Boom!
Arlong's pirate ship crashed down from the mountain waterway into the sea below.
"Arlong, Jinbe's contacted us again. He wants us to go back."
A Fishman came rushing over, clutching a Den Den Mushi.
Arlong had been brimming with excitement, but at those words, his expression immediately darkened.
"Arlong, Jinbe says your life will be in danger this time."
Seeing Arlong's expression, the octopus Fishman who had rushed over spoke timidly.
"Damn it! Jinbe's a coward. Instead of thinking about avenging Tiger, he actually joined the Marines."
Arlong gritted his teeth and roared furiously.
The other Fishmen, who had been brimming with excitement, fell silent.
The ship beneath them had also steadied after its earlier rocking.
Tiger!
The former captain of the Sun Pirates, he was the idol of all the Fishmen who had gone out to sea.
Under Tiger's leadership, these Fishmen had hoped to change the relationship between Fishmen and humans. But how had it ended?
They had saved a human and tried to send him home, only to be betrayed. Even Tiger had died.
"Humans can't be trusted! We Fishmen are the superior race. Those humans are nothing but weaklings to us—a lesser race!"
Arlong turned to face the crowd of Fishmen and roared.
"Only if we show them our strength will those humans fear us! Jinbe's a coward, but I, Arlong, will lead you to rise up in the East Blue and turn the world upside down. We'll start by becoming the rulers of the East Blue!"
Most humans in this world were simple-minded brutes.
Of course, that had a lot to do with the world's education and environment. Most humans couldn't read a single character, let alone the Fishmen.
Despite Arlong's speech having no real power to inspire, the Fishmen were fired up.
They all cheered.
"Hatchan, cut off contact with that bastard Jinbe at once."
"Yes, Arlong!"
At the order, Hatchan, the octopus Fishman, quickly stood at attention.
"Men, let's get started. We'll conquer the East Blue!" Arlong nodded in satisfaction, then turned and drew his Kiribachi, pointing it ahead.
Amid their cheers, the ship sailed straight forward.
The Grand Line.
Jinbe put down the Den Den Mushi in his hand.
"Jinbe, will Shyarly's prophecy really come true?"
Arlong might have been extreme, but he had once been a comrade in the Sun Pirates, after all.
The Fishmen aboard this ship knew why Jinbe had agreed to become one of the Shichibukai. They also knew he had faced fierce criticism for it.
"Shyarly's prophecies are accurate."
Jinbe shook his head, then looked toward the front of the ship, his expression grave.
That bastard had gone to the East Blue to carry out some plan to conquer it. Never mind whether Arlong had the strength to pull it off—just causing trouble would make humans hate Fishmen even more.
And that would make life even harder for the Fishmen.
"Pick up the pace. We have to reach the East Blue before something happens to Arlong."
Jinbe gave the order.
The one good thing was that although Arlong had told Hatchan not to contact him anymore, Hatchan had agreed to report their location.
East Blue, Cocoyasi Village.
"Sir, are you sure you want to buy all of these?"
Bell-mère, with her unusual hairstyle and a cigarette between her lips, looked at Dunn in delighted surprise.
"Yeah, I'll take them all. Your oranges are really fresh. I'll be spending a while at sea, and I can't go without fruit."
Dunn nodded.
He had actually been lingering in these waters for quite a few days. He'd originally planned to find Arlong and claim the bounty.
But after looking around, he'd determined that Arlong probably hadn't arrived yet.
Still, judging by the timing, it would happen sometime this year.
Dunn didn't plan to waste his time in the meantime. He intended to sweep up some nearby pirates and save up money for his expenses after entering the Grand Line.
This was his first time visiting Cocoyasi Village.
"Huh? Aren't you a merchant?"
Bell-mère asked, staring blankly at Dunn.
"Do I look like a merchant?"
Dunn looked down at himself. He wore an ordinary white shirt and white trousers.
"If that's the case, I can't sell you that many!"
Bell-mère shook her head firmly.
"Why not?"
Dunn was curious.
He remembered that after returning to her hometown, Bell-mère seemed to have had a hard life. She often went hungry, had to make a living growing oranges, and had two adopted daughters to care for.
Sometimes, she could only fill her stomach with oranges. When Nami and the others got curious, she'd even claim that eating oranges was good for their skin.
"Because fresh oranges won't keep that long. If you want something that lasts, you can buy some rum instead, sir."
Bell-mère explained earnestly.
"I see!"
Dunn nodded.
Seeing that he understood, Bell-mère smiled.
"But I'll still take them all. I eat a lot, and I'll finish these oranges in just a few days."
As he spoke, Dunn set down a stack of Beli.
"But you'll have to help me bring them to my ship by the shore."
Bell-mère stared at Dunn as he turned and walked away, then looked at the Beli he'd left behind.
Finish them in a few days?
Was he going to eat all those oranges for every meal?
Fresh fruit was essential at sea, but surely he couldn't eat only fruit, right?
Bell-mère was a little bewildered.
"What's wrong? Did that bastard bully you?"
A middle-aged man wearing a windmill hat approached. Seeing Bell-mère standing there blankly, he asked with concern.
"No, nothing like that! You've come at just the right time. Help me take the oranges to the ship by the shore."
Bell-mère came to her senses. When she saw it was Genzo, she immediately spoke up.
"All of them?" Genzo's eyes widened. There were a lot of oranges here.
"All of them! If you help me finish the job, you can come to my house for dinner tonight."
Bell-mère said with a smile.
"No problem!"
At Bell-mère's smile and invitation, Genzo perked up at once. He saluted and immediately got to work.
Meanwhile, Dunn wandered around the village.
Nearly every household sold fruit—mostly oranges. That was also why they seemed so hard to sell.
After all, fresh fruit didn't keep for long.
The only major buyer nearby was Marine Base 16, but it couldn't use up that much either.
The villages on the surrounding islands were in much the same situation.
The climate here was good, after all, and well suited to growing fruit trees.
As for meat, they only had fish.
Dunn bought some basic supplies and paid people to deliver them to his ship by the shore.
There was nothing he could do to change things. This wasn't just a problem here. A great cause like this was better left to the Revolutionary Army.
That was what they did.
As Dunn thought this, he paused and looked up ahead.
Two girls of about the same height approached side by side. Each carried a basket filled with oranges.
One had blue hair, the other orange. They looked about ten years old and rather frail.
Nojiko and Nami.
After watching them for a moment, Dunn looked away and passed them by.
Well, if I take Arlong down, Bell-mère won't die. Then Nami won't need to go to sea to raise her ransom and become the Cat Burglar, which means she won't meet Monkey D. Luffy. So Monkey D. Luffy won't have a navigator?
Dunn stroked his chin as he thought.
And Zoro would probably have a different experience from then on, too.
The future would become unpredictable.
Oh, and if Ace didn't get the Flame-Flame Fruit, maybe he'd focus on developing his Haki. He might even become a master swordsman or a martial artist.
All in all, Dunn found himself even more curious about how the future would unfold.
Though it was still too early to think about that. The future was still a long way off.
Maybe his interference in this world would bring about even greater changes.
It was called the butterfly effect, right?
But Dunn wasn't too worried. He'd do what he wanted, and as for everything else, who cared?
With that in mind, Dunn finished buying his supplies and returned to his little boat by the shore.
He set sail to look around.
Just as Dunn sailed away from Cocoyasi Village, Nami and Nojiko returned home and saw that the food on the table was more plentiful than usual.
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