Starting with two Kamui, they raised the flag of rebellion in One Piece.

"Nami."

Without hesitation, Li Mingyuan called out the other person's name.

Nami turned around quickly upon hearing the voice, and her expression showed surprise when she saw that it was Li Mingyuan.

However, she quickly nodded in realization.

"Really? Are you already leaving this island?"

"Although the banquet is indeed ending tomorrow, judging from how much you've enjoyed yourself these past few days, I thought you would stay on the island to rest for a while longer."

As she spoke, Nami walked over to Li Mingyuan and looked up at the man in front of her.

Compared to his drunken state the night before last, he seemed much more normal today. I guess he planned to settle the invitation matter tonight from the beginning, and he intentionally controlled his alcohol intake at the banquet.

But if she thought that way, the other person might have made up their mind to leave the island even sooner than she expected.

"The ship's repairs are finished, and the pirate ship's original grotesque shark head prow has been completely removed. Since there's nothing else to do, it's best to leave quickly."

Li Mingyuan joked, "And if we stay any longer, this village will soon be eaten out of poverty."

"That's true, I've never seen anyone as impolite as you before."

Nami bluntly complained, "You want to eat all sorts of things. You even went to the kitchen to ask them to make more dishes that were already finished. And when you see something delicious or that you like, you hogging the seats without any mercy. What kind of bustling island do you think this is? This isn't your wish-granting machine."

The banquet lasted three days and three nights, during which Li Mingyuan fully demonstrated the characteristics of a time traveler.

That is, being curious about everything in this world.

He had never seen sea monster meat before, and all sorts of rare delicacies found only in the ocean. He made the villagers try to cook anything they could possibly eat, as if he were their benefactor. As a result, Li Mingyuan found himself increasingly developing the same eating habits as those big eaters in the original One Piece series. His taste buds, completely conquered by the food of the One Piece world, made him extremely greedy for food.

Hearing Nami's complaint, Li Mingyuan shrugged and replied, "There's nothing I can do, the food is just too delicious. Isn't this my way of acknowledging the chef's skills?"

"But now that you know why I'm here, let's not waste any more time."

Let's get straight to the point.

After ending the pleasantries in a relaxed tone, Li Mingyuan looked at Nami again with a serious expression.

"Ever since you rejected me, I've been asking around about you, including what happened in this village, why you joined the Arlong Pirates, and what your purpose was."

"After rethinking it over these past two days, I realize that the invitation was indeed a bit sudden. After all, you were forced to draw sea charts by the Arlong Pirates for so many years. Suddenly, another guy saw those charts and wanted to continue exploiting your talent. You must have felt unwilling, right? I can understand that."

Li Mingyuan said earnestly, "So before I formally begin the invitation process, I must first apologize for my rudeness last time."

"I'm sorry, Nami. Perhaps my words unintentionally hurt your feelings. Can you forgive me?"

Upon hearing this, Nami quickly waved her hand, somewhat embarrassed, and replied, "It's okay, it's okay. I knew from the beginning that you didn't know anything, so I didn't particularly care."

Even if you don't care, it's understandable that such an invitation wouldn't be successful if they didn't care about your feelings.

"So, to avoid repeating the same mistake, I specifically went to Nochigo yesterday to inquire about it."

Li Mingyuan's expression was serious as he said in a deep voice, "Nami, I heard that your childhood dream was to draw a world map?"

"Is this dream still your dream?"

Li Mingyuan and Nami locked eyes.

Caught off guard, Nami instinctively replied, "Did Nojiko even tell you this?"

"Really..."

With a sigh, Nami avoided Li Mingyuan's gaze, gripping her arm with one hand in a defensive posture.

"To be honest, it would be a lie to say otherwise, but even so, it's not just you who's been thinking about these things these past two days. I've also been reflecting on my current situation—I don't know what to do right now."

"I'm really happy that you invited me to join your crew, because in a way, I can travel the world and draw sea charts again. And this time, it's not for the Arlong Pirates, but for my own dream. My rational mind tells me that accepting your invitation is the best thing to do."

"But for some reason, I just couldn't bring myself to tell you about this dream, nor did I have the idea of ​​fulfilling it on your ship."

Nami lowered her head and said softly, "If I said that, you would definitely be angry, wouldn't you?"

At this moment, Nami was almost mentally prepared to break ties with her benefactor. After all, to some extent, her words had already blocked Li Mingyuan's path to accepting his invitation before he invited her again. It was perfectly normal for Li Mingyuan to be angry.

However, to Nami's surprise, Li Mingyuan did not get angry and scold her after hearing her story.

Instead, after a long while, Li Mingyuan's calm voice came from above.

"Just as I expected, that's exactly what I was thinking."

Nami suddenly looked up, staring at Li Mingyuan's face with disbelief.

At this moment, Li Mingyuan calmly looked at Nami and said, "What? Did you think I wouldn't have expected you to refuse again? If going to sea with you means being linked to your dreams, then being rejected is not surprising. I'm definitely not the one you're looking for."

"Ultimately, we don't really understand each other. Even if I defeated the Arlong Pirates, it doesn't prove anything. I know that. After all, it was our first meeting, and I went a little too far with my methods. It's already good enough that you don't see me as a bloodthirsty pervert. I don't ask for any higher levels of trust."

"Therefore, after much consideration, I decided last night that I would not ask you to join my group."

"ah?!"

Nami was truly shocked.

He showed the same surprised expression as Karina before, and looked at Li Mingyuan.

"What does this mean? Don't you want a navigator anymore?"

Nami asked tentatively.

"Joining as a partner requires a certain level of trust. Besides, even setting aside objective factors, to be honest, I can't help you achieve your dreams."

