Chapter 193 – Clueless Hachi 

'So it's starting, huh? Wonder if that octopus Hachi can survive…'

'Oh well. I'll let Nami decide that,' Arton thought, observing the tense standoff. He sighed and quietly opened his Diary Copy interface, activating video recording.

It wasn't necessarily to record the grudge between Nami and Hachi, but rather to capture the moment of renewal for Nami and Nojiko. After all, to Arton, the video was only visible to him—but it was still a big moment for Nami, so he felt it worthwhile to document it.

[Video (Recording): Nami & Nojiko's New Beginning]

Shirahoshi: "A 'new beginning' for Miss Nami and Miss Nojiko? Wait, that's a fish-man?"

Shyarly: "That's Hachi, right? Same as ever. But can he really make it out alive?"

Camie: "Ugh, it's Hatchan…"

Tashigi: "It's about to happen, huh? In the end, the Arlong Pirates didn't get taken down by the Marines."

Hina: "So we really were too slow."

Doll: "We may be too late for the Arlong Pirates matter, but let's hope we're not too late for Captain Nezumi."

Boa Hancock: "The so-called 'benefactor of Rayleigh'—that chap from Amazon Lily's older generation? Even if he dies, he can only blame himself."

Baccarat: "The Arlong Pirates dying off is whatever—Uta and the others will probably rack up a huge number of video points again. So jealous."

Gion: "At this rate, who knows how powerful Nami and the others might become!"

Seeing Arton's camera start rolling, Carina, Uta, Nojiko, and the rest all noticed it. Before long, consciously or not, they positioned themselves to be in the camera's frame.

"Huh, Nami, you're back?"

"What's with that lightning around you? Did you get struck by thunder or something?"

Hachi ignored the townsfolk's hostility and walked right up to Nami, confusion apparent on his face.

"Hachi… same as always," Nami muttered, loosening her grip on her naginata slightly.

"Um… why? Something wrong with me?" Hachi scratched the back of his head.

"Not really. I'm just thinking how we ended up here," Nami sighed. "Among the Arlong Pirates, you were the one who treated me the nicest—unless you got direct orders from Arlong. Then you became ruthless. I really can't figure why a fish-man like you ended up alongside someone like Arlong, instead of staying under Jinbe's wing. Isn't that simpler?"

After Arton told her about the link between the Arlong Pirates and Jinbe's Sun Pirates, plus what she'd gleaned from the Diary Copy, Nami understood Hachi's relationship with Jinbe.

"Jinbe-ossan? You know Big Bro Jinbe? Did he come to the East Blue?! That's great! Then I need to tell Boss Arlong—!"

Hachi's eyes went wide with surprise, a note of delight in his tone. Yet as he turned to dash off, he barely made it two steps before Nami's naginata was at his throat.

"N-Nami, what're you doing?" Hachi hadn't stopped in time; a thin line of blood now traced along his neck from the blade's edge. Even so, he didn't look angry—just baffled.

"You're such a fool. A bit cute, but still a fool," Nami said, shaking her head. "Even with my blade at your throat, you're still this clueless."

She went on, voice cold. "Hachi, how do you think Jinbe would react if he knew all you and Arlong have done here in Cocoyasi Village?"

"Jinbe-ossan, he—" Hachi faltered. He knew full well that if Jinbe learned about the havoc they'd wreaked, he'd be furious.

"Hachi, go tell Arlong. Tell him that the Arlong Pirates' rule ends now. I intend to personally end his life and the rest of Arlong's crew."

Nami retracted her naginata, her voice icy.

"What…? You're planning to kill us?"

"Nami, you must have a death wish," Hachi exclaimed, eyes widened. "Humans can't possibly defeat fish-men. Stop spouting nonsense. I can skip telling Arlong if you drop—"

Ulti: "Humph, pretty bold words from a measly fish-man."

Black Maria: "If fish-men were so mighty, they wouldn't lack real top-tier fighters."

Shyarly: "Ugh, Hachi… you've been in the East Blue so long you've lost your perspective…"

Camie: "Hachi, look who's in front of you—it's truly powerful humans, ugh…"

Boa Hancock: "That imbecile fish-man. If he dies, he dies. Rayleigh… if that old man has a complaint, he can take it to Arton or whomever else."

Nami let out a sigh at Hachi's naive comment, then stepped forward and slammed a straight punch into his abdomen.

Boom!

