Opening the third paper windmill, Tom saw that the drawing inside was no longer of people, but of a large treasure chest.
The chest was open, filled with gold and jewels.
The back of the drawing, again, had many words written on it. Tom also noticed that on this drawing, one could faintly see dots and streaks of long-dried water stains.
Clearly, Nami had been crying while writing on the back of this one.
Eight years. It's been eight years since I joined the Arlong Pirates. I forced myself to draw sea charts for Arlong and his men while also often going out to steal treasure from pirates.
Bell-mère was right. No matter what happens, I shouldn't resent the era I was born into.
This is the Great Pirate Era. Although I hate pirates, it's also thanks to so many pirates that I can steal from them. That's how I managed to almost gather one hundred million Berries in less than eight years.
The pain I've endured these eight years will soon be over.
I hope I have good gains on this trip out to sea.
Bell-mère, do you know?
I'm actually really tired. But I remember you said girls should be even stronger. So I won't give up. We have to hold on.
From the moment I decided to buy this village from Arlong for one hundred million Berries, I knew I had to fight alone.
Because if I asked others for help again, it would just hurt more people.
Eight years have passed, but I still remember clearly: eight years ago, when Arlong captured me, I cried for help to Genzo and the villagers. They were all beaten up by the fish-men. Genzo nearly died trying to save me.
So no matter how sad, no matter how hard, I can only rely on myself. I never want to see anyone get hurt or die trying to help me again.
Bell-mère, am I being very foolish like this?
Back then, if you had just denied that Nojiko and I were your children, you could have lived. You wouldn't have been killed by Arlong.
But even at the cost of your life, you wouldn't deny in front of us that we were your children. Just because you were our mother, and we were your children.
You were also foolish, weren't you?
So, as your daughter, isn't it okay for me to be a little foolish too?
If possible, I really want you to see the world map I drew with your own eyes, Bell-mère!
Tom could tell this paper windmill was folded only a few months ago, much newer than the previous two.
You big idiot! You don't understand anything at all!
Tom's mind recalled when he was carrying Nami to the small grove, they had argued, and Nami had said those exact words to him.
So Nami's love for money wasn't without reason.
Tom thought of when they left Orange Town. Luffy left a bag worth five million Berries for the townspeople.
Nami was furious then, even pushing his and Luffy's heads into the seawater. Tom had thought Nami was too greedy. Didn't she still have five million in treasure herself?
No wonder Nami insisted on refusing their help. She didn't want to see them get hurt, was worried they might die. Should I call her an idiot?
Understanding the cause and effect, the anger in Tom's heart toward Arlong burned even fiercer, but he himself calmed down. He put away the three paper windmills, his gaze falling on a fourth one on the desk.
This windmill was very new; Tom estimated it was folded within the last few days. He hesitated, then finally unfolded the fourth one.
To his surprise, this windmill had a blurry human figure drawn on it. He could vaguely make out that the person wore sheaths on both arms and seemed to hold a long rod in the right hand. The more he looked, the more it seemed like him.
Flipping the drawing over, Tom saw several lines of small writing on the back.
That's right, it's this idiot!
Seeing the first line, Tom was instantly embarrassed. This isn't about me, is it?
Eight years ago, I made up my mind never to cry in front of others, never to show weakness in front of outsiders. This was the first step I took to become a strong girl.
In these eight years, I really managed to do it. Even in front of Nojiko, no matter how sad, I never shed a single tear.
But ever since I met this idiot, I've cried in front of him many times. Strangely, I don't dislike it.
But I still have to get rid of this habit. Otherwise, what will I do when he's no longer by my side in the future?
I feel his strength grows so fast, like a monster. But in front of real monsters, everything is powerless. I don't want…
There were more words, but Nami had crossed them out. Tom couldn't make them out and had to give up.
"Weird. She cried in front of me, and I didn't even mock her. Why call me an idiot?" Tom confirmed the drawing was of him and said puzzledly. He also understood one thing: in Nami's heart, those fish-men were the real monsters.
After thinking without conclusion, Tom folded the drawing back into a paper windmill and put it away. He prepared to put back the pen he picked up into the holder but noticed the feather on the pen's back was stained a dark reddish-brown.
Looking at the long-dried bloodstain on the pen's feather, Tom's breathing suddenly became heavy. "Isn't it only natural for this pen to be like this?"
Tom placed the pen on the desk and walked to a pile of sea charts on the floor. He casually picked up a stack and started flipping through it. The more he looked, the angrier he became, because he noticed one thing.
