Chapter 298: Yearning for the Amusement Park, Buggy the Clown
When Nami returned home clutching the study manual Arlong had given her, Bell-mère was standing by the stove, boiling a fresh batch of tangerine jam. A wooden spoon stirred continuously in the copper pot, filling the small house with the sweet scent of caramelized sugar mixed with the slightly bitter, citrusy tang of tangerine peels.
Since tangerines couldn't be eaten as a staple food, and Cocoyasi Village produced a massive surplus every year, the slightly bruised or less appealing fruits that couldn't be sold were usually eaten by the families or processed into jams and preserves.
"You're back early. Did the Marines buy all the tangerines?"
Bell-mère didn't turn around, keeping her focus on the bubbling pot. She had heard her two adopted daughters run into the house, so she naturally knew they were back.
"Those Marines weren't good people. They wanted to take our stuff without paying! But those Fish-Man misters helped us get our money back!"
The response made Bell-mère pause, feeling that something was slightly off. It was Nojiko who answered her, not Nami. Normally, whenever the topic involved Berries, Nami was always the first to eagerly chime in.
Turning off the stove, Bell-mère wiped her hands and walked into the living room. She found Nami sitting at the table, utterly absorbed in a thick book.
"What's that you're reading?"
A wide, genuine smile was plastered across Nami's face. It was rare to see the young girl looking so profoundly ecstatic.
"That Fish-Man named Arlong gave it to her. He said it was a navigator's study manual," Nojiko answered again.
Hearing this, Bell-mère leaned in closer. The cover of the book didn't have much text. Aside from the clearly printed words "Navigator's Study Manual," it bore the official crest of the Ryugu Kingdom and a hand-drawn emblem of a bat silhouetted against a crescent moon.
This specific manual was the standard advanced textbook used in the academies on Fish-Man Island. The copy Arlong had given Nami was particularly special, filled with the handwritten notes and inherited wisdom of senior navigators who had sailed before him.
The pages were filled with incredibly precise nautical charts drawn with specialized instruments, the lines as fine as hairs. They were heavily annotated with complex meteorological and navigational symbols Bell-mère had never seen before. Even during her time serving in the Marines, the sea charts she had access to weren't nearly as detailed as the ones in this book.
At the moment, Nami wasn't studying it in-depth. She was rapidly flipping through the pages, eager to get a broad overview and see exactly what made this book so different from the local maps she had seen.
"Reverse Mountain... Bell-mère, does the seawater really flow up the mountain?! Shouldn't water flow from high to low?!" Nami gasped, her eyes wide with amazement.
"Well... I heard rumors about it in the past," Bell-mère replied, looking over Nami's shoulder. "There really is a mountain where the currents flow backward, though I've never been there myself."
Nami continued turning the pages. Some of the sticky notes even had photographs attached—images of violently reversed ocean currents and a breathtaking, boundless sea of clouds in the sky.
"The ocean outside the East Blue... is this what it's really like?" Nami murmured in awe.
In environments where standard compasses fail, a navigator must place absolute trust in the Log Pose. Countless crucial rules like this were heavily highlighted in the margins. These bolded notes were the blood-bought experience accumulated by countless sailors navigating the treacherous Grand Line over the decades.
While Nami completely immersed herself in the book, Bell-mère looked out the window toward the coastline.
Arlong and his crew had been here for quite some time now. Aside from the first few days, they had practically been engaged in non-stop, massive construction.
The towering steel frame of a Ferris wheel, the winding tracks of a massive roller coaster being laid down, and an enormous stone statue being carved into the distant cliffside... Bell-mère truly couldn't understand what these Fish-Men were thinking.
"What exactly is his goal...?"
He had given Nami a priceless educational book, helped them recover their stolen money from corrupt Marines, and was aggressively injecting wealth into the village to fund this massive construction project.
Even though Bell-mère still couldn't fathom their ultimate motive, a fundamental shift had already occurred in her mind: these Fish-Men were incredibly friendly. They definitely weren't bad people.
