map. Can you help me?"

Reddio smiled, patted the gunwale, and announced, "Set sail!"

Chapter 76 Do you want to understand the meaning of life?

[On the route from Cocoyasi Village to Shimotsuki Village]

Seagulls flew across the blue sea, and the pink new ship and the original Evil Dragon Pirate Ship both unfurled their sails, sailing side by side against the wind and waves.

"..."

Nami walked in the lower deck of the new pink ship. The light was a bit dim, but her eyes were bright and her vision was unusually sharp. She could even see some clues in the leftover mouse footprints on the ground.

She sniffed through her delicate, upturned nose, able to detect the various smells in the air: the dampness of the wood, the faint musty smell of miscellaneous items, and the distinctive rotten odor of rats…

Redio called her a little thief cat, and now she's really become the nose of cats and dogs.

Nami smiled inwardly, held her breath and waited for a while. A mouse peeked out from the dark crevice and was instantly grabbed by the back of its neck.

……

Nami threw the last rat into the sea, then leaped onto the deck of the Arlong Pirates' ship next door. When she turned around, Redio had already used his "magic" to put away the new pink ship.

"What do you need so many boats for?" she asked, puzzled.

Redio clapped his hands and laughed, "What's the point of always using other people's second-hand ships? We're officially debuting as a group, so we should have our own ship! As for raw materials, the more the better."

Nami knew that one of his "magic" abilities was the ability to combine various objects into one. He had previously used this ability to synthesize that Seastone nunchaku.

Redio looked at her.

"What?" She looked at Redio, then realized, "You really think I'm a cat that catches mice?!" Fang roared and chopped the air with a chop.

"Hey!" Redio dodged. "Don't you know how strong you are right now?"

Nami looked at her hands and asked in confusion, "Aren't you stronger than me?"

"I was able to hold you down that day because you weren't doing it right."

Redio shook his head. "If I had your current muscle mass, I could spin myself like a top. Nami, you're very strong right now, but you don't know how to use it. It's like your dad gave you a huge inheritance, but you don't know how to spend it."

Nami grabbed his face: "Are you trying to take advantage of me indirectly? Whose dad are you?!"

"So for the next six months, you also need to train hard and learn to use this new power. At least you need to train until you can control it freely and fully unleash its potential."

"I don't like fighting!"

Nami crossed her arms and looked at the vast horizon ahead. "I'm just a navigator. My job is to make sure this ship—our ship—reaches its destination safely."

Redio laughed: "You only say that because you were physically weak before. Once you really get into it, you'll love it."