Every single one of these sea charts had slight bloodstains on it. Though not obvious, one could notice them if paying attention.
What state of mind was Nami in while drawing these charts for the fish-men? Was it just pain and helplessness?
Thinking this, Tom flipped through other stacks of charts. The result was the same. He coldly swept his gaze across the dim, gloomy room and made a decision.
But when Tom prepared to act, he took one step forward and felt the world spin. Then he collapsed to the ground, falling unconscious.
While viewing the secrets hidden in the paper windmills, Tom's cold had been steadily worsening. His body had gradually grown scorching hot.
Suffering from a severe cold and high fever, Tom's body had become very weak without him realizing it, and his condition was still continuing to deteriorate.
Just as Tom passed out, Arlong, filled with seething anger from Tom's actions, returned to the base with a group of fish-men. He saw fish-men strewn all over the place inside.
Upon questioning, Arlong learned from the slashed fish-men that the person they had imprisoned earlier was none other than the famous Pirate Hunter Zoro of the East Blue.
What made Arlong even more furious was that Tom had also come here later and seemed to have looted their base.
"What did you say? The over one hundred million Berries from our treasury are all gone?" Hearing about the missing money, Arlong was so angry his eyes nearly burst. His saw-toothed long-nosed face became extremely sinister. "It must be that guy! I'll tear him apart alive!"
Unfortunately, though the fish-men cut down by Zoro were still conscious, they were on their last legs. No one knew if Tom had left. By normal judgment, Tom should have already left with the large sum of money. So Arlong ordered several fish-men to continue searching for Tom outside.
Knowing Tom's strength, Arlong specifically instructed them not to engage him. They were to report back if they found him, and Arlong would personally take action.
No doubt Arlong and his men never dreamed that the guy who robbed them of over one hundred million Berries was currently lying in the survey room on the top floor of their base.
It must be said, this was truly ironic.
Not long after Arlong's return, Chew, one of the fish-man officers, brought back Usopp, who had provoked them earlier.
Usopp had initially evaded the fish-men's pursuit. But hiding in the shadows, he saw the fish-men interrogating the little boy from Kessa Village and preparing to kill him. Wanting to save the boy, Usopp had to jump out.
Who knew that just as Usopp stepped out from hiding, Chew happened to pass behind him. Thus, Usopp tragically fell into fish-man hands.
The only small blessing was that catching Usopp put the fish-men in a good mood, so they let the boy go.
Arlong felt that even killing Usopp wouldn't vent his anger. What he most wanted to kill now was Tom, then Zoro, and finally Usopp.
To save his life, Usopp without hesitation sold out Zoro, saying Zoro was also his accomplice. If they kept him alive, Tom and Zoro would definitely come to rescue him.
Hearing Arlong say Tom had also robbed them of over one hundred million Berries, Usopp was so shocked his jaw nearly dropped, cold sweat pouring down his forehead. He prayed that when Tom came to rescue him, he would absolutely remember to bring the money. Otherwise, if the fish-men couldn't recover their money and got angry enough to kill him, that would be terrible.
Just as Usopp was desperately boasting nonsense to stall for time, Nami, who had learned from the little boy in Cocoyashi that Usopp was captured, hurried back to Arlong's base.
Because of Zoro's unexplained escape, and since he, Tom, and Usopp were in the same group, with Tom having come here alone to find Nami, many fish-men suspected Nami might have already betrayed them.
Facing the fish-men's questioning, Nami felt angry and anxious. She hadn't expected that right after Tom's rampage, Zoro would also cause trouble.
If Nami knew Tom had also robbed the Arlong Pirates of over one hundred million Berries, she would have been so angry she would have fainted on the spot.
Why do you have to interfere with me? Everything was going so smoothly.
Nami kept a stern face and looked at Usopp, whose neck was pressed with a dagger by Arlong. She lowered her head, clenched her silver teeth, and made a decision in her heart.
"Hey, Nami! I'm so disappointed in you! You witch!" Usopp shouted angrily at Nami when he saw her still choosing to stand with Arlong. "Luffy knew you ran away but still deeply trusted you! Tom even risked his life coming here alone to find you! They trust you so much, yet you cruelly deceive them!"
"Then I thank them very much. But I only believe in money." Nami said with a cold expression to Usopp. "People who get deceived are just stupid, aren't they?"
"What did you say?" Usopp was so angry his eyes nearly popped out at Nami's almost heartless words.
To eliminate the fish-men's suspicion, Nami decided to personally "kill" Usopp.
Hearing Nami say she would personally deal with him, and seeing the surrounding fish-men pull back to watch, Usopp felt a surge of joy, thinking it was a chance to escape. He fired a smoke pellet from his slingshot.
