### Chapter 116: Completely Crushing Nami's Hope

Arlong adjusted his sunglasses slightly as the sun felt particularly harsh today. He had grown used to such events since arriving in East Blue. Foolish individuals who viewed him as a stepping stone had been countless, and all had met their end at his hands.

Nowadays, Arlong didn’t even bother dealing with them personally. After all, humans were so weak—pathetically so compared to fishmen.

"Contact that rat, Captain Nezumi. Why hasn’t he informed us about these Marines coming our way? Does he think I’m stupid? We’ve been paying him for nothing?" Arlong grinned, baring his saw-like teeth. Though he appeared to be smiling, the fishman who witnessed it felt a chill down his spine, knowing full well that this was a sign Arlong was about to lose his temper.

"Yes, sir!" The fishman nodded shakily before quickly leaving to carry out the order.

Arlong's closest confidants, who were nearby, awaited his instructions.

"Where's Nami?" Arlong asked, turning to the other fishmen.

"Brother Arlong, do you think Nami reported us to the Marines?" Hatchan, the octopus fishman, widened his eyes in disbelief.

"But Brother Arlong, Nami has been in Cocoyasi Village this whole time. She didn’t even have time to alert the Marines!" Hatchan, the least intelligent among the group, tended to believe anything he was told. Perhaps that was why Arlong kept him close—Hatchan was easy to manipulate.

"Hmph, humans are the least trustworthy! I bet it’s Nami who brought the Marines here!" Kuroobi nodded in agreement with Arlong's suspicion. To him, all humans were untrustworthy, even an 11-year-old girl like Nami. However, since Arlong valued her cartography skills, he had let her do as she pleased. But if she really did summon the Marines, then it was time to crush her spirit entirely.

"Hatchan, stop hanging around Nami so much. That girl is up to no good," Arlong warned before a cruel idea crossed his mind. "Go bring Nami here. Whether or not she brought the Marines doesn’t matter. We’ll destroy the Marines she brought and crush her hope completely! Won’t that be fun? Then, she’ll have no choice but to serve us forever! Hahahahaha!"

Arlong's laughter was loud and twisted, his face contorted with a malevolent grin that only fishmen would consider a smile. To a human, it would appear monstrous, likely freezing any ordinary person in their tracks.

"Yes, sir!" The fishmen echoed his grin as they made their way toward Cocoyasi Village.

At Arlong Park

With such a situation brewing, there was no way Captain Nezumi could remain idle. In just six months since Arlong arrived in East Blue, Captain Nezumi had made more money than he could in a lifetime. Arlong provided him with a hefty monthly cut, sometimes up to hundreds of thousands of berries. Despite his disdain for fishmen, Arlong was like a golden goose to Nezumi.

As soon as he received word from Arlong, Nezumi set out from the Navy branch, questioning the various bases along the way about any naval movements. To his surprise, none had reported deploying forces. This meant that the Marines heading to Cocoyasi Village were not from East Blue, suggesting they were sent by Navy Headquarters.

"Navy Headquarters? Do you fools really think East Blue is so important? Headquarters wasting manpower here? That’s nonsense! They must be impostors, and I’ll catch these fakes myself!" Nezumi barked at the Marines around him. In his experience, East Blue was a backwater, devoid of high-ranking officers like admirals. If he could capture these fake Marines, he might even get a promotion, expanding his influence and increasing his earnings.

"Captain, we’ve arrived at Arlong Park!" A Marine called out from the bow.

"Have we?" Nezumi frowned as he saw a head surface from the water, his expression twisting into one of disgust. He hated the slimy fishmen, and if not for the money, he would have ordered their extermination long ago.

"Hey! You must be Captain Nezumi, right? Brother Arlong asked me to bring you over!" Hatchan, with a large jar strapped to his back, emerged from the water and climbed aboard the ship. He didn’t know who Captain Nezumi was, but he recognized him at first glance—no one else could embody the essence of a rat so perfectly.