In the days that followed, Arlong didn't bother them. Instead, as the family's financial situation drastically improved thanks to the tangerine juice sales, Bell-mère actively sought out Arlong's crew. Using some of their savings, she purchased a complete set of professional, high-end cartography tools from the Fish-Men for Nami.
This was another benefit of the Ryugu Kingdom's expanding trade routes. With Gild Tesoro managing a portion of their global commerce, the deployment of regional commanders like Arlong naturally brought lucrative new trade networks with them.
Specialized goods and technology from the Grand Line sold incredibly well in the relatively isolated Four Blues.
Change was happening every single day. Nojiko insisted that Nami no longer needed to help sell juice at the construction site; she could manage the stall by herself. This allowed Nami to dedicate all her time and energy to studying.
A navigator had to understand much more than just ocean currents; they had to master meteorology. As time passed, Nami effectively became the village's official weather forecaster.
She could accurately predict the exact arrival time of an afternoon thunderstorm down to the minute.
Even Arlong hadn't anticipated she possessed that level of terrifying, innate talent.
Two months later, Arlong brought his crew's navigator to Bell-mère's house, intending to formally test Nami's progress.
"So, you're the talented little navigator the Governor has been raving about," the Fish-Man navigator smiled.
Just like Fisher Tiger and Otohime held the title of "Governor of the North Blue," Arlong's official rank was technically "Governor of the East Blue for the Ryugu Kingdom." While he usually didn't care about formalities when drinking with his crew, when interacting with outsiders or handling official business, he required his subordinates to address him by his proper title to maintain the Kingdom's prestige.
"He's my chief navigator," Arlong explained, taking a seat on Bell-mère's sofa like an old friend. "He was a top graduate from the Ryugu Kingdom's Naval Academy and has sailed the Grand Line for four years without a single accident.
"If he finds out you haven't been studying properly, I'm taking that book back, got it?"
Arlong picked up two tangerines from a bowl on the table and began peeling them.
"By the way," Arlong glanced at Genzo, who was standing awkwardly nearby. "Are you two married or something? Why is it that every time I visit this house, I always see you here?"
Arlong was genuinely suspicious that the village sheriff was slacking off on his official duties.
"M-Mr. Arlong! Please don't spout such nonsense!" Genzo's face instantly turned beet red, and he waved his hands frantically before Bell-mère could even respond. "Our relationship is completely pure!"
"Shahahaha! A 'pure' relationship between two grown adults? Sure, I'll pretend to believe you," Arlong laughed teasingly. "Anyway, I'm borrowing the little girl for a bit. We'll bring her back once the exam is over. She should be home in time for dinner."
With a wave, Arlong led Nami down to the beach. This exam wasn't going to be a simple written test on paper.
The theoretical knowledge in textbooks could only provide a general foundation. Forget the chaotic, unpredictable Grand Line—even in the relatively peaceful Four Blues, safely navigating a ship required vast practical experience and real-time situational awareness.
Borrowing a small, sturdy fishing boat, Arlong hoisted the sail and steered them out into the open water.
"Uncle Arlong, you know how to sail too?" Nami asked, sitting near the bow.
"I'm not a specialized navigator, but I know how to steer a ship," Arlong smirked. "Fish-Men are born helmsmen. Handling a tiny boat like this is a piece of cake for us.
"But don't think I'm joking around. If you fail this test, I really will take that book back."
Arlong gestured to his navigator, who promptly tossed a small, brightly colored buoy into the churning waves.
The task was simple yet incredibly difficult: Nami was required to calculate the current tide differential and the exact velocity of the ocean current using only her naked eye, purely by observing the bobbing frequency of the buoy, without the aid of a single navigational instrument.
Nami leaned over the edge of the boat, her eyes locked onto the rising and falling red dot. She muttered complex calculations under her breath. A few minutes later, she confidently rattled off a string of highly specific numbers.
After several rigorous practical tests out on the water, Nami's final results vastly exceeded their wildest expectations. Her performance was absolutely nothing like that of a child who had only been studying for two months.
Even her minor mistakes were purely due to a lack of practical sea-time experience. If an experienced navigator took her out on a few long voyages to show her the ropes, she would become a fully qualified, elite navigator in record time.
