Inside the village.
Nojiko poured some tea for the guests gathered around the wooden table inside her modest home. Sunlight filtered through the open windows, casting a warm glow over everyone seated. She took a sip herself before leaning back, curiosity twinkling in her eyes.
"So," she began, glancing around the group, "how did you all end up sailing together? You don't exactly look like the most... conventional crew."
Alvida crossed her arms and jerked her thumb toward Zino, who was sipping tea rather casually. "That guy's got a slick tongue, I'll give him that. He came up to me, bold as anything, and said he was forming a pirate crew. Said he needed someone strong by his side. So I joined."
Zoro snorted. "Funny, he told me he was a marine on some secret mission. Something about forming a fake pirate crew to infiltrate the underworld or whatever."
"He told me we were going to be a bounty hunting crew," Nami chimed in, arms crossed. "We'd track down pirates, turn them in, and get rich."
Zino blinked, looking between them, then scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Uh… did I really say all that?"
"You did!" the three of them chorused in perfect unison.
Nojiko burst into laughter, setting down her cup. "Wow. So your captain's also a con man, huh?"
Zino held up his hands in defense. "I prefer to call it… flexible recruitment strategy."
Nojiko grinned and turned her attention to Kaya and Usopp, seated near the edge of the group. "And what about you two? Did he 'strategically recruit' you as well?"
Kaya smiled politely. "No tricks. I volunteered. I wanted to see the world beyond the village. Zino offered me a safe place to start."
"I see," Nojiko nodded, then looked at Usopp. "And you?"
Usopp puffed up his chest, striking a heroic pose. "Oh, me? Hah! They begged me to join them. You see, I'm something of a legend in my village. When they heard of my bravery, they pleaded for me to be their captain—"
Bonk!
Usopp's head jerked forward as Alvida cracked him lightly with her fist. "Talk without lying, Pinocchio."
"OW! That hurt!" Usopp clutched his head dramatically. "Can't a man dream in peace?"
The room filled with laughter, including Nojiko, who shook her head with a smile. "You guys are insane… but I kind of get it now."
"What do you mean?" asked Zino.
"You don't feel like a real pirate crew," she said. "You're more like a bunch of weirdos who stumbled into each other and decided to stick together."
"That's not wrong," Zoro muttered.
"But…" Nojiko glanced at Nami and smiled. "You seem like a family too. Nami's lucky to have people like you watching her back."
Nami looked down, not saying anything.
Zino smiled, placing his cup down. "We might not have the same dream, but we're heading in the same direction."
Nojiko nodded. For the first time, she felt a little more hopeful.
Just as laughter echoed through Nojiko's home and everyone was enjoying the rare moment of calm, a sudden scream tore through the peaceful air outside.
"Ahh! That hurts—!"
"What are you doing?! Stop! Let go of my husband!"
"Father!!"
The voices—frantic, pained, terrified—rang out like alarm bells.
In an instant, Zino and the others stood up. The entire group rushed out of the house. What they saw froze them mid-step.
In the distance, at the center of the village square, stood Arlong.
The towering fishman held a man by the throat, lifting him effortlessly off the ground. The villager kicked and gasped, feet dangling helplessly in the air. Around them, Arlong's crew was causing chaos—one fishman kicked an elderly man to the ground, another flipped a merchant's cart while laughing cruelly. The rest stood by, laughing with fanged grins, amused by the panic of the humans.
Zino's eyes narrowed, his usual calm melting into quiet fury. "Arlong…"
Beside him, Nami's expression twisted the moment she laid eyes on the scene. Her fists clenched as she stepped forward. "Arlong!" she shouted, voice sharp with rage.
The sound of her voice cut through the noise like a blade. Arlong upon hearing her, turned his head slowly toward her, while his lip curled into a jagged-toothed grin.
"Well, well," he drawled, his grip on the man's neck tightening slightly. "Nami. So you finally decided to come back."
"I asked you a question," Nami snapped, eyes blazing. "What are you doing to them?!"
"Hmm?" Arlong looked mockingly innocent, then turned to glance at the gasping man still hanging in his grip. "Oh, this? Just handling a few pests. Some of these weaklings decided to get in my way. Imagine that—humans trying to stand up to me."
He chuckled, cruel and deep. "So, I thought I'd give them a little reminder... of their place-"
"Arlong!" Nami cut him off sharply, her voice trembling with fury and desperation. "We had a deal! You swore not to harm the villagers as long as I worked for you!"
Arlong stopped mid-sentence, his jagged-toothed grin fading slightly. He tilted his head mockingly, squinting at her. "A deal? Yes, I remember that."
He slowly released the man in his grip, letting the villager collapse to the ground gasping. Then Arlong turned fully to face her, arms crossed over his chest.
"But tell me, Nami…" His eyes narrowed, sharp and accusing. "Did you *really* work for me all this time?"
"I did!" Nami shouted. "I mapped islands for you. I handed over every chart, every sea route, just like you asked!"
He clicked his tongue and shook his head slowly, almost pitying. "Tsk. Tsk. That's not what I meant."
She froze.
"I'm talking about your absence," he continued coldly. "Where were you for the past two years? You vanished without a trace."
Nami hesitated, biting her lip. "I… I was collecting the money. The 100 million Berries—our deal."
Arlong raised an eyebrow, amused. "Oh? You actually managed to gather that much?"
Nami stepped forward, lifting her chin despite the tight knot forming in her chest. "Yes. I have all of it. I'll pay you now—just release the village. That was the agreement."
But Arlong raised a hand to stop her. "Hold it."
Nami blinked. "What now?"
"That amount," he said, lips curling cruelly, "isn't enough."
