Chapter 7: The 100 Million Berry Gamble
"Relax, Nami. I mean you no harm."
Suzaku stood in the dappled sunlight of the tangerine grove, his hands raised in a gesture of peace. A smile played on his lips—one that seemed helpless on the surface, yet carried a hint of confident indulgence beneath.
"However," he continued, his gaze drifting to the bulging backpack behind the orange-haired girl, "it is undeniable that the Berries in that bag are mine. I stole them fair and square from the Marines."
Nami's knuckles turned white as she gripped her bo staff tighter. She knew he was right, but desperation was a powerful motivator. She opened her mouth to argue, to lie, to scream—anything to keep the money.
But Suzaku cut her off with a proposal that froze the words in her throat.
"How about this?"
He took a casual step forward, ignoring the weapon pointed at his chest.
"Consider it a loan. An investment from me to you."
"A... a loan?" Nami blinked, her fierce expression faltering.
"Take it," Suzaku said, his voice dropping to a serious, heavy timbre. "Take the 100 million Berries right now. Go to Arlong Park. Buy your village back from that shark."
He gazed deep into Nami's wary, trembling brown eyes, revealing his true purpose with zero ambiguity.
"In exchange, you sell your future to me. After the village is free, you join my crew. You become my Navigator, and you work for me to slowly pay off the debt. How does that sound?"
The wind rustled through the citrus trees, carrying the scent of oranges and the sea. For a moment, silence reigned.
"Nami," Nojiko spoke up from the side. Her voice was soft but filled with reassurance. She walked over and gently placed a hand on her sister's tense shoulder. "Put down the weapon. They aren't enemies. If they wanted to hurt us, they would have done it already."
Hearing that the terrifying young man not only wouldn't steal the Berries back but was willing to "lend" it to her to save everyone...
Coupled with her sister's persuasion, Nami's taut nerves finally snapped. The adrenaline drained out of her, leaving her legs weak.
She lowered the wooden staff slowly. Her hands were shaking.
She turned to look at the bag—the heavy, beautiful burden that contained the freedom of everyone she loved.
"You..." Nami looked back at Suzaku, biting her lip until it almost bled. She refused to admit defeat verbally, her pride as a thief flaring up one last time.
"Hmph! Fine! But don't think I'm grateful!" She lifted her chin, trying to look tough through glassy eyes. "The Berries that end up in my hands are mine! I don't owe you anything until the deal is done!"
She retorted stubbornly, then turned to Nojiko. Her voice shifted, becoming urgent, breathless, and filled with a dazzling hope that had been absent for eight long years.
"Nojiko, wait here! Guard the house!"
Nami swiftly hoisted the heavy backpack. It weighed at least fifty kilograms, but to her, it felt lighter than a feather.
"I'm going to find Arlong right now! I'm going to throw this money in his face! We... and everyone else... we'll be free before sunset!"
"Nami! Wait, slow down!"
Before Nojiko could finish her sentence, the orange-haired girl had already bolted. She ran like a gust of wind, dashing out of the grove and down the dirt path toward the coast, not looking back once.
"Hey! Nami!"
Nojiko tried to call her back, reaching out a hand, but the figure had already disappeared around the bend.
She stood there for a moment, staring at the empty path. Then, she slowly withdrew her hand and turned to Suzaku and Rem. Her face showed deep apology and a lingering fear.
"I am terribly sorry," Nojiko said, bowing her head deeply. "Please forgive Nami's impulsiveness and rudeness. She... she has been carrying this burden alone for too long. She doesn't know how to trust anymore."
She looked at Suzaku earnestly. "This money... if she can't pay it back... I will definitely find a way to repay you. Even if it takes the rest of my life."
Suzaku merely waved his hand dismissively. He was gazing in the direction Nami had disappeared, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"There's no need to apologize, Miss Nojiko. And no need for you to pay debts that aren't yours."
His tone was calm, yet it held a weight that made Nojiko shiver.
"I never truly cared about the money. I willingly 'loaned' it to Nami because I know the outcome."
He withdrew his gaze and turned to the blue-haired maid standing silently beside him.
"Let's go, Rem. We have a show to catch."
"Yes, Lord Suzaku," Rem immediately responded, her large blue eye regaining its usual composure.
As they walked away from the house, leaving a confused Nojiko behind, a faint, cynical smile played on Suzaku's lips.
