32. I Believe in You

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Though he wasn't officially the village head, Genzo had long become the heart of Cocoyashi Village. People trusted him. Respected him. So when he stood tall and called them to act, they listened.

One villager stepped forward. "If we're going to follow those pirates… should we go now?"

Genzo looked around at the familiar faces of people he'd watched struggle for survival over the past eight years. They'd all paid Arlong's blood tax. They'd all swallowed their rage, buried it deep.

But the fire had never gone out.

Genzo raised his head. "We go back home. Grab whatever weapons you can find. And if you don't have any grab something hard enough to hurt."

Gasps echoed through the crowd.

"W-We're taking up arms? Won't Arlong think we're rebelling?" asked a nervous man named Vino.

"We are rebelling!" Genzo shouted.

"And what, we just wait for pirates to save us?" another voice added bitterly.

Voices rose in agreement. The villagers were fired up.

Genzo remained silent for a moment, thinking it through. If the Hurricane Pirates failed… they could always claim the weapons were meant to defend Arlong's territory. A coward's insurance policy.

But if Aero succeeded?

Then they'd gladly throw their weapons down. So long as those pirates weren't as cruel as the last ones.

The villagers ran home, flinging open drawers, cabinets, and tool sheds.

Knives. Spears. Pitchforks. Even sharpened sticks.

Old men, children, and women stood together, all clutching something anything that could be swung in defense.

Genzo was about to protest when he saw their eyes.

Determined. Steeled.

So instead of warning them off, he nodded.

"Good. Stay sharp. If we fight, the women and children stay back until we fall. Then you finish it."

"Genzo! Your weapon!"

A woman's voice rang out.

He turned and froze.

It was Nojiko.

Her violet hair was tied back with a red scarf. She wore a sleeveless yellow vest, a faint tattoo peeking through.

She pushed through the crowd and handed Genzo a sheathed, sea-green katana.

"I figured you might need this," she said with a smile and then winked.

Genzo stared, stunned. He hadn't even seen her arrive.

He wanted to tell her to stay behind, that this was no place for her… but seeing the children and elderly in the group, he knew he'd be wasting his breath.

"Fine. But stay in the back," he grumbled.

"Let's find those pirates. Maybe together, we'll find Arlong faster."

He turned, weapon in hand, and led the crowd down the trail Aero's crew had taken.

"Captain, you sure they'll come find us?" Eddie asked, casually chewing on a blade of grass.

Aero didn't look back. "They will."

"I was watching them," Dylan added, leaning against a tree. "They hate pirates but they fear Arlong even more."

"Rebellion is in human nature," Aero said, gazing out across the fields, fences, and crops swaying in the breeze. "They've endured this tyranny long enough. You can't bottle that kind of resentment forever."

"They may not trust us…" Dylan continued, "But they saw our strength. Especially that man with the scar Genzo. He's their backbone. When we showed what we could do, that shifted something."

Dylan glanced at Eddie. "You noticed, right? When you pulled Genzo aside, Captain used his ability to lift him into the air, subtly. From Genzo's view, it looked like you did it with one hand. A strength only Fish-Men are known for."

Eddie smirked. "So that's why he looked like he'd seen a ghost."

Aero hadn't lifted Genzo too high just enough to sell the illusion without alerting the others.

It was Dylan's plan. While Aero and Genzo argued, Dylan quietly nudged Eddie forward and signaled Aero to assist with a flash signal.

"Gotta admit," Eddie said, laughing, "you're quiet most of the time, but when you move, you move like a damn tactician."

"I know," Dylan said flatly.

"Still," Eddie muttered, "our captain would've stood there arguing with that guy all day if you hadn't stepped in."

At that moment, Aero turned to look directly at Eddie.

Eddie tensed. 'Did he hear that?'

But Aero didn't say a word he was looking past them, toward the path.

"They're coming," Aero said simply.

The others stood up, instantly alert. Dylan moved beside him. The rest gathered behind, pulling up their black hoods to cover their identities.

Eddie blinked, confused. "Coming? Who's—oh."

He spat out the grass, dusted himself off, and jogged to Aero's right side, pulling his hood over his red hair.

Sometimes he forgot he was the spy of the crew. Yet here he was, being the last to catch on.

From the far end of the path, a wave of people appeared.

Villagers.

Armed.

Marching with everything from cooking knives to sharpened sticks.

They had come.

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