Rejected

Rejected!

Mark was not discouraged. He continued to Nami, "You have an incredible talent for navigation. Now that Arlong has been dealt with, are you really willing to give up that talent? Join my pirate crew..."

Nami slowly walked to the water's edge and looked at the azure surface.

After a long while, she said, "Mark, I'm sorry, but I still have to refuse."

"For the sake of the village and Nojiko, I became a pariah in the eyes of the villagers. Even my former neighbors would avoid me whenever they saw me. Whenever I returned to the village, they would shut their doors. But I don't blame them."

After taking a deep breath, she glanced at the Arlong Pirates tattoo on her left arm and continued:

"As long as I gathered one hundred million Beli quickly enough, Arlong would spare Cocoyasi Village and the innocent villagers. Then... everything I gave up would have been worth it."

"I just never expected those days to suddenly end today."

As Nami spoke, tears suddenly streamed down her face, and her voice choked up.

Mark silently watched this girl who had borne far too much in silence, and he felt a little bitter inside.

"Thank you for saving everyone in Orange Town, and thank you for recognizing my abilities. But I don't want to join any pirate crew. I'm truly sorry..."

Mark breathed in the sea breeze and said calmly, "All right. Since that's how it is, I won't force you."

After hearing Nami say so much, he finally understood the difference between himself and Luffy from the original story.

It was not that he lacked Luffy's protagonist aura.

Rather, some things had to happen step by step. Nami had first forged deep friendships with the Straw Hat Pirates, and only after the Arlong Pirates had been destroyed did she join the Straw Hat Pirates.

He had appeared too suddenly. Nami was still somewhat resistant to the very idea of pirate crews. Even if they had had some contact as children, that had been over a decade ago.

Even though he had killed Arlong and wiped out the Arlong Pirates, getting someone who resisted pirate crews to join one was no simple matter. Besides, Mark was not someone who liked forcing others.

All he could say was that fate had arranged it this way. Perhaps Nami was ultimately meant to belong to the Straw Hat Pirates.

Since he could not get her to join, it was time for Mark to leave as well.

For the next destination.

But before leaving, Nami still took him to meet Nojiko and the others.

When they learned that Mark was Bawatt's son, Nojiko did not react much. A-Jian, on the other hand, became extremely emotional.

It turned out that A-Jian and Bawatt had once been comrades. They had both served as village police officers and had been close friends who could talk about anything.

A-Jian naturally came to care for Mark as well.

The conflict between Nami and the villagers was also successfully resolved through the explanations of Chiu Chiu, a master of Mouth Cannon.

Especially after learning that Nami had been trying to collect one hundred million Beli, the villagers were overwhelmed with guilt toward her.

"Boss, Arlong's Shark Superb has been remodeled. We can set sail now!" Chiu Chiu came to Mark's side and said softly.

Mark perked up.

The Shark Superb had been the pirate ship of the Arlong Pirates. It was a medium-sized pirate ship, on an entirely different level from his little boat.

There had not even been room for Chiu Chiu to sleep on his pirate ship at night, and he had had to squeeze into the same room as Daisy.

The two of them and one bird already occupied the bedroom and kitchen. If another newcomer came aboard, there would be nowhere to stay. They would have to sleep on the deck.

"Oh, right, Boss... there was an unexpected bonus too!" Chiu Chiu continued.

Mark looked at Chiu Chiu, who blinked at him.

It looked like the bonus was quite substantial.

Now that the ship was ready, it was time for them to go.

"Uncle A-Jian, Nojiko, Nami, we're setting sail again."

Mark said his farewells to A-Jian and the others.

A-Jian and the others insisted on seeing Mark and his crew off at the shore. Unable to refuse, Mark could only agree.

When they reached the shore, Mark was astonished to discover that... the Shark Superb had been completely transformed.

The huge nose that had once resembled a sawshark had been remodeled by Chiu Chiu into a bird's beak like his own. The ring of iron teeth around the pirate ship had been changed into golden feather-like decorations.

The openings around the ship had also been covered with a layer of golden feathers, while the Arlong Pirates' flag on the sail had been replaced with plain white canvas.

The Shark Superb had completely changed. It had gone from a shark to a golden bird.

"You... did this?" Mark stared in disbelief.

The remodeling project was enormous. He had thought Chiu Chiu had only made a few simple alterations.

"Sharks are too ugly, Boss. Doesn't the pirate ship look much cooler now?" Chiu Chiu puffed out his chest.

Mark was speechless. Maybe only Chiu Chiu thought it looked cool.

Didn't the ship's appearance just look like an oversized Chiu Chiu?

"Forget it. Daisy... let's get aboard and see what our new ship is like!"

Mark did not have high hopes for this ship. After all, it had once been Arlong's ride, and he had no habit of taking someone else's leftovers.

Once they had saved enough Beli, he could replace it with a pirate ship that truly belonged to them.

"Goodbye! Uncle A-Jian! Goodbye, Nojiko and Nami!"

After boarding the deck, Mark waved farewell to A-Jian and the others.

"Goodbye, Mark... Remember to come back and visit Cocoyasi Village someday. Everyone here is very grateful to you!" A-Jian said.

"Goodbye..."

Mark suddenly said, "Oh, right, Uncle A-Jian. In a few days, Marines will definitely come ask you about the 16th Marine Branch. When that happens, don't hide anything. Just say that I, Mark, did it—that our Moss Pirates did it!"

The Moss Pirates was the name Mark, Daisy, and Chiu Chiu had decided on to commemorate the people of Moss Town.

"But if we do that..." A-Jian said hesitantly.

"Uncle A-Jian, don't worry about it... We're pirates, after all. We don't even have bounties yet. What kind of pirates are pirates without bounties? Hahaha!" Mark waved as he raised the sails.

"Goodbye, Uncle A-Jian. Goodbye, Nami... Goodbye, Cocoyasi Village!"

With a splash, the sea breeze rose... and the pirate ship began to move!

A-Jian watched Mark's pirate crew depart, muttering to himself, "The Moss Pirates..."

With this, Mark was also allowing Cocoyasi Village to cut ties with him. And by telling the Marines the truth about the 16th Marine Branch, they could receive a considerable sum of money. Even as Mark left, he was still thinking of them!

In truth, Mark had not thought as much as A-Jian believed. What he had said to A-Jian was the truth.

A bounty represented fame. Since he had become a pirate, naturally he had to build his reputation.

If word spread that he had destroyed a Marine branch, his fame would naturally grow by quite a bit.

At the very least, he would no longer be a nobody in the East Blue.

With fame, many things would become much easier.