One Piece: The sky is azure, I just time-traveled today.

Page 62

The lizardman finally realized the difference in strength and turned to flee. But Kuina's sword was already pressed against his back.

"game over."

With a gentle thrust of the sword tip, the overwhelming force instantly shattered the lizardman's internal organs. The lizardman froze on the spot, slowly collapsing and transforming back into human form.

Kuina sheathed her sword, turned to the stunned Nami, and said, "Did you see that? Before true power, all abilities are meaningless."

Nami nodded vigorously, her eyes filled with admiration: "Yes, yes, Kuina-neechan is amazing! So incredible! A one-hit kill!"

Robin smiled and said, "It's time to go back."

The three of them steadily ascended the arm-shaped staircase created by Robin. Nami walked in the middle, clutching the nautical logbook tightly in her arms, while Kuina brought up the rear to keep watch.

When they stood once again on the moonlit rocks, the sea breeze blew in their faces, carrying the scent of freedom.

"Finally out." Nami took a deep breath, a relaxed smile spreading across her face.

Robin manipulated countless arms to smoothly transport the treasure chest onto the small boat. Kuina carefully inspected the surroundings, making sure no trace was missed.

"This treasure..." Nami's eyes gleamed as she looked at the spoils filling the small boat. "It should be enough for a hundred million Berries, right?"

"That's about right," Kuina said, counting the boxes. "When we get back to Cocoyasi Village, we'll raid another wave of pirates we encountered at sea—more than we can handle!"

Shortly after their small boat sailed away, a loud rumbling sound came from Crescent Bay behind them.

The three looked back and saw the three iconic rocks slowly moving, and the cave entrance gradually closed with the sound of rocks rubbing together.

"This is..." Nami's eyes widened in surprise.

"A self-destruct mechanism." Robin mused. "It seems the Tide Queen planned everything all along."

When the last rock was put back in place, Crescent Bay returned to its original appearance, showing no trace of the huge treasure cave that had once been hidden there. The waves continued to pound the rocks, as if nothing had happened.

Kuina adjusted the sails: "This is for the best, so no one will bother us again."

Nami stroked the nautical logbook in her arms, suddenly realizing something: "Do you think... the Tide Queen deliberately designed these tests to find a suitable successor?"

"Very likely," Robin nodded. "She left behind not only treasure, but also invaluable nautical and documentary knowledge."

The small boat sailed on the calm sea, its full load of treasure causing the waterline to deepen considerably.

Nami had already begun planning how to use the money, her eyes gleaming with shrewd calculation.

"When I get back, I'm going to buy Bellemere new clothes and the cosmetics that Nochiko has always wanted..."

She counted on her fingers, "The remaining money should be enough to buy a better boat..."

Kuina and Robin exchanged a smile. This little girl, who once only wanted to buy her freedom with money, has now learned to think about her family.

Liu Jiu watched them return safely from afar, silently sheathing his sword. There were not many people left in the East China Sea who could truly threaten them!

Chapter 69 Nami's excessive wealth is giving her a headache.

On the sea, Nami's small boat drifted like a ghost. With the guidance of the Tide Queen's logbook, she could now accurately predict the course of every pirate ship.

"To port, three nautical miles away, there is a medium-sized pirate ship."

Nami lowered her binoculars, a sly smile playing on her lips. "Judging by the waterline, they're carrying a considerable amount of cargo. And their route will pass through a reef area!"

Kuina cracked her knuckles: "Same old rule, just have the ship come alongside?!"

Robin shook his head: "There's absolutely no need. We can secretly wait until their ship is in trouble before approaching."

Within half an hour, the pirate ship flying the skull and crossbones flag indeed entered the designated waters. The captain was celebrating on the deck with a glass of wine when suddenly a screeching sound came from the bottom of the ship.

"We've run aground!" the sailors shouted in panic.

Just then, Nami's small boat quietly emerged from behind the reef. Kuina leaped onto the enemy's deck, and without even drawing her sword, she took down several people with her bare hands and feet.

"Send out your strongest people, or all of you together?"

She stepped on the captain's wine barrel.

Meanwhile, Robin's abilities had already pinpointed the location of the treasure: "Three chests of jewels, two barrels of fine wine, and... a bag of Berries."

Nami skillfully slipped aboard the ship and arrived at the place Robin had mentioned. She opened the box to inventory the spoils, and suddenly her eyes lit up: "Hmm? There's a treasure map in this box of jewels!"

Such scenes were repeated repeatedly throughout the rest of the voyage.

Sometimes they use dense fog as cover, and sometimes they use ocean currents to quickly approach their targets.

Nami's sailing skills became increasingly refined, to the point that she could even determine the type of ships in the distance by observing the flight paths of seabirds.

"There's a ship disguised as a merchant ship to the southeast."

One morning, Nami suddenly said, "But the wear and tear on the mast indicates that it frequently enters dangerous waters... It's undoubtedly a disguised pirate ship."

Kuina and Robin were already used to it. This orange-haired girl's talent for navigation was truly astonishing.

The most exciting battle took place a month later.

They set their sights on a large, well-equipped pirate ship. The ship was clearly prepared, with its deck filled with fully armed pirates.

Kuina immediately perked up: "Nami, move the boat closer!"

"A direct confrontation might result in some minor losses," Robin assessed the situation.

Nami gave a mysterious smile: "Watch me."

She directed the small boat toward a seemingly calm sea, then suddenly turned, swerving back and forth several times.

