After celebrating for 3 days and 3 nights, it was time for Ace to keep going on his journey, but before that he had to have a heart to heart talk with Nami.
"knock knock"
"Ace, what are you doing here so early?" Nami asked after opening the door.
"It's time for me to leave, are you co..." Ace was just about to tell Nami to come with him, but he was interrupted.
"No! Ace, thank you for saving our island, but Nami is done being a pirate." Nojiko, Nami's sister answered.
"She might be done being a pirate, but she's not done with the sea. I still don't know what her dream is but... But I've sailed with her for a bit and I know she is a woman of the sea, she'll find her way there sooner or later." Ace answered with a smile.
"That may be so... but she doesn't have to be a pirate." Nojiko said with hesitation as she remembered young Nami and her dreams and how Nami always looked she expectant whenever she sailed from cocoyasi islands to the sea.
"It's too late, she's known as a thief, lots of pirates are after her, at least with me she'll be safe, No matter, Nami will you join me." Ace turned the question towards the girl in question.
Ace didn't remember Nojiko being so against it in the anime, but that might have been because at that time Nami was older and capable of making more mature choices. While at this point Nami is 15.
Nami found both Ace and Nojiko looking at her expectantly. She didn't want to disappoint neither.
Truthfully, the moment Ace destroyed Arlong pirates, her heart had submitted to the idea of joining the flaming pirates. But she couldn't outright dissapoint her sister after reuniting with her after so long.
"I see, if that's your answer I'll leave then. I'm setting sail when the sun rises." Ace said as he turned around ready to leave.
"I didn't say anything!" Nami said hurriedly in worry.
"You didn't have to, I saw the answer in your eyes." Ace said as he left.
"At least he is someone that accepts a no." Nojiko said in relief.
Ace returned to his ship and waited for half an hour until the sun was about to raise, he wanted to leave before everyone woke up as he didn't like goodbyes. When he left foosha village and his brother, he almost turned around to return home.
When the sun had risen, Ace felt confused, he was sure that Nami would come, he had seen it in her eyes, that she wanted to.
"Was I wrong?" Ace pondered, he really wanted Nami as he saw talent and honesty in her.
"Oh, there you are.." Ace whispered as he felt a familiar life force nearing him.
He finally saw Nami running towards him, her facial expressions looked complicated, both happy and sad at the same time.
The sails fell down just as Nami jumped onboard.
The Black pearl started to float away.
"You finally made it." Ace laughed.
"You knew I was coming?" She asked.
"Of course, we're nakama, I knew you couldn't leash yourself to a single place ever again." Ace said with his normal grin.
Nami just looked at him before hugging him.
"Thank you for everything." She said very sincerely.
"Erm.... Nami, a man and a woman shouldn't hug like that while being alone in the seas." Ace awkwardly coughed after she refused to release him from her hug, even after two minutes.
"Ah, right, sorry." She turned away and escaped.
Ace went to the railings on the main deck and looked out towards the Cocoyasi islands as it grew smaller and smaller.
There he found a lonely figure standing there.
'Nojiko... to think that you have to depart from your younger sister right after being united again.... sorry about that.' Ace thought.
"Nami, now that you've officially joined my crew, we're going to have some fun!" Ace said with an evil grin.
"W-what are you talking about?" Nami asked in worry as she took a step back.
Her eyes widened when Ace picked up his metal rod, and threw it at her.
"We'll be sparring whenever we have free time!" Ace said as he attacked her with a pipe.
Nami fought back with the rod.
Their sparring continued whenever they didn't eat or sleep. Ace even closed his eyes during the fighting.
Although his Haki was already so advanced that fighting with closed eyes wouldn't help him much, at least Nami would get s better understanding of what's possible.
They continued this routine until they reached Lougetown, where they restocked. Before they left, Ace and Nami visited the site where the pirate king died.
Nami noticed how Ace's eyes lingered on the platform, and how he seemed slightly in daze. She wanted to ask him about it but didn't know how.
As they walked through the street to return to the ship, Ace was deep in thought.
It felt weirder than he thought to visits... his father's death place...
"I'm hungry!" Ace finally said.
"you just ate an hour ago!!"
"But I'm hungry again." Ace used his puppy eyes.
In the end, Nami relented and followed him into a restaurant. Ace kept ordering everything on the menu, and the owner was very happy as he had gotten himself a big spender.
"Ah ah yes yes, I'll get you another round, that'll be...." As the waiter wrote down another order, Nami felt a pang in her chest at the money they'll spend only on eating. Ace really ate like a pig.
"Do you have to order another round?" Nami asked, not wanting to spend more.
"No, I'm full." Ace answered after the waiter went to tell the chef to cook more.
"Eh, then why did you order more?"
"So that they'll be busy for a few minutes." Ace said as he took Nami's wrist into his hand and slowly stood up
Seeing the expression on Nami's face, Ace smiled.
"We're Pirates, we don't pay for food!" Ace whispered before taking a run with Nami behind him.
"AAAHHH BASTARD PAY FOR YOUR FOOD!!!" The owner shouted as he chased after them.
"Wahahah" Ace laughed as he ran with a crying Nami behind him.
He got the butterflies while being chased after causing trouble.
The owner couldn't compare to the two in speed and soon lost them.
The owner stopped in frustration, but just as he was about to turn around and return, he found captain Smoker, the newly made Captain of the marines, walking with his right hand man, a woman with glasses and a sword.
"Ah, Captain Smoker I'm glad you're here, I want to report something, two.... erm.. Pirates, yes pirates, they..." The owner didn't know that the fine and dasher were pirates yet he wanted them to get into more trouble so he made it up and told a skewed version of what had happened.
As Nami and Ace were done on the island, both returned to the shore to set sail but both were surprised to find that the marines had flocked around the shore, searching for someone.
"What happened?" Nami asked him as they kept walking.
"I don't know, maybe some famous pirate came here and they're searching for him." Ace speculated.
"I hope they catch him." Nami scoffed.
"That would be fun to see." Ace said as they had neared where their ship stood.
"Ah, those two fit the description!" A marine said as he pointed towards Ace and Nami.
"Huh?"
"Eh?"