Chapter 33
Cracks
Nami slowly closed her small suitcase which she had put on her bed in the cabin she shared with Robin. She didn't know exactly how she felt about the latest events. Everything was happening too quickly. Every day for weeks, she had worried about being able to sail the Sunny as safely as possible and the last few days had convinced her of the need to develop her knowledge on this subject. Unfortunately, she remained deadlocked for the moment and since the day before, she also had to worry about repaying the debt the Straw Hats owed to Trafalgar Law.
The young woman was torn between the pride she felt because her captain trusted her to settle this case and the doubt she couldn't manage to contain at the same time. Indeed, she couldn't find a solution as a navigator and sometimes, an awful little voice whispered to her that maybe Luffy was sending her to the Supernova's submarine so that she finally did something useful. She even thought she had heard him talk about going back to see Miss Betty not later than this morning…
Annoyed by her own attitude, Nami suddenly decided to shake herself off and grabbed her suitcase. It was ridiculous. Luffy just didn't know how to hide his intentions and he didn't even bother with strategy or diplomacy when he wanted to get something. If he needed anything, he asked or more often, he helped himself without further ado. And despite his craziest demands, Nami had always ended up finding a way for them to reach the next stage and get closer to their final goal. So she couldn't be discouraged today. Just like all the crewmembers, Luffy was counting on her.
The navigator left the bedroom and from the first floor of the Sunny, she noticed that Franky and Robin were on the deck. The cyborg had repaired his arm and hoisted the Shark Submerge onto the grass to perform a thorough overhaul of their mini submarine. It was indeed their means of transport to reach the meeting point where she would embark with the Heart crew and the trip was to last a little less than twelve hours. The cyborg had offered to accompany her and she was grateful to him.
At that thought, Nami couldn't help biting her lip. She wasn't easily impressed in normal times, but at the prospect of being alone in an enemy submarine, she had to admit that she felt rather nervous. The rest of her friends hadn't failed to express their fears too while their captain was smiling as usual. Usopp and Chopper were the most worried but even Zoro had kept his arms crossed and his eyebrows furrowed when Luffy had explained the reasons behind the other Supernova's call.
Yet she hadn't contradicted her captain past the astonishment of the arrangement he had concluded without even conferring with her. On the one hand, she knew that Luffy had given his word and she could no longer negotiate with the other captain. On the other hand, she didn't want to look like a chicken and despite her apprehension, she knew that from now on, the reputation of the Straw Hats was in her hands. And there was no way it would be tainted by her fault. She already had enough fears about her ability to navigate serenely.
However, the reality wasn't pleasant. Alone in enemy territory, no one would be able to help her in case of problems and given the background of the surgeon of death, the redhead didn't expect a warm welcome. She only wanted to carry out her mission as quickly as possible so that Trafalgar kept his word and let her go in one piece. She also hoped that the reputation of Luffy - described as an uncontrollable boy - could cool the ardor of the pirates if they decided to attack her.
Nami glanced down again and observed the archaeologist and the cyborg still in deep discussion. Franky had left the Shark Submerge to get closer to Robin, and their conversation seemed intimate enough that her two friends were talking almost in a low voice, staring into each other's eyes.
The red-haired woman couldn't help but smile. Robin had told her about the evening she and the shipwright had spent together after that devastating storm on All Blue and the archaeologist had also mentioned they became closer afterwards. To tell the truth, Nami didn't know exactly what their relationship was made of because she didn't see them trying to get alone or even exchanging the slightest mark of affection. However, she now noticed their eyes that met a little longer or even the knowing smiles they shared at the table or on the deck. At the same time, the navigator wasn't sure that she hadn't always observed them behaving like this towards each other…
Nami was actually happy for her friend. Robin had never hidden that she had a soft spot for the crazy character that was Franky and on Enies Lobby, Nami knew the cyborg had touched the archaeologist with his words. At that time, they barely knew each other and Franky had even been raised in fear of the young woman who could destroy the world because of her knowledge. But he had given her a little hope when she had wanted to give up her life and her friends, and the navigator could easily imagine how much this attitude had meant to Robin. The sensitive and deeply generous nature of the shipwright had done the rest, she who had lived so long in fear of even expressing what she really felt.
Glancing at her watch, Nami noticed that she still had a good ten minutes before the announced departure time and she let her two friends enjoy their moment of intimacy to head towards the galley. Once in the room, she opened the fridge and slowly poured the fresh tangerine juice she had squeezed a little earlier into a large glass before bringing it to her lips, pensive.
