Chapter 138: We Part Ways And Arrive At Foosha Village
Over the next few days, Roy visited Nami every single day, sitting with her in the orange grove and telling stories of his voyages around the world.
Wherever he had once sailed, Roy had left behind a record.
He had photos of islands, seas, strange climates and stranger people.
So Nami was not only hearing about distant oceans and faraway lands, she could see them for herself through the pictures he laid out one by one.
As Roy talked and Nami listened, the two of them slowly became true friends.
[Favorability with Nami increased by 5!]
"Nami, do you want to see the sea charts your big brother drew, and the routes he collected from all over the world?"
In the middle of the orange grove, Roy sat at a small table, several rolled charts in his hand. He waved them with a smile.
Nami's eyes lit up and she nodded so fast her pigtails bounced.
Beside her, Nojiko sat peeling an orange. She was already used to this. Her little sister had a particular fondness for anything to do with maps and the sea.
"But these are very precious," Roy said, grinning as he hid the charts behind his back.
Bellemere, tending the nearby trees, glanced over and gave a helpless smile.
"Mua!"
Nami stood up on the stool, leaned forward, and gave his cheek a quick peck, then plopped back down with a giggle.
Roy was speechless.
This little thief cat already knew how to pull tricks like this at her age?
"Nami and Brother Roy are best friends, so give them to me, give them to me," Nami said, winking mischievously.
Roy could only surrender and hand over the charts.
Bellemere shook her head. As far as she was concerned, this was just Nami being silly. She did not think too deeply about it.
"I have another gift for you," Roy said, taking a book from behind his back.
"Thank you!" Nami beamed. She leaned forward again, clearly about to repeat her little move, but Roy quickly reached out and stopped her.
Good grief. If he let this continue, she would copy the routine perfectly.
"Nami, we will have to pause the stories for now," Roy said. "I will tell you more once I come back in a few days."
He was planning to leave for a while to enroll a certain blond apprentice in a free training course.
"Hmph, you big liar."
Nami glared at him, slammed the book down on the table, and puffed out her cheeks.
Roy simply smiled back at her.
So you are mad, but you are still clutching the book.
If you really do not want it, you can throw it at me.
"What, Nami gives you a kiss and you already do not want Nami anymore? You big liar," she huffed, voice full of wounded accusation.
Roy's expression did not change.
Nice try, little thief. Keep acting.
"Ugh…"
Nami was about to continue her performance when Nojiko suddenly stuffed a slice of orange into her mouth.
Nami chewed, swallowed, then glared at Roy again with big, round, watery eyes.
"Sigh, I guess Nami should not have believed you," she said, shaking her head and sighing dramatically.
The act was convincing.
…Until you looked around the table.
Bellemere, Roy, and Nojiko were all sitting together, quietly peeling and eating oranges while watching Nami perform.
They did not interrupt.
They just watched.
Nami, that clever little schemer, was not fooling anyone.
"Alright, alright, I give up!"
She could not stand the staring any longer. She slapped her hand on the table, hugged the book to her chest, and glared at the "heartless" man.
"Tell me, you stinky man, when are you coming back to see Sister Nami?"
"Smack, smack."
Bellemere lifted a fly swatter and tapped Nami's forehead a few times.
"Nami, I will allow you to rephrase that," she said.
"Ouch, that hurts…"
Nami pouted, rubbing her head and looking at Bellemere with teary eyes.
Bellemere herself had used "that kind" of teasing on her "father" in the past, so Nami had learned it all directly from her.
"Bellemere, you really should pay attention to your words and actions from now on," Roy said with a helpless sigh. "She is almost certainly imitating you. Children copy what they see."
Nami's personality in the future would have plenty of Oda's wicked sense of humor, that much was clear.
But Bellemere certainly bore some responsibility too.
There were things adults could joke about, but they should not throw away their self respect while doing it.
"I am very sorry. It really does seem like my fault," Bellemere said with an apologetic smile.
Just yesterday, she had deliberately teased Roy with similar lines.
But who was Roy?
Did she really think a few joking words would scare him?
If his relationship with Bellemere were not already this close, he might have…
Cough.
No.
His savings had been completely emptied before he even left.
"Alright, alright, I was wrong," Nami said quickly. "So, Brother Roy, when are you coming back to let Sister Nami listen to more stories?"
"Smack, smack."
This time Roy took the fly swatter from Bellemere and tapped Nami's forehead twice himself.
"I will also allow you to rephrase that," he said.
"…"
Nami stuck out her tongue at both of them, made a funny face, then stuffed the book inside her clothes and ran into the house.
"Remember to come back and finish the story. You cannot break your promise before you are done!"
"Got it," Roy said.
He gathered up the photos on the table, carefully put them away, and stood up.
To be honest, Nami was a very troublesome girl to handle.
Roy had experienced that firsthand these past few days.
But a voyage could not stay anchored in one place forever.
"I should go. You two get back to your work," he said, smiling at Bellemere and Nojiko.
"Let me walk you out. Thank you for everything these past few days," Bellemere said quickly, standing up and following him out of the grove.
"It is nothing special," Roy replied with a smile. "Meeting a girl like Nami, who shares my love for sailing, is my real good luck."
"This child is just too naughty," Bellemere said, shaking her head.
Only when they reached the edge of the orange grove did Roy finally persuade Bellemere to head back.
As he walked through the village, he picked up Sanji from the open space where the boy was sweating through his training.
Roy's gaze drifted to a spot in the distance, where the ruins of a small collapsed house lay quiet and forgotten.
Once, that had been the place he and Toki had stayed when they parted ways.
With no one to look after it, time had slowly turned the house into rubble.
"I am leaving," Roy murmured, then turned away.
It was just a house.
Toki would return one day.
…
Several days later.
East Blue, Goa Kingdom, Foosha Village.
A warship was moored at the tiny pier of the small coastal village.
So far, this quiet place had produced two remarkable figures.
One was the Navy's hero, Vice Admiral Garp.
The other would not become famous until years later, at a World Conference, when a king from the West Blue would warn of the "Dragon of the Revolutionary Army."
For now, in Foosha Village, a small boy with short black hair and a bandage on his nose was tearing through the streets at full speed.
"Get back here, Luffy!"
"No way, no way, Grandpa is the worst! Hahaha!"
"Luffy, Grandpa has some delicious food for you."
"Huh? I want to eat!"
Tiny, adorable Luffy skidded to a stop and turned, eyes shining, at his grandfather.
Garp strolled over, carrying a wooden box one handed, and Luffy's gaze locked onto it.
"Here," Garp said, holding it out.
Luffy licked his lips and grabbed the box eagerly, flipping the lid open.
"Nothing?!"
He stared at the empty box, then up at his grandfather, outrage written all over his face.
"You liar!"
"Hahaha, come train with your grandpa, and I will buy you something after you are done," Garp said with a booming laugh.
How could that be lying?
He had never said he would give the boy treats right away.
Naive Luffy, his snacks only came after training.
Garp did not even need to run to catch this idiot grandson.
He could catch him every time at a walking pace.
"No! Ow!"
Luffy bit his grandfather's hand, hard, and Garp, playing along, pretended to be in pain and let go.
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