At Marine Headquarters, inside the Fleet Admiral's office, the atmosphere was… complicated.
Renn Hawk silently sighed.
What the hell have I turned into? Some ultimate prize to be fought over?
Even the Fleet Admiral Sengoku himself was now personally trying to recruit him.
Akainu and Kizaru exchanged a look, instantly reading the same thought in each other's eyes.
Sengoku, that shameless old man!
Just a moment ago he'd been righteously declaring that once an appointment was signed and sealed, it couldn't be undone.
But now, when it was his turn to poach Renn Hawk, suddenly that same appointment could be canceled without hesitation?
Double standards much?!
Vice Admiral Tsuru pressed a hand to her forehead with a sigh.
When Sengoku occasionally displayed "Garp-like behavior," even she felt helpless.
"Sengoku, the appointment has already been officially announced. If you revoke it now, the consequences will be too disruptive," she said calmly. "Besides, shouldn't we ask Hawk himself what he thinks?"
Her gaze turned to Hawk, who until now had been sitting like a detached bystander.
"Hawk, what's your opinion?"
In an instant, every pair of eyes in the room locked onto him.
Renn Hawk swept his gaze around.
In Akainu and Kizaru's eyes, he saw hope — hope that he would refuse.
In Sengoku's eyes, he also saw hope — hope that he would accept.
In Tsuru's eyes, he saw encouragement: Say what you truly want.
Taking a deep breath, Hawk said evenly, "Sorry. I refuse."
"???" Sengoku froze, dumbstruck.
Meanwhile, in the East Blue, near Cocoyashi Village…
A slender figure sprinted desperately across the beach, kicking up sprays of sand.
Nami was running with all her strength toward Cocoyashi.
Arlong Park had been reduced to rubble!
That should have been wonderful news.
But instead, a terrifying thought gripped her heart.
Cocoyashi Village… could it have been destroyed too?
"No… please no…" she whispered, panic flashing images of her sister Nojiko's face and the villagers she loved.
Those people were the only family she had left in this world.
Forcing herself faster, Nami charged into the village.
What she saw made her stop, gasping in disbelief.
The village wasn't destroyed.
In fact, it looked reborn.
Houses once scarred and broken were repaired, their walls painted bright new colors.
The streets were clean, fences replaced.
The villagers' faces, once blank with despair, now shone with genuine smiles.
Children ran freely in the streets, laughter ringing across the village like bells.
It was as though Cocoyashi had awakened from a nightmare.
Panting heavily, Nami clutched her chest in relief.
They're safe. The village is safe.
She hurried toward the orange grove. She had to find Nojiko, to ask what had happened at Arlong Park.
Nojiko was there, carefully tending to the trees. The moment she saw Nami, her face blossomed into a radiant smile.
"Nami! You're back!"
Before Nami could speak, Nojiko rushed forward and threw her arms around her.
"I've got amazing news! Arlong is dead! The Arlong Pirates have been wiped out!"
Nami froze. She had half-suspected it, but hearing the words still made her mind go blank.
"Arlong… dead?" she whispered hoarsely, her voice trembling in disbelief.
Could that demon who haunted her life — the one who murdered Bell-mère, her foster mother — truly be gone?
"Yes! Dead! Completely!" Nojiko said, her eyes alight with joy. "It was Lieutenant Colonel Hawk! Renn Hawk of the 16th Branch! He and his Marines stormed Arlong Park, killed Arlong and all his officers, and destroyed the entire crew!"
"That's not all — he ordered that seventy percent of the stolen treasure be returned to the villages Arlong had oppressed. Nami, the money he took from us… it's back! We're free! The whole village is free! We'll never have to pay that monster again!"
Nami stood stunned, her heart reeling.
Arlong was truly dead.
The weight she had carried for so many years — hatred, grief, rage — broke apart in an instant.
Tears flooded her eyes. She threw her arms around Nojiko and sobbed, years of pain spilling out at once.
"Arlong… dead… dead at last!"
The man she had dreamed of killing was gone, slain by a Marine.
She remembered the rumors she'd heard while charting maps: of the Marine "Blood Eagle" — Renn Hawk. Cold, ruthless, feared.
She had wondered why someone like that didn't crush Arlong earlier.
And yet, by the time she returned, Arlong's reign of terror was already over.
For the first time in forever, hope filled her chest.
Nojiko held her tight, eyes glistening as well. "It's over, Nami. It's finally over. Our real lives begin now."
Elsewhere, drifting on the East Blue…
A shabby little boat floated aimlessly.
"Ughhh…"
Slumped on the side was a man with short green hair, three golden earrings dangling from his left ear.
His left arm bore a dark green bandana, his torso a plain white shirt tucked into a green haramaki, pants and boots to match.
At his waist hung three swords that swayed with the boat's movements.
Roronoa Zoro — in his bounty hunter days.
"I'm starving!" he groaned, stomach twisting like something clawing inside.
A man tied up nearby, with shifty eyes and a ratlike face, croaked weakly, "Me too… please, let me go! I'm just a petty thief, I've never done anything truly evil!"
Zoro's glare snapped to him, sharp and menacing. "Shut it!"
Damn it.
Ever since that Marine "Blood Eagle" appeared, the East Blue had changed.
Pirates were either slaughtered or too terrified to show themselves.
As the strongest bounty hunter in the East Blue, Zoro hadn't had a single job in three months.
No bounties meant no money. No money meant no food. No food meant no booze.
He'd been reduced to catching thieves just to scrape together enough to maybe trade for a meal.
And of course, he had gotten himself hopelessly lost. Again.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Zoro's eyes sharpened.
On the horizon, a structure appeared faintly against the sea.
Above it, a flag with a seagull and the word MARINE fluttered in the wind.
The 16th Marine Branch.
"A Marine base!" Zoro shouted, life flooding back into his voice. "Finally! I'm saved!"
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