Steel Heart

Ch 49 - The Latest Upgrade

The Straw Hats rested in the old man's bar in Grove #13 called Shakky's Rip Off Bar. Shakky was the woman who ran it and the old man was the silent partner. Nana was in the backroom with Chopper so that he could treat her shoulder wound. Pygmy sat beside her throughout the process with his head on her lap.

"My, my," Shakky mused as she stood by the door, smoking a cigarette, "How did you get all those scars?"

Nana grinned despite feeling the burning pain of Chopper's disinfectant. "Through hard work and dedication," she said.

Shakky chuckled. "You know, out of all the twelve supernovas, I'm most intrigued by you."

Nana blinked back at Shakky. "Why?"

Shakky smiled in a way that reminded Nana of Robin, mature and composed. "Because you came out of nowhere and you have the highest initial bounty the world has ever seen..."

"You didn't have a history of violence and it didn't seem like you did that much damage to Ennies Lobby to warrant that exorbitant amount for a first bounty," Shakky theorized. She walked towards Nana and knelt down so they were eye level. "I can't help but think that it's because you have something the government wants...Or something the government doesn't want you to have."

Nana gulped and instinctively moved her metal gloved hand slightly away from the woman. "I'm just a mechanic in a pirate crew," she said.

Shakky laughed. "So you won't tell me the big secret about how your glove works?" She laughed again at the wary look on Nana's face, "Don't worry. I'm just curious. I don't mean you any harm. I like to stay informed."

"Shakky is very nice," Chopper prompted, "You can trust her."

Nana looked over at her nakama and then she took a deep breath before returning her attention to the bar owner.

"It's just a magnet," Nana admitted honestly, "I don't see what the big deal is, either. Anybody with a basic understanding of magnetic fields could make one. A child could make it."

"Nana's glove is amazing," Chopper chimed in, "She's even starting to be able to tap into the magnetic energy of the sea!"

"Oh, that is amazing," Shakky commented.

"Chopper," Nana hissed, "You're not supposed to tell people that. The less people know about my glove the better."

"Eeek! Sorry!" Chopper shrieked and clamped his hooves over his mouth.

Shakky chuckled and folded her arms over her chest. "Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me. So tell me, when did you first make your glove?"

Nana wasn't sure where she was going with this. "I was 8," she said, "Or at least I think I was 8. It was a year after I got to Water 7."

Shakky smoked her cigarette. "So this was...what? 9? 10 years ago?"

Nana shrugged, "More or less."

"Which is it?" she pressed gently.

Nana closed her eyes and tried to think hard. It was definitely before her first workable cannon but not before she had made her first hammer so that would make it...

"8 years and 10 months ago," she finally said.

Shakky smiled. "I didn't mean for you to answer in that much detail." She then tilted her head and studied Nana a lot more thoroughly than she had before. "And you said this was after you got to Water 7? I thought you were from Water 7. What were you doing before?"

"I am from Water 7," Nana said tersely. She turned to Chopper. "Am I done?"

"Ah," Chopper said as he quickly finished up tying her bandages, "Yes, you can go now."