With a wave of Luffy's arm, the wall of flame instantly vanished, allowing Bell-mère and the others to breathe freely again.
But Luffy didn't pay them any further attention. Instead, he rushed toward the battlefield, concern etched across his face.
"Are you okay, Robin?"
Still trembling slightly, Robin pressed her lips together and shook her head, signaling that she was unharmed.
Yet Nami's speed, so swift she hadn't even had time to react, was now deeply seared into her memory.
If Nami had grown up in the East Blue, proud and unmatched...
Then Robin was no different.
How many pirates in the Grand Line had tried to take down Luffy and claim the title of Warlord, only to be buried at Robin's hands?
From the start, she'd seen herself as a guide in this battle.
But in the end, not only was she forced to unleash her true power, she'd come dangerously close to being struck down by a berserk Nami.
Today's fight wasn't just a wake-up call for Nami, that there's always someone stronger, always another summit to reach...
It was a wake-up call for Robin too. She'd let herself slack off lately.
"Brook…"
Luffy walked up to the frozen statue of Nami and called softly.
Brook understood. Stepping forward, he placed one hand gently against the icy surface.
In the next instant, the entire block of ice began to melt, releasing a cold mist that drifted up into the sky.
As Nami fell backward from the melting sculpture, Luffy caught her in his arms.
"Nami!!"
Nojiko rushed over, panic written across her face as she looked down at the unconscious figure in Luffy's embrace.
It was hard to imagine such a sweet, delicate girl possessing such terrifying power.
"Don't worry," Luffy said gently to Nojiko, Bell-mère, and Genzo, who had followed close behind. "She's just out of magic. Exhausted. A little rest and she'll be fine."
"Whew…"
Relieved to hear that Nami wasn't hurt, Bell-mère let out a long breath, though her eyes never left her daughter's face.
Luffy carefully placed Nami into Bell-mère's arms. "You're her mom. Take her back to rest."
"Y-Yeah… okay…" Bell-mère replied softly, her eyes misting over with a strange mix of emotion as she held Nami close.
As Bell-mère walked away, carrying Nami in her arms, Luffy let out a quiet sigh and mentally opened Nami's status window. A light screen projected before his eyes:
─────────🏴☠️─────────
[Nami]
Rank: SS (+)
Stamina: 680
Strength: 520
Agility: 630
Mental Power: 850
All three equipment slots remain empty.
─────────🏴☠️─────────
Luffy had originally planned to save his money, hoping something powerful would appear in the system shop.
But after all this time, nothing worthwhile had come up.
If nothing decent turned up soon, he'd use that money to get gear for Robin and the others.
He had hoped to spend it on himself... but fate clearly had other plans.
The buffs from equipping allies didn't benefit him directly. At this rate, he might end up weaker than his own crew.
Troubling, really...
After closing Nami's window, Luffy opened Robin's.
─────────🏴☠️─────────
[Nico Robin]
Rank: SS (+)
Stamina: 1560
Strength: 1140
Agility: 1860
Mental Power: 1720
─────────🏴☠️─────────
Robin's stats had changed dramatically over the past few years.
Only she knew the effort, the sweat, and the pain she'd endured.
Day after day of relentless training, all for one goal, to never drag Luffy down, and to help him however she could.
And yet today… she'd still nearly lost.
Clenching her fists, Robin's nails dug deep into her palms.
"Robin."
Noticing her expression, Luffy frowned and stepped closer.
He didn't want her blaming herself over something like this.
In a rare moment of gentleness, he said, "Don't worry. I've got you."
Those simple words pierced Robin's heart like a beam of sunlight, dissolving the clouds of guilt and doubt within her.
This wasn't her fault.
Nami had just unleashed Dragon Force, a power rarely seen even in the world of Fairy Tail.
Her agility stat had surged past 2000, maybe even more. Even Luffy himself wouldn't be confident dodging such an attack flawlessly.
Still…
Luffy glanced at his dwindling gold. Equipping his crew was going to cost him.
Again.
─────────🏴☠️─────────
That evening, outside Genzo's house.
Since the village didn't have enough spare homes, Luffy and the crew would be returning to their ship for the night.