"Nami... she is still too naive," he murmured to himself, though Rem heard every word. "She believes in contracts with pirates. She simply doesn't understand that a creature like Arlong would never let his most valuable tool go so easily."
The journey to Arlong Park was not long, but Suzaku set a leisurely pace.
They walked along the coastal road, the salty sea breeze passing through the lush vegetation. The sun was beginning its descent, casting long shadows across the path—shadows that seemed to stretch out from the looming tower of Arlong Park in the distance.
"Rem is curious," the maid said softly, breaking the silence. She walked half a step behind him, her posture perfect. "Why is Lord Suzaku so certain the Fishman will break his word? Is honor not prevalent among warriors of the sea?"
"Honor?" Suzaku laughed, a dry, humorless sound. "Arlong has no honor. He is a racist ideologue fueling his empire with hatred and greed."
As they walked, Suzaku slowly recounted the dark history of this land to Rem, filling in the gaps of her new world knowledge.
"Years ago," Suzaku began, his voice blending with the sound of the crashing waves, "there was a legendary crew called the Sun Pirates. They were led by a hero named Fisher Tiger, who freed slaves from the Holy Land of Mary Geoise. When Tiger died, the crew split."
"One of the leaders, a powerful Fishman named Jimbei, accepted an offer from the World Government," Suzaku explained. "He became one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea—pirates sanctioned by the government."
Rem frowned. "Sanctioned pirates? The government employs criminals?"
"Exactly. It's a corrupt system designed to maintain a balance of power. But here's the catch: In exchange for Jimbei becoming a Warlord, the Marines released Arlong—who was rotting in the great underwater prison, Impel Down."
Suzaku kicked a stone off the path.
"Arlong came here to the East Blue, the weakest sea, to build his own empire. He views humans as an inferior species. And because of Jimbei's status as a Warlord, the Marines turn a blind eye to Arlong's atrocities. They let him enslave these villages, slaughter civilians, and tax them for the right to breathe."
Rem's steps faltered for a fraction of a second. "So... the Marines allow this suffering because of politics?"
"Politics and bribery," Suzaku confirmed. "That rat we killed, Nezumi? He was taking bribes from Arlong to cover up the distress calls from this island."
He then told her the story of Bell-mère.
He spoke of the stubborn, punk-rock former Marine who had adopted two war orphans, Nami and Nojiko. He described how she lived in poverty, eating only tangerines so her daughters could eat rice.
"When Arlong arrived eight years ago," Suzaku said, his voice dropping to a whisper, "he demanded a tribute: 100,000 Berries for every adult, 50,000 for every child. Bell-mère only had 100,000."
"She could have paid for herself," Suzaku said, looking at the orange sky. "She could have said she had no children. The girls were hiding. Arlong didn't know."
"But she didn't."
"She handed over the money and said, 'This is for my two daughters.' She chose to die rather than deny her family, even verbally. And Arlong shot her in the head, right in front of Nami and Nojiko."
Rem, who had been listening quietly, tightened her grip on the folds of her apron. Her demon blood, usually cold, was beginning to boil.
"It is all because the Marine let them out... that such a tragedy occurred," she said softly. "How hateful."
Her voice remained calm, but the air around her temperature dropped several degrees. A trace of cold, absolute anger flashed in her visible eye.
"And Nami?" Rem asked.
"Nami made a deal with the devil," Suzaku explained. "Arlong saw her talent for cartography. He told her: 'If you bring me 100 million Berries, I will sell the village back to you.' So, for eight years, she has been a thief, stealing from pirates to pay the pirate who killed her mother. Drawing maps for the enemy in a room stained with her own blood."
Rem was silent for a long moment. The only sound was the crunch of their boots on the gravel.
"It sounds like a lie," she whispered pointedly. "A lie fabricated just to control her. Everything she has done... was never for herself, was it?"
"No. It wasn't."
Suzaku raised his head, looking toward the sky where seagulls circled unknowingly above the suffering below. He gently exhaled.
"Indeed. It cannot be denied that Nami, as a 'Cat Burglar,' might not be considered a 'good person' by conventional standards. She lies, she steals, she manipulates."
His tone was calm, yet carried a clear sense of insight.
"But I personally appreciate her motivation. Loyalty born of sacrifice is rare in this world."
He stopped walking and turned to look at Rem. A smile touched his lips—not the cynical one from before, but a smile of pure, selfish ambition.
