Nami's Shock
On the massive warship, the men stared at each other, and the atmosphere became tense for a moment.
Ordinary pirates would have been terrified and restless aboard such a massive warship, but Luffy were oddballs among pirates, completely lacking any sense of responsibility as pirates, and they even casually toured the ship.
Of course, there are still normal people among them.
Usopp, who kept complaining that he had a "disease that would kill him if he boarded a warship," looked utterly hopeless after Luffy forcibly brought him aboard, like a salted fish that had lost all its ideals.
"Ahem..." Garp felt it necessary to force a topic to break the awkward atmosphere, otherwise he would have liked to jump into the sea and swim there. "Well, little girl, didn't I say before that I would help you get justice? So, you should tell me the details of what happened so that I can make a judgment."
When the topic of Cocoyasi Village came up, Nami became unusually serious.
"Eight years ago, a Fish-Man Pirates from the Grand Line came to the East Blue, occupied twenty surrounding villages and towns, and forced all the villagers to pay Life Money of 100,000 for adults and 50,000 for children. If even one person could not pay, the entire village would be destroyed."
"They saw my ability to draw nautical charts and used the lives of the villagers as leverage to force me to join them, promising that if I could gather 100 million Beli, they could buy back the village and my freedom."
"Just when I was about to succeed, that Captain Nezumi obeyed Arlong's orders and confiscated all my property. From that moment on, I realized that weak submission would not solve any problems. In the end, with the help of Luffy and his crew, I finally defeated Arlong's crew. That's my story."
"Waaaaah, no matter how many times I hear it, it's still just as touching. Nami has really had a tough time." Sanji was already crying his eyes out; anyone who didn't know better would think the tragedy had happened to him.
"Hmph, they're actually colluding with pirates, working together like wolves in sheep's clothing! When I get back, I'll definitely throw this parasite of the Navy into Impel Down!" Garp said indignantly, then added with some curiosity, "You just said that the ones occupying villages and enslaving humans are a Fish-Man Pirates?"
"Yeah, is there something wrong?" In Nami's opinion, Fish-Man are a fierce and brutal race, so it's not surprising that they do these things.
"That's strange. Where did a Fish-Man get such courage? Was it out of pure hatred?"
"Courage?" Nami seized on the loophole and asked rapidly, "Vice Admiral Garp, what do you mean by courage? In the eyes of those Fish-Man, aren't humans just an inferior race that should be enslaved by them? Shouldn't that be taken for granted by them?"
"Uh, where did you hear this kind of talk?" Garp looked confused, then suddenly Ohm, "I know, it's those Fish-Man bragging, right? Actually, in a sense, their hatred of humans has a very long history."
Garp sighed and said, "Because, on the Grand Line, Fish-Man usually only appear at human auctions, where they are bought and enslaved by nobles. The better ones might be kept as pets, while the worse ones are treated like wild beasts, with the nobles taking pleasure in torturing and killing them."
"How is this possible?" Not only Nami, but even Luffy and the others were puzzled. They had witnessed the power of the Fish-Man firsthand. "Don't Fish-Man have ten times the strength of humans? How could they be a slave race?"
"Let alone ten times the arm strength, even giants with physical abilities a hundred times greater than humans are often regulars at auctions. Remember, the mainstream of this world will always be humans."
Nami's values were somewhat shattered, and her life was impacted, but she quickly solidified her beliefs.
"Perhaps you do have a tragic past, but that is by no means a reason for you to impose your misfortunes on us. Arlong, my hatred for you will never fade."
"Vice Admiral Garp, I've found out that Arlong is actually Jinbe, one of the Shichibukai. It's because of this relationship that he's able to cause trouble in the East Blue," Garp's Vice Captain said again, leaning closer.
"What? The Shichibukai?" Luffy exclaimed in surprise.
"Is he one of the Shichibukai, like Hawkeye?" Zoro also took a deep breath.
"You've also seen Hawkeye?" Garp asked with a strange expression.
"Zoro is going to become the World's Greatest Swordsman. He'll defeat that arrogant guy sooner or later," Luffy said proudly, patting Zoro's back forcefully.
Garp naturally didn't believe in stories about defeating Hawkeye, but seeing that Zoro survived after challenging that man, he held him in higher regard.
"There are vast differences between the Shichibukai. Although Jinbe is strong, he is not on the same level as Hawkeye at all." Garp shook his head. "If he had Hawkeye's strength, he wouldn't be unable to protect his homeland."
"In fact, there is a legendary Fish-Man Island at a depth of 10,000 meters, which is the homeland of all Fish-Man and mermaids."
Before Garp could finish speaking, Sanji interrupted him with extreme excitement, "What? Mermaids really exist? Fish-Man Island, what a wonderful place, hehehe..."
Seeing Sanji's nosebleed gushing out, Garp twitched the corner of his mouth and continued, "On Fish-Man Island, humans captured Fish-Man, Fish-Man hated humans. It was like an unsolvable knot until Nightmare took over Fish-Man Island, and that situation only improved."
"Although Nightmare isn't exactly a likable brat, he's undeniably a powerful and shrewd monster. After he became the de facto king of Fish-Man Island, almost no human dared to risk angering him by capturing mermaids. As a result, Fish-Man Island improved its relations with humans. Overall, this is probably the only good thing that Nightmare has ever done." Although Garp disliked Roy, he wouldn't lie about him.
"Nightmare, I think I've heard that name before. It seems Shichibukai," Usopp said, stroking his chin.
"So, the Fish-Man have two Shichibukai? That's incredibly powerful!" Luffy exclaimed in amazement.
"Uh, who told you that Nightmare is Fish-Man?"
"Isn't that right?"
"Although that guy is as strong as a monster, he is still a genuine human being in the end."
"Ahhh... Does that mean all the mermaid ladies are his harem? I'm so jealous!" Sanji was so shocked that he fainted, but unfortunately, no one was paying attention to him anymore.
"The proud Fish-Man Race actually accepted a human as their king!" Nami felt that her worldview of the past 16 years had been completely shattered.
"Arrogance, for a being like Nightmare, arrogance will only bring destruction." Garp shook his head. "If he wanted to, he could easily destroy the entire Fish-Man Race by himself."
"One person destroys an entire race? Isn't that an exaggeration?" Fine beads of sweat appeared on Zoro's forehead.
"Don't think this is just scaremongering. I'm warning you all: never provoke that monster, and absolutely never become that kind of scum." Garp spoke in a rare, serious tone. "That guy is a true executioner who destroyed an entire race. The number of lives he directly or indirectly took is probably in the millions. Ruthless, cruel, and merciless—these words are too simplistic to describe him. He is an absolute demon, just as his nickname suggests; he is the Nightmare of this world!"
Nami and the others felt their hearts tremble violently. Just hearing about such a terrifying monster was enough to make them tremble with fear.
"I didn't hear anything! I have a disease where hearing Nightmare will kill me!" Usopp decisively covered his ears, trembling all over, pretending that he hadn't heard anything.