Usopp, who planned to escape the base while the smoke blocked their vision, was intercepted by Nami. She stabbed him, and covered in blood, he fell into the seawater pool behind him and sank.
The scene of Nami stabbing Usopp was coincidentally seen by Johnny, who had been hiding outside the stone gate to spy. He was immediately scared pale and fled at top speed.
In truth, Nami of course hadn't killed Usopp. When she stabbed with the dagger, she used her other hand to block in front. What she stabbed was her own hand.
The blood on Usopp was also from Nami's injured hand. After falling into the seawater pool, he took the chance to swim away.
Seeing Nami kill Usopp without hesitation, the fish-men finally dismissed their doubts. She then temporarily left the base, wanting to return to Bell-mère's house to calm herself.
After Nami left, Arlong sent someone to contact the Navy's 16th Branch, Commodore Nezumi, saying he had something to discuss.
Meanwhile, Luffy and the others, with the giant Sea Cow towing their ship, arrived in Arlong's territory. The Sea Cow had first been beaten severely by Tom.
Then it met Luffy and Sanji and took another beating. Hungry, having not eaten lunch, exhausted, and thoroughly abused, its dizzy head pulled their ship straight into the shore.
Under the powerful impact, their ship was tragically launched into the air.
Zoro had just arrived in Cocoyashi Village and heard about Usopp's capture. In his haste to find Arlong, while running through a small forest, he saw a ship fall from the sky and got sent flying far away by the impact.
After meeting Zoro, Luffy asked where Tom and Usopp were, as he couldn't see them.
Zoro wasn't sure of Tom's current whereabouts, but he knew about Usopp. Just as he told Luffy Usopp was in danger, Johnny appeared and told them Usopp had already been killed by Nami.
Having witnessed Usopp's death at Nami's hands, Johnny had no interest in investigating whether his partner Yosaku was a merman.
As for Zoro, he had long since selectively erased that memory and didn't remember seeing the merman-like Yosaku at all.
Luffy was very agitated about Nami killing Usopp. He grabbed Johnny by the collar and loudly demanded why he would say such a thing.
Just as Johnny recounted the facts he saw, Commodore Purin from the Navy's 77th Branch approached the Arlong Pirates. Sent to rescue Kessa Village, he ordered a cannon shot at Arlong's base first.
Arlong, who initially wanted to bribe away the unwelcome Navy, bit apart the incoming cannonball and ordered Hachi and the others to deal with the Navy.
Many Cocoyashi villagers stood on the shore, watching the Navy prepare to attack. But within just a few minutes, the Navy ships sank into a suddenly appearing whirlpool, ships destroyed and men lost.
With the sea charts Nami drew, the fish-men could fully understand ocean currents and artificially create massive whirlpools, easily destroying Navy ships.
Seeing a Navy warship so easily taken out by fish-men, the little boy, who had been excited, fell into complete despair. Those Marines were the rescue requested by the few survivors from his village, Kessa Town, who had escaped days ago—only to find they were completely useless.
"This is reality. It's impossible to measure the extent of Arlong's control." Nojiko squatted down, patted the boy's head, her eyes lifeless. She spoke weakly.
Meanwhile, on her way to Bell-mère's house, Nami met Luffy and the others, including the cook from the Baratie. Not seeing Tom made her feel uneasy.
Johnny loudly accused Nami, saying she was the true culprit who killed Usopp. Nami immediately admitted it, saying if they wanted revenge, they could come kill her.
Zoro angrily tried to attack Nami. Sanji immediately stopped him, saying Zoro was so easily enraged because he felt humiliated from losing to Mihawk. How dare he strike a woman? Was that how a swordsman behaved?
Then Sanji and Zoro started arguing, looking like they might fight at any moment. Johnny and Yosaku tried to break it up.
"You still don't understand? I only got close to you for money. Now you're penniless, completely unattractive to me!" Nami said coldly to Luffy's group. "I can give your ship back. After you find Tom, you can find another navigator. Go find whatever you want. Just leave quickly. You're too annoying!"
"Goodbye!" As Nami said this to them, her heart twitched painfully, but her expression remained icy cold, without the slightest change, looking like a cold-blooded witch.
After hearing Nami, Luffy simply lay down on the ground, saying he wanted to sleep and didn't want to leave.
Seeing that nothing she did could make Luffy listen, Nami angrily said, "Do whatever you want! Better if you all die!"
After saying this, Nami lowered her head and ran off.