Having passed the exam with flying colors, Arlong rewarded Nami with a beautifully crafted, highly expensive brass sextant and officially decided to heavily invest in cultivating her talent.
According to Arlong's chief navigator, this little girl was essentially a human navigational instrument. She possessed a terrifying, innate sensitivity to atmospheric changes.
She could literally feel microscopic shifts in air humidity with her skin, allowing her to flawlessly predict upcoming weather patterns. Even among the Fish-Man race, very few individuals were born with such a heaven-defying gift.
Having a dedicated mentor was always exponentially faster than self-study. By April of Sea Circle Calendar Year 1528, Arlong had been stationed in the East Blue for roughly half a year.
During this time, Nami's navigational studies progressed by leaps and bounds. The residents of Cocoyasi and the neighboring towns had also completely grown accustomed to the peaceful presence of Fish-Men and Merfolk.
Meanwhile, the first phase of construction for "Ryugu Park" was officially completed. The various rides and attractions had entered their trial-run phase.
Citing "safety concerns," Arlong personally tested every single ride.
In simpler terms: he spent an entire day playing in the amusement park all by himself, riding every single attraction.
His official excuse was that many of the rides were potentially dangerous, and since he was the strongest person there, he was best equipped to handle any mechanical failures.
Jack, unfortunately, was far too massive to fit into any of the standard rides, so he couldn't participate in the "safety inspections."
With the attractions finalized, the official grand opening date was set. Arlong's crew began aggressively marketing the newly built park, even purchasing premium advertising space in "Big News" Morgans's World Economy News Paper.
Whenever the News Coos delivered the daily papers across the East Blue, they occasionally dropped colorful promotional flyers for the amusement park along with them.
At this exact moment, in the East Blue, within the Goa Kingdom's Foosha Village...
High up in the sky, a massive cluster of balloons was violently drifting through the clouds. Tied securely to the center of the balloons was a wildly screaming little boy.
"GRANDPA! LET ME DOWN!! I'M GONNA DIE!!"
"Luffy! You're going to become the strongest Marine in history!" a booming voice roared from the ground below. "Figure out a way to get down yourself! It builds character!"
The person floating in the sky was none other than the recently turned six-year-old Monkey D. Luffy, currently enduring the hellish, borderline-lethal "training regimen" of Garp the Fist.
Being thrown into bottomless ravines, abandoned in pitch-black jungles swarming with apex predators, and now tied to balloons and launched into the stratosphere... The core philosophy of Garp's training was simple: Ensure he doesn't die, but make him wish he was dead.
"AHHHHHH!!! WAAAAAH!!"
A violent gust of wind whipped through the sky, causing Luffy's balloon rig to swing wildly and eliciting an even more desperate shriek. Just then, a rogue piece of paper blown by the wind slapped squarely onto Luffy's face.
"Huh? What's this?"
Luffy peeled the paper off his face and stared at it.
He couldn't read most of the text, but the incredibly fun-looking rides and the vibrant, mouth-watering pictures of the park's premium food stalls instantly made him forget his terrifying altitude. His eyes sparkled with intense fascination.
"GRANDPA! I WANNA GO PLAY THERE!" Luffy screamed down at the ground, waving the flyer.
"What's that?! You've decided to train even harder to become a great Marine?!" Garp yelled back, completely misunderstanding him. "That's the spirit, Luffy! You really are my grandson! I'll add three more balloons!"
"GRANDPA, NO!!! AHHHHH!!!"
Simultaneously, inside the office of Marine Branch 16...
Major Nezumi was casually using an eraser to completely wipe away a pencil line marking the official patrol route running just west of Cocoyasi Village on his nautical chart.
"Major, is it really okay to do this?" a subordinate asked nervously.
Nezumi didn't even look up, his eyes fixed on his warship docked outside the window.
"Pirate activity has been incredibly rampant lately. Our forces are severely limited, so we must prioritize protecting the important maritime routes."
He heavily emphasized the word "important." Then, he picked up one of the colorful flyers for Ryugu Park off his desk and viciously tore it to shreds.
