Long after the system prompt faded, Link and Nami finally entered Arlong Park.
"Ah—"
The moment she stepped through the gate, Nami couldn't help but let out a piercing scream.
She then subconsciously covered her mouth, her pupils trembling as she stared ahead.
Inside Arlong Park, the scene was truly spectacular.
Every single Fish-Man was covered in long, wooden thorns, their bodies impaled on a massive wooden spike and suspended in the air.
From the ordinary Fishmen to Arlong and his two officers, all met the same fate.
Their manner of death was identical to the other enemies Link had killed.
A scene like this was the origin of the epithet, "The Impaler."
This one move was the Wood Style: Thorn Skewering Technique.
It involved growing wooden thorns from the arm. Once they hit an enemy, the thorns could be controlled to branch out and grow inside the enemy's body, piercing them from within.
Alternatively, a large number of wooden thorns could be produced from the arm and shot into the sky, becoming a rain of arrows to overwhelm the enemy.
Or, similar to Deep Forest Emergence, it could create a multitude of wooden spikes from the ground, directly skewering the enemy.
This move was extremely useful and highly lethal.
In the world of Naruto, Hyuga Neji died amidst an AOE rain of wooden spikes.
In this world without chakra, the Thorn Skewering Technique was a god-tier skill for clearing out mobs, even better than Deep Forest Emergence.
"Th... Thank you, Lord Link!"
Nami snapped back to her senses from the shock, her beautiful eyes already misty. The mist quickly condensed into tears that fell as she spoke.
She gave Link a deep bow, her voice choked with emotion.
"No need. They were my target to begin with."
Link disliked sentimental scenes, so he didn't comfort the young woman. He walked into Arlong Park and brought down the bodies of Arlong, Chew, and Kuroobi. All three had bounties on their heads.
Arlong's bounty was twenty million Beri, Kuroobi's was nine million Beri, and Chew's was five and a half million Beri.
With half a year of hunting pirate bounties and commissions earned from participating in wars, Link's savings in the bank had already reached an astronomical figure.
But no matter how small, every bit counts. Link had no intention of letting the bounties of these three go.
Incidentally, the world of One Piece does have hospitals and banks.
In the original story, during the Dressrosa arc two years later, Trafalgar Law's flashback showed Corazon taking him to various hospitals in the North Blue.
A Donquixote Family officer, Senor Pink, who ate the Paramecia-type Swim-Swim Fruit, once deceived his wife by telling her he worked at a bank.
After twisting off the heads of Arlong and the other two and placing them in a box created with Wood Style, Link walked towards the tower, preparing to plunder the Arlong Pirates' treasure.
Seeing this, Nami, who had just calmed down, instantly guessed Link's intentions. She trotted over and pleaded, "Lord Link, could you please not take the treasure here?"
"Why?" Link looked at Nami with interest. "Since you're a member of the underworld, you should know that it's perfectly normal for the victor to collect the spoils of war."
"I know." Nami nodded, then began to tell her sob story. "But the Arlong Pirates' treasure is the 'life money' from the villagers of twenty towns. One hundred thousand Beri per adult and fifty thousand Beri per child every month. To survive, they've been working themselves to the bone for years just to make money."
"Because they couldn't pay the 'life money,' countless villagers were killed by the Arlong Pirates. The villages are in ruins, without even the money to buy materials for repairs."
"So, could you please not take the treasure? Or maybe just take a portion and leave the rest for the villagers to rebuild their homes?"
After speaking, Nami seemed to realize that asking her savior to forgo the treasure was too much.
Fearing she might anger the strongest man in the East Blue, Nami quickly added, "As compensation, I'm willing to give all the treasure I've saved over the years to you, Lord Link."
"Of course, it would be even better if you could do me a small favor, Lord Link," Nami said with a cute smile, pinching her thumb and index finger together.
"This little Cat Burglar is quite kind-hearted." Link feigned ignorance and smiled. "How much money do you have? And what do you need my help with?"
"I started stealing from pirates when I was ten. In eight years, I've saved up eighty million Beri."
Nami, who was used to lying, didn't hide anything this time. With a face full of hatred, she said, "I hope you can help me kill someone, Lord Link. A corrupt Marine captain."
