[15] The Arlong Crew (1)

Cocoyasi Village — in front of Arlong Park's gates.

A girl with short orange hair returned, carrying a large bag on her back.

In Cocoyasi Village, where no buildings rise above a few stories, this one stood tall at five floors — a testament to Arlong's power.

At the top of the structure was a sculpture shaped like a shark, and above it flew a red Jolly Roger.

Of course, all of it had been built through exploitation.

"Out of the way! I've come to kill Arlong!"

From a distance, a young boy came running toward Arlong Park, tightly gripping a sword in his hands.

He shouted at the girl standing in front of the gates.

"…Huh?"

The girl looked at the crying boy.

Something about the boy's face seemed to overlap with someone from her past. She bit her lip hard and pulled out three sticks from her chest.

In an instant, the three rods combined into one long staff and flew toward the boy.

"W-Waaah!"

She glanced coldly at the boy she had knocked down but quickly averted her eyes.

Still, she couldn't just leave him like that.

Thud.

She tossed a bundle of money — around 10,000 Berries — at the fallen boy without a word.

"Arlong doesn't have time to deal with brats like you!"

Having uttered Arlong's name, she bit her lip again and fully turned away.

"…Use that money to take care of yourself."

"D-Damn it…! Damn it all!"

...

Meanwhile, aboard a Marine battleship patrolling the East Blue, Rengoku was scanning through the wanted posters.

There were only four — or five, counting the presumed-dead Kuro — bounties over 10 million Berries in the East Blue.

Of those five, three — Don Krieg, Gin, and Kuro — had already been captured during this current patrol.

The remaining ones were Buggy the Clown and the fishman Arlong.

According to Luffy, he had blown Buggy away, so his current status was unknown and his whereabouts couldn't be confirmed—he was temporarily set aside.

But Arlong was definitely still in the East Blue.

According to Navy intelligence, his presence in the East Blue was thanks to the Warlord of the Sea, "Sea Knight" Jinbe.

It may be the weakest sea, but it's still the sea.

There are thousands of islands and tens of thousands of villages.

Since checking each location individually is impossible, Marine branches were established.

However, not a single branch in the East Blue had reported any confirmed sightings of Arlong.

"What's got you thinking so deeply, Vice Admiral Rengoku?"

His personal aide, Tashigi, approached and asked.

"Lieutenant Tashigi, if I recall correctly, you're also from the East Blue, aren't you?"

"Yes, that's correct. I'm from the East Blue."

"Then before you joined the Navy, had you ever heard anything about the fishman Arlong?"

"Arlong…? I'm not sure. I've been away from the East Blue for quite some time…"

"Hmm… I vaguely remember hearing something about Arlong coming to the East Blue around 8 or 10 years ago."

Tashigi racked her brain for any useful information about the fishman pirate Arlong, but couldn't come up with anything substantial.

"Hmph! That's right—Arlong arrived in the East Blue 10 years ago! But think about it: in those 10 years, not a single proper report from any Marine branch has reached HQ about him! Isn't that strange?"

Tashigi nodded at Rengoku's sharp observation.

"It is strange. That violent Arlong doesn't seem like the type to lie low for 10 years…"

"We've already captured three of the East Blue's five wanted criminals with bounties over 10 million Berries on this patrol. Buggy's status was confirmed thanks to the Straw Hat crew, so there's not much we can do about that for now. But if possible, I'd like to bring in Arlong too!"

"Can you compile all the records from the past 10 years related to Arlong?"

"Ten years' worth of records?"

"Yes. I want all reports related to fishmen filed within any East Blue branch over the past decade. Given that this is the so-called weakest sea, I doubt the number will be overwhelming."

"But those reports are stored across the individual branches…"

"The Chief of East Blue's Marine Division holds the rank of Rear Admiral. You're now carrying out the orders of a Vice Admiral, which is two ranks higher. If any branch is uncooperative, no need for discussion—just get their branch number and report directly to me!"

Tashigi looked at Rengoku, understanding how determined he was to capture the highest bounty target in the East Blue on this patrol.

"Yes, sir! I'll complete the task without fail!"

With a strong salute, Tashigi headed straight to the communications room.

...

Meanwhile, at Arlong Park, a grand feast was underway.

"Kuahahaha! As expected, Nami is amazing!"

"There's hardly a more useful human than her! Truly a 'wonderful comrade' of ours!"

"Come! Eat and drink! Let's toast to Nami, who once again fooled those inferior humans!"

"Cheers!"

Dozens of strong fish-men were feasting on food they had plundered from nearby villages, celebrating their latest success.

However, the girl at the center of the celebration—Nami—was not present. Instead, she had returned to her room within Arlong Park to rest.

'Haa…'

'Uncle Gen… Bell-mère…'

She sighed silently, trying to ease the fatigue in her body.

The "crew" she had met during her latest "job" felt very different from those before.

No matter how brutal and cruel she was perceived as a high-ranking member of the Arlong Pirates, it didn't mean she was without emotion.

Back during her first mission, Nami had personally witnessed her "comrades" being brutally taken down by the Arlong Pirates. For several days afterward, she was too shaken to do anything.

She had sworn never to grow attached to anyone while doing this dirty work. But for a young girl like Nami, that was a difficult promise to keep.

Over time, after many missions, she had built a wall around her heart and never showed a genuine smile to anyone—

—except once, when she was traveling with that straw-hatted boy.

Luffy, the boy in the straw hat, seemed like a naive fool at first, always clumsy and wide-eyed. But over time, Nami had been swayed by his honesty and sincerity.

"Phew…"

"Oi, Nami! Still resting in there?"

A voice came from outside her door. It was Hachi, the octopus fish-man and one of Arlong's officers.

"What? What do you want?"

"Nyu~ It's a party in your honor! We miss you, come have fun with us!"

That dumb octopus-head…

"I'm tired and feeling sick, so I'll pass! You guys go eat plenty!"

"Nyu~ that's a shame. I made some really good takoyaki this time too…"

Hachi was one of the few simple-hearted members of the Arlong crew.

But simplicity didn't mean kindness.

His naïve loyalty led him to follow Arlong blindly, never making judgments of his own.

He was, quite literally, "loyally dumb."

'If only the Navy had done something… Wait, the Navy?'

Nami suddenly recalled the Marine officer she had met in Syrup Village and Baratie not long ago.

He was tall, carried an unusual sword, and even a Marine captain seemed intimidated by him—he was likely a high-ranking officer, possibly even a flag officer.

He might've been the first such high-ranking Marine she'd seen in her entire career.

If he was that high up, maybe he was different?

She regretted not getting his contact info at the time…

Having given up hope in the Navy, Nami had placed all her bets on Arlong's promise.

Though Arlong was violent and a racial supremacist, he had never broken a promise when it came to money.

Still, if she had managed to connect with that senior officer from Marine HQ…

Even if he wasn't strong enough to take Arlong down himself, just getting the report to Marine Headquarters might've made the gamble worthwhile.

'Maybe I pulled out of Baratie too soon…'

With all these conflicting emotions, Nami's heart was a tangled mess.

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