Luffy hadn't come to talk to her since his decision and despite her efforts to convince herself otherwise, she kind of regretted it. With the relationship they shared, she wished he had expressed some sort of concern or hesitation about what she was about to do. But as usual, the straw hat boy had displayed nothing but the complete trust he had in his crewmates. And she also had to admit that it was probably better that way. Due to his position, Luffy needed to make certain decisions and it doesn't matter that they now shared a more intimate relationship because in those moments, she was the navigator and he was the captain. She understood it but she also deplored it. Part of her would have liked to combine these two facets today.
"We're good to go, Nami-sis, whenever you're ready!"
The navigator turned to the cyborg who had just entered the galley and she nodded before putting her glass back on the table. She then took her small suitcase and a deep breath. She was ready.
Nami shivered. The Supernova's submarine was gray and cold, just what one would expect in a place like this. However, the young woman had become accustomed to the colorful and welcoming vehicles the cyborg was building and when the door of the submarine had closed behind her while Franky remained on the Shark Submerge, she had realized she was definitely alone.
Now she was following a strange guy buried in a white jumpsuit under an atypical cap and the sight was even more disturbing. Yet she tried to maintain her calm and assured demeanor: she wouldn't be impressed.
Arriving in the large navigation room, she forgot her apprehension for a moment to marvel at the multitude of control panels. There were navigation charts spread out everywhere around her, both electronically on screens and more traditionally on aged paper.
"Nice to meet you, Straw Hat Navigator!"
The redhead turned around and discovered a huge polar bear in the same suit as the man who had just led her here, with the difference that it was orange. Her guide then walked away without a word and she put down her small suitcase at her feet.
"Uh, thank you. Do you know what I need to do? Luffy wasn't very clear…"
"Let me explain precisely."
The young woman jumped before suddenly turning around. From an unlit corner of the navigation room, the surgeon of death was staring at her, playing with his huge nodachi while seated nonchalantly on an armchair. Nami felt her heart race in her chest in front of his icy aura and with a real effort, she didn't look away.
Law got up smoothly and approached the navigator who gritted her teeth not to step back. The Supernova then quietly walked past her to grab a sheet of yellowed papers from the desk in the middle of the control panels.
"I'm looking for a chest, probably in Seastone. I have a photograph."
He handed her a sheet and Nami examined it. The photo was dark and the underwater outlines barely discernible around the shape of the chest. She immediately deduced that it was several hundred meters deep.
"My problem is this," The surgeon resumed, "We're next to an oceanic fault and the tectonic plates are moving. This chest was declared lost by its owner after the last seismic movement a few weeks ago but I count on you to find it."
Nami swallowed. The task was gigantic but her brain was already working at full speed. "I need to know the climate readings and the sea currents in the area since the chest was lost," She told him.
"I got them," The bear showed her. "We've been looking for several days but I haven't found anything!"
Nami grabbed the new sheets before grabbing those representing the seabed where the chest was previously. "You have to go deeper into the seabed, you'll never find anything on the continental slope. It's much more likely that it fell to the level of the glacis," She noted while frowning, "Your real problem won't be to locate it but to go and look for it. At this depth, very few machines and no humans can go."
At these words, the surgeon smiled appreciatively and the big bear squealed, which made the navigator look up. "They were right, you're good with charts. It took Bepo almost two days to come to the same conclusions. Straw Hat-ya knows how to surround himself with competent people at least."
Despite the compliment, Nami frowned, her senses suddenly on alert. "Who told you about me?"
"We did."
Two imposing figures entered the room at this moment and the redhead felt her eyes widen in fear. The sheets slipped from her hand.
"The continental slope where the chest was located is subject to great sediment instability due to the natural slope and seismic activity. We're in an active margin and it could have slipped in a fairly wide radius but if we determine the current, we'll know the general position where it drifted," Nami pointed out.
"The currents were diverted by the subsidence of the tectonic plate and it created a whirlpool for a few moments," Bepo showed her.
"The main current that passes to the north is powerful, it must have restored the balance quite quickly. I think that's our best lead."
"The girl's still talented. Too bad Arlong didn't take advantage of it to the end…"
The navigator tightened her grip on her pencil when the laughter of the moray-man sitting on the far sofa echoed through the navigation room and Bepo raised an eyebrow in his direction, surprised. Taking advantage of his inattention, Nami hid her other hand between her legs to keep it from shaking. She then took a short breath and grabbed her scribbled sheet. She couldn't let anything show. Absolutely nothing.
