Chapter 52: What Are You Doing to My Navigator?

Nami arrived at Arlong Park, and the battle had already ended.

The gate stood wide open.

Arlong, seated at the center of the park, was visible at a glance.

The three top officers—Chopper, Kuroobi, and Hachio—and dozens of fishmen gathered inside the gate, watching Nami outside with keen interest.

Outside the gate, countless villagers screamed in agony; crimson blood had nearly dyed the entire ground red.

All were severely wounded, stripped of any capacity to resist, yet still clung to their last breath.

Nami lifted her head, her pupils contracting sharply.

Kenji, unconscious, was pinned to the gate by a spear, blood slowly dripping from the wound on his left shoulder and abdomen.

Pata!

Pata!

Pata!

……

“Nami!”

Arlong’s cruel laugh snapped Nami back to reality; she raised her head to look at him, forcing a casual smile onto her face, but the fury and hatred in her eyes could not be hidden.

“I’ve recovered the money. As agreed, one hundred million Berries—for the village’s freedom!”

“Of course.”

Arlong nodded, his mockery deepening:

“Then, as agreed, bring that money into Arlong Park and hand it to me.”

Nami clenched her lips, took a step forward, and was about to cross into Arlong Park—when a gunshot froze her in place…

Bang!

Nami turned, dazed.

There stood the fishman Saltburn, holding a rusted flintlock pistol.

Smoke curled from the muzzle.

A civilian’s head far away had been pierced by the bullet; blood streamed from the wound, spreading a pool of crimson across the ground.

“Oh my~”

“That Kenji fellow had a decent gun—even after years without maintenance, its performance was surprisingly reliable.”

Click!

The bullet was reloaded.

The game continues.

Saltburn smirked at Nami:

“Hey~”

“Nami, go on. Fulfill your dream and obsession. You’ve endured for so long—wasn’t this exactly what you waited for?”

Nami gripped the handle of the suitcase so tightly her nails pierced her palm, drawing blood she didn’t notice.

“Is this your promise regarding money?!”

“Arlong!”

No matter what.

She never imagined he could be so… so despicable!

This whole game of saving money to redeem the village had been nothing but Arlong’s entertainment from start to finish.

All her hopes, all her expectations, had become a joke right now.

“Shark hahahahaha—!”

Arlong’s cruel laughter echoed through the park:

“What’s wrong, Nami? Isn’t this what you’ve always wanted? Step through that gate, and you’ll own everything in Cocoyasi Village!”

“Of course.”

“A village with no living people is still a village, isn’t it?!”

Watching the girl’s tightly clenched lips, Arlong felt the years of suppressed hatred within him finally spill out.

Arlong slowly rose and walked toward Nami, who stood motionless at the gate.

Just as he had done before, he seized her hair and sneered:

“Your only value is to draw maps for me day and night in Arlong Park—to give everything you have so I may dominate the East Blue, the Grand Line, and even the entire world!”

“This is the meaning of your existence as an inferior human race!”

“Hey~”

Arlong leaned down and whispered into Nami’s ear:

“Let’s make a deal.”

“Use this money to buy the lives of everyone here—except that Kenji fellow up there. His shot hurt my comrades badly.”

Saltburn rubbed his chest in coordination:

“Left a big red mark~”

Hearing Arlong’s familiar words, Nami felt only cold:

“What about those not here?”

“Those who defy me? They deserve to die!”

Arlong sneered, then snatched the suitcase from Nami’s hands and slammed her against the wall:

“Now… what’s your choice?”

“I…”

Nami’s mind was in chaos; instinctively, she opened her mouth—when a cold, sharp voice suddenly cut through:

“What are you doing to my navigator?!”

Arlong turned and saw a silver-white flying slash hurtling toward him; instinctively, he raised the suitcase in front of himself…

Hiss!

The flying slash sliced the suitcase open, its momentum unbroken, sending Arlong flying dozens of meters into the park’s pool.

Countless Berries rained down like confetti.

Nami stood amidst them, stunned—until she turned and saw three familiar figures:

“Captain Lancelot? How did you find this place?”

“Arlong’s a monster. No blade, poison, or gunpowder can harm him. Coming here will only get you killed.”

Gao Wen said nothing, instead removing his cloak and draping it over Nami, his voice thick with suppressed rage:

“Just tell me—do you want to kill him?”

Nami clenched her lips:

“Yes, every day, every hour, every second—I’ve never stopped wanting to. But I don’t want you to die.”

“Leave now, while you still can!”

“Wanting to is enough.”

Gao Wen patted Nami’s shoulder, scanned the scene, understood instantly what had happened, and his expression grew colder:

“Ajin! Keluo! Time to stretch your limbs!”

Keluo slowly drew his clawed blade, its edge gleaming with cold light; Ajin spun his iron clubs rapidly, stirring a whirlwind around him.

Seeing Nami’s suffering, both were enraged, replying in icy tones:

“Understood, Captain!”

Without another word,

Ajin and Keluo struck simultaneously, engaging the approaching fishmen in brutal combat.

Clawed blade and iron clubs instantly unleashed a storm of blood and gore.

In the first instant of contact, several fishmen were smashed by Ajin’s clubs, flying into distant walls and shattering them.

Saltburn, singled out for special attention, never got a chance to raise his gun—his head exploded under Ajin’s iron ball.

Keluo activated “Soul Siphon,” becoming an invisible god of death, carving deep, bone-exposing gashes into the fishmen.

Beyond the three top officers, the other fishmen could dominate ordinary humans thanks to their racial advantages—but faced with true power, they were helpless.

In the East Blue today, Keluo and Ajin, both awakened in Observation Haki, were absolute hardcores—even Hachio, Chopper, and Kuroobi were no match for them now.

They were crushed in a single exchange.

……

“Captain Lancelot, how did you—!”

The one-sided battle left Nami stunned; she was about to speak when she saw Arlong leap from the pool like a sword, landing lightly.

Arlong touched the bleeding wound on his chest, lips curling into a sneer:

“That… stung a little~”

Then he looked at Nami, voice dripping with contempt:

“What nonsense.”

“This guy isn’t Lancelot. You’ve spent your life lying—and now you’ve been lied to.”

“Wanted bounty: eighty-five million Berries—East Blue’s greatest swordsman, knight Gao Wen. Bounty: sixteen million—Keluo the Master of a Hundred Schemes. Bounty: twelve million—demon man Ajin!”

Nami froze—only now did she recall the strange reactions of those around her when Gao Wen and the others revealed their identities.

"So you've all been lying to me?!"

(End of Chapter)