"So you're pirates. So that's your relationship with her." Arlong looked at the intruders—Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and Usopp trembling behind them. Having been knocked flying from the same spot twice in one day by two different people had put him in an extremely foul mood.
Inside Arlong Park, many fish-men already lay defeated—small fry easily kicked aside by Sanji with a few casual blows. Sanji had even expressed dissatisfaction to Luffy for being impulsive.
Luffy replied bluntly that even alone he wouldn't lose. Luffy had misunderstood; Sanji wasn't worried about his safety, he just didn't want Luffy to hog all the prey and deal with all the fish-men himself.
Usopp's reappearance, after being presumed killed by Nami, confirmed one thing to the fish-men: Nami definitely wasn't on their side.
Hachi, seeing Zoro, was full of anger, feeling Zoro had tricked him into guiding him to Cocoyashi Village. Though he was stubbornly insisting, saying he had intentionally let Zoro fool him.
And Luffy's punch hurt Arlong even more because his face already had holes shot through it by Tom. Taking another heavy punch from Luffy, it would have been strange if he didn't feel pain.
"So, whether it's that guy who dared to steal over a hundred million Berries from us, or you people, from the very beginning, you came for Nami." Arlong, sitting on the ground, laughed with contempt. "You still have one companion who isn't here, right? Just four members of a lowly race—what ability could you possibly have?"
Meanwhile, after forcibly suppressing the anger in his heart, Tom's pupils returned to normal again. He had arrived at the port where the Going Merry was docked.
Nojiko, following behind, asked again and again, "You're really going to do this? Go to the Marine base alone? That Commodore Nezumi is no good man. He won't possibly return the money."
"I already said I don't expect him to obediently hand over the money. Once I get inside that Marine base, I'll just take the money out myself." Tom boarded the Merry and said to Nojiko below, "You can go back."
"You probably don't know the way. I should take you." Nojiko, seeing Tom so sick—she estimated he had a fever of at least forty degrees—and still daring to go cause trouble at the Marine base alone, genuinely felt Tom was a madman. But she couldn't persuade him to give up, so she thought it better to go along and see what happens.
"You said Marine Branch 16 is visible after sailing west for a while, right? That's not hard to find." Tom watched Nojiko climb aboard and said.
"Just don't worry about it. If you act recklessly and something happens, Nami won't be happy either." Nojiko deftly pulled up the anchor, set the sails, and prepared to set sail.
"You know navigation too? Like Nami. Impressive." Tom, seeing Nojiko was quite capable, simply let her be. He could just have her stay on the ship when he went to find Nezumi. It shouldn't be dangerous.
"I can't compare to Nami. Just the basics." Nojiko didn't have Nami's extraordinary navigation talent. But while tending the orange grove, she would occasionally flip through navigation books Nami had left at home, so she understood the most basic things.
"You're doing this behind Nami's back, right?" Nojiko saw Tom's face looked terrible, leaning against the railing and breathing slightly heavily, his bandages stained red, and was genuinely worried he might collapse.
In truth, Tom's condition really wasn't good; otherwise, he wouldn't have let Nojiko help sail the ship.
"She'd just get in the way if she knew." Tom smiled at Nojiko. "Don't worry. I'm just a bit unwell. Compared to the pain she endured for eight years, this really is nothing."
"Also, you're injured too, right? How?" Tom casually asked, seeing the bandage on Nojiko's right shoulder.
"You know about Nami's past? She told you?" Nojiko didn't answer Tom's question. She remembered Tom wasn't present when she told Zoro and the others about Nami. Yet from his words, he clearly knew the truth, which made her curious how Tom knew.
"That's not important. After today, she'll be free. That's what's most important." Tom put his hands behind his head and leaned against the railing. The damp sea breeze gently blowing on his face made him feel a bit more refreshed.
"You're that confident they can defeat Arlong? You're not worried about them at all?" Nojiko said while adjusting the ship's course.
"I won't do unnecessary things. From the moment Nami cried and asked us for help, we and those fish-men were destined for only one side to survive. It's not about who's stronger; it's a life-or-death gamble. Do you understand what I mean?" Tom looked up at the blue sky, cloudless for miles. The weather was indeed nice, and the sunlight felt warm.
Hearing this, Nojiko fell silent. Indeed, as Tom said, once you decide to put your life on the line, worrying about winning or losing is ridiculous.
At the same time, Nojiko gained, for the first time in her life, a clear understanding of pirate-versus-pirate combat.
Without the resolve to die, don't make a move. That was the most basic survival rule of pirates.
No wonder he could remain so calm going to a Marine base alone.
Nojiko stared at Tom, a thought emerging: Maybe Nami going to sea with them as a pirate really was the right decision.
"This ship is slow. If only something could help pull us. I was hoping to hurry back and maybe punch Arlong a few more times. But with Luffy taking action, I might not get the chance." As soon as Tom said this, Nojiko replied, "You should pay more attention to your body! If you even make it back alive from that Marine base, I'll consider it a miracle. And you're dreaming about something pulling the ship?"
Nojiko had just finished speaking when she saw something huge fall from the sky, heading straight toward the Merry. A massive shadow covered the entire ship. She turned pale and screamed while clutching her head, "Waaahhhhh!"
"What are you screaming for? I really want to kick you into the sea." Tom took the rod from his arm sheath, extended it, and swatted the falling object aside.
With a splash, the huge thing fell into the sea, sending up waves that rocked the Merry violently. Nojiko lost her footing and nearly fell. Tom steadied her.
