"Nami!!!"
"You thief!!"
"Stop right there!!"
Somewhere in the East Blue, a chase was underway.
A pirate ship pursued a small boat ahead of it.
Furious shouts from numerous pirates rang out from the pirate ship.
On the small boat, a delicate little girl with orange hair wore a smug smile, pleased that her scheme had succeeded.
It was none other than Nami.
At this time, although Nami was only eleven or twelve years old, she had already begun striving toward her grand plan of one hundred million.
And this time, her target was the Beast Pirate Crew, which had recently been active in the East Blue.
Naturally, she had succeeded, stealing the Beast Pirate Crew's treasure and fleeing aboard a small boat.
Logically speaking, her small boat was slower than the Beast Pirate Ship.
But her exceptional navigational skills made up for the difference, even gradually widening the distance between herself and the Beast Pirate Crew.
At this rate, as long as she kept going for another half day or so, she would be able to return to Arlong Park. By then, she would be safe.
Arlong's bounty was twenty million Beli, while Olig, the captain of the Beast Pirate Crew, had only half of Arlong's bounty.
Once she reached Arlong Park, he would surely back down in the face of difficulty.
Meanwhile, the Beast Pirate Crew clearly understood Nami's intentions, and their expressions darkened.
"Captain, what do we do!?"
"Our ship can't catch up to her!"
"At this rate, she'll really escape back to Arlong Park!"
Immediately afterward, they turned to ask a blond man with a short, thin build.
He was Olig, captain of the Beast Pirate Crew, with a bounty of ten million and the nickname "Beast"!
At that moment, Olig's face looked extremely grim.
This time, Nami had played them thoroughly!
They had thought they were rescuing a wealthy young lady in distress and could take the chance to squeeze a fortune out of her. Who would have thought that she was Nami, the thief who had recently gained quite a reputation!?
Not only had they failed to gain anything, all their money had been stolen by Nami!
And this Nami seemed to be one of the Arlong Pirates!
Naturally, Olig looked down on those Fish-Men.
But he was unwilling to clash with Arlong and the others, because he was a Devil Fruit user!
He had no major trouble dealing with others, but against Fish-Men skilled in naval combat, he truly had little confidence, let alone their leader Arlong, whose bounty was even higher than his!
Therefore, Olig believed that no matter what, they should avoid confronting the Arlong Pirates whenever possible.
But were they supposed to just watch Nami escape?
Of course not!
A vicious glint suddenly flashed through Olig's eyes. Then he gritted his teeth and ordered, "Fire the cannon! Aim at that boat and fire!"
"What!?"
Hearing this, the surrounding pirates widened their eyes in shock.
Olig actually wanted to fire a cannon at Nami!?
In fact, although their pirate ship was small, it really was equipped with a cannon.
But before this, they had never considered using it on Nami.
That was because if a cannonball hit Nami, all that money might be blown to nothing!
That would be like harming themselves almost as much as the enemy!
But seeing the savage look in Olig's eyes, the Beast Pirate Crew's gunner shuddered and quickly began operating the cannon.
He knew Olig had gone ruthless and intended to kill Nami regardless of the cost!
Seeing this, the other pirates gradually revealed vicious looks as well.
Yeah!
If Nami escaped back to Arlong Park like this, they might be completely helpless.
That money was going to be lost anyway, so they might as well vent their anger now!
Thinking this, the pirates all grew excited.
"Captain, brilliant!"
"Yeah, that's it! Blow her to death with one shot!"
"She dared provoke our Beast Pirate Ship. This is the price!"
While the pirates were jubilant, Nami on the other side turned pale.
She had not expected Olig and the others to be so ruthless that they really intended to blast her with a cannon!
Did they not care about that money at all?
Come to think of it, Nami was simply too inexperienced.
Pirates lived with their heads on the line. Of those who became pirates, who was easy to deal with?
Now that they realized they could not get their money back, Olig and the others naturally chose a more extreme method!
Then, before Nami could think any further, a tremendous boom suddenly erupted!
Boom!!!
A pitch-black object suddenly shot toward her.
With a bang, it blasted a hole in the sea.
This shot did not hit Nami, but it caused the waters around her to surge violently.
Affected by it, Nami's small boat immediately rocked hard, its speed dropping sharply.
"Keep firing!"
Seeing this, Olig coldly gave another order.
"Yes!"
The gunner shouted in response and began preparing the second shot.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
It had to be said that the gunner of such a small pirate crew was rather limited in skill.
He fired four shots in succession, yet none hit Nami's small boat.
But rather than becoming wary, Olig's eyes lit up.
Under the effects of the bombardment, Nami's small boat had not only slowed drastically, but even its direction had become chaotic.
Facing such a situation for the first time, Nami completely panicked.
"What do I do!?"
The smug expression had vanished from her delicate little face, replaced by panic.
Then, looking at the pirate ship drawing closer and closer, she gritted her teeth and began steering blindly. She no longer cared about direction, only wanting to get farther away from the Beast Pirate Crew.
"Chase her! Don't hit her yet. Try using the cannon fire to force her to stop!"
Olig noticed that Nami had veered away from the direction of Arlong Park, and his expression brightened further as he shouted the order.
Now that he saw a chance to catch Nami and reclaim the money, he naturally changed his mind again.
And so it continued.
The two ships gave chase, one fleeing and one pursuing, moving farther and farther from Arlong's waters.
The next moment, the corner of Olig's mouth curled upward.
"I've caught up to you, Nami!"
As soon as he spoke, his short, thin body suddenly expanded, golden fur bursting from every part of him.
In the blink of an eye, Olig transformed from a man under one and a half meters tall into a brawny ape standing a full three meters high!
The surrounding pirates immediately looked up at him with awe!
With a ferocious grin, Olig prepared to leap toward the small boat now within reach.
Nami's face was pale with despair.
But at that moment, an unexpected scene appeared!
A pirate ship suddenly emerged on the sea ahead.
On its railing, a young man seemed to have been drawn by the commotion and silently looked in their direction.
He had handsome features, a tall, slender frame, and a calm demeanor.
There was something strangely familiar about him!
When Olig and the others glanced over, they froze.
Sensing that something was wrong, Nami looked at the young man as well and sharply drew in a breath.
She had seen that face only a few days ago on a bounty poster worth one hundred million Beli!
Before you continue