"You said I was brave?" Usopp, upon hearing Tom's comment, immediately stopped his blubbering. His face lit up with indescribable pride as he asked Tom again.
"Yes. The way you stood on the roof with trembling legs, talking to the fish-men, was indeed commendable," Tom said with a stern face to Usopp, who kept boasting beside him.
No wonder Tom said this. In just over a minute, Usopp had asked Tom no less than seven times if he was brave. Anyone would find it unbearable.
Nojiko, standing next to Tom, opened her mouth several times to ask about Nami's situation. But with fish-men present, some things were hard to ask out loud, so she had to give up.
However, Tom's safe appearance and apparent lack of fear toward Arlong made Nojiko begin to believe he might have truly gone alone into Arlong's base and taken Nami away.
But Nami wasn't with Tom. Knowing her extremely well, Nojiko understood that Nami still wanted to solve everything herself. Otherwise, if Tom truly took her from Arlong, she would have followed.
The surrounding fish-men, aside from the officers Kuroobi (the cartilage fish-man) and Chew (the long-snouted kissing fish-man), who appeared relatively calm, looked at Tom with fear.
Tom had already struck Arlong twice in their base and sent the massive Sea Cow flying with a rod. Now he was here causing trouble again, and his strength seemed no weaker than Arlong's.
In the East Blue, this was the first time the fish-men had seen someone who could rival Arlong in strength. Fish-men had innate advantages over humans, with arm strength ten times greater. But currently, this advantage seemed completely useless against Tom.
Genzo, bleeding from his head, climbed to his feet. The windmill on his police cap spun in the breeze. He looked at Usopp, who saved his life, and Tom, who saved Nojiko at the critical moment, feeling deeply confused. These two were clearly not locals. What were they doing here?
The villagers of Cocoyashi were also seeing for the first time someone who could effectively counterattack Arlong. They were all dumbfounded. Previously, they'd seen how easily arriving Marines were defeated by the fish-men.
There was no way around it. Arlong's strength simply couldn't be matched by the East Blue Navy branch alone. Only Marines from Headquarters could handle him.
But Marine Headquarters was overwhelmed dealing with the countless pirates of the Grand Line. They wouldn't divert forces for a remote and insignificant village in the East Blue.
Now Tom truly regretted praising Usopp. But Usopp seemed to have completely missed the meaning behind Tom's words. He continued speaking smugly, "Even so, as you said, I was still brave. I, known as the brave and fearless Captain Usopp, who has defeated countless powerful enemies—there's really nothing that scares me."
Usopp boasted to his heart's content, completely ignoring Tom's darkened expression. He was about to continue when a loud crash sounded. Arlong, buried under the shattered house, walked out.
Seeing Arlong's ferocious appearance, Usopp immediately hid behind Tom in terror.
"You dare injure my kin like that." Arlong swept his gaze around, seeing many fish-men lying scattered on the ground, all seriously injured and wailing in pain. His eyes glinted with murderous intent as he stared at Tom, speaking word by word.
"Don't stare at me with those dead fish eyes. They got hurt because you were throwing things around recklessly. In the end, it's your fault." Tom spread his hands, looking completely innocent. If Arlong hadn't gone berserk lifting and throwing an entire house, Tom wouldn't have thrown it back with his fishing line. Those fish-men wouldn't have been smashed half to death.
"I will torture you to death, you despicable human!" Arlong charged toward Tom. Usopp, hiding behind him, hurriedly took out his slingshot and aimed.
"Special Attack! Triple Fire Star!" Usopp fired three gunpowder stars, slowing Arlong's advance. He urgently asked Tom, "What do we do? You're not thinking of fighting him here, are you?"
The three Fire Stars exploded on Arlong. Though they caused no real damage, the thick black smoke temporarily blocked his vision.
"No! If you fight recklessly here, the village will be destroyed!" Nojiko was truly worried Tom would start a battle with Arlong here. With their far-beyond-human destructive power, if they truly fought, Cocoyashi Village would be finished for sure.
In addition, many villagers were nearby. If they were caught in the battle and injured, that wasn't what Nojiko wanted to see. So she decisively urged Tom to lure Arlong and the fish-men away.
