Sailing: I was falsely accused of watching Nami bathe, but I'm blind.

How could someone who can provide accurate early warnings, catch falling objects, and anticipate events in battle be blind? This must be an excuse! A despicable lie!

The other crew members also recalled Kai's past displays of "superhuman vision," and compared them with his current weak explanations, the scales of doubt began to tip sharply.

They recalled that Kai was indeed placed in the courtyard near the hot spring area, and his action of "standing up to check" was firmly labeled as "guilty conscience" and "caught red-handed" against the chaotic backdrop of Nami screaming and Sanji running away.

Kai opened his mouth, wanting to say something more, but looking at Nami's eyes, which were filled with tears and disappointment, listening to Usopp's angry questioning, and feeling Zoro's silent pressure, he suddenly felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

He realized that the balance he had been carefully maintaining, based on misunderstanding, had been completely shattered at this moment.

The truth, in this chaotic scene filled with anger and panic, seemed so insignificant, even like a laughable lie.

His denial not only failed to clear his name, but seemed to deepen the public's distrust.

Chapter 11 You're blind? I don't believe it!

Just as the atmosphere at the scene was at a standstill, and suspicion and accusations hung over Kai like dark clouds, more footsteps came from all over the hotel.

Luffy, who had just been enjoying a hearty meal at the restaurant, heard the commotion and curiously ran over, half a piece of meat still in his mouth.

Robin also rushed over upon hearing the news. When she saw the scene before her, she frowned slightly but did not speak immediately.

Sanji, the instigator of the riot, calmed down a bit and realized he couldn't hide forever. He gritted his teeth and pretended to have just arrived, blending into the crowd.

His face was still pale, and his eyes were darting around; he was clearly still shaken.

"Nami! What's wrong? Who bullied you?" Luffy immediately became anxious when he saw Nami's tearful and aggrieved face and asked loudly.

"Luffy!" Nami saw Luffy and seemed to have found her pillar of support. Her tears of grievance flowed even more fiercely. "Just now... just now someone peeked at me while I was taking a bath! Waaah..." She choked out, pointing in Kai's direction, "They all say it was Kai who did it! He even lied and wouldn't admit it!"

"What?!" Luffy's eyes sharpened instantly, like two drawn swords, shooting straight at Kai.

With Luffy's arrival and Nami's tearful plea, the atmosphere at the scene became even more tense and chaotic.

Usopp, Chopper, and the others described the situation to Luffy in a flurry of voices, emphasizing Kai's location where he was "caught red-handed" and his "pale" denial.

Sanji also chimed in at the opportune moment, trying to completely absolve himself of any blame while simultaneously directing the criticism more firmly at Kai.

"Luffy, you have to stand up for Nami!" Sanji exclaimed indignantly, but a closer look revealed a hint of guilt in his eyes. "I... I think I just saw Kai acting suspiciously near the women's bathhouse entrance..."

Kai stood amidst a cacophony of accusations, feeling as if he were in a cold, underwater vortex, surrounded by pressure and distrust from all sides.

He could clearly sense the emotions emanating from each of his companions: Luffy's anger, Nami's sadness, Usopp's disappointment, Zoro's scrutiny, Sanji's guilt and attempt to frame someone, Chopper's confusion, and Robin's silent observation.

These familiar scents now seem so strange and piercing.

He realized that simple denial was no longer effective.

His extraordinary performance in his daily life, the abilities he honed for survival and to integrate into the team, all became sharp blades pointed at him, becoming irrefutable proof that he "could not be blind".

Unless he presents the most fundamental and irrefutable reasons, he will never be able to wash away this stain, and may even be completely swallowed up by this torrent of anger and misunderstanding.

Taking a deep breath, Kai used all her strength to suppress the surging grievances, anger, and a trace of despair in her heart.

He raised his head, and although his eyes were unfocused, he tried his best to "face" each of his companions, and spoke, word by word, in a voice that was unprecedented, slightly trembling yet exceptionally clear:

"I couldn't possibly be peeking."

"

His voice wasn't loud, but the power it contained instantly silenced the previously noisy scene.

All eyes were on him, waiting for him to continue.

Kai paused, seemingly gathering his courage, and then dropped a real bombshell:

"Because... I am blind."

"

The word "blind man" seemed to possess a magical power, plunging the entire courtyard into an eerie, suffocating silence.

Time seemed to freeze at this moment.

Luffy dropped the half-eaten piece of meat he was holding onto the ground, his eyes widening like saucers.

Nami stopped crying, tears still clinging to her face, but her expression was filled with astonishment and disbelief.

Usopp's mouth dropped open, as if he had heard the most absurd joke in the world.

Even Zoro's usually calm face showed obvious surprise.

Sanji stood there, stunned, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

Chopper covered his mouth with his little hooves.

Even Robin, who is usually calm and composed, showed a hint of surprise in her eyes.

Everyone stared blankly at Kai, the partner who was usually agile, perceptive, and outstanding in battle, the one they had just unanimously identified as a spy.

He... said he's blind? How is that possible?!

This sudden and disruptive announcement left everyone stunned, their minds reeling for a moment.

The air seemed to have frozen solid, with only the gurgling of the hot spring in the distance and the rustling of the bamboo leaves in the wind making the silence even more eerie.

After a silence that felt like an eternity, the shock that had swept away reason began to return, followed by an even more intense wave of questioning and rebuttal, erupting like a volcanic eruption.

“Blind…blind?!” Usopp was the first to react. He almost jumped up, pointing at Kai, his voice trembling with excitement, “What a joke! Kai! How could you be blind?! That’s absolutely impossible!” His expression was a mixture of shock, anger, and a feeling of being deceived.

