Nojiko

Just as Genzo finished speaking,

another figure soon stepped forward from among the villagers.

She had short blue hair, with a striking red headband tied around her head. Her sun-kissed skin was slightly brown, and she wore a tank top, long pants, and white sneakers. She was quite beautiful, with a particular resilience in her expression. Most notably, however, large tattoos covered both her arms and upper chest, making her extremely conspicuous.

"Don't be so cold. Since we're already here, why not go in and take a look?"

Genzo turned around. When he saw who had spoken, he immediately covered his face with one hand. "Why are you joining in this nonsense too, Nojiko?"

"I'm curious. Can't help it."

Hearing Genzo's words, the woman put her hands on her hips and smiled faintly. "And no matter what anyone says, I have to see what the bounty hunter who took down Arlong looks like. It's been years since I've seen Nami cry like that... and then smile like that."

"As Nami's sister, and as a victim of the Arlong Pirates, I want to remember what our benefactor looks like."

With that, she swept her gaze over the other villagers. "I think everyone feels the same way. That's why we all came here together."

"Isn't that right?"

Hearing the girl's words, some villagers couldn't help chuckling.

Others nodded repeatedly and agreed. "Yes, yes, exactly!"

Seeing the villagers react like this, Genzo was helpless, but there was nothing more he could say.

After all, she was telling the truth. No matter how tough he tried to sound, even he had followed because he was worried about Nami. In that sense, he was no different from the other villagers.

"Honestly! The lot of you always start making a fuss together the moment something happens."

In the end, Genzo could only shake his head. "I really can't do anything with you people. Once you've had a look, leave immediately. If Nami gets angry, don't expect me to handle it."

"Wow, you're being pretty reasonable this time, Genzo."

Seeing this, the girl broke into a bright smile. "Don't worry. If Nami really gets angry, Genzo and I are here, aren't we?"

The one speaking at that moment was Nojiko.

Nami's adoptive older sister.

At present, she and Genzo, who had spoken earlier, could be considered Nami's closest family.

There was no need to mention Nojiko. After Bell-mère died, she had always stayed by Nami's side, protecting their adoptive mother Bell-mère's orange trees with her. Whenever Nami felt upset, troubled, or miserable, she would return here and pour out her heart to Nojiko.

As for Genzo, to Nami and Nojiko, he was practically a father figure.

He had once been Cocoyasi Village's resident police officer and often looked after the villagers. He paid particular attention to Bell-mère's family, where a woman was raising two daughters unrelated to her by blood. Ever since Nami had been too young to remember much, he had often visited them. But because of his fierce-looking face, little Nami would often cry whenever she saw him. To improve his image, he began wearing a windmill hat on his head. Incredibly, little Nami would laugh whenever she saw Genzo like that.

When the Arlong Pirates came, he had also stepped forward, only to be beaten black and blue by the Fish-Men. The countless hideous scars across his face and body were medals from his failed struggle against them.

After Bell-mère died, the two young children lost the person they relied on. It could be said that only through the villagers' care had the two girls grown into who they were today. Everyone in Cocoyasi Village was deeply connected to them.

The villagers had secretly followed them to Arlong Park now because of that bond.

After successfully persuading the obstructive Genzo, Nojiko took the lead and hurried ahead of the other villagers to Arlong Park's entrance. She poked her head out and cautiously looked inside.

"Nami? Are you in there?"

Nojiko asked softly.

With Fish-Man corpses scattered everywhere, even cheerful and bold Nojiko instinctively lowered her voice, as if afraid of disturbing something. She did not dare speak loudly.

Naturally, her call received no response, and Nojiko did not see Nami nearby either.

Instead, as her gaze continued sweeping over the aftermath of the Arlong Pirates' destruction—

"Huh?"

Nojiko's eyes suddenly widened, and she rubbed them in disbelief.

She did not see Nami, but she saw an even stranger sight. At the seawater inlet of Arlong Park, amid the battlefield littered with rubble and piled-up corpses, someone dressed in casual clothes was lying on a lounge chair and sunbathing as if he were on vacation.

For an instant, Nojiko doubted her own eyes. Had the destruction of the Arlong Pirates made her so happy that she was hallucinating?

But she soon realized that the sight before her was no illusion.

Because not long after she called Nami's name, the man lying on the lounge chair actually raised his head slightly, removed his sunglasses, and looked her way.

"Oh? Quite a few people showed up."

Li Mingyuan raised an eyebrow.

There were even quite a few familiar faces among them.

Li Mingyuan's eyes swept past Arlong Park's entrance. With his eyesight, he could clearly make out every face there, including the villagers still some distance away from the entrance who probably had not even seen him yet.

"Um, are you...?"

After hesitating for a moment, Nojiko turned back and gave a few instructions to the villagers behind her. Then she walked straight into Arlong Park, approached the man on the lounge chair, and asked.

"Isn't it obvious just from looking? Weren't you shouting outside about wanting to see what I looked like?"

"I'm the bounty hunter you were talking about."

Li Mingyuan was still lying on the lounge chair with his hands behind his head. Even when Nojiko came up to him, he showed no intention of getting up. With a lazy expression, he said, "If you're looking for Nami, she's in the main building, not here."

After hearing Li Mingyuan's words, Nojiko did not immediately go look for Nami.

Instead, she focused her attention on the man before her. Her gaze repeatedly passed over Li Mingyuan's face and physique as she carefully examined him, with a trace of surprise in her expression.

He was somewhat different from the bounty hunter she had imagined. The man before her looked exceptionally clean-cut and handsome.

"Hey... you're the man who defeated Arlong?" Nojiko asked curiously.