Leaving Cocoyasi Village, Arlong led his Fish-Man subordinates away along the coastline.
"Boss Arlong, are we really just going to let this go?"
Kuroobi's tone was indignant, clearly very dissatisfied with this outcome. He said,
"That pirate crew doesn't look simple. If you ask me, that woman might have specifically brought them here to deal with us."
"I doubt it'd go that far, chu."
Chew was somewhat skeptical of his guess, but still agreed,
"However, letting them off the hook like this is indeed too lenient. Won't this just make Nami even more arrogant in the future?"
Listening to the two of them, Arlong's expression turned extremely gloomy.
This wasn't the first or second time Nami had disobeyed orders, but this time was different. She actually had other collaborators on the outside.
In Arlong's eyes, this was undoubtedly a sign of Nami's impending betrayal.
"Chew is right. She thinks she can defy me just because I won't kill her. If we just let this slide, that woman will only push her luck even further in the future."
Arlong's tone carried a hint of icy coldness.
Seeing him speak up, Kuroobi immediately stepped forward and said to him,
"Boss Arlong, I'll take the brothers and go kill those guys."
"Don't be so hasty, Kuroobi. Since I agreed to take the money and let them go, how could I go back on my word? Doing business requires integrity."
At this point, Arlong inexplicably sneered. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he smiled savagely,
"Killing isn't the only way to punish her. To buy Cocoyasi Village from me, Nami has been working desperately to make money all these years, hasn't she?"
"Oh? Boss Arlong, you mean..."
"I see. That is indeed a good idea."
Hearing this, Kuroobi and Chew both caught on, their mouths curling into cold smirks.
Arlong looked back at the two of them, a sinister smile on his face.
"Chew, use the Transponder Snail to contact Captain Nezumi. Tell him that a large amount of stolen money has been discovered on the island."
"Understood, Boss."
Chew nodded in agreement, then dove headfirst into the water, swimming back to Arlong Park at top speed.
Meanwhile.
...
"What is wrong with you guys! Actually fighting with Arlong's crew, do you have any idea how dangerous that was!"
In the orchard on the outskirts of the village, a small house was hidden by the heavy shadows of the trees, the air carrying the faint, sweet scent of tangerines.
Inside the living room, Nami was flying into a rage. However, sitting opposite her, the reprimanded Allen was letting it go in one ear and out the other, wearing a completely nonchalant expression.
Seeing him like this, Nami grew even more furious, her voice rising in anger.
"Are you guys even listening to me!"
"Of course, Nami-san! Every word you say is engraved in my heart like an eternal diamond!"
Sanji's eyes turned into hearts. Cupping his hands together, he twisted his body with a fawning expression, having completely lost himself.
"I didn't expect the commander to be this kind of person."
"Turns out we've been misjudging him all along."
"How disappointing."
The dozen or so pirates behind him all stared with dead-fish eyes, both disappointed and speechless.
"You've been acting like a lovesick fool this whole time, you bastard..."
Veins popped on Nami's forehead. Unable to endure it any longer, she gritted her teeth, raised her fist, and swung it right at him!
"Go to hell!!"
Crash!
"Commander!"
"Bro Sanji!"
The pirates cried out in fright.
Nami's violent punch sent Sanji flying straight out, crashing through the window and into the yard outside.
With that annoyance gone, she turned back to Allen and said in a bad mood,
"You're their leader, right? It's a good thing I showed up in time just now. If it weren't for the fact that you saved Genzo, I wouldn't have bothered caring whether you lived or died."
"To save you from Arlong, I ended up wasting so many Berries. You have to pay me back!"
Nami put her hands on her hips, glaring straight at him.
Allen waved his hand dismissively, saying with indifference,
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Thank goodness you showed up in time, otherwise Arlong would have been boiled into fish head soup by now."
"You bastard...! Do you even realize the gravity of the situation? Stop joking around with me."
Hearing this, Nami's anger flared up even more.
Seeing that she still didn't believe him, Allen's expression sobered up a bit as he said in a deep voice,
"I'm not joking around with you. You don't actually think we can't do it, do you? Whether they're Fish-Men or Merfolk."
"It doesn't matter what kind of guys they are. In the face of absolute power, there is no difference. In this world..."
Saying this, Allen raised his hand and pointed at Sanji, who was planted headfirst in the dirt outside. Under Nami's astonished gaze, he said seriously,
"...there is no ingredient that Sanji cannot handle!"
"Who's talking about that!!"
Nami rolled her eyes and cursed angrily.
Allen stroked his chin in thought for a moment, then asked,
"Don't like fish head soup? How about grilled fish steak?"
"Is this a matter of changing the dish?! Take this seriously, you bastard!!"
Nami bared her sharp teeth, raising her hand and bringing her fist down hard on Allen's head.
Bonk!!
A large lump slowly swelled up on top of his head.
The Nyaban Brothers turned green in the face, awkwardly taking two steps back.
