The Going Merry's hull scraped against the shallows with a sickening groan. Usopp stared at the familiar coastline, the color draining from his face.
"No… no, no, no."
Nojiko, standing beside him on the beach, followed his gaze. "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Worse," Usopp whispered, his voice trembling. "We're near Cocoyasi Village."
"So?"
"So one of my crewmates—Zoro—he was captured by fishmen." Usopp's hands shook as he remembered the blood, the brutal efficiency of Arlong's men. "He was in critical condition when they took him. If they brought him here…"
He didn't finish the sentence. He didn't need to.
Nojiko's expression hardened. "Then he's already dead."
---
**Arlong Park**
The water in the sunken chamber smelled of salt and iron—the latter from Zoro's reopened wounds. He hung suspended by chains, blood dripping into the pool below in steady, rhythmic drops.
Arlong loomed over him, a shark's grin splitting his face. "Humans. So fragile. So arrogant."
Zoro lifted his head, one eye swollen shut. "You talk a lot for a… half-fish mutant."
The room went still.
Arlong's smile didn't falter, but his eyes turned cold as deep ocean trenches. "I'll forgive that once. Only because I admire your spirit." He leaned closer, his shadow swallowing Zoro whole. "But understand this—fishmen are superior to humans in every way. Stronger. Faster. Meant to rule."
"Meant to lose," Zoro spat. "I'm looking for a girl. Nami. Where is she?"
Arlong's laugh echoed off the stone walls. "Nami? Why, she's right here."
A side door opened. Nami stepped through, her expression carefully blank, her eyes avoiding Zoro's.
Zoro's chains rattled as he strained forward. "Nami?"
"Surprised?" Arlong draped a massive arm around her shoulders. "She's an exception to the human race. My cartographer. My navigator. My little witch."
Zoro's mind raced. This wasn't right. The Nami he knew—the one who'd fought beside them, who'd laughed with them—she wouldn't…
"Why?" The word tore from his throat.
Arlong glanced at Nami. "Do you know this human?"
Nami's voice was ice. "He was just another victim. Nothing more."
"Liar." Zoro's gaze locked onto hers. "Is this your true self? All along?"
She met his eyes then, and for a fraction of a second, he saw it—the flicker of pain, of desperation. Then it vanished behind a mask of cold indifference.
"Yes," she said, her voice steady. "I've been with Arlong from the beginning."
Arlong laughed again, the sound booming through the chamber. "Cold-blooded witch! She only cares about money, this one. Isn't that right, Nami?"
Nami's jaw tightened. She didn't answer.
But Zoro saw it—the slight tremor in her hands, the way her knuckles whitened where they gripped her own arms. He saw the truth she was trying to bury.
Without warning, he let his body go limp. The chains groaned as he dropped, plunging into the deep pool below.
Gasps echoed through the room.
"Fool!" Arlong roared. "He'll drown with those wounds!"
But it was Nami who moved first. She dove into the water, a flash of orange in the blue, and hauled Zoro to the surface. They broke through, gasping, her arms tight around his chest.
"What were you thinking?" she hissed, her face inches from his.
Zoro coughed up water, his voice a ragged whisper only she could hear. "Should be… asking you that. Stop… acting tough."
Her eyes glistened. "I don't want you involved in this."
"Too late."
She helped him to the edge, then pushed him back toward the waiting fishmen. Her expression had hardened again. "Lock him up. I'll deal with him later."
As they dragged Zoro away, a fishman rushed into the chamber. "Boss! The long-nosed human—he got away!"
Arlong's eyes narrowed. "He'll be in Cocoyasi Village, then." He cracked his neck, the sound like snapping timber. "I have business there anyway."
---
**Cocoyasi Village**
The whisper spread through the village like a plague.
"Arlong's coming."
"Why? The tribute was paid."
"He never comes unless…"
Genzo stood in the town square, his face grim. The children had already been hidden. The adults gathered, their tools—farming implements, kitchen knives, whatever they could find—clutched in white-knuckled hands.
Usopp watched from the shadows of an alley, Nojiko beside him. His heart hammered against his ribs. He had to find Zoro. Had to warn the others. Had to—
The gate at the edge of town exploded inward.
Arlong stood in the wreckage, flanked by his officers. His gaze swept over the terrified villagers, a predator surveying his feeding grounds.
"Where," he said, his voice carrying across the silent square, "is my property?"
No one moved.
No one breathed.
Then, from behind Arlong, a figure stepped forward.
Nami.
She walked past him, past the fishmen, into the center of the square. She didn't look at the villagers. Didn't look at Genzo. She kept her eyes fixed straight ahead.
"Nami?" Genzo's voice broke.
She ignored him. Instead, she turned to face Arlong, and in her hands was a bag—heavy, clinking with the sound of coins.
"Here," she said, her voice clear and cold. "My final payment. One hundred million berries. Our deal is complete."
Arlong took the bag, hefting it. His smile returned, wider, sharper. "So it is."
Nami took a deep breath. "Then I quit. I'm no longer your cartographer."
The silence that followed was absolute.
Arlong's smile didn't waver. "Is that so?" He tossed the bag to one of his men, never taking his eyes off her. "But you see, little witch… I never said anything about letting you leave."
Nami froze. "What?"
"The deal was for your village's freedom. Not yours." He took a step toward her. "You're far too valuable to let go."
Behind him, two fishmen dragged a chained, barely-conscious Zoro into the square and threw him to the ground at Arlong's feet.
"And as for your friends…" Arlong placed his foot on Zoro's back, pressing down. "They're trespassing on my territory."
He looked past Nami, past the villagers, to the shadows where Usopp hid.
"I know you're there, long-nose," Arlong called, his voice dripping with mockery. "Come out. Or I'll crush your friend right here."
Usopp's blood ran cold.
Nami's mask finally shattered. "No! You promised!"
"I lied," Arlong said simply.
And as Usopp stepped into the light, weapon trembling in his hands, Arlong grinned.
"Now," the shark-man said, his teeth gleaming in the sun. "Let's see how loyal pirates really are."