Koby poked his head out the window in confusion, trying to see what the commotion outside had been about.
But at that very moment, a swift figure suddenly dropped down from above.
Tap!
Nami landed squarely on the windowsill, arriving face-to-face with Koby at the window.
"Huh!? Someone's here!?"
Nami froze for an instant. She'd been planning to sneak in through the window.
Inside the room, Koby was equally stunned.
The next second, however, Nami's hand shot to her waist. She pulled out the Clima-Tact in one smooth motion and flicked it with a single hand, instantly assembling it into its long-staff form.
She had already asked the inn staff about this place. This entire inn had been rented out by a group of suspicious pirates—there were no other guests.
Which meant that anyone still in the room at this time could only be a pirate.
"Buzzy Buzz!"
Crack—!
Without the slightest hesitation, Nami thrust her Clima-Tact forward.
Brilliant lightning flared in an instant, blasting straight toward Koby as terror filled his eyes.
"AAAH—!!!"
A miserable scream burst from Koby's mouth.
Bathed in crackling electricity, his hair stood straight on end, instantly exploding into a bizarre, spiky mess.
A few seconds later, his entire body twitching with residual sparks, Koby staggered unsteadily and muttered in disbelief,
"W-Why…?"
The very next moment, paralyzed by the effects of Buzzy Buzz, his body stiffened—and he collapsed unconscious on the spot.
Even until the second before blacking out, Koby couldn't understand why Nami had suddenly attacked him.
As for Nami, seeing how easily he went down, surprise flickered through her eyes.
"…That was unexpectedly easy?"
She quickly dismissed the thought and began scanning the room.
Before long, her gaze locked onto an utterly ordinary wooden crate.
It was the source of the intense excitement pounding in her chest.
"I wonder what kind of treasure this is~?"
Nami licked her lips eagerly and strode over.
Crackle—!
A flash of electricity sliced through the air, and the padlock instantly melted and fell away.
She reached out with slender fingers and lifted the lid with bated breath.
In the next instant—
A fruit with a perfectly smooth surface yet covered in bizarre, swirling patterns appeared before her eyes.
"Th-This is…"
Shock crossed Nami's face.
Then, in the very next heartbeat, her eyes filled completely with joy.
"A Devil Fruit!!!"
She shouted in a hushed but trembling voice.
Though this was her first time seeing one in person, she had already learned quite a bit about the sea from Red during their casual chats—about Log Poses on the Grand Line, the correct way to enter Reverse Mountain…
Naturally, knowledge about Devil Fruits and Devil Fruit users had been one of their key topics.
Bang!
Nami snapped the crate shut, but the excitement in her eyes overflowed.
"I've struck it rich!"
A Devil Fruit!
A treasure worth at least one hundred million Beli!
She never could have imagined that her Pickup Ability would be so powerful—powerful enough to let her literally pick up a Devil Fruit!
Swish!
Without any hesitation, Nami reached into the four-dimensional pocket at her chest, pulled out a bundle of rope, and in the blink of an eye tied the crate securely to her back.
…
…
At the same time, out on the street in front of the inn.
In order to obtain the 150 million Beli and make a comeback, Alvida completely discarded her former domineering attitude. With a fawning smile plastered on her face, she said to Bartolomeo,
"Lord Barto, look…"
"That inn up ahead is where we're staying. The Devil Fruit is on the second floor!"
"Yes, that room with the open window! My subordinate is guarding the Devil Fruit inside…"
"Look, it's in the crate on that woman's back."
"...…?"
"Huh?!"
Mid-sentence, Alvida froze.
Bartolomeo and his men also went momentarily blank.
Bartolomeo pointed forward uncertainly.
"That woman… is your subordinate?"
"How could that be!? Koby's a real man!!!"
Alvida screamed in horror, then shrieked,
"That woman is a thief!!!"
In the next second, she hoisted her massive spiked club.
Her bulky body burst forth with astonishing speed, like a charging bear, as she swung the club down toward Nami with full force!
"Hmm?!"