Yet for the two days that she had been trying to maintain a controlled image, she also knew that her facade would soon crumble. She had hardly slept for forty-eight hours. The calculations and study of all the data available seemed endless and if in the first seconds her mind had rejoiced because of the challenge, she had changed her mind as soon as she had understood who had informed the Supernova: two former members of Arlong's crew. Fish-Men.
In her terrified childhood memories, Nami barely remembered these two, a moray-man and a carpet shark-man who were now hired by Trafalgar Law to fetch the chest once it was located. At this depth, only mermaids or Fish-Men could indeed survive, let alone swim.
The young woman had buried them in a corner of her head to better erase these terrible memories, but they hadn't forgotten her. They remembered vividly the cheeky red-haired girl who caught their leader's attention with her unique charts. They also remembered that Arlong wanted to use the kid to take revenge on the humans thanks to the accuracy of her underwater maps.
At this time, they weren't always on the East Blue and they had only learned later that Arlong had been defeated and that his victorious opponent had boarded a ship with his crew. Including his new navigator, Nami. The girl who should have allowed their leader to rule over the Grand Line.
So if Nami no longer slept, it wasn't only because of the challenge of this enigma or even to prove to her captain that she was still efficient in her field, but because she was terrified. The two Fish-Men had indeed been quick to add remarks and insinuations and Nami had immediately understood that her betrayal wasn't forgotten.
And just as quickly, the terrified little girl and then the desperate teenager that she had been had resurfaced inside her. It didn't make sense because she now had enough confidence in her abilities to defend herself, but the mere sight of the Fish-Men in this already hostile environment weakened her even more. Here she was alone, at the bottom of the sea, without her crew, surrounded by a frightening Supernova and even more sinister Fish-Men.
She could lock the tiny cabin she had been assigned, but the thin walls of the submarine wouldn't stop anyone from attacking her at night. So she spent her nights studying, her hand resting nervously on her Clima-Tact as a little protection against the occupants of the submarine. And in doing so, she was wearing herself out. Between her work and constant fear of being alone with the two Fish-Men, she felt her mental resistance unraveling over the hours.
She hadn't dared to call the Sunny though. She couldn't let her friends believe that she was unable to succeed in her mission and there was no way Luffy would see her fail again in such a short time. That's why she didn't turn on the radio Franky had given her in case of emergency and she kept it carefully at the bottom of her suitcase. The day she would turn it on, it would be because she would have found this chest and could go back to her family.
Nami rubbed her eyes to keep them open. The submarine was silent around her and almost entirely pitch black, except for the small desk lamp she had turned on to continue working in the navigation room. Only a few creaks of the metal hull which twisted under the pressure of the water outside could be heard.
The place was blood-curdling but yet that night, she hadn't wanted to go back to her cabin. She was here for four days and she couldn't take it anymore. If she didn't find the Supernova's chest soon, she was about to go mad.
Doubt ate her away. She had already made several assumptions but none passed the stage of the calculation taking into account the sea currents in the area. The navigator was pulling her hair out. Once again, the New World showed her its omnipotence and the young woman was unable to master this environment. Besides, the Supernova had also spent the evening scrutinizing her when seeing her impatient gestures and his morbid observation hadn't helped Nami to focus. Neither does the fact that the two Fish-Men continue to make her flinch at every opportunity.
Nami suddenly felt a tear roll down her cheek and she angrily wiped it away. What would become of her if she couldn't manage when it came to the most basic elements of navigation? She had always believed in her talent and passion but today, all her knowledge seemed to be as useful as a drop of rain falling in the middle of the ocean.
What would become of her dream then? What was the crew going to do if she couldn't guide them? What was Luffy going to think? Was he going to look at her with disappointment, he who placed so much trust in his friends? Was he going to turn to better informed people? Was he going to defer to Miss Betty? Nami had also been a child prodigy on the East Blue but she had to admit that this girl surpassed her in every way. What would she have left if she couldn't sail her captain? Why would Luffy still care about her if she failed? The straw hat boy needed the best people to achieve his goal and his ambition suffered no excuses. If she wasn't strong enough to solve the puzzle of navigation in the New World or if she allowed herself to be terrorized by old childhood memories, she wasn't worthy to be in his crew. And even less to share his life.
"So, are you daydreaming?"
Nami jumped violently and the carpet shark-man to her left snickered while his sidekick sat down to her right to look at her sketches. Seeing them, the navigator grabbed them instantly.
