At a certain island in the East Blue
The jovial sounds of laughter, clinking mugs and dancing feet flowed out from a particular bar in Foosha Village. Peeking inside, one would see quite the assortment of interesting individuals partying it up, supplied by a muscular bearded merman serving as the bartender. However, towering over the rest was another merperson, a blonde hammerhead shark-mermaid wearing a dark-blue open jacket with pink flowers covering the edges, and a straw hat placed upon her head. In her hand was a modified barrel serving as a mug to accommodate her large size, and her tail was angled in front of her so that a certain orange-haired young girl could stand on it.
"Shashasha" the mermaid, Praline, laughed. "Not a chance! There's no way I'd bring along a little kid like you, Nami!"
"Hey!" the girl standing on Praline's tail huffed indignantly, stomping her foot. "Being little is useful! See, I can sneak into tiny holes and grab the loot, and be back before you even manage to squeeze through a door."
Nami grinned proudly, with her hands on her hips as she looked up at the larger woman. Praline chuckled, then leaned in close as she grinned. Rows of huge pointed teeth flared menacingly, as the massive size difference became truly apparent. Praline was a whooping 8 meters end to end, while Nami barely reached one meter standing up.
"Oh~? So what are you gonna do when you sneak somewhere all alone, and you come across a big scary monster trying to gobble you up…?"
Praline had a sinister tone in her voice, trying to frighten the young girl. But Nami was undeterred.
"I'll just distract the monster with my body~"
This promptly earned her a punch from Praline, sending Nami spinning through the air.
"YOU'RE EIGHT, YOU SHOULDN'T BE TALKING LIKE THAT!" the enraged mermaid yelled, as the rest of the people in the bar just laughed.
"Ow! What was that for?" Nami yelled, standing up with clenched fists and teeth.
"If you can't take a blow like that, you shouldn't be a pirate."
Before Nami could respond, a hand reached down and patted her on the head. She gazed up to see Aladine, the bartender, smile down at her.
"Calm down, Nami. Praline just doesn't want you to get hurt out on the seas."
"I wouldn't get hurt! The only danger I can see is Praline punching me!" Nami huffed with a pout.
"If I had punched for real, you wouldn't have a head anymore" Praline laughed before going to take another gulp of her drink. Seeing that it was empty, she set the barrel down on the countertop before turning towards the bartender. "Hey Aladine, how about a refill?"
Nami grumbled, hopping onto a chair to reach the top of the counter herself.
"Aladine! Give me a big glass of milk!" she demanded, trying to sound as tough and imposing as possible.
"Milk? You really are a little kid!" Praline laughed once more.
"There's nothing funny about strong healthy bones!"
Later that night
After a long day of partying and drinking, Praline and the rest of the Siren Pirates were sleeping off their hangovers aboard their ship. Nami, however, was wide awake as she snuck towards the docked boat bathed in moonlight.
"Praline doesn't think I have what it takes… I'll show her. I'll prove I'm a great thief by stealing from her!"
The orange-haired girl lowered her back and shoulders to keep a low profile as she ran towards the ship, hopping into the water when close. Taking the obvious route, the gangway, was not how a master cat thief should act. So instead, she went for the chain connected to the anchor. Her tiny hands and feet easily fit within the holes in the links, allowing her to scale the side of the ship with relatively little trouble. The soaked little girl soon flopped over the railing, her pretty white dress clinging uncomfortably to her body after her swim.
"Ok, that was… a bit more exhausting than expected. But I can't stop! Gotta… keep going."
With a grunt, Nami stood up and surveyed the deck of the ship. A couple of passed out crewmembers, with the heavy odor of alcohol wafting off of them. Nami wrinkled her nose from the pungent stench, as she began sneaking past the snoring pirates. Sidestepping a fat man resting against a mast, hopping over the legs of another, Nami made her way towards the door leading to the ship's interior. Things were going quite well, the little thief easily tip-toeing around the sleeping pirates and reaching her destination. However, as she grabbed the handle to open the door, a sudden noise behind her drew her attention.
"Grmph? Whuz-whuzzat?"
A chill went down the orange-haired girl's spine as she slowly turned to face the source of the sound. A tall man stirred out of his stupor, shaking his head as an unfocused and blurry gaze pointed in Nami's general direction. It was at this moment Nami realized the value of a plan B.
