Bang! Bang! Bang!
The chain of gunfire, mixed with the stench of gunpowder, announced the end of Arlong.Nami kept pulling the trigger mechanically.
Tears welled up in her eyes but stubbornly refused to fall.
She had killed the nightmare that had haunted her all her life.
Meanwhile, Ren took the opportunity to avoid social death—he hurriedly put on his clothes.
Zoro, realizing his own negligence, said nothing and sank into thought.
For a while, silence blanketed the battlefield.No one noticed that far away, a Marine silhouette had appeared on a distant hill, nearly a kilometer away, peering through a monocular telescope.
It was Mondes, the adjutant to Captain Nezumi's adjutant—Nezumi's "white glove," part of his chain of corruption, yet also an officer of the Marines.
After the shock subsided, Mondes began to regret his decision to flee. If he went back like this, he'd surely be executed by that scheming adjutant under some excuse.
After all, there were still witnesses. The truth would leak.
That adjutant wouldn't hesitate to use Mondes' blood as a warning to others, taking control of Branch 16 in the process.
That position—who wouldn't covet it?
But then—
He found his opportunity!
Arlong was dead. The Arlong Pirates had been wiped out. On the surface, the only enemies left were three people.
A black-haired boy who could grow giant and turn invisible—a Devil Fruit user.A green-haired swordsman.And a weak-looking woman.
That was a huge chance for merit—a promotion, maybe even a meteoric rise!
He might not have the power to take them down himself, but Captain Nezumi had come with a warship and nearly a thousand Marines!
So what if they had a Devil Fruit user?Mondes didn't believe anyone could cross the sea and attack a warship under heavy cannon fire!
Those three would probably clean up the battlefield—or, at worst, retreat to the village to rest.
If it came to it, he'd just level the entire village!
Mondes slipped away quietly, replaying the plan in his mind.
He'd borrow strength, use Captain Nezumi's name to seize control of the warship.
Then he'd kill those three, avenge his earlier humiliation, and justify his retreat.
By tweaking the story and sharing a bit of the credit with the crew, he could turn defeat into victory—return home in glory!
Before carrying out his plan, though, he'd prepared insurance. There was a rare Den Den Mushi aboard the warship.
Before acting, he would call that stubborn-headed man Nezumi had mentioned—Smoker of Loguetown!
Flawless plan!
Ren, now dressed in a clean set of clothes, silently thanked himself for learning his lesson after the "Nami's House Incident." He'd packed a spare outfit this time.
Though the clothes were meant for Genzo—the man the sisters saw as their adoptive father—they barely fit Ren.
Still, it was better than running around naked.
"I really need to get myself a pair of Hulk shorts… I can't keep dying of embarrassment every time I transform."
Determined, Ren glanced down at the bloodied cut on his palm.
That injury had come from Arlong's serrated nose when he switched to the First Calabash Brother template. The Fish-Man's proud sawnose was sharper than most blades.
Cutting Ren's palm wasn't strange—but that was all it managed.
Moments later, that same sawnose had been bent by Ren's expanding muscles.
His Passive: Regenerative Breathing was already in effect, knitting the wound shut.
'Note to self—be careful when switching to the First Calabash template. I should always carry the Blessing of Arrow Avoidance. Also… the strength boost from that template is ridiculous.'
Ren mentally reviewed the fight.
His baseline stats, including the Sharingan, were:
[Strength: G++]
[Agility: G+]
[Constitution: G+]
[Luck: G++]
[Charm: E]
After activating the First Calabash Brother template and amplifying with Qi, the numbers had skyrocketed:
[Strength: G++ → E][
Agility: G+ → F]
[Constitution: G+ → F++]
The increase in strength also boosted his other attributes—after all, a person's stats were interconnected like the points of a circle.
Then came Gigantification, and the numbers grew even more absurd:
[Strength: E → D]
[Agility: F → F+]
[Constitution: F++ → E+]
Both agility and constitution had improved; naturally, a bigger body meant greater explosive power and speed.
Still, what shocked Ren wasn't just that—
It was how strength alone had leapt an entire grade.
By his understanding:
G: a normally trained adult.
F: pirates with 100,000–1,000,000 Beli bounties.
E: pirates like Alvida, strong enough to take on dozens in melee combat.Even muskets would struggle to kill someone at E-rank.
D: monsters like Arlong, or those who could swing weapons weighing over a ton—like Don Krieg.
During his fight, Ren had clearly felt himself overpower the wounded Arlong when pressing his head down.
So the First Calabash template's power boost was terrifying.
And as an S-tier jackpot prize, it offered a far greater enhancement than the Third Calabash template.
Most likely, it had to do with the quality of the reward pool—just like with the Desire Compass.
(Author note: I'll keep these stat panels simplified from now on—unless there's a major change.)
"Time to think things through."
Ren wiped the blood from his hand and approached Nami.
The poor girl was still pulling the trigger mechanically, eyes hollow and expressionless, as if trapped in a trance.
"What a lunatic…" Ren muttered softly—but really, he was more worried about the Desert Eagle's trigger.
"Damn it, girl, stop already! If you break it, where am I supposed to find parts?!"
Nami blinked in confusion, voice hoarse. "Is… is it really dead?"
"It's dead. Dead-dead."
Ren glanced at Arlong's shattered face—beyond recognition—and nodded quickly, smoothly taking the silver Desert Eagle from her trembling hand.
That small motion seemed to flip a hidden switch.
Nami suddenly lunged forward, burying her face into Ren's chest, and broke down crying.
Her sobs were filled with grief, pain, and years of suffering—all flashing before her eyes until they settled on one image: her mother Bell-mère's warm smile.
"…"
Ren silently stroked her hair, his fingers weaving through the orange strands.
For a moment, he felt the wall between worlds disappear.
The girl crying in his arms wasn't just a memory or a silhouette from an anime.
She was real—a girl who had endured over a decade of torment.
A girl who had worked under her mother's killer for nearly ten years, just to protect her family and her village.
She had numbed her pain with the faint hope Arlong offered, venturing out again and again to gather money.
And in just one week, she had been deceived, found new strength, and finally taken her revenge.
Was crying strange?
No. Crying was the only normal reaction.
Hearing her sobs, Zoro glanced over once, then turned away.Feeling like an intruder in their world, he began searching the ruins for the fragments of his swords.
To him, a blade was part of his soul—his partner.He would never leave a partner behind in the rubble.
(End of Chapter)