The violent whistle of the attack immediately caught Nami's attention.
Just as she was about to slip away unnoticed, she looked back—and saw Alvida charging at her, face twisted with rage.
"You damn thief! Give my treasure back!!!"
BOOM—!!!
The enormous club slammed into the ground.
Under the terrifying force, cracks like a spiderweb spread across the street.
The inn's front structure collapsed outright, and with the roof caving in, Nami lost her footing.
Of course, this posed no real problem for her.
At the instant the roof gave way, she lightly tapped her toes—and her body floated upward like a drifting balloon, soaring into the air.
"I've been discovered?"
Nami frowned slightly and glanced down at Alvida.
Though she had the strength to fight back, stealing was still stealing. Feeling somewhat guilty, she didn't really want to clash with Alvida head-on.
"Sorry about that, ma'am~" Nami flashed a sly grin. "I'll just be taking this treasure with me!"
Relying on the flight granted by Floaty Fall, she turned and ascended straight into the sky.
Now that the prize was in hand, there was no reason for her to stay.
"Ma… ma'am!?"
Alvida looked up in disbelief as Nami drifted farther and farther away—taking the Devil Fruit with her.
"That damn woman!!!"
Bang!
She vented her fury by smashing her club into the ground, rage pouring from her eyes.
At that moment, Bartolomeo and his crew rushed over.
Recalling how Buggy the Clown had disappeared without a word not long ago, Bartolomeo looked genuinely surprised.
"Another Devil Fruit user?"
"What is going on with Loguetown today?"
But then his expression changed as he turned to Alvida.
"Looks like you weren't lying after all… but our deal might have to be called off~"
He glanced in the direction Nami had flown.
Devil Fruits were precious, sure—but they had already offended the Loguetown Marines earlier.
For the sake of maintaining territory stability, he no longer wanted to stir up trouble here.
However—
"W-Wait!"
Just as Bartolomeo and his men were about to leave, Alvida suddenly tossed aside her club and called out to them.
In her eyes flashed tangled emotions—three parts struggle, three parts hesitation—until all of it was finally ignited by four parts pure rage.
When Bartolomeo turned back, Alvida pointed fiercely at Nami in the sky and gritted her teeth.
"Bartolomeo! You're strong, right?!"
"If you help me catch that woman, I don't want the Devil Fruit or the Beli!"
"I'll even join your crew—be your subordinate and obey any order!"
"A pirate with a 5 million Beli bounty—she should still be useful to you!"
Toyed with and humiliated again and again in a single day, Alvida's sanity finally snapped.
Her men were gone. The Devil Fruit had been stolen.
She had lost everything.
Worst of all—she didn't even know who that woman was!
At this point, the shattered Alvida no longer cared about anything else.
No matter the cost, she wanted those two women who had driven her to ruin to regret it.
"Oh?"
Hearing her words, Bartolomeo's lips curled up with interest.
Alvida wasn't exceptionally strong, but within his group, she'd still rank among the top three fighters.
Chasing down a single woman—not only would they get a Devil Fruit for free, they'd also gain a capable subordinate…
"Interesting."
"That's a good deal."
Bartolomeo grinned broadly.
"And having a Devil Fruit snatched right at the finish line…"
"Yeah, that does piss me off."
He suddenly raised his arm and shouted,
"Men!"
"OH!!!"
His crew answered in unison.
"Go after that woman!!!"
"Yes!!!"
Rumble—!
With Bartolomeo's command, a swarm of oddly dressed delinquents with multicolored hair erupted into motion, tearing through Loguetown's streets and kicking up clouds of dust.
One of them even picked up Koby, who had fallen out during the inn's collapse.
Seeing Koby's pink, explosively spiked hair, the delinquent mistook him for one of their own, called to his comrades, and carried him along while running.
In an instant, the streets of Loguetown were filled with a dazzling, chaotic spectacle of color.
Yet this lively scene was merely the tip of the iceberg of the chaos unfolding in Loguetown that day.
(End of Chapter)