"A corrupt Marine? No wonder Arlong's empire was so hard to find. So he had a Marine covering for him."
Link had a moment of realization and asked, "What's this Marine's name?"
"I don't know his real name." Nami shook her head. "But he's the captain of the 16th Marine Branch. Everyone calls him Captain Nezumi."
"The 16th Marine Branch?" Link put on a deliberately surprised expression, then looked at Nami with a smile. "Do you know how to steer a ship?"
"Steer a ship?" Nami was taken aback for a moment, then patted her sizable chest and said with a confident smile, "Of course! I'm an excellent navigator."
"Can you cook?"
"Of course." Hearing this, Nami had a vague idea of what was coming.
As expected, Link smiled with satisfaction. "I can leave the Arlong Pirates' treasure, I don't need your eighty million Beri, and I can even help you get rid of that Captain Nezumi. But in return, you have to sell yourself to me."
"Th... that..." Nami timidly raised her hand. "Do you mean... sell myself as a slave?"
"If I wanted a slave, do you think I'd have any trouble finding one?" Link rolled his eyes at Nami. "I need a smart and capable assistant. A cook who can also do my laundry."
"It's a deal!" Nami excitedly grabbed Link's hand. "It's a pleasure to be working with you, Captain!"
Just like that, Nami agreed without the slightest hesitation.
She wasn't that valuable. Just by becoming Link's assistant and cook, she could save over a hundred million Beri and help the villagers remove the cancer that was Captain Nezumi.
Even better, by staying by Link's side, she could achieve her dream.
It seemed like she was becoming Link's assistant and cook, but in reality, she was getting a super bodyguard, which would definitely help her draw a map of the world.
Nami, who had been lost about what to do after the Arlong Pirates were defeated and whether she should continue her life of thievery, had now found her path forward.
Of course, it was also because Link was handsome and had acted gently throughout their journey.
Despite being the strongest man in the East Blue, he didn't throw his weight around and acted more like a friendly big brother from next door.
If he had been a vicious-looking brute, Nami would have given up the treasure and would never have agreed to go with him.
In any world, looks are justice.
Link was caught off guard by Nami's enthusiasm.
He had thought that recruiting Nami would take a lot of time and promises of great benefits.
But in the end, without him even mentioning the benefits of being his assistant and cook, Nami had agreed to go with him.
Seeing how readily Nami agreed, Link decided to sweeten the deal.
Link squeezed Nami's small hand and smiled. "Go back and tell the villagers the good news. Find me after you've taken care of things here."
After speaking, Link formed a hand seal with one hand. Thick branches burst from the ground, extending towards the pool connected to the sea and forming a small boat in mid-air.
Seeing Link walk towards the boat, Nami quickly asked, "Captain, are you leaving already?"
"Yes. I hate sentimental scenes."
Link, carrying the box with the three heads, jumped onto the small boat and smiled at Nami. "I'll be on the island of the 16th Marine Branch. I'll wait for you for three days."
The implication was clear: he was going to take care of Captain Nezumi first and was giving her three days to say goodbye to the villagers.
"You don't have to be in such a hurry." Nami tried to persuade him to stay. "I only need half a day to handle everything, then I can leave with you, Captain."
"After defeating the Arlong Pirates, everyone will want to thank you."
"That's what I hate the most," Link grumbled, a dark expression on his face. He then created an oar and began to row. "Don't rush to find me. Say a proper goodbye to your family and the villagers."
Watching the cool and composed Link leave in such a cool and composed manner, Nami discovered another one of his traits—shyness!
At this, Nami couldn't help but let out a giggle and teased, "To think that The Impaler, who strikes fear into the hearts of countless pirates, is actually such an adorable person."
But it was only a person like this that was worthy of her following.
And so, Nami skipped happily towards her village.
Along the way, Nami wondered how she should break the news to the villagers, and whether she should find Nojiko first to help explain things.
But when Nami returned to the village, she found that none of it was necessary.
A Wood Clone of Link had already taken care of the Fishmen patrolling the village, gathered the villagers, and prepared them to face Arlong.
When they saw Nami return, they immediately surrounded her and confessed everything.
And then came the sentimental scene that Link hated the most.