"You have some nerve, daring to attack Arlong!" a squid fish-man with a sun-like emblem on his forehead, waving six octopus arms, shouted at Tom.
"You've got nerve too, yapping in front of me when I'm in such a bad mood," Tom retorted, eyeing the fish-man's trumpet-like mouth and wondering if it could shoot ink.
"My nerve has always been big! Although you praised me, you're an enemy. I won't hold back!" Hachi's words made Tom instantly dumbfounded. He hadn't expected such a simple-minded guy in this ferocious fish-man pirate crew.
When Tom, holding her hand, punched Arlong flying, Nami's heart tightened with intense worry for him.
What nearly made Nami collapse was that Tom was now casually chatting with Hachi, an officer of the Arlong Pirates, as if nothing had happened. She truly wanted to kick him straight to the end of the Grand Line.
Run, you idiot! Can't you see the fish-men closing in?
Head bowed, Nami pressed her lips together. She knew Tom attacked Arlong because she cried. This stirred a strange feeling in her heart, along with deep self-blame.
How can I be so useless, crying in front of him like this!
Feeling the warmth from Tom's hand, her chilled body gradually warmed. At the same time, she made a decision.
Of course, Tom noticed the fish-men ready to attack. He was thinking about what to do next—cause a scene here or just turn and run with Nami.
He had used nearly 70% of his strength in that punch. Yet Arlong, taking it head-on, clearly wasn't badly hurt. This gave Tom further understanding of Arlong's strength.
Arlong was arguably the strongest enemy Tom had faced since setting out to sea, aside from Mihawk. Any previous foe—Buggy, Kuro, even the "Strongest in the East" Don Krieg—would have had their face swollen by that punch. But Arlong's face looked fine.
In other words, being outnumbered and facing Arlong's strength did place a certain amount of pressure on Tom.
The fish-man grunts were nothing; Tom could take them out quickly.
The problem was if Arlong and the other officers ganged up on him. Tom wasn't confident he could leave here safely with Nami in tow.
This uncertainty stemmed mainly from Nami.
Her earlier "Get lost!" made it clear she wouldn't leave willingly.
With Nami uncooperative, fighting the fish-men while protecting her alone would be quite difficult.
So Tom quickly decided: forcibly take Nami and go.
Damn it! I might not finish you fish-men off alone, but when my buddies get here and we all go at you, let's see how arrogant you are then!
Tom scanned the fish-men surrounding him, planning to force a breakout with Nami.
"For a guy like this, we don't even need to fight. We can just have Mohmoo deal with him." Hachi, seeing only one enemy, thought for a moment. He walked to the seawater pool, gripped his long trumpet-like mouth with a tentacle, and blew into it like a horn.
Soon, Tom felt a slight tremor. Then, a massive, familiar Sea Cow appeared before him.
Seeing Hachi summon this fierce beast from the Grand Line, Nami's heart jumped. She prepared to act to help Tom escape quickly.
But Tom, seeing the summoned Mohmoo, actually looked somewhat happy.
"So it's you! I was worried I'd never see you again. Didn't expect you to show up so soon. Great!"
Tom looked up at the giant Sea Cow, released Nami's hand, and took the fishing rod from his arm sheath.
The Sea Cow, upon seeing Tom, remembered being brutally beaten by him with a stick at sea. It immediately became teary-eyed, looking quite pitiful.
The sudden loss of Tom's warm hand left Nami momentarily uncomfortable. She saw the beast seemed to fear Tom, which puzzled her.
Even the fish-men were utterly confused. Why did the ferocious Mohmoo become as meek as a lamb upon seeing Tom?
"Don't give me that pitiful look. Think I'll sympathize?" Tom extended the rod and swung it hard at the dazed-looking Sea Cow. "Don't forget what you did to me at sea! You were the one who—!"
As he spoke, Tom suddenly remembered: if he said out loud here that this Sea Cow had swatted him flying, wouldn't that be a huge embarrassment in front of Nami? He decisively stopped mid-sentence.
Truthfully, no wonder Tom remembered this beast so well. Since sailing with Luffy, the one and only time he'd been sent flying—and far—was by this Sea Cow.
For Tom, it was indeed a humiliation. Seeing the beast again now was like enemies meeting—his eyes burned with hatred. He wouldn't hold back. It was time for revenge.
Smack! Clang! Thud! Wham!
Tom wielded the long rod without hesitation, giving the Sea Cow a severe beating. Under Nami's astonished gaze, he struck the beast's belly, sending it flying into the sky, leaving the surrounding fish-men dumbfounded.
