Chapter 12: Meeting Nami

A month passed quickly since Ace went to sea.

Aboard a merchant ship in East Blue, a high-society banquet was in full swing. Richly dressed men and ladies filled the air with loud conversations and laughter. On the dance floor, couples moved gracefully to the music. Suddenly, the sound of a gunshot shattered the festive atmosphere, plunging the ship into chaos.

"Don't move! This ship belongs to our Bone Sword Pirates now!" a group of pirates announced, standing on the banquet table with ferocious smiles. Outside, a pirate ship approached rapidly. Amidst the turmoil, a figure with orange hair stealthily made her way toward the deck.

"When all these pirates come up, I can take action," the orange-haired girl whispered to herself, eyeing the pirate ship and the stream of pirates boarding the merchant vessel. Seeing no one left on the pirate ship, Nami seized the opportunity. She hooked a line to the pirate ship's deck and slid over, grinning triumphantly.

"Now, all the treasures on this pirate ship are mine," she thought, running toward the storage room.

"What a good plan, young lady," a voice suddenly said, causing Nami's blood to run cold. She turned to see a handsome black-haired man with a hat, squatting on the railing and smiling at her.

"Who are you? You don't look like one of these pirates," Nami said, feeling a sense of familiarity but unable to place him immediately.

"The little girl from Arlong's group, am I right? It wasn't easy finding you, little thieving cat," Ace said with a smile.

In the past month, Ace had scoured the surrounding waters and finally found traces of Nami.

"You... you are..." Nami's eyes widened in recognition. She recalled that about half a month ago, a man had killed five of Arlong's fish-men. The survivor had spread the word, and Arlong vowed revenge on this man. Now, here he was.

"I was forced to join Arlong's gang, don't kill me!" Nami pleaded, her eyes welling with tears. She believed this man had a vendetta against Arlong's crew and would kill her too.

"Kill you? I searched hard to find you. Why would I kill you?" Ace said, jumping down from the railing.

"Looking for me? Not to kill me?" Nami asked cautiously, puzzled.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Portgas D. Ace, and I am a pirate. My crew needs a navigator. How about joining us?" Ace extended the invitation with a smile.

"A pirate?" Nami's eyes flashed with hatred, but she quickly masked it. "I don't know much about navigation. You must have the wrong person."

"But the fish-men from Arlong's group say you have rare sailing talents," Ace countered. He had killed several fish-men recently, letting one escape to spread this information.

Nami's heart sank. "Well, you know I'm part of Arlong's group. Arlong is terrifying. If I join you, you'll be in trouble," she argued.

Nami was not worried about Ace but about the safety of Cocosia Village. If she left with him, her village would be doomed.

"Don't want to join my crew? What a shame," Ace sighed, turning to leave. As he did, he "accidentally" let a corner of his backpack fall open.

Nami's eyes instantly lit up with greed. "Wait, wait a minute!" she called out.

"Hmm?" Ace looked back at her with feigned curiosity, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"I... I can join," Nami said, having quickly calculated that Ace's bag contained a fortune of 100 million beli. She planned to steal the money while he slept to save her village.

Ace smiled triumphantly, knowing his plan had worked.

"Then, welcome aboard, Miss Navigator."

Ace smiled at Nami and extended his hand.

"Just call me Nami. You already know my name from those fishmen, right?" Nami replied, shaking his hand.

"Well, Captain, where's our ship?" Nami asked, looking around the deck.

"That's my boat," Ace said, pointing to a sailboard moored beside the pirate ship.

"This is a boat?!" Nami exclaimed, her mouth agape at the small windsurfing board, barely large enough for two.

"And where are our accomplices?" Nami asked, feeling a growing sense of unease.

"It's just us for now," Ace replied nonchalantly. "I just went to sea and still need to find my companions."

Nami took a deep breath. If Ace was alone, it would be easier to steal from him. Her thoughts were interrupted by harsh laughter from the merchant ship.

"Hahaha! What a great haul this time!" pirates cackled as they kicked and beat wealthy merchants and sailors on the deck, looting their treasures.

Nami's eyes filled with disgust. "Nami, you hate pirates, right?" Ace's voice startled her.

Turning slightly, she saw Ace smiling at her. "Captain, you must be joking. I was in Arlong's group," Nami stammered.

"I am not that kind of trash pirate. I hate those kinds of pirates too," Ace said, eyeing the approaching pirates who cursed loudly.

"Why?!" Nami asked, bewildered.

"Trash like this should be buried in the sea," Ace said, grabbing Nami and leaping off the pirate ship onto his sailboard. Nami screamed as flames surged under Ace's feet, propelling the board away.

"Boy! You think you can escape? We'll cut you to pieces!" the pirates yelled, aiming cannons at Ace and Nami.

"Run!" Nami shouted, her face pale as the cannons fired.

"Fire Fist!" Ace shouted, his hand transforming into a fiery dragon that obliterated the cannonballs and slammed into the pirate ship, engulfing it in flames. The ship and its crew were incinerated, their screams echoing as they turned to ash.

Ace touched his sun hat with a flame-lit finger and smiled at Nami. "Your captain is very strong," he said.

Nami stared in disbelief at the burning ship sinking into the sea.

"Thank you for killing those pirates," the merchant ship's captain and wealthy passengers said, grateful despite losing some treasure to the flames.

Nami felt a mix of confusion and amazement. Pirates being thanked? This was strange.

"By the way, what are your names?" the captain asked.

"I'm Ace, a pirate, and this is Nami, my navigator," Ace replied with a smile.

"!!!" The captain and merchants were stunned. They huddled together in fear. "No, don't kill us! We'll give you money," they cried.

"Calm down, we're different from those trash pirates. But I am hungry. Could you please give us some food?" Ace asked.

"Why?!" the captain asked, confused by the politeness.

"Do you really not want money?" he hesitated.

"If you insist," Ace said, unfolding his Haki and walking towards a little girl. He took a coin from her pocket and smiled warmly.

"Thank you for saving us, big brother," the girl said, smiling.

Ace picked her up, and she laughed happily. "Prepare a small boat for us. The one I have is a bit crowded for two people," he told the captain.

"Please join our banquet," the captain offered, trusting Ace.

"A party?" Ace's eyes lit up. He had grown tired of simple sea food. He took a glass of beer, laughed, and chatted with the others.

Nami watched, amazed. It seemed Ace was indeed different from other pirates.

"Hey! Nami, come to the party!" Ace called.

"Coming, coming..." Nami hesitated but walked towards Ace. Could he really be a pirate? She looked at him mingling with everyone, his laughter infectious, and her eyes filled with curiosity and wonder.