Just as the three of them were about to step outside after dinner, they paused in surprise.
Under the soft glow of the porch light stood Bell-mère, holding two large bottles of white liquor and chain-smoking at the door.
Judging by the cigarette butts on the ground, she'd been waiting a while.
A dim, fragile light stretched between her and Luffy, like a curtain of ice crystals, separating warmth and home from the vast unknown.
"Drink with me?" Bell-mère asked with a smile, raising one of the bottles.
"Sure," Luffy smiled back, then turned to Robin and Brook. "You two head back first."
They nodded silently and walked away.
From inside the house, Genzo watched them disappear into the night, then took off his hat and muttered to the spinning windmill above him, "Bell-mère… Nami…"
─────────🏴☠️─────────
On a small hill near Cocoyashi Village,
The same hill where Bell-mère's story had once come to its end.
The view was vast. Above, a starry sky and glowing moon; below, fields, homes, and flickering lights.
Bell-mère sat straight down on the grass. Luffy followed.
Before he could take in the scenery, Bell-mère spoke.
"Nami used to sit here all the time…"
"This is actually my first time up here. I didn't expect the view to be so beautiful. It's exactly my kind of place."
She gazed out at the moonlit sea. The light sparkled on the waves, dancing with the tide, adding life to the stillness.
"Nami's had it tough these past years, hasn't she?"
Luffy didn't look out like she did. Instead, he glanced around, and noticed the ground bore scars of fists, kicks, and blades.
"Yes," he said quietly.
Dragon Slayer Magic had incredible potential, but there was no way a regular fifteen- or sixteen-year-old girl could wield such power without effort.
Nami's strength had clearly been earned the hard way.
Pop.
Bell-mère bit the cork off a bottle and took a long, deep drink.
The liquor spilled down her neck and collarbone, glistening faintly in the moonlight, casting Luffy's shadow across her skin.
"Nami…"
She swallowed and continued.
"Ever since the day you left, she's spent less and less time at home."
"At first, Nojiko and I were worried sick. But eventually… we just got used to it."
The breeze passed through, and Bell-mère paused.
"Then one day, she said she wanted to go out to sea, as a bounty hunter."
"We tried to stop her. She said she finally understood, back then, she shouldn't have stopped you."
"She said she wanted to see for herself what the world beyond the good and beautiful looked like."
"A short while later, she left Cocoyashi Village on her own, without telling anyone."
"I still remember… the day she came back crying. I thought that would be the end of it."
She took another deep gulp, her eyes shimmering with tears and memories.
"But not long after… she left again."
"She never cried after that."
Bell-mère turned to Luffy, doubt in her voice.
"There can't be many people as strong as you out there, right?"
"The Grand Line?" Luffy's eyes drifted to the horizon. It felt as if he could see through the darkness, straight to the ends of the world.
"There are many. Too many to count."
He wasn't exaggerating. In the New World, even someone with a 300-million bounty was just a pawn.
"…That many?" Bell-mère's grip on the bottle trembled slightly.
Then, softly, "It must be incredible out there."
"It is," Luffy said without hesitation.
"That's enough, then."
Suddenly, Bell-mère stood, thrusting the second bottle into Luffy's hands. She looked down at him with commanding authority.
"Warlord of the Sea, Monkey D. Luffy!"
"I'm entrusting Nami to you!"
"If you don't take care of her, I'll come out of retirement as a Marine, chase you to the ends of the world, and wipe out every last one of you pirates!"
"I will!" Luffy declared, clinking his bottle against hers with a crisp ring.
Bell-mère chuckled. "Shouldn't you make a promise and down that bottle now?"
"Haha…"
Luffy smiled. "I don't really like drinking."
But then, with a flick of his thumb, he popped the cork and raised the bottle high.
He drank every last drop in one go, no spilling, no stopping.
"Because I never get drunk."
Under the moonlight, Luffy slowly turned, the wind tugging at his coat.
An aura of power quietly surged behind his eyes.
"I don't need to make any promises."
"Because my name is— "
"Monkey D. Luffy!!!"
=============
150+ Advance Chapters Available on Patreon! Patreon.com/Veltoria