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Coby stuck his head out of the window in confusion, trying to see what the commotion was about.
But at this moment, a swift figure suddenly fell from the sky.
Thud!
Nami, who dropped from above, landed on the window ledge and looked directly at Coby by the window.
"Huh!? Someone's here!?"
Nami, who had been planning to sneak in through the window, was suddenly startled.
The same went for Coby inside the room.
But the next moment, Nami quickly reached for the Clima-Tact at her waist, flicked it with one hand, and immediately assembled it into its staff form.
She had just asked the hotel staff and learned that this hotel had already been booked by a group of strange pirates with no other guests.
So the only ones staying in the room at this time would be pirates!
"Buzzy Buzz!"
Time seemed to slow—
Without any hesitation, Nami thrust forward with the Clima-Tact in her hand.
Bright lightning suddenly flashed and struck directly in front of Coby, whose eyes widened in horror.
"AHHH~!!!"
A painful scream erupted from Coby's mouth.
Under the electrical discharge, his hair stood on end and instantly transformed into an unconventional afro.
A few seconds later, with sparks flickering all over his body, he trembled twice and whispered in disbelief:
"Why... why me?"
The next moment, under the paralyzing effect of the electric shock, Coby stiffened and collapsed into unconsciousness.
Until the second before he blacked out, he couldn't understand why Nami had suddenly attacked him.
As for Nami, a look of surprise flashed in her eyes when she saw that Coby was so easily defeated.
"He's unexpectedly weak!?"
But soon, she stopped worrying about such minor details.
Her eyes quickly scanned the room.
Soon, she focused her attention on a very ordinary wooden box.
That was the source of the throbbing sensation in her heart right now!
"I wonder what kind of treasure it will be this time!?"
Nami licked her lips in anticipation, then strode over.
With a flash of lightning, the lock on the box instantly melted and fell off.
She stretched out her slender hand and opened the lid expectantly.
All of a sudden!
A fruit with an extremely smooth appearance but covered in strange swirling patterns suddenly appeared before Nami.
"This... this is..."
A look of surprise appeared on Nami's face.
But the next second, her eyes filled completely with joy.
"It's a Devil Fruit!!!"
Nami exclaimed while trying to keep her voice down.
Although it was the first time she had seen one in person, she had already learned a lot about the sea from previous conversations.
Such as the Log Pose for navigating the Grand Line, and the correct way to enter Reverse Mountain...
Knowledge about Devil Fruits and ability users had naturally become a focus of her studies.
Snap!
She slammed the wooden box shut, but the excitement in her eyes was beyond words.
"I'm going to be rich!"
A Devil Fruit!
This was a tremendous treasure worth at least 100 million Belly!
She couldn't believe her Pick Up ability was so powerful that it allowed her to find a Devil Fruit!
Swish!
Without the slightest hesitation, Nami reached into the dimensional pocket inside her shirt and pulled out a bundle of string, tying the wooden box to her back at lightning speed.
...
At the same time, on the street outside the hotel.
In order to get 150 million Belly and make a comeback, Alvida had completely abandoned her previous domineering image. With a flattering smile, she pointed out to Bartolomeo:
"Lord Bartolomeo, look..."
"The hotel in front is where we're staying, and the Devil Fruit is on the second floor!"
"Yes, that's the room with the window! My men are guarding the Devil Fruit..."
"Look, the Devil Fruit is in the box behind that woman."
"..."
"Huh!?"
At this point, Alvida's expression suddenly froze.
Even Bartolomeo and his crew stood dumbfounded for a moment.
Bartolomeo pointed and asked:
"Is that woman your subordinate?"
"How is that possible!? Coby is a man!!!"
Alvida screamed: "That woman is a thief!!!"
The next second, she immediately raised her giant iron mace.
Her obviously heavy body burst into surprising speed, like a bear charging toward food, swinging her mace at Nami!
"Huh!?"
The violent whistling sound immediately caught Nami's attention.
She had been about to sneak away, but when she looked back, she saw Alvida with a ferocious face, wielding a mace.
"Damn you little thief, give me back my treasure!!!"