"After talking with Noki yesterday, I realized this, because my route will not follow the normal log pointer. I will basically only use the permanent pointer to go directly between destinations. If your goal is to draw a nautical chart, then you will have no chance of achieving your goal if you are with me."

Li Mingyuan said calmly, "You probably don't know about this yet, do you?"

Normally, navigating the Grand Line requires a compass, which records the magnetic attraction between islands to guide the direction to the next island.

However, in the Grand Line, in addition to the normal Log Pose, there is something called the Eternal Log Pose, which will always point in the direction of a certain island and can also guide people to avoid getting lost.

If you use a permanent pointer instead of a normal log pointer to navigate, it's like skipping the Grand Line and going straight to a certain destination.

For Nami, who wanted to create a world map, this voyage was essentially skipping over her dream.

In any case, this means that Nami cannot become partners with Li Mingyuan.

"What is this? A Log Pose? An Eternity Pose? Do we need these things when sailing the Grand Line? This is the first time I've ever heard of them."

Nami murmured in confusion, "Does that mean I could never be your partner in the first place?"

That's how it is.

"Actually, if you think about it carefully, this is quite normal, isn't it? I'm not a pirate. Since my destination isn't Laugh Tale or the One Piece, then the normal Log Pose route is meaningless to me. After all, most sailors who follow the Log Pose by the book are trying to point out the location of the final island step by step based on the guidance. That's the greatest value of the Log Pose."

Li Mingyuan looked at Nami, who had a dejected expression, and observed every change in her expression.

Once he felt the time was right, he abruptly changed the subject and continued, "So, instead, I've come up with a new plan."

"Even if we might not have the chance to be partners for the time being, Nami, how about I hire you as my employer?"

"A maid...?"

Nami's eyes were still filled with confusion, and as she listened to Li Mingyuan's words, she subconsciously repeated them.

"Yes, it's an employment. If it's not about fulfilling a dream, how about just considering it for making a living? You're just idling at home anyway, so why not treat it as a chance to see the Grand Line, gain experience in advance, and travel with us for a while? If it's an employment, I'll pay you a considerable amount of money."

"Ten million Berries a year, how about becoming our navigator?"

Li Mingyuan said with a smile.

"Ten million Berries!?"

Before Nami could speak, Karina, who had been quietly listening from the side, suddenly cried out in astonishment.

"No way! Are you kidding me?! I, Lady Karina, might not even be able to steal ten million Berries in a year! And you're going to pay ten million Berries a year just to hire a navigator?!"

"Are you even thinking straight? Have you gone mad?"

Karina looked at Li Mingyuan in disbelief.

Hearing Karina's voice, Nami belatedly snapped out of her daze, gasping in shock. "Ten million Berries a year? In the entire East Blue, I doubt anyone would dare offer a navigator that price. Are you serious?"

"More real than diamonds."

Ignoring Karina beside him, Li Mingyuan continued, focusing on Nami's conversation, "Although this money originally came from your gratitude fee, returning money taken from you in this way shouldn't be too bad, right?"

"Besides, given your current mindset, the employment relationship should be relatively relaxed. If you feel there are better options along the way, you can choose to disembark at any time, and I will not restrict your personal freedom."

"Going to such lengths, you still want to drag me onto your boat?"

Nami rubbed her temples, looking rather bewildered, and said, "Honestly, even on some pirate ships, the real crew members wouldn't get this much money."

"You're worth the price; I believe in your abilities."

Without a moment's hesitation, Li Mingyuan replied firmly, "Although I only learned about it by looking at the nautical charts from Along Paradise, even if it was an unwilling creation, it was still something you drew yourself. I believe there is no navigator in the entire East China Sea who is better than you."

"...Even I feel my face getting hot after being talked about to this extent."

Nami shook her head and said, "I really didn't expect you to have thought of this. It seems that what you said about thinking about it carefully these past two days wasn't a lie."

"It's true what you said; I think I can accept the employment relationship now."

Nami took a deep breath, and her expression unconsciously became serious.

She gazed into Li Mingyuan's eyes and spoke again, "So, with these conditions in mind, can I trust you?"

"On the vast ocean, the captain and crew must trust each other. As I said before, I would rather not have a crew member who would stab me in the back. The same applies to you. We all need this kind of relationship."

Li Mingyuan extended his hand to Nami, "Welcome aboard my ship, Miss Navigator."

Seeing this, Nami couldn't help but smile and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"In that case, it doesn't seem like there's any problem with keeping it on your ship for a while."

Nami also reached out and grasped Li Mingyuan's hand.

"From today onwards, let's hunt down pirates together, Captain."

Nami blinked and teased playfully.

The overlapping hands symbolize a successful invitation, bringing the event to a smooth close.

Seeing this scene before him, a heavy burden was finally lifted from Li Mingyuan's heart.

Thankfully, everything went smoothly.

Li Mingyuan thought to himself, 'Being able to resolve this matter without resorting to any unethical or underhanded tactics is a good thing for me.'

Although he could complete certain conversations thanks to his precognitive abilities regarding the plot, he actually went to see Nojiko yesterday to discuss many things related to Nami in preparation for this invitation.

After the actual conversation, unlike in the manga, he also heard many details about Nami's life from Nojiko that were not in the manga. He realized that, like Madara and Hashirama, Nami was also a living person, and her life was much more extensive and vivid than what was shown in the manga.

If they were to truly become partners, it would also mean accepting her ideas. This was something that Li Mingyuan, at least for now, couldn't do. He didn't want to follow the Straw Hat Pirates' path, going through the original story bit by bit. His goal had been clear and direct from the beginning.