"Just because you don't like someone, you kill them? Isn't that still bloodthirsty?"
Nami stared at Luffy, stunned by his casual tone. Her eyelids twitched uncontrollably.
"I'm a pirate," Luffy replied lightly. "If I don't like someone, of course I'll kill them. But that doesn't mean I enjoy doing it."
He didn't bother to explain further.
The Luffy of his previous life would only knock enemies away. But this time? This was a real world. How could a real pirate leave enemies alive?
If he spared them, and they went after the people he cared about later, what right did he have to regret it?
Pirates weren't kind. Who knew what monsters would do once they crawled back from the brink? Even with Garp around, could his grandfather protect Windmill Village every day?
Even the righteous Zephyr, a former admiral who refused to kill, ended up having his family wiped out by pirates. If even someone like him couldn't escape tragedy, what made Luffy think he could?
Mercy was a fatal flaw. In this world, "spare the innocent" was nothing but a joke. If there was a grudge… the only answer was death.
That was the law of pirates: cut the roots clean.
"You say I'm bloodthirsty… then let me ask you something." Luffy looked straight into her eyes. "If I gave you the chance to kill Arlong yourself, would you hesitate?"
He laid it all out. No more hiding.
"Arlong!?"
Nami froze, her face instantly turning pale. Cold sweat broke out on her forehead. Her body shook uncontrollably.
"How… how do you know Arlong?" Her voice trembled as if she'd been stripped bare.
She had never even spoken his name aloud to Luffy.
Luffy shrugged. "The fish-man crew occupying Cocoyasi Village? I heard about it. And I happen to know the past of a certain little cat burglar named Nami."
"Born in 1504 of the Sea Circle Calendar, in the Oykot Kingdom of the East Blue. Picked up in Cocoyasi Village by Bell-mère."
"In 1514, Arlong's crew took over your home. Bell-mère was executed. You were only ten, and because of your talent for drawing maps, Arlong forced you to work for him. You swallowed every ounce of hatred you had just to survive."
Nami collapsed to the ground, trembling. She bit her lip so hard it bled, tears dripping uncontrollably.
"And your stealing? That's to save up money for Arlong, isn't it?" Luffy continued. "One hundred million berries. To buy back your village."
Her body stiffened. She didn't even dare look at him anymore.
Nobody should have known.
Yet he knew everything.
But Luffy spoke again, calm as ever. "Don't misunderstand. Before I set sail, I rescued a man tossed into the sea by Arlong. A villager from Cocoyasi. He told me everything."
"And yes… your village knows about your deal with Arlong."
Nami's mind went blank. If they all knew… then what had she been fighting for?
"You really think those fish-men would honor your deal?" Luffy said coldly. "You're useful. Why would they ever let go of their control over the village?"
His voice cut straight through her heart like a blade.
"I know they won't," Nami choked out at last. She crumpled to the ground completely, sobbing helplessly. "But what choice do I have? If I don't do this… they'll kill everyone!"
She covered her face. Tears streamed through her fingers.
"So even if I know it's hopeless, I have to try! I have to gamble everything!"
Luffy sighed lightly. "I get it."
"No, you don't!" she shouted, losing control. "You grew up with a Marine hero for a grandfather! You've always had a golden life! You could never understand me!"
"Golden life?"
Luffy blinked. "Do you have some misunderstanding about how I grew up?"
He scratched his head. "You think having a Marine grandfather makes things easy? Fine, let me throw in something else. My dad is the leader of the Revolutionary Army. What do you think of that?"
Nami froze. Her tears stopped midstream.
She turned around slowly, eyes wide.
See? That's what a background does.
"You think Grandpa Garp dared take me to Marine Headquarters? Not a chance. He dumped me in Windmill Village to grow up on my own."
"When I was little, he tossed me into monster-infested forests to 'train me.' There were bears taller than houses. If I didn't learn how to fight them, I'd die."
"I got strong because I had to. Survival wasn't optional."
"Then when I got older, did he take me to the Marines? Nope. He handed me off to mountain bandits."
"They're good people. But bandits… kill."
Nami stared, dumbfounded. She couldn't imagine what kind of childhood that was.
"Thanks to Grandpa's 'love,' I could dominate whole forests by age eight. At ten, I beat a Marine major. At thirteen, I was as strong as a headquarters captain. At fifteen, I punched Grandpa so hard he saw stars."
"Oh, and I have two brothers. We swore as kids."
"Now? One is the Second Division Commander of Whitebeard. The other is a high-ranking officer in the Revolutionary Army."
Luffy grinned, completely casual about it.
Nami simply stared at him like he was a monster.
Because that's exactly what he was. A terrifying monster… with the background to match.
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T/N:
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