"Of course," he added, "it is also precisely because we need her skills. She is a genius Navigator. Without her, we are just two powerful idiots drifting in a tub."
"Otherwise, with so many lamentable tragedies on this vast ocean, why would I intervene specifically here?"
"That's right, Lord Suzaku."
Rem nodded slightly. Her tone went flat, delivering a cutting remark with the precision of a surgeon.
"Otherwise, we might have been drifting aimlessly on the ocean again. Perhaps we would have discovered a new continent by accident in ten years."
"Hey, hey!" Suzaku immediately straightened up, trying to salvage his dignity as the Captain. "I navigated us here, didn't I? Didn't I accurately bring us to this safe small island? Doesn't that prove my capability?"
Rem tilted her head slightly. Her sapphire blue eye was filled with clear, mocking innocence.
"But Lord Suzaku," she said respectfully, "wasn't this time... entirely based on luck as well? You were holding the map upside down for the first three hours."
Suzaku: "..."
He coughed loudly, turning away to hide his embarrassment. "Look! We're here!"
Arlong Park.
It was a garish monstrosity built to mimic the architecture of Sabaody Park in the Grand Line. A massive tower with sweeping, curved roofs dominated the coastline, surrounded by high walls and a heavy iron gate.
Inside the compound, the atmosphere was lazy and oppressive. Fishmen of various species—sharks, rays, squids—lounged around a large central pool, drinking and laughing.
CLANG!
The heavy iron gate was pushed open with desperate force.
Nami burst into the courtyard. She was gasping for air, sweat pouring down her face, her legs trembling from the exertion of running all the way from the groves with the heavy load.
But her face... her face was radiating a light so bright it almost hurt to look at. It was the light of a prisoner seeing the sun for the first time.
"Arlong!!"
She shouted excitedly as she ran, her voice echoing through the territory.
"I've done it! I've come to fulfill our promise!"
The laughter in the courtyard died down. The Fishmen looked up, sneering or looking bored.
Lounging on a beach chair beside the pool was the nightmare himself.
Arlong.
He was massive, towering over normal humans. His skin was a pale blue, his nose a jagged saw-blade sword. He wore a yellow Hawaiian shirt open to reveal his muscular chest, adorned with the red sun tattoo of the Sun Pirates.
Hearing Nami's shout, Arlong lazily turned his head. A flicker of imperceptible surprise passed through his pale, predatory pupils.
Impossible, he thought. According to Nezumi's reports, she shouldn't have reached the quota for another two years.
"Shyahahahahahaha—!"
His characteristic sharp, grating laughter suddenly erupted, breaking the brief silence. He stood up, casting a long, terrifying shadow over the girl.
"Well done, Nami! You truly are the executive I chose! My brilliant surveyor!"
Arlong bared his mouth full of razor-sharp teeth—teeth that could crunch through cannonballs. He extended a large hand, webbed and clawed.
"Alright. As agreed. If you have the money, bring it here. Place the 100 million Berries in my hand."
He grinned, his eyes devoid of any warmth.
"Do that, and Cocoyasi Village will be free. I am a man of my word, after all."
"Mhm! Okay, Arlong!"
Nami was practically dizzy with the impending victory. The adrenaline was masking her exhaustion. She eagerly stepped forward, reaching for the straps of the backpack to swing it off her shoulder.
Finally, she thought. It's over. Bell-mère, we did it.
At that very moment, Arlong subtly shot a glance toward the side.
Standing in the shadows of the veranda was Kuroobi, a Ray Fishman and a master of Fishman Karate. He caught the micro-signal instantly.
Whoosh.
Nami felt a sudden change in air pressure. Before she could react, a powerful hand grabbed the strap of her backpack.
"Huh?"
She felt a sudden lightness on her shoulder.
She turned back in astonishment, her eyes widening.
The heavy backpack—the bag containing eight years of blood, sweat, theft, and humiliation—had been snatched away.
It was now resting easily in Kuroobi's hand.
"Heavy," Kuroobi grunted, weighing the bag. "There is definitely a lot of gold and paper in here."
Nami stood frozen, her hands still reaching for the empty air where the bag had been. A cold chill instantly shot up her spine, freezing her marrow.
She looked at Kuroobi, then slowly turned her head back to Arlong.
The Saw-Tooth shark was still smiling. But the smile had changed. It wasn't the smile of a business partner anymore.
It was the smile of a predator who had just trapped its prey.
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