NOT ALL TREASURE IS GOLD

"That's right! I'm a thief who steals from pirates. If you team up we could get a lot of money together," Nami said to them.

Artemyra frowned once the news met her ears. She grabbed Luffy by his shoulders and gently pushed him in the opposite direction of the orange lady. She wasn't necessarily worried about Nami. She just didn't like the thought of teaming up with a thief that only stole from pirates, which in fact they were. It spelled out trouble, no matter how she looked at it. It was best to put some distance between them before Luffy got curious and opened his mouth.

"Although the offer is appreciated, I'm sorry to say we're not interested," Artemyra said while quickly walking away with Luffy.

"Hold on a second!" Nami called out to them while jumping down. She quickly followed after them, smiling in a way that made her look like a lying and mischievous cheshire cat. "So what's with that hat? When they nearly ruined it, you got so mad! Is it expensive?"

Luffy raised his hand over his hat in a protective sort of way. "This Is my treasure!" he answered proudly.

"Really? Treasure? I wonder if there're any jewels or gold inside it."

"There's nothing of that sort," Artemyra answered while sneaking between Luffy and the thieving girl.

"Yeah right. Maybe there's a treasure map inside!"

"So…you two got separated from your crew? How many people do you have?" Nami asked after hearing the story Artemyra had explained to her.

The three of them ended up hiding out inside one of the many houses inside the village. Artemyra could tell that it hadn't been abandoned for long, by the lack of dust that was on the furniture. But she can see that the people who left must've left in a hurry for whatever reason. Not just the house owners, but the whole village too. It was practically a ghost town. Silent, empty, and eerie.

"Just one at the moment, but If you don't mind answering…what exactly happened here? Why is the town empty?" Artemyra asked.

"Everyone in this village is hiding in a shelter outside of town. They're trying to avoid conflict with Buggy's pirate fleet."

Artemyra perked up to the familiar name and leaned forward in her chair. "Oh. I know that name. Buggy the Clown, right? He's one of the many famous pirates here in East Blue."

"That and his love for cannons," Nami spoke with disgust layered on her words. "When a bunch of kids from a village where he once stayed made fun of his nose, he used a cannon to wipe out the whole village. Not only that…but it's said he had a strange power too," she said eerily.

"Hm…" The knightess leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest plate. "I think I'm starting to put together the situation, but why are you here? This isn't your village, right?" she asked while looking up, seeing if she could spot a deeper meaning beyond the words Nami gave her.

"You're right. It's not." Nami said, becoming slightly serious, yet somber too. "My goal is to get a hundred million beli. With that, I'm going to buy a certain village."

Luffy lifted his head. "Buy a village? So that's why you're stealing a lot from pirates."

"And I've got a plan for that!" Nami grinned while reaching into her pocket and pulling out a rolled-up map. "Look! This is the Grand Line map I just stole! I'm going to steal some treasure from this Buggy guy…then I'm going to go to the Grand Line. With this, I'm going to steal from even greater pirates who carry even more treasure."

Artemyra let a smile slip on her face. "That's quite an ambiguous dream."

"I know. Then what do you say about joining me? I know you guys are strong and I could use that power. You'll even get your own share."

"By any chance, do you know how to navigate?" Luffy asked.

Nami perked up and grinned proudly. "Of course I know! Don't look down on me. Navigation skills, well, there aren't a lot of people who know more about it than I do. Especially since I love the sea!"

"I see! That's great!" Luffy cheered while throwing his hands up in the air. "Myra and I are also on our way to the Grand Line."

"Really?" Nami said eagerly.

"Yeah! How about you come with our pirate crew and be our navigator!"

"No way!" Nami snapped abruptly, making both Luffy and Artemyra stare at her curiously. She took a step away from them and held her hands out. "I see. So you're pirates. Forget what I said. I don't wanna team up with you." She then pointed an accusatory finger at them. "Ah! I get it…! You're going to use that map of yours in your hat to find the treasure."

"He already told you there's no treasure map inside," Artemyra said, still wildly confused.

"Yeah right! Then what is it! Why call that stupid rag of a hat treasure?"

Artemyra groaned deeply. "Nami, right? Surely you should know…that not all treasure is gold." She knew those words had to have some sort of effect on her, seeing that she flinched upon hearing them.

"I got this hat ages ago from a friend," Luffy explained while reaching for his hat and pulling it off his head. "It's my precious treasure. I swore myself to gather up a crew and become a pirate to the person who gave me this hat," he said while putting it back on.

Nami didn't have many words for that and just stared between the two. Looking at Luffy, then to Myra. "Good grief. Pirate this, pirate that…it's a pathetically sad era," she groaned. "Listen up! The things I hate the most in this world are pirates! The only thing I like is money and oranges," she claimed.

Artemyra felt her lips turn into a frown. She wanted to say something in defense, but Nami's hatred towards pirates seemed deeper than what she could see on the surface. She could tell that her disdain had to come from somewhere. Like pirates had to have done something to her in the past. So, she honestly didn't have the right to speak against those words.

"Hey, come on, become our navigator!" Luffy wined

"You think I'm crazy?! Shut up, you dumb pirate," Nami snarled when a dawning look appeared on her face…along with a mischievous grin. "Well, since your in a fix, I'll consider it under one condition."

Artemyra cocked a brow. "Oh? And what exactly is that?" she asked cautiously.

"Go with me to where Buggy is. That's all I want you two to do," she said.

Instantly, the knightess didn't like the sound of that and slowly narrowed her eyes. She opened her mouth to deny the request, but Luffy beat her to the chase and got up to leave. Completely unaware of the situation that was slowly coming to a boil.

"Alright! Let's go! Where's Buggy anyways?" Luffy said while on his way out.

"Wha- Ah! Luffy!" Artemyra called out to him and stood in the middle of the room, frozen and totally baffled at her captain's lack of awareness…again. She had seen it time and time again, but it still never ceases to amaze her. "Oh, I got a bad feeling about this…" she groaned while following after her idiot captain.