Freedom & Fate | One Piece x Reader

Chapter 37 | New Hope

A feeling of comprehension embeds the air. You gained a sense of insight on Nami's past which gave you the opportunity to understand a lot of her actions. Her story was full of struggle and sorrow. The look on her face reveals how dreadful her agreement with Arlong is, even though it is her only hope to free the villagers.

You zip open the bag belted onto your right thigh and take out part of its content. Gently grabbing Nami's hand, you place your possessions on her palm.

"It's not much but," you give her an encouraging smile, "I want to contribute to your goal. Know that I'll be here to support you."

Nami looks down on the three matt, golden coins in the hand. The intricate engravings on the coins astonished her. With these coins made entirely of gold, she could pay off the amount of money Arlong demanded if she adds it to her stash. Her eyes lit up with hope.

"This is more than enough!" she says and pulls you into a hug. You get startled by the sudden uplifting mood but then you are more than willing to return her tight hug.

"Y/N, I don't think you know how much these are worth. Are you fine with me taking them?"

"I may not know how much they're worth but if they help you then I'll gladly give them to you."

She thanks you again and rushes out the back door after telling you to follow her. You walk into the garden of orange trees. You admire the number of plants there are, their bright and fresh leafs brushing against your arms as you walk by. You could sense the feeling of safety and soundness radiate off of Nami as she strolls between the trees.

She stops walking at a spot next to the trees and starts uncovering the dirt. A casket filled with money, jewellery and other valuables is revealed. Nami carefully puts the three coins into the case together with her other riches.

"With this, I can finally save the village," she mumbles. "My greatest treasure..."

All of a sudden her head peeks when she heard voices coming closer. She quickly closes the casket and covers it hurriedly with dirt and fake grass. She walks into the direction of the voices and you follow after her.

She has keen senses. A group of marines are headed to her house, led by someone whose features resembles a rat. Later on, you find out just how disgusting his actions could be. The marine captain demands to receive all of the treasure Nami has stolen from pirates because they apparently belong to the government.

"Don't you have something more important to take care of?" she retaliates. "The Arlong pirates are going around killing people and destroying this island! You are aware of that, aren't you?!" Marines try to enter her house to search for the treasure but you block their path, giving them a menacing stare.

"All the people are enslaved under their rule! Yet you ignore that crisis and instead decide to confiscate the stolen goods of one petty thief?!" she shouts. "Is that how the government prioritises things?!"

The marine captain completely disregards her complaints, still commanding others to search the property. The marines who are nearing the orange trees are pitilessly and quickly knocked down by Nami and you. Soon, several villagers and Nami's sister Nojiko come and defend her actions and explain that everything she has done was solely for the purpose of saving this village.

The marines have had enough of the protest so they raise and point their guns at you. What they did not account for was a rather skilled girl with an extensive knowledge and experience with guns.

And she's quite quick to pull out her own.

In the blink of an eye, you fire just enough times to shoot the weapons out of their hands. The shocked and thunderstruck expressions make you smirk a little. They are always an indication of success for you. Even Nami is baffled, seeing how you landed all your shots. It's the first time she realises to what extent you could go and just how fearsome you could be. A totally different side than she is used to.

She wonders how strong you really are and what would happen if you unleashed your full potential. Maybe with the combined powers of the Straw-hats, she could actually stand a chance against Arlong.

"Arlong..." she whispers. Then she balls her fists with anger when she comes to her conclusion. "Was this Arlong's idea?" she asks without expecting an answer. For her, it should have been clear the whole time. The one who tyrannised her her whole life, why wouldn't he go ahead and take away the only hope she had left?

You glance at Nami. Her head is lowered, gaze turned toward the ground. She does not even bother to get angry anymore. Her resentment for Arlong has been built up for so long that she is tired of being engulfed by loathing again and again. The whole situation has reached a point where it was time for a new hope. A hope granted by the friends who are always standing behind her. Now it is time for her to turn around and accept their helping hand.

"Please... help me." Tears are starting to well up in her eyes as she finally found the courage to speak those words. You place her hands on her shoulders, looking at her determinately as you voice your reply.

"Of course I will."

You turn to Luffy who has been standing at the side, quietly observing the scene. The look on his face tells you he heard everything she said. You give him a nod, he stands up from the ground and walks over to the rest of his crew who were waiting, already prepared for a battle.

"Let's go," Luffy says in a serious tone.

"Roger!"

✘

Oh, the fight is on!

Thank you all for an astounding amount of votes! All the support and comments make me extremely happy~ I'm so glad I can share this story with you all! (*＾v＾*)

Until next time...

~ Rin