After returning to Bell-mère's house, Nami, irritated and restless, smashed many things. After talking with Nojiko, she lay face-down on the table and unknowingly fell asleep.
Seeing Nami asleep, Nojiko sighed softly and planned to go find Luffy's group to tell them Nami's story from beginning to end.
Some time later, after Nami woke up, she discovered Genzo had brought a group of Marines. The leader was Commodore Nezumi from the 16th Branch.
After some discussion, Commodore Nezumi said he was going to arrest Nami the thief and ordered men to search the orange grove behind the house.
Nami brought up being an officer of the Arlong Pirates, but the other side still refused to back down, saying Nami had to hand over all the money she stole.
"A thief is a thief. Guilt is guilt. Since your money was stolen from criminals like pirates, it should all be turned over to the government for safekeeping. Understand?" Nezumi, with his rodent-like face and hat, said with a sinister smile. "What I mean is clear. All the money you've stolen to date must be handed over to me!"
Seeing Nezumi was clearly planning to seize it by force, Nami took out her three-section staff to stop the Marines from entering the orange grove. "Is this what the Navy should do? Don't you have more important matters? Arlong and his men killed people, destroyed entire towns! Don't you know that?"
"Under Arlong's control, everyone on this island has become a slave! Yet you're only concerned with taking back a little stolen money, not caring about the lives of the islanders? Is this how the Navy operates?" Nami angrily said to Nezumi, who was stroking his beard.
Nezumi completely ignored Nami's questioning, continuing to direct his men to search the grove.
Soon, a Marine found a very suspicious spot. Nezumi excitedly ordered them to dig it up.
"Don't let your filthy hands touch Bell-mère's orange grove!" Nami knocked down the Marine trying to dig with a shovel and urgently said, "I won't give my money to you! That money…"
"That money is to save Cocoyashi Village! Knowing that, will you Navy still take her money?" Genzo shouted, the windmill on his cap spinning. Nami was completely stunned.
Next, Nami, who had always believed she was fighting alone, learned the truth.
It turned out that as early as eight years ago, Genzo and the villagers had already known from Nojiko the reason Nami joined the Arlong Pirates.
But they worried that if Nami knew, if she ever wanted to give up, their expectations would make it impossible for her to leave.
So the villagers deliberately pretended to know nothing, continuing to act as if they despised Nami. In truth, every time they saw Nami, their hearts ached, but they had to put on a cold face.
That way, if one day Nami really wanted to leave alone, her mental burden wouldn't be so heavy.
Hearing Genzo's words to Nami, Nezumi sneered. "Do you know what you're doing? Sheltering a thief from your own village? Do you want me to treat you as her accomplices and arrest you all?"
"It's precisely because people like you are unreliable that we have to stand up and fight to survive." Nojiko, who had rushed back, could no longer endure seeing Nezumi completely disregard right and wrong and twist the truth.
Nojiko also told Nezumi that if they didn't get lost, Arlong might destroy their ship, and then they wouldn't be able to leave.
Who knew Nezumi, who was always afraid of Arlong, wasn't anxious at all this time. Instead, he ordered his men to hurry and find the one hundred million Berries Nami had hidden here.
Hearing Nezumi precisely state the amount, a terrifying thought surfaced in Nami's mind. "Did Arlong send you?"
Nezumi didn't deny it and indirectly admitted it. "We are merely, as representatives of the government, taking appropriate action against a thief."
"You are utterly corrupt!"
"The Navy is willingly becoming running dogs of pirates!" Genzo and Nojiko, seeing the Navy colluding with pirates, not only feeling no shame but even proud of it, both shouted angrily.
"Sha-ha-ha-ha-ha! I always honor any agreement related to money." Nami bit her lip tightly, remembering Arlong's words when making the agreement. A strong sense of despair gradually surged in her heart, making her face turn pale.
Nezumi, after being cursed at, ordered the Marines to drive Nami and the others out. As a warning, he fired a shot.
Nojiko, seeing Nami was in a dazed state and might not react if someone fired, instinctively stepped in front and took the bullet.
Nami and Genzo, forcibly driven out by the Navy, brought the wounded Nojiko to the main street. Many villagers heard the gunshot and came out to see what was happening.
Nami felt that the verbal agreement she had hoped for and worked toward for eight years—that last thread of hope—was now gone. Unable to suppress the rage in her heart, she finally ran toward Arlong's base.
And as the despair-stricken Nami ran to find Arlong, Tom also woke up from his coma. He lay on the ground resting for a while before feeling a bit better—at least his head wasn't spinning as badly anymore.
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T/N :
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