"Relax, we aint' gonna take them - we ain't Arlong," The moray-man laughed.
"Trafalgar is even creepier in his own way," His companion added with a wicked smile. "You better take your best shot."
"And hurry the fuck up," The moray-man growled, "Until you find that damn chest and we can get it back to him, we don't get paid."
Totally paralyzed, Nami just clung to her sheets and the moray-man mockingly leaned a little closer towards her. "If you can't find it, I'll bring your head to Straw Hat myself. It's the specialty of the surgeon of death, cutting off heads. Did you know?"
"Anyway, what the hell would he do with a navigator who can't find treasures? I heard he's stupid but not that stupid," The other Fish-Man sneered.
"I'll find this chest."
The carpet shark-man raised an eyebrow, amused by the furious whisper of the redhead beside him. He then revealed a long row of teeth with a predatory smile. "Finally, you're talking. I almost thought Arlong had cut out your tongue because I didn't hear you."
"I always said he was too nice to her," His sidekick pointed out. "She kept trying to assassinate him and it made him laugh! He said she'd never succeed! And look where he is now!"
"If he had killed her sister, it'd have calmed her down for good," His friend approved slyly.
At these words, the two Fish-Men burst out laughing and Nami clenched her fists until it hurt, crumpling her sketches even more. These two idiots weren't as strong as they seemed, she knew that. She had gotten rid of much stronger enemies since joining the crew. In other circumstances, she would have immediately grabbed her Clima-Tact to make them regret their words. But today, she was paralyzed by their words as much as by her memory. In her memories of horrified little girl, these demons were invincible.
"Are you talking about the good old days?"
The voice of the surgeon of death flooded the room at the same time as the light and the navigator blinked.
"The good old days that were taken from us," The moray-man growled, leaning towards the young woman at his side in a menacing attitude.
"This girl wasn't kind at the time, she took our beloved big brother away from us," The other Fish-Man added, approaching dangerously in turn.
"Our life has taken a somewhat complicated turn since then…"
"We're forced to lend our strength to humans to survive, our boss would turn in his grave…"
"And all because of that bitch!" The moray-man hissed. He slammed his fist violently on the desk a few centimeters from the young woman and Nami tensed even more while his accomplice got up, cracking the bones of his neck with a wicked smile on his lips. "But life has done things well since she reappeared here!"
Nami gritted her teeth and grabbed her Clima-Tact at her hip. If these pigs attacked her, she would fight like hell until death, she promised herself that.
Yet before she needed to get to that, the surgeon of death's nodachi slammed into the desk between the three protagonists, interrupting their impending confrontation. "If you wish to settle your accounts, you'll do it after you find my chest. Whoever takes care of anything before will have to deal with me. Shall I make a demonstration?"
The latent warning had the desired effect and the Fish-Men took a few steps back while continuing to glare at the young woman. "Just you wait, Nami," The moray-man growled, finally heading for the exit. "One day, you'll regret bringing Straw-Hat to Arlong Park!"
The door slammed behind the two Fish-Men and Law looked back at the navigator who could no longer hide her trembling. "I don't care about what happened. The only thing I care about is whether you manage to find my chest. If you can't, I'll just tell Straw Hat-ya his debt isn't cleared."
Nami forced herself to release her fingers from her Clima-Tact to pick up her pencil. "I'll find your chest."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm telling you I'll find it, okay?!"
Trafalgar studied his trembling yet fiercely determined face for a moment before nodding and walking away. The navigator then grabbed a new sheet and began to trace the contours of her last chart, her vision blurred by tears.
"It's down there."
Law approached the navigator leaning over her charts, who pointed out a point to the east of their position. The day was drawing to a close and the pale, exhausted face of the young woman assured the surgeon of death that she hadn't moved since their meeting last night.
"How did you come to this conclusion?" He asked her. "You didn't seem so sure yesterday."
"The sedimentary layer is important because of the activity of the island next to it. The eddy caused by the last seismic activity unbalanced the currents nearby for a few moments but the main current at the level of the continental shelf is so strong it influenced the final direction."
"The current of the continental shelf?" Bepo wondered as he came closer, "There's no current at this level, the depths are too shallow. The north current is at the level of the slope."
"This current goes unnoticed because our instruments measure power based on flow, not density. I realized it when I studied the way the sediments fell after the whirlpool."
The navigator finally got up and Bepo grabbed the readings to study them in turn. "Incredible, it fits!" He then exclaimed.
