One Piece: Getting Stronger by Writing a Diary

East Blue.

On Captain Nezumi's Navy Ship.

"Captain, we've received orders from above to locate the Arlong Pirates. Should we report their exact location?" Captain Nezumi's adjutant stepped up beside him, asking cautiously.

"Are you an idiot? Reporting Arlong's location would just be asking for trouble from higher-ups who might find out about our dealings with the Arlong Pirates," Captain Nezumi turned and glared at his adjutant angrily.

"But... but the orders from above seem very serious," the adjutant replied nervously. "We still need to provide them with some kind of response. We should go to Arlong's base and inform him that the Navy is planning to investigate them, urging them to leave the East Blue quickly. If you personally go to Arlong Park and explain the situation, I'm sure Arlong would understand and agree to leave," he suggested, biting his lip and lowering his head.

The adjutant, being just as corrupt as Captain Nezumi, didn't want their dealings with the Arlong Pirates to be exposed and feared the consequences.

"No way! We can't leave now," Captain Nezumi shook his head firmly. "I've finally caught the attention of the Celestial Dragons by helping sink that ship for them. I've been given the opportunity to serve them directly. If I can satisfy the Celestial Dragons, I might even get a promotion."

"So, no matter what, I can't leave here right now," he declared with determination.

"But if we only use a Den Den Mushi to communicate, Arlong might not listen," the adjutant worried. "And we still have to give a response to the orders from above."

"We'll stall the situation with Arlong for now," Captain Nezumi decided. "Investigations take time anyway, don't they?" he added, a sinister glint flashing in his eyes.

"And besides," Captain Nezumi continued, "even if I personally went to Arlong Park to negotiate with Arlong, that guy might not even listen to me and leave the East Blue."

"The reason I'm staying by the Celestial Dragon's side is also to prevent Arlong from risking everything and exposing our relationship," Captain Nezumi explained. "That male Celestial Dragon has a fondness for beauties. If I can find an opportunity to tell him that there's a beautiful woman on the island where Arlong Park is located, I might be able to lure him there."

"If I recall correctly, Arlong's human navigator is quite pleasing to the eye," he added.

Hearing this, the adjutant's eyes lit up. "Captain, are you suggesting that we use the Celestial Dragon to destroy Arlong and his crew, leaving no evidence behind?"

Captain Nezumi patted the adjutant's shoulder with satisfaction and smiled, "It wasn't in vain that I allowed you to stay by my side all this time. You've gotten much smarter than before."

"Exactly! Once the Celestial Dragon goes to Arlong Park, the World Government agents accompanying him can take care of the pirates there. At that point, no matter how much the Navy investigates Arlong, they won't trace anything back to us."

"Of course, we still need to have a backup plan. There's no guarantee that the Celestial Dragon will actually go to Arlong Park. If we can persuade Arlong to leave voluntarily, that would be even better."

The adjutant nodded in understanding. "I see. I'll continue to follow up on this. I'll have the communications officer from the 16th branch contact Arlong and try to make him realize the seriousness of the situation, convincing him to leave the East Blue."

After saying this, the adjutant saluted Captain Nezumi and then left his office.

"Well then, I should continue currying favor with the Celestial Dragon," Captain Nezumi muttered to himself. "Imagine the power I could have if I had that kind of authority."

Several days later.

East Blue.

In a sea area near the Baratie, the floating restaurant.

Arton's pirate ship, the Sylvan, was speeding ahead. Arton sat at the bow, silently recording the day's events in his journal.

"Arton, we're about to reach the Baratie," Nami said as she walked up behind Arton with a smile. "Do you need to make any preparations?"

"Finally, we're almost there? As expected, sailing on the sea really messes with your sense of time," Arton said, looking into the distance with a slight sigh. 

"No need to prepare anything. Just keep heading towards the destination at this speed," he added. 

Nami smiled and nodded in response. 

"In that case, how about we practice merging our powers a bit more? Captain Arton, there are still many aspects of Raiden Shogun's power that I don't fully understand. If we could merge even a little, I might be able to figure it out~," Nami suggested flirtatiously. 

Before Arton could respond, Carina's voice chimed in. 

"Hmph, we're almost at our destination. There's no time for merging now," Carina said, standing behind Nami with her hands on her hips, pouting as if to say, "Don't think I don't know you're just after points." 

"Who says there's no time? Captain Arton is quick, you know," Nami retorted without missing a beat. 

"Quick? In what way am I quick?" Arton asked, jumping down from the bow to stand in front of Nami and Carina. 

"Is there a problem with what I said? Our merging really doesn't take much time… Wait, are you referring to that?" Nami said, her lips curling into a sly smile as she wrapped Arton's arm around her. "If you're talking about "that", how about we find some time to see if you aren't really as quick as you say, Captain Arton~?" 

"Heh, I'm just afraid you'll find me too slow when the time comes," Arton replied, flicking Nami's forehead. 

After spending a few days together, Arton had gradually gotten used to Nami's openness. So, he didn't take her words too seriously, thinking of the current Nami as a more daring version of the original. 

"Captain Arton, there's a Marine warship approaching. Should we prepare for battle?" 

It was Uta's voice that interrupted their exchange. 

"A Marine warship?" 

"Has Tashigi and Hina called reinforcements?"

Nami furrowed her brows and looked in the direction of the voice.

"I don't see Hina or Tashigi on the warship," Kaya said as she approached, holding a telescope. "The commander on board is a man with pink hair."

"A man with pink hair?" Arton took the telescope, curious as he looked toward the Marine warship.

After a moment, he gave his captain's order. "No need to change course, just keep heading forward. If those Marines intend to attack us, sink them."

Carina, Nami, Uta, and Kaya all nodded in agreement and quickly resumed their duties.