Nami's Psychological Shadow

A moment later.

The beach, which had long since returned to calm, once again welcomed uninvited guests.

A small boat slid into the sand and came to a slow halt.

The two people standing on the boat promptly jumped off.

One of them wore a straw hat on his head, raising a hand to his forehead as he curiously looked around.

The other had a head of green hair, his left hand resting on the three swords at his waist, scratching his cheek with a puzzled expression.

Aside from the occasional bird taking flight from the woods ahead, the entire island seemed eerily quiet.

Seeing no one around, Luffy grew bored and stuck a finger into his nostril, twisting it with a look of utter speechlessness:

"Hey, Zoro, didn't you say you knew where a town was around here?"

"Where did you bring me? There's not a single person in sight."

Zoro was currently scanning the surroundings with a confused frown.

Hearing this, he furrowed his brow and replied impatiently:

"Quit your nagging, Luffy. Follow me and you won't go wrong."

He then glanced around again, muttering to himself while stroking his chin:

"Strange, I remember there being a town near here."

"How did we end up in a place like this..."

Luffy blinked, not too bothered by it. He put his hands on his hips and looked curiously at the jungle ahead, grinning:

"Hihi, whatever. Since we're here anyway, let's go check that place out!"

"Zoro! Let's go!"

Without waiting for Zoro's reply, he took off running into the dense forest.

"Hey! Luffy! Wait for me!"

"Don't go running off alone!"

Worried that Luffy might get lost on his own, Zoro quickly held onto the swords at his waist and hurried after him.

As the two disappeared one after another into the jungle, the beach fell silent once more.

The next day, early morning.

Will was eating with Nami and Carina.

Having lost any high expectations for the pirate strength in the East Blue, he suddenly looked up and said to the two women:

"After this, we won't stop at any other towns for supplies. We'll head straight to Arlong Park."

"Mm." Nami nodded indifferently at first.

"Huh?" Then she suddenly snapped to attention, jerking her head up with a look of utter shock:

"What did you say? You're going to Arlong Park?!"

For a moment, she thought she had misheard.

"That's right."

Will wasn't surprised by Nami's reaction and nodded slightly:

"I want to see for myself whether those so-called fish-men are truly stronger than humans."

After easily taking care of Clown Buggy and his crew, he had lost all interest in the other pirates of the East Blue.

The only one that still sparked a thought in him

was the fish-man Arlong, who, in his memory, was considered the strongest pirate on the surface in the East Blue.

Partly, he wanted to test the quality of the fish-man race.

Partly, he wanted to resolve this trouble for Nami and lift the heavy burden she had carried all these years.

After all, Will didn't want his navigator to have any lingering worries during their future voyages.

Carina, on the other hand, seemed completely unconcerned. She propped her head up with one hand and said casually:

"Speaking of Arlong Park in the East Blue, I've secretly looked into the intelligence on those fish-men before."

"The strongest among them should be their leader, the fish-man Arlong."

"But in my opinion, those fish-men can only bully ordinary people."

"Facing a strong man like Captain, they probably wouldn't stand a chance."

She had never personally witnessed the strength of fish-men.

But in her view, no matter how strong those fish-men were, they could never surpass Will.

Not only because he had already effortlessly taken down two Devil Fruit users.

But also because she had personally felt the toughness of Will's body—his entire frame seemed forged from steel.

Carina simply couldn't imagine anyone breaking through Will's physical defenses.

On top of that, with his terrifying perception, the enemy's attacks could hardly even land, let alone breach his guard.

Yet Nami was acting unusually now, her face grave as she looked at Will and urged:

"The fish-man Arlong and his crew aren't as simple as you think."

"His bounty reached 20 million Berries a long time ago, and plenty of people have gone to hunt him down."

"But not a single one has ever made it out alive."

"On top of that, his underlings are all freakishly strong, born with several times—even over ten times—the strength of an ordinary human."

"Even if you're powerful, charging in so recklessly could very well get you killed."

After all this time together, Nami knew full well how strong Will was.

But the psychological scars from her childhood still made her believe the fish-men were far more terrifying.

Back when she was young.

Hachi had exposed that three people lived in her home, indirectly leading to her mother's brutal death...

Arlong had shot her mother dead right before her young eyes...

Her talent for navigation had been accidentally discovered by Hachi, prompting Arlong to order her taken away...

Hachi had grabbed her by the neck, lifting her defenseless child's body and dragging her off...

The villagers, though spared from slaughter because of her, still had to endure constant bullying and humiliation from those fish-men...

These unforgettable memories had never faded.

In fact, as time passed, they only grew sharper and more entrenched.

So in Nami's mind.

Even if Will could actually defeat Arlong, he would likely end up gravely wounded.

Then the other fish-men would swarm him, and he'd probably be surrounded and killed.

That was the last thing she wanted to see.

Through their time together, Nami felt Will was nothing like the detestable pirates out on the sea.

He was a genuinely good person, rare to find.

So she really didn't want anything to happen to him.

She also didn't want to bring him to take down Arlong, only for the fish-men to take their anger out on the nearby towns afterward.

She was just a little short of the money needed to fulfill her deal with Arlong and buy back her village.

Just a little...

So she didn't dare gamble.

Carina noticed Nami's shifting expression after she spoke and couldn't help asking curiously:

"Nami, what's wrong?"

"Have you dealt with those fish-men before?"

Will said nothing, simply watching Nami in silence, as if waiting.

Nami, leaning back in her chair, bit her lip, her eyes flickering with hesitation.

After a moment of silence.

She suddenly pulled up the sleeve of her left arm, revealing a tattoo hidden beneath.

"This is..." Carina squinted, then gasped in shock:

"That's the mark of the Arlong Pirates!"

"Nami... you're a member of the Arlong Pirates?!"