Voyage Chapter 10: Panic Party (Patreon)

~Nami~

As someone who had a honed sense of intuition and danger from her career as a Pirate Thief, Nami could say with certainty that this situation was not a good one to be stuck in.

She felt a chill down her spine as the man, Yuji and the freakish-looking bird behind him landed on the ship. She had not anticipated him having a large flying mount. And she definitely did not expect him to defeat Buggy so fast. Wasn't that guy a dangerous man with over a million berries on his bounty? Was he a scammer to go down so fast?

His posture spoke volumes of his feelings at this moment, his stance was tense, ready for if she were to try to attack him, which she wasn't dumb enough to dare try. She did not fancy testing her skills with her collapsible staff on the guy who could shred an entire street with a flick of his fingers.

She valued her life far more than that, after all, if she were dead she could never free her village from Arlong.

...And she also just didn't want to die. That was a big part of it.

Thankfully, rather than rage the only emotion his face betrayed was amusement. As if he found it more amusing that Nami had tricked and tried to steal from him rather than being angry enough to point a finger and splatter her across the sea.

"So, not that I mind the show but care to tell me why you decided to embark on my ship without me Ms. Thief?"

Nami stiffened, only realizing now that she was in nothing but her underwear in front of the man after taking it off to wash off the sweat. But realized that it was probably to her advantage now. Most likely why he was amused instead of angry at the moment.

Her mind spun to think of how she could slip out of the situation. Escape? Not possible, even if she had somehow managed to knock him out, he could get on that freaky bird of his to chase her down.

Fight and knock him overboard as Devil Fruit users were told to be weak to water? She did not fancy her chances against a horse-sized bird strong enough to carry grown men on its back, let alone the man who could dismantle Buggy's entire crew in an hour.

The ship did not have a raft either. So she only had one choice.

She could see how his hungry gaze looked at her body. He was a man after all. And Nami was no stranger to using her feminine wiles, her second strongest skill, to get out of a pinch.

Quickly she made her plan.

She would have to seduce and endear herself to him for now and stay with him until she got an opportunity to take all of his treasure and leave, preferably at night on an island while he was sleeping.

Right now, it was time for her to try to defuse this timebomb of a situation.

"H-hey boss, I'm sorry I left without you. Some pirates were chasing me and I had no choice but to!"

He raised an eyebrow at her pleading.

"Huh, that is curious considering I didn't find any of Buggy's pirates near there, after all, all of them were gunning towards me after I put Buggy through 3 floors. Are you... lying to me?"

She felt the air get colder as she felt cold sweat run down her back, this was definitely not a good situation to be in. He called out her bluff instantly. Why couldn't he be the typical dumb pirate?

Nami bit her lip, what to do now? Unlike most pirates she dealt with, he didn't seem easy to trick.

Then it was time to lay on the flirting and buddy act thicker. She just had to hope he had some sort of morals or code of ethics. Which he probably did considering she wasn't chained to his bed yet. Hell, he was downright merciful right now.

She sauntered over and slung her arm around his shoulder as he gave an amused look, she made sure her breast was touching his side as she saw his smirk widen slightly while she struggled to keep down a blush.

As much of a femme fatale as she was, she had never taken flirting to this level before.

"Come on captain~, why would I lie to you?"

He snorted.

"Yes, why would a cat burglar who prides herself in stealing from pirates have a reason to lie to me indeed."

Nami gritted her teeth internally.

'Stop being so observant you!'

But to her relief, she saw him shrug his shoulders.

"Oh well, I guess I'll buy it. I am too much of a softie to not place my trust in a cute girl."

She breathed a sigh of relief, he absolutely did not buy her excuse but gave her the benefit of the doubt for now. She was grateful but she still needed to make sure she proved herself to regain his trust properly. She would never be able to slip out with under that horse-sized bird's watch otherwise.

"Eep!"

She felt his hand snake around her waist and grab a handful of her ass, she was just about to punch him before she swallowed her response down. She was the one flirting with him here. Him showing interest was a good reason regardless if she really wanted to be fondled or not.

'The first time a man is touching me... it could have been worse. I mean he is really handsome...'

Although she hadn't wanted it, she couldn't deny the fact that the muscular hand gently cupping her ass did some things to her. To her relief however his hand did not overstay its welcome, she noticed it shake a little however but her thoughts were dispelled by him clapping his hands.

"Well then, where you did you put our spoils? I got my own loot so we should take some inventory."

Nami nodded her face still flushed from the touch of a man and the fact that she was still in nothing but her underwear but she led him to where she stashed the treasure, inside the captain's quarters as his lips silently curled into a playful smile.

"Seems like you already settled in my room huh?"

Nami's face blushed furiously as she couldn't help but put some heat into her voice.

"Oh shush you! I thought it would be better for you as the lower decks are barren."

He gave no sign of being offended by her tone as he nodded and started counting the bills and the jewelries while Nami felt her mouth salivate. The total was almost enough to pay the rest of what she owed Arlong.

And it was in the hands of a pirate. She couldn't help but feel the frustration. She decided to switch the topic to occupy her mind.

