Chapter 31: Shocked! Nami Sells Herself!
Splat!
It was the sound of liquid splashing. A warm stream brushed past her cheek. The crushing pressure on her strangled neck suddenly released.
"Hoo!!! Haaah!"
Her breathing suddenly became clear. The choking disappeared, and Nami collapsed to the ground, her body trembling. "Cough, cough!" She coughed violently, taking large, desperate gulps of air.
"What happened…" With a head full of questions, she struggled to lift her head.
A man in strange, fine clothes stood over her. In his hand, he was holding a severed, muscular blue arm, dripping with fresh blood.
"Tsk, what trash," Ren clicked his tongue in annoyance, casually throwing the arm in front of Nami.
!!! Her pupils dilated in shock. It was Arlong's arm!
"Ah ah ah ah! My arm!!!" She looked up to see Arlong howling in pain, blood gushing from the stump where his right arm used to be.
"Boss Arlong!" The other Fish-Men, a moment ago so boisterous, were now terrified and enraged. They rushed to Arlong's side, glaring hatefully at Ren. Arlong looked as if he wanted to skin the newcomer alive.
"Damn human! Who the hell are you!!!" Despite his rage, Arlong did not lose his composure and charge. He had no idea where Ren had appeared from, or when he had been attacked.
Ren ignored him. Instead, he turned and extended his right hand to Nami. "Are you alright?"
Nami was pulled up blankly by his strong hand, her mind still reeling. "You are…"
"Ren. The Administrator from the Chat Group."
"Eh!" She looked at him in disbelief. "Didn't you say you couldn't come to my world?"
He spread his hands. "You can see. The Doom Companion was just triggered. So, I could come over."
Nami quickly glanced at the Chat Group in her mind. Sure enough, there was the notification. Thinking of how he could so easily injure a Fish-Man, she immediately rekindled a desperate hope, her eyes welling up with tears.
"Help me! Administrator-san!" she pleaded, grabbing onto his arm. "Help me kill all the Fish-Men and save Cocoyashi Village! You can take everything I have! My life, my body, everything!"
Ren looked at her, surprised by the intensity of her offer. A slow, dangerous smile played on his lips. "You said that yourself, you know. Actually, my mission is to deal with Arlong. But since you offered yourself so sincerely, I'll accept it. From now on, you're mine."
"Eh!" Nami suddenly realized something was wrong. She looked closely at the mission details. Kill Arlong! Her heart sank. She was instantly dumbfounded. Then what was my request just now?! Wasn't I just giving myself away for free?!
Ren didn't care. A beautiful woman who delivered herself to his door? It would be foolish not to take her. He turned to look at Arlong. The cold, disdainful gaze made Arlong grit his teeth. "Damn human! Go! Kill him for me!" he roared.
"Kill! Kill him!"
"How dare he touch Boss Arlong!"
The Fish-Men brandished their weapons, shouting as they charged. "Oh no!" Nami's face was filled with terror, her old fear of them making her want to run.
"Tsk, a bunch of trash." Ren didn't even move. He simply clenched his right hand.
Invisible wind and airflow, under his control, simultaneously crushed towards the Fish-Men from all directions. Their bodies were subjected to an immense, unseen pressure. In an instant, they twisted and deformed.
"Ah!" Bang! One Fish-Man's body couldn't withstand it and exploded into a shower of gore. Bang, bang, bang! One after another, like bloody fireworks, they all burst.
"Hiss!!!!" This bizarre and bloody sight made Nami's heart tremble.
All his companions were killed in an instant. Arlong's eyes were splitting with rage, but his body didn't move forward. Instead, he covered his severed arm and retreated, fleeing. He was terrified. He wanted to escape back to Arlong Park.
"He's getting away!" Nami shouted, not wanting him to escape into the sea.
"Don't worry. He can't run." As soon as Ren finished speaking, his figure disappeared with lightning speed.
"Damn human! When you leave, I will kill everyone in Cocoyashi Village!!!" Arlong shouted as he fled.
"Then you probably won't have the chance," a cold voice rang out from in front of him.
"What!" Arlong turned back in horror, only to see a fist heading straight for his head.
Boom! The watermelon burst open, red juice and white pulp flying. The moment the splatter reached Ren, it was strangely repelled. He glanced at his clean right hand and nodded in satisfaction. He turned and walked towards Nami.
Thud. Arlong's headless corpse fell to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"See? Arlong is dead too," he pointed.
"D-dead?!" Her eyes wide, Nami was in disbelief. The powerful Arlong's corpse just lay there. That demon who killed Belle-mère, who oppressed her village, was just… dead. A sense of unreality filled her.
Before she could adapt, Ren picked her up in one swoop. After all, she already sold herself to me. It's perfectly reasonable to hug her, right?
[Inorin Note:
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