Nami scanned the treasure with her sharp eyes, quickly noticing the discrepancy."Wait a minute! Shouldn't the total treasure and bounty add up to 25 million Berries? Why is it 5 million short?"
She turned to examine the three men on the small fishing boat—Luffy, Kaito Sakamoto, and Zoro. Since Nami couldn't possibly squeeze onto the tiny boat with those three big guys, she had opted for a ship stolen from Buggy's crew, replacing its sail with one featuring Buggy's emblem. The two boats were tied together to avoid drifting apart.
.....
Faced with Nami's question, Zoro was blissfully asleep, and Kaito was still busy with his fishing. It fell to Luffy to weather the "storm.""I discussed it with Kaito. The town's been severely damaged, so we need money to repair it. That's why we kept a bag of treasure."
Technically, Luffy should have said that Kaito and he discussed it, not the other way around. If Nami thought he was responsible, she would have let her anger spill over onto Kaito instead of him.
"What?!!!""That's 5 million Berries! You can't just give it away like that!!!"
Nami was so furious she nearly lunged at Luffy, her voice echoing loudly. But she calmed down eventually; they had given it away, and it wasn't like she could just take it back by force.She then stored the remaining 20 million Berries in the cabin, where it needed to be well protected."20 million Berries! We're so close to our goal!"
However, after placing the Berries away, Nami's expression turned somber, losing the sparkle she had just a moment ago. But once she stepped out of the cabin, her demeanor brightened again, radiating optimism."Great start! Let's keep it up; more money is waiting for us!""Where to next..."
Kaito slightly turned his head to look at Nami, who was studying the nautical chart. There would indeed be more money. This time, that fish and mouse wouldn't get a single penny. Next up, it would probably be the arrival of "Captain Usopp."
.....
The boat moved steadily along with the waves. Kaito guessed their next stop would be Usopp's hometown. However, they soon encountered a forest-covered deserted island, and Kaito racked his brain to recall the man stuck in the box.
Meanwhile, Zoro and Nami were hungry, and Nami mocked Zoro for going out to sea without any food or water, saying it was reckless. Still, she handed him a piece of bread.
Luffy and Kaito spotted the deserted island to the left."Hey, look! An island!" Luffy exclaimed excitedly."Yeah, sort of. It's just a deserted island. There's no point in going there; let's stick to the route..."
Before Nami could finish her sentence, Luffy grabbed an oar and started paddling toward the island. Kaito didn't stop him; after all, a person stuck in a box was a rare find.
"Maybe we can find a new crewmate! And if we find some food, that would be even better. Nami's right; we've been too reckless." Luffy said as he paddled."Wait! Isn't this even more reckless?!"
Nami shouted, exasperated, but she had no choice but to follow along.
.....
"We've arrived at the deserted island." Luffy said as he hopped off the boat and gazed at the tree-filled land."This island is just a forest; there's nothing here." Nami complained, feeling it was a waste of time.
Luffy called for Zoro to come down, but he was still asleep, blissfully unaware. "Let's just go in," Kaito suggested. "Zoro can keep an eye on the ship and rest a bit." He secured the boat tightly. It was essential to do this; if the ship drifted away, getting Zoro to bring it back would be impossible—who knew where it would end up in the Grand Line?
.....
As Zoro "watched" the boat, Kaito, Luffy, and Nami ventured into the forest. Once inside, they were greeted by all sorts of bizarre creatures—a fox with a comb on its head, a snake with rabbit ears, and a pig with a lion's mane."Look! This rabbit is so strange!" Luffy exclaimed, grabbing the rabbit-eared snake."That's... weird!" Nami couldn't find any other words to describe it.
"But I think it's a snake. You should let it go, Luffy." Nami advised, but Luffy was completely enthralled."Kaito, what do you think..." Nami turned to Kaito, hoping for some help, but he seemed even more fascinated by these odd animals than Luffy."They're so cute!"
"Can we keep one on the ship, Luffy?" Kaito said, hugging a milk cat with three tails, completely smitten. Nami sighed and shook her head, realizing these two were hopeless.
At that moment, a small white snake slithered down from a tree near Kaito and curled around his right wrist, where a silver bracelet was. It curiously stared at the bracelet. Kaito took a closer look and noticed that the snake had a horn on its head. This..."This is so cool!""Hahaha, little guy, do you like my bracelet?"
"Then come with me?" Kaito suggested.The little white snake locked eyes with Kaito for a moment, then fully coiled around his wrist, transforming into a second "bracelet." It seemed to agree.