Goku and Nami arrived at a deserted dock in their small boat.
"The Buggy Pirates... they really are here!"
Nami's heart steadied and a slight smile appeared on her lips when she saw a pirate ship nearby with a red-nosed skull emblem.
Goku looked at the ship too. Seeing it quiet and empty, he said, "It looks like no one's on board."
"Of course. They must have headed inland. And I bet they've got the navigation chart for the Grand Line with them."
Nami gazed toward the island.
"Then let's go find them!" Goku chuckled, resting his hands behind his head.
...
Soon, the two appeared in the deserted Orange Town.
Seeing the scattered fruit, bamboo baskets, and handcarts left by the roadside, Nami grit her teeth as she looked at the open doors creaking in the wind, revealing the ransacked rooms inside.
"This has to be the work of the Buggy Pirates. Those damn pirates... looting the locals' treasure wherever they go. It's disgusting."
"But it looks like the people here were smart. They must have abandoned everything and run the moment they saw the pirates coming. Otherwise, they might have lost their lives too."
Goku kept looking around, his small face filled with a serious expression.
Over the past half month, he had realized that almost every pirate he encountered was a villain who enjoyed burning, killing, and looting.
This made a doubt grow in his heart: were all pirates really bad people? Was the Luffy he met just a special exception?
They walked down the street for a while.
Suddenly, Goku stopped and pointed ahead. "Nami, someone's over there."
Nami's expression changed, and she quickly pulled Goku behind the corner of a nearby alley.
"Goku, this time our enemies won't be as easy to deal with as before. We have to be careful."
As she spoke, she poked her head out, cautiously peering in the direction Goku had pointed.
But because they were too far away, she couldn't make out much even after looking for a while.
After checking her surroundings, she led Goku through a series of twists and turns in the alleys.
By the time she led him to an alleyway opening to look out again, Goku was feeling a bit dizzy from all the turns.
This time, the scene that was blurry before became clear.
"It really is the Buggy Pirates."
When she saw the pirate flag with its prominent red nose fluttering in the wind, Nami knew they had found their target.
"Let me see."
Goku came to her side, poking his head out with a curious look.
In the square not far away, several large tents had been set up.
Outside the tents, people were sprawled out everywhere, fast asleep.
A few who hadn't passed out yet were flushed red, leaning on each other and shouting drunkenly while holding bowls of booze: "Come on! Drink! Keep... keep drinking! Whoever can't take another drop... is a total loser!"
Gulp, gulp!!
Clatter, clatter!!
They drained their bowls, and the vessels hit the ground one after another, shattering into pieces.
The last few men finally couldn't hold on. They stumbled around a few times before collapsing together with a thud.
"Drink... let's... drink more..."
After a few unconscious mumbles, thunderous snoring began to rise in a steady rhythm.
Seeing this, Nami looked delighted.
"This is perfect! I didn't expect them to be having a banquet, let alone all be drunk."
"Hmph, they probably think there's no one here who can threaten them, so they've let their guard down. They never imagined we'd show up right now to round them up."
"Talk about luck!"
She truly hadn't expected things to be this easy.
She had expected a fierce battle, but now it looked like this might be the easiest pirate capture yet.
"Though, I don't see Buggy the Clown anywhere."
She looked closely at the men on the ground and didn't see the pirate leader among them. Her gaze shifted to the main tent where the pirate flag was planted, her mind racing.
'Is Buggy inside?'
At that thought, she turned to Goku. "Goku, I'll go scout ahead to see if Buggy is in there and try to find where he's hidden the map."
"Wait here for me. Don't do anything reckless."
Goku nodded. "Got it. I'll wait here for you."
...
Nami crept carefully to the entrance of the main tent. After checking the sleeping pirates, she stealthily lifted a corner of the flap and peeked inside.
Dim and quiet.
That was her first impression.
Inside the tent, a few candles cast a faint glow, providing just enough light to see.
Right in the center, a man with a very conspicuous big red nose was sprawled across a chair, fast asleep.
Nami realized immediately: this was Buggy the Clown.
After eyeing the target for a moment, she began to scan the rest of the tent.
Before long, a treasure chest sitting on the ground caught her eye.
'Could that be...'
Her breath hitched, her expression growing excited.
If her intuition was correct, that was where the Grand Line map they needed was kept!
Her gaze shifted back to Buggy, quickly locking onto a gleaming gold key hanging from his waist.
She looked between the key and the chest, and a plan quickly formed in her mind.
...
Goku sat on the ground with his back against the wall, unable to suppress a yawn.
"Yaaaawn... What's taking Nami so long?"
He felt like he was about to fall asleep.
Just as his head started to nod off, Nami's voice finally reached his ears.
"Goku, I'm back."
Nami came running through the alley, a radiant smile on her face.
Instead of approaching the Buggy Pirates openly from the street, she had circled around through the alleys to approach from the rear, and she had taken the same long way back.
Hearing her voice, Goku rubbed his eyes and perked up.
"How'd it go, Nami? Is that guy in there?"
Nami reached him and nodded. "Yeah, Buggy the Clown is in there sleeping like a log."
With that, she pulled something out from her collar and showed it to Goku.
"Ta-da! Look! I've got the Grand Line map we need!"
She was brimming with excitement.
"The map?" Goku blinked.
"That's right! With this, we can head for the Grand Line. I decided to steal it first just to be safe."
Nami stuck her tongue out playfully.
It had been a huge risk; if Buggy had caught her stealing the map, her life would have been in danger.
She did it because she was worried about unexpected complications—like Buggy running away with the map, or Goku losing the fight and them having to make a quick escape.
Having the map in hand now eliminated those risks.
Even if they couldn't beat Buggy, they could still head for the Grand Line.
She explained her reasoning quickly to prevent Goku from getting upset about her stealing.
To her surprise, Goku just held his head and laughed. "You don't need to explain so much. I trust that you have your reasons."
She froze, her eyes stinging slightly as an indescribable feeling welled up in her heart.
After a hard blink, she gave a brilliant smile. "Yeah! I understand, Goku."
"Next, let's go tie up Buggy the Clown and his crew. Those guys are out cold; they'll never expect someone to tie them up now."
She spoke as she pulled out some rope.
To her surprise, Goku walked out of the alley on his own and stopped a short distance from the Buggy Pirates.
After telling Nami, "I want to fight them fair and square," he took a deep breath. Under Nami's shocked gaze, he shouted at the slumbering Buggy Pirates:
"HEY!!! WAKE! UP!!!"
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