"Uhh… g-go back to sleep!" she ordered the man in panic, to little effect. Thinking fast, Nami remembered reading about a legend sailors would tell. "Look, I… I'm a Klabautermann!"
Deafening silence as the two awkwardly stared at each other for a while.
"Yes, and… this is a good ship! Very loved. Yes. But… you're not supposed to see me! If you do… the ship is gonna die! And its wooden blood… splinters… will be on your hands! So… go sleep or you and the ship will die."
Luckily for Nami, the man's lack of both sobriety and sleep made her ramblings make total sense to him.
"O-oh, I schould- I schould go back shleep then!" he slurred, before collapsing back into a drunken, snoring heap.
"Smooth~" Nami complimented herself with a grin as she ventured into the ship's interior.
The inside was comparatively easier for her to navigate, as the vast majority of pirates had been on the deck partying. She also knew where the treasure room was, having asked Praline to see it before. Finding and gathering treasure had always been alluring to the young girl, and she had been excited to see how much experienced pirates had gathered. Her excitement turned to disappointment when she saw the fairly small pile. Turned out that Praline and her crew preferred to spend their money rather than hoard it.
Yet that disappointing experience made it easy for Nami to find her way back to the treasure room. The floorboards lightly creaked as the young girl, still dripping wet from her swim, tip-toed forwards in pursuit of her goal. It didn't take long for her to find what she was looking for, a grin creeping onto her face as the plain wooden door came into view. Its basic appearance belied its status as the final obstacle to the pirates' treasure trove.
"Ok, just grab something and get out…" Nami whispered to herself as she opened the door, peeking inside. Glittering gold, ornate weapons and several chests laid scattered around the room. Certainly enough that one could live comfortably for the rest of one's life, but the size of the room made the pile look absolutely pitiful. When Nami had first gotten here, that size dichotomy had ruined her mood. Yet now that she was here a second time, and was able to appreciate the actual amount of loot…
For a moment her quest had been completely forgotten, as Nami laid on top of a pile of coins and bills while picking up and raining more over her with her hands. Her mouth wide open in a stupid smile and her eyes in the shape of belly symbols.
"Ahahaah… money is the best~"
Her little bath was interrupted when one of the coins she was raining over her fell into her open mouth and continued down her throat. The greedy girl quickly sat up, sending coins and bills flying as she coughed and gagged while clutching her throat. After a few painful seconds the small round bit of metal shot out of her mouth alongside some saliva, leaving Nami groaning as she fell on her back.
"Ok… I think I should just go."
Taking a few extra seconds to recover, Nami soon stood back up and took another look over the treasure pile. She wouldn't be able to carry a lot ("Curse you, pocketless dress!") so she looked for something particularly valuable. That was when she noticed a small chest on top of a pedestal.
"Ooh, now that's gotta be important…"
Unfortunately for Nami, the pedestal was just a bit too tall, with the treasure chest laying ever so slightly out of reach. The aspiring cat thief grunted and groaned as she stood on her tippy toes, stretching her body upwards as her wriggling fingers tickled the edge of the top of the pedestal. Seeing that she wasn't going to reach, Nami decided to try jumping to get some extra height. And indeed, she managed to get some of her fingers on top of the pedestal… and make the whole thing fall towards her. She quickly let go and stepped backwards, avoiding the pedestal falling on top of her… but not the chest falling off and hitting her in the head.
"I wish I knew swear words!" Nami growled, clutching her head while she crouched in pain.
Nami breathed heavily as she crawled onto the beach, clutching the treasure chest under her arm. She looked back towards the ship, smirking in triumph.
"Yeah… that'll show Praline! Cat Burglar Nami just completed her greatest heist yet!" the young thief declared, letting out a proud little laugh. Placing the treasure chest in the sand, she sat down besides it and hugged her knees. Facing the ship, with her back towards the forest by the beach, she sighed happily.
"Whew… I'm actually pretty tired. Swimming like that… was really exhausting."
Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, Nami began feeling an aching sensation of overexertion through her limbs. She bit her lip, closing her eyes as she rested. Suddenly, she heard a faint scraping besides her. Opening one eye and turning her head slightly to peek, she saw a light grey tentacle-like appendage wrapped around the treasure chest, slowly dragging it away. Exactly one second later, Nami had jumped onto her feet.
"HEY! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" she yelled at the tentacle, her exhaustion all but forgotten as her fury engulfed her. She kicked it as hard as she could, before grabbing her foot in pain.
"Ow! Was that… wood?"
