"Hahaha, you bastards!"
"Don't you drink water every day? How come you drop after drinking alcohol?"
Watching Nami, who seemed a little tipsy after taking down several Fish-Man Pirates in a row, the officer named Chuu frowned.
"Arlong, should I teach her a lesson?"
"No."
However, Arlong merely waved lazily from where he lay in his chair.
"Let's hope she can still laugh so happily in a while."
"Hey, Arlong!"
Even Nami, who could hold an astonishing amount of liquor, was feeling somewhat drunk after knocking down several Fish-Man Pirates in succession.
She carried a bottle over to the boss here—Arlong himself. Looking at the enemy whose flesh she wanted to devour and whose blood she wanted to drink, she had no choice but to bury her hatred deep inside.
"Arlong, does your word still count?"
"Sha hahahaha~~"
"Of course. Anything I, Arlong, say is absolute truth!"
"I know what you want to say, Nami. One hundred million Beli, and I'll 'sell' Cocoyasi Village to you."
"Money is a good thing. Money is the most dependable thing~~ I've never doubted that. If there's anything more dependable than money, it's only my fellow brethren!"
"Oooohhh!!!"
"Captain Arlong!"
"Long live Arlong—"
Amid the Fish-Men's cheers, Nami turned and walked outside, leaving behind a final remark.
"Don't forget your promise."
Ah~~~
On her way home, Nami raised her head and looked at the sky.
It was clearly just an ordinary sky, yet it felt especially clear today: blue skies, white clouds, and—
"Once I buy Cocoyasi Village, I'll come find you all..."
"If you don't mind having me..."
"No, I still owe you money! Even if you do mind, I'll sail with you. I'll just pay it back through work~~"
"Without me, you'd definitely sail the ship straight into a whirlpool..."
With the girl's cheerful steps, the white clouds above seemed to turn into a straw hat one moment, three swords the next, then a stern face...
However:
?
Marines!
"Hey, why are you all gathered around my house?"
If there was anything Nami hated most, it was naturally the Fish-Man Arlong. And if there was anything ranked second on her list of hatred, it was definitely the Marines!
If not for these useless people, how could her hometown have been ruled by Arlong's Fish-Man Pirates for eight whole years?
"Squeak squeak squeak, I am Captain Mouse of Marine Branch 16."
The man truly lived up to his name, with shifty eyes and a rat-like face!
"That criminal called Nami... is that you?"
??
"What do you mean? Criminal—"
Facing a group of Marines armed with guns, Nami sneered repeatedly.
"Ah, that's right. I'm a pirate, and an officer of the Arlong Pirates. I am indeed a criminal."
The girl crossed her arms and turned the Arlong Pirates tattoo on her shoulder toward the Marines.
"Hey, Marine trash."
"If you touch me, Arlong won't let you off. You understand that, don't you?"
What irony. In this corner of the East Blue, the Marines had actually come to fear pirates.
"Squeak squeak squeak, pirate... no, no, I haven't received any intelligence like that."
However, Captain Mouse merely gave a wicked smile.
"I came today because I received a report that there's a 'thief' here."
???
"I heard you stole quite a bit of treasure from pirates. Since they're pirates, I won't make things difficult for you. But—"
"Stolen goods, that contraband... should rightfully be handed over to the Marine Government for safekeeping!"
"What did you say?"
For an instant, Nami was completely stunned.
"I said, the money you stole is all 'ours'!"
"Search!"
At Captain Mouse's command, the Marines immediately began overturning boxes and cabinets, digging three feet into the ground! They were rougher than pirates, and even more—openly righteous than pirates.
"...Thief?"
"When Arlong murdered people, you did nothing?"
"When Arlong enslaved more than twenty nearby villages and towns, you did nothing?"
"Now you come here to deal with me, a thief? Do you know that money—"
"That money was what Nami was going to use to buy our village back from Arlong!"
Among the watching villagers, a policeman covered in scars stepped forward. His words made Nami freeze.
"Mr. Ken..."
"Nami, we all know. Everyone in the village knows how much you suffered out there to free us from Arlong's control... And now!"
The scar-covered policeman turned and glared furiously at those so-called Marines.
"Do you think you still have the right to take this money?!"
Yet even so:
"Squeak squeak squeak, what Arlong? What pirates? I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Or are all of you in this village thieves? Do you want to be shot dead on the spot by us righteous Marines?!"
"Captain, there's nothing in the house..."
"Then search nearby! That's one hundred million Beli, not a grain of rice."
!!??
One hundred million Beli—
In an instant, Nami understood everything.
"Arlong sent you?"
"Squeak squeak squeak... don't slander me. What Arlong? I don't know him at all... hehehehe~~"
Yet the smug expression on his face had already revealed everything.
"Damn it, you people!"
"You actually became pirates' lapdogs, you—"
"How dare you slander the Marines!"
Facing the enraged villagers, Captain Mouse merely snapped his fingers.
