Cocoyasi Village, half an hour later.
Pirates, carrying essential items like food and fresh water, emerged from the villagers' homes. One said, "Boss Matthew, we only found food, no money."
"Are you saying people in this village don't use money for trade?" "How could that be? It must be hidden."
A few pirates walked up to the villagers, who were huddled in a corner, and threatened them with dark expressions: "If you don't want to die, you should know what we're asking for, right?"
Genzo, his face covered in scars, gritted his teeth. "This village has run out of money." "T-that's right."
"Everyone in the village has to pay the Arlong Pirates one hundred thousand Berries in protection money every month. Where would we have any money left?"
Following Genzo's lead, the villagers, who had initially been terrified, began to answer one after another.
They truly had no money! "The Arlong Pirates?"
Matthew's narrow phoenix eyes, visible beneath his Iron Mask, narrowed further. He stood before the villagers and glanced at the shark flag fluttering on a nearby flagpole. "Is that the one?"
"That's right. They stole all the money. In the past six months, it's easily over a billion Berries," Genzo frowned and stated.
"A billion?"
"That's a frightening number."
"That upstart pirate in the East Blue sure has a system for collecting money." Matthew's eyes darted around, then he asked Genzo, "Where are they?"
Genzo pointed toward the western side of the village. The Immortal Pirates followed his finger and could just make out a castle standing tall there.
"For a mere East Blue pirate, he lives quite well."
Matthew put a hand on the saber at his waist, turned, and walked toward the castle. "Little ones, go grab that money!"
Seeing several hundred pirates leave, the villagers breathed a sigh of relief, only for some to gasp in shock. "Oh no! Nami is in that castle, isn't she?"
"What if she gets caught up in the Pirate fight?"
"That brat already joined Arlong's crew, didn't she? No need to worry about her." Among the villagers, there was concern, schadenfreude, and indifference.
Genzo frowned deeply. After a long moment, he said, "Regardless, I should go notify Nojiko. She is Nami's only remaining family, after all."
Alucard, who was leisurely preparing to return to the seaside, paused upon seeing the massive castle in the distance. Driven by curiosity, he slowly started walking toward it.
A castle that conspicuous in a simple little village had a very strong sense of dissonance. Midway, Matthew and his contingent caught up in a mighty rush.
"Alucard-sama, we've found out the details. The owner of that castle is Arlong, the captain of the Arlong Pirates. His bounty is twelve million Berries, and he's the pirate with the highest bounty in the East Blue," Matthew reported, pulling out a wanted poster.
"Twelve million..."
Even the emotionally expressive Wolf couldn't help but roll his eyes when he heard that figure. Just how low is the standard in the East Blue?
Inside Arlong Park, Nami was using a pen and compass to sketch and draw on paper, enduring the tears welling up in her eyes. She had to complete the world map; it was her dream.
Suddenly...
BOOM!
A violent explosion rocked the building, making Nami's hand tremble and her pen drop to the floor.
"What was that?"
Ten-year-old Nami rushed to the window of her room, stood on her tiptoes, and looked outside. Down below, a massive hole had been blasted through the wall of Arlong Park. Countless humans were pouring inside. Leading them was a man with black hair, wearing a blood-red formal greatcoat.
Even more striking was the gigantic "radish" man towering opposite the castle. "Ah..."
Little Nami's mouth hung open. She stared at Wolf in disbelief. Arlong Park was less than a third of his height; next to that radish-man, it looked like a toy.
A monster!
"Where did these low-class species come from!!"
Suddenly, a roar entered Nami's ears, causing her to shiver involuntarily. Arlong!
The intense fear made Nami's skin crawl just from hearing his voice.
The members of the Arlong Pirates gathered, confronting the Immortal Pirates. Many of Alucard's crew focused their attention on Arlong, who stood at the front. Is that really the highest bounty in the East Blue?
"That person... that symbol..."
Hachi, the Octopus Fish-Man standing to Arlong's right rear, saw Alucard and the tattoos on many of his crew members. He trembled in fear. "I-is that the Yonko Alucard? The Immortal Pirates!"
"A Yonko!"
Kuroobi, the shipwright of the Arlong Pirates, screamed in terror. Though they had been confined to this insignificant place, they were not completely ignorant of the situation in the Grand Line and the New World. For pirates, what kind of person was a Yonko? It needed no explanation.
"Wh-wh-what does a Yonko want here?" "It's you!"
Arlong looked at Alucard, who stood at the head of the group. The scar on the back of his neck, hidden by his hair, began to throb. It was this guy who had shot clean through his mouth in Mariejois! If he hadn't received immediate treatment, he would have been...
"What are you waiting for? Take it."
With a command from Matthew, countless pirates from the Immortal Pirates poured through the massive hole in the wall.
"Damn it, we have no choice but to fight now!" "Are you stupid! You want to fight a Yonko?!" "Are we supposed to just wait to die, then?"
"If we kneel and hand over all the money, will they spare us?"
Seeing the Immortal Pirates begin to move, the Arlong Pirates were already on the verge of turning on each other before the fighting even began.
Because of Arlong, they were generally extreme racial supremacists, but a Yonko... that was a level they could not afford to provoke.
"Who is this guy..." Alucard saw Arlong looking at him with intense hatred but genuinely
couldn't remember where he had met this Fish-Man. He had met too many Fish-Men and had mostly forgotten them.
"Die, human!"
Arlong stomped the ground. His entire body launched forward like a cannonball, his sharp, tooth-like nose charging straight at Alucard.
Clang!
Alucard did nothing. Wolf, who was hovering above, suddenly brought his hands together in a clap and lowered them, forming a shield in front of Alucard, blocking Arlong's charge.