"Let the wild dogs of the sea catch the scent of fresh meat," Nezumi sneered maliciously. "If pirates raid the park, the ones who die will just be worthless peasants. The only thing that will be truly damaged is the arrogant pride of those Fish-Men. What does that have to do with us?"
Nezumi didn't dare make a massive, direct move against Arlong, but he was more than happy to play dirty behind the scenes. The Marines still possessed a strong deterrence in the Four Blues; naturally, any region completely devoid of Marine patrols would quickly become infested with bold pirates.
The grand opening of a massive amusement park would undoubtedly attract hordes of wealthy tourists carrying plenty of cash. It was the perfect, undefended target for a raid.
Some pirates had exactly the same thought. At this very moment, a pirate ship was sailing directly toward Cocoyasi Village.
A Jolly Roger featuring a massive, glaring red nose fluttered proudly in the wind. The captain of this vessel was none other than Buggy the Clown.
While Shanks had been fighting tooth and nail in the treacherous Grand Line, Buggy had remained comfortably in the East Blue. He had recruited a loyal crew and established his very own pirate fleet.
With a current bounty of 7 million Berries, Buggy was considered a relatively big shot in the East Blue.
"Listen up, boys! Are you ready to make a massive haul?!" Buggy cackled, standing at the bow.
"YEAH, CAPTAIN BUGGY!" his crew roared.
"According to my incredibly reliable sources, the Marines haven't patrolled these waters in weeks! A massive amusement park like that is guaranteed to be overflowing with rich tourists and unguarded cash! We're gonna pillage the whole place dry!"
"YEAH!!"
Before their arrival, Buggy was absolutely brimming with arrogant confidence. But the moment his ship actually approached the coastline of Cocoyasi, that confidence violently evaporated.
Buggy had just pulled out his spyglass to scope out the target. The very first thing that entered his field of vision was the colossal, towering stone statue carved into the peak of the mountain overlooking the park.
"N-Nereus... THAT'S A STATUE OF NEREUS?!" Buggy's jaw hit the deck, his eyes bulging out of his skull.
"Captain Buggy!" one of his cannoneers yelled excitedly. "That's a huge statue! Why don't we use it for target practice?! We can blow its head off with a cannonball to announce our arrival and—"
"STOP! YOU IDIOT! DON'T YOU DARE FIRE! ABORT THE THOUGHT IMMEDIATELY!!!" Buggy shrieked in absolute, pants-wetting terror, violently tackling the cannoneer away from the fuse.
Unlike the ignorant, small-time pirates native to the East Blue, Buggy possessed a terrifyingly accurate understanding of the world's true apex predators. At the very least, he knew exactly what the apocalyptic monsters of the New World looked like.
Having sailed through Fish-Man Island multiple times on Roger's ship, he recognized Nereus instantly. Seeing that massive statue erected here triggered every single survival instinct in his body.
After all, why would a random village in the East Blue randomly build a colossal statue of the King of the Deep for no reason?!
"What... what is the name of this amusement park again?!" Buggy screamed, grabbing his first mate by the collar.
"Uh... Ryugu Park, Captain."
"..."
Buggy felt a profound, agonizing wave of regret wash over him. He really should have read the promotional flyer more carefully before initiating this raid.
With a name like "Ryugu Park" and a massive statue of Nereus staring down at him, if someone tried to tell him this place had absolutely no connection to Fish-Man Island, he wouldn't believe them even if Shanks beat him to death!
"OPERATION ABORTED!!" Buggy roared.
"Huh? But Captain, they've already spotted our ship approaching!"
"Then we have no choice... Listen up, boys! Follow my orders exactly! From this second onward... we are NOT the Buggy Pirates! We are... the BUGGY CIRCUS! We heard this magnificent amusement park was opening, and we are here to provide the opening entertainment!"
With a terrified shriek, Buggy forcefully detached both of his hands using the Chop-Chop Fruit. His floating hands rocketed up the mast, violently tearing down the Jolly Roger and stuffing it away.
In a frantic blur of motion, he hastily adjusted his makeup, transforming himself from a menacing pirate captain into a genuine, highly enthusiastic circus clown.
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