A deafening explosion rang out. Hachi shot away like an arrow, smashing right through several trees and uprooting them as he crashed.

"Whoa—that's incredible! A fish-man got sent flying by just one punch from Nami?"

"That's the sort of power Nami has now? She really wasn't lying?"

"But how on earth did she become so strong?"

Stunned, the Cocoyasi villagers watched. Because of the Arlong Pirates' dominion, the village had virtually no contact with the outside world, nor access to newspapers. Naturally, they had no clue about Nami's prior exploits at the Baratie restaurant on the sea.

"Are you saying that Nami really can take down the Arlong Pirates?" Gripping his fists tightly, Genzo—who raised Nami and Nojiko as a foster father—muttered these words with excitement.

"Absolutely," Carina answered with a grin directed at Genzo, "Nami's power now is way beyond your imagination. Besides, if anything unexpected does happen, the rest of us—Nami's partners—will help her out. Oh, right, almost forgot to mention: that 'Jinbe' fellow Hachi was talking about, we've never met him. But we do know that Mihawk, the World's Greatest Swordsman and fellow Warlord alongside Jinbe, was defeated not too long ago by our Captain Arton."

Hearing this, Genzo and the other villagers of Cocoyasi looked in shock at Arton, whose face bore a faint, casual smile. Though they'd never left the East Blue—some not even leaving this island—they still knew of the Seven Warlords, the "third force" on par with the Navy and the Four Emperors. It was hard for them to imagine that this man—who, aside from looking rather handsome, didn't seem to have any other remarkable traits—could really have defeated Dracule Mihawk, a Warlord.

Just then, Kaya took a newspaper out of the medical kit she carried and handed it to Genzo. Printed there was the report that Arton had beaten Mihawk. Before long, Genzo and the other Cocoyasi villagers gave exclamations of joy, finally convinced that the Arlong Pirates would be overthrown.

"H-how powerful!"

"How can Nami have such strength…?"

Nearby, Hachi pressed a hand to his abdomen—where Nami's punch had struck him—and struggled to his feet. In the next instant, his eyes bulged wide again: from his vantage point, he saw that Nami, previously standing some distance away, had seemingly appeared right in front of him in a flash, like teleportation.

"Now you should believe I've got the power to wipe out the entire Arlong Pirates," she said. "Go back, Hachi—tell Arlong to get ready. It won't be long before I bring everyone in Cocoyasi Village to settle the score."

After directing these words at Hachi, Nami gave a casual wave of her hand toward a nearby patch of ground. In a split second, a bolt of lightning plummeted from the sky, exploding into a crater five or six meters wide and about three meters deep—right beside Hachi.

Hachi gulped hard. He had no doubt that if that lightning had hit him, he'd be roasted like grilled octopus. Acting on instinct, Hachi turned and bolted toward Arlong Park. On the way, hearing the Cocoyasi villagers discussing how Arton and Nami had combined forces to fight Mihawk—how Arton had defeated the World's Greatest Swordsman—he almost wished his six arms could become six legs, just so he could run faster.

"All right, everyone," Nami said with a slight smile, turning to the villagers, "it's time to end this."

…

Meanwhile, at Arlong Park…

Reclining on a lounge chair, Arlong leisurely answered the incessantly ringing Den Den Mushi.

"Hello? Arlong speaking!"

"Arlong, it's me—Captain Nezumi."

"Oh, it's you. What now? Here to talk me into leaving again?" Arlong sneered. He was clearly unhappy about Captain Nezumi's men having tried to persuade him to leave the East Blue some days back.

"No, I'm not going to try to persuade you any longer, Arlong," Nezumi said coldly, binoculars in hand, gazing at the island where Arlong Park was visible in the distance. "What I want to know is, do you regret not leaving?"

Now that the Celestial Dragons' fleet was close at hand, Nezumi's plan was for the evidence of collusion between himself and the Arlong Pirates—as well as the Arlong Pirates themselves—to be eliminated by the guards accompanying the Celestial Dragons. Whether the Arlong Pirates left or stayed no longer mattered. He merely wanted to see if Arlong regretted not leaving sooner.

"Regret? Heh… Why would I regret anything?" Arlong snorted. "There's no one in this East Blue who could make the mighty fish-men regret anything."

"Oh, is that so? Then what about the one who beat Dracule Mihawk—a Warlord, just like Jinbe?" Nezumi's voice turned even icier.

***

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