Ah Long revealed a mouth full of shark teeth and added a sentence: "Nami, you wouldn't want us to kill everyone in Cocoyashi Village before we leave, would you?"
Cocoyashi Village...
It was the village where Nami grew up.
To protect the village, Nami joined the Arlong Pirates, becoming the cartographer for this pirate crew, even going on adventures from a young age to steal from other pirates, hoping to collect one hundred million Belly to buy back the village from Arlong Pirates' control.
"I'm almost at one hundred million Belly..."
Nami frowned, trying to bring up their previous agreement: "You said, once I collected one hundred million Belly..."
"Oh?"
The smile on Ah Long's face turned playful, as if looking at a naive child: "Those words... I was lying to you."
"Wh-What?"
Nami felt as if she heard something wrong.
At this moment, Ah Long straightforwardly revealed his true intentions without hiding anything, laughing viciously: "It seems you really don't understand your own talent..."
Ah Long spread his hands and grinned in praise: "Nami, a cartographer like you can't be bought for just a hundred million Belly. Even on the Grand Line, there's no navigator genius like you..."
"Ah Long!"
The voices of two Fishmen interrupted their conversation, pulling a small boat back to Arlong Kingdom, carrying a green-haired man tied up.
"We caught a strange person!"
"Nami?"
The green-haired man was wrapped in bandages, seemingly severely injured. He didn't pay attention to Ah Long, but upon seeing Nami there, he looked extremely shocked!
"Zoro?"
Nami's eyes squinted instantly. Looking at the green-haired man in front of her, she felt conflicted. She admitted that she was extremely happy with the Straw Hat Pirates...
But...
She hated pirates!
And hated being forced to join the Arlong Pirates!
"Don't you hate pirates..."
Seeing Nami appear there, Zoro was even a little stunned.
"..."
Nami was silent, unable to speak.
Ah Long waved his hand with a nonchalant attitude: "Forget it, no need to say more, just kill this guy, we need to pack up and leave quickly..."
With the Heavenly Celestial Dragon possibly arriving at any time, Ah Long had many things to address and no time to chat idly with a human.
"Killing him seems wasteful..."
Nami took on the task proactively, revealing the tattoo of the Arlong Pirates on her shoulder, speaking coldly: "Zoro, I've never hated pirates. I'm an officer of the Arlong Pirates, everything I said to you before was all an act..."
At that moment...
She was being her true self.
Now she had to disguise and attribute everything to acting. Her gaze turned to Ah Long, saying coldly: "I've drawn many charts, and since you're leaving, let this guy come help me pack!"
"As you wish..."
Ah Long never paid much attention to the people of East Sea.
However...
Ah Long hadn't expected it.
This green-haired guy was linked to a lot of trouble.
As the Arlong Pirates were busy moving, members of a small pirate crew gradually arrived at Arlong Kingdom, each in two small boats!
A Straw Hat kid named Monkey D. Luffy, along with the new cook Sanji and sniper Usopp from the sea restaurant Baratie, came to take back their navigator Nami and vice captain Zoro, initiating a fierce conflict between the Straw Hat Pirates and the Arlong Pirates!
During the battle between the two pirate crews within Arlong Kingdom, a third-class Navy soldier named Akihara Kagura quietly observed the scene.
"The fight has started over here..."
Akihara Kagura watched the battle at Arlong Kingdom, waiting for the situation elsewhere: "This matter pertains to my rapid promotion, it's crucial to handle the potential visit of the Heavenly Celestial Dragon thoroughly, ensuring this event becomes a dead case without witnesses..."
Elsewhere.
On a massive wooden ship pulled by nine wooden dragons.
The ship had gone through changes, with its mast adorned with a pirate flag depicting a skull with a vortex symbol, and cannons filling the deck and cabin.
This newly established pirate crew finally had a name, considering the captain Senju Hashirama specializes in using Wood Release, the pirate crew was named Konoha.
During this period, the Konoha Pirates were not idle. To ensure the completion of the task assigned by Akihara Kagura and to gather information about this world, they planned to rob a pirate crew named Crick Pirates, known for their abundance of cannons.
Finally...
They located the Crick Pirates.
However, the Crick Pirates had already been wiped out at the sea restaurant Baratie by a man called Hawkeye, with their captain defeated by a Straw Hat kid.
Luckily...
The Crick Pirates' ship hadn't completely sunk.
The Konoha Pirates arrived at the sea restaurant Baratie, successfully acquiring the cannons needed for executing Akihara Kagura's task.
As for the Straw Hat kid's battle with Crick, they viewed it as chickens pecking at each other; and for the World's Number One Sword Master, Hawkeye Mihawk, injuring a challenger named Zoro, they saw it as an adult bullying a child...
But...
The outcome wasn't ideal.
"We've been targeted."
Red Sand Sasori stood on the ship's deck, gazing at a small coffin-like dinghy following them, along with the extravagantly dressed man on it, Hawkeye.
"A guy named Hawkeye Mihawk has set his sights on us, supposedly the World's Number One Sword Master. This guy has been following us since Baratie for two days, and is still behind us..."
"You haven't acted in two days?"
Akihara Kagura was quite curious about this matter.
"Because there were too many people around."
Members of the Konoha Pirates were mostly Ninja who were used to keeping a low profile.
Red Sand Sasori was no exception and provided a solid reason: "We're worried that a fight in crowded places might draw unnecessary attention, it could get a bit loud..."
"But, no matter..."
Red Sand Sasori looked towards the upcoming windless sea area, then glanced at the coffin boat still following behind, continuing to report: "We're about to reach a deserted zone. Fighting here shouldn't be an issue..."