Alex never imagined his first encounter with Nami would happen under such strange circumstances.
There was no denying it—Nami was a very beautiful girl. Her short, neatly trimmed orange hair gave her a seductive charm laced with a trace of toughness. She was striking, to say the least. Her delicate facial features were absolutely flawless.
From the looks of it, Nami must have taken the opportunity to sneak onto Alvida's ship while most of Alvida's crew was away raiding another vessel. Her plan was likely to steal all the valuables aboard.
When Nami entered the storage room on Alvida's ship, she stumbled upon an eye-catching treasure chest. Excited, she eagerly opened it—only to find a person inside.
For three full seconds, Nami locked eyes with Alex, who was lying inside the chest on his back. He hadn't even had time—or rather, hadn't figured out how—to greet her, when she let out a light sigh and said,
"So there's no treasure in here after all."
Then—click!—to Alex's shock, Nami shut the chest and locked it again without hesitation.
It was as if she didn't even acknowledge his existence.
Seriously? Alex thought. Even if there's no treasure, couldn't you at least pull me out? All you care about is loot—how shallow are you?!
Surrounded once again by darkness, Alex felt thoroughly speechless.
Just as he was about to force his way out of the chest, a fierce voice rang out:
"Who are you, woman? Trying to steal our treasure, are you?"
"You've got guts! If Miss Alvida hadn't told us to double-check this chest, she would've lost everything!"
"Good thing we came back in time. If we got blamed for this, Alvida's iron club would've crushed us flat!"
"Let's grab this bold little thief first. She's a real looker—too pretty to be a criminal. We ought to teach her a lesson!"
Hidden in the chest, Alex finally realized that his presence had ruined Nami's theft attempt.
From what he could gather, Nami must've heard someone approaching the storage room and quickly shut the chest to avoid drawing attention. She had likely assumed that the man inside—disheveled, injured, and clearly not doing well—would be in danger if discovered, so she locked the lid to protect him.
"I hate pirates more than anything," Nami growled. "You think you can teach me a lesson? Don't make me laugh!"
With the storage room entrance blocked, Nami had no choice but to draw the three-section staff strapped to her thigh, clicking the pieces together to form a single long rod, ready to fight.
"You still got a mouth on you, huh? Let's have our fun before Miss Alvida smashes you flat!" one of the pirates jeered.
The sound of vile, lecherous laughter filled the room.
Then came the clangs and crashes of a fight. Before long, Alex heard Nami let out a faint gasp—it was clear she had been injured.
Damn it! he thought. If Nami dies here, how am I supposed to team up with Luffy later? Just wander the seas like a headless chicken?!
This was so messed up.
And besides, she had tried to shield him—a complete stranger—from danger, which proved she wasn't a bad person at all. Alex really didn't want her to get hurt, especially not like this.
Most importantly, the pirates' crude comments about Nami made Alex furious.
You bastards… back when I watched One Piece, Nami was one of my favorite characters. And now, I haven't even gotten to say a word to her—and you no-name lowlifes dare talk trash about her right in front of me?
Do you think I'm invisible?
This is beyond tolerance!
Rage flaring inside, Alex channeled every ounce of strength he had and kicked forward with both legs.
Boom!
"I'm gonna beat the crap out of you!"
With a furious roar, Alex shattered the treasure chest and leapt out, startling the pirates so badly their jaws practically hit the floor.
One of his kicks struck a pirate right in the groin—who immediately collapsed, groaning and clutching his crotch, completely incapacitated.
In other words, Alex had taken out one pirate the moment he entered the scene.
Behind him, Nami was stunned. She stared in disbelief at the seemingly sickly man who had just burst from the chest and destroyed it with ease.
If only Alex knew that Nami's first impression of him was that he looked like a frail patient—he might have gone berserk.
But it wasn't her fault. Alex had spent the last month pushing his body to the limit with intense training. And thanks to being tossed around by that trickster Luffy, he'd been smashed in the head, battered all over, nearly drowned—even as a Devil Fruit user.
So yeah… he wasn't exactly looking his best.
Meanwhile, on the other ship that Alvida's crew had attacked, Luffy—who had been sleeping soundly in a barrel—had just woken up. He stretched comfortably and yawned, "Man, that was a good nap."
Without meaning to, he punched the pirate who was about to open the barrel, knocking him out cold. The rest of the crew stared at Luffy, jaws agape.
"Who the hell are you?!"
"Why did you jump out of that treasure chest?!"
Several pirates immediately surrounded Alex, demanding answers.
Alex looked around. The storage room wasn't very large, and it held only a modest amount of scattered loot. Nothing too impressive.