"You do know the moment we step inside the Upper Yard, Enel will detect us, right?" Imai questioned, her voice calm but laced with anticipation.
"I understand," Nico replied, adjusting her hat as they walked. "But considering Enel thinks of himself as a god, I'm sure he'll send his minions at us first before showing up himself. He's too arrogant to deal with us directly at the start."
Imai chuckled, a sly grin forming on her lips. "I see. Using his ego against him, huh? That's what I like about you, Nico. You use your brain."
Nico felt a warmth rush to her cheeks, and she quickly turned away, trying to hide the faint blush. "T-thank you. But let's focus on getting to the Upper Yard. Conis is waiting."
Imai smiled knowingly, following Nico closely as they made their way through the dense forest surrounding the Upper Yard. The thick canopy above filtered the sunlight, casting dappled patterns on the soft cloud ground. As they walked, Imai's sharp eyes caught sight of a small snake slithering lazily across their path.
A mischievous idea sparked in her mind, and her grin turned devilish.
'A little fun wouldn't hurt,' she thought.
Silently, Imai bent down and picked up the snake, creeping closer to Nico. When she was close enough, she suddenly shouted, "SURPRISE!"
"What?!" Nico yelped, startled.
Imai placed the snake onto Nico's exposed shoulder. It took Nico a moment to realize what had been put on her, but when she did, her reaction was instant and dramatic.
"Aaaah!" Nico shrieked, flailing and swatting at the snake. The poor creature went flying, hitting a nearby tree with a sickening splat, leaving a smear of blood on the bark.
Imai doubled over with laughter, clutching her stomach. "AHAHAHA!"
"Imai!" Nico snapped, her voice a mix of anger and disbelief. She swung a fist at Imai's shoulder, delivering a solid punch.
"What if that snake had bitten me? Huh?" Nico demanded, punctuating her words with more punches. "What if I had died from one bite? What would you have done then?"
"Alright, alright! Calm down!" Imai said between laughs, trying to fend off Nico's attacks. "If you keep punching me, I might actually die!"
"You deserve it!" Nico huffed, but her punches began to slow.
"The snake was harmless!" Imai defended herself, still grinning. "It was so small, its bite wouldn't have even left a mark. Besides, you looked way too tense. I thought a little scare might loosen you up."
Nico crossed her arms and let out an exasperated sigh. Despite herself, she felt some of the tension in her shoulders dissipate. "Hmph! If you pull a stunt like that again, I really will kill you."
"Fair enough," Imai said with a playful shrug. "But you're welcome to try anytime."
Before Nico could retort, a loud voice echoed from the trees. "Then I'll take this chance!"
Figures emerged from the shadows—dozens of them, each wearing bizarre outfits and, inexplicably, ice skates.
Imai stared at them, tilting her head in mock confusion. "Ice skates… in a forest? Either this place has gotten way weirder, or I'm just out of touch. Nico, is this normal now?"
"Now's not the time for that!" Nico exclaimed. "We're under attack!"
Imai counted the figures. "Twelve of them? Eh, not worth my time. Protect me, Nico. I'm too lazy to fight."
"What?!"
Imai planted her sword into the ground and leaned back against it, lounging as if she were sunbathing. "You've got this. I believe in you."
Nico could only gape at her in disbelief before snapping back to reality. With the attackers closing in, she had no choice but to act.
"Treinta Fleur: Strangle!"
Multiple arms sprouted from the ground, grabbing several of the attackers and tossing them aside. But some were quicker to recover than expected.
"Target the lazy one!" one of them shouted, pointing at Imai.
"Really?" Imai muttered, watching as an attacker lunged at her with a sword. She didn't even flinch, her eyes briefly flicking to Nico's back.
Right before the blade could reach her, a hand emerged from the ground and slapped the attacker away, knocking him out cold.
"Her Haki is improving," Imai murmured, impressed. She glanced at the attacker's fallen beret and picked it up. "White Berets, huh? Ice skates and all. What a boring name."
Tossing the hat aside, Imai turned her attention to Nico, who was handling the remaining attackers with brutal efficiency. Switching seamlessly between her Devil Fruit abilities and close combat skills, Nico dodged every blow with Observation Haki and retaliated with precision.
What struck Imai most was Nico's strategy. Instead of knocking out her opponents outright, she baited them into attacking repeatedly, breaking their morale with every failed attempt.
When attackers tried to reach Imai, Nico dealt with them even more ruthlessly, targeting sensitive areas to incapacitate them.
Imai winced. 'A sadist? Did I create a monster?'
The fight ended as quickly as it began, with the White Berets sprawled unconscious on the ground.
"Nice work," Imai said, clapping slowly. "That's another thing I like about you—you're strong."
"Shut up," Nico retorted, still catching her breath. "Why didn't you help at all?"
Imai gestured to the unconscious attackers. "There wasn't a need. You handled them just fine. Besides, you needed this. It's good practice for your Observation Haki. And you're already using it subconsciously—a genius move."
"Well… fine," Nico admitted, though she still shot Imai a glare.
Dusting herself off, Imai stood and stretched. "Let's keep moving before more of them show up. Lead the way."
As they continued toward the Upper Yard, Imai couldn't help but smile to herself. It had been a long time since she'd traveled with someone she genuinely liked. Having Nico around made everything more enjoyable.
Her thoughts drifted to a tall, white-haired girl wielding a mace. Yamato, her first true friend. She glanced up at the sky, imagining Yamato's face in the clouds.
'I wonder what you're up to right now,' she thought wistfully, before focusing back on the path ahead.