"Thanks," Nojiko said. If Tom hadn't grabbed her in time, she would've been badly hurt.
"It's nothing. Once, your sister encountered something similar—she nearly pulled my pants off." Tom remembered leaving Orange Town. Once, during a storm while fishing on a small boat, Nami lost her balance and fell into him, clutching his pants for dear life. Compared to that, Nojiko was much better.
Walking toward the railing, Tom didn't notice Nojiko standing there, jaw dropped in shock, staring at his back.
This guy is a pervert! Nojiko thought blankly.
If Tom knew her thoughts, he might really have kicked her into the sea first before fishing her out. Your sister pulled my pants, and I'm the pervert? How unreasonable can people be?
"I knew it looked familiar! You coming here is really great." Tom stood by the ship's side, looking at the beast surfacing from the sea—it was none other than the Sea Cow Mohmoo.
Earlier, responding to Hachi's summons, the Sea Cow had gone to Arlong Park. There, it saw Luffy and Sanji, who had beaten it mercilessly before.
Hachi had called it out to help deal with Luffy's group. But upon seeing Luffy and Sanji, it remembered being beaten and immediately tried to flee, only to be stopped by Arlong.
Under pressure, it finally attacked. But Luffy quickly stretched out his arms, grabbed its horns, got a sudden inspiration, and mimicked the spinning windmill on Genzo's cap, creating a move called "Gum-Gum Pinwheel."
Luffy twisted the horns dozens of times with his rubber body, spinning the massive beast like a windmill, destroying nearby buildings and taking out many fish-men.
"I'm not here to deal with them. The one I want to defeat is you!" Luffy shouted angrily at Arlong after tossing the Sea Cow away.
"That's perfect! I was planning to kill you too!" Arlong said, seeing many of his comrades beaten half to death, a shadow falling over his face, his gaze filled with killing intent.
Though when Luffy used Gum-Gum Pinwheel, he nearly knocked Zoro and the others flying as well. Sanji immediately raised his foot and kicked Luffy's head, loudly calling him an idiot. Usopp also grabbed Luffy's shoulder, accusing him of almost killing them too and calling him a blockhead.
As for Tom, running into the Sea Cow tossed from Arlong Park couldn't have made him happier.
But the Sea Cow was not happy. Having just been thrown by Luffy and now running into Tom—it really had the worst luck.
"Don't look at me with those pity-begging eyes. If you don't want me to beat you up, pull the ship." Tom rested the extended fishing rod on his shoulder, ignoring the Sea Cow's teary, pitiful look. His stance made it clear he would swing at it if it wasn't obedient.
"Isn't that the monster that destroyed Kessa Village? You want it to pull the ship? Are you sane?" Nojiko said, only to see the Sea Cow actually start pulling the ship obediently, instantly leaving her petrified.
"What's so surprising? In our group, aside from Usopp and Nami, this kind of Sea Beast—not just me, but Luffy and the others too—can easily tame it." After saying this, Tom jumped onto the Merry's figurehead and shouted to the Sea Cow, "Pull faster! Full speed ahead! I don't want to waste time."
Some time later, under Nojiko's guidance, Tom finally arrived at Marine Branch 16. After telling Nojiko to stay on the ship, he headed straight to find Commodore Nezumi.
Marine Branch 16 wasn't far from Cocoyashi Village and was likely well aware of the situation there, yet had taken no action.
Ultimately, it was because the commander, Commodore Nezumi, was in cahoots with Arlong.
"So this is the Marine base? Doesn't look as impressive as Arlong's place." Tom looked at the base with its gates tightly shut. From the outside, it indeed didn't compare to Arlong Park.
At the moment, Nezumi was inside, hiding in his room counting the money stolen from Nami. Though he had already counted it on the way back, he was still happily counting it again and again.
"Over ninety-three million… If only this were all mine. Too bad I only get thirty percent. I'll let it stay with me a little longer before sending it to that disgusting fish-man later." Nezumi stroked his rat-like whiskers and sneered. "Who would've thought a little girl from Cocoyashi could save up so much money. She really worked hard."
Just then, Nezumi heard a commotion. He rushed out and saw Marines in chaos. He grabbed one and asked, "What's going on?"
"Reporting, Commodore! Someone appears to be smashing the gate, trying to force their way in!" The Marine saluted despite his panic.
"What? Impossible! In the East Blue, who would openly come to provoke the Marines? Even Arlong wouldn't come knocking directly." Before Nezumi finished speaking, a loud boom rang out. His face changed drastically, and he rushed outside.
Boom! Crash! Bang!
Tom smashed the gate three times with his fists, blasting open the heavy doors, and walked into Marine Branch 16.
Nezumi ran to the training ground and saw the gate destroyed. His face turned livid as he shouted, "Just who are you? Don't you know where this is?"
"It's just a Marine base. Why are you shouting so loudly?" Tom scanned the surroundings, seeing many Marines stationed there. "Who is Commodore Nezumi?"
Tom then looked at the one shouting the loudest, noticing his sneaky, rat-like face. "You wouldn't happen to be the rat I'm looking for, would you?"
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Nezumi asked, seeing Tom was alone and feeling somewhat reassured as he forced himself to calm down.
Seeing Nezumi didn't deny his identity, Tom ignored the Marines closing in. Using Soru (Shave), his figure blurred, dodging them and appearing in front of Nezumi. He punched Nezumi square in his rat-like face.
"I'm a pirate. I'm here to make you pay back the money!"
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T/N :
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