Free Web NovelChapter 10: Chapter 10
Chapter 10
Well, what a coincidence.
The person who bumped into them was none other than Nami — the navigator Rorschach had already planned to recruit.
He never expected she would target him first.
Rorschach smiled faintly but didn’t expose her theft.
Kaya, however, immediately stepped forward with a worried expression.
"Are you okay, miss? Did you get hurt?"
Nami felt a small pang of guilt seeing Kaya’s pure, concerned face.
No, no. I have a mission. I can’t afford to be soft-hearted until I save my village.
Besides, this girl clearly came from a rich family. She wouldn’t miss a little money.
Nami comforted herself with that thought. (Though this already went against her rule of only stealing from pirates.)
"I’m fine! I just tripped and bumped into you. Sorry about that. I have somewhere to be, so I’ll be going now~"
Nami forced a bright smile and quickly walked away.
Kaya watched her retreating back with concern.
"Hey, Kaya, why don’t you go shopping by yourself for a bit?" Rorschach said. "I just remembered something I need to take care of. I’ll be back soon."
"Don’t worry. As long as you stay on this island and don’t go too far, I’ll always know where you are."
With that, Rorschach vanished. He had secretly slipped another 100,000 berries into Kaya’s pocket — completely unaware that Nami had already pickpocketed her earlier.
"Lord Rorschach...?"
Kaya tilted her head in confusion but eventually continued exploring the lively streets of Goa Kingdom. For a girl who rarely left home, this foreign town felt incredibly exciting and new.
...
In a dark alleyway.
"I got it! A full 200,000 berries!" Nami bragged, waving the cash at a short-haired purple-haired girl.
"I told you those two looked loaded!"
"Karina, you’re so lucky! You found us such a fat sheep~"
Nami praised her partner.
Karina (the purple-haired girl) grinned. She was the one who had spotted Rorschach handing Kaya money and marked them as targets.
"Hehe, now hand over my share, little thief cat."
"Here, five million— wait, five ten thousand berries," Nami said, tossing her a stack.
"Why only 50,000?! Where’s the rest of my 50,000?!" Karina counted the money and immediately exploded. freewebnøvel.com
"Hehe, I’m the one who stole it, so I get the bigger cut, obviously~" Nami replied with a cheeky grin.
"The intel was mine! I could’ve stolen it myself! We were supposed to split it evenly, and you’re trying to hog everything?!"
Compared to Nami’s playful smile, Karina was fuming, veins popping on her forehead.
"Hehe, money I stole = I decide how to split it."
"Ugh, fine. Just this once. Next time I’m not telling you anything," Karina sighed, defeated. "By the way, do you really need money that badly? We’ve stolen quite a bit together already. Why not treat yourself to a luxurious life for once?"
At that question, Nami’s expression darkened.
Her village was still suffering every single day under those monsters. If she could gather the money faster, everyone could finally go back to how things used to be.
Today’s job had been easy. If she could pull off a few more like this, she might actually fulfill her "buy back the village" promise.
Nami clenched the berries tightly and stayed silent.
Suddenly, a lazy voice came from above them.
"Yo~ So you’re the famous Cat Burglar, huh? You’ve got some serious guts stealing from anyone. Got a partner too?"
Rorschach had followed them the entire time. He was currently sitting on the rooftop, listening to their loud conversation.
"It’s you! The guy from earlier!" Nami’s face paled.
"Run!" Karina reacted instantly, grabbing Nami’s hand and bolting toward the alley exit.
As long as they reached the crowded street, she was confident they could lose him.
"Too late. I’m not letting you two escape that easily."
Lion Majesty: Earth Roll!
Two massive stone lion heads rose up, sealing both ends of the alley and trapping the girls inside.
"What the hell is this weird ability?!" Nami cursed. "Damn it, nowhere to run... Are we going to die here?"
The bizarre power left the two inexperienced girls completely helpless.
Rorschach dropped silently from the rooftop.
"No... we just have to take him down!" Nami gripped a long wooden stick, her eyes burning with determination. She couldn’t fall here — Cocoyasi Village still needed her.
"Looks like we bit off more than we could chew," Karina muttered, picking up a wooden plank as well.
They had thought he was a fat sheep. Now he looked more like a demon king.
"Heh heh, you’re actually coming toward me instead of running away? Bold choice."
Rorschach stood with his hands on his hips in a classic JoJo pose, radiating main-villain energy.
"We want to run, but get rid of these stupid lion things first!" Nami roared, showing the same fiery spirit she would later have with the Straw Hats.
Rorschach ignored her and continued playing the villain.
"In that case, I’ll have to make sure you two stay with me... forever."
Nami and Karina swallowed nervously.
Forever buried here?
"...as my crew members and personal wives. You’ll wear different maid outfits every day~"
Rorschach flashed an evil grin.
In a flash, he appeared right in front of them.
"So fast...!"
Before either girl could react, Rorschach had already thrown one over each shoulder.
"W-What are you doing?! Let us go!" Both girls screamed, desperately pounding on his back.
To Rorschach, it felt like gentle pats.
He activated the Float-Float Fruit and slowly rose into the air.
"Uwaaaaah! We’re flying!!"
Nami and Karina turned green with fear. They immediately stopped struggling, terrified of falling to their deaths.
"You’re a Devil Fruit user?" Karina asked, calmer now that she recognized the ability.
"Correct~ I ate the Float-Float Fruit. I can fly freely through the sky," Rorschach said casually as he landed on a tall building’s rooftop and set them down.
He wasn’t worried about them running. He could catch them again in an instant.
"What exactly do you want?" Karina asked carefully. "If it’s the money, we’ll give it back."
"As I said earlier — I want both of you to become my crew members... and my wives," Rorschach replied with a relaxed smile, spreading his hands.
"Are you a pirate?!" Nami snarled, hostility flashing in her eyes.
Rorschach knew about her hatred for pirates because of Arlong, so he immediately clarified:
"No, not a pirate. At least not yet. Right now, I’m just an adventurer who recently set sail."
