Cocoyasi Village.
After a long time, the village held another feast.
With Arlong and the Arlong Empire gone, the villagers decided to celebrate for three days and three nights!
During the feast, Natsuya, who had brought an end to it all, naturally became the center of attention.
"Ha ha, Brother Natsuya, you're our village's great benefactor!!"
"Come on, Natsuya, let me toast you!!"
"Natsuya, thank you so much. You have to stay here a little longer!"
"I'll remember you forever, Big Brother Natsuya!"
Genzo, the village chief, and the others eagerly dragged him off to drink, seemingly forgetting that he was a criminal with a hundred-million-berry bounty.
Meanwhile, the sisters Nami and Nojiko went to a grassy slope near another part of Cocoyasi Village's coast.
This was where their mother, Bellemere, had been buried.
Before the gravestone on the slope, where oranges had been placed, Nami and Nojiko smiled as they poured out their hearts.
"Bellemere, we came to see you!"
"Did you know? That awful Arlong is dead!"
"My sister, everyone else, and I won't be oppressed by them anymore!"
The two sisters cried and laughed, spending an entire day before Bellemere's grave.
As they were about to return to Cocoyasi Village, Nami suddenly asked Nojiko in a low voice, "Nojiko, if I really become a pirate, will Bellemere scold me?"
Nojiko froze. Seemingly realizing something, she glanced at the young man in the suit who was surrounded by Genzo and the others in the distance, then suddenly understood.
She looked at her younger sister and smiled. "When have you ever listened to Bellemere?"
Nami was stunned for a moment, then gave a mischievous smile. "I don't want to!"
As she spoke, she suddenly broke into a run toward the feast.
On the final day of the feast.
Natsuya, the star of the celebration, quietly vanished.
At Cocoyasi Village's shore.
The pirate ship that had docked there earlier slowly started moving, pulling away from the coast.
Natsuya stood on the deck, gazing at Cocoyasi Village from afar. Then he gave a silent laugh and turned around.
But at that moment, hurried footsteps suddenly rang out along the shore.
Immediately afterward, a small figure rushed out from the coast and leaped into the air.
With a smack.
"Ah!"
Nami grabbed the pirate ship's railing and cried out in pain.
She had arrived a little too late. She had failed to jump aboard and was left hanging outside the ship.
Then she looked at Natsuya pitifully. "Lord Natsuya..."
The corners of Natsuya's lips curled up. He reached out and pulled her aboard.
"What are you doing here?"
Looking at the little girl before him, Natsuya knowingly asked.
Nami flashed a broad smile. "Hee hee, I came to follow Lord Natsuya."
Hearing that, the smile on Natsuya's face unconsciously grew.
After thinking for a moment, he asked again, "You're still so young. Are you really going to follow me? I'm heading for the Grand Line next. The dangers there are no joke."
Nami's eyes lit up. "Lord Natsuya, you're really going to the Grand Line? That's great!"
Then she proudly raised her little chin. "Lord Natsuya, don't let my age fool you. I've already traveled all across the East Blue."
"This place can't satisfy me anymore. I want to go somewhere bigger and see a broader world!"
A broader world?
Natsuya smiled. "Then I'll give you a ride!"
And so, the two figures gradually disappeared into the distance with the pirate ship.
Just as the two of them left, a large crowd suddenly emerged from the shore.
It was Genzo, Nojiko, and all the other villagers of Cocoyasi Village.
With both main figures disappearing one after another, there was no way they could have failed to notice.
But they did not disturb them. They simply watched the two leave in silence.
At last, beneath everyone's gaze, the pirate ship vanished completely over the sea.
Not long after Natsuya and Nami left, a medium-sized warship suddenly sailed across the sea!
"Huh, is that...!?"
"A warship? Marines!?"
"Didn't Natsuya wipe out all the Marines?"
"Wait, could they be Marines here to take over the branch!?"
At the sight of the medium-sized warship, Genzo, Nojiko, and the others were all stunned.
Colonel Mouse and his men had also been eliminated by Natsuya, so there should not have been any Marines here.
But they quickly came to their senses.
Most likely, another branch—or even Marine Headquarters—had sent people to investigate and take over after losing contact with Colonel Mouse and the others.
But then, something that left Genzo, Nojiko, and most of the others utterly shocked happened!
The commander of that medium-sized warship was a burly old man wearing a dog-headed hat.
His temples were streaked with gray, and he had a square, upright face. He walked with a powerful stride, showing none of an ordinary old man's frailty. Instead, he looked vigorous and immensely strong!
"The Hero of the Navy, Garp!?"
That image was deeply ingrained in people's hearts throughout the East Blue—no, throughout the entire world.
Thus, Genzo and most of the others recognized the old man's identity at once!
That was right!
He was the world-famous Hero of the Navy, Iron Fist Garp!
Genzo and the others never expected that the Marine officer sent to take over the branch would be such a major figure!
"Ha ha, you're all here to welcome me!"
At that moment, Garp descended from the medium-sized warship with a hearty laugh.
Just as Genzo, Nojiko, and the others were unsure how to respond, Garp casually continued, "By the way, is there someone named Natsuya in your village?"
"Have any of you seen him? Does anyone know where he is now!?"
At those words, Genzo, Nojiko, and the others immediately changed expression.
So Garp and his men had not come because of Colonel Mouse and the others. They had come for Natsuya!
But naturally, Genzo, Nojiko, and the others could not reveal any information about Natsuya, not even to the Hero of the Navy.
One by one, they began playing dumb.
"Who's Natsuya!?"
"Never seen him!!"
"Never even heard of him!"
"Mister, are you the Hero of the Navy, Garp? Could you give me an autograph?"
At that moment, Nojiko had no idea where the sudden inspiration came from, but she immediately latched onto Garp and asked for an autograph.
Inspired by her, Genzo and the others surrounded Garp one after another, loudly calling him their idol.
Garp was speechless for a while and could only send his men out to investigate.
They found nothing in the village, but they did discover the ruined remains of the Arlong Empire's buildings.
Then, based on the testimony of several surviving Fish-Man lackeys, they quickly found a lead.
It turned out that Natsuya really had been in Cocoyasi Village several days ago, and he had clashed fiercely with the Arlong Pirates, who had been entrenched there.
Oh, and Colonel Mouse and the others from the local Marine Branch had also been involved.
In the end, Colonel Mouse and his men, along with nearly all of the Arlong Pirates, had been wiped out, while Natsuya's whereabouts were unknown.
"Eh!? Was I too late?"
Judging from the situation, Natsuya had likely left Cocoyasi Village after wiping out the Arlong Pirates. Upon learning this information, Garp slapped his forehead in frustration.
His adjutant's face immediately darkened.
Because of Garp's lack of urgency, they had taken almost a week after receiving the mission to reach Cocoyasi Village, their destination.
After such a long time, wasn't it perfectly normal for Natsuya to have escaped?
But Garp soon laughed carelessly again. "Ha ha, it's fine. That Natsuya probably won't stay in the East Blue for long."
"If he has ambition, he'll definitely go to the Grand Line!"
"Since that's the case, we'll go to Loguetown, the gateway to the Grand Line, and wait for him there!"
Hearing that, the adjutant naturally had nothing more to say.
And so, after cleaning up the aftermath here, they set off directly for Loguetown.
Before you continue