409. Mother's Trial
The Straw Hat Pirates finally arrive in Cocoyashi Village which looks more like a small town than a village now. They dock their ship at the public port and no one really cares about them. Only some guards are watching them to make sure the pirates won't do anything stupid.
But they stop being vigilant after they see Leo comes out of the pirate ship. Then they get surprised when they see Nami comes out of it too. They haven't seen her for a rather long time since she ran away from home, after all.
"Oh, Leo, you found her," says a port guard.
"Yeah, we met at Orange Town, and she was with these weirdos. Let their ship stays here, they will come with me to see someone going through a trial," says Leo while walking away.
The guards look at Nami pitifully even though they are happy to see her after a while. She also looks dispirited while she follows Leo and the clueless Straw Hats just walk while looking around curiously. This village looks very nice, after all.
On their way through the village, Nami rethinks of her decision to go home. She wants to run away now and just leave without permission again. But then they meet Genzo who comes after hearing of Nami's return.
Genzo's appearance prevents Nami from running away again. He is glad she returns safely, but he also pities her just like the others because he knows what will happen. Then he follows the group because he is very suspicious of the Straw Hats.
They arrive in front of a simple 2-story house that looks nice but not that great. It's Buggy's family's house that was built by Palu a few years ago. The design is simple, but there's no doubt it's the sturdiest and most expensive house in this place.
Leo opens the door and everyone can see Nojiko and Bellemere inside. Nojiko is reading a thick report book while Bellemere is reading a newspaper while smoking. Her face is covered by the newspaper, but Nami is already afraid to even look at it.
"How was it, Leo?" asks Bellemere.
"No one dies although many are injured. Some buildings are destroyed, so we need to repair them," says Leo while taking a water bottle from a fridge.
"Hmm, alright. Nojiko, send people to repair the buildings, don't worry about the money," says Bellemere.
"Alright, mom. I will also send the report to dad," says Nojiko.
"Good, and tell him to go home soon or I'll kill him. Now, why don't we talk about something else, Nami?" asks Bellemere while putting her newspaper down.
Nami gulps her saliva and giggles nervously while scratching the back of her head. Bellemere simply looks at the floor in front of the table, and Nami immediately sits on her knees there. Her new crewmates are dumbfounded, but they also realize that Bellemere is glaring at them too, so they kneel behind Nami reflexively.
"So, why don't you tell me what you've done in the last few months, dear daughter?" asks Bellemere with a menacing tone.
"Ehehe, well, I sail around and draw maps," says Nami.
"Is that it?" asks Bellemere again.
"Y-yes," replies Nami.
"Then what about the report I heard that you were stealing money and a boat from one of your dad's business branches? Or stealing from a pirate ship? Or scamming people?" asks Bellemere while tapping the table with her finger.
"I-I need money, you know. I'm sure dad will understand, he is rich. Also, the ones I scammed are rich people," says Nami.
"So you are justifying your crimes? If you need money then work like your sister. But you did all of those and now you are coming back with a bunch of pirates?" asks Bellemere again.
"She was also caught and held captive by a pirate crew," says Leo, ratting his sister.
"LEO!" shouts Nami, but Leo just shrugs his shoulders.
Bellemere grins menacingly and says, "Oho? Seems like I need to discipline you. As for you kids, what's your deal with my daughter?"
"She is our navigator," says Luffy.
Bellemere raises an eyebrow and looks at Nami who hastily says, "T-they want to enter Grandline and I thought I could go with them to map it."
"You know that Grandline is dangerous, right? Even your dad almost died many times there," says Bellemere.
"Yeah, but these guys are strong, so I can use them as my shields," says Nami so blatantly which receives stinky eyes from Zoro & Usopp.
"Strong? These kids who still wet their beds?" asks Bellemere while raising an eyebrow and looking at Leo.
"Well, they defeated most of the pirates who attacked Orange Town before I arrived. That crew's Captain has 35 million on his head," says Leo.
Bellemere grins and says, "Heh, that's interesting."
"So, mom, can I go to Grandline with these guys? I've observed them for a few days and they seem trustworthy," says Nami.
"Mother-in-law, I will protect Nami-san with everything I have," says Sanji like a knight.