"So satisfying. Finally got that grudge off my chest." Tom watched the Sea Cow vanish into the distance as a speck of light, saying happily, returning the shortened rod to its sheath.
What kind of grudge does he have against it? Why is he so vicious? Nami thought in shock as she watched the beast disappear.
Tom's feat of sending the massive Sea Cow flying intimidated the fish-men who wanted to charge. Without orders from Arlong or the officers, they didn't dare move recklessly.
"You dare treat our pet Mohmoo like that! I won't forgive you!" Hachi said angrily, seeing the Sea Cow he usually cared for beaten badly.
"Can't blame me." Tom spread his hands, looking innocent. "If it did something that completely angered you, would you forgive it easily?"
"If it really was like you said, I'd definitely discipline it properly!" Hachi stroked his chin and thought seriously.
"Then why are you angry? It ticked me off before. Not beating it to vent would leave me uncomfortable." Tom vaguely felt this octopus fish-man wasn't so bad—more like an honest person.
"I see. Then I forgive you." Hachi smiled at him.
Hearing Tom and Hachi's conversation, the surrounding fish-men were all petrified.
"Sha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Arlong, slumped against the wall, suddenly laughed, his shark-like eyes fixed on Tom. "What a despicable human, tricking my kin with words. Since coming to the East Blue, you're the first human to land a fist on my face. It did hurt a bit."
Here, Arlong looked at Nami, who stood silently behind Tom.
"Eight years ago, a female Marine kicked me to the ground and stuck a gun in my mouth. What happened to her in the end? You haven't forgotten, have you, Nami?"
As soon as Arlong spoke, Tom clearly felt Nami's hand—just warmed—turn ice-cold again. Her breathing became chaotic, her emotions violently stirred. He could faintly hear her suppressed, uncontrollable sobbing.
Hearing Arlong, Nami remembered eight years ago, when she was ten. Her mother Bell-mère was killed by Arlong right before her eyes. Recalling these painful memories, how could she not be heartbroken?
"What's wrong with you?" Seeing Nami's extreme distress, far worse than before, Tom glared at Arlong in anger. "You really are a filthy fish that never learns! I'm going to rip your mouth off!"
Even knowing a full fight with the Arlong Pirates now would be dangerous, Tom truly couldn't stand Arlong.
Hachi and the two other officers moved to intercept as Tom aimed for Arlong.
Just as Tom prepared to strike, Nami suddenly pulled out her three-section staff and attacked him.
Seeing Nami attack Tom, Hachi and the others froze, looking at Arlong. Arlong sneered and gestured for them to watch.
"What are you doing?" Tom was utterly confused by Nami's frantic attack.
Why? I heard her sobbing earlier, but she's not crying now. Did she force it back? How much willpower does it take to hold back tears like that?
Seeing Nami's resolute expression and attacks without hesitation, Tom could only focus on dodging.
"Who told you to attack Arlong! As an officer of the Arlong Pirates, how could I let you go!" Nami attacked with her staff, screaming inside: Run! Get away from here! I don't want to see anyone killed by fish-men like Bell-mère eight years ago!
"Nami, you really are my good partner. I knew you wouldn't betray me! Sha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Arlong laughed smugly.
"Is that it? You've made your decision. But unfortunately, I have my own convictions!" Tom glanced at the smugly laughing Arlong. Ignoring Nami's attack, he took out his rod, instantly extended it, and swept it across Arlong's face at lightning speed. The blow nearly twisted his mouth sideways, abruptly stopping his laughter and sending him flying into the opposite wall.
Just as Tom's rod struck Arlong's face, Nami's staff hit Tom's right shoulder. His wound split open, blood flowing and staining the bandages red.
Why didn't you dodge?!
Nami stared at Tom in shock. She thought he was much stronger; her attack shouldn't have landed. She never expected him to take it without avoiding.
"It's nothing strange. If I dodged your hit, I couldn't have landed one on that filthy fish." Tom said this to Nami, put away his rod, grabbed her staff, and pulled her toward him. He swept a glance at the charging fish-men and looked at Arlong.
"Remember, that hit was just interest. I'm a man who keeps his word! Soon, I'll come back here to tear that filthy mouth of yours apart!"
"Let's go."
Tom wrapped an arm around Nami. His left wrist shot out a fishing line that stuck to a high wall over ten meters away. Holding Nami, he swung out of the compound.
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T/N :
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