After Arlong and Nezumi reached a deal, they set off together toward Cocoyasi Village.
On the way, they happened to run into a fish-man who had been scared out of his wits by Jotaro.
After learning what Jotaro had done, Arlong's gaze swept over his utterly miserable subordinate, and his lungs were practically ready to explode from rage.
"This lowly human, I must kill him no matter what!"
With a roar, he grabbed Salt-Grill by the collar.
"Hurry up and tell me! Where is that beast right now!"
Salt-Grill, not knowing that Jotaro had already left, trembled as he told Arlong the location of a concealed mountain cave.
"Colonel, that matter I mentioned will depend entirely on you," Arlong said darkly. "I'm going to kill that eyesore right now!"
Nezumi forcibly suppressed his excitement and patted his chest in assurance. "Don't worry, I have my own plan."
———
Nami returned to the familiar chrysanthemum garden, took a deep breath of fresh air, and then gracefully walked toward the door.
After being out at sea for many days, she had been thinking about her sister Nojiko, since her sister had been guarding Bellmere's chrysanthemum garden all alone…
'What is going on here!'
Gently opening the door, Nami's eyes widened abruptly, unable to quite believe the scene before her.
Her sister Nojiko was actually with a man…
From the angle where she was standing, Jotaro's broad back completely blocked Nojiko from view.
She couldn't see the exact scene.
But from the shadow on the wall, she could tell Nojiko had her head tilted back, an action that seemed just like kissing the man in front of her passionately.
"Nami"
Although the sound of the door opening was small, Nojiko still heard it.
She poked her head out and looked toward the doorway.
"Sorry! I disturbed you!"
With a bang, Nami slammed the door shut.
'When did Sister get a man? Why do I know nothing about it?'
Leaning against the door panel, her proud bosom heaved up and down, clearly showing her mood was far from calm.
Thinking about her sister kissing another man, a faint blush inevitably spread over her cheeks.
Beneath her shyness, there was more a sense of desolation, one she herself couldn't even explain.
"Nami? Is that you?" Nojiko called from inside the house.
Nami composed herself for a moment, took a deep breath, turned around, opened the door again, deciding to face it.
"It's me…"
Her voice stopped abruptly, her beautiful eyes trembling violently, her expression even more shocked than the first time she opened the door.
"How… could it be you!"
Jotaro had already turned around, both hands in his pockets, light-green eyes giving off a cold gleam, staring at her without moving.
This handsome face appearing here left Nami utterly dumbfounded.
She had already felt guilty toward Jotaro.
Now that he suddenly appeared, she had no idea how to face him.
"Nami!"
Nojiko called out as her sister fled like the wind, but received no reply.
"Really now, why so flustered? Could it be she's afraid you'll hold her accountable for before?"
Nojiko looked at Jotaro, shaking her head helplessly.
This man only seemed indifferent to everything, he was actually very easy to talk to.
Cold on the outside, fiery within; she had never met such a charming man.
A slight blush tinged her cheeks as she asked with concern, "Let's not worry about her for now. I'll explain to her about this matter. She stole from you, and I'll make sure she returns it."
"You'd better hide for now. Arlong definitely already knows you exist. He won't let you off, and it won't be long before he finds this place."
Jotaro withdrew his gaze from the doorway and asked, "Can you tell me in detail? About this Arlong, the fish-man's matter."
Fish-men bullied the weak, treated the entire island's residents as slaves, killed wantonly, and were, on top of that, a group of detestable racial supremacists.
Jotaro was extremely displeased with them.
This completely crossed his bottom line.
If Arlong were to appear in front of him, he would absolutely thrash him without hesitation.
With Mihawk as a precedent, Jotaro had no doubt this world still had such top-class experts.
Considering his current situation, he planned to be cautious and gather more information about Arlong.
After running a kilometer, Nami gradually slowed her pace, calming herself down.
'That man must have come to this island to catch me. He and Sister definitely aren't that kind of relationship!'
'If that's the case, then Sister is in danger! What if she gets implicated because of me?'
Gritting her silver teeth, Nami was just about to turn back the way she came when a group of people wearing navy uniforms blocked her path.
Nezumi smiled insidiously. "Heh heh heh, grab this thief for me!"
———
Jotaro was unhurried and instead asked more about Arlong's matter.
Nojiko was becoming increasingly anxious.
Arlong's combat power was on a completely different level from ordinary fish-men, Jotaro was definitely not his match.
If they kept stalling like this, he wouldn't have any time to escape.
"Now's not the time to talk about this, you should hide quickly."
"I understand."
Jotaro knew Nojiko was worried for his safety and didn't want to make things hard for her.
Besides, he already had a plan.
Since the fish-men's attention was all focused on Cocoyasi Village, their main base's defenses would inevitably become weaker.
He planned to hide directly in Arlong Park and take the opportunity to find out the fish-men's details.
After all, the most dangerous place is the safest place.
However, before he could act, a scream from Nami came from outside.
"What are you doing! Let me go!"
"Could it be Arlong's here?" Nojiko asked uneasily, then said to Jotaro, "You hide first, I'll go take a look."
With that, she hurried out.
A dozen navy men had already sealed off the chrysanthemum garden. Nami was seized by two sailors, and no matter how she struggled, she couldn't break free from their grasp.
"Let me go! I'm one of Arlong's subordinates! If you lay a hand on me, Arlong will never let you off!"
Nezumi, full of arrogance, laughed loudly.
"I won't lay a hand on you. I came this time for another matter!"
He slowly approached Nami, his face dark as he asked, "I heard you're a thief?"
"Normally, if it's pirates, I wouldn't care.
"But you touched the government's money, that's where you went wrong."
Nami shook her head in denial. "You're talking nonsense! I've never stolen the government's money."
"You're still trying to argue!" Nezumi interrupted harshly. "I'll ask you, did you take all the money from that ship on the shore?"
He erupted in rage.
"That ship is mine! It had billions I painstakingly extorted, and now it's all gone! Gone!!"
Nami's eyes went blank. "What did you say! That ship…"
"Heh heh, didn't you hide the money under the chrysanthemum garden?"
Nezumi didn't give Nami any time to react and immediately ordered his men, "Even if you have to turn this place upside down, find my money!"
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