The Cat Burglar Nami is one of the most complex female characters not just in One Piece, but in all of anime. Her transition from becoming a common thief with a tragic past, to becoming one of the most trusted allies on the Thousand Sunny, is nothing short of astounding.
Her quick wits and level-headedness have gotten the Straw Hats out of plenty of situations. However, her greed makes them wonder why they keep her around. Without her navigation skills, Luffy would not have made it to the Grand Line, in the first place. On the other hand, he would have one less person to nag him every time he decides something. Here are some moments where our navigator was wrong and times where she was smarter than we gave her credit for.
10 SHE WAS WRONG: Criticizing Luffy & Zoro for not fighting back
It's safe to say that Luffy’s a confident fighter and doesn’t need to prove himself. However, Nami fails to understand that. While in Mock town, a fight breaks out between antagonist, Bellamy, and Luffy. Bellamy overhears that Luffy wants to see Sky Island. Bellamy teases Luffy for having a dream such as that one.
Moreover, he also finds out the Straw Hat is attempting to find One Piece. After being fed up with Luffy’s ideals, Bellamy attacks Luffy and Zoro. Luffy refuses to fight. Zoro catches on to this and does the same thing. Nami is furious at them for not fighting back. Later, Nami screams at Zoro for letting Bellamy bully them. Zoro responds by basically saying it wasn’t worth it.
9 SHE'S SMARTER THAN WE THOUGHT: Figuring Out Yosaku has Scurvy
Prior to being a pirate, Nami was already knowledgeable about something that many pirates should be aware of: scurvy. One of Zoro's old friends, Yosaku, falls ill to scurvy when the Straw Hat Crew cross paths with him.
At first Luffy, Zoro, and Usopp are unaware of what he is ill with. Nami takes one look at him and realizes he has scurvy, which is a common illness among sailors who suffer from a lack of Vitamin C in their diet. She gives him some lime juice as a quick remedy. At least one of the Straw Hat crew members as some medical experience... besides Chopper, at least.
8 SHE WAS WRONG: Stealing the Going Merry
She may not have completely seen them as allies, but Nami didn’t have to steal their only method of transportation. After the events at the Baratie, Nami heads back home to her village. She finally has enough money to buy her village back from Arlong. She also steals the Straw Hats pirate ship.
Nami didn’t need to take the whole ship, because she has no use for it. And despite that, she left those guys stranded at the Baratie.
7 SHE'S SMARTER THAN WE THOUGHT: Nami Catches On To The Appraiser
Nami is not only a brilliant navigator, but she’s also excellent at negotiating. The appraiser at the bank makes attempt to undersell Luffy and Usopp on the treasure that they stole from Sky Island. He claims the treasure is only worth 10o million Berries.
Luckily, Nami is there to see through the facade. She informs the banker that Luffy is a pirate and he is worth 100 million Berries. She later adds that she knows he's lying to him and threatens his life. They end up exchanging the treasure for 300 million Berries, as a result.
6 SHE WAS WRONG: Disobeying A Direct Order From Luffy
At times, Nami usually knows what she is talking about; on the Sunny, no one questions her judgment, however, sometimes she seems to forget she is not the captain. After taking notice of Brûlée using her mirror ability to burn the ship, Luffy instructs Nami to break all the mirrors on the ship.
Nami informs Luffy she doesn’t want to do that because he will be stuck in the mirror world. He tells her not to worry about him and that he will find a way out. She still tries to convince her that the idea is bad. Luffy finally raises his voice and orders her to do it. That’s when she complies. As a captain, Luffy is putting his crew first, and Nami should understand this.
5 SHE'S SMARTER THAN WE THOUGHT: She Found The Entrance To Reverse Mountain
On the day of a severe storm, the Straw Hats attempt to enter the Grand Line. In order to do that, however, they must go through Reverse Mountain, to which they can't find the entrance.
While sailing around the mountain, Nami notices a small crevice, which is the entrance. Considering the fact Nami is the only person that notices the crevice, proves how observant she is.
4 SHE WAS WRONG: She Charges Her Crew Members
When it comes to money, no one is exempt from owing the Cat Burglar, even her own crew. Nami reminds Zoro he owes her money for a sword he wanted. He replies he got the sword for free and gave her the money back. Nami then reminds him he promised to pay her back with interest.
Unsurprisingly, Zoro is furious after hearing this. It's one thing to charge random strangers or lending a friend some money, but charging someone on your own crew with interest? Now that’s pretty low.
3 SHE'S SMARTER THAN WE THOUGHT: Realizing The Knock-Up Stream Is Just A Wind Current
While riding the Knock-Up Stream to Sky Island, everyone speculates that the Going Merry might get destroyed while riding alongside it. Being the brilliant navigator she is, Nami deduces the Knock–Up Stream is just a wind current, which means they can release the sails to sail alongside it.
As soon as they release the sails the Merry starts to glide upward. Another moment for the brilliant navigator!
2 SHE WAS WRONG: Persuading Luffy To Apologize To Usopp
In this particular instance, Nami’s heart was in the right place but she was out of line. Before the duel between Luffy and Usopp commences, Nami tries to persuade Luffy to make amends with him and not to fight. He refuses to do so. He claims Usopp has crossed a line and needs to take responsibility for his actions.
It doesn’t matter why he is angry; Usopp should never challenge the captain's authority. Furthermore, this is a personal concern between the captain and a crew member. It's not her place to form an opinion on the matter, regardless of how she feels. Luffy is the captain and he is dealing with it.
1 SHE'S SMARTER THAN WE THOUGHT: She Knows About The Cyclone Before It Appears
This is another great navigator moment from Nami. Earlier in this episode, Nami notices there's is something odd about the clouds. She later tells everyone the Going Merry needs to change routes. Later in the day, the Straw Hat crew realizes they just missed a full confrontation with a cyclone.
Impressed by this, Vivi points out that it's very difficult to predict cyclones in the Grand Line and commends Nami for it. She comes to another conclusion that Nami just doesn’t rely on theory to predict the weather because, instead, she relies on instinct.
