Jinbe looked at the battlefield and saw that besides Hera's group, only Hatchan and himself remained. He could only shake his head helplessly: "Arlong and the others still died because of their own arrogance."
Hera suggested to Jinbe: "Why don't you suppress those fishmen who hate humans and keep them from coming out? The surface is always human territory; it would be better for everyone that way."
Jinbe shook his head and prepared to leave with Hatchan. At that moment, Mohmoo from the Arlong Pirates surfaced after seeing the battle end. Seeing that there were no fishmen left on the battlefield, he hurriedly fled along with Hatchan.
Before entering the sea, Jinbe said: "I will watch your actions to see if you can do what you've said." Then he left with Hatchan and Mohmoo.
Hera muttered to herself: "Don't worry, it won't be long."
Seeing the Arlong Pirates, who had plagued her hometown for years, wiped out just like that, Nami was so moved that she hugged Hera and began to cry. Hera originally wanted to pat Nami's head to comfort her, but her hands were pinned by Nami's hug, and for a moment, she didn't dare to struggle too hard.
Hera gradually noticed something was wrong. It was one thing for Nami to hug her, but why was there an extra hand on her own head? Sensing her surroundings, she realized Kuina and Ain had also walked over. Ain was comforting Nami: "The painful days are over, don't be sad anymore." Meanwhile, Kuina was comforting Nami while simultaneously stroking Hera's head.
Fearing she wouldn't grow taller, Hera immediately circulated a bit of Armament Haki to break free from Nami's embrace, escaped through the shadows on the ground, and gave Kuina a glare full of dignity. However, what she didn't know was that her 'majestic' expression looked just like she was acting spoiled in Kuina's eyes, making her look incredibly cute.
After breaking free, Hera said: "Since the Arlong Pirates have been dealt with, should we go to your house to sit for a while first, or should we go deal with Captain Nezumi first?"
Nami thought for a moment: "I'll tell the villagers the good news that the Arlong Pirates have been driven off first, and then we can go deal with Captain Nezumi. That'll give the villagers time to prepare a banquet to thank you."
Hera checked the time: "That works. If we deal with him quickly, we'll have time to get back just in time for dinner. Let's have the banquet in the village today."
Hera took out a lot of purchased meat from her shadow and handed it to Nami to give to the villagers for the evening banquet. Nami repeatedly refused: "How can we do that? You helped us drive away the Arlong Pirates; we should be the ones preparing the banquet."
Hera said: "Just take it. I still have plenty of food. Also, tally up Arlong's treasures and return them to wherever they were taken from. If there's anything left, prioritize compensating the villagers whose property was destroyed. It's our fault as Marines for arriving late."
Nami couldn't refuse Hera's kindness, but she couldn't carry that much meat alone, so she called a few people over to help.
The villagers of Cocoyasi Village had been hiding in their rooms after hearing the sounds of battle, and no one dared to come out. It wasn't until the fighting stopped that someone boldly poked their head out of a room to see the current situation.
When they saw Nami approaching with several girls in Marine uniforms and noticed Arlong and his crew were nowhere to be seen, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, yet they were also a bit nervous, fearing it might be a new trick of Arlong's.
At that moment, Nami shouted: "Everyone, come out! The Arlong Pirates have been driven away by the Marines beside me. I saw Arlong die. There is no threat anymore!"
What followed was a moment of dead silence. No one could believe their ears. The Arlong Pirates, whom they thought were impossible to defeat, had actually been wiped out by three young girls.
"It's true, I saw it with my own eyes. If you don't believe it, you can go look at Arlong Park." Hera also took out Arlong's head, which she intended to use to claim the bounty.
After the silence came a burst of cheers. The crowd erupted; some wept thinking of deceased relatives, while others laughed uncontrollably. Once the news was confirmed, every single villager without exception fell into a state of wild celebration.
Nami's sister Nojiko hugged Nami. Seeing this, Hera felt a bit of regret: "Did I still arrive too late? I didn't save Nami's Mama."
Just as she was lamenting, she heard a mature female voice: "Judging by your uniforms, the three of you must be from Marineford. Please, come in and rest." Nami's mother, Belle-Mere, walked out of the house.
It turned out that because of Hera's arrival, Garp had returned to the East Blue a bit more frequently. During one of his trips, he had bought some tangerines here and discovered that the struggling Belle-Mere was actually a former Marine. He gave her some extra money and ensured her subsidies were paid. Consequently, she had the critical 100,000 Berries when Arlong attacked and wasn't killed.
The mayor of Cocoyasi Village also warmly welcomed Hera's group: "Please sit at Belle-Mere's place for a while. We'll go prepare the banquet to thank you for driving Arlong and his crew away."
Seeing the crowd rushing toward her, wanting to lift her up in celebration, Hera's social anxiety took over. She quickly said: "We still have a little business to take care of. You guys start preparing, and we'll be back tonight." With that, she pulled Nami along and fled.
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