In just a moment, a whirlpool suddenly appeared on the sea surface.

"How is this possible?!" The captain of the large pirate ship stared in horror at the navigation instrument. "This should be a safe passage!"

Nami stood at the bow of the ship, gently stroking the nautical log in her arms: "The Tide Queen once said that she accidentally discovered that this sea area only needs a slight change in the current to create a temporary whirlpool."

Without losing a single soldier, they completely destroyed the enemy's large pirate ship, and then Kuina and Robin easily seized the entire ship's treasure.

Now, their only headache is that the small boat's hold is almost full of so much treasure.

"Seriously, having so much money is giving me a headache, what am I going to do?"

Nami sat atop a mountain of treasure chests, her chin resting on her hand, looking distressed.

She casually picked up a pearl necklace and examined it against the sunlight: "Isn't the quality a bit too ordinary? I'd feel embarrassed to give it as a gift."

Kuina, who was wiping her sword blade, rolled her eyes at her upon hearing this: "If other pirates heard you say that, they'd be furious. You know, just one of these is enough to feed an ordinary family for half a year!"

"I'm telling the truth." Nami jumped down from the pile of treasure, kicking a gold brick at her feet. "This gold isn't pure enough; it'll be a real hassle to melt it down."

Robin looked up from between the pages of the book, unable to suppress a chuckle: "Do I need to remind you? Before you set sail, you were still worrying about 100,000 Berries."

"Things are different now!" Nami said, hands on her hips, analyzing seriously, "Now we're making at least 500,000 Berries a day on average, and counting all this scattered treasure would take too much time."

She opened the ship's logbook and pointed to a page: "Look, the Queen of the Tides said that true tycoons should all have their own treasury."

Kuina couldn't help but retort, "So you're complaining about having too much money?"

"Of course not!" Nami sighed dramatically, picking up a jewel-encrusted crown. "This crown alone is enough to buy ten new ships. But we don't even have a place to store it..."

She stood up, walked across the gold-coin-paved floor to the bow of the ship, and gazed at the vast sea with worry: "If this continues, we might have to throw away some less valuable things. Like that box of silverware? Or those oil paintings?"

Robin found it amusing and smiled, "Would you like me to help you take stock of which items are 'less valuable'?"

"Great idea!" Nami immediately perked up. "That box of silverware is probably worth three million Berries, and each of the paintings is around five hundred thousand... We really should make room for more valuable jewelry."

Kuina couldn't help but slam her sword sheath onto the deck: "You two, that's enough! Do you know how many people can't even afford to eat right now?"

Nami blinked, looking innocent. "But we got all this treasure from pirates. And..."

As she spoke, she picked up a gold cup and tapped it lightly: "The sound is quite good, and the purity is high, but it's not very portable. If I were to sell it, it should fetch a good price... Oh, and it would be even better if I could exchange them all for Baileys!"

Kuina sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Now I finally understand why some people resent the rich."

Upon hearing this, Robin and Nami exchanged a knowing smile.

"Nami, your idea is good...we should really replace all this bulky treasure with Berries. Carrying so much gold and jewels is not only conspicuous, but it also requires a lot of care to maintain."

"Right, Sister Robin, you and I are thinking the same thing. It's just that I don't know much about this business!"

"That's easy. I remember there's an island nearby where a newspaper once reported on a bank that specializes in handling these kinds of ill-gotten gains."

"Really? That's amazing! Robin is so amazing, she always manages to solve any problem with ease!"

Kuina watched the two men excitedly begin discussing selling all their treasures and shook her head helplessly.

While Nami and her friends were excitedly discussing exchanging treasures, a completely different scene was unfolding dozens of nautical miles away.

A combined fleet of more than twenty pirate ships is gathering on the sea, with various skull and crossbones flags flying from their masts.

The pirate crews that Nami and her friends had previously robbed have finally joined forces, determined to reclaim their treasure.

"Find those three women!" a one-eyed captain roared from the bow. "Let them know what happens when they offend us!"

Just then, a small boat suddenly appeared in front of the fleet.

Liu Jiu stood alone at the bow of the ship, the sea breeze ruffling the black hair on his forehead.

"Get out of the way!" the pirates yelled. "Get out of the way if you don't want to die!"

Liu Jiu slowly raised his head, his eyes eerily calm. An invisible pressure emanated from him, and the sea suddenly became deathly still.

The pirate ship at the front suddenly slowed down, and the pirates on board collapsed one after another. They weren't unconscious; they were simply stunned into losing consciousness.

"Conqueror's Haki?!" The experienced old pirate's voice trembled.

Liu Jiu drew his sword, its blade gleaming coldly in the sunlight. With a light swing, a slash shot through the air, instantly cutting ten pirate ships in half.

"A monster...a monster!" The surviving pirates were terrified.

But it was too late.

Liu Jiu's figure leaped up like a ghost, and in the blink of an eye, he was already weaving through the fleet, each strike precisely destroying the mainmast of a ship.

Wood chips flew everywhere, sails fell off, and the once majestic fleet was reduced to a pile of scrap wood in the blink of an eye.

In just ten minutes, only floating planks and struggling pirates remained on the sea.

Liu Jiu sheathed his sword and returned to the small boat, which was slowly turning around.

"Tell the others," he said to the nearest pirate, "that's what will happen if they dare to lay a finger on them again."

As his small boat disappeared from sight, the surviving pirates breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed onto the wooden planks.

"This is terrifying! Is this even human? How come I've never heard of such a person in the East China Sea before?!"