Chapter 52: What Are You Going to Do to My Navigator?

By the time Nami arrived at Arlong Park, the battle had long since ended.

The great gate stood wide open.

At a glance, one could clearly see Arlong sitting in the center of the park.

Chew, Kuroobi, and Hatchan, the three top officers, along with dozens of fish-men, had all gathered inside the gate, watching Nami outside with keen interest.

At the entrance lay countless villagers wailing in agony; crimson blood had almost dyed the entire ground completely red.

Everyone bore grave wounds and had already lost the power to resist, yet they all still clung to their last breath.

Nami raised her head, her pupils suddenly contracting.

Unconscious, Ah Jian was pinned to the great gate by a long spear, blood slowly flowing from the wound on his left shoulder and abdomen.

Drip!

Drip!

Drip!

……

"Nami!"

Arlong's sinister laughter brought Nami back to her senses. She raised her head to look at Arlong, forcing a relaxed smile onto her face, yet the anger and hatred in her eyes could not be concealed no matter what:

"I've brought the money back. As agreed, one hundred million Berries to redeem the village!"

"Of course."

Arlong nodded, his eyes filled with even more mockery:

"Then, as agreed, bring that money into Arlong Park and place it in my hands."

Nami pressed her lips tightly together and took a step forward, about to cross into Arlong Park, when a gunshot suddenly made her movement freeze...

Bang!

Nami turned back, numb.

She saw the fish-man Salt-Burn guarding the gate holding a rusty flintlock pistol.

White smoke rose from the muzzle.

In the distance, a commoner's head had been pierced by the bullet; blood flowed from the wound, spreading a pool of scarlet across the ground.

"Oh my~"

"That fellow named Ah Jian actually had a fine gun. Even without maintenance for several years, its performance was surprisingly reliable."

Click!

The bullet was reloaded.

The game continues.

Salt-Burn looked at Nami with a face full of mockery:

"Hey~"

"Nami, go on. Realize your dream and obsession. You've endured for so many years; wasn't it all for this very moment?"

Nami gripped the handle of the briefcase so tightly that her fingernails pierced her palm, drawing blood without her even noticing.

"Is this your promise regarding money?!"

"Arlong!"

No matter what.

She never imagined the other party would be so... so despicable!

This 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 at this very moment.

"Shark hahahaha—!"

Arlong's sinister laughter echoed from within the park:

"What's wrong? Nami? Isn't this the wish you've had all along? As long as you cross that threshold, you can have everything in Cocoyasi Village!"

"Of course."

"A village with no living people is still a village, isn't it?!"

Watching the young girl's tightly pressed lips in the distance, Arlong felt that the resentment he had suppressed for many years was completely vented in this very moment.

Arlong slowly stood up and walked toward the motionless Nami at the gate.

Just as he had done before, he grabbed a handful of Nami's hair and sneered:

"Your only value is to draw sea charts for me day and night within Arlong Park, and to dedicate everything to my domination of the East Blue, the Grand Line, and even the entire world!"

"This is the meaning of your existence as a human of an inferior race!"

"Hey~"

Arlong bent down and spoke into Nami's ear:

"Let's make a deal."

"Use this money to buy the lives of everyone present here, except for that fellow named Ah Jian up there; that shot of his injured my compatriot quite badly."

Salt-Burn cooperatively reached out and rubbed his chest:

"It's quite red~"

Hearing Arlong's familiar words, Nami only felt a chill:

"What about those not here?"

"Those who resist me can only die!"

Arlong sneered, then snatched the briefcase from Nami's hands and pinned her tightly against the wall:

"Now... how will you choose?"

"I..."

Nami's heart was in a turmoil; she was about to speak instinctively, but a cold, sharp voice suddenly rang in her ear:

"What are you doing to my navigator?!"

Arlong turned his head and saw a silver-white flying slash rushing toward him. He instinctively held the leather case in front of him...

Sss!

The flying slash cut the leather case open, its momentum unspent, and sent Arlong flying dozens of meters into the pool in the Paradise.

Countless Berries scattered everywhere, filling the sky.

Nami stood amidst it, stunned for a moment. When she came to her senses and turned her head, she saw three familiar figures:

"Captain Lancelot? How did you find this place?"

"That Arlong is a monster. Neither swords, poisons, nor guns and cannons can harm him. If you come here, you will only die in vain."

Gao Wen did not reply. Instead, he took off his cloak and draped it over Nami, his voice suppressing anger:

"You only need to tell me: do you want to kill him?"

Nami pressed her lips together:

"Yes. Every day, every hour, every moment; not a single second passes without me wanting it. But I don't want you to die even more."

"Leave quickly while you still can!"

"Wanting is enough."

Gao Wen patted Nami's shoulder, scanned the surroundings with his gaze, realized what had happened, and his expression grew even more chilling:

"Jinbe! Xiang Keluo! Time to stretch your legs!"

Xiang Keluo's claw knives slowly slid from their sheaths, the blades flashing with cold light. Xia Luote's iron crutches spun rapidly, even summoning a whirlwind around them.

Having seen Nami's plight, both of them were truly enraged and replied in cold tones:

"Understood! Captain!"

With that said.

Xia Luote and Xiang Keluo attacked simultaneously, engaging the fish-men attacking from afar in direct combat.

Claw knives and iron crutches instantly unleashed a storm of blood and gore.

The moment the two sides clashed, several fish-men were struck by Xia Luote's iron crutches and sent flying, smashing into the distant walls.

The fish-man named Salt Roast received special attention. Before he could even raise his gun, Xia Luote's iron ball exploded his head.

Xiang Keluo directly activated his "Death Scythe," transforming into an invisible Grim Reaper, leaving deep, bone-exposing claw marks on the fish-men.

Fish-men other than the three commanders could still run rampant against ordinary humans by relying on their racial talents, but when they truly met hard opponents, they could only drink their sorrow.

And in the current East Blue, Xiang Keluo and Xia Luote, who had awakened Observation Haki, were absolute hard opponents. Even Hachi, Chew, and Xiang Kelobio were completely no match for the current Xia Luote and Xiang Keluo.

They were firmly suppressed in a single exchange.

"Captain Lancelot, how did you—!"

The one-sided battle on the field left Nami stunned for a moment. Just as she was about to speak, she saw Arlong shoot out of the distant pool like a sharp sword and land lightly.

Arlong reached out and touched the bleeding wound on his chest, a sinister smile spreading across his lips:

"That hurt me a little~"

He then looked at Nami, his tone filled with unspeakable mockery:

"What nonsense are you talking?"

"That guy isn't some Lancelot. You lie to people all day, and now you've been lied to by others."

"Bounty of eighty-five million Berries, the East Blue's number one swordsman knight Gao Wen, and Xiang Keluo of the Hundred Plans with a bounty of sixteen million, and the Ghost Xia Luote with a bounty of twelve million!"

Nami was stunned; only now did she recall the strange reactions of the people around when Gao Wen and the others had revealed their identities earlier.

"So you were all lying to me?!"

(End of this chapter)