Weather Fruit and Nami
The world's turmoil was still far off. For now, the New Windbreaker sailed alone on the open sea.
Yang Ning and Willie sat on the deck, bandaging each other's wounds. Esdeath, refusing to join them, had locked herself in her cabin, tending to her injuries in silence.
Beside them, Sylvester lay swathed in bandages like a mummy, breathing weakly.
Yang Ning's condition wasn't bad—after looting the enemy ship, his health had climbed back into the thousands. But Esdeath and Willie were in rough shape.
Willie especially. While Esdeath had dueled Fangsi Ge, he'd held off nearly three hundred CP agents—alone. And even in that chaos, he'd remembered not to kill them outright, leaving them alive for Yang Ning's system to harvest. With no real combat experience, he'd been tossed around like a ragdoll.
Now, even sitting upright made him wince in pain. Only when Yang Ning looked his way would he force a goofy grin.
Esdeath, despite her ethereal beauty, was stubborn to a fault. After a quick wrap of her wounds, she collapsed onto her cot, sheets soaking with blood, not a single sound escaping her lips.
On deck, Nami sat slumped, guilt heavy on her shoulders. Everyone was fighting, bleeding, sacrificing—and she'd done nothing.
It felt just like Cocoyasi all over again.
Just as her spirits hit rock bottom, a warm hand pressed gently on her head.
She looked up.
Yang Ning stood there, his own body wrapped in bandages, offering a soft smile.
"Why aren't you sailing the ship? Slacking off already? I'll dock your pay."
"Pfft—"
Nami laughed through tears.
"Heartless captain… when have you ever paid me?"
"Oi, old man—how much longer till we arrive?"
Yang Ning sat on the deck steps, gaze fixed on the horizon.
The old CP agent he'd dragged aboard wiped sweat from his brow, hesitating. "About… four or five hours?"
"About?"
Yang Ning drew his halberd.
The old man flinched, voice cracking: "Four hours! Just four more hours!"
Yang Ning pulled out a cloth and began wiping the blade, eyes still on the man. "Is that so?"
"Three hours!" the man blurted, panicked. "If we're not there in three, you can chop off my head!"
Yang Ning lowered the weapon, satisfied. "No jokes on this ship."
The old man exhaled in relief—but his eyes darted nervously. "Captain… will you let me go once we arrive?"
Yang Ning kept polishing. "I'm a reasonable man. If my brother lives, you live. If he dies… you become the ram."
Damn it—still the ram!
Frustrated, the old man rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a small wooden box. With a pained expression, he offered it to Yang Ning.
"Could this… save my life?"
The box was barely bigger than a fist. Yang Ning didn't even reach for it—gold and treasure meant little to him now.
Seeing his indifference, the old man grew desperate.
"Captain! This is a Devil Fruit—from the Celestial Dragons' private collection!"
He paused, then, noticing no one on the ship bore the telltale signs of a Devil Fruit user, added eagerly: "Anyone who eats a Devil Fruit gains a magical power—combat strength skyrockets! Even a common, unknown Devil Fruit sells for 100 million Berries on the black market!"
"100 million Berries?!"
Nami's hands flew to her mouth, eyes wide.
Yang Ning stopped wiping his blade. Of course he knew what a Devil Fruit was—the old man had his full attention now.
He took the box and opened it. Inside lay a strange, melon-shaped fruit. Its surface bore cloud-like scales and raindrop patterns. Branches and leaves curled like lightning bolts. He couldn't identify it by sight alone.
He held it up, studying the old man, who rubbed his hands together, smiling nervously.
"Sir… could this spare my life?"
One for one—fair trade. If the place could truly save Sylvester, it'd be two lives for one fruit. Yang Ning saw no reason to refuse.
"Fine. But only if that place actually saves my man."
Relief flooded the old man's face. He slumped to the deck, sighing. Elsewhere, saving a life might be uncertain—but there, he was sure it could be done.
Yang Ning nudged him with his scabbard. "You still haven't told me what kind of fruit this is."
The old man thought for a moment. "Paramecia type… Weather Fruit."
Weather Fruit?
Yang Ning's eyes lit up. Perfect.
Not for him—for Nami.
A top-tier navigator who could control the weather? That was power beyond maps and currents.
(Though if future-Nami saw this, she'd probably scoff: "What's a Weather Stick? Don't talk to me—I'm not close to that thing.")
"Eat this."
He turned and thrust the fruit into Nami's hands without hesitation.
Nami stared, stunned. She pointed at herself. "Me?"
Yang Ning grabbed her small hand and pressed the fruit into it. "Of course! It controls the weather! If not you, then who? I'm not a navigator."
Nami looked down at the strange, 100-million-Berry fruit in her palm. Tears welled—half disbelief, half overwhelming emotion.
"100 million Berries… just like that… given to me?"
"Oi, what are you waiting for?" Yang Ning patted her back, confused. "Injured? Just say so. I'll take you to get bandaged. Really inconvenient—we need a doctor."
His bluntness jolted her out of her daze. She closed her eyes, then opened them with a helpless sigh.
"I'm not hurt. Okay, okay… I'll eat it."
Ughhh—
One bite—and her face crumpled. She swore she'd never tasted anything so vile.
But the thought of 100 million Berries steeled her greed. Bite after bitter bite, she forced the whole fruit down.
Yang Ning watched, brow furrowed, expression strained.
When she finally swallowed the last chunk—eyes bulging, neck craned—he spoke quietly:
"Actually… you only need to eat one bite of a Devil Fruit."
"…?"
Nami froze mid-gag. Her bloodshot eyes snapped to Yang Ning.
Her tigress instincts roared to life.
"You fing—!!! You tricked me into eating a whole pile of SHIT?!"
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Three sharp blows landed on Yang Ning's head. He clutched the fresh lumps, obediently squatting on the deck.
"Sorry, sorry…"
Nami, now back to her usual self, blew imaginary smoke from her pink fist, cheeks puffed in fury.
Watching her—truly her again—Yang Ning smiled warmly.
"Hehe… you're much more normal now."
"You don't need to treat us like you owe us your life. And don't think you're useless. We're comrades who share life and death, right?"
"You're our most important navigator. Indispensable."