At this moment, Nami was utterly heartbroken. The Arlong Pirates had broken their promise, and there was no longer any possibility of freedom for Cocoyasi Village. Her efforts, which had nearly cost her her life, had all turned into a bitter joke.
Auguro judged that the atmosphere was sufficiently tense and signaled to Rukia Kuchiki to sheathe Sode no Shirayuki.
He looked down at Nami and said, "Since you cannot return my haori, I will take you back to Cocoyasi Village, and let everyone discuss how to deal with you!"
Without waiting for Nami to respond, Rukia Kuchiki grabbed her. The two used Flash Step and quickly returned to Cocoyasi Village.
Before Nami could even recover, Nojiko, Genzo, and the rest of the villagers of Cocoyasi Village were called to the front of Nami's house.
"Patrolman Genzo! I came in good faith to buy oranges, but Nami stole my haori and refuses to return it. How do you intend to handle this?"
Auguro looked at Genzo with a menacing expression, causing beads of cold sweat to break out on the patrolman's face.
If it were a normal thief, they would simply be asked to compensate the victim. But everyone in Cocoyasi Village knew Nami stole things to buy back their freedom. In this situation, they could not let Nami bear the burden alone.
"Um, we will try to gather the money for you!" Genzo told Auguro cautiously.
Auguro smiled slightly.
"Alright, that haori isn't too expensive. Twenty million Berries will suffice!"
"Twenty... twenty million?!"
Genzo was stunned speechless. What kind of clothing was this? That expensive!
In reality, 20 million Berries was the price after Auguro applied multiple heavy discounts!
It was a System-produced, one-of-a-kind treasure in the One Piece world; calling it priceless wouldn't be an exaggeration!
"You don't believe me?" Auguro patted Nami's shoulder.
"You're the expert here. Tell them if what I'm saying is true."
The dejected Nami glanced at the villagers and said coldly, "You don't have to pay anything! I will figure out a way to pay for the haori myself!"
The people of Cocoyasi Village struggled just to pay the monthly 100,000 Berry life tax to the Arlong Pirates, much less pay 20 million Berries all at once. Since she failed to bring them freedom, she couldn't add such a massive burden to them now!
"Hmph! Such a high opinion of yourself! How do you plan to pay 20 million Berries?"
Rukia Kuchiki scoffed, violently drawing Sode no Shirayuki.
"In my opinion, you should atone for your crime with your death!"
"Wait!"
Sensing the murderous intent emanating from Rukia Kuchiki, Genzo immediately fell to the ground, collapsing into a dogeza (a deep, formal apology bow) position as he pleaded.
"Please spare this child! She was forced to steal only for the sake of our entire village!"
"We will find every possible way to gather enough compensation for you!"
Following Genzo's plea, the other villagers also knelt down.
"Why are you lying! My business has nothing to do with you! Stop being so self-righteous!"
Nami panicked, struggling desperately, but Rukia Kuchiki held her firmly in place with one hand.
Auguro feigned complete ignorance and said, "It seems there is quite a story here! Would you mind telling me about it?"
Genzo, who knew everything, began recounting the story of the Arlong Pirates. Although Auguro knew all of this from his past life, he could only pretend he was hearing it for the first time.
"We originally thought that by alienating and hating Nami, she would feel justified in leaving us. But the child, even after being insulted by everyone, still tried to fulfill her deal with Arlong!"
Genzo looked at Nami, his eyes full of heartache.
Nami was now sobbing uncontrollably. She had genuinely believed the villagers hated her because she had joined the Arlong Pirates, who were tormenting the village! She never realized they were simply arranging an escape route for her!
"I'm sorry! Everyone!" Nami cried, unable to stop.
"I couldn't buy back your freedom!"
"It's alright, Nami! Everyone knows you did your best!" Genzo comforted her softly.
The villagers gathered around Nami, tears welling up in everyone's eyes.
Unnoticed by anyone, Rukia Kuchiki quietly sheathed Sode no Shirayuki. Even she found it difficult to draw her sword against people suffering such hardship.
"Do you all want freedom?"
Suddenly, Auguro's voice rang out in everyone's ears. They looked up sharply.
Auguro spoke calmly.
"They are just a bunch of pirates. Wiping them out would be a trivial matter! Besides, I need to retrieve my haori."
Nami shook her head violently. "It's impossible! Fish-men naturally possess ten times the strength of humans! No one can defeat those fish-men!"
"Arlong has the highest bounty in the East Blue, a full 20 million Berries!"
To these people, trapped in the weakest of the four seas, the Fish-Men seemed absolutely invincible!
Auguro chuckled softly.
"Nami! The world is vast."
"If Fish-Men were truly invincible, why would the World Government even exist? Fish-Men would have conquered the world already! Arlong and his trashy crew can only hide in the East Blue and bully ordinary people like you!"
"But… but Arlong and the others are truly terrifying!" Nami stammered haltingly. Auguro's words had undeniably delivered a massive shock to Nami's worldview. However, the trauma inflicted by the Arlong Pirates was too deep; she found it hard to immediately accept that Arlong was weak.
Genzo, however, reacted swiftly, immediately performing another dogeza.
"Please, sir! Please eliminate the Arlong Pirates for us!"
Auguro merely smiled slightly, calmly countering with a question.
"Why should I?"
At that question, the scene instantly fell silent.
Why indeed?
After all, people from their own village had stolen the man's valuable haori! Why should he fight their battles?
At this moment, Nami dragged herself before Auguro and slammed her forehead hard against the ground, making a sharp thud.
"If you can wipe out the Arlong Pirates, I will be at your mercy!"
Auguro's mouth curved upwards. His plan to recruit Nami was close to success!
But…
"Not enough!"
Auguro's voice was exceptionally cold. "You stole my property; Punishing you is what I should do! It is not enough to make me help you!"
"Then what do you want?" Genzo asked anxiously.
Auguro looked around, meeting the expectant gazes of the villagers, and finally stated his main objective for the journey.
"It's simple! From today forward, Cocoyasi Village will be incorporated into my territory! It is only reasonable that I protect the residents of my own territory!"
Recruiting Nami was important. But the most important thing was upgrading the Divine Realm's level!
Now that the entirety of Papaloko Island belonged to Auguro and he had Rukia Kuchiki, a Vice-Captain, his fixed daily income was the maximum for Level 1: 10 fixed Achievement Points and 4 bonus points, doubling his total!
But since 10 fixed points were the Level 1 cap, he needed to upgrade the Divine Realm to earn more!
Therefore, he had set his sights on Cocoyasi Village. A place ruled by evil pirates was undoubtedly the best choice for territorial expansion!
"This…"
The villagers were momentarily stunned. Their first thought was that Auguro intended to replace the Arlong Pirates and continue their highly exploitative rule.
Auguro instantly read their expressions and laughed coldly.
"Don't worry! I have no interest in your petty earnings!"
"We can discuss the matter of taxes only when Cocoyasi Village is as prosperous as a city like Water 7!"
"Our goal is to establish a nation without oppression, a place of equality and friendship! If you are willing to join, we will offer you our protection! If you are not, we will not force you!"
Auguro was building a Divine Realm, but he wouldn't beg people to join!
"We agree!"
Genzo shouted without hesitation. Whether Auguro was telling the truth or not, at least under human rule, they wouldn't have to worry about being casually murdered by a Fish-Man! The outcome certainly couldn't be any worse!