Before she could study it anymore, another light grey wooden appendage shot out from the forest and wrapped around Nami's leg. She yelped as she fell backwards before being dragged into the forest alongside the treasure chest. As she was dragged deeper and deeper into the forest, getting many scrapes and bumps from the unpleasant ride, another tentacle wrapped around her torso and lifted her into the air. She then realized she had come face to face with the one who had brought her here.
"Who do yew think you are, kicking MY roots like that?" Nami's assailant asked her in a deep voice. Indeed, the "tentacles" had been roots, the roots of the massive animate tree now holding Nami captive. Besides the odd coloration of light gray bark and blueish gray leaves, the tree's most noticeable feature was its face. Two relatively small yellow eyes, a long sharp nose, huge mouth with sharp teeth and a big curly mustache. It only took Nami a second to realize that this was Kingbaum, the infamous bandit residing in the forest near Foosha Village. Despite the fear that was quickly welling up in Nami, she put on a brave face.
"B-because you tried to steal my treasure chest! Now put me down or… else…"
Kingbaum raised an eyebrow, as one of his roots came in carrying the small wooden chest.
"Are you refirring to THIS chest? Well, it's mine now. Any poor sap that gets too close to Kingbaum's woods has to pay a toll! Be glad I'm just taking this chest… now say 'Sorry for kicking your root, Mr. Kingbaum' and I'll let you leaf."
"What?! NO! Give me the chest back now, you stupid overgrown matchstick!" Nami yelled, struggling feebly in Kingbaum's grasp. Her bravado was mostly born out of anger, she was actually completely terrified. The fear became more and more apparent as Kingbaum held her closer to his face, the massive tree towering over Nami even more than Praline.
"So… this chest is that import-ent to you, hm? Must be something really valuable in there…"
A few more roots swooped in, cracking open the chest and catching the contents… a violet sphere, with a curly pattern and a big stem sprouting out of the top. Neither Kingbaum nor Nami had any idea what it was.
"Huh…? Some kind of… fruit?" Kingbaum mused, taking a closer look.
"G-give it back! I have to show Pr-GURGH!"
Nami's eyes were welling up in tears, her demands silenced by Kingbaum tightening his hold.
"I'm stumped. Why are you this obsessed with a stupid fruit? Must be damn tasty..." the giant tree-bandit mused before throwing the entire fruit into his oversized maw. Nami couldn't even manage to protest past her pained grunts. Almost immediately after closing his mouth, Kingbaum spat the chewed remains of the fruit out again.
"DISGUSTING! YEW WERE PLANNING TO TRICK ME INTO CANNIBALISM AND POISON ME! TREECKY LITTLE SAPLING!"
"What…?" Nami sobbed, as the pressure put on her by Kingbaum's grip lessened. But not because he lessened his hold, but rather that the bark became… softer? The texture had completely changed, something Kingbaum had also noticed. In shock over his body's new attributes, he dropped Nami as his roots waved about.
"What the… what did you do? WHAT KIND OF POISON WAS THAT?!" he yelled, sending forth more roots to grab Nami as she tried to escape. One root for each limb, holding Nami securely in place in a star-like position. "You'll pay fir this!"
Another root came up, this one aiming to slam down on Nami and squash her. As the massive light grey wood came swinging down on Nami, she closed her eyes and clenched her teeth.
"Big girls don't cry big girls don't cry big girls don't cry" she thought to herself as she kept herself from screaming, to deny Kingbaum the pleasure of hearing her break. The root slammed down on her… and bounced back up. Nami was… not fine per say, but still alive and with her bones unbroken. Both Nami and Kingbaum looked at the event with wide open eyes.
"You… yew ruined me!" Kingbaum yelled. "I'm not just gonna squash you… I'll make sure you die slowly. Limb… by… limb..."
The root went into another part of the forest, digging into Kingbaum's treasure trove. There he grabbed a sword, bringing it back to the clearing he and Nami were in. As a thoroughly beaten, bruised and sobbing Nami looked up at the root clutching a sword overhead, she closed her eyes once more. She wouldn't scream… she'd go with dignity. She repeated this mantra in her head as the sword came swinging down.
What happened next was just a blur for Nami. First, there was the pain. The most intense, mind-wrecking pain she had ever felt, originating between the elbow and shoulder on her left arm. Then, there was the scream. Her previous determination had vanished, the girl's throat now burning with the intensity of her cries. And through the agony and panic, came the realization that she couldn't feel her left arm anymore.