"Alright, alright," Nezumi replied, masking his distaste. Though he despised the fishmen, he wasn’t foolish enough to show it openly; these creatures were ruthless killers, and Nezumi had no intention of risking his life.

The three Marines seated themselves in Hatchan’s jar as he jumped back into the water, carrying them towards Arlong Park. Upon arrival, they were greeted by a dismal scene: a girl knelt on the ground, red marks marring her face, her spirit seemingly extinguished. She appeared lifeless, as if all hope had been drained from her.

"Nami! Because of these Marines, everyone in your village will have to pay an extra 50,000 berries this month!" Arlong announced with a sadistic grin.

"Why?" Nami croaked, her voice weak.

"Why? Blame those damn Marines for spoiling my fun! By the way, how much of that 100 million berries have you saved up?" Arlong laughed cruelly, his eyes filled with contempt. Whether or not Nami had called the Marines, Arlong was determined to make an example of her. The 50,000 berries were just an excuse; if anyone in Cocoyasi Village couldn’t pay, Arlong would have all the justification he needed to make an example of them.

Arlong had made up his mind to kill someone, making sure Nami understood who truly held the power over her life. He knew that Nami had been venturing out frequently in the past few months, likely amassing a fair amount of money. But he was curious—would she have enough to cover the additional 50,000 berries?

Nami's eyes lost their light. Even with her constant efforts over the past six months, she had only managed to save around a million berries, barely enough to cover the extra charge for about 20 villagers. She had already exhausted all her savings.

Unlike the "Cat Burglar" she would become later, Nami was still a novice. Her mother had died six months ago, and Nami had been out at sea, struggling to survive. She had only just begun to learn a few tricks to mix in with pirates. The million berries she managed to get from pirates had cost her numerous injuries. She had worked so hard to save that money, and now, because of the Marines, all her efforts were about to go to waste.

"Captain Nezumi, I didn’t expect you to trouble yourself by coming all this way!" Arlong greeted him with feigned politeness.

"Eek eek eek, on my way here, I inquired about this ship. It seems it isn’t a Navy vessel but a group of impostors!" Nezumi rubbed his hands together with a lecherous grin. "When we catch them, can I handle the disposal?"

"Fine," Arlong replied, his expression briefly souring before he burst into laughter and nodded. That is, if these fools managed to survive long enough to reach Nezumi. Arlong had already sent his men to intercept them, and they should be witnessing a fireworks show at sea right about now.

"Oh? They’re here!" Arlong glanced at the horizon, where a ship was indeed approaching. He squinted, a smile creeping across his face. Those aboard weren’t wearing Navy uniforms, confirming his suspicion—they were likely pirates.

But it didn’t matter. Whether they were pirates or not was irrelevant to Arlong and his crew. He reclined on his sun chair, watching the ship, waiting for it to sink before his eyes.

Suddenly, a loud boom echoed across the sea, and two massive water plumes shot up from the surface. Arlong Park shook noticeably, causing Arlong's expression to darken instantly.

"Brother Arlong! I think that was Kuroobi and the others…" Hatchan, wide-eyed with shock, stared at the ship where he could see two figures suspended in the air. These were the fishmen Arlong had sent to ambush the ship, among his strongest fighters. But now, they had been defeated in an instant.

"Z, didn’t I tell you? These fishmen who came to East Blue have gotten arrogant," a young voice rang out across Arlong Park. "Their first reaction upon seeing a Navy ship wasn’t to flee, but to fight! This shows just how long they’ve been running wild in East Blue!"

Everyone turned to look at the figure on the ship. Nami's eyes widened in astonishment. She had thought no one could defeat the fishmen. But now, seeing how easily they were dispatched by these newcomers, she realized just how wrong she had been. The fishmen, who had seemed invincible, were utterly powerless in the face of these people.

(End of Chapter)