BOOM!!!
The huge mace crashed down with tremendous force.
Under the terrifying impact, spider web-like cracks spread across the entire block's pavement.
The hotel's entrance also collapsed under the attack, causing Nami on the roof to lose her footing.
But of course, this didn't slow Nami down.
The moment the roof began to fall, she tapped her toes lightly, and her whole body suddenly soared into the sky like an elegant swan.
"They found me?"
Nami frowned and looked down at Alvida.
Although she had enough strength to fight, stealing is still not a good thing. She felt somewhat guilty and didn't want to confront Alvida directly.
"I'm sorry, auntie," Nami smiled mischievously. "I'll be taking your treasure!"
Relying on the flying ability granted by her Floaty Fall, she turned around and chose to soar higher into the sky.
Now that she had obtained the treasure, she naturally didn't need to stay any longer.
"Aunt... AUNTIE!?"
Alvida looked up after her attack failed, but she could only watch as Nami floated further and further away with her Devil Fruit!
"Damn brat!"
CRASH!
Alvida smashed her mace into the ground as if venting her rage, endless anger burning in her eyes.
At this time, Bartolomeo and his crew also ran over quickly.
Recalling about Buggy the Clown, who had suddenly left without saying goodbye not long ago, a look of surprise appeared on his face.
"Another Devil Fruit user!?"
"What's going on in Loguetown today?"
But then his expression changed and he said to Alvida:
"It seems you weren't lying to me, but our transaction will have to be canceled~"
Bartolomeo glanced in the direction where Nami had flown off.
Although Devil Fruits were valuable, they had just angered the Marines in Loguetown...
For the sake of maintaining a low profile, he no longer wanted to cause more trouble in Loguetown.
However, at this moment...
"Wait, wait a minute!"
Seeing Bartolomeo and his gang turning to leave, Alvida suddenly dropped the mace in her hand and stopped them.
Complex emotions flashed across her eyes – three parts struggle, three parts hesitation, but ultimately everything was ignited by four parts rage.
Seeing Bartolomeo turning around, Alvida immediately pointed at Nami in the air, gritted her teeth and said:
"Bartolomeo! You're strong, aren't you!?"
"If you can help me catch that woman, I don't need anything – not the Devil Fruit, not the Belly!"
"And I'll join your crew and become your subordinate, at your disposal!"
"The bounty of a 5 million Belly pirate should be of some use to you!"
Within a single day, Alvida had been teased and scorned repeatedly, and her nerves finally completely snapped at this moment!
All her men had been lost and now the Devil Fruit was stolen!
She had lost everything!
What was even more infuriating was that she didn't even know who had done this to her!
In her current state, the collapsed Alvida no longer wanted to hold back!
No matter the price, she had to make the women who had put her in such a situation regret everything they had done!
"Oh!?"
Bartolomeo, who had been about to leave, heard Alvida's words and the corners of his mouth turned upward slightly, showing interest.
Although Alvida wasn't exceptionally strong, among female pirates, she could be considered one of the top three fighters.
Just by chasing down one woman, he could not only get a Devil Fruit for free but also recruit a capable commander...
"Interesting!"
"This is a good deal!"
Bartolomeo suddenly grinned:
"Come to think of it, having a Devil Fruit that I was about to get stolen by someone else..."
"It is indeed quite unpleasant!"
He suddenly raised his arms and shouted:
"Boys!"
"YEAH!!!"
All his followers responded instantly.
"Catch that woman!!!"
"YES, BOSS!!!"
Thump, thump, thump...
Following Bartolomeo's order, a group of punks with colorful hairstyles instantly began racing through the streets of Loguetown, raising clouds of dust.
One thug didn't forget to pick up Coby, who had fallen when the hotel collapsed.
Looking at his pink hair (now styled like an afro from the electric shock), the thug immediately mistook him for one of their own, called to his brothers, and started running with Coby slung over his shoulder.
Suddenly, a colorful and chaotic scene unfolded on the streets of Loguetown.
And such lively mayhem was just the tip of the iceberg of the chaos in Loguetown that day.