Sowing

Seeing Nami fall into confusion, Gato felt that was about enough. This had merely been something he did on a whim, perhaps to satisfy his curiosity, or perhaps out of sheer malice. He was looking forward to seeing how Nami, affected by his actions, would change in the future.

While Nami was still unsettled, it was better to get down to business first.

"From what I can tell, the only person you truly care about is your sworn sister. Don't worry, she's definitely fine. I only killed some of the men who surrounded me. So, how about taking me to the treasure?"

"Okay!"

Still somewhat dazed, Nami did not know what was wrong with her or why she had agreed to this man's request. He had clearly carried out a massacre in Cocoyasi Village. Was it because she was afraid?

Probably not. She did not believe she would compromise with someone who had destroyed her hometown simply out of fear.

Yet a voice in her heart seemed to be telling her that there was nothing good about Cocoyasi Village anyway. The voice was hazy and unreal, and the moment it appeared, she forcibly suppressed it, even blaming herself for having such thoughts.

And so, in a trance, Nami completed her job as a guide.

Gato clicked his tongue to himself. Nami really might not have been able to find the place where the treasure was hidden on her own; she had not been bluffing him.

They arrived before a wall. After feeling around for a moment, Nami found a switch. When she pressed it, a hidden door burst open with a rumble.

But that was only the beginning. The hidden door led to an underground maze. Even with Nami guiding him, they spent nearly half an hour winding through it before reaching their destination.

When he opened the final door, Gato knew he had found the right place.

Just as Nami had said, Arlong had poured far too much money into his park and also had to regularly grease the palms of the Marines. There was not much cash left, but it still amounted to over one hundred million Beli.

What filled the place were treasures that he found inconvenient—or was reluctant—to convert into money: strange metals, rare corals and pearls, and other exotic valuables. Gato even found two pieces of wood that appeared to be branches from Treasure Tree Adam.

Of course, Gato had never seen Treasure Tree Adam before. He simply felt, for no apparent reason, that these things were extraordinary. Holding them gave him a sense of peace.

They were also extremely tough. Gato tried slashing one of the branches with Bright Light, only to find it completely unharmed. Even when he tried with all his strength to bend it, he achieved nothing.

That was astonishing. Even steel of the same thickness could not withstand such testing from Gato. Even if these two pieces of wood were not from Treasure Tree Adam, they were undoubtedly priceless treasures.

"Very good. You did well."

Seeing Nami still looking completely out of sorts, Gato felt a little sorry for her after all. She had helped him greatly.

"Hey! Stop spacing out. I actually didn't kill anyone. I only wounded them with my sword. That's not excessive, is it? They were planning to give me a thorough beating."

Nami's face immediately lit up with surprise.

"Really? They're okay? Why did you lie to me?"

Naturally, Gato could not say it was for his own twisted amusement, so he dodged the important part of the question.

"They're fine. They should be able to move around again by now. So you didn't help me for nothing. I did defeat the Arlong Pirates, after all—I'm your benefactor."

"Th-That's wonderful."

Nami was completely immersed in her joy and entirely overlooked the fact that Gato had changed the subject.

No matter how poorly Gato spoke of them, he had only planted a seed in Nami's heart—a seed that might not even sprout.

For now, she would still worry for the safety of Cocoyasi Village's people and rejoice at their well-being.

Seeing that Nami seemed to have lost herself in happiness again, Gato gave two dry coughs. "I'll be leaving first. We'll meet again someday, but that will probably be a long time from now."

Then he wrapped the pile of treasures in cloth he had prepared beforehand, hoisted it over his shoulder, and strode out.

He had no interest in introducing himself to Nami. Though she would grow into a great beauty in the future, she was still just an undeveloped little girl now—not his type. He had no interest in raising a girl from childhood.

With that kind of spare time, he might as well train. Who knew, he might even become one of the Four Emperors.

Nami's navigational skills were indeed impressive, or Arlong would not have taken notice of her at such a young age. But as he had said before, Gato had already decided to reserve that position for Drake.

He was a man of principles, so naturally he could not go provoking Nami again.

Before Nami could react, Gato had already vanished from her sight. She murmured softly, "What a strange person."

Gato could ruthlessly kill so many pirates in one stroke, yet he bore her no ill will. Now that she had come back to herself, Nami vaguely felt that Gato had only been teasing her from the very beginning.

If Gato knew, he would surely remark on how accurate a woman's intuition could be. But everything here no longer had anything to do with him.

He had already returned to his ship. As expected, the villager from Cocoyasi had fled without a trace. Fortunately, he had not been stupid enough to steal Gato's ship. Otherwise, Gato would have shown him what cruelty truly meant.

Marine Headquarters—Marineford.

"What? Are you joking?"

Sengoku slammed his hand onto the desk and shot to his feet. This news had truly given him far too much of a "surprise."

A Marine Headquarters rear admiral had been defeated in the Four Seas—and in the weakest of them, the East Blue? What an utter joke.

He acknowledged Drake's strength. As one of the Marine's new generation of talents, Drake had long caught the attention of the higher-ups. When Sengoku's subordinate suggested sending Drake to carry out this mission, he had nodded in agreement.

Sengoku, the "Resourceful General" renowned for his wisdom, had not expected to make such a miscalculation this time.

The Marine Headquarters vice admiral giving the report forced himself to say, "That is indeed the case. Drake is seriously injured and is still recuperating. He will be unable to take on missions for some time."

Sengoku fell silent and thought for a moment before saying, "Understood. You may leave first. Send Garp in."

He knew he could not blame this vice admiral, nor could he blame any Marine who had made this decision. Gato was simply too far beyond the norm—the greatest variable Sengoku had ever encountered.

Who could have defeated a Marine Headquarters rear admiral right after putting to sea? Not even the Pirate King, One Piece, could have done such a thing. Sengoku decided to strike Gato with thunderous force; otherwise, he truly feared Gato would become too powerful.

Garp had always been the Marine's trump card. He was the most suitable person to act at a time like this, especially since he was more or less the freest person in the Marines.

Sengoku never considered sending a vice admiral to continue the mission. Although there was a vast gap between rear admirals and vice admirals, if Gato could defeat a rear admiral, what was impossible about him defeating a vice admiral as well?

Continuously sending "experience packs" that were only slightly stronger than the protagonist for the protagonist to defeat and level up was not something a resourceful general would do. Having seen Gato's methods, Sengoku wanted to completely snuff out Gato's hope.

He would not tolerate the Marines failing twice against the same person.