Cocoyasi Village.
Nami rowed a small boat ashore, clutching a chest.
The treasure stolen from Gawain's ship had been converted to cash—exactly 120 million Berries.
It was all here.
Her hope to buy back the village.
"With this, I can save Cocoyasi!" she vowed.
Gawain and his crew flashed in her mind, slowing her steps, but she pressed forward.
The village was as empty as ever—no people, no vendors, just like her memories.
But the usual accusing stares were gone.
"Everyone…" Nami felt a gnawing unease.
She quickened her pace toward the orange grove at the village's edge.
Nojiko waited there, her expression hardening at Nami's approach. "Why are you back?!"
Nami, startled, lifted the chest with a smile. "Nojiko, I've got enough to buy back the village!"
Nojiko's lips tightened. "You can't."
"How? I've spent years with Arlong—he's never broken a promise about money!" Nami's hope shone, but it stabbed Nojiko like needles.
"Then why is the deal to bring the money to him? What if you can't?" Nojiko asked.
Nami's pupils shrank, recalling her previous stolen treasure.
She'd doubted her suspicions—how could Carina know where she hid it or where her hometown was?
If not Carina, then who?
The answer was obvious.
Nojiko voiced it. "From the start, he never meant to let you buy the village. It's just a game to him."
"He watches you hope, despair, then hope again, feeding his sick desires!"
"He knows every Berry you've hidden!"
"There's no hope, Nami."
"I've prepared a boat in the grove. Take the money and go. Start over where no one resents you."
Nami shook her head stubbornly. "What about everyone? Ajiken?"
Nojiko looked away, silent.
Nami realized the source of her unease, shouting, "They went to face Arlong? They'll die!"
In panic, she turned to run, but Nojiko grabbed her shoulder.
Slap!
A red handprint bloomed on Nami's cheek.
Nojiko roared, "How naive can you be?!"
"This was everyone's choice. They'd rather die under Arlong's claws than burden you forever!"
Her voice broke as Nami's tears flooded, her words like a child's whimper. "That's why I can't leave, sister."
Nami broke free, sprinting toward Arlong Park, clutching the chest she saw as hope.
She believed, no matter how vile Arlong was, he'd honor his word about money.
…
At the same time, outside Arlong Park's gates, Ajiken checked a rusty flintlock pistol, ensuring it could fire.
Hidden when Arlong arrived years ago, the gun was worn, its parts corroded.
Behind him, villagers gripped pitchforks and wooden sticks.
They marched toward the gates, furious.
"Damn it!" one growled. "What kind of life has Nami lived? She carried our hopes, but it was all a lie—Arlong never meant to keep his word."
"I can accept him taking our lives, but not trampling Nami's hope!"
"Today, her suffering ends. Without us dragging her down, she'll live well. We've only ever been cruel to her."
"Damn Fish-Men!"
Angry voices rose, some trembling with fear, others unsteady, wary of death.
But none retreated.
Ajiken led, head bowed, emotions swirling as he heard their words. "If Nami could hear this, she'd be happy. But she can't, and she mustn't."
He pictured Bell-mère, the woman who teased him with colorful jokes.
If not for Arlong's crew, maybe I'd have had a chance?
A flush, like years ago, warmed his face. "Bell-mère, you raised a fine daughter~"
A breeze spun his pinwheel hat.
His tangled emotions settled, and he looked ahead.
Arlong Park loomed.
"Arlong!" he called.
Two Fish-Men guards, eyelids drooping, glanced up. Surprise turned to scorn.
"These humans have some guts," one said. "But what's the point against absolute strength?"
"Do you know the consequences?" the other taunted. "You'll all die!"
The Fish-Man, Saltburn, stood over two and a half meters tall—a giant to the villagers.
Fish-Men's natural strength, far surpassing humans, radiated predatory pressure. Saltburn's glare alone made some collapse.
But others helped them stand. They came ready to die—what was there to fear?
Ajiken raised his flintlock, face cold. "I want to see Arlong!"
He pulled the trigger.
As the gun spat fire, years of rage surged with the bullet toward the Fish-Man.
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