The village of Cocoyasi was eerily quiet. No one walked the streets. Inside the modest home of patrol officer Genzo, three people were squeezed in together.
"Genzo!" Nojiko couldn't hold it in anymore. Her light eyebrows furrowed as she slammed her palms on the slightly crooked table and stood up with a bang. "Are we really not going to check what's happening? Just staying cooped up in here, ignoring everything?"
"Let's wait a little longer," Genzo said, trying to stay calm, seated with his hands resting on his furry-kneed legs. "That new pirate crew must be clashing with Arlong's gang. It's not safe out there. Stay in my house until it's all over."
Let them fight—preferably until the sky goes dark and the sun and moon disappear. He thought with anticipation.
The small, skinny Chabo had curled himself up like a shivering little hedgehog. "Mr. Genzo… Sister Nojiko… What's going to happen to our village?"
"Either things stay the same, and Arlong's crew keeps ruling over us…" Genzo folded his arms with a frown. "Or the power shifts, and a new pirate crew brings in a new order. Maybe… they'll start collecting protection money all over again."
Nojiko looked up in alarm. Her lips, lightly glossed, parted in disbelief. "We don't even have enough money left to pay another round of protection fees!"
"That's why my feelings are complicated." Genzo leapt up and began pacing around the dim room. "I want Arlong's crew—who we have a deep blood feud with—to be completely wiped out. But at the same time, I hope the new crew loses too."
"What would be the best outcome for us?" Nojiko asked.
"Obviously, it'd be if they both destroy each other. Then, if any survivors remain and they're not too tough, we can finally take back our freedom… But that's unlikely. From what I've seen, the new crew is just too small."
Nojiko's eyes widened. "You think they'll all be killed by Arlong's crew?"
"Very likely." Genzo walked to the window, lifting a corner of the striped curtain to peek outside. "I just hope they at least take a few of the Fish-Men down with them… like they did with Chew."
Chabo suddenly sobbed, "My mom's still home alone… What if they go there…"
"They won't." Nojiko gently stroked Chabo's head to comfort him. "They won't."
Even though she said that, she was filled with anxiety. What if Chabo's mother came out looking for him and got caught in the crossfire?
At that moment, Genzo suddenly let out a startled cry and stepped back from the window, eyes wide with shock.
"What is it?" Nojiko rushed over. "What did you see?"
Did Chabo's mother really come into the village looking for him?
She braced herself for a gruesome scene—just like the countless ones over the past eight years.
But when she looked out the window, Genzo said, "Honestly, I don't know how to make sense of what I'm seeing."
Nervously and full of curiosity, Nojiko peeked through the curtain gap.
On the muddy road leading through Cocoyasi Village, she saw a Fish-Man they had encountered once before—still wearing his triangular hat, striding forward with a commanding presence.
Behind him walked the black-haired beauty in a white cap, carrying a bloodstained spiked club.
Before Nojiko could process how they had walked out of Arlong Park unharmed, she saw something even more shocking—the man in glasses and a suit was helping walk none other than Hatchan, one of Arlong's top lieutenants!
Hatchan was covered in blood and breathing heavily, clearly badly wounded.
Why? Why was Hatchan with them?
Didn't Genzo say the two pirate groups were fighting?
Chew and his crew had been wiped out. Logically, the conflict between the two pirate crews should have been one of total war—with no room for reconciliation.
Just like Genzo, Nojiko couldn't make sense of what she was seeing.
What they didn't realize was that those three people had single-handedly wiped out all of Arlong Park—and captured Hatchan.
Genzo and Nojiko stood frozen at the window, watching them walk away, not even pausing once in the village. That made it all the more baffling.
Weren't these pirates here to take over like Arlong's gang?
Then why did they fight Arlong's crew?
They couldn't understand.
In the span of just a few hours, it felt like their entire world had been turned upside down—and yet they couldn't fully comprehend the reality before them.
Eventually, Genzo pulled the curtain all the way open, letting the sunlight flood into the room. "I'm going to check Arlong Park. You two stay here. Don't wander around."
"No way." Nojiko slammed her tattooed arm against the faded wall. "I was against you going to the port alone last time, and sure enough, you nearly got into serious trouble. This time, I'm going with you. I won't feel at ease otherwise."
"Don't be ridiculous. If something happens to you, how will I explain it to Nami?"
Genzo hurried toward the door, but as he opened it, he saw Nojiko already right in front of him. He had no choice but to block the way.
"Genzo, I have to go. Even Nami would support me in this. Something huge has clearly happened at Arlong Park—I have to see it with my own eyes," Nojiko said with determination.
"Sigh… Then who'll take care of Chabo?" Genzo made one last attempt.
"I'll go with you!" Chabo jumped down from the chair, wiping away his tears and snot.
"No." This time, both Genzo and Nojiko refused in unison.
Just then, a door across the street creaked open.
A villager holding a pitchfork stepped out. "Genzo, what's all the noise? And… was that Hatchan just now? With some strangers? What's going on?"
More doors opened. One by one, villagers poured into the street.
In the blink of an eye, the street was packed with people.
Turns out, everyone had been hiding, watching secretly from their windows and doors—witnessing the strange group walk through town.
"I don't know what happened exactly," Genzo swallowed and raised his hands to calm the crowd. "I'm going to Arlong Park to find out—"
"We're going too," Nojiko cut him off. "If there's any danger, we leave immediately."
"Great idea!" a villager chimed in.
Soon, the crowd erupted in agreement, insisting on heading to Arlong Park together. Chabo slipped into the group as well.
Seeing that Nojiko had riled everyone up, Genzo sighed and nodded in reluctant agreement.
A large group of villagers marched toward Arlong Park. Before long, they arrived at the tall building. The pirate flag still fluttered above, but the front gate hung wide open.
As they entered, they were immediately stunned by the scene of chaos.
Collapsed fountains, fallen Fish-Men—it left everyone speechless.
Genzo walked up and confirmed one of the mangled corpses was the Fish-Man Kuroobi, blown to pieces. By the pool, he found Arlong's favorite saw-toothed sword. Then he recalled the scene they saw back in the village.
Hatchan… had been taken prisoner?
By this count, Chew and Kuroobi had been killed by explosions. Hatchan was captured. Arlong was missing—alive or dead, no one knew.
Arlong's elite officers were nearly wiped out.
Genzo remembered the face beneath the triangular hat—the writhing tendrils, the terrifying, unforgettable expression.
That man and his three companions—just four of them—had done what the villagers had dreamed of for eight years, and never dared to believe possible.
It was unimaginable. Incomprehensible.
Genzo stood up from beside Kuroobi's corpse and turned around to find the entire village holding their breath, all eyes on him—hoping, waiting for him to announce something.
Everyone had waited so long for this moment, they didn't even dare to celebrate yet, afraid their joy might scare it all away.
"…Go."
Genzo finally smiled. Though the scars on his face made him look somewhat grotesque, in that moment, the smile reassured everyone.
"No matter what exactly happened here, one thing is clear—the Arlong Pirates are finished. Their reign is over. Go, spread the word to everyone—to all the twenty-plus villages who have suffered under them. We've finally lived to see this day!"
"Woohoo!" The villagers erupted in cheers, their excitement spilling over uncontrollably.
This exhilarating news would spread in just a few hours—to every place that once lived under Arlong's oppression.
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