One Piece: It All Started When I Found Shanks' Arm

Chapter 73: The Emperor Red-Hair and a Vice Admiral from Headquarters

Evening.

After completely stripping the giant shipwrecks bare, the group returned to their own ship.

Warm, orange lights flickered on, and everyone gathered on the deck for a celebration. In just a few dozen minutes, Zeff, by himself, had somehow managed to whip up a massive, lavish feast. No one knew how he did it.

"I know! He must have used the fire from his feet to turn up the heat!" Nami shot her hand up, eager to answer.

"Your brother just forgave you, and you're already itching for a fight, aren't you?"

Kuina flicked a finger at Nami's forehead, but to her surprise, her finger passed right through.

"Nyah, nyah!" Nami made a face. "Can't hit me, can't hit me! This is the super power of the Flame-Flame Fruit! You guys won't be able to bully me anymore!"

BONK!

The words were barely out of her mouth when a solid fist connected with her head.

"Ow! That hurts!"

Nami clutched the top of her head. "You lied, Big Bro! You said no one could hit a Logia user after they turn into their element! Why did that hurt so much?!"

"Because in this world, there's another power called Haki."

Shane said, sitting down with a plate of food, his expression flat. "Kuina and Uncle Zeff are already starting to grasp Armament Haki. Nojiko is a bit slower, but she'll be able to use it in a month or two at most."

"So you're saying…" Nami's face fell. "I'm about to be at the bottom of the food chain again?"

Dammit! And I just figured out a tiny bit of how to use the Flame-Flame Fruit!

"Let's get down to business," Shane said, ignoring her as he ate. "The things we scavenged from the shipwrecks were more bountiful than we expected. Not counting the supplies and books, the treasure alone should be worth over a hundred million Berries. Everyone's pretty tired after working all day, so let's get some rest tonight. Tomorrow, we'll figure out how to escape this strange whirlpool."

"We have to wait until tomorrow?" This time, it was Nami's turn to be stunned. "Can't we leave after dinner? I've already figured out the pattern of the whirlpool."

"You've already figured it out?!"

The others stared at her in amazement.

"What, you don't believe me?"

Nami puffed out her chest. "I let the whirlpool pull me here on purpose so I could find you guys. Otherwise, I would have gotten out of it long ago. Just you wait. After dinner, I'll show you what a true genius navigator looks like!"

After they finished eating, Nami immediately got to work. She picked up a pencil and began to draw a chart of the surrounding sea, muttering to herself, "First, we head north. After about five kilometers, we make a hard turn to starboard. Then, after about a minute, when the currents converge and slow down, we change course again…"

Half an hour later, staring at the island's fading silhouette in the distance, the crew turned to look at the orange-haired girl, who stood with her hands on her hips, beaming with pride. They looked at her as if she were an alien.

"We… we actually escaped…"

So the kid wasn't bluffing?!

"Dammit…"

The swordswoman clutched her head in frustration. "I wracked my brain for so long and couldn't come up with a single clue… How can the gap between people be so big…?"

"Hehe, we're about the same, we're about the same," Nami whispered, leaning in to comfort her. "But, Kuina, it looks like you'll have to give up your position as navigator."

"DAMMIT!!" Kuina let out a rare, frustrated cry, looking up at the sky. For the first time, she understood how the idiot Zoro must have felt.

Shane, however, wasn't surprised. He just smiled, pleased.

In the original timeline, Nami had grown up in harsh conditions and still displayed an astonishing talent for navigation from a young age.

In this life, with his full support, she had been able to focus on her interests since she was a child. She had never lacked for books or materials, her horizons were much broader, and he had taken her with him on every "wool-shearing" trip to gain more experience.

Naturally, her skills in navigation and cartography were far more mature than her original counterpart's at the same age.

"Kuina, what do you say?" he asked the black-haired girl with a smile.

"Ah, well, I admit defeat," Kuina sighed. "Looks like from now on, I'll have to focus on just being a main fighter…"

Nojiko shot her a sidelong glance. Why does that sour tone suddenly sound so much like me?

"Then it's settled. From now on, the official position of navigator on this ship will be held by Nami!" Shane announced. "Let's go! Hoist the sails! Onward to the final stop in the East Blue, Loguetown! Full speed ahead!"

"Yes, Captain!"

…

The sails billowed. Under Nami's command, the ship cut through the waves, sailing at full speed towards Loguetown, in the same direction as the entrance to Reverse Mountain.

Kuina was fascinated by the books she had found on the giant ship. Not long after dinner, she disappeared into the cabin to study them.

As for Nami, once the ship was on a stable course, Shane, having no further use for her at the helm, sent her to the galley to help Zeff with the dishes as punishment for her selfish and willful act of running away from home.

"By the way, Big Bro."

Nojiko handed him a newspaper.

"While you guys were still in the ant-nest cave this afternoon, a News Coo flew by, so I bought a paper. The front page says something big happened in the second half of the Grand Line, in that place called the New World."

Big news from the New World?

Shane took the paper, puzzled. He was immediately drawn to the headline, which was printed in bold letters:

RED-HAIRED SHANKS BECOMES A NEW EMPEROR OF THE SEA! THE ERA OF THE FOUR EMPERORS IS NOW ESTABLISHED!

So the Three Emperors have finally become Four?

Shane stared at the photos in the newspaper: Shanks, Benn Beckman, Yasopp… so many familiar faces. He narrowed his eyes. When will it be my turn to stand on that stage…

"Big Bro?" Nojiko asked, curious to see him so engrossed. "You seem to know this Red-Hair guy really well. Do you know him? Are you friends?"

"...Friends?"

Shane's mind drifted back to a stormy, swaying night. He nodded, a hint of nostalgia in his voice.

"Yeah. You could say he gave me a hand once."

...

Meanwhile, a luxury cruise ship, escorted by three Marine vessels, was passing through the Calm Belt from the South Blue into the East Blue.

The warships on either side flew the flags of their respective bases, but the one in the middle had only the blue seagull and scales symbol of the Marines on its white sail.

—It was a ship from Marine Headquarters, Marineford.

On the deck of the lead warship.

"…" Smoker, with two cigars clamped between his teeth, leaned against the railing, staring at the extravagant party taking place on the cruise ship. He let out a long sigh.

"What, still pissed off about those kings after all this time?" a sneering voice came from behind.

Smoker turned to see a tall figure with a white "Justice" coat draped over his shoulders and a messy mop of long, spider-like hair. He was striding toward him, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

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