Usopp strongly agreed. In his view, fleeing without fighting was simpler than risking his life against these ferocious fish-men here. Most importantly, it was safer for his own life. That's why he supported Nojiko's words.
If Tom weren't here, Usopp would have already run away long ago after provoking the fish-men, without needing Nojiko's reminder. But having recently made up his mind to change, he truly didn't want to abandon Tom and flee alone.
"How ridiculous. Even you, a woman I've known for less than a day, believe we have the ability to fight those fish-men. Yet Nami, who's been through life and death with us several times, refuses to believe us. I really don't understand what's going on in that woman's head right now," Tom said to Nojiko beside him. "Don't worry. Although I really want to tear Arlong's stinking mouth apart, I won't fight him here."
"I'm a pirate, not some soft-hearted fool who shows kindness at every turn. If Nami insists she doesn't want me to interfere, wants to solve things on her own, then I have no reason to fight. I don't want to do something so meaningless."
Tom remembered Nami's words after taking her from the Arlong Pirates' base—that she could solve things here on her own. Though he had angrily scolded her then, if Nami insisted on her own method, no matter what he said, she wouldn't listen.
Whether man or woman, especially those who never give up easily, once they become stubborn, even ten oxen couldn't pull them back. This, Tom knew very well.
Coming to Cocoyashi this time, confirming Usopp was okay, Tom's goal was basically achieved. He planned to go find Nami again.
Seeing Arlong charge out of the thick smoke, Tom shoved the still-dazed Nojiko aside to avoid her being affected. He said to Arlong, "Hey, stinky fish. If you can catch me, I'll consider playing with you. Fish-men on land are just amphibious creatures with webbed feet and fins. Nothing special."
"We fish-men are the highest lifeforms in nature, not something you lowly humans can compare to! You dare belittle us like this?! I'll bite you to pieces!" Arlong was driven into a berserk rage by Tom's words. For someone who believed fish-men were far superior to humans, not exploding in anger would have been strange.
"Usopp, let's split up and run. You'll be fine, right?" As Tom said this, he had already used his fishing line to latch onto a distant rooftop and swung away, quickly widening the distance from Arlong.
"Of course! Me, escaping alone? I'm not afraid at all." Usopp's words were firm, but his legs couldn't help trembling again.
As Tom drew Arlong's attention into a chase, Usopp also fired several gunpowder stars at the fish-men still in the village. "If you have the ability, come catch me! Can you keep up with the world's fastest runner, Captain Usopp?"
Usopp's legs shook violently, but he still stuck his rear out and slapped it a few times at the fish-men. "You can only eat my dust! Hahaha!"
Successfully enraging the fish-men, Usopp saw them charging toward him and was so scared his eyes nearly popped out. Then he bolted at full speed, with many fish-men chasing behind him.
Another group of fish-men, along with Arlong, went to chase Tom running in the opposite direction.
Nojiko and the villagers saw that in just moments, Tom and Usopp had led all the fish-men away. Even the previously injured fish-men followed, leaving the village suddenly much quieter. They felt strangely unaccustomed to the sudden calm.
"Do you know them?" Genzo, having roughly treated his head wound, sat by the pavilion and asked Nojiko.
After chatting for a while, Genzo understood Tom and Usopp's purpose here. He lowered his head, falling into silence.
A few minutes later, Nami returned to Cocoyashi Village holding a bouquet of flowers. But upon seeing her, the villagers who had gathered around Genzo to care for his injuries all darkened their faces, silently returning to their houses, deliberately slamming their doors shut, clearly expressing their disgust toward Nami, whom they saw as a traitor to the village.
Seeing the villagers' hostile attitude, Nami's bright eyes dimmed slightly but quickly returned to normal. She glanced at the shattered houses and walked toward Nojiko and Genzo still outside. "I heard a huge noise earlier. Was it Arlong?"
"Nami, how do you have time to return to the village? He should have gone to find you, right?" Nojiko hesitated for a moment, looking as if she wanted to speak but stopped herself.
"Who are you talking about?" Nami's expression changed as she urgently asked.
