The Pickup Ability...
It was a peculiar trait—rarely triggered, yet whenever it did, it always brought Nami a delightful surprise!However, whether it was because this ability had some kind of cooldown in the real world, or simply because there hadn't been any valuable treasures nearby to activate it...
Ever since they entered the Grand Line, the Straw Hats had traveled across quite a few islands—Twin Cape, Whiskey Peak, Little Garden, Drum Island...
But throughout all those journeys, Nami had not once felt her Pickup ability activate.
Until now—just when she'd nearly forgotten about it altogether...
Her Pickup ability suddenly reacted once more!
And strangely enough, this time it activated twice in a row!
The sensation was odd—like discovering a treasure map and following its trail toward hidden riches, only for someone else to lay a second, larger map over it... one with a more obvious route and a far greater treasure waiting at the end.
Under Nami's insistence, the Sand Pirates had no choice but to comply with her every command.
After all—how could they refuse, when their very lives were in her hands?
Fortunately for them, this time Nami didn't make them sail for a full day and night like before.
When the sun climbed to its zenith and began its descent, Nami suddenly rose from the captain's seat and shouted toward the helmsman:"Stop the ship!!"
The confused Sand Pirates froze, but the quick-reacting Rasah instantly obeyed, pulling up the sails with practiced agility.
Moments later—
Under Nami's lead, the puzzled pirates followed her beneath a massive, withered fruit tree.
"That's a Shala fruit tree!" Rasah quickly warned upon recognizing it.
The Shala fruit was a common fruit in Alabasta's arid deserts—non-toxic, edible, of mediocre taste, but containing a trace of water.It was a staple among the desert bandits.
However, Rasah soon noticed something unusual above the tree.
"Eh!? What's that!?" he exclaimed.
He pointed toward a strange fruit wedged among the upper branches.
It was much larger than the usual Shala fruit—three or four times the size—and its shape was nothing like any fruit at all.
In fact, it looked more like a cactus that had sprouted from the sands themselves.
But on closer inspection, faint spiral patterns could be seen on its skin—patterns Nami knew all too well.
After all, her prized treasure, the Slip-Slip Fruit, bore the exact same markings!
"Could this be... a Devil Fruit!?" Nami gasped in delight, whispering to herself.
After studying it a moment longer, she confirmed with certainty,"Yes! It's definitely a Devil Fruit!"
So that's why the earlier signal had been overridden—her Pickup had sensed an even greater treasure nearby!
Overjoyed, Nami darted forward.Amid the Sand Pirates' envious yet fearful gazes, she nimbly leapt up and plucked the Devil Fruit from its branch.
"Haha! I'm now a woman with two Devil Fruits!"
"I absolutely love this ability!"
She laughed heartily, eyes glittering with the golden sheen of pure greed.
Evening fell.The crimson glow of the setting sun dyed the desert into a sea of scarlet.A warm breeze stirred, sweeping waves of red sand across the dunes like the rolling tide.
Content with her haul, Nami sailed back to the Straw Hats' campsite aboard the Barubaru Sand Pirates' warship.
"Eh~ Nami, you're back!?"
Luffy, gnawing on a massive roasted drumstick beside the bonfire, beamed when he saw her descend from above.
The rest of the crew turned at his voice.
Sanji, who had been tending the grill, instantly spun into a flaming whirlwind of legs and rushed to her side.
"Nami-san! Thank goodness you're safe!" he cried, eyes shining."Please, try this—" he presented a steaming skewer with reverence—"—my special Desert-Style Roast of Love!"
"Hey hey hey, Sanji! Didn't you just say the exact same thing to Robin!?" Usopp shouted, seeing his portion stolen away. "You can't reuse the same cheesy line on two girls—it's pathetic!"
Zoro burst out laughing, slapping his thigh. "Haha! Busted!"
"Shut up, you idiots!!" Sanji roared, throwing down the skewer as he lunged at Zoro and Usopp.
In the chaos, poor Chopper—peacefully eating nearby—was dragged into the brawl. Furious, he transformed into his Heavy Point form, escalating the skirmish even further.
"Honestly~ we have guests watching! Stop embarrassing me!" Nami sighed, shaking her head.
Then she turned her gaze toward the bonfire—where Red and Robin sat side by side. Seeing them there, her expression brightened.
Their return meant only one thing: the Warlord of the Sea who had threatened Alabasta had finally been defeated.
That meant she could soon negotiate directly with King Cobra about their next steps.
Red had told her before—his plan was for the Alabasta Kingdom to serve as a major base for the Straw Hats in the first half of the Grand Line.
And if it was to be a base, then besides military strength, the next thing they'd need most was—economy.
Trade creates value.And circulation of goods means more money.In other words, Alabasta would soon bring them an endless flow of wealth and resources.
Of course, that depended on them successfully establishing the so-called Utopia—Pokémon Paradise.
But Nami wasn't worried in the least.
With Red's abilities, success was already a foregone conclusion.
Her role would be to design a reasonable, sustainable profit model for this paradise that hadn't even been built yet.
"Hmm~"
Thinking of the paradise project, Nami glanced around the campfire.
There were the brawling Zoro, Usopp, Sanji, and Chopper; the newly returned Red and Robin; Luffy devouring his food; and Ace, drunkenly treating Smoker like his new drinking buddy.
"Wait... where's Vivi?" Nami asked. "Why isn't she here?"
"Princess Vivi~"
Robin, reading by firelight, smiled knowingly as she recalled something amusing.
"Princess Vivi is rehearsing aboard the Going Merry right now," she said. "She might not have time to join us for dinner."
"Rehearsing?" Nami frowned. "Figures—it's probably for that Pokémon Paradise project again."
Satisfied that Vivi was safe, Nami let it go.
Instead, she unshouldered her backpack, flashing a sly grin as she held something out toward Red."Hey, Red. Do you know what kind of fruit this is?"
"Fruit?" Red blinked, surprised. Then his eyes widened as he recognized the sand-coated, cactus-like sphere in her hands.
In the next instant, his expression froze in disbelief.
That was unmistakably a Devil Fruit—one he had seen in video records before.
And coincidentally... it was the very same one recently left behind by the Warlord he had just defeated—Crocodile's Logia-Type Suna Suna no Mi, the Sand-Sand Fruit!
"Holy—!"
Red nearly dropped his food, staring at Nami in astonishment as she smirked knowingly.
Finally, he burst out laughing and said,"Nami, your Pickup Ability paired with your love of money…"
"…really picked up a fortune this time!!!"
(End of Chapter)