Two days later.
Cocoyasi Village, Arlong Park.
Arlong's appearance perfectly matched his identity as a shark fish-man:
Nearly three meters tall, with blue skin all over, fierce hawk-like eyes, a mouth full of sharp teeth, and a serrated long nose as hard and sharp as a steel saw.
Combined with muscles like steel ingots all over his body and large red tattoos branded across his chest and arms,
he looked like a terrifying
big-shot thug.
Arlong really was just a big-shot thug.
Although Arlong always called himself a superior race and shouted every day about building some "Arlong Empire" to rule all humanity,
this future emperor of the fish-man empire had basically spent all these years doing one thing—
collecting protection money.
The vast territory of the Arlong Empire consisted of only the twenty villages around Cocoyasi Village.
The only thing remotely related to the grand undertaking of building an empire was probably the East Blue maps Arlong had forced Nami to draw.
That day, Arlong once again racked his brains over the affairs of state for the "Fish-Man Empire":
"Is that Mouse coming today?"
"That's right."
His loyal subordinate, Fish-Man Karate master Kuroobi, immediately replied:
"The agreed date to meet Captain Nezumi is today."
"Humph!"
Arlong snorted coldly, and his expression immediately darkened considerably.
While he collected protection money from innocent villagers, he also had to regularly pay protection money to Captain Nezumi of the local Marines.
After all, Arlong's group were fish-men from the Grand Line. Without corrupt officers covering for them, they would surely be an exceptionally conspicuous presence in the Marines' eyes.
To secure his position as a local tyrant, Arlong had no choice but to swallow his pride and regularly send money to Captain Nezumi.
Of course, proud Arlong would never admit that he was paying protection money.
"That weak and filthy lower life-form!"
Arlong instinctively employed Ah Q's spiritual victory method:
"When we fish-men rule the seas someday, I'll make that greedy Mouse spit out every last Beli he swallowed!"
"Yes, yes!"
The lackeys all nodded eagerly, as though the great Fish-Man Empire would be established tomorrow.
But Arlong's expression still looked terrible, because he was actually even greedier for money than Captain Nezumi. Every time he had to spend money bribing Captain Nezumi, Arlong felt as if his heart were bleeding.
And whenever Arlong was in a bad mood, he sought comfort by abusing the weak.
After pondering briefly, Arlong opened his mouth and demanded angrily:
"Why hasn't Cocoyasi Village paid this month's ransom yet?!"
His voice was filled with brutality and cruelty.
"We've already urged them, but they still can't gather enough money."
One subordinate answered tremblingly.
"They can't gather it?!"
Arlong's voice was full of displeasure, while a cruel curve spread across his lips again:
"Fine, then."
"I'll go over there and help them myself!"
Cocoyasi Village.
A group of villagers gathered in the village, their faces filled with worry.
"Ugh..."
Officer Genzo looked gloomily at everyone's faces and asked helplessly:
"Can't everyone really gather any more money?"
"If we don't pay this month's ransom, that bastard Arlong will probably use it as an excuse to come wreck the village again..."
"There's really nothing we can do!"
A pale-faced villager said in a low voice:
"The recent fishing catches have been poor, and the crops in the fields aren't ready for harvest yet."
"We really can't gather any more money!"
Every villager in Cocoyasi Village had to pay Arlong one hundred thousand Beli each month to keep themselves from being killed by the fish-men of the Arlong Pirates.
Such a burden was far too heavy for a remote village with no income beyond farming and fishing.
"How about..."
One villager timidly suggested, "How about we ask Nojiko to help us gather some money again?"
The scene fell silent.
Officer Genzo's face darkened like water, making the long scar across his face look even more vicious.
It was not just Officer Genzo. Every villager understood what that meant.
Nojiko was Nami's older sister, and she could barely make a living by growing orange trees.
Asking Nojiko for money was, to put it plainly, once again placing the burden of protecting Cocoyasi Village on the shoulders of Nami, that lonely young girl.
The villagers did not want to do this, but cruel life always forced them into desperate straits.
Officer Genzo's entire body trembled, his heart full of pain.
As a Peacekeeper, he could not protect the village. Instead, he was forced again and again to push the responsibility onto Nami, whom he cherished like a daughter.
"Genzo, Genzo!"
An excited female voice suddenly rang out nearby.
Everyone followed the sound and saw a blue-haired girl running toward them excitedly, waving a newspaper in her hand.
That pretty girl was Nojiko, Nami's older sister, whom they had just been discussing.
"Nojiko, what happened?"
Officer Genzo forced out a strained smile, trying his best not to look so miserable in front of the child.
"Look at this!"
