Desperate Nami

Early in the morning, golden sunlight spilled across the sea.

A small boat sped over the waves, with white jets bursting from its stern from time to time, the recoil propelling it forward.

After several hours of sailing, Luo Wen drew closer and closer to Cocoyasi Village.

A small island came into view a thousand meters away.

"Good. Looks like I'm almost there."

Luo Wen smiled faintly.

In order to beat Luffy to the punch and make Nami his navigator, Luo Wen had set out immediately after collecting his bounty.

Luo Wen guided the boat to shore.

On the beach, Luo Wen saw a familiar figure.

Nami, with her short orange hair and slender figure, was sobbing softly on the sand.

"Why? I clearly gathered one hundred million Beli, so why won't he leave the village alone?"

Nami felt as though all her previous efforts had been nothing but a joke.

She had painstakingly gathered one hundred million Beli and drawn nautical charts for the Arlong Pirates for eight years.

Eight years of bitterness had brought her nothing but Arlong's mockery.

And that damned Captain Nezumi—he was clearly a Marine, yet he had colluded with Arlong.

"You're so naive. Pirates don't keep their promises, hahaha!"

"I never intended to give the village back to you."

"Everyone here has to pay me one hundred thousand Beli every month. And you have to keep drawing charts for me. I'd hate to leave!"

Arlong's ugly Fish-Man face replayed endlessly in Nami's mind, stabbing into her heart again and again.

"I knew it all along."

"How could I be so stupid? How could I believe a pirate's promise?!"

Nami burst into tears, grinding her teeth as her hatred for Arlong reached its peak.

Eight years ago, her adoptive mother Bellemere had been murdered by Arlong while protecting her.

Over the past eight years, the Arlong Pirates had brutally exploited the village. Anyone who failed to pay their Beli each month would be killed.

"And the villagers... everyone has gone to risk their lives, but how could they possibly be Arlong's match?!"

Thinking of the villagers charging at the Arlong Pirates with hoes and kitchen knives, Nami fell even deeper into despair.

"Everyone will die!"

Tears streamed endlessly down Nami's face, and her heart was utterly dead.

Those simple, kind villagers, along with her family—Nojiko—would all be killed by Arlong.

She hated him to the very core, yet she did not even have a shred of hope to resist.

Beneath the golden sunlight, she could not feel the slightest warmth. This world of pirates was so cold and sinful.

Someone, please help me. Anyone will do.

Even if it's a demon, I'm willing to give everything!

Nami prayed in her heart.

Suddenly, a deep, warm voice reached her ears.

"Hello. Which way to the Arlong Pirates?"

Nami looked up and saw a figure standing before her.

He had a heroic face and a tall, muscular body brimming with powerful strength.

Strands of black aura curled around him, making him look rather like a demon.

"It's you—the strongest Bounty Hunter in the East Blue!"

Nami's dead heart suddenly came alive. She had encountered Luo Wen once at the Baratie.

At the time, Krieg had confronted Luo Wen, and she had slipped away amid the chaos.

She had not expected to see the newspaper the very next day. The famed Krieg had been killed by Luo Wen, and the Krieg Pirates had been wiped out to the last man.

Nami had even fantasized that it would be wonderful if Luo Wen came to Cocoyasi Village.

Even before Luo Wen killed Krieg, she had heard stories about him.

He was hailed as the strongest Bounty Hunter in the East Blue. Countless vicious pirate crews had been destroyed at his hands.

Unfortunately, he usually slaughtered every pirate in an entire sea region before moving on to another place.

When she met Luo Wen at the Baratie, Nami had considered inviting him as well.

But she had been forced to join the Arlong Pirates, and Nami feared that she would be eliminated on the spot.

At the time, she had still believed Arlong's lies and was gathering one hundred million Beli to buy back the village.

Thinking of it now, Nami truly regretted it.

If she had given that one hundred million Beli to Luo Wen, Cocoyasi Village should have been liberated long ago.

"Mr. Luo Wen, please help us get rid of the Arlong Pirates!"

"I'm willing to give everything, even my life!"

Nami wiped the tears from her face, her expression resolute as she bowed deeply to Luo Wen.

To save the village and its people, and to take revenge on the Arlong Pirates, she was willing to give anything.

"Mm. Then lead the way."

Luo Wen nodded lightly. He did not say something foolish like he expected nothing in return.

He was still counting on Nami to become his navigator, and he also needed the Arlong Pirates' bounty and treasure.

"Thank you, Mr. Luo Wen!"

Nami was overjoyed.

At that moment, Luo Wen, wreathed in black aura, looked like a radiant hero in her eyes.

Nami walked ahead to lead the way, introducing Luo Wen to the Arlong Pirates' intelligence.

"Mr. Luo Wen, the Krieg Pirates you defeated before were known as the overlords of the East Blue."

"But in truth, the Arlong Pirates are the strongest pirate force in the East Blue."

"Their leader, Arlong, has a bounty of twenty million Beli. He is a great pirate who returned from the Grand Line."

Nami's expression was grave. She knew only too well how terrifying the Arlong Pirates were.

Krieg had ventured into the Grand Line for seven days. Of his fifty pirate ships, only one flagship remained, and his entire crew had suffered devastating losses.

The Arlong Pirates, however, had stayed on the Grand Line for many years. Their strength absolutely surpassed that of the Krieg Pirates.

"Mm."

Luo Wen nodded, looking unconcerned.

"I know you can defeat Arlong, but he has several officers helping him."

"They're all Fish-Men, and they possess greater strength than humans!"

Nami grew anxious. This was no time to be careless.

"Don't worry. They're no match for me."

Seeing Nami fret helplessly, Luo Wen comforted her.

To be honest, he did not take the Arlong Pirates seriously at all.

They were merely a few cowardly, bullying Fish-Man trash. Without their boss's protection, they could not survive on the Grand Line, so they had come to the East Blue to beg for scraps.

If it were Jinbe of the Seven Warlords, Luo Wen would need to take the fight seriously.

But trash like Arlong, just like Krieg, could be taken out in a single move.

"Anyway, you must be careful."

Nami had been born in the East Blue and had lived under Arlong's oppression since childhood.

"If you can't beat him, then please make sure you run away."

Nami bit her lower lip and spoke with difficulty.

Her fear of Arlong ran deep in her bones. Even though Luo Wen's record was astonishing, she still worried instinctively.

Nami had already prepared herself for failure.

"Don't think so much. To me, the Arlong Pirates are nothing."

Luo Wen pinched two fingers together, leaving a gap no bigger than a grain of rice.

"That would be great, haha."

Nami forced a smile, though she was still uneasy.

In her understanding, Luo Wen and Arlong should have been evenly matched.

Arlong was the strongest pirate in the East Blue, while Luo Wen was the strongest Bounty Hunter in the East Blue.

Even if there was a difference between them, it should not have been much.

With the Arlong Pirates' officers added in, Nami did not think Luo Wen stood much chance of winning.

Nami had never left the East Blue, so her horizons were still too limited.

She had seen the image in the newspaper of Luo Wen cleaving a large ship apart with one sword strike, and she knew he was a powerful man, strong enough to dominate the East Blue.

But Nami did not know that the power of that one strike alone was enough for Luo Wen to establish a place for himself on the Grand Line.

With strength like that, he would have been more than qualified to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

The Arlong she saw as powerful was no different from an ant in Luo Wen's eyes.