"Yeah, I don't trust someone who says that but winked at my oldest daughter. What do you think, Leo, Nojiko?" asks Bellemere.
"I don't know, I've just met them a while ago," says Leo.
"They don't look that strong," says Nojiko.
"You hear them. I also can't trust you just because Nami said she trusted you," says Bellemere.
"Then what should we do to make you believe us?" asks Luffy seriously.
"Let's do this my husband's way. He always said the easiest and fastest way to find out a person's true nature is by crossing swords. But I'm not a swordsman, so let's play it with our fists," says Bellemere while grinning menacingly and bumping her fists.
"S-so you weren't lying when you said your mom is a gangster," whispers Usopp to Nami while gulping his saliva.
"Yeah," says Nami shortly.
They finish their talk and Bellemere takes them to Clown Pirates' base on another side of the island. The Straw Hats are stunned by the massive castle-like building in front of them. There is a big Clown Pirates symbol carved on the building and their flag on the top.
"Is that your dad's crew's flag?" asks Luffy to Leo.
"Yeah, that's the flag that protects this whole Archipelago," says Leo while smiling proudly.
"You really admire him, aren't you?" asks Sanji.
"Of course, that's why I want to surpass him. I don't know about other things, but I want to surpass his power," says Leo firmly.
"How strong is he?" asks Luffy.
"I never saw his full power, but I once saw him cut a galleon in half with a kitchen knife he used to take fish guts when the pirate crew who has it attacked us when both of us were fishing," says Leo while closing his eyes.
Now the Straw Hats are very surprised because they've seen someone do it before. Mihawk has cut a big ship in half with a mere slash before, so they think Leo's dad might be as strong as him. That's the level of The Strongest Swordsman in The World, which is very impressive.
"Did your dad teach you your swordsmanship?" asks Zoro.
"Yeah, just the basic though, he told me to develop it on my own," says Leo.
Zoro wants to ask more, but Bellemere calls them up, "Alright, kids, let's do it here."
They are on the training ground behind the base now. Bellemere tells the Straw Hats and Nami to get ready while Leo and Nojiko watch from the side.
"Me too?" asks Nami in surprise.
"Of course, if you wanna go to Grandline, then you need to have the ability to protect yourself," says Bellemere while rolling her sleeves.
"Don't worry, Nami, we will bury your map with you," says Nojiko jokingly.
Nami doesn't see that as a joke because she knows she might die for real. But she still holds her metal staff tightly and gets ready to fight. Luffy clenches his fist, Zoro holds his swords, Usopp prepares his slingshot, and Sanji does nothing.
"What are you doing, blondie?" asks Bellemere while cracking her fingers.
"I don't hit women," says Sanji seriously while smoking.
"Oh? That's funny how you think you can hit me," says Bellemere who suddenly appears in front of Sanji.
Everyone except for Bellemere's children is surprised by how fast she is. Then before they can react, she punches Sanji's face and knocks him out instantly. The Straw Hats then see her feet are covered by dark red flame and there is a straight line of fire on the floor behind her.
"Come on, kids, don't disappoint me," says Bellemere while taunting the Straw Hats.
Luffy suddenly stretches his right arm back, surprising Bellemere & Nojiko a little. Then he shoots his fist toward her, but she evades it easily and catches his stretched arm. She releases it soon though because Usopp shoots a projectile at her hand that holds Luffy's arm.
Zoro then appears and swings 3 swords at her. 2 of his swords were broken, but Leo lends his cutlasses to Zoro to see Zoro's real power. Zoro is still quite strong despite his injuries, but Bellemere is on a whole different level.
She blocks Zoro's swords with a palm. No one can see it, but she uses colorless Armament Haki right now. Then when Zoro is stunned, she punches his face and knocks him out before dashing at Usopp and knocking him out too. Nami also doesn't get spared and gets knocked out with a punch.
Luffy is last and Bellemere decides to play with him for a while because he is the Captain. She handles all his attacks easily to show how weak he is. Then she knocked him out using a punch coated by colorless Armament Haki to touch his real body.
Bellemere grins and says, "You still have a long way to go to get my approval, kids."
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