Am I really that scary?
Ryan Quinn blinked, watching as Nami froze before him, tears still glistening in her wide eyes suspended mid-fall, as if even they were too afraid to move.
He sighed quietly and let the dark aura around him fade away. The oppressive energy that had filled the air vanished in a breath, leaving only the faint hum of silence. With his power withdrawn, Ryan's expression softened, his once-intimidating face melting into something almost playful.
Like a mischievous cat, he jogged toward Nami, his sword now resting casually on his shoulder.
Nami's whole body trembled as he stopped in front of her. Every instinct screamed at her to run, but her legs wouldn't obey. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest as she fought to suppress the fear rising inside her.
Around them, the surviving members of the Arlong Pirates watched in terrified silence. None of them dared to move or breathe too loudly, terrified that any sudden motion might anger the stranger who had killed their captain with a single strike.
Ryan, however, didn't care what they thought. If they resisted, he would simply kill them too. If they behaved, he might just let them live long enough to turn them in to the Navy for bounty money.
He needed the money, after all.
To him, money wasn't just currency. It was survival.
On this vast sea, money meant food, strength, and freedom. Without it, you didn't live long.
The mysterious system that had fused with his body constantly demanded resources. Every upgrade, every spell, every morsel of food cost him something. Not earning money wasn't an option.
The thought alone made him sigh. "Starving to death on the Grand Line... now that would be embarrassing."
Nami swallowed hard, forcing a nervous smile as Ryan's piercing blue eyes met hers.
"U-Um... Miss... beautiful lady... is there... something you need from me?" she stammered, her voice shaking.
She didn't dare look away. The woman before her this calm, blood-splattered warrior was unlike anyone she had ever met.
Nami's mind raced. From what she'd seen, this person clearly loved money. The way she had mentioned Berries in the middle of a battle, the casual way she spoke about bounties it all screamed of someone who valued gold above all else.
Maybe... maybe that was a good thing.
If she loved money, maybe she wouldn't kill for free. Maybe Nami could buy her way out of this.
After all, Arlong was dead. Cocoyasi Village was finally free.
That freedom was worth any price.
Still... her chest ached as she thought of it.
All those years saving every Berry, sacrificing her happiness, betraying her own people just to gather enough to buy their freedom and now, all that money might be gone in an instant.
The tears returned, silent and hot.
She clenched her fists tightly, refusing to make a sound, even as her heart cracked.
Her eyes glimmered with something beyond fear. It was grief grief for her lost treasure.
Not the kind buried under sand, but the kind she had fought tooth and nail to earn.
Ryan tilted his head, watching her expression shift from terror to sorrow. He couldn't help but find it... oddly endearing.
A sudden gust of wind swept across the clearing, rustling the debris from battle. The faint hum of dark magic flickered briefly around him, then disappeared as if swallowed by the air.
The black armor encasing Ryan's body dissolved into a storm of fading embers, revealing a sleek black suit beneath.
"Huh?" Nami gasped softly.
The sudden transformation stunned her. One second, he had been a walking shadow of death, and the next, he looked like a noble from a storybook refined, elegant, almost... beautiful.
Before she could react, Ryan reached out with both hands.
"W-wait, what are you—"
Her protest turned into a muffled sound as Ryan's cool, smooth hands pressed gently against her cheeks.
"Ni... you... wha... are... you... do—" Nami's words came out garbled as Ryan's fingers began to pinch, stretch, and lightly knead her face like soft dough.
Ryan smiled faintly as he continued to study her expression. "Hmm. You're surprisingly cute up close."
Nami could only stare, mortified and motionless, afraid to even breathe wrong.
A few meters away, two of Arlong's surviving lieutenants whispered nervously to each other.
"Uh... Boss Croby, weren't Nami and that woman on the same side? Why does it look like she's... um... humiliating her?"
"Humiliating? Idiot! That's not humiliation. In human terms, that's called... flirting."
"F-Flirting? Really?"
"Yeah. Look at her. She's pretending to be upset, but her face looks kinda... relaxed."
"Wow, Croby, you really know your stuff!"
Another Fishman sighed. "Knowing doesn't help us now, genius. We should be figuring out how to survive. Arlong's dead, remember?"
"What do you want us to do, huh? Go attack her? She killed him in one hit!"
"Still, we can't just sit here waiting to die. We're Fishmen! We have our pride!"
"Quiet!" Ryan's sharp voice cut through their whispers like a whip.
The Fishmen froze instantly, their throats tightening in fear as her cold eyes swept across them.
Satisfied, Ryan turned back to Nami. He lifted her chin lightly with one finger, smiling with playful satisfaction.
"So then, my little beauty. I killed your monster for you. It's only fair you pay up, right?"
Nami blinked rapidly, panic flashing in her eyes. "H-how much... do you want?"
Ryan pretended to think. "Not much. Let's call it... one hundred million Berries."
"What?!" Nami nearly choked. "I—I don't have that kind of money!"
"Oh? Then how much do you have?" Ryan's voice dipped slightly, calm yet carrying a weight that made the air around them tighten.
He already knew she didn't have that much. If she did, Arlong would've taken it long ago.
The question was a test to see how much she really had hidden.
Sure enough, Nami's resolve crumbled under the pressure.
"I—I have eighty million Berries! That's everything! Every single coin I've saved!" she blurted, her words tumbling over each other.
Ryan nodded slowly, feigning deep thought. "Eighty million, huh? That'll do."
He lowered his sword and smiled. "Go get it, then. While you're at it, I'll clean up the rest of this crew. Consider it a package deal."
For a moment, Nami just stared at him, unsure if she had heard correctly.
Then realization struck. She gasped, wiping her tears and quickly turned to run.
Behind her, the faintest smile tugged at the corner of Ryan's mouth.
As Nami disappeared down the path toward her home, the shattered remains of Arlong Park loomed silently behind her.
The other Fishmen didn't move an inch. They stood frozen, not daring to breathe, as Ryan's black sword gleamed faintly in the dying light.
To them, she was no longer just a human she was something else entirely.
A walking disaster wearing a calm smile.
And now, their lives rested in her hands.