Chapter 101: Nami, Let Me Ride With You
The Bund of Water 7.
Reiner and Luffy walked in front, with Nami and Usopp half a step behind, flanking them.
Bringing up the rear were the Blue and Red Ogres, each shouldering a large sack of gold.
The group crossed a bridge connecting the waterfront to the city gate and entered. Rows upon rows of Gothic-style buildings stood tall.
Among them, the first to catch their eye was an enormous shopfront. Reiner looked up at the sign.
[Bull Rental]
"Bull?" A question mark appeared above Luffy's head.
"Bulls, ah... emmm, how to describe them?"
Reiner rubbed his chin, organizing his thoughts. "Probably... things that swim in the water..."
"Anyone here!? I want to rent Bulls!!"
Before Reiner could finish, Luffy had already barged into the shop, yelling.
"At least let me finish talking!!"
"Honestly." Reiner sighed and followed him in.
Entering the shop, the lobby wasn't large, and no one was at the front desk. They could vaguely hear a middle-aged man's voice coming from the back of the house.
"Anyone here!? Renting Bulls!"
Reiner yelled towards the back. After a moment of no response, he shouted again, "If nobody's here, I'm going to start stealing things!!"
"Hey, wait a minute, bastard~~"
A rough voice came from afar, growing closer. Shortly after, a man wearing a striped floral shirt ran out frantically.
The owner stared wide-eyed at Reiner and the others standing before him. "Hey! What are you guys here for!?"
"Eh? Besides renting Bulls, what else can one do here?" Reiner asked puzzledly.
"Uh..." The owner was momentarily speechless. "Ahem, I was just feeding the Bulls out back. You must be outsiders, right?"
"Ah, we're pirates," Luffy stated bluntly with a grin.
"Nani!"
The owner yelped in alarm, quickly rushing behind the front desk and pulling out a double-barreled shotgun from underneath.
He didn't aim it at them, just held it horizontally before him with both hands, yelling apprehensively, "Are you here to rob me!?"
Luffy: "No."
"Phew~~ That's good then," the owner let out a long sigh of relief.
"Too naive!!" Usopp's jaw practically hit the floor as he couldn't help but roar at the owner.
Nami facepalmed, saying irritably, "Boss, we're here to rent Bulls."
"Ahaha! Should've said so earlier!"
"We did say so earlier!" Usopp roared again!
"Ahem... Anyway, what size do you need?"
The owner put the shotgun back under the counter. "Swordfish Bulls, Snail Shark Bulls, King Bulls."
"King Bull?" the three men (Luffy, Reiner, Sanji implied) asked in unison.
"Hahaha! You don't know about them, do you?"
The owner chuckled. "King Bulls look similar to Swordfish Bulls, but they're enormous, comparable in size to a Sea King."
Hearing this, Reiner also remembered; he vaguely recalled the Franky Family raising two of them.
"Yosh! Then we want King Bulls!" Luffy declared decisively.
The owner, however, just laughed it off. "I don't have any here."
"Then why did you even mention it!?" Usopp looked ready to give the owner a good thrashing!
"There are six of us, plus two heavy bags."
Reiner couldn't stand it anymore and asked directly, "Just recommend something for us."
"Emmm... Four Swordfish Bulls, or one Snail Shark Bull."
The owner pondered for a moment, then suggested, "The prices are four thousand Beri and ten thousand Beri, respectively."
"Then four Swordfish Bulls it is!" Nami decided instantly – because it was cheaper!
"Mm, good choice. Swordfish Bulls are smaller, more flexible and convenient."
The owner smiled, turned, and walked towards the back, waving for them to follow. "Come with me. I'll take you to get your Bulls."
Following the owner to the back, they found an open-air pool, enclosed only by an iron fence that barely peeked above the water surface.
Inside, a group of Swordfish Bulls raised by the owner swam about. The fence connected to a waterway outside, where many people were coming and going, riding Bulls.
No wonder such a large shop had such a small lobby; this pool took up eighty percent of the space.
The owner dragged over several carriers – two-seaters, front and back – and fixed them one by one onto the backs of several Bulls, explaining as he did so:
"Don't let their small size fool you; they're actually very strong. Unfortunately, the carriers can only accommodate two people at most. Otherwise, they could carry several more."
"Also, seeing as you're outsiders, I'll throw in a free map."
"Then thank you, boss."
Reiner paid the four thousand Beri. Actually, while the owner was fetching the carriers, Reiner had stealthily collected the templates of the entire pool of Bulls, but there was no need to be that stingy.