"Not long ago, a long-nosed man and a guy who swings through the air with strange tools clashed with Arlong and his men here. You really don't know who they are?" Genzo put his police cap back on. The windmill on it had stopped turning due to the lack of wind.
Hearing Genzo, Nami was completely stunned.
Meanwhile, Tom used his fishing lines to swing through the forest, his movement speed naturally far exceeding that of fish-men running on land.
After spending time shaking off Arlong and his men, Tom returned to the small grove where he had been with Nami. Searching around and not finding her, he crossed his arms and said, "That woman really won't listen to me. Forget it. I didn't expect she'd do as I said and obediently find a place to wait for me. No wonder she's called a witch. So willful."
Sitting on the ground and thinking for a while, Tom decided to check Arlong's base to see if Nami was there and immediately set off.
Some time later, Tom arrived at Arlong's base. The stone gate he shattered earlier had been replaced with a new one, but it was ajar, not yet closed. He pushed it open and walked inside.
"What's going on here?" Upon entering, Tom saw a large number of fish-men lying scattered on the ground. Checking their wounds, they were clearly slashed by blades.
These defeated fish-men were Zoro's work. Shortly after Nami untied him, he casually took care of the fish-men left behind, then sat on the lounge chair waiting for Arlong's return. He later discovered the octopus fish-man Hachi was outside fishing.
Zoro went to chat with Hachi, saying he wanted to find Arlong. The muddle-headed Hachi personally escorted Zoro—the enemy who had cut down many of his comrades—to Cocoyashi Village.
"Weird. Did Zoro come here alone and cut down all the fish-men guarding the place?" Tom kicked aside a fish-man blocking his way and sprawled casually onto Arlong's former lounge chair.
Clang!
Tom lay back comfortably with both hands behind his head, legs crossed, his extended fishing rod planted in the ground. After all, this was the fish-men's nest. He had to be ready for combat at any time.
"Why would Zoro cut down all those fish-men alone and not rendezvous with us? What is he thinking? Could it be he got lost and accidentally wandered in here? If so, his luck is really something—wandering around randomly and still finding the fish-men's base."
"Things seem to be getting a bit complicated. I initially thought if Nami understood we would help her deal with the Arlong Pirates, she'd return to our side. But she seems completely unwilling to let us interfere in her affairs. What is that woman hiding from us?"
"Also, if Nami didn't return here, where did she run off to?" Tom thought for a while, feeling his head spin. A light breeze passed, and he suddenly let out a huge sneeze. "Hah-choo!!!!"
"Strange. How did I catch a cold at a time like this?" Tom wiped his nose and sneezed again, feeling quite speechless. When did his body become this weak? Catching a cold from such a light breeze was ridiculous.
"Could it be from giving Nami CPR? Did her illness infect me?" Tom had no idea his sudden cold wasn't from Nami. It was because he'd earlier been poisoned by a snake and unintentionally used his Devil Fruit ability, causing his immune cells to grow rapidly and greatly boosting his resistance in a short time.
Now that the ability had subsided, his immune cell activity dropped sharply, and his body's resistance naturally became much weaker than usual. On top of that, he'd been exposed to wind while escaping Arlong using his fishing line. Thus, he promptly caught a cold.
"Nami's not here. It's boring staying here. Blame Zoro for taking out all the fish-men, leaving me nothing to do." Tom sniffed, shook his dizzy head, and pulled out the fishing rod stuck in the ground. "As a pirate, coming to another pirate crew's territory and leaving without doing something isn't my style."
Very quickly, Tom decided to loot the Arlong Pirates before leaving. He immediately began taking action.
After searching around, Tom carried a very large sack on his back, stuffed with piles upon piles of money, estimating at least a hundred million. He said happily, "So much money. I've never seen this much. We're rich."
Very satisfied with this plunder, Tom continued looting. He arrived at the top floor of the Arlong Pirates' base, kicked open a locked door, and entered a dim room filled with nautical charts.
"Hmm, this unpleasant feeling is really uncomfortable." Upon entering, Tom felt uneasy all over. He dropped the sack full of money and looked around the room…
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T/N :
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