The Fish-Men truly lived up to their reputation as a powerful race whose natural physiques surpassed ordinary humans by more than tenfold.
Under Nami's Thunderbolt, Arlong howled in agony for nearly a full minute before his ferocious presence finally faded away.
In the end, accompanied by the unmistakable smell of grilled fish, Arlong—his body completely charred—collapsed forward and lost all signs of life.
"Bell-mère… did you see that?"
"I… I did it."
As she stared at Arlong's lifeless corpse, Nami's eyes gradually blurred.
At that moment, she could barely tell whether everything before her was reality or merely a dream.
Since joining the Straw Hat crew, only a little over ten days had passed.
Yet she had already grown strong enough to toy with Arlong at will.
That mountain she once viewed as an insurmountable peak had now become nothing more than a shallow puddle on the ground—stepped over effortlessly.
And all of this came from her companions.
Luffy and Zoro had given up their precious "game time," Red had created a Pokémon world that felt nothing short of miraculous, Usopp had crafted a powerful Clima-Tact for her…
Even Sanji, who had only just joined the crew, cooked exquisite and delicious meals for her every single day, keeping her spirits high no matter what.
Without the strength of her companions, she could never have defeated Arlong so easily.
"Thank you… everyone."
Nami pressed a hand to her chest and whispered silently in her heart.
"Nami-swaaaan!!!"
At that moment, a voice full of shameless flattery suddenly rang out from nearby.
Sanji—who had already come ashore—was racing toward them at full speed, his legs spinning like a whirlwind.
Behind him came the rest of the Straw Hat crew, disembarking one after another.
Sanji took the lead, clutching a simple medical kit as he rushed to Nami's side.
"Nami-swan! Quick, let me bandage your wounds!"
"Okay."
Nami didn't refuse. She slowly lifted her short sleeve, now soaked red with blood.
On her once fair shoulder were several terrifying holes, blood still seeping out steadily.
At the same time, Luffy, Red, and the others gathered around.
Seeing the wounds on her shoulder, everyone frowned.
Even Zoro—usually the tough, stoic type—couldn't hide the worry in his eyes.
Usopp, who understood medical treatment and bandaging better than Sanji, stepped forward on his own. As he skillfully wrapped the gauze around her shoulder, he couldn't help muttering,
"Wounds this deep… they'll probably leave scars."
"Why don't you let Red take you to a Pokémon Center?"
As time went on, aside from Luffy—whose brain frequently went offline—the rest of the Straw Hats had developed a decent understanding of Red's abilities.
Things like the distance limitations of the Pokémon Center, or the conditions required to bring items out of the Pokémon world…
Aside from the hard-to-explain fact that he was a transmigrator, Red had hardly hidden anything from his companions.
Because of that, everyone had grown used to exploiting the mechanics of the game world to make life in the real world easier.
However, Nami gently shook her head at Usopp's suggestion.
"Not yet."
"Is it because of… that tattoo?"
Zoro instantly understood. He had seen the mark of the Arlong Pirates on Nami before.
With his sharp combat intuition, he had also noticed that Nami had deliberately failed to dodge Arlong's attack earlier.
Red lightly patted Zoro's back, signaling him not to reopen Nami's old wound—figuratively speaking.
That small gesture didn't escape Nami's eyes.
Seeing Zoro's suddenly awkward expression, she let out a soft laugh and answered openly,
"That's right. It's because of that tattoo."
She gently laid a hand over the bandaged wound and explained,
"This tattoo was carved into me by the Arlong Pirates when I was ten years old."
"So when Arlong attacked this spot, I hesitated for just a moment… and chose to let him hit me."
"Because in that instant, the very last symbol of the Arlong Pirates in this world would be destroyed by Arlong's own hands!"
"It may sound childish, but please forgive me for indulging in that little bit of stubbornness."
Nami slowly spread her arms, standing amid the ruins littered with Fish-Man corpses, and smiled brightly—sweet and radiant.
At that moment, a baseball cap was suddenly placed on her head.
Red patted her hair and said gently,
"Don't worry, Nami."
"All the suffering is over now."
"And your future… is only just beginning."
"Besides, with all of us here, if anyone ever dares to bully you again…"
"They'd better make sure their head is hard enough."
"Yeah, Nami!!!" Luffy pulled his straw hat down firmly and slapped his chest. "If anyone dares to mess with you, I'll punch them flying!!!"
"Speaking of which…" Red suddenly rubbed his chin. "There actually is someone nearby who fits that description."
"Huh?!"
Luffy froze, not expecting trouble to show up so quickly.
He immediately asked,
"Who is it?!"
A sharp glint flashed in Red's eyes.
"The commander of Marine Branch 16—Colonel Nezumi."
"For all these years, he's colluded with the Arlong Pirates, shielding and indulging their crimes. That's why places like Cocoyasi Village ended up like this."
"Now that the Arlong Pirates are gone, we might as well clean him up too."
"What do you say, Captain?"
Smack!
Luffy slammed his fist into his palm and grinned.
"Hmph! If he's someone who bullied Nami, then there's no way I'm letting him off easy!!!"
"So our next destination is settled, then."
Zoro rested one hand on the hilt of Wado Ichimonji, anticipation flashing in his eyes.
Perfect timing—his two fine swords had been broken by Hawk-Eyes.
A Marine base should have some decent blades lying around, right?
...
...
"Nami?!"
A short while later, as the Straw Hats were chatting casually, a voice suddenly called out from outside the Arlong Empire.
A blue-haired, tan-skinned young woman stood there, staring blankly at the scene before her.
Behind her was a middle-aged man wearing a hat with a pinwheel attached.
They were Nami's sister, Nojiko, and Cocoyasi Village's sheriff, Genzo.
"Big sis!? Genzo?!"
Nami immediately greeted them with a bright smile.
Not long after, inside the only clinic in Cocoyasi Village.
Nojiko listened in stunned silence as Nami recounted how she had stormed the Arlong Empire. Unable to hold herself back, she reached out and placed a hand on Nami's forehead.
"She doesn't have a fever, does she…?" Nojiko muttered.
That instantly earned her an annoyed protest.
"Hey, Nojiko!"
"Alright, alright."
Nojiko raised both hands in surrender, then asked with concern,
"So… are you going to set sail with those people and become a pirate?"
"Yeah." Lying facedown on the clinic bed, Nami nodded with a smile. "I already promised them I'd be their navigator."
"…It looks like you've really grown up."
After hesitating for a moment, Nojiko finally smiled—one filled with encouragement.
She hated the thought of Nami leaving, but how could she stop her sister from walking a path that truly suited her?
Nojiko looked up at the seabirds flying past the window, as if seeing Nami spreading her wings and flying far away.
"Before you leave, go visit Bell-mère."
She sighed softly, smiling.
"I'm sure she'd love to hear it too… everything you just told me."
"I will."
Nami nodded, then added,
"But it'll have to wait until we come back."
"Bell-mère's and Cocoyasi Village's resentment hasn't truly ended yet!"
Recalling the things Colonel Nezumi had done over the years, murderous lightning flared in Nami's eyes.
She gave Nojiko a cold smile.
"This time, I'm going to wipe out the umbrella protecting the Arlong Pirates completely!!!"
Sometimes, the protective umbrella behind evil is far more enraging than the evil itself.
(End of Chapter)