The man at least explained things and gave them a map; no need to get everything for free. Reiner then asked:
"Additionally, we're looking for a gold exchange office. Since the amount of gold is quite large, could you perhaps mark a few on the map for us?"
"I see. If the amount is considerable, I'd recommend going to Central Street in the upper city. Wait a moment."
The owner went inside, fetched a map and a red pen, circled a few locations, and handed it over. "There. These few should do. See which one suits your situation."
"Thanks, boss."
Nami accepted the map and thanked him, then jumped onto the front seat of a Bull, smoothed her skirt, sat down, grabbed the reins, and gave it a try.
"Basically no operation needed, right? Just rely on the Bull. This is much simpler than a Waver."
Hearing this, Reiner walked straight up to her, grinning. "Then let me ride with you, Nami. Let me try."
"Eh? I don't mind, I guess."
Nami looked up at him, feeling his tone was a bit strange. She swung her fair, long legs over to the back seat. "Come on up. You try the front."
Soon, the group had mounted their respective Bulls. Luffy and Usopp took two, and Reiner and Nami took the other two.
The Blue and Red Ogres, each carrying a sack of gold, followed behind on their own Bulls.
As the owner opened the gate, their Bulls swam out of the pool and into the waterway outside.
The entire city was filled with crisscrossing canals, lined with Gothic-style buildings. Various tributaries were built around the architectural areas, scattered like stars.
"I say... this map, isn't it a bit..."
Nami, in the back, looked troubled as she compared the map. It wasn't that the map itself was problematic – it was a standard-issue map.
But!
The map was flat, while this city... Nami grimaced. "I can't match it at all! These canals are too complicated!"
Reiner also couldn't help but look up. These canals weren't even on the same level; some were directly slanted.
This was basically Venice combined with a 5D Escher-esque magical city. Without local knowledge, forget reading a map; even with GPS, one would get lost here.
It also made them understand why they couldn't just row a boat but had to rely on the Bulls to carry them.
"What do we do now? Are we going to have to ask for directions all the way?"
Nami couldn't help asking. It wasn't that she couldn't understand it at all; after all, drawing sea charts was her specialty. With some effort and time, she could probably figure out the layout. It was just more troublesome.
"Mah~~ How about you let me try the map?" Reiner reached back without turning his head.
Nami handed over the map, unable to resist saying, "Can you even read it?"
"You're overthinking it. If even you can't figure it out, how could I possibly have that skill?"
After taking the map, Reiner patted the Swordfish Bull's head and pointed to the locations the shop owner had circled for them earlier.
"Upper Shipbuilding Island, Central Street. These spots. Are you familiar with the route?"
"Ree~~"
The Swordfish Bull grinned, showing a mouthful of large teeth, and nodded smugly at him.
"That works too!?" Nami gasped. "They're so smart!"
"And me."
"Yes, yes."
Nami couldn't help but laugh, reaching out to ruffle Reiner's golden hair. "You're smart. A big smarty-pants."
Reiner: "??? Eh—Me!?"
The Bulls carried the group, meandering through the intricate waterways. Along the way, they witnessed various sights of this City of Water.
They passed through residential areas, where rows of houses were built right along the water, with clotheslines strung across the canals, clothes drying in the air.
Clean streets, clear water, groups of children laughing and playing.
Many people had simply placed tables and chairs right outside their doorways, sitting, drinking tea, chatting, and reading newspapers – an extremely leisurely and content scene.
"Everyone really enjoys life here," Nami murmured, gazing at the shore. "Thinking about it... buying a house here in the future seems quite nice."
"Yeah. It should be pretty good," Reiner replied, not turning back, his gaze thoughtful as he looked at the sparkling water surface.
After a while, they left the residential area and arrived at the commercial street, which was even livelier.
Moreover, they happened to arrive during Water 7's special festival, the Mask Carnival. The commercial street was filled with many people wearing masks.
Reiner couldn't help but think of CP9, who would soon make contact with Robin. Originally, he hadn't planned to go to Enies Lobby.
After all, Enies Lobby didn't have any characters whose templates were worth collecting for him. He'd let his companions handle CP9 in Water 7 and be done with it.
But Aokiji's appearance a few days ago had still caused Robin considerable psychological distress. Perhaps he had underestimated the depth of Robin's trauma.
Since that's the case, how to proceed... best let Robin decide for herself. He couldn't help much with this kind of thing anyway. Besides...
It's just little Enies Lobby, not Marine Headquarters.
He! Reiner! Guarantees a slaughter!
