"My greatsword..."
Garen clenched his teeth and muttered, "It's been stolen!"
He finally snapped out of it—he had just been chatting and laughing with a thief.
Garen looked around. All he saw were bustling crowds, densely packed shops, and houses stacked together.
A place this lively and crowded was undoubtedly the perfect environment for someone to disappear into.
In his system interface, Garen had access to a game-like minimap that displayed human icons within a 1,000-meter radius. But with so many people around, there was no way he could use it to pinpoint Nami's location.
And with Nami's agile skills, she had probably already vanished without a trace.
"Damn it!"
Garen was so furious he was dazed.
Without his greatsword, he felt like in Tahm Kench hell's tongue-mouth torture, like Lee Sin with a severed spine, like Gragas drinking light beer...
Basically, a total wreck.
"Wait, is this even allowed?"
Garen grumbled in frustration at his frozen system,
"What happened to the digitalized mode? Garen's greatsword can actually be stolen?!"
In the game, that kind of thing was absolutely impossible. For a digital character, weapons and armor were part of the body—they couldn't be separated.
No matter how intense the fight, your weapon would never just slip out of your hands.
But the system stayed crashed and unresponsive.
"Sigh…"
Garen sighed helplessly. "Looks like this so-called digitalized mode still has to bow down to reality."
After all, Garen was a real person—you couldn't expect him to have a giant sword glued to his hands 24/7.
"If I don't have my greatsword anymore, how the hell am I supposed to play Garen? Switch to Fist instead?"
Garen couldn't help but complain,
"Couldn't the system at least have given me an equipment-recovery function? That sword is my signature weapon, for crying out loud!"
What Garen didn't know was that, the moment he had that thought, something strange happened thousands of meters away on the other side of the town.
The thief cat, Nami, was clutching the massive greatsword tightly while weaving swiftly through the crowded streets.
She knew she had already shaken off the walking tin can, but she still didn't dare slow down.
Her final destination was the docks, where a small boat she had prepared in advance was waiting.
As long as she left this island by sea with the stolen goods, she'd be in the clear.
While darting through the alleys and market roads, Nami was mentally calculating:
There were over two million Berries in cash hidden on her little boat, all stolen from the Steel Blade Pirates. And the extraordinary quality of the greatsword she held—she could easily sell it for at least twenty million Berries at a weapons dealer in Loguetown.
That hundred-million-Berry goal of hers? It was practically within reach!
For the long-suffering Cocoyashi Village and the villagers enslaved by Arlong...
A joyful yet burdened smile appeared on Nami's face.
In that moment, all of her hopes for a brighter future were pinned to the sword in her hands.
But just as she was about to reach the docks and begin the final leg of her journey to save her homeland...
The greatsword in her hands suddenly moved—on its own.
"What the hell?"
Nami stopped in her tracks, stunned.
She felt the sword tremble once, then suddenly get pulled upward by an invisible force.
The strength of that force was completely irresistible, like the heavens themselves had reached down to take the sword back.
"No! No way!"
"This is my sword!"
Nami clenched her teeth, eyes brimming with tears.
She clung to the sword like an octopus, refusing to let go no matter what.
But the sword still flew up into the sky—taking Nami with it—until they both disappeared into a streak of light across the heavens.
Fortunately for her, the flight didn't last long. The destination wasn't too far.
The greatsword returned to Garen's hand on its own.
"It actually flew back to me?"
Garen stared at the sword hilt in disbelief.
He hadn't expected that his greatsword would literally return like Thor's hammer with a built-in recall function.
Even more shocking—clinging to the blade like a skewered candied hawthorn fruit was an orange-haired girl who refused to let go.
Nami was wrapped around the sword's wide blade, still trembling from the high-speed, high-acceleration flight that had left her insides churning.
Right now, she looked like a kitten stuck up in a tree, too scared to come down—both pitiful and a little bit cute.
"Well, well..."
Garen gave her a wicked grin,
"Isn't this my runaway little girlfriend?"
"A girl... flying in the sky?!"
"Was that sword flying just now?!"
"That was awesome!!"
Even in the superpowered world of One Piece, the ability to fly wasn't exactly commonplace.
For the people of the East Blue—the weakest of all the seas—this kind of sight was totally unheard of.
Nami, soaring through the air on a flying sword, instantly became the center of attention in the bustling city.
And at that very moment, a group of fierce, brutal-looking men also took notice.
These shirtless thugs, covered in bulging muscles, intricate tattoos, and carrying gleaming steel sabers, were clearly bad news.
They were pirates—the Steel Blade Pirates, infamous in the East Blue.
Their captain, nicknamed Steel Blade, wielded a massive steel sword and had a bounty of ten million Berries—a terrifying sum in this sea.
He'd run rampant through the East Blue for years, pillaging, killing, and doing whatever he pleased. Few dared to challenge him.
He was known for both his raw strength and his brainless aggression—he'd even gone toe-to-toe with pirates whose bounties exceeded his own.
Not long ago, Steel Blade and his crew had pulled off a major heist, stealing valuable treasure from a fearsome pirate worth fifteen million Berries—a Devil Fruit user, no less.
Despite the odds, they'd managed to snatch the loot and make it out alive.
It was a feat worth bragging about—enough to boost Steel Blade's bounty and possibly even push him toward becoming an East Blue overlord.
But then they were stupid enough to get robbed—by a single orange-haired girl.
Nami had tricked and stolen the entire 2-million-Berry treasure from under their noses.
Unforgivable.
Enraged and humiliated, Steel Blade had chased Nami all the way to this island—Samwell Island—determined to make her pay.
"That brat is really on this island?"
Steel Blade growled impatiently at his crew.
He had no interest in sightseeing—only bloodshed.
Their navigator wiped sweat from his forehead and stammered nervously,
"She's definitely here! That was the direction she escaped in, and this island is the biggest resupply stop along that route—perfect for laying low…"
"She has to be here!"
But Steel Blade wasn't in the mood to be patient. He swung his blade angrily and roared, "Then where is she?!"
His sword was itching for blood.
Suddenly, the crowd stirred.
"Boss! Found her!"
One of his lackeys shouted excitedly, "I see the thief girl!"
"We found her? Hahaha!"
Steel Blade grinned wickedly. His sword gleamed ominously in the sunlight.
"Perfect!"
"I'll show that damn thief what it means to have nowhere left to—"
Before he could finish, the lackey pointed a trembling finger toward the sky, his voice tied in knots.
"Th-the thief…"
"She went up into the sky."
(End of Chapter)