Pirates on Rocks' Ship 996

"No! Don't overthink it, I just don't want him to bother Mr. Reina!" Bellemere rarely showed a shy expression, which made Nami immediately know the real answer.

Reina felt comforted watching the family leave, chatting and laughing all the way. However, he soon noticed Marco staring at him with resentment in his eyes.

Chapter 421 Marco and Nojiko's Troubles

"What are you doing? Why are you looking at me like that?" Reina asked, annoyed, as he looked at Marco's resentful gaze.

"You're clearly from here, so why didn't you tell me there was transportation? I could have notified them. Instead, you made me carry Nojiko up here, which almost killed me!" Marco asked with a look that said, "Were you doing this on purpose?"

"Are you really stupid or just pretending?" Reina looked at Marco with a disappointed expression and said, "Don't you know why I did this?"

"Wh...what?" Marco's eyes darted away after hearing Reina's words, and his tone became somewhat hesitant.

"Hmm? Looks like you're playing dumb with me?" Reina looked at Marco, frowned, and said, "In short, if you don't have those kinds of ideas, tell me in advance, or I'll end up in an awkward position!"

"Sigh!" Marco sighed and said, "Actually, I didn't know what you were planning. Nojiko told me when we came up here!"

"Huh? Nojiko confessed to you? Did you actually reject him? If that's the case... don't blame me for throwing you off here right now!" Reina immediately stepped forward and said.

"Gentlemen, come with me, I'll arrange your accommodations!" Before Marco could answer, Haredas, who had already parked the vehicle, walked over and said with a smile.

"Ah~ then I'll trouble you!" Reina glanced at Marco, indicating that he would talk about it later, and then the two followed Haredas to a small house.

“This used to be the home of an old friend of mine, but he has passed away. If you two don’t mind, you can stay here for the night!” Haredas said to Reina and the other man as he opened the door.

"Huh?" Reina was taken aback, then hesitated for a moment before saying, "We don't have any relationship, but wouldn't that be inappropriate? Actually, we can go anywhere!"

“It’s alright! As long as you don’t mind, you can stay here!” Haredas shook his head and said.

“Thank you so much! We won’t be staying here for long. We’ll leave after Nami and her family have had their get-together!” Reina thanked Haredas again.

As for how Reina met the other person, it was actually Reina who deliberately made the acquaintance.

During a voyage to the New World, Reina encountered Haredas, who was down to do some shopping. Reina immediately recognized Haredas's distinctive attire, and through Reina's deliberate efforts to befriend him, the two became friends.

After Haredas left, Reina immediately closed the door, then stared at Marco and said, "Now... you can tell the truth!"

"Wh...what?!" Marco stammered after a moment of panic, "Well...nojiko asked me if you had said anything to me, and I said no! Then she told me that you were planning to set us up, and asked me what I thought!"

Reina looked at Marco, whose face had turned slightly red. He knew that their conversation couldn't be so straightforward and brief, but that wasn't the point right now.

"So what was your answer?" Reina pressed on, continuing to stare at Marco as he asked.

“I…I didn’t answer! How could I answer? My mind went completely blank, and I almost fell off the building!” Marco took a few steps back and replied.

Reina then understood why Marco had looked at him with such resentment at the beginning. The reason wasn't about carrying people on the plane at all, but rather that he blamed himself for not communicating with Marco beforehand.

“Sigh…this isn’t entirely my fault! How am I supposed to explain this to you? I didn’t say a word to Nojiko, so even if you two don’t end up together, you can still be friends. Who knew Bellemere would see through it, and then…you know what happened! Of course, she was also worried that Nojiko would get hurt, so she reminded her to think it over!” Reina said after thinking for a moment.

"In short, you'd better think this through and give Noji a clear answer before you leave, after all... you're a man!"

After Reina finished speaking, he ignored the dazed Marco and went to rest by himself.

Unlike Nami's elation, Marco and Nojiko both suffered from insomnia that night. As for what they said in the air, only the two of them knew; no one else knew.

The next morning, Reina was startled when he saw Marco with dark circles under his eyes after getting up.

He already liked to squint, and now with those dark circles under his eyes, he looks quite scary!

"What did you do last night?" Reina asked in surprise.

"You still say...it's all your fault! What am I supposed to do now?" Marco asked, looking troubled.