“That’s right!” another crew member immediately chimed in. “If you’re blind, how did you spot the enemy ambushing us beforehand when we were attacked by the navy? And how did you report their location and number so accurately!”

"And another one!" someone added, "I remember once when we were sailing at night, a thick fog rolled in, and we couldn't see anything from the lookout tower. You were the first to 'see' the reef ahead, reminding us to turn in time, which saved the ship from being destroyed and everyone from drowning!"

Zoro frowned, his sharp, hawk-like gaze fixed on Kai, and said in a deep voice, "Kai, I know your fighting style best."

Your reaction speed and accuracy in dodging attacks during combat even surpass those of many swordsmen with normal vision.

"If you can't even see the swords swinging or the bullets being fired, how do you manage to dodge them every single time? Don't tell me it's all by listening!" Zoro couldn't believe that a blind man could possess such ghostly agility and battlefield awareness.

Chapter 12 was done by Kai!

As if suddenly having a floodgate of memory opened, the crew members began to recount Kai's various past instances of "extraordinary insight":

"That's right, that's right! Last time on Sky Island, you caught that little thing falling from such a high cloud in mid-air!"

"And when you were helping Nami look at the sea chart, weren't you able to point out very subtle marking errors?" (Actually, Kai sensed the raised ink marks or abnormalities in the paper by touch).

"Luffy's throwing accuracy is so off, he almost hit you several times, but you dodged it like you had eyes in the back of your head!"

"You can also distinguish different kinds of seagulls and judge weather changes. Are these things that a blind person can do?"

……

One by one, the special abilities that Kai used to rely on for survival, to contribute to the team, and even to win the trust and admiration of his partners, are now like a red-hot branding iron, branding him in return for his identity as a "liar."

His performance based on extraordinary perception was firmly linked to "vision" in the deeply ingrained perception of the public.

Now, he claims to be blind, which, in everyone's eyes, is a complete denial of all his past actions and an insult to the intelligence of all of them! This is more infuriating and unacceptable to them than a simple denial of voyeurism.

"Kai, why did you tell such a lie?" Usopp's voice was filled with disappointment. "We've always trusted you so much, treated you like a partner! Even if you really did something wrong, wouldn't it be better to admit it? Why use such a ridiculous excuse to deceive us?"

Nami's tears, which had stopped due to shock, welled up again. This time, in addition to grievance and shame, there was more of a pain of being deeply betrayed and fooled.

“Blind man…heh…” She gave a bitter laugh, her voice hoarse. “Kayi, do you think I’m a fool? Do you think we’re all fools? You always act so ‘normal,’ even seeing things more clearly than us! Now that something’s happened, you’re claiming to be blind? You’re so despicable!”

Kai stood at the center of a storm of doubt and condemnation, feeling as if he were being repeatedly battered by invisible giant waves, almost suffocating.

He anticipated that people wouldn't believe him, but he didn't expect the reaction to be so intense. All his past "efforts" had now become "evidence" that nailed him to the pillar of shame.

Just then, Sanji, who had been standing at the edge of the crowd with his expression constantly changing, seemed to have finally made up his mind to completely extricate himself from this turmoil.

He also needs a reasonable explanation to cover up his panicked escape.

So he took a deep breath, forced a look of certainty on his face, and began to speak:

"Wait a minute... everyone, please calm down and listen to me."

He successfully attracted everyone's attention.

"When Miss Nami screamed just now, I... I did hear it, so I rushed over to check what was going on."

He cleverly obscured the timing of his appearance, portraying himself as someone who cared about his companions and rushed to their aid upon hearing the news.

"And then? Sanji, what did you see?" Luffy asked eagerly.

Sanji swallowed hard, his gaze flickering before finally settling on Kai. His tone, tinged with uncertainty yet highly suggestive, said, "When I ran over... I think... I think I saw Kai standing near the bamboo curtain by the entrance to the women's bath..." He paused deliberately, as if trying to recall, then emphasized, "Yes! That's right! I saw him! He... looked like he was about to turn and leave! He seemed startled by Nami's scream!"

Sanji's words can be considered half true and half false.

Kai did stand up, he did face the direction of the bathhouse, and it was indeed after Nami screamed.

But Sanji pieced together these fragments of facts, adding descriptions like "sneaking around," "about to turn away," and "startled," which are highly subjective and have negative implications, instantly sketching a picture of "Kai trying to escape the scene after being caught spying."

This "testimony" was like pouring a bucket of boiling oil on a raging fire of doubt.

"What?! Sanji, you saw it too?!" Usopp exclaimed.

"I knew it! It was definitely him!"

"So Sanji ran so fast because he saw Kai doing something shameful!" (Some people started to imagine the reason why Sanji ran away.)

Nami trembled upon hearing Sanji's words, her face turning deathly pale.

What might have left them with a sliver of trust in Kai, or a doubt about the "blindness" explanation, was shattered by Sanji's seemingly "objective" eyewitness testimony.

She felt doubly betrayed—not only was she spied on by a trusted partner, but this partner also went on to deceive everyone with such a ridiculous lie!

“Kai…” Nami looked at Kai, her eyes filled with disappointment, anger, and a coldness bordering on despair. “I really misjudged you! Not only did you do such a despicable thing, but you also dared to lie in front of all of us! You even… you even tried to smear yourself as blind to gain sympathy! You disgust me!” Her voice trembled violently with agitation, each word like a knife stabbing into Kai’s heart.