At the bow of the Going Merry—what should have been Luffy's exclusive seat—
Nami stood there, gripping her Clima-Tact, her entire body wreathed in dazzling golden lightning.
Her eyes, frozen cold by overwhelming rage, were locked firmly onto the three fish-men standing amid the ruins—Arlong and his subordinates.
"Arlong!!!"
"I've come to take my revenge!!!!"
Nami suddenly roared in fury.
Though her voice naturally leaned toward softness and lacked sheer volume, the hatred carried within it had already surged straight into the heavens.
At this moment, the tightly wound tension she had carried for years finally snapped.
Her mother's death, and the humiliation and suffering of eight long years, caused bitter tears to stream from the corners of her eyes—only to be instantly seared away by crackling lightning.
Bell-mère… can you see this!?I can finally…
Get revenge for you!!!
Lightning flashed.
Activating Zippy Zap, Nami leapt straight off the Going Merry, using the move's effects to dart rapidly across the wreckage floating atop the sea.
In the blink of an eye, she landed on the territory of the Arlong Empire, facing the three fish-men of the demonic pirate crew alone.
"Is… is that really you, Nami!?"
Shock flickered across Arlong's face—only to be instantly swallowed by boundless fury.
"That cannon shell just now… YOU fired it, didn't you!?" he roared.
Nami answered without hesitation.
"That's right!"
"After eight years, I can finally avenge Bell-mère and everyone in the village!!"
"Arlong—your time is up!"
Crack—!
Brilliant arcs of electricity burst from Nami's hands as she suddenly swung the Clima-Tact. Massive quantities of hot and cold bubbles shot out from both ends of the staff.
At the same time, the rest of the Straw Hat crew gathered at the bow of the ship.
The gentle waves gradually pushed the Going Merry forward, drawing closer to the Arlong Empire.
Usopp—now restored to his usual hairstyle and skin tone—held a small slingshot and asked worriedly,
"Do we… really not need to go down there?"
"Those fish-men don't look easy to deal with…"
Even though he had already reached Level 18 and consumed plenty of stat candies Nami had no use for, greatly boosting his strength—
Usopp's personality still made it impossible for him to see himself as a strong fighter.
"No need!"
Luffy pressed one hand to his straw hat and watched Nami confront the fish-men, grinning broadly.
"This is Nami's wish. If we butt in…"
"She'd probably beat us up!"
Speaking from abundant life experience, Luffy expressed deep respect for Nami's fists.
"Exactly, Usopp," Red added mercilessly from the side."Don't underestimate Nami just because she's a girl~"
"You might lose your allowance if she hears you!"
"Hey, hey! I'm just worried about our crewmate!"Usopp hurriedly raised his hands in surrender.
Desperate to grow into a true warrior of the sea, he needed a lot of money to buy materials for developing stronger weapons and ammo.
Losing his allowance?
That would be a death sentence!
Click.
Sanji, the ever-smoking cook, lit another cigarette and exhaled calmly.
With his unmatched sensitivity toward women, he had clearly seen the moment Nami shed tears.
"Making such a cute Nami-swan cry… those fish-men truly deserve to die!!!"
"Hmph. Fish-men… the race of the deep sea, huh?"Zoro stood at the far edge of the group, carrying a massive metal block on his back while doing weighted squats."I wonder what it feels like to cut them down."
Having glimpsed the true scale of the world, Zoro's hunger for strength burned fiercer than anyone's.
And with the Pokémon Center's miraculous healing, he no longer had to worry about lasting injuries from excessive training.
As a result, over these past few days, Zoro had been pushing his body relentlessly—far beyond what most people could endure.
So much so that the rest of the Straw Hats didn't even dare think about relaxing—
Everyone had been dragged into ruthless self-improvement!
Even Red, at this very moment, was continuously tempering himself with Ancient Power.
…
…
While the Straw Hats chatted and joked—
The battle within the Arlong Empire finally erupted.
Upon realizing everything was Nami's doing, fury visibly boiled over among the fish-men.
"Damn humans! We should've slaughtered you all back then!!!"
Chew, the shortest-tempered of the three, was the first to lose control, instantly drawing in a mouthful of saliva.
