Chapter 51: Lies and Lies

Cocoyasi Village.

Nami rowed a small boat gradually closer to shore, carrying a box in her hand.

The treasure stolen from Gao Wen's ship had already been entirely exchanged by him for cash, not a coin more or less, exactly one hundred and twenty million Berries.

It was all here.

This was all her hope for redeeming the village.

"As long as I have these things, I will definitely be able to redeem the village!"

"I..."

Faces of Gao Wen and others flashed through Nami's mind; her steps paused slightly, yet in the next instant she moved forward again.

She passed through the empty village.

The surroundings remained just as they once were, without a single person; even the street vendors had vanished, making this place identical to what existed in her memory.

The difference lay in those gazes that should have been everywhere, focused upon her, which this time had completely disappeared.

"Everyone..."

Nami naturally understood that it was not only the gazes that had vanished, but those people as well, and she felt an inexplicable surge of unease in her heart.

Unconsciously quickening her pace, Nami rushed toward the tangerine grove located at the village's edge.

Nojiko was already waiting there.

Seeing Nami return, Nojiko's expression suddenly turned cold:

"What did you come back for?!"

Nami paused slightly in surprise, then smiled as she lifted the box in her hand:

"Nojiko, I've gathered enough money to redeem the village!"

Nojiko pressed her lips tightly together:

"You cannot redeem it!"

"How could that be? I've stayed by Arlong's side these past few years; when it comes to promises involving money, he has never once broken his word!"

Nami was brimming with confidence, hope shining on her face, but the more so, the more Nojiko felt a needle-like pain pierce her heart:

"So... his agreement with you was to bring this money before him, correct? But what if you cannot bring this money before him?"

Nami's pupils contracted.

She recalled that batch of treasure she had lost earlier.

She had not failed to doubt her own judgment; after all, how could Carina possibly know where her hometown was, or know where she had hidden the treasure?

Yet if it was not Carina, then who could it be?

The answer was almost leaping forth.

Nojiko spoke it out for Nami:

"From the very beginning, he never intended to let you redeem the village; all of this was merely his game."

"Watching you go from hope to despair time and again, only to give you hope once more, thereby satisfying his own... perverted desires!"

"Every single coin you hid there, they know about it clearly!"

"There is no hope, Nami."

"I've prepared a boat for you in the tangerine grove; take this money and leave right now."

"Start a new life somewhere else, a place without us villagers who have always treated you poorly, isn't that right?"

Nami stubbornly shook her head:

"What about everyone? What about Gen?"

Nojiko fell silent, unconsciously lowering her head to avoid Nami's gaze.

In an instant, Nami realized where her unease stemmed from, and instinctively shouted:

"They went to find Arlong? They'll die!"

In her urgency.

Nami hastily turned around, but in the next instant, her shoulder was seized by Nojiko.

Slap!

A bright red palm print landed on Nami's face.

Nojiko withdrew her hand and spoke almost like a roar:

"How much longer will you remain so naive?"

"This was a decision made by everyone together; rather than forever being a burden to you, they would rather die beneath Arlong's henchmen, you—!"

Mid-sentence, Nojiko's voice abruptly halted; tears had already burst forth from Nami's eyes, and from her mouth came a muttering just like when she was a child:

"So~ Big Sister, now I absolutely cannot leave."

Having said this.

Nami directly broke free from Nojiko's restraint, turned around, and sprinted wildly toward Arlong Park, still clutching tightly in her hand that leather box she regarded as hope.

She firmly believed.

As long as she could bring the money before Arlong, no matter how vile that man was, he would still keep his promise regarding money!

At the same time.

Arlong Park.

At the main entrance.

A-Jian held a long-rusted flintlock pistol, looking down to carefully check if it could fire normally.

This was a weapon Arlong had secretly hidden when he first arrived at Cocoyasi Village; years of neglect had left many internal parts rusted.

Behind him stood a crowd of villagers holding farming tools and wooden clubs.

The crowd marched toward Arlong Park with fierce momentum.

"Damn it!"

"What kind of life has Nami been living these years? That child carried the hopes of all of us as she moved forward, yet in the end, it was all a lie. Arlong never intended to keep his promise from start to finish."

"I can accept him taking everyone's lives, but I absolutely cannot accept him trampling on Nami's hopes like this!"

"Fortunately, all that child's misfortunes will end today. Without us as burdens, she should be able to live well, after all, we were just a group of people who treated her badly."

"Damn fish-men!"

Occasionally, suppressed voices of anger rose from the crowd.

Some trembled in their hands due to an instinctive fear of fish-men; others stumbled, hearts filled with unease; and some, fearing death, looked around warily.

But not a single person retreated.

A-Jian walked in front of the crowd, head bowed, listening to their murmurs, his mind in turmoil.

"If Nami could hear these voices, she would surely be very happy. Pity she cannot hear them, nor ever will again."

Suddenly, the woman who had always teased him with colorful jokes from years past appeared before his eyes.

If there had been no Arlong Pirates, would I have had a chance too?

As A-Jian thought this, a flush like that of years past rose on his face:

"Bell-mère, you have a wonderful daughter~"

A gust of wind blew.

The windmill atop A-Jian's head creaked and whirred.

The tangled emotions in his mind suddenly settled; he raised his head and looked into the distance.

Arlong Park had arrived.

"Arlong!"

Two fish-men with drooping eyelids at the main gate lifted their eyes. Seeing the fierce scene before them, a flicker of surprise first crossed their gaze, which then turned entirely to mockery:

"It seems these humans still have a bit of courage. But in the face of absolute power, what meaning does resistance hold?"

"Do you understand the consequences of doing this? Everyone will die, you know~"

The fish-man named Salt-Burn slowly rose to his feet. With a height exceeding two and a half meters, he was no different from a giant to a group of commoners.

Not to mention the fish-men's natural physique, which is several times, even dozens of times, stronger than that of humans.

When the disparity in innate endowment shines into reality, it becomes the natural oppression of a predator. With merely a glance from Salt-Burn, several people's legs gave way.

Yet in the next instant, they were helped up by their companions beside them. They had come here with no intention of returning alive.

When life itself can be abandoned, what is there left to fear?

A-Jian raised the flintlock pistol in his hand with a cold face and shouted:

"I want to see Arlong!"

As he spoke, A-Jian pulled the trigger directly.

The moment the flintlock spat fire, A-Jian's anger accumulated over many years shot toward the distant fish-men along with the bullet.

(End of this chapter)