"Good! That's the spirit!" Red grinned widely.
Then, putting on a show, he gave an exaggerated order to Nami: "Navigator of the Straw Hat Pirates, Nami! Listen up!"
"As the vice-captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, I hereby order you…"
"Find a place to settle those two guys into a restaurant."
"And then… come shopping with me!!!"
"Aye-aye, sir!"
Under the influence of money, Nami responded with firm determination—before suddenly pausing in realization.
She blinked in confusion."Shopping!?"
...
...
Half an hour later.
After successfully getting Luffy and Zoro settled into a restaurant with a table full of food, Red brought Nami along to stroll the streets of Shells Town.
Though years of Captain Morgan's tyranny had left the town far less prosperous than it once was, it was still a shadow of its former self.
But even a starved camel is bigger than a horse.
This was still an island with a Marine base stationed on it, so the commercial shops were fairly complete enough to meet Red's needs.
"So you dragged me along... just so I could haggle for you!?"
Nami was stunned at first, then looked at Red with a speechless, disdainful expression.
Red gave an awkward laugh. "Pretty please~ I just don't have any experience with this kind of thing."
"So I had no choice but to call in a seasoned veteran like you!"
"Seriously~"Nami sighed, clearly exasperated."You're a grown man, don't even know how to shop?"
"Fine..fine, tell me, what do you even need?"
"Ah!"Red rubbed his chin in thought."Actually, it's not much."
"Basic supplies… some training equipment, oh, and right!"
"The most important thing—we need a ship!"
"A ship!?"Nami raised an eyebrow."Don't tell me... you're saying you guys don't even have a ship yet!?"
"Exactly!"Red clapped his hands."Sharp as ever, Nami!"
"Sharp, my ass!"
*Smack!*
With one hand on her hip, Nami slapped her forehead and muttered helplessly, "You don't even have a ship, and yet you're shouting about becoming Pirate King or the world's greatest swordsman…"
"How idealistic can you people get!?"
"Hey, what can we do?" Red laughed sheepishly. "We've just set out, after all."
"Anyway, the most urgent thing is getting a ship first!"
Nami frowned. "Don't say I didn't warn you..."
"If you don't have extra funds, just a few million Berries won't get you anything decent."
"No worries."Red had already anticipated this."I just need a temporary ship with a deck. Something Luffy and Zoro can move around on."
"I've already had my eye on one from another island. It's going to be scrapped in a few days."
"What!?"Nami suddenly stopped, looking at Red in disbelief.
"You're telling me… you're going to spend millions of Beri… just for a temporary space to hang out on the sea!?"
"You—"
Nami suddenly went silent, holding back the 'Are you out of your mind?' that was about to come out.
But Red just smiled nonchalantly."Mhm? What's the big deal? Just a few million Berries."
"Just... a few million?"Nami bit her lip, astonished."Do all you rich people talk like this?"
Remembering the blood and tears she shed earning her first million, she really felt like killing Red right then and there.
'If I could beat you, you'd be six feet under already!' Nami silently grumbled, glaring at Red's back.
But then, Red suddenly stopped walking.
Just as Nami wondered if he had some kind of mind-reading ability and heard her inner thoughts, Red slowly turned around and asked sincerely:
"Nami, you seem to… really care about money, don't you?"
"...Huh?"Nami was confused but still replied instantly, "Of course! Who doesn't like money in this world?"
"No."Red shook his head firmly."Plenty of people like money, but your desire for it—there's something more to it."
"So..."
"Is there some kind of problem that needs a lot of money to solve?"
"I…"
Nami stopped in her tracks and looked up abruptly, her gaze locking with Red's.
The salty sea breeze tousled her tangerine-colored hair as it drifted lightly in the air. Somehow, through Red's deep, dark eyes, she saw a flicker of sympathy buried deep within them.
It was as if… he had seen right through her painful life.
People bustled past on the street, not paying attention to the two standing still.
"So..."
After a moment of silence, Red spoke again."I'm right, aren't I?"
He stepped forward until he stood right in front of her.
"I don't know what you've been through all these years, but I want you to know this—"
"Whether it's me or Luffy, we genuinely want you to be part of our crew!"
"So if you're going through something tough, don't hesitate to lean on us!"
Red gently patted her shoulder, offering comfort.
"You've seen Luffy's strength."
"We don't even fear the Marines…"
"Do you really think there's anything in the East Blue we can't handle!?"
"Anyway, think it over."
"But don't let it affect your work too much, because…"
"I suck at haggling!!!"
As soon as he finished, Red grabbed Nami by the arm and dragged her forward quickly.
Being familiar with the story, he naturally knew what was eating at Nami.
But rather than playing dumb and waiting for the right moment, he'd much rather Nami open up to them on her own.
He believed that after seeing Luffy's strength, she would start thinking it over.
And from there, it was only a matter of time before she let go of her emotional barriers and sought their help.
Red was confident that the moment wouldn't take long.
...
...
As the saying goes, "A sparrow may be small, but it still has all the organs."¹
Shells Town wasn't very big, but thanks to the Marine base, it had three small shipyards.
Of course, they were all run by independent shipwrights.
They mostly built small fishing boats for locals or did ship repairs for the Marine base.
Thanks to Nami's silver tongue, Red managed to buy a secondhand small sailboat for 3 million Berries.
The ship was a bit old, but it had a proper deck and cabins with small rooms, enough for everyone to have their own.
After securing the ship, Red and Nami didn't stop. They swiftly toured the rest of Shells Town, buying a huge load of daily supplies and also…
...
...
Evening.
Luffy and Zoro, full of anticipation, sprinted toward the port of Shells Town, led by Red and Nami.
There, docked at the harbor, was an unremarkable little sailboat.
However…
Luffy and Zoro suddenly stopped, their eyes, once full of excitement, now full of confusion.
When they reached the shore, Zoro was the first to speak, pointing at something odd on the deck…
On the not-so-large deck sat four massive metal lumps, connected in pairs by thick steel rods.
Just looking at how deep the boat sat in the water, it was clear how ridiculously heavy they were.
"What is that?"Zoro asked.
"Huh?" Red paused, then smiled slowly.
"Those are dumbbells for you and Luffy to train with."
"I had the steel vendor use all the stock in his warehouse and rush them out."
"This is the best we could manage for now. Once we reach Loguetown, we'll see if we can find more advanced materials and upgrade them."
"..."
Zoro went silent. After a long pause, he finally muttered:
"You sound like you're still not satisfied?"
"So… these are really for us?"
"Of course! Do I look like I can lift those? Does Nami?"
Red shot him a look full of confidence.
Zoro returned a stiff, blank stare, one that clearly said:
"Do I look like I can lift those!?"
.....
1 (small but complete in every detail)