"Hmm? What do you mean by that, Captain Nezumi?" Arlong frowned, puzzlement clear in his voice.
"Heh, you really haven't been keeping up with the news, Arlong," Captain Nezumi replied, a mocking tone in his voice. "You haven't read the reports from a few days back, have you?"
"A few days back? Spit it out—what are you trying to say?"
"Arlong, just a few days ago, there was a man named Arton who defeated Dracule Mihawk, making him the new World's Greatest Swordsman."
"What? Something like that actually happened?! Huh… but what's that got to do with me? I don't know this Arton, and besides, that's something that happened in the Grand Line."
"No, you're wrong. It took place in the East Blue."
"In the East Blue? Why would Mihawk show up in the East Blue…?"
"Whether you believe it or not, Mihawk was indeed beaten by Arton in the East Blue."
"And so what? Do you think Arton's a bounty hunter coming for my head?"
"Someone who managed to defeat Dracule Mihawk isn't going to care about the meager tens of millions your head's worth."
"You're dancing around. What exactly are you trying to say, Captain Nezumi?"
By now, Arlong's tone carried a clear note of anger. Hearing Nezumi talk about "his head" only stoked his rage.
"Heh, Arlong, Arton may not be looking to collect bounties on pirates—after all, he's a pirate himself, and can't exactly hand over a pirate's head to the Navy for a reward. But it's rather unfortunate for you: Arton has a navigator named Nami at his side."
"You should understand the rest of what that implies, right, Arlong?"
Arlong's furious growls did nothing to dampen Nezumi's smug tone; in fact, it only delighted him more. After all, he greatly wanted to punish this pirate who refused to leave the East Blue, even after he'd been "advised" multiple times.
"What did you say? Nami became Arton's navigator? That can't be right!"
At last, Arlong's composure cracked. If this man who'd beaten Mihawk was really traveling with Nami and they were coming to Cocoyasi Village, even with the slightest bit of thought he could see how it'd end once Nami returned.
Members of the Arlong Pirates nearby were also listening in, curious.
"At least according to my intel, that Nami really is the same one you lot call your crew's cartographer," Nezumi said. "They have the same appearance and everything. But actually, you might not need to worry that Nami will bring the man who beat Mihawk here to make trouble for you—because soon enough, you'll have an even bigger problem than Arton, heh."
Captain Nezumi finished speaking and promptly hung up.
"Hey, hey!"
"Damn it, what's he trying to say?"
"What's this 'even bigger problem' supposed to be?!"
Arlong slammed the receiver on the floor, frowning hard. If that rumored Arton, who beat Mihawk, really was Nami's ally, that alone was enough of a crisis. But bigger than Arton…?
"Crap… could a Navy Admiral be on the way here?" Arlong muttered, fear creeping into his voice.
"That can't be it, right? All the Admirals are stationed in the Grand Line," one of the fish-men reasoned. "No way they'd come to a weak sea like the East Blue."
"Arlong, I think Captain Nezumi's just trying to scare you," said Kuroobi, an officer of the Arlong Pirates, folding his arms. "He wants you to leave the East Blue that badly. This nonsense about a guy who beat Mihawk is probably made up."
"Yeah, I agree," Chew, another officer, chimed in. "But I do wonder why Captain Nezumi is so desperate to chase us out. Maybe there's more to it."
Arlong pondered for a moment, then stood up straight and looked at his subordinates.
"No matter—head to Cocoyasi Village and figure out what's going on with Nami. She's been gone a long time; by now, she should've returned. If something's off, we'll just take the villagers hostage."
Chew and Kuroobi nodded at the command, ready to depart. Just then, a frantic voice echoed from somewhere outside the room.
"Not good, Arlong—bad news!"
Hatchan burst into Arlong Park, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
"Hachi? What happened to your mouth? And did you say Nami's back? Why is that bad news?"
Arlong stared at Hachi, an intense sense of unease brewing inside him—Nezumi's words still fresh in his mind.
"Arlong—Nami's gotten super strong! She can control lightning—just one strike and she blasted a huge crater in the ground!" Hachi blurted, panting for breath. "She downed me with a single punch. And also, I overheard the villagers talking about this Arton guy…"
Hachi hadn't even finished his sentence before Arlong cut him off, eyes full of panic.
"Arton… you mean the one who defeated Mihawk?!"
"Huh? Arlong, how'd you know…?" Hachi blinked, confused.
"Then it's true, all of it. Nami actually came back for revenge… with that Arton who beat Mihawk?" Arlong pressed a hand to his chest. A moment ago, it had been years since he felt the slightest fear, but now terror crept back into his heart.
"Yeah, Nami's definitely here for payback. She said she'd kill us all. Arlong, let's get out of here! That Nami's unbelievably strong, and that Arton's even more terrifying," Hachi pleaded.
Kuroobi and Chew both frowned. Earlier, they might have thought Nezumi was just making things up. But now, hearing Hachi's story, it was obvious something was going on.
"You're right—let's leave this place now," Arlong said, nodding firmly. He was about to gather the Arlong Pirates to flee.
However, just as Arlong finished speaking, a crisp, cool voice echoed from overhead.
