Defeating Arlong, Awakening Haki

Seeing Arlong charging toward him at breakneck speed.

Moya was utterly exhausted and barely had any strength left. He had no time to react and could only raise his sword horizontally to defend himself. Arlong's savage face was already right in front of him. Moya's pupils contracted as the ordinary steel blade shattered beneath Arlong's teeth...

With a bang, Arlong slammed Moya away. He crashed into the wall, bringing it down in a cloud of dust. It was impossible to tell whether he was alive or dead.

The effect of Glazed Ground faded.

"Moya!!"

"Captain!!"

Buggy immediately rushed over to help. But when Arlong heard Nami's cry, he regained a sliver of reason and instantly fixed his gaze on her, his eyes turning bloodshot.

"You filthy bitch! You brought people back and destroyed my brothers and my empire! I'll kill you!"

Arlong charged at Nami again, snapping at her like a madman. The three of them had just been about to attack him, but he had already flown toward Nami. They wanted to rescue her, but it was too late.

With a bang, two figures were sent flying.

"Boss Nami!" the crewmen cried out in fear.

After Arlong knocked the two figures away, he bounced back to where he had started. The pair crashed into a wall and spat out mouthfuls of blood. They were Richie the Lion and Pearl the Invincible, whom Moya had sent to protect Nami.

"Ah! Damn it!"

Arlong roared and sped toward Nami, snapping at her again.

Nami watched Arlong bearing down on her in fear and despair.

Was she going to fail after all?

"Moya!!!!"

Nami sobbed in anguish.

At that moment, she seemed to forget about her own safety. Her final thoughts were with Moya, whose life was still uncertain.

Rumble!

"Nami!!"

With blood covering his head, Moya had gone mad. His consciousness was already fading amid the rubble, but then he heard his crew's worried shouts, followed by Nami's desperate cry.

Once again, he felt the despair that came from being weak...

It was as if he had returned to the first day he arrived in this world, back to that helpless, powerless feeling.

He hated it!

He hated his arrogance and blind faith in his foreknowledge during this time.

At the very instant Arlong was about to bite Nami,

a figure suddenly appeared in front of her.

Moya's eyes were bloodshot, and his fury had reached its limit. The veins bulged in his arms as his left hand seized Arlong's claw. His right fist was wrapped in fierce Haki as he punched Arlong in the head.

One blow was all it took to crush Arlong.

Moya had completely lost control. Arlong was dazed and unable to fight back, his limbs no longer struggling.

Moya punched Arlong's head over and over. Arlong's head was buried deep in the ground, and he was clearly on the verge of death.

But Moya kept swinging his fists. His knuckles were already bloody and mangled, and he let out a beastlike roar that chilled everyone around him!

"Why am I so weak?! Why?! Why?!"

Moya's eyes were red as he shouted like a madman, striking Arlong's head again and again.

"Moya, that's enough! Stop!"

Nami rushed over and wrapped her arms around Moya's waist, tears streaming down her face.

Hearing Nami's voice, Moya looked at her with crazed eyes, turned, and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Nami, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It's my fault."

Moya's voice trembled with self-reproach.

"Moya, I'm all right. You saved me. You saved our village. Thank you! You're our true hero!"

Nami gently comforted him.

"Captain! Captain! Are you all right? It looked like you awakened Armament Haki again just now!"

Buggy stared in shock. In the Four Blues, people who could use Haki were few and far between. Aside from the powerful fighters who had returned from the Grand Line, even among the pirates in the Grand Line's first half, those who could use Haki were exceedingly rare.

Moya was completely exhausted. When Nami was in danger, he had once again pushed his body beyond its limits.

Now the aftereffects of that burst had left him without even the strength to speak. Once he let his guard down, he promptly passed out.

That night, the whole of Cocoyasi Village was swept up in celebration. At long last, Arlong Park, which had enslaved them for years, had fallen, and the Arlong Pirates had been defeated by the adventure group Nami belonged to.

Both sides had suffered heavy losses among their rank and file. Moya Adventure Group's numbers and the Fishmen's individual fighting strength...

The whole village was holding a lively feast. Meanwhile, in a small house beside an Orange Grove, a mummy wrapped in bandages lay on a crude wooden bed, watched over by an orange-haired woman.

"Nami, I never thought your man would really pull it off. He's amazing!"

A dark-skinned woman teased Nami. She was Nami's older sister, Nojiko.