Her heart skipped. "What...?"
"I said," Arlong growled, voice rising, "it's not *nearly* enough."
Nami stared at him, as if trying to make sense of the words. "No… You promised. You told me—one hundred million Berries, and you'd set them free."
On the side, Nojiko's eyes widened, her expression twisting with realization. "Nami… is that true? You made a deal with Arlong?"
Nami stood frozen, the weight of her secret crashing down. Her lips parted, but no sound came out. Finally, she looked away, guilt flickering across her face.
That was all the confirmation Nojiko needed.
Arlong, seeing the flicker of pain in Nami's face, let out a booming laugh. "Hah! That's right! You all thought she betrayed you, stole your money—but she was trying to buy your worthless hides!"
The villagers nearby gasped, some in confusion, others in horror.
"She worked for me all these years," Arlong sneered. "Slaving away, hoping to save this miserable village."
The atmosphere shifted in an instant.
The villagers, who only moments ago watched with confusion and apprehension, were now frozen in stunned silence. One by one, their expressions changed—shock, guilt, then shame.
It all made sense now.
For years, they had resented Nami. They whispered behind her back, called her a traitor, and accused her of siding with the very monster who destroyed their peace. They thought she had joined Arlong out of greed, selling them out to save herself. But they had been so wrong.
Nojiko clenched her fists, her breath caught in her throat. The villagers around her looked down at the ground, unable to meet each other's eyes.
Eight years ago, when Arlong first invaded Cocoyashi Village, he brought terror and bloodshed. Many lives were lost. But after that initial onslaught, something changed. The attacks ceased. The fishmen stopped slaughtering, stopped pillaging.
And now they knew why.
It was because of Nami.
Even as a child of ten, she had agreed to serve Arlong, mapping his territory, gathering money—all in exchange for the lives of the people she loved.
"She's been carrying this alone all this time…" one villager whispered, voice cracking.
"To think we doubted her…"
"How could we have treated her like that?"
Regret began spreading like wildfire among them, burning deeper than any wound Arlong had inflicted.
Nami stood in place, her shoulders trembling, her knuckles white from clenching her fists. Tears welled in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.
Across from her, Arlong scoffed, completely unfazed by the villagers' reactions.
"What touching drama," he sneered. "But let me make something clear again."
He raised a long, webbed finger, voice dripping with cold mockery. "The deal was 100 million Berries—*per year*."
The words slammed into Nami like a cannonball.
"Per… year?" she echoed, disbelief etched across her face.
"Of course," Arlong said with a grin. "If you'd gathered the full amount the *first year*, maybe I would've honored it. But eight years? Eight whole years just for 100 million? That's not even close."
"No…" Nami shook her head, panic and confusion rising. "You never said that. You said—100 million and the village would be free!"
Arlong shrugged casually. "I was going to mention the *details*. But you seemed so determined, I thought it'd be more amusing to let you chase false hope."
"No… Why…" Nami's voice broke as she fell to her knees, trembling. "Why would you change the deal…?"
Tears spilled freely down her cheeks. The years of sacrifice, the endless nights scraping together money, the hope she'd clung to—it had all shattered in an instant.
Arlong looked down at her, lips curled into a wicked grin. "Why?" he echoed mockingly. "Because I can, little human. That's what power means!"
Then he threw his head back and roared with laughter. "Shahahaha! A pirate's deal isn't written in stone—it's written in blood. And right now, yours looks pretty worthless."
The rest of the Fishman crew joined in, their cruel laughter echoing across the village square. Some of them pointed at the weeping Nami, finding amusement in her despair. To them, this was nothing more than entertainment—the suffering of humans, the crumbling of hope.
The villagers could only watch, frozen in helplessness. Nojiko bit her lip so hard it bled, fists clenched tight as her sister sobbed. Even the others in Zino's group looked tense, anger simmering behind their eyes.
But then… something shifted.
A subtle gust of wind swept past them.
In the blink of an eye, a figure appeared beside Arlong—so silently that not even the Fishmen had noticed.
A deep voice spoke, calm and cold. "Fish... brace yourself for the impact."
Arlong barely had time to react. "Huh—"
"Hokoken (Roaring Fist)!"
RA-BOOM!
The air exploded.
Zino's fist collided squarely with Arlong's face, and in that instant, a powerful shockwave burst out from the point of impact. The force tore through the air with a deafening rumble, flattening grass, rattling windows, and sending dust and debris flying in every direction.
Arlong's massive body was launched backward like a missile.
He didn't just fall—he flew. Smashed through two houses. Then a stone wall. Then another building. His body finally crashed and skidded across the earth, carving a trench through the village outskirts until he stopped, wounded and battered, just shy of Arlong Park's front gate.
Everything had happened in seconds.
Silence fell across the square.
The villagers stared, mouths agape, as dust settled in the air. The cruel laughter of the Fishmen had been silenced mid-chuckle. Even the wind seemed to stop.
All eyes turned.
Zino stood where Arlong had been, arm extended from the follow-through of his punch. A faint ripple of steam curled from his fist as he slowly pulled it back and exhaled.
No one spoke.
The villagers looked between him and the crater where Arlong had vanished, still unsure whether they had just imagined it.
Even Nami, wiping tears from her eyes, stared in disbelief. "Zino…"
He turned his head slightly, meeting her gaze. "No more crying. Let me handle it from here on out."
Nami felt touched, and the tears streamed even more.
On the side, Zoro whistled under his breath. "That's one hell of a punch…"
Ussop gawked. "He just sent Arlong flying *out* of the village!"
Alvida smirked. "That's our captain for you."