"Ree~~"
Suddenly, a call from his Bull snapped Reiner out of his thoughts. Unknowingly, they had already left the commercial street and arrived before the great gate known as the Water Gate Elevator.
A huge, cylindrical, hollow structure stood upon the water. Beside the main gate was a pillar-like platform, upon which stood a girl in a miniskirt with a fine figure.
She seemed to be a staff member maintaining order. Reiner didn't pay her much mind, only remembering her dazzlingly white legs.
"The Water Gate Elevator is closing soon! Everyone, hurry up!"
Following the girl's loud reminder, the Swordfish Bulls sped up, swimming into the Water Gate Elevator.
A moment later, with a 'bang!', the gate slammed shut, and the elevator plunged into darkness.
This was an elevator that utilized filling and draining water within an enclosed space to control the water level, thereby achieving ascent and descent.
As water rushed in with a gurgling sound, Reiner and Nami clearly felt pressure from beneath them, their position continuously rising.
Suddenly...
"You were staring at her quite intently just now."
A cold voice came from behind Reiner. He was instantly startled. "Hey, wait a minute! It's full of water in here!"
—CRACKLE!!
A flash of electric light illuminated the dim elevator, then plunged it back into darkness in an instant.
Until the Water Gate Elevator's doors opened again, sunlight streaming in, dozens, even hundreds, of Bulls carrying people slowly swam out.
"Huh?" Luffy looked around, bewildered at all the Bulls with afros and the dazed-looking people. "What just happened?"
"Hic."
Reiner, now sporting an afro, exhaled a puff of white smoke, his eyes rolling back. "...Nothing... happened at all."
"Go, Bull. We're heading to the gold exchange office," Nami said coolly, arms crossed, eyes closed as she leaned back against her seat.
"Ree~~"
After a long hour and a half, having visited several gold exchange offices one after another, they finally finished exchanging all their gold at the fourth establishment.
Inside the opulent, gold-and-jade-splendor-filled store...
"One... two... NINE!"
Nami counted the nine open black suitcases spread out on the table, her eyes having completely transformed into $ signs.
She had never seen so much money in her entire life!!
Forget her; even the manager of the cash exchange office stood with his mouth agape, saliva uncontrollably dripping onto his white suit.
These people before him... had walked in with six suitcases and a bag of gold, and exchanged it all for a full three hundred million Beri!
All the cash in the store was instantly emptied out! He hadn't expected their six suitcases to all be filled with the largest denomination Beri notes!
He almost wanted to rob them himself!!
"Reiner... where exactly is your money hidden?"
Nami turned her head, looking at him pitifully. "Please, please, just let me see it for a moment, okay?"
"Dame." (No)
Reiner rolled his eyes at her and closed all the suitcases on the table.
Soon, the group walked out of the cash exchange office. The Blue and Red Ogres, along with Frieren, each carried two suitcases.
Nami and Usopp also carried three between them. Only Luffy and Reiner were empty-handed.
"Next, let's go to the shipbuilding company."
Nami lifted the suitcase full of cash in her hand, unable to suppress a smile. "With this money, we can finally give the Going Merry a proper repair."
"That's great!"
Luffy couldn't help but yell excitedly. "And a shipwright! I want to find a five-meter-tall tough guy!"
"Luffy, I told you, that thing you drew is unrealistic."
Usopp, beside him, complained speechlessly, "Where in reality would you find someone who looks that bizarre?"
Heh heh, actually, there is such a person, Reiner thought, recalling Luffy's earlier drawing of a muscular, blue-haired giant.
So he's really looking based on that picture.
After a short while, they arrived at the shipbuilding company they had been longing to visit.
—Galley-La Company!
They handled almost all business related to ships, and in every aspect, they were world-class.
The company's General Manager – Iceburg – was also the mayor of Water 7, a genius disciple from Tom's Workers.
He had merged Water 7's several major shipbuilding companies from the past, ultimately giving birth to the Galley-La Company – also the officially designated shipyard for the World Government!
And their current location was reputedly the best among Galley-La's seven docks – Dock One!
There were no surrounding walls, just a simple, low, wooden fence enclosing it. Inside, one could clearly see numerous figures bustling about.
"Heeheehee! Let's go in quickly and take a look!" Luffy said, striding forward, about to step over the wooden railing, but was stopped by a loud shout.
"Hey! You lot! Wait a minute, don't move!"
A man wearing a duckbill cap, with a distinctive square long nose, shouted, walking towards them...
(End of this chapter)
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