One minute ago.
Somewhere in the East Blue.
An officially sanctioned luxury cruise ship party was underway.
Without exception, the attendees were all wealthy merchants and tycoons from various islands and countries.
Of course.
Besides the wealthy people, there were also male and female waiters in tailcoats weaving through the party.
The party atmosphere was lively, and no one noticed.
A waitress with orange short hair quietly slipped away.
"Hehe, big harvest~ big harvest~"
Looking at wallet after wallet from wealthy people in her backpack, the girl's eyes curved into crescents.
This haul could earn at least several million berries, bringing her another big step closer to gathering 100 million berries to ransom back her village.
Just as the girl was thinking this.
The next second.
Without warning.
The void rippled like water waves.
Immediately after.
A fishing hook appeared out of nowhere, catching one of the wallets.
"Mine! Mine! That's my wallet!"
The orange-haired girl who valued money over life reacted quickly and decisively grabbed the wallet.
Then.
With just a whoosh sound.
The wallet along with the girl disappeared into the void ripples.
...
...
Time returns to the present.
On the calm sea surface.
The orange-haired girl was constantly splashing in the water, struggling to reach the wallet hanging on the fishing hook.
However, each time she was just a little short and it would slip away from her fingertips.
After several such attempts, the girl completely lost her composure.
"Robber! Thief! Quickly return my wallet!"
The orange-haired girl cursed furiously.
"Oh, are you sure this is your wallet, Miss Cat Burglar?"
Sora looked at the girl in the water with a squinting smile.
Regarding the little tail that had been caught along with the wallet, Sora was all too familiar with her.
Cat Burglar Nami!!!
Navigator of the Straw Hat crew!!!
After leaving Shimotsuki Village, Sora had indeed thought about meeting the little money-grubber Miss Nami.
However, even Sora never expected that their first meeting would be in such a bizarre way.
"Of course! I worked so hard to swipe it from the party! Give it back to me quickly!"
Nami said with unreasonable confidence.
"Hmm, compared to the wallet's ownership issue, you should be more concerned about protecting yourself from being eaten by sharks!"
Sora kindly reminded her.
"Eh?"
Nami froze, instinctively turning her head.
When she saw the fin heading straight toward her from not far away.
"Kyaaah~"
Nami screamed and frantically moved her hands and feet, grabbing the ship's ladder at top speed and climbing aboard in one smooth motion.
"Here, use this to dry off!"
Sora casually tossed out a clean towel.
Nami wasn't polite and caught the towel to dry her hair, then her body under her clothes.
While drying, her large eyes were still staring fixedly at Sora's... wallet in his hand.
"Alright, alright, it's just a broken wallet. I'll return it to you!"
Sora shook his head and returned the wallet to Nami.
"Wow, thank you! You're actually pretty nice~"
Nami's face immediately lit up with joy.
However...
The next second.
The smile on the girl's face froze.
Because she discovered that the originally bulging wallet was now completely empty.
"I returned the wallet to you. Consider this the fee for the towel!"
Sora waved a stack of thousand-berry bills with a brilliant smile.
"What? 100,000 berries for one towel? Are you robbing me? I don't want it anymore, give it back to me quickly!"
Nami immediately became frantic and hastily threw the milk-scented towel at Sora's face.
"I was just joking with you, and you got worked up!"
Sora shook his head helplessly.
"The towel is free. This 100,000 is the fee for helping you escape the shark's mouth and giving you a ride!"
"I..."
Nami's words came out but she forcibly held them back, her small hands gradually clenching.
She had already accepted reality, knowing that this money probably couldn't be retrieved.
Moreover, this was now the other party's territory.
What was most urgent for her now was not letting Sora discover the other wallets in her backpack.
Furthermore...
Nami's large eyes rolled around.
A ride!!!
This was what Sora himself had said.
Hehehe!
How dare you let me, the famous Cat Burglar of the East Blue, hitch a ride.
Then let me show you what it means when a thief never leaves empty-handed.
When I disembark, that's when you'll be bankrupted.
Nami had made up her mind to clean out all the treasures on this ship before leaving.
Thinking about Sora's frantic appearance after discovering he'd been robbed, Nami couldn't help but giggle.
"Heh."
Sora could roughly guess what Nami was thinking but didn't pay it any mind.
Just then.
"Kobayashi~ Kobayashi~"
"Big Brother Sora~"
Tohru and Kuina, who were busy preparing lunch in the kitchen, noticed the 'argument' on deck and quickly pushed through the door.
"Kobayashi, who is this girl?"
Tohru looked at Nami curiously.
"Mm, someone who fell into the water. I happened to encounter her and rescued her. This is her gratitude and passage fee!"
Sora explained casually.
"Hello everyone, my name is Nami!"
Nami greeted them amicably.
Before taking action, she naturally needed to gain their trust first.
"Tohru!"
Tohru nodded.
"I'm Kuina. Miss Nami, your clothes are all wet. Why don't you take a bath first, then have lunch? It'll be ready soon!"
Kuina greeted her warmly.
"Then I'll trouble you, Kuina-chan~ Tohru-chan~!"
Nami said familiarly.
In less than a minute.
The three girls had already become fast friends.