Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Nami – Wanna Look? You’ll Need Points
Elsewhere on the Going Merry, Nami was giving Su Xiaoqi, Lu Linglong, and Zhu Zhuqing a tour of the ship's cabin.
"Su Xiaoqi, it's time for us three girls to have a private chat. You go hang out on the deck with your Gin-san and Sakuragi," Nami said with a grin.
Su Xiaoqi gave her a look and said, "So this is the whole 'kick the donkey after it's done grinding' bit, huh? Fine, just you wait."
Nami blinked in confusion. "Kick what donkey? Where's the donkey?"
Lu Linglong laughed and explained, "Nami, 'kicking the donkey after it's done grinding' is a saying from our side. It means you used him and then tossed him aside."
Zhu Zhuqing spoke up, "Xiaoqi, I'll go with you."
Ever since arriving here, she'd been surrounded by Nami and Lu Linglong and hadn't even had a proper moment to talk with Su Xiaoqi.
Su Xiaoqi smiled. "No need. You girls go enjoy yourselves. I'll go check if that white-haired fish is still alive."
Back on deck alone, Su Xiaoqi found Gintoki Sakata still lying there like a dead fish, while Sakuragi Hanamichi, strangely enough, was... studying? That in itself was suspicious.
Sakuragi, the same guy who had no concept of studying, was now reading a book with intense focus. Could this even be real?
"Is that... one of those kinds of books?" Su Xiaoqi, overcome by curiosity, walked over and asked, "Sakuragi, what are you reading?"
"Big bro, I'm studying the rules of basketball. Once school starts, I'm gonna crush that damn fox Rukawa under my feet." Sakuragi smiled, then slumped and groaned, "But it's all so hard… I don't understand any of it."
Moved by his spirit, Su Xiaoqi sat beside him. "I may not be good at playing basketball, but I know a thing or two about the rules. What's confusing you? I'll explain."
Sakuragi immediately perked up. "Big bro, what does offside mean?"
"Offside? Oh, that's when the attacking player..."
Wait a minute.
Su Xiaoqi froze mid-sentence. Offside? That's not even a basketball rule—it's from soccer!
He snatched the book from Sakuragi's hands and flipped through it. Good grief. The entire book was about soccer rules.
"Sakuragi, who gave you this book?"
"Takamiya did. He said if I understood everything in this book, I could become the God of Basketball."
Now it all made sense. Sakuragi had been pranked again by his so-called Sakuragi Army.
Furious, Sakuragi shredded the book and yelled, "Damn you, Takamiya! How dare you trick a genius like me?! I'm gonna beat you to death when I get back!"
Su Xiaoqi patted him on the shoulder. "Sakuragi, I might've judged too early before. I think once you're back, you should just start playing basketball right away—that's probably more your style."
"As for where to learn, try watching an anime called Kuroko's Basketball. The Perfect Mimicry Card I gave you is based on a skill from that show."
He figured rather than force Sakuragi to learn complex rules now, it'd be better for him to gradually pick them up during real matches.
Sakuragi grinned and nodded. "Got it, Big Bro! As soon as I get enough points from this mission, I'm gonna unlock the monthly subscription."
Su Xiaoqi laughed. "Good luck. I believe you can definitely become the Basketball God of your world."
Meanwhile, in the cabin, the three girls were chatting about Su Xiaoqi.
After exchanging glances, Lu Linglong and Nami turned toward Zhu Zhuqing with a mischievous smile. "Zhuqing, do you like Su Xiaoqi?"
"N-no... we're just pretending to be a couple," Zhu Zhuqing replied nervously.
But her denial sounded weak and unconvincing to the other two.
Nami's eyes glinted with sly amusement. "Oh? Then I guess it's safe for me to go after him. Our ages are pretty compatible, after all."
Lu Linglong chimed in with a smile, "What a coincidence—I was thinking the same. Looks like we'll be 'rivals' from now on, Nami."
"No!"
Zhu Zhuqing panicked. They're going to fight me for Su Xiaoqi? Absolutely not!
Lu Linglong had a sweet, adorable face and a figure not inferior to her own.
And even though Nami hadn't "blossomed" yet, both Su Xiaoqi and Gintoki kept saying the two-years-later version of her was a goddess-tier beauty.
Realizing she was getting too flustered, Zhu Zhuqing quickly tried to change the topic. "That Sakata Gintoki really likes you two. If you do this, it'll hurt his feelings."
Lu Linglong and Nami both burst into laughter.
"You seriously think Gin-san likes us?" Lu Linglong chuckled.
Nami clenched her teeth. "That dead fish-eyed white-haired guy only wants my body. There's no way I'm letting him get his way."
The two girls flanked Zhu Zhuqing on either side and grinned wickedly. "Zhuqing, if you don't come clean with us, we will go after Su Xiaoqi for real."
Cocoyashi Village wasn't far from the Navy's 16th Branch Base. After sailing for just over two hours at full speed, the group spotted the base on the horizon.
Since the Going Merry flew the Straw Hat Pirates' flag, they were technically pirates—even if none of them had bounties yet.
So Su Xiaoqi had everyone stay on board while he flew alone to the Marine base to claim the bounty.
"Damn it... Gin-san wants to fly too... Why am I the only one getting seasick?"
Nami gave him a disdainful look. "You? Like this? You still think you can become Pirate King? You'd be lucky to become the Pirate King's baggage boy."
"HAHAHA—!"
Everyone burst into laughter, leaving Gintoki devastated.
"Nami-chan, how could you say that to Gin-san? You're the only one in Gin-san's heart…"
Lu Linglong crouched next to him, poked his cheek, and laughed. "You know, Gin-san, when I saw you being all heroic earlier, I was a little smitten. But now that I know how obsessed you are with Nami... I guess I'll just quietly step aside."
"Gin-san, good luck. I'm rooting for you."
"No, no, no! Linglong, listen! Gin-san can love you both!"
Gintoki's exaggerated reaction drew another round of laughter from the girls. Say what you will—he always managed to lift their spirits.
Half an hour later, Su Xiaoqi returned to the Going Merry carrying a large sack of Berries. Nami rushed forward the moment she saw the money.
"Xiaoqi! You've worked hard. This sack must be heavy—let me carry it for you."
Su Xiaoqi chuckled. "Sure. All yours."
"Huh?"
Nami stared at him, suspicious. Just earlier he said, "You just wait," and now he was giving up the money so easily? Was it fake?
She immediately opened the bag and counted. A total of 38.5 million Berries—and not a single counterfeit note.
Looking back at Su Xiaoqi, she asked, "You're seriously giving me all this? No strings attached?"
Su Xiaoqi grinned. "What do you think I'd want from you? A deluxe Alabasta bathhouse experience, maybe?"
Zhu Zhuqing saw the familiar smile on his face and instantly knew—this rascal was up to something.
"In your dreams."
Nami turned and stormed off, fuming. Deluxe bathhouse experience, my ass. Did he think I wouldn't know that storyline?
But a few steps later, she suddenly turned back and flashed him a beautiful smile.
"If you wanna look... you'll need points."
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