"You're not going anywhere."
At the sound of that voice, everyone looked up. In midair stood Nami, already transformed into her Lightning Raiden mode, coldly looking down at the Arlong Pirates as though she were a deity.
"N-Nami?!"
Arlong's mouth gaped open, unable to believe the sight of Nami wreathed in lightning. In that moment, he finally realized that Captain Nezumi and Hatchan hadn't been lying.
"Huh? Nami doesn't look the same as before," Hatchan murmured, tilting his head in confusion.
Just then, the scuffling of many footsteps arose. Arlong's pirates noticed the villagers of Cocoyasi Village pouring into Arlong Park from its entrance, swiftly surrounding the perimeter. At this, the members of Arlong's crew bristled. They gripped their weapons and started moving on the villagers, displeased.
Not all of them had heard Arlong's exchange with Kuroobi and the others—so most of the low-level fish-man pirates had no idea just how much danger they were actually in.
"Hmph!"
Nami snorted coldly, lifting her naginata slightly. At once, dark thunderclouds gathered overhead. In a flash, a barrage of lightning descended from the clouds, crashing onto those pirates who were marching toward the villagers. The high-voltage lightning killed those fish-men pirates on the spot.
"Smells like grilled fish," Arton commented calmly, arms folded, leaning against a wall. "But I doubt these fish are worth eating."
Since he'd decided Nami would handle the Arlong Pirates, he had no intention of intervening. He'd also instructed Carina, Uta, and the others not to interfere. At the moment, Uta, Kaya, and Nojiko were all standing by Arton's side.
"They weren't edible in the first place," Carina said. "After all, they're nothing but rotten fish."
"Yeah, eating them would give you a stomachache," Uta added.
Kaya said nothing, but nodded in agreement.
"Rotten fish… That's a very apt description," Nojiko remarked with mixed feelings. Even though she already knew Nami had become strong, seeing her so easily dispatch those once-invincible fish-men pirates stirred her emotions.
If Nojiko felt like that, one can imagine how the Cocoyasi villagers felt. They were in even greater awe.
"Nami! You actually killed my men?!"
Arlong snapped out of his daze, glaring at Nami in a fury. His rage momentarily outweighed the fear he felt earlier—but Nami was about to remind him of that fear once more.
She let the naginata in her hand dissolve into lightning and return inside her body, then raised her right hand before her. Instantly, crackling lightning surged around Nami's form, and thunder boomed menacingly from the clouds above. A terrifying pressure bore down on Arlong and his pirates.
Moments earlier, Arlong had been enraged, but now his legs gave out, and he collapsed to the ground. At that instant, he almost mistook the crushing aura from Nami for Haoshoku Haki—the Conqueror's Haki.
Of course, it wasn't Haoshoku. Rather, it was the divine intimidation unique to the Raiden Shogun's template.
Gion: "That's… Is Nami about to use the Musou Shinsetsu?"
Doll: "Wasn't she unable to draw that move before, when she faced Mihawk?"
Smoothie: "Does that mean in just a few days, she's already managed to master it? Back at the Baratie, she could only do that by fusing with Arton."
At that point, the pose Nami assumed was extremely familiar to those who held Diary Copies. Everyone's attention focused even more. As Nami's right hand lifted, the female Diary Copy holders saw her unsheathe the very sword she'd been unable to pull out when facing Mihawk at the Baratie.
…
Meanwhile…
"Huh? Is it thundering?" Captain Nezumi frowned toward Arlong Park's direction. "But the sun's still up. Must be a freak lightning strike."
Scratching his head in confusion, Nezumi continued on toward where the Celestial Dragons were. He still had final preparations to make before they arrived.
Tashigi: "She's doing it—she really pulled it off!"
Doll: "Musou Shinsetsu… so Nami's managed to use it now?"
Galette: "It's only been a few days since Arton's group left the Baratie. She already mastered it? Back then, she needed to fuse with Arton to attempt that technique."
Hina: "These past days, Nami must have earned enough points to level up even further."
Gion: "Nami's always been good at grabbing opportunities to gain points from Arton, but the one who's gained the most points in the last few days is the Red-Haired Daughter, Uta. If even Nami's got this much power, I can only imagine how strong Uta is by now."
Ain: "How I envy her… If I could be like Nami—or rather, like Uta—maybe I could protect Zephyr-sensei…"
Elsewhere, some were fretting about Hachi.
Shyarly: "So that included Hatchan as well?"
Camie: "Oh no, is Hatchi going to be killed…?"
Whitey Bay: "Then Arton's bound to clash with Rayleigh?"
Inside Arlong Park, as Nami swung her sword, a brilliant thunder-light enveloped the Arlong Pirates. Arlong bore the brunt of it, instantly obliterated without a single scrap left. The rest of the fish-man crew likewise vanished in arcs of lightning. Only one of them—Hatchan—was merely blown away. Though scorched and badly injured, he wasn't dead.
"Huh… She actually spared him?"
"Could it be Nami doesn't want Arton to conflict with the Rayleigh?"
"Or maybe it's because of Uta?"
Gion frowned, muttering quietly.