Nojiko ran up to Officer Genzo, panting for breath. Without even stopping to rest, she thrust the newspaper in her hand before him.
"Huh?"
Officer Genzo took the newspaper in confusion and casually glanced at the headline:
"A lengthy feature on East Blue Knight Garen?"
"Who's that?"
Nojiko said excitedly, "Never mind that. Keep reading!"
Officer Genzo lowered his gaze beneath the headline, and his emotions instantly became even more excited than Nojiko's:
"Nami?!!"
"Why is she in the newspaper?!"
"What?"
The villagers all cried out in alarm.
Without another word, they crowded around, their faces full of concern as they looked at the newspaper.
A photograph was displayed prominently in the paper:
Nami, dressed in a luxurious princess gown, stood beside Garen in a white suit, both smiling faintly at the camera.
One was elegant and captivating, the other dignified and imposing. They truly looked as perfect as the "knight and princess" described in the newspaper.
The villagers were instantly dumbfounded.
Before they had time to speculate, their attention was completely drawn to the rich and exciting contents of the feature article.
After a long while,
Officer Genzo asked incredulously, "N-Nami found a boyfriend?!"
"Looks like it."
Nojiko nodded solemnly.
It was only natural to reach that conclusion.
After all, the newspaper's love story about "Knight Garen" had been largely embellished and rewritten by Nami herself, tempted by Wallace's sky-high interview fee.
The simple encounter between a knight and a thief had, under the joint handiwork of Nami and Wallace, become a moving love story worthy of song and tears.
"Has Nami already grown to that age?"
Officer Genzo could only keep muttering those words to himself.
He had always treated Nami as his daughter, and now he suddenly felt the loss of having the family cabbage rooted up by a pig.
But the other villagers' attention was entirely focused on that "pig."
"Nami's boyfriend..."
One villager said with disbelief written all over his face, "He's actually such a powerful man?!"
Another villager echoed excitedly:
"Not just powerful."
"That guy seems to be a high-ranking noble from some great Kingdom!"
"Ugh..."
Officer Genzo still could not wrap his head around it:
"With Nami's status, would it really be good for her to find such a powerful boyfriend?!"
"Don't think about that first!"
A villager said excitedly:
"If Nami's boyfriend is willing to help, our village can be saved!"
Everyone had clearly thought of that.
Their sallow, gaunt faces, worn down by difficult lives, were flushed with an unusual, fervent red.
"Oh?"
A sinister voice drifted leisurely from behind them. "Your village can be saved?!"
All the villagers' bodies trembled, and a layer of cold sweat quickly formed on their foreheads.
Then a tall shadow blocked out a large patch of sunlight.
The crowd turned their heads with difficulty and saw Arlong standing behind them with several lackeys, all wearing cruel and savage smiles.
The lively village instantly returned to an oppressive, deathly silence.
"Hahahaha!"
Arlong laughed wildly and said in a rough voice:
"I think I heard something very interesting?"
His sharp, murderous eyes swept over the villagers:
"Has Nami become a little disobedient?!"
The villagers all lowered their heads, not daring to meet Arlong's gaze.
"Bring me that newspaper!"
Arlong casually ordered one of his lackeys, then grinned viciously:
"You actually want to resist my rule?"
"I'd like to see who exactly gave you the nerve to be so arrogant!"
The newspaper clutched in the villagers' hands was quickly delivered to Arlong, while several fish-man lackeys gathered around curiously.
"East Blue's Knight of Justice?!"
Arlong only needed one glance at the headline before he sneered disdainfully:
"What a lower race! Are you still expecting something like a Knight of Justice?"
Arlong continued reading.
His expression immediately darkened, becoming as ugly as if he had eaten two pounds of shit—
The newspaper recorded, in meticulous detail, the glorious achievements of East Blue's Knight of Justice, Garen, over only three days.
Punishing the Steel Cutlass Pirates and defeating the corrupt Marines of Loguetown were already shocking enough in the East Blue, the weakest sea.
But what came next was the real highlight—
Defeating Buggy the Clown, a Pirate King crew member and close friend of one of the Four Emperors.
Defeating Marine Headquarters Colonel Smoker in three moves.
Sparring with Marine hero Garp, with the outcome evenly matched.
The Ippon Ken Dou Swordsman who had even won the admiration of Marine Headquarters' swordsmanship experts.
"B-Boss?"
A fish-man lackey trembled as he could not help saying, "Should we run?!"
"..."
Arlong, who had been so arrogant moments ago, trembled all over without saying a word.
Complicated emotions fermented in his chest before finally erupting after a long silence:
"Run!"
Boom!
Cannons roared.
Arlong looked toward the sound and saw that his beloved Arlong Park had already erupted in blinding flames.
Before you continue