The sea voyage was alive with a newfound energy. With a full-time, world-class chef now officially a part of their group, the atmosphere on the small boat was one of cheerful, almost giddy optimism.
Luffy, perched on the bow, stared at the horizon with a wide, eager grin. "Alright! Next stop, we get our navigator back, and then it's off to the Grand Line!" he declared, his voice filled with the simple, unshakeable conviction of a man who had never known doubt.
Sanji, leaning against the mast and taking a long drag from his cigarette, just smirked. The idea was insane, reckless, and utterly captivating.
Yosaku, who was at the tiller, his face still a bit pale but his strength fully returned, let out a nervous cough. "About that, Luffy-aniki…" he began, his tone suddenly grave. "It's not that simple. The Grand Line… it's a different world."
"What do you mean?" Luffy asked, turning around. "We've beaten everyone we've faced so far!"
"The East Blue is the weakest of the four seas," Yosaku said, a haunted look in his eyes. He began to explain the precarious balance of power that governed the world. He spoke of the Three Great Powers: the absolute justice of the Marine Headquarters, the untouchable might of the four most powerful pirates in the world, the Four Emperors, and the third, most unpredictable power…
"The Seven Warlords of the Sea," he said, his voice dropping to a whisper.
The name hung in the air, cold and heavy. "They are seven of the most fearsome pirates in the world, who have been given a pardon and special authority by the World Government itself. They are pirates who hunt other pirates. A force of terrifying, government-sanctioned monsters."
He continued, "You've already faced a man connected to one of them. The one they call 'Hawk-Eye' Mihawk."
"And there are others," Yosaku said. "Like the Fish-Man pirate, the one they call 'Knight of the Sea' Jinbei."
He explained that years ago, Jinbei had released his most brutal and vicious officer from the Grand Line, allowing him to run rampant in the comparatively peaceful East Blue. A fish-man of immense strength and cruelty, a monster who saw humans as nothing more than insects.
"His name is Arlong the Saw," Yosaku finished. "And the Conomi Islands, the place Nami-aneki is heading… is his territory."
A heavy silence fell over the small boat.
It was Sanji who broke it, a cloud of cigarette smoke erupting from his lips as he pushed himself off the mast. "That's impossible," he declared, his voice filled with a chivalrous indignation. "Nami-swan could never be associated with a monster like that! I saw her heart! A lady's tears never lie! There must be some other reason she's going there!"
"We thought so too, at first," Yosaku added grimly. But then, he recounted the memory that had planted the seed of suspicion in his mind. He described the moment at the Baratie when Nami had been looking through their wanted posters. He described her casual, cheerful demeanor vanishing the instant her eyes had landed on Arlong's face. He described the look in her eyes as something cold, dark, and filled with a hatred so profound it had made his blood run cold.
"Her behavior was suspicious," Yosaku concluded. "It was after seeing that poster that she started acting strangely, that she decided to betray us. Johnny, Zoro-aniki and Usopp-aniki have already gone on ahead to investigate. We believe there has to be a connection."
The information settled over them, a dark cloud on their sunny voyage. Luffy was unusually quiet, processing the news, his usual grin gone, replaced by a thoughtful, serious expression.
Meanwhile, at the very place they spoke of, on an island in the Conomi archipelago, a bizarre structure rose from the sea. It was a four-story building, a fusion of a fortress and a strange, almost carnival-like resort, with palm trees planted on its upper decks. At its very peak, a grim flag flew—a saw-nosed shark, the mark of the Arlong Pirates. This was Arlong Park.
Inside, in a grand, throne-like room, the master of the park was holding a meeting. He was a massive fish-man, his skin a purplish-blue, his mouth filled with rows of razor-sharp teeth, and his most prominent feature, a long, serrated, saw-like nose. This was Arlong.
He was laughing, a deep, guttural sound, as he tossed a heavy chest of gold to a small, rodent-like man in a Marine Captain's uniform. This was Captain Nezumi of the 16th Branch.
"There you go, Captain," Arlong purred, his voice a menacing rumble. "Your monthly 'peace-keeping' fee. Relax! Have a drink! We understand each other through the only language that matters in this world: money."
Nezumi nervously clutched the chest. "I-I can't stay, Arlong-san! If anyone from the village sees my ship docked here, it will raise suspicion!"
"Suspicion of what?" Arlong laughed. "That their beloved Marines are on the payroll of the very pirates who rule over them? Let them suspect. What can they do?"
Just as the corrupt Marine was about to make a hasty exit, the doors to the throne room opened.
A young woman walked in, not as a prisoner, but with the casual confidence of someone who belonged there. She had orange hair, a familiar staff strapped to her back, and a new, chilling feature on her left shoulder.
A tattoo of a saw-nosed shark. The mark of the Arlong Pirates.
It was Nami.
Arlong's saw-toothed grin widened. "Ah, Nami. So you've returned." He gestured to her. "This is one of my top officers," he explained to the stunned Marine Captain.
"The only human in our crew that I can truly trust."
Nami just smiled, but her eyes were cold, distant, and completely unreadable. She was a world away from the tricky but cheerful girl the Straw Hats thought they knew. Yosaku's worst fears had just been confirmed.