Kokoyashi Village, in front of Arlong Park.
The orange-haired girl with a short bob had returned here with a large bag on her back.
In Kokoyashi Village, where there were no tall buildings, this place was the only one stacked up to five stories high, a clear display of Arlong’s power.
On the top floor stood a sculpture shaped like a shark, and above it hung a red Jolly Roger.
Of course, everything had been built on exploitation.
"Move aside! I came to kill Arlong!"
From far away, a young boy came running toward Arlong Park with a knife in his hand.
The boy shouted at the girl standing at the gate.
"Huh?"
The girl looked at the little boy, who seemed on the verge of tears.
Something about his appearance seemed to overlap with someone else in her memory, and the girl bit her lip hard before pulling three sticks from her chest.
In an instant, the three sticks fused into a single long staff and flew toward the boy.
"Agh!"
The girl glanced sideways at the boy she had knocked down, then quickly looked away.
But she could not just let him go like that.
Thud.
She carelessly tossed a bundle of bills worth about 10,000 Berries to the boy.
"Arlong doesn’t have time to deal with a brat like you!"
The girl who had spoken Arlong’s name bit her lip once more and turned away completely.
"...Use that money to protect yourself, at least."
"D-damn it...!"
Meanwhile, aboard the Marine warship patrolling East Blue, Rengoku was looking through the wanted posters of East Blue.
East Blue had only four pirates with bounties of over 10 million Berries, or five if one counted Kuro, who had faked his death.
Of those five, three—Krieg, Gin, and Kuro—had already been captured during this patrol voyage.
That left Buggy the Clown and the fish-man Arlong.
According to Luffy, Buggy had been blown away by him, so for now he was unaccounted for and his location unknown. That case would have to wait.
But Arlong was definitely still in East Blue.
According to Marine intelligence, they had confirmed his presence in East Blue thanks to the Warlord Jinbe, the "Tide".
Even if it was the weakest sea, the sea was still the sea.
There were thousands of islands and tens of thousands of villages.
It was impossible to check them all one by one, which was why Marine branches had been established.
And yet, in all of East Blue’s Marine branches, there had not been a single report of Arlong being found.
"What are you thinking about so hard, Vice Admiral Rengoku?"
Tashigi, his personal adjutant, came over and asked him.
"Lieutenant Tashigi, if I remember correctly, you’re from East Blue as well, yes?"
"Yes, I’m from East Blue."
"Then before you joined the Marines, had you ever heard of the fish-man Arlong?"
"Arlong? Well... it has been quite a while since I left East Blue..."
"Hmm... The only thing I vaguely remember is hearing that Arlong came to East Blue about ten or eight years ago."
Tashigi racked her brain for information about the fish-man pirate Arlong, but nothing useful came to mind.
"Hmm! So Arlong came to East Blue ten years ago! Then if you think about it the other way, the Marine branches failed to report any proper information about Arlong to Headquarters for ten years! Isn’t that strange?"
At Rengoku’s point, Tashigi nodded.
"It is strange. I don’t think the violent Arlong would have stayed quiet for ten whole years..."
"During this patrol voyage, we captured three of the only five pirates in East Blue with bounties over 10 million Berries! Buggy’s whereabouts were already confirmed at first through the Straw Hat boy and his crew, so that can’t be helped, but if possible, I’d like to capture Arlong as well!"
"Could you gather East Blue’s records on Arlong over the past ten years?"
"Records on Arlong over the past ten years?"
"Check every report concerning fish-men that was filed to the Marine branches in East Blue! Since East Blue is called the weakest sea, I doubt there will be many over ten years!"
"But that would normally be checked by each branch individually..."
"The commanding officer of all East Blue Marine branches is a Headquarters rear admiral. And you are now carrying out the orders of a Headquarters vice admiral, two ranks above him. If any branch is uncooperative, then no questions asked! Confirm the branch number and report directly to me!"
Watching the resolute Rengoku, Tashigi could see his determination to capture East Blue’s highest-bounty wanted criminal during this patrol voyage.
"Yes! I will definitely complete the mission!"
Tashigi gave a sharp salute and headed straight for the communications room.
Meanwhile, a banquet was in full swing at Arlong Park.
"Kahahaha! As expected, Nami is amazing!"
"There are only a few people as useful as her! She’s truly an excellent comrade!"
"Come on! Eat and drink! To Nami, for once again stabbing those inferior humans in the back!"
"Cheers!"
Dozens of sturdy fish-men were holding their feast with food looted from nearby villages.
But the girl at the center of the banquet—Nami—did not join them. Instead, she had returned to her room inside Arlong Park to rest.
Haah...
Gen... Belle-mère...
She let out a silent sigh and eased the fatigue from her body.
The "comrades" she had met during this latest "job" were very different from before.
No matter how much she was an executive of the violent and cruel Arlong Pirates, she was still not without feelings.
Right from her first "job," Nami had personally witnessed the "comrades" she met there being brutally crushed by the Arlong Pirates, and she had been unable to do anything for days afterward.
She should never have let herself grow attached to anyone while doing this filthy work, but that had been far too difficult for young Nami.
But after doing this "job" many times, she had placed a seal on her heart and shut it tight, never once showing a genuine smile to most people.
There was only one exception: the time she had been with the boy wearing a straw hat.
The boy with the straw hat, Luffy, had first seemed like a simple fool because of his innocence and clumsiness, but little by little, his honesty and sincerity had also shaken Nami’s heart.
Haa...
"Hey~ Nami! Still resting?"
A fish-man’s voice came from outside the door.
It was Hachi, the octopus fish-man and one of the Arlong Pirates’ executives, just like Nami.
"What is it? What’s going on?"
"Nyu, it’s a banquet for you, and you’re not coming, so I was feeling lonely. Come on, let’s all enjoy ourselves together!"
That idiot octopus-head!
"I’m tired and my stomach feels bad, so forget it! You guys eat plenty!"
"Nyu, your stomach feels bad? That’s a shame. I made the takoyaki especially delicious this time."
Hachi was one of the few innocent ones in the Arlong Pirates.
Of course, innocence and kindness were not the same thing.
Hachi’s innocence made him follow Arlong blindly, without any subjective judgment at all.
It was, quite literally, doglike innocence.
Maybe if the Marines had put in some real effort... Wait, the Marines?
Come to think of it, Nami remembered the Marine officer she had met recently in Syrup Village and at the Baratie.
He had been tall and carried an unusual sword, and if a Marine captain had been trembling before him, then he might not just be a rank or two above them, but a senior officer.
Maybe he was the first senior officer she had ever seen in her "job" life.
Still, if he was a senior officer, wouldn’t that make a difference?
I should have gotten his contact information then...
With no hope left in the Marines, Nami had pinned all her hopes on Arlong’s promise.
Even though Arlong was violent and a racist, he had never broken a promise involving money.
But on the other hand, if she could connect with that Marine Headquarters officer she had met this time, who was probably a senior officer...?
Even if he was no match for Arlong, the report would still go up to Marine Headquarters, so it was a gamble worth taking.
Did I leave the Baratie too quickly...?
Nami was tangled up in complicated feelings, one after another.
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