"What's there to agonize over? If you like it, you like it; if you don't, you don't! Just say what you think!" Reina said dismissively, curling his lip.

"Hmph! You weren't like this back then!" Marco glanced at Reina and replied.

Marco knew all about Reina and Olvia's love story.

So when Reina heard what he said, he immediately realized that his chance to act as a love expert was gone.

However, he still patted Marco on the shoulder with the air of someone who'd been there before, chuckled, and said, "If it were me... I'd cherish this opportunity! Seize it, young man!"

Marco glanced at Reina, completely ignoring him.

The two left the cabin and went straight to find Bellemere and the others, who had arranged to have breakfast together that day.

When the two arrived at Nami's cabin, Bellemere and Nojiko had already prepared breakfast.

"You're here? Come in and have a seat! We'll be eating soon!" Nojiko greeted Marco and Reina with a smile.

Reina glanced at Marco, who was looking down and trying to hide his dark circles, chuckled, and sat down at the dining table.

"Did Nojiga prepare all of this? How virtuous you are! Whoever marries you in the future... will be incredibly lucky!" Reina said with a sly laugh.

"Of course! Nojiko's breakfast is delicious!" Nami, who hadn't seen Nojiko for a long time, didn't target her like she used to.

Perhaps it's because they've grown up, or perhaps it's because they've been apart for too long, but the two sisters are now incredibly close!

However, Nami, who had just met them, naturally did not know about what had happened between them. But after noticing that Nojiko's expression and actions seemed a bit strange, Nami began to observe them carefully.

With Nami's keen observation skills, she received a result that she could hardly believe before she even finished her breakfast.

"Nojiko seems... seems to be involved with this Captain Marco? And Mr. Reina and Ken seem to be fueling the fire? Bellemere didn't stop them? What's going on?" Nami observed, thinking in shock.

"Alright, it's been a long time since you two have seen each other, so we won't bother you any longer!" After finishing breakfast, Reina got up to say goodbye. He needed to return to the pirate ship to sign in, so he had to leave.

Seeing that Reina was about to leave, Marco quickly got up, ready to leave with him.

"Huh? What are you doing?" Reina asked, looking at Marco as he stood up.

"Didn't you say you were leaving?" Marco asked in surprise.

“Yes! But why are you following me?” Reina nodded, then looked puzzled and said, “Aren’t you planning to stay and protect them? Although this is a small sky island and problems are unlikely to occur, you’re the only one here with the ability to fly. Isn’t it only natural for you to stay and protect them?”

Marco's face darkened. Reina was starting to spout nonsense in order to create an excuse for him.

“That’s right! Captain Marco, it’s better if you stay. There’s not much combat power on the little sky island. We occasionally encounter some flying beasts, which often cause trouble for the little sky island. If you’re here, you can definitely solve the problem perfectly!” Nami smiled slightly and stepped forward to say.

"Well... alright then!" Marco glared at Reina first, then glanced at Nojiko secretly. Seeing that she didn't object, he nodded in agreement.

Seeing that things had gone well, Reina left with a strange laugh, going to find Haredas to escort him down to the pirate ship to complete his work.

"Hahaha... It's not good to just sit here after breakfast. Captain Marco, let me go for a walk with you!" Not long after Reina left, noticing Marco's embarrassment, A-Jian offered to go for a walk with Marco.

This immediately relieved Marco, who was feeling slightly embarrassed. He got up with a big smile and left with A-Jian.

After the two left, Nami went straight to Nojiko, looking at her with a mischievous grin as she asked, "Well, when did you and Captain Marco hit it off without anyone noticing?"

"Nami, don't talk nonsense! He's the first division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, a famous pirate known throughout the world!" Nojiko quickly shook her head and said.

"So what? He still has to do whatever you say right now, doesn't he? Our Nojiko is definitely not unworthy of him!" Nami pouted and said, "Don't you agree, Bellemere?"

Bellemere, who had been sitting there silently, smiled and said, "Nami's statement isn't entirely accurate! But when it comes to his identity, you only need to consider that he's a pirate!"

"Bellmeel also thinks...that's right?" Nojiko hesitated for a moment before asking.

“You don’t need to ask me that… just ask yourself!” Bellemere shook her head and said, “As the first division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, he will inevitably have to fight alongside the pirate crew in the future. If you are not prepared for that… you can think about it more carefully. Don’t let them influence you!”

