"The Going Merry! I see it!"
On the island where the Marine Base stood, with Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji covering their retreat, Usopp, Nami, and the others finally reached the shore safely. They immediately spotted the Going Merry sitting alone by the coast.
"Get aboard! Then wait for Luffy and the others!"
Without another word, the four boarded the ship and got to work.
They weighed anchor and raised the sails, and the Going Merry slowly began to move as they waited for Luffy to return. But as Bellemere watched, her expression darkened.
"No, we'll never escape like this..."
"What do you mean?"
Beside her, Usopp asked nervously, his legs trembling.
"The Marines replaced all their warships five years ago. A wind-powered sailing ship can't possibly match their steam engines. Even if we make it out to sea, they'll still catch us!"
"!!!"
Usopp, Nami, and Nojiko all looked anxious.
"What do we do now?"
"No! Are we going to get caught by the Marines before our adventure even starts?"
Nami stared anxiously toward the island, where flames from the Marine Base lit up the sky.
Just then, she seemed to sense something and turned toward the sea. Thick clouds covered the far horizon, and her eyes lit up.
"I've got it..."
"!!!"
Without hesitation, Nami pointed and said,
"Turn the sails that way. If we're lucky, we might be able to escape..."
Nami felt as though she had had a very strange dream.
In that dream, a crew of Fish-Man pirates led by someone named Arlong invaded Cocoyasi Village. Bellemere was killed by that Fish-Man while protecting her and Nojiko. To protect the village, Nami agreed to his terms: if she could gather one hundred million Beli, she could buy back the village and her own freedom.
But