Nami just nodded and she was about to head for the door when the Supernova stopped her. "I want to be sure." He pressed an intercom and sent the two Fish-Men to check her theory immediately while he issued orders for the sub to close in on the area.
About ten minutes later, the visual Den-Den Mushi finally filmed the coveted chest and the whole Heart crew gathered in the navigation room shouted with joy. For her part, Nami got up like an automaton to reach her cabin.
"I'll take you back to your ship," The surgeon told her.
The young woman simply nodded and slipped out of the room. She then walked to her tiny bedroom and quietly closed the door behind her. It's only once the key was engaged in the lock that Nami slowly slid to the floor, her back against the door. The tears she had held back with all her strength for all those hours finally came out and her throat hurt as she had tightened it so hard not to break down in front of the other pirates. She suddenly burst into tears and felt like she was running out of air.
Yet she raised her head quickly through her tears and saw her suitcase. She wouldn't last twelve hours longer in these conditions, she needed to get out. Forcing herself to take deep breaths to calm her rapid breathing, she rummaged through her belongings to bring out the radio that Franky had given her. Without waiting, she then pressed the button that would connect her to the Sunny.
After three long rings, someone picked up. "Hello?"
"Robin, I-I found his chest."
"Nami, is that you? Is everything all right?"
Her friend must have heard her distress through her voice and the navigator's tears intensified, flooding her cheeks. "Pl-Please, Robin… C-Come pick me up…"
The door of the navigation room slammed hard against the wall and Nami almost jumped out of her seat when she saw the swordsman stride confidently into the room. She forced herself not to rush towards his reassuring presence but nonetheless hurried in his direction as quickly as possible. She would have preferred that her captain pick her up in person, but seeing his first mate assured her that the crew had taken her request seriously. For that matter, the closed air of the fencer was reinforced in front of the obvious precipitation of the navigator and an additional glance in her direction was enough for Zoro to understand the redhead had endured much more than what was expected.
The swordsman observed the Supernova who was also staring at him from the sofa where he was sitting, legs crossed, his crew attentive to his every move. Their captain had indeed not appreciated the navigator's initiative when he had seen the Shark Submerge docking again with his submarine halfway through their journey to the island.
"I said I'd bring her back," He pointed out.
"Change of plan," The swordsman immediately replied.
"I found your chest, I don't need to be here anymore," The redhead added while wiping her still reddened eyes furtively. "Let's go, Zoro."
The fencer didn't move an inch, and he even fixed his eyes on the surgeon's. "If you touched one of her hair, you're a dead man, Trafalgar. Luffy will kill you. And so will I."
The Supernova stared back at him without blinking. "I had no way of knowing that your navigator had a history with them."
"With who?"
Nami instinctively grabbed the swordsman's arm at her side to force him to move. "It's ancient history, I just wanna leave," She insisted.
"I repeat my question," The fencer continued for the Supernova, "With who?"
"With Fish-Men."
At these words, Zoro unsheathed his white sword, his aura threatening, and the Heart crew tensed in return. "If you let them hurt her, you're gonna pay for this," He growled in a low voice.
"They didn't touch me, Zoro, I swear," The navigator whispered, paler than ever.
"What are you planning to do, Roronoa? You're not in a strong position here," The surgeon pointed out to him, showing his crew who were now holding them at gunpoint.
The swordsman pointed at the walls of the submarine that surrounded them, a predatory smile on his lips. "One swing of my sword and your tub is leaking, Trafalgar. And remember that it's you who ate a devil fruit and roam under the sea. Not me."
The Supernova smiled, amused. "If I were you, I'd be careful. You're already in my room." Nami shuddered and Zoro looked around before drawing a second sword. The surgeon then shook his head. "We all got what we wanted. It'd be a shame to come to this, don't you think?"
To prove that he wasn't trying to provoke him, he made his room disappear and the navigator relaxed a little but the swordsman didn't take his eyes off the Supernova. "I wanna know where they are."
"They left as soon as I paid them."
The fencer seemed to search his interlocutor's answer to gauge its veracity and Nami tugged on his arm again. "Zoro, please," She pleaded, "I found his chest, so we're even. I just wanna get out of here. Please," She insisted again.
Zoro clenched his jaw before finally sheathing his swords and, relieved, the navigator immediately led him towards the exit. She didn't want a new display of violence because of her. All she wanted was to never set foot here again.
Poor Nami, it's her turn to suffer…
I hope this chapter has convinced you and also, rest assured that this isn't over for the crew. Times are tough for everyone…