"Shut up, Nojiko! What do you mean, 'my man'? He's my captain!" Nami retorted.

"So you won't admit it? Then I'll offer myself to him as soon as he wakes up. Ah, my hero!"

Nojiko put on a teasing expression, trying to rile Nami up.

"Just try it, you shameless Nojiko!" Nami cried in frustration.

The two traded insults and jokes, a sign of just how close the sisters were.

Moya slowly came to. His mind was blank. It hurt so much! He felt completely drained!

It was just like that first day he had arrived in this world, when the sailors had beaten him senseless. Helpless, despairing...

I swear, I'll never be that weak and helpless again!

When Nami had nearly died at Arlong's hands because Moya was too weak to stop him, Moya had nearly gone mad!

When he woke, Moya was wrapped tightly in bandages.

He despised his weakness. He was furious, his body trembling uncontrollably as he sank into self-loathing, almost as if he had gone mad. Tears streamed down his face.

"Ah! I swear! I swear I'll never lose again! I won't let anyone threaten anything I care about!"

Moya's voice was hoarse, his eyes bulging as he cried out in anguish.

With a rumble, a heart-chilling aura spread across all of Cocoyasi Village.

Everyone heard Moya's cry. The faint tremor of his Conqueror's Haki swept through their minds, leaving them dazed for several seconds.

At that moment, the Conqueror's Haki seed in Moya's mind began absorbing his force of spirit for the first time. It changed, truly merging with him and taking root as Moya's own Conqueror's Haki seed, then began to grow stronger.

Agitated by his near-mad emotional state and weakened by his severe injuries, Moya spat out another mouthful of blood and passed out.

Nami and Nojiko, shaken by Moya's Conqueror's Haki, nearly collapsed. Hearing his cries, they both fainted after spitting up blood.

When Nami came to, she hurriedly got up and looked at Moya's pale face, tears filling her eyes. Had this man's spirit taken such a terrible blow?

Nami gently leaned against Moya's chest, softly stroking him with one hand. Hearing his racing heartbeat gradually return to normal, she finally felt a little more at ease.

Watching them, Nojiko felt a pang of emotion. She quietly left the house and gently closed the door behind her.

As soon as she turned around, she saw Buggy and a group of crewmen staring fixedly at her from outside. Buggy was just about to speak when Nojiko raised a finger to her lips.

Everyone followed Nojiko farther away before they began to talk.

"Miss Nojiko, what just happened to the captain?" Buggy asked anxiously.

"I don't know either. I only heard Captain Moya cry out in anguish, and I nearly passed out. Then Captain Moya spat out blood and fainted again!"

Nojiko replied.

"Could it be that the captain really has that kind of potential?" Buggy murmured.

"What are you saying? Speak up, Buggy!"

El Drago's booming voice rang out.

"I'm only guessing right now, but there's a good chance!"

"What is it? Hurry up and tell us!"

"If it's true, our Captain Moya should possess the legendary Conqueror's Haki, the kingly quality found in one person among a million. Captain Roger had that quality too!" Buggy explained.

"What? The captain has the same kingly quality as Pirate King Roger? I knew our captain was destined to be a king!"

El Drago shouted excitedly, twisting Buggy's words around and jumping to conclusions.

The crewmen were all stunned to hear it, then filled with excitement. Nothing could make them happier than the prospect of one day serving on the ship of the Pirate King.

"Don't get too excited. Having the potential to be a king is all it means. Many people on these seas have it.

"According to what the captain told me, the Roger Pirates' vice captain, the Pirate King's right hand, Dark King Rayleigh, has it. So does my so-called old rival, one of the Four Emperors, Red-Haired Shanks!" Buggy said.

"Isn't Red-Haired Shanks one of your good buddies, Buggy? How did he become your old rival?"

"Ahem. I don't want to talk about it."

"But we have to believe in the captain. He's destined to become the strongest!" Buggy said firmly.

"Keep an eye on the Arlong Pirates' riffraff. We'll deal with them after Captain Moya wakes up!"

"I can't believe that riffraff is so tough. The captain beat him up that badly, and he still survived. Though he does look like he's been beaten stupid."

"I wonder what the captain will do with these Fishmen?"

"Will he recruit them like us, kill them all, or let them go?"

The crewmen chattered in a disorderly jumble, and in no time at all, it was like a bustling marketplace.