"What a brutal woman."
"She's practically a tigress."
...
"Alright, Nami, that's no way to treat guests."
Nojiko walked out of the kitchen with a smile, carrying a wooden tray crowded with several cups of dark brown tea.
"I apologize, Nami has been like this since she was little. Thank you for saving Genzo from Arlong. Please, have some tea."
Setting the tray down on the table and arranging the teacups one by one, Nojiko smiled somewhat apologetically.
"We don't have anything fancy to offer. This is tangerine peel tea we made ourselves. I hope you don't mind."
"Just tea? You could at least offer some snacks..."
Allen looked thoroughly displeased.
"Drink it or don't, hmph."
Nami didn't give him a shred of courtesy. After saying that, she turned and walked toward her room, slamming the door shut with a loud bang.
"Forget it."
Allen picked up a cup of tea, sat down on the sofa, and leaned back, saying to Nojiko,
"If I'm not mistaken, Nami is the rumored witch of the Arlong Pirates, right? It doesn't look like her relationship with those Fish-Men is all that great."
Taking a sip of tea, Allen set the cup down.
Nojiko's gaze fell on him. She remained silent for two seconds before saying with a complex expression,
"Genzo already told me why you're here. Even knowing this, do you still want to try and recruit a witch like her?"
"Of course."
Before Allen could speak, a voice came from outside the door. Sanji patted the dirt off his clothes and slowly walked in, saying,
"If Nami-san really was a so-called witch, why would she risk herself to save a group of strangers like us? I believe she must have her own hidden difficulties."
"That long-nosed bastard definitely used some kind of underhanded method to threaten Nami-san, forcing her to stay by their side."
Sanji's tone was resolute, as if he had already accepted this as absolute fact.
The Nyaban Brothers couldn't help but give him a speechless look.
"You're just smitten by her looks."
"Stupid lecherous cook."
"This is my exclusive intuition when it comes to beautiful women. You guys don't know shit," Sanji replied with a disdainful look.
Even Allen couldn't help but take a second look at him.
If he didn't know Sanji's typical behavior, Allen would have almost thought he had read the script too.
"Since you've already heard it from that old guy, I won't beat around the bush."
Allen returned to a serious expression and said to Nojiko,
"We are preparing to enter the Grand Line and need a highly capable navigator. We made a special trip to Cocoyasi Village because we heard about her."
"That sheriff guy is a very important person to you all, right? For the sake of me saving him, please help persuade Nami to come with us."
Allen went straight for the moral blackmail.
"You really don't know how to be polite, do you."
Nojiko rolled her eyes and, dropping the pleasantries herself, spoke frankly,
"Whether you take Nami away is your business. In fact, I'd rather like to see that happen."
"But with all due respect, I don't think you'll be able to do it. After all, if she wanted to leave, she would have left on her own a long time ago."
At this, a complex look flashed through Nojiko's eyes.
Hearing this, Sanji frowned. "That's the same thing that old guy said. It sounds like you all want Nami-san to leave."
"But looking at her attitude towards the Fish-Men, it doesn't seem like she's staying willingly. Or perhaps, Arlong is holding something over Nami-san?"
Sanji said in a deep voice while smoking, analyzing the situation in his mind as he recalled what Genzo had said earlier.
"I see. If my guess is correct..."
As if suddenly realizing something, Sanji looked up at Nojiko and said,
"The leverage Arlong is using to threaten Nami-san must be the lives of everyone in the village. No wonder he said they were dragging Nami down."
???
Allen was a bit stunned, looking at Sanji with an expression of disbelief.
*'Bro, you really have read the script, haven't you? Putting on this whole detective act.'*
Nojiko was inevitably taken aback for a moment. Then, she let out a long sigh, sat down, and began to tell Allen and the others about the village's past.
...
Inside the room.
Nami leaned her back against the door, quietly listening to the voices outside.
Genzo lay flat on the bed, his body wrapped in bandages. His sheriff's hat rested on the nightstand, a pinwheel stuck in the middle of it.
The two remained silent, the only sound being the rustling of the swaying tree shadows outside the window.
A gentle breeze blew in, and the pinwheel began to spin softly.
"...Go with them, Nami."
A hoarse voice broke the silence in the room.
Genzo stared at the ceiling, speaking slowly and in a low tone,
"This crew seems decent enough, or you can go wherever you want... Please, Nami, don't stay here anymore..."
"Stop nagging. This is my own decision."
Nami's tone was flat. She kept her head down, hiding her expression beneath her orange hair.
"I'm just a little bit away. Soon, I'll be able to liberate this village. Just a little bit more..."
"It's no use, Nami..."
Genzo couldn't help but interrupt her, sighing with a gloomy expression.
"After all these years, do you still not understand Arlong's methods? Even if you save up one hundred million Berries..."
"Genzo..."
Nami's eyes widened in shock. She looked up at him in disbelief.
"Could it be... you already knew..."
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