"Fire."
Bang bang bang bang bang—!!
"You... how could you..."
Seeing villagers around her wounded and falling to the ground, Nami was utterly stunned.
"Squeak squeak squeak, someone only asked me not to harm his 'cartographer.' He never said anything about whether the others lived or died."
Captain Mouse bent down and whispered softly into Nami's ear.
"You'd better know what's good for you. Otherwise, I won't mind slaughtering this little village!"
Arlong!
Do you want me to hand Cocoyasi Village over to you that badly—
Arlong!!
Fine, bring one hundred million Beli, and I'll let that village go. I'll give you your freedom too.—
Arlong!!!
No matter how long it takes or what methods you use, one hundred million Beli. I'll absolutely keep our promise—
Bang!
"ARLONG!!!!"
Nami slammed open the gates of Arlong Park and stared fixedly at the tall Fish-Man lying in his chair! The one who had killed her adoptive mother, enslaved her village, and now wanted to take away her...
"Ha, isn't this our 'cartographer'—"
Smack!
In her rage, Nami grabbed Arlong by the collar and demanded through gritted teeth:
"Did you call those Marines here?!"
"Didn't you say you would keep your promise? Didn't you say that as long as I gathered one hundred million Beli—"
However:
Smack!
A huge hand seized Nami by the throat and lifted her into the air.
"What Marines?"
"When did I break our agreement? Tell me—"
Still lying in his chair, Arlong held Nami high with one hand, baring his mouth full of fangs!
"Oh dear, could it be that the money you saved was 'confiscated' by the Marines?"
"That's really unfortunate."
The Fish-Man named Arlong put on a fake smile, laughing especially wildly.
"But a promise is a promise. As long as you haven't placed one hundred million Beli before me, I can't give Cocoyasi Village to you..."
"Despicable, shameless!!"
"Hahahahaha~~~ Say whatever you like. Or—"
"Have you finally decided to abandon those villagers and run away by yourself?"
Smack.
After slapping Arlong's arm away, Nami turned and ran out of Arlong Park. Behind her came the Fish-Men's thunderous laughter!
"Arlong, that plan of yours is truly vicious."
"But if Nami really abandons the villagers and runs away..."
"Hahahahaha~~"
"She won't. For that village, she'll keep saving up another one hundred million Beli! Then we'll harvest it again..."
"Hahahahahahahaha~~~"
"Roman, there's a Marine warship over there!"
Facing Usopp, who was ducking and dodging nervously, Roman shook his head indifferently.
"Ignore them. I can sense that my bandages haven't moved for quite a while."
As the merchant ship slowly docked, Roman, Usopp, Joseph, Johnny, and even Zoro disembarked.—Hawk Eyes had definitely held back. Otherwise, how long had it been? Zoro was already able to walk around!
"This way—"
Following the sensation from the Paper Bandage, Roman and the others arrived at:
"What happened here?"
The ground was in ruins, riddled with pits from being dug up. Many people bore gunshot wounds, and where Roman sensed the 'bandages' were: a house whose door and windows had been shattered, as if a storm had swept through it.
"You are...?"
A light-blue-haired woman clutching the wound at her waist walked over. When she saw Roman's group, her eyes flickered.
"We're looking for someone named Nami..."
"You're Roman, right?"
However, the blue-haired woman immediately identified Roman. It wasn't because he was particularly handsome—rather, the long-nosed Usopp and Three-Sword Style Zoro behind him were simply too recognizable.
"Ah... I am."
"If you came to ask Nami to repay you, then I'm afraid you'll be disappointed."
The blue-haired woman pointed at the devastated surroundings.
"The Marines already stole all the money just now."
Marines... stealing money...
Those two words didn't seem to fit together, but:
"The money isn't important. The person is."
Roman waved a hand.
"Can you tell me what happened here?"
Fake...
It was all fake...
Nami returned to the village like a walking corpse. The moment she reached the entrance, she collapsed to her knees!
"Arlong!"
She suddenly pulled out a dagger and viciously stabbed it into her shoulder!
Splat.
There was a tattoo marking her as a member of the Arlong Pirates. Now, it looked more like a brand of a "slave"!
"Arlong!!"
Clang.
With a scraping sound of metal, a hand caught the dagger in the girl's grasp.
"Roman?"
Nami turned her head and saw a familiar face.
"What are you doing here? If you want money..."
"Luffy said he only wanted you to be our navigator, so he told me to bring you back."
"...What about you?"
Facing the girl as tears continually streamed down her cheeks, Roman answered without hesitation.
"I only know how to kill."
"You..."
"Enough. Don't say anything else."
"I learned everything I needed to know from your sister."
Sheets of healing Paper Bandage flew from Roman's palm and wrapped around Nami's shoulder.
"If you have anything to say, wait until I'm done killing."
P.S. Thanks to reader "Designer Jianguo" for the tip and monthly votes.
One extra chapter.
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