In this blurred state, time seemed irrelevant. Nami had no idea how long she laid there screaming before… something happened. It sounded like thunder, and felt like an earthquake combined with a hurricane. The roots holding Nami let go of her remaining limbs, and it felt like she was flying through the air. Then, warmth. A much larger person wrapping around Nami, pulling her into a hug. She could feel the person occasionally twitch as if crying, as the young girl faded into unconsciousness.
One week later, at Foosha Village's harbor
"You're leaving already?"
Nami looked up at the giant mermaid in front of her, who turned to face the young girl.
"Yeah, it's time we headed back to the Grand Line. Can't stay here forever, you know" Praline smiled, though her expression grew more somber as her eyes fell upon the bandaged stump on Nami's left side. The orange-haired girl noticed this and sighed.
"I told you… it was my fault" Nami said, looking down at the ground. There was silence for a few seconds. "...you were right. I'm too small and weak to be a pirate."
Praline was about to say something, when Nami continued.
"But… I'm not gonna be small forever. I'll stay here, and I'll get stronger. Then, when I'm ready, I'll become a pirate myself. I'll be the captain of my own crew, a better crew than yours! I'm not gonna let this…"
Nami gestured to her left arm.
"...stop me from becoming the greatest, and richest, pirate of all time. I'll be the Pirate Queen, you hear?!"
Praline smirked, then began laughing.
"Shashasha. You certainly have the drive of a real pirate. Then, consider this your first piece of loot."
Praline reached onto her head, grabbing the straw hat she wore. Then, she bent down to place it on Nami's head.
"It may not be worth a lot of money, but it's very valuable to me. Take good care of it, ok? Little Pirate Queen~"
From Praline's elevated viewpoint, the brim of the hat covered Nami's face. And the young girl didn't bother to move it, as she didn't want Praline to see her cry.
Ten years later
The majority of Foosha Village had shown up at the harbor, waving and saying their goodbyes. Among the gathered villagers was Aladine, proprietor of the bar Praline and her crew used to frequent all those years ago.
"That girl is going to make a name for herself, mark my words" he sighed with a smile, glancing at the man standing beside him. "The arm you built her is going to be a great help, mayor Vegapunk."
The reason everybody had gathered was the girl currently sailing away on a small boat, the cheapest vessel she could get her hands on. An athletic and beautiful young woman with orange hair worn in pigtails and big brown eyes. Her outfit consisted of a white sleeveless shirt with blue stripes baring her midriff, black-brown shorts reaching down to just above her knees, reddish-brown boots, and a straw hat upon her head. A sly smirk on her face, as her adventure truly began.
Suddenly, the waves parted, the boat shook as a massive sea serpent burst out of the water. Similar in appearance to a giant ferocious eel, the beast glared at the boat's inhabitant with obvious murderous and hungry intent. But the girl just let out a short chuckle.
"Once I'd be scared of you. But now?" Nami said as she gazed up at the Sea King from under the brim of her hat.
A robotic arm firmly grasped the handle of a huge axe almost as big as her entire body, one that looked far too heavy for any normal human to lift, much less wield like a weapon. Yet Nami showed little strain as she picked up the axe, easily swinging it up to rest on her shoulder.
"I wouldn't even call you a warm-up."
The titanic eel growled, before lunging forwards to try and swallow Nami whole. But instead of the savory taste of human meat, all the monster got a mouthful of was pain. An intense, surging agony going in a diagonal line through its body. As easily as she had lifted the axe, Nami had cleaved the Sea King with a single swing. She placed her weapon back in its place as the monster sank back under the waves.
"Been waiting for this day for a long time…" Nami mused as she looked across the horizon. "Let's see… I'll need to look for some crewmates. The most vital positions would be navigator, doctor and shipwright. A cook, some general combatants… I'll take on the duty of treasurer myself~"
She glanced down at her mechanical left arm.
"Should also look for an engineer, or find a shipwright who also knows a lot about machines. Vegapunk taught the basics of maintaining my arm, but it's definitely not my forte."
Nami sighed, closing her eyes.
"Well, for now I should just focus on making my way towards the Grand Line. I'll probably pick some people up on the way" she shrugged. Her eyes opened, filled with determination as she raised her arms and loudly declared her purpose for all to hear:
"I'M GONNA BE THE QUEEN OF THE PIRATES!"