As a kissing fish-man, he possessed the ability to fire water like a cannon using a unique mouth technique!
But before his attack could even finish charging—
Nami's figure suddenly distorted, vanishing from where she stood.
Then her icy voice echoed through the air:
"You're the ones who deserve to die."
"Mirage Tempo."
By altering air density with the Clima-Tact and manipulating light refraction—
This was a technique only Nami—exceptionally sensitive to weather—could wield.
"What!?"
The sudden disappearance of Nami stunned all three fish-men.
Before they could react, a sharp shout rang out beside Chew:
"Idiot! Where are you looking!?"
"Thunderbolt!!!"
BOOM!!!
A massive bolt of lightning tore through the air, materializing behind Chew like divine punishment, instantly piercing his entire body!
"AAAAAAA!!!"
Wrapped in lightning, Chew let out a bone-chilling scream of agony.
Startled by the sudden flash, Arlong and Kuroobi instinctively jumped back.
But by the time they tried to save Chew—it was already too late.
During the journey from Baratie to the Arlong Empire, Nami had reached Level 27.
With Special Attack stats far into triple digits—combined with her boundless hatred—
This bolt of lightning burned brighter than ever before!
In mere seconds, Chew was reduced to a pitch-black, charred fish-man, collapsing to the ground with a dull thud and releasing the scent of grilled fish.
"Chew!!!"Kuroobi cried out in horror.
Arlong, meanwhile, exploded with rage.
"NAMI!!! I'LL KILL YOU!!!"
Baring jagged fangs, he lunged at her like a wild beast.
The next moment—
Whoosh—
With a sweep of cool wind, Nami's body once again became an afterimage and vanished.
Arlong missed completely, nearly losing his balance.
But just as he turned to search for her—
His pupils shrank violently.
"Kuroobi—watch out!!!" Arlong shouted in panic.
A longtime practitioner of Fish-Man Karate, Kuroobi instantly understood.
Using the overwhelming physical strength of his species, he kicked off the ground and leapt away at full force.
The very next second, Nami appeared exactly where he had been standing—Clima-Tact blazing with lightning.
Had he been a step slower, he would've shared Chew's fate.
"Damn it! Since when did this woman gain such power!?""Is it a Devil Fruit!?"
The flashing lightning triggered terrible memories for Arlong.
Long ago, beneath a blinding light—
He himself had been casually and brutally defeated in an instant by a certain man.
Just as Arlong and Kuroobi breathed a sigh of relief—
Nami smiled sweetly.
"Nice reaction speed~"
"But here's a friendly reminder—today's a rainstorm~"
She spoke like a weather reporter.
The next instant, torrential rain poured from the sky—landing squarely on Kuroobi's head.
"What!?"Arlong and Kuroobi froze.
They watched Nami raise her staff, her face filled with exhilarating joy.
"Rain Tempo!!!"
"And then—"
"Thunderbolt!!!"
CRACK—!!!
Thunder roared like an enraged beast, surging skyward!
Unbeknownst to them, thick storm clouds had already blanketed the skies above the Arlong Empire, swallowing all light.
At that moment, Nami stood like a goddess of this world—its only remaining source of illumination!
Only…
This goddess was in a very, very bad mood.
"Die!!! Fish-man!!!"
BOOOOOM!!!
A blazing pillar of lightning crashed down from the heavens, splitting the sky apart with overwhelming force!
Under Nami's control, Pokémon techniques fused with nature itself—unleashing a far more terrifying power!
Following the path of the rain, Kuroobi had no way to escape and was instantly consumed by lightning!!!
The thunderous explosion mixed with agonized screams echoed throughout the Arlong Empire!
Only after dozens of seconds did the storm clouds slowly disperse, the lightning fading as its power ran out.
Sunlight once again bathed the Arlong Empire—
And shone upon Nami.
Soaked by rain, she looked even more radiant than usual.
She placed the Clima-Tact behind her back and stepped forward in cheap sandals, stopping before the stunned Arlong.
Slowly lifting her head, she revealed eyes so calm they felt unsettling, then smiled faintly.
"Well then…"
"Next…"
"It's your turn."
"Arlong—!!!"
(End of Chapter)