"So... captain, do you have any other crewmates? I couldn't notice anyone else here."

Nami tried to strike up a conversation with her temporary captain and he responded while counting the berries, not looking at her.

"Yep, I took over a ship that tried to attack my village. The original crew is buried. Had to sail all the way over here myself from Cartoccio kingdom."

Now that was a topic she was actually interested in.

"From Cartoccio to Organ Islands? You know how to navigate?"

He shook his head with a wry smile.

"Nope, I brute forced my way here with a compass, a map and my wind ability to make the sails sail. And even then it took two forevers to come here."

Nami saw an opportunity and took it.

"Well then captain, you don't have to worry. I didn't mention it before but I am an excellent navigator, I can handle our navigation duties easily."

He turned and gave her a more genuine smile that made her cheeks flush a little.

"Aren't you a girl of multiple talents? But thank god for that, I'd go crazy if I had to navigate any more, I'm tired of being lost at sea. I hope you are as good as you say you are."

Nami puffed up her chest in pride, making her rather large breasts jiggle hypnotically unknowingly. She knew she was selling her talent to him well.

"Don't worry, I'm the best around."

Even with his ability, she was slightly impressed by him managing to sail such a long distance without a crew or navigation knowledge.

Having finished counting he grabbed multiple large stacks of berries and several jewelries as Nami tried to push down her greed.

"That's definitely a relief. Alright then, here you go."

He then extended the jewellery and bills in his hands towards her making her confused.

"Huh?"

He extended them again.

"I said here you go, your share of the spoils. Normally I'd take the lion's share but I decided to split it 50/50 since you are relieving me of the navigation duties and that's priceless to me."

She looked between the money and his face in extreme doubt yet he seemed sincere. She could hardly believe it, a pirate who gave to her instead of trying to take from her? Was he trying to joke with her and rip it out of her hands the next moment?

"Why? Why would you give it to me?"

He shrugged his shoulders, as if he was stating the obvious.

"Why not? You are a part of my crew now and you did a decent chunk of the work, of course you deserve your share. But if you don't want it-"

Before he could finish his words of sacrilege Nami's hands moved fast enough to make lightning look like a snail as they snatched the money and jewellery from his hands. Making him laugh.

"-I didn't say that ! But uh, thanks, captain. I think I'll go get dressed now, my clothes should be dried by now."

He pursed his lips in silent entertainment.

"Do you really have to? I quite like the sight."

Nami couldn't help but snap.

"OF COURSE I DO!"

"Hahahaha!"

Taking enjoyment in her embarrassment she stormed out, not seeing his gaze firmly on her ass as she left. She would need a while to sort out her conflicted emotions.

As she slammed the door behind her she gave a once over at the money in her hands.

'Maybe he isn't so bad.'

﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏𓊝﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

~Yuji Liberio~

As Nami left my room I collapsed onto my bed with a nervous smile.

I can't believe I just managed to do all of that. Only now did it all sink in.

I strolled into Orange Town, beat up the Buggy Pirates. Got Nami to join me temporarily and even managed to cop a feel of her ass.

Yes, I had managed to grope Nami, a woman who I had previously spilt batter for back in my own world.

Fuck it, that was the first time I touched a woman in general. I can still feel the residual heat in my hand.

And the system seemed to agree with me on how impressive it was.

Feat Achieved! Get your first crewmate

+1x Silver Ability Gacha Ticket

Feat Achieved! Convince Nami to "join" your pirate crew

+1x Gold Skill Gacha Ticket

Laying back on my bed I decided to roll both immediately.

Rolling Silver Ability Gacha...

An Uncommon Ability!

[Impulse]

|Rarity: Uncommon| |Class: Enhancer|

Allows you to quicken the electrical signals in your body, increasing your reflexes and reaction speeds proportionally. Overusing may cause nerve damage and paralysis.

Hmm, this was a pretty good one. If I could use both it and strength at the same time I would be a formidable fighter indeed. The nerve damage was concerning but I could make basic health potions.

Now the gold skill.

Rolling Gold Skill Gacha...

A Rare Skill!

[Polar Channel flow - Cellular Overdrive]

|Rarity: Rare|

You have mastered the Pugilist skill of pushing every single cell in your body to their absolute limits drawing up every ounce of energy they have to augment all of your stats to their limits. Using this skill places immense strain on the body and repeated use may cause permanent damage.

Huh, would you look at that? Two self-harm abilities in a row. But both are pretty good.

...I should probably look for a doctor if this trend continues.

A/N: Nami manages to trick Yuji into sparing her and letting her join his crew. Definitely tricked him, he of course did not plan for any of that. And she learns that maybe not all pirates are pieces of shit. Especially one that is so handsome. Regardless, she will need to earn her stay. But it is a step in the right direction for their relationship. What do you guys think?

Nami is officially in the crew, for now. Yuji is moving up in the world. And he is moving from the Aerokinetic Build towards a Pugilist Build. I am curious as to how his build will move towards. Hakari was an Endurance Beast while Yuta was a pure DPS assassin. Regardless, seems like it will be a fun one.