Claiming the Cat Burglar

"All dead?!"

Nami froze. She had been so busy stuffing treasure into her bundle that she had not even noticed when the noise outside stopped. Relief flickered through her, but wariness followed just as quickly as she looked at Rafe.

If he was not one of the pirates from either ship, then his identity was obvious. A rival. He had to be another thief.

"These are my spoils. Don't even think about touching them."

Nami shot him a look and reached for the bundle on the floor. Rafe's body blurred. He vanished from where he stood and lifted the bundle before Nami could reach it. The speed made her heart jump.

"This is heavier than it looks," Rafe said, weighing the bundle in one hand with a satisfied nod.

"That's mine. Give it back!"

Seeing her haul land in someone else's hands, Nami lunged at him with both hands raised, furious enough to claw his face.

"Too loud."

Rafe shook his head and pinned her down with brute force before she could do more than flail. Once she understood the gap between them, Nami abandoned her hard stance and slipped into a softer act.

"Sir, I risked my neck for all of this," she said, pressing both hands beside her cheek as her voice turned sweet. "Please, have a heart. Don't take it from me."

Rafe did not react. Nami gritted her teeth.

"If you give the money back, I'll do anything you want."

Anything he wanted? Rafe smiled. That was exactly what he wanted to hear.

"Good attitude," Rafe said, nodding in satisfaction. "From now on, you're the navigator of the Marlow Pirates. Join my crew, and I might consider letting you keep custody of this money."

"I'll join!"

Nami agreed at once, without the slightest hesitation. Her answer was crisp enough to sound almost sincere. It was only a few words. Nothing worth thinking about. Once she tricked him into handing over the money, she would slip away immediately.

Rafe noticed the sly glint in her eyes and smiled. Joining his crew was not as simple as saying the words. Besides, he was looking forward to seeing what reward he would get after conquering Nami. A flash of white light passed over his hand, and the bundle disappeared.

"Huh?!"

Nami's eyes practically popped out of her head. Gone. Ten million Berries' worth of gold, silver, and jewels had vanished right in front of her.

"Where did it go?!"

"Where did my money go?!"

"You bas... Captain Marlow, where did my money go?!"

Nami flailed in a panic, so frantic she nearly cursed out loud. That bastard. Where had he put her money? That was a full ten million Berries.

"First, this is the Marlow Pirates' money. I haven't agreed to hand it over."

"Second, as my newly recruited navigator, shouldn't you perform your duties?"

Rafe corrected her mistakes one by one. As for the missing treasure, of course he knew where it was. System storage. Simple as that.

"Duties?" Nami blinked, then understood almost immediately.

Navigation, right? That was as easy for her as eating or drinking. Wait. Why was Rafe looking at her like that?

"What duties exactly?"

Nami swallowed and crossed her arms over her chest, testing the waters. She was inexperienced, but not naive enough to miss what he meant. Rafe shrugged and smiled lightly.

"Between a man and a woman, what do you think?"

Before Nami could refuse, he added, "That is ten million Berries." The refusal caught in her throat. Rafe was right. That was ten million Berries. If she let this chance slip away, buying Cocoyasi Village back would be delayed by months.

Thinking of Arlong's cruelty, she truly did not want to wait any longer. It was just sex, she told herself. Just letting him fuck her for a while. After talking herself into it, Nami took a deep breath, put on a sweet smile, and stepped closer to him.

"Captain, those were your words," she said, her voice soft and tempting. "When this is over, you hand the money to me for safekeeping."

Rafe smiled and slipped an arm around her narrow waist. Then he led her to a room that was relatively clean. The moment the door closed, the two of them slipped into a long, breathless session that lasted almost four hours.

At first, the intimacy did not go smoothly. Nami was inexperienced, after all. She did not understand the pace or the details, so she could not match Rafe very well.

But as Rafe guided her further, Nami's instincts were released completely, and the two of them grew more and more in sync.

He had to admit, Nami had talent for this. In several areas, she picked up one move and improvised three more from it. Once she found her rhythm, Nami even forgot that her original plan had been to get through it as casually as possible.

When they were almost done, she took over and finished him herself, not letting a single drop go to waste.

"It's already dark," Rafe said gently. "Rest for now. We'll set out tomorrow."

Nami did not try to act tough. After such an intense session, she really was tired. Rafe tucked the blanket around her and left the room. He entered another empty cabin.

The details of what had just happened were still worth savoring, but in the world of pirates, strength mattered most.

[System]

Congratulations, Host. You have successfully conquered Nami.

Reward available. Claim now?

"Claim."

Rafe did not hesitate. Wasn't the whole point of conquering Nami to get the reward? What, did anyone think he was just chasing women?

[System]

Congratulations, Host. You have received the Power of the Divine Healer Beast.

It can be optimized to fit the One Piece world. Optimize now?

"The Divine Healer Beast?" Rafe rubbed his chin, thoughtful.

If he remembered correctly, it was a healing-type sacred beast from another world, tied to an artifact capable of mending almost any injury. Good stuff. The One Piece world was dangerous. Getting hurt was inevitable.

With healing like that, as long as he was not killed instantly, he could afford to be reckless.

"Start the optimization."

The so-called optimization was exactly what it sounded like: keeping the essence and stripping away what did not fit.

[System]

Optimization complete.

Congratulations, Host. You have obtained the Restoration Fruit.

Notes:

1. After optimization, the Restoration Fruit fully integrates the Divine Healer Beast's healing power. It can regenerate severed limbs and remove many harmful effects from the body.

2. Devil Fruits granted by the System have no side effects. They are not weakened by seawater and can stack with other Devil Fruit abilities.

3. If a System-granted Devil Fruit is eaten by someone other than the Host, the Host can share that user's Devil Fruit ability.

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