Arlong the Fish-Man Had Already Sealed His Own Doom

Although Nojiko was a year older than Yang Cheng, she had never once beaten him in an argument.

Seeing that she was about to suffer another crushing defeat, a disgruntled Nojiko held out her hand to Yang Cheng.

Yang Cheng: (´･w･`)?

Nojiko: "(｀へ´) Stop playing dumb. Nami gets pocket money, so why don't I?

"What, is Nami the only one you consider family? Am I an outsider to you?"

At Nojiko's words, Yang Cheng gave her a speechless look. "But Nojiko, aren't you supposed to be the big sister? I'm the little brother who needs looking after..."

"Oh, please. What kind of little brother lectures his big sister every chance he gets?

"Besides, my little brother is so capable. Shouldn't he look after his big sister a little? Or is our Yang Cheng only partial to little sisters, and not..."

Faced with Nojiko's barrage of complaints, Yang Cheng finally admitted defeat and pulled another ten-thousand-Beli note from his pocket.

Only after receiving "equal treatment" from Yang Cheng did Nojiko leave with a thoroughly satisfied expression.

Watching Nojiko's childish behavior, Yang Cheng couldn't help smiling wryly.

Nojiko was fourteen, and although she was the big sister, she was still just a child in Yang Cheng's eyes.

After finishing his daily workout, Yang Cheng had planned to head into the mountain woods to train his Observation Haki as usual, then make it home just in time for dinner.

But just as he reached the mountain, he spotted a pirate ship docking along the island's coast.

The moment Yang Cheng saw the pirate flag flying over that ship, his expression changed, and he rushed back to Cocoyasi Village as fast as he could.

In an age when pirates ran rampant, there was nothing unusual about them landing on an island and plundering its villages.

Perhaps the words the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, had spoken before his execution were meant to encourage people to chase their dreams.

But he had no idea how many ordinary people would suffer devastating calamities because his actions had ushered in the Great Pirate Era.

Over the years, there had been pirates who landed on this island and tried to plunder Cocoyasi Village.

Most of the time, however, Bellemere had driven them off.

The East Blue was the Weakest Sea, and its pirates weren't particularly strong. Before retiring, Bellemere had at least been a Marine officer.

Dealing with a few no-name small fry wasn't much of a problem for her.

The crew invading Cocoyasi Village this time, however, was no ordinary pirate crew. It was the Arlong Pirates, led by Arlong the Fish-Man.

Having once ventured into the New World, Arlong was clearly far stronger than the third-rate pirate crews of the East Blue.

The physical abilities of the fish-man race far surpassed those of humans, and Arlong had honed his strength during his years with the Sun Pirates. He was clearly more than Bellemere, a retired Marine officer from the East Blue, could handle.

When Yang Cheng returned to Cocoyasi Village, he found it already in chaos.

A group of fish-men had gathered all the villagers together. Their leader, Arlong, was opening his mouth full of sharp teeth as he negotiated with the people of Cocoyasi Village.

Following Fisher Tiger's death, the Sun Pirates had disbanded. Many of their fish-man pirates, including Arlong, had actually been captured and imprisoned in Impel Down.

But after Jinbe accepted an appointment to the Shichibukai, Arlong and the others were recognized as members of his crew, allowing them to be released by the World Government.

That was also why Jinbe had apologized to Nami when he first met her.

If he hadn't let old loyalties sway him into securing Arlong's release from Impel Down, Arlong would never have reached the East Blue, much less come to Cocoyasi Village and wreak havoc on Nami's hometown.

After leaving Impel Down, Arlong had fought Jinbe over their conflicting ideals. Defeated, he had taken the remaining fish-men with him and formed the so-called Arlong Pirates.

Fisher Tiger's death had left them with a deep hatred of humans.

They wanted revenge on the humans who had betrayed them, but they knew full well that their strength wouldn't let them make even the slightest splash in the New World.

So, after traveling from place to place, they had finally chosen to come to the East Blue, the Weakest Sea.

After all, humans were everywhere. If they wanted revenge on those damned inferior creatures, what did it matter where they took it?

And to avoid drawing the World Government's attention, Arlong had shrewdly bribed Captain Nezumi, the Marine officer responsible for these waters.

When they entered Cocoyasi Village, they hadn't come openly to plunder it. Instead, they claimed they were there to protect it.

And since they were providing protection, naturally, their services weren't free.

After all, the daily living expenses of their "Fish-Man Pirates" were considerable, so the people of Cocoyasi Village would have to pay them a protection fee.

It was a hundred thousand Beli per adult and fifty thousand per child. As long as they paid, the Arlong Pirates would protect the islanders from harassment by other pirate crews.

As a retired Marine, Bellemere naturally refused to put up with such extortion.

But when she tried to drive Arlong and his men out of Cocoyasi Village as she had done with other East Blue pirates, she was shocked to discover that the Arlong Pirates were far stronger than she had imagined.

The rifle she had always relied on was useless against these fish-men. Under Arlong's sharp teeth, even the gun itself was crunched to pieces like a crispy snack.

They wanted to make an example of someone to demonstrate their power and show the people of Cocoyasi Village that the Arlong Pirates weren't to be trifled with.

So Arlong had no intention of sparing Bellemere after she stepped forward to defy them.

Arlong kicked Nami and Nojiko aside when they rushed over to check on Bellemere. Seeing him lift Bellemere with one hand and press a pistol to her head, the two girls turned pleading eyes on the people around them.

Unfortunately, Arlong and his men were vicious brutes, and Bellemere had always been the strongest person in their village.

If even she had been defeated so easily, how could ordinary people like them possibly stand a chance?

The villagers had tried to resist, but the powerful fish-men had knocked them all down with ease.

"Don't kill Bellemere! It's a hundred thousand Beli for one adult, right? I can give you the money."

Over the years, Nami had gotten quite a bit of pocket money out of Yang Cheng, and being the little miser she was, she had saved it all.

So when Nami and Nojiko pooled their money and actually scraped together a hundred thousand Beli, not only Arlong but even the battered Bellemere was astonished that her daughters had so much money.

After all, over all these years, once household expenses were paid, she had barely managed to save a little over a hundred thousand Beli from the Orange Grove's income.

Just moments ago, she had been wondering how to use that money to protect Yang Cheng and the two girls if she died.

Yet her two daughters turned out to have even more money than she did!