East Blue, somewhere at sea—
A small lifeboat floated aimlessly across the waves. On it, Alex was rowing furiously, a massive lump swelling on his head, so large it looked from afar like he was wearing a huge round hat. It was quite the spectacle.
Moments ago, poor Nami had suffered an unfortunate accident… and immediately activated her "She-Devil" mode. Without a shred of hesitation, she pounced on the clueless culprit and delivered a savage beatdown.
If the Marines hadn't been hot on their trail and they hadn't been forced to flee, there was a good chance Alex would have been beaten by Nami so badly even Luffy wouldn't recognize him.
And everyone who knows Luffy knows that guy once mistook zombie Zoro for real Zoro—so if even he would struggle to recognize Alex now, that gives you an idea of how brutal the pummeling was.
Alex sighed, recalling the sight of Nami's back, the tips of her ears glowing pink from embarrassment. He didn't even need to see her face to know it had been completely flushed red.
Alex had already cursed that idiot in his heart a thousand times over. If Luffy hadn't randomly slapped him out of nowhere, none of this ridiculous misfortune would've happened.
Sure, you could call it a lucky pervert moment… but Alex didn't mean to take advantage of Nami. It was all external circumstances! He was an innocent bystander in the whole thing!
And now, thanks to being "collateral damage," he had endured Nami's violent wrath with no one to blame—not even Nami, who was also technically a victim. But the person he really wanted to punch wasn't even here. So he had no choice but to suffer in silence.
Facing the endless blue ocean, Alex had nowhere to vent his frustrations. All he could do was row like a madman. What, was he supposed to punch Nami back and send her flying? Google seaʀᴄh novelꜰire.net
If she had beaten him up for no reason, Alex definitely wouldn't have taken it lying down. He would've fought back, even if it meant launching her straight off the boat.
Unfortunately, Nami had very valid reasons for clobbering him this time—and Alex was just guilty enough to not argue back.
Earlier, when Luffy had tried to stretch his arm out and grab Alex, he had missed. By then, the boat Luffy and Koby were on was already too far away.
And just like that, after barely reuniting with Luffy—who once again screwed him over—Alex was separated from him yet again.
Now, he and Nami were together on a tiny boat, headed toward Shells Town. Nami had said she needed to find a map of the Grand Line there.
Glancing at Nami, who sat opposite him silently fuming, Alex still couldn't believe this all happened on the first day they met.
Their very first meeting, and he had already experienced the horror of Nami's iron fists. It was something he would never forget—he was still trembling from it and had no desire to ever go through it again.
What really caught him off guard was what Nami said after beating the crap out of him. Her face flushed, breathing slightly heavy, she glared at him and coldly spat out four words:
"One hundred million berries!"
Her bright, fierce eyes sparkled with icy light as she declared this to the still-dazed Alex. Her voice dripped with seriousness and menace.
Looking at Nami's beautiful, blushing face, Alex couldn't tell if she was red from beating him so hard or because of the earlier "chest incident" that had left her feeling embarrassed and furious.
But those four words—one hundred million berries—touched something deep inside Alex's heart. In that moment, he couldn't even stay mad at her, because he remembered her backstory.
Others might not know what that number really meant, but as someone who had crossed over into this world, Alex knew full well what it represented for Nami.
She was just ten years old when it started. Over the next eight years, she would risk her life over and over again, stealing from dangerous pirates—all to gather one hundred million berries.
A little girl who should've been snuggling in her parents' arms had forced herself into a life of theft, all to collect enough money to save the people she cared about.
That number—100 million berries—was the embodiment of Nami's hope for the future.
Still, just because he sympathized didn't mean Alex was about to admit he now owed her that much money!
He shook off the thought and looked around.
"So… which direction are we going now?"
Facing the vast, seemingly endless ocean, Alex was completely clueless. Without Nami's guidance, his navigation knowledge was practically nonexistent. He didn't even know which way to go.
Earlier, under Nami's command, Alex had somehow managed to row their tiny lifeboat and shake off a full Marine warship.
It was that moment that made Alex realize just how skilled Nami was when it came to navigation—and it gave him an enormous sense of pride.
Those Navy ships may have been big and flashy, armed to the teeth, but with Nami on his side, he could row a tiny wooden boat and leave them in the dust!
On that Navy ship tasked with chasing them, the Marines could only stare in disbelief at the fleeing lifeboat.
There were only two people aboard—one man and one woman—yet no matter how fast they pushed their ship, that little boat only got farther and farther away. Before long, it vanished over the horizon completely.