Noki nodded thoughtfully and replied, "I understand, thank you Bellemere!"

It was only then that Nami realized that things seemed to be different from what she had imagined; it wasn't something that Nojiko and Marco had orchestrated themselves.

"Then can you explain to me what exactly happened?" Nami asked curiously.

Seeing Nami's curiosity, Nojiko knew that she wouldn't give up until she explained things clearly, so she told her the whole story from beginning to end.

“I see… If that’s the case, then you really need to think this through! As the world’s number one pirate crew, Whitebeard has a lot of people watching them. As far as I know, every now and then, some new pirate crews will challenge them. Although no pirate crew has succeeded so far, as long as they are still in that position, this kind of thing will definitely happen all the time!” Nami nodded and said.

"Phew~ I got it. So what do you think I should do?" Nojiko looked at Nami and asked.

"I think..."

"Nami! Don't give Nojiko advice on this kind of thing so casually!" Before Nami could finish speaking, Bellemere interrupted her.

“It’s okay, I just want to hear her opinion, not that I’ll do what she says!” Nokiko shook her head and said.

She knew what Bellemere was worried about.

"Hehehe... Let's go, Nojiko! Let's go for a walk!" Nami stuck out her tongue at Bellemere, made a face, and then pulled Nojiko along, laughing as they ran out.

Chapter 422 Visalia, the Small Sky Island

"So... firstly, it was because you and Marco were getting close that Mr. Reina had the idea of ​​bringing you two together?" Nami asked, looking at the somewhat shy Nojiko beside her.

“Yes! That’s what Bellemere said!” Nojiko nodded in response.

Nami nodded thoughtfully, then said with a slightly serious tone, "It seems this wasn't Mr. Reina's intention. If it was, you'd better follow his arrangements and stay with Marco!"

"Huh? Why?" Nojiko asked, puzzled.

"You don't know yet, do you? Mr. Reina has the ability to see the future! So many of his seemingly incomprehensible actions are actually part of his plans for the future! Remember that box of gold he gave you back then? Actually..." Nami explained with a smile.

"I see! So you think he wanted to change things because he saw my future?" Nojiko asked after a moment of contemplation.

“I thought so too, but didn’t you just say that he only made this arrangement after seeing you and Marco’s contact? So it’s very possible that it’s not like that, but you never know! So I’m just giving you a suggestion, which might help if you feel undecided!” Nami said with a smile.

"Thank you..." Nojiko gave Nami a hug and said, "Nami has become a great person who can stand on her own now!"

Nami smiled slightly and said, "Actually, I agree with Mr. Reina's point of view. Staying on a small island, you'll never know how wonderful the world is... You know, we've had many amazing adventures!"

Nojiko listened quietly as Nami told her about her adventures, and seeing the smile on Nami's face, she suddenly realized that Nami was genuinely happy.

She didn't tell Nami that she had also experienced many incredible adventures while traveling with Reina. Although she didn't rely on her own abilities to overcome them like Nami and the others, she had still seen a lot.

The two sisters walked and chatted, seemingly forgetting all their troubles.

Reina, back on the pirate ship, began his work.

"Life Return~Activate!" After finishing his training, Reina used Life Return to convert the energy in his body and replenish his physical strength, but the effect still seemed somewhat unsatisfactory.

Left with no other option, Reina started eating to convert food into energy, which proved more effective than using energy sources.

"What exactly is wrong? Why is it so difficult to convert energy into physical strength!" Ever since he acquired the Life Return skill, Reina has never relaxed his training in Life Return, but he still cannot convert the energy in his body into physical strength very smoothly and quickly.

"If it didn't work, then I wouldn't be able to convert any stamina at all. Now that I can convert, it proves that this method is correct! But why is the conversion speed so slow?" Reina plopped down on the deck.

His conversion speed is not much different from before; it's a little faster, but still limited.

So Reina began to wonder if he had gone in the wrong direction.

However, he doesn't have many research directions right now. Those who can return lives are mostly high-ranking naval officers, and they obviously won't share their insights with Reiner.

As for Whitebeard… Reina did ask him, but according to Whitebeard… he eats to replenish his energy, isn't that normal? Doesn't he have the strength after eating? What kind of conversion is needed?