At the Arlong Empire complex.
Kuroobi, Hatchan, and the others told Arlong that Natsuya had appeared together with Nami.
Arlong's expression immediately darkened.
"Natsuya!?"
Like Kuroobi and Hatchan, Arlong's face turned grave upon hearing Natsuya's name.
Especially after learning that Natsuya was with Nami.
If Natsuya had been alone, he would not have reacted so strongly.
But the problem was that Natsuya was with Nami!
That made the situation rather suspicious.
Just then, Kuroobi frowned and said, "Arlong, do you think that Natsuya was brought here by Nami to deal with us!?"
In fact, Kuroobi had entertained that thought the moment he saw Natsuya. He had merely voiced it now.
Arlong's expression darkened further at those words, while Hatchan and the others' faces changed.
In fact, that was precisely what worried them most!
They did not care if Nami was hanging around pirates, but this pirate was Natsuya, the man who had shaken the East Blue. And Nami had even brought him back to Cocoyasi Village.
That made things serious!
It was highly possible that Nami had somehow established a connection with Natsuya and invited him here to deal with the Arlong Pirates!
Nami might nominally be an officer of the Arlong Pirates, but both sides knew perfectly well that their relationship was fragile and could fall apart at any time!
At that moment, Chew, another officer of the Arlong Pirates and a kissing Fish-Man, suddenly said in a deep voice, "Arlong, should we strike first!?"
He also believed there was a strong possibility that Natsuya had been invited by Nami to deal with them, so he immediately considered making the first move.
After all, according to Kuroobi and the others, neither Natsuya nor Nami had seen them.
In other words, Natsuya and Nami were exposed while they remained hidden. If they struck first, they would hold a considerable advantage.
Arlong's expression shifted at those words.
He truly did not believe that Nami's appearance with Natsuya could bring any benefit to the Arlong Pirates.
If that was the case, striking first did seem like a good idea.
Hatchan and the others, however, looked slightly uneasy.
"Hey, hey, that guy has a bounty of a hundred million Beli!"
"Uh, I think we shouldn't act rashly. We should think this through!!"
"A hundred million Beli... Natsuya must be incredibly strong, right!?"
"Yeah, don't attack yet. What if he's just passing through!?"
Hatchan and some of the other Fish-Men advocated waiting and watching for the time being.
After all, that man had a bounty of a hundred million!
Having come from the Grand Line, they all knew that such a bounty would make someone a notable figure even there, much less in the East Blue!
In fact, they were no longer quite suited to call themselves the overlords of the East Blue, because Natsuya's bounty was five times Arlong's!
Of course, bounties could not completely determine someone's strength. After all, the amounts issued by the Marines were often somewhat inflated.
For example, Robin, the sole survivor of Ohara, had received a bounty of eighty million Beli when she was eight years old.
And clearly, her strength at the time had not matched her bounty at all.
But whether Natsuya truly possessed strength worthy of a hundred million Beli was hard to say!
Yet after hearing this, the usually composed Kuroobi voiced an opinion different from Hatchan and the others. "I think Chew's suggestion is good. Perhaps we should strike first..."
Kuroobi then explained his thoughts.
Simply put, he believed that the Arlong Pirates should be able to fight Natsuya.
The man's bounty was frightening, but whether he possessed strength to match it was indeed another matter.
More importantly, he was a Devil Fruit user, and Fish-Men like them held an enormous advantage against people like that.
Another reason was that Arlong was far from the only fighter among them.
Even ordinary Fish-Men possessed physical abilities more than ten times those of ordinary humans.
In other words, every one of them was a warrior. They could join Arlong in surrounding and attacking Natsuya!
With that in mind, even the mature and steady Kuroobi felt that they had a strong chance of winning.
Arlong immediately nodded.
In fact, he thought the same.
There was no denying that humans possessed many powerful individuals, but he did not believe such a person would appear in this weakest of seas.
The more likely explanation for Natsuya's hundred-million-Beli bounty was that he possessed some unspeakable secret.
If that was the case, then the Arlong Pirates could certainly fight him!
Of course, to be safe, it would be better to notify his "old friend," Colonel Mouse.
That greedy fellow would surely be very interested in a pirate with a hundred-million-Beli bounty!
The Marines under Colonel Mouse might be insignificant in strength, but they should still be capable of testing Natsuya's abilities first.
That way, they would naturally have nothing to worry about.
If Natsuya was not that strong, they would attack without hesitation. But if he truly was powerful, they could stay hidden and withdraw.
And so it was.
Arlong promptly contacted Colonel Mouse.
Sure enough.
Colonel Mouse was greatly shocked upon receiving the news.
"What? Natsuya is in Cocoyasi Village!?"
Once his shock passed, delight appeared on his rat-like face. A fierce greed flashed through his squinting little eyes.
If he could claim that hundred-million-Beli bounty, he would never have to worry about food or clothing for the rest of his life!
Colonel Mouse greedily thought to himself.
However, this greedy man was not completely stupid.
He knew that Arlong had most likely not told him this news out of goodwill.
If Natsuya had been so easy to deal with, Arlong would have already led his men to take care of him rather than informing him before doing so.
With that thought, Colonel Mouse began to hesitate.
A hundred-million-Beli bounty was tempting, but whether he could actually swallow it was another question.
After considering it, he ultimately reported the intelligence to his superiors.
Without question, Natsuya's whereabouts were extremely important intelligence.
Thus, the information was quickly passed up through the ranks until it finally reached the Fleet Admiral's Office at Marine Headquarters.
After Fleet Admiral Sengoku received the news, he pondered for a moment before instructing his subordinate, "Garp is still vacationing in the East Blue, right? Pass this information on to him."
The subordinate's eyes immediately filled with reverence.
Garp, the Hero of the Navy!
Was Sengoku planning to have the Hero of the Navy take action!?
Natsuya was in trouble!
Before you continue