Snatching Food from the "Mouse's" Mouth!

Fear is a peculiar emotion.

It can make people willingly march to their deaths even when they know resistance means survival, and it can also make people rise up in defiance when they know death is certain.

The villagers chose the latter, and immediately ran.

"Roar!"

The Black Knight let out a low growl, its face, obscured by black hair, turned.

"No, there's no need."

Lowett stopped it from giving chase, a smirk playing on his lips. "He saw you, not me."

If the Navy found out that their coveted 'Hundred Plans' Kuro was here, it would surely cause a huge commotion.

No benefit.

But it would make Lowett happy.

I once loved peace, but peace did not love me. Since that's the case, don't blame me for causing you trouble.

Allowing the villagers to escape, Lowett walked forward slowly. The Zombie Puppets retreated, quickly clearing a path.

The terrifying zombies, in this moment, expressed their obedience through action, not daring to roar randomly, quietly awaiting their master to walk to the center.

His cane swept down from his arm, and Lowett held one end, the other end resting on the chin of the dying fish-man, slowly lifting it.

"I originally planned to wait until Wallace found out where Momonga was before deciding whether to act, but since you dare to come out, then let's do it early."

If Momonga had already shown signs of acting against them, Arlong certainly wouldn't have allowed them to go out looking for the culprit behind the ghost ship.

This was the simplest way to seek advantage and avoid harm.

Momonga's arrival instilled an indescribable fear in all the enemies of the Navy in the East Blue. The more one understood the Navy's hierarchical system, the clearer the terror of a 'Fleet Admiral' became.

Lowett wasn't afraid, but the fact remained that he was no match for Momonga right now.

Therefore, he felt a different kind of urgency.

After all, if he remembered correctly, the existence of the Arlong Pirates was no secret among the East Blue Navy and pirate circles.

Countless people knew about it!

He wanted to snatch the prey from the 'rat's' mouth before Momonga made a move against Arlong!

That night, in Cocoyasi Village, Arlong's territory.

"Hmph, don't underestimate me!"

A girl's voice, tinged with stubbornness, rang out. She shoved aside two fish-men guarding the entrance to Arlong's territory and walked in.

Crossing the swimming pool, the girl paused.

The atmosphere felt a bit off!

She glanced cautiously at Arlong, who was sitting in a beach chair. The fish-man's face was still pale, but now it had a darker hue.

"What's wrong?"

She hadn't heard that Kensuke had collected any new weapons.

The girl was filled with confusion, but quickly dismissed it.

Who cares!

The more miserable these damn pirates look, the happier I'll be.

Thinking this, the girl snorted a little tune and walked towards the room with light steps.

Under the moonlight, Arlong's cold gaze followed her. As she was about to pass him, he called out in a low voice.

"Nami!"

"What is it?"

Nami, with her short orange hair, froze and stopped.

"Have you heard anything interesting out there recently?"

Although he had Mouse as an intelligence source, Mouse wouldn't bother with trivial matters.

Arlong's territory, despite having hundreds of fish-men who were unmatched in the East Blue, had, due to their premature enjoyment of life, lost their drive. They rarely went out to gather information.

It was laughable, but their biggest source of intelligence for the past two years had actually been Nami, this foolish girl they had deceived, whom they had pinned their greatest hopes on to cater to their malice.

But Arlong didn't see anything wrong with that.

They were Fish-Men!

A superior race, above humans!

Was there anything wrong with humans gathering information for Fish-Men?

Sooner or later, they would overthrow the Celestial Dragons and take that supreme position for themselves!

"Interesting things?"

Nami breathed a sigh of relief, thought for a moment, and grinned, "Of course, but if you want to know..."

"Tch, greedy brat."

Arlong wore a fake smile, flicking a gold coin out.

The girl instantly displayed physical prowess no less than that of a professional warrior, snatching the coin out of the air with quick hands and tucking it into her shirt.

"Does Captain Krieg count?"

Having received her payment, Nami's demeanor immediately changed.

"He was recruiting heavily before, his pirate crew's numbers ballooning from 500 to 1000. But because he couldn't supply enough weapons to arm them, or even enough decent warships, he's now left with less than 700 men."

"Hahaha! That idiot..."

Arlong's eyes flickered with disappointment, not having heard the news he wanted.

However, he didn't show it, gesturing, "Go on, stay indoors these few days. A big shot has arrived in the East Blue, you should know."

A Marine Vice Admiral, Momonga!

That name weighed heavily on the hearts of all pirates in the East Blue. The few over 100 million berry pirates who had unfortunately crossed his path had turned Momonga into a nightmare they couldn't shake.

"The Navy!"

Nami's expression turned somber upon hearing this.

After she left, Kuroobi put down his hand, "Should I go out and look? This area is small, no village would dare withhold information."

"No, there's no need."

Under the moonlight, Arlong's narrow eyes glinted coldly, "While Kōbi and the others aren't the main combatants, as my fellow fish-men, their strength isn't something ordinary humans can handle, especially not all four of them."

"The fact that they haven't sent back a single message by now can only mean the opponent they encountered is extremely troublesome."

"Perhaps..."

Kuroobi's expression tightened. The fish-men nearby who heard this had red-rimmed eyes, and a chilling, beastly ferocity gathered in the air.

Perhaps what?

The answer was clear.

"They say they're going to search for clues, but in reality, they're just out looking for fun."

Arlong pinched his chin, a fierce aura gathering around him.

"If that's the case, the range wouldn't exceed this area... The enemy is already very close!"

"Uh, Brother Arlong, could it be the Navy?"

Hachi, the octopus fish-man, asked foolishly.

"Didn't that guy Rat say Momonga went to his branch? He must have heard something, right?"

"There's a possibility~ Chuu, after all, we have hostages from twenty villages."

Chuu nodded.

He had heard of Momonga's character – upright, benevolent, and brave, absolutely fitting anyone's worship of justice.

"No matter who it is!!!"

A roar echoed through the vast Arlong Park. Arlong clenched his fist and smashed it onto a concrete pillar, shattering it.

Amidst the billowing dust, his voice was etched with burning hatred, yet also with a coldness as if from the deepest abyss.

"I will never forgive anyone who dares to harm my comrades!"

"I will make them pay!!"

The rampaging Arlong was terrifying. Around the swimming pool, the fish-men lowered their heads, not daring to look at him.

Behind the room's wall, Nami crouched in the corner, covering her mouth, her eyes filled with disbelief.

It's a lie, right?

Arlong's men are missing?

Those powerful and terrifying fish-men... could they be dead?

"This is incredible!"

Nami suddenly heard a soft exclamation. Looking down, she saw a figure crawling down from the ceiling beams. He stood on tiptoe, acting suspiciously.

She quickly hid herself in a dark corner, not daring to breathe, and from the floor above, the person didn't notice her.

Once sure no one was looking this way, the figure seized the opportunity when the surrounding fish-men weren't paying attention, leaped out, and agilely followed the dimly lit path, scaling the wall.

Who is he?

Watching the retreating figure disappear, Nami didn't know.

But she knew something big was about to happen!