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Chapter 45: Arlong, Get Out Here!
Cocoa Village.
Inside the old house where Nojiko and Nami grew up.
Nojiko, Genzo, Johnny, and Yosaku, along with the Straw Hat Pirates Ganyu and Usopp, and the newly arrived Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji, a total of nine people, were gathered.
The room was large, several dozen square meters, much larger than the meeting room on the Going Merry.
The group sat around a long dining table, discussing the next plan to attack Arlong Park.
"Nami went to Arlong Park alone?"
Luffy crossed his fingers, resting his chin on the back of his hands, his eyes wide. "Seriously! Who told her to do such an unnecessary thing!"
After learning that Nami had returned to Arlong Park alone as an undercover agent, Luffy immediately showed strong disapproval.
Zoro and Sanji had almost identical reactions, also frowning.
This approach was very inconsistent with their usual style of doing things.
"Hey, Luffy, you can't say that." Usopp tried to defend Nami. "Nami did this for our sake. With her as an inside agent, our chances of defeating Arlong and his crew will be much higher."
"There's no need for that at all! She could have just stayed here and waited for me to go beat Arlong to a pulp!" Luffy slammed the table angrily.
Ganyu frowned slightly, looking at the "angry" Luffy with a hint of surprise.
In her impression, Luffy shouldn't get angry so easily.
In other words, something must have affected him.
Ganyu thought for a moment, then understood.
Nami's courageous act, in a way, actually reflected her lack of trust in Luffy as a captain.
She didn't believe that all problems would be solved when Luffy arrived, so she decided to take action herself.
Of course, there was a more important point.
Although Luffy didn't say it, his words revealed his concern for Nami's safety.
For a navigator with almost no combat skills, it was always dangerous to stay on a pirate ship surrounded by a pack of wolves.
She could have avoided taking this risk.
After a long moment.
Luffy jumped up with a whoosh. "Let's go right now and beat up that d*mn Fish-Man who's blocking Nami's way to the sea!"
"Now? Shouldn't we wait for the banquet tonight to coordinate an attack from the inside and outside?" Usopp asked weakly.
According to Nami's plan, the best time was during the celebration banquet in the evening. She would first drug a large number of Fish-Men, and then the Straw Hat Pirates would launch a surprise attack, defeating Arlong in one fell swoop.
It was only just past afternoon now, still several hours until evening.
Luffy shook his head vigorously, his attitude unwavering. "I'm not waiting! I can't just stay here and do nothing!"
"But Luffy, isn't this a bit too much..." Usopp tried to persuade him, but was held down by two hands.
It was Sanji and Zoro.
The two exchanged a glance, seemingly surprised by each other's actions.
Soon.
Zoro spoke first. "Since we've landed on this island, it's a war between two pirate crews. A war between pirates should be fought fair and square, crushing the opponent completely!"
However, Sanji had a completely different opinion. "What's the point of sacrificing a lady to gain an advantage! The most important thing now is to get to Arlong Park and ensure Nami-san's safety!"
One was thinking from the perspective of a pirate crew, while the other was simply thinking about Nami's personal safety.
After these two spoke, no one else present had any objections.
Even Nojiko and Genzo couldn't help but nod in approval, marveling at the fact that Nami had truly joined an extraordinary pirate crew.
"Alright, since that's how it's going to be, then..."
Luffy's gaze swept around, finally landing on a blue-haired girl. "Ganyu, what do you think we should do?"
"Hmph..."
Ganyu, who was already used to acting as the external brain for this reckless captain, immediately spoke.
"It's simple. The Arlong Pirates have about fifty members. Me, Zoro, and Sanji will take on the three top officers, and Luffy will take on Arlong himself. As for the remaining Fish-Man minions, they'll naturally be left to..."
At this point, everyone's gaze turned to Usopp.
"Me?" Usopp, seeing everyone looking at him, immediately waved his hands in a panic. "Me against dozens of Fish-Men alone? How is that possible... No, no, find someone else!"
"Alright." Ganyu pursed her lips, a cunning smile on her face. "Then I'll trade with you. I'll take on all the Fish-Man minions, and you take on one of the Fish-Man leaders."
"What?!" Usopp was speechless with shock.
He had just witnessed the powerful strength of those Fish-Man officers; they had nearly sunk a Marine warship.
How could he possibly be a match for such a powerful figure?
"It's fine, Big Bro Usopp, we're here with you!"
"With you and us, the strongest bounty hunter duo, we can definitely defeat one of the top officers!"
Johnny and Yosaku patted their chests, speaking with great confidence.
"Oh?" Usopp looked at Zoro's two subordinates, suddenly tempted.
Three against one, they definitely have a chance to win, right?
Besides, these two always call themselves the strongest bounty hunters, so they must have some strength.
He hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded. "Okay."
...
Inside Arlong Park.
"Brother Arlong, I just asked Colonel Nezumi. He said he has no news of any Admiral coming to the East Blue. He said we probably mistook him for someone else."
A Fish-Man reported the details of the call to Arlong.
"Mistook him?"
Hearing this, Arlong frowned, pondered for a moment, and felt that what Colonel Nezumi said made sense.
"Marine Admirals" are the essential combat power that the Marine government uses to counter the "Seven Warlords of the Sea" and the "Four Emperors of the Sea."
Such an important figure wouldn't come to the weakest of the four seas, the East Blue, for no reason.
Besides, if Admiral Aokiji was really on this island, why didn't he just kill them all just now?
He himself was well aware of all the evil deeds he had committed on this island over the past eight years.
"Hmph, I guess those Marine soldiers used some method we don't know about to freeze the sea, then lied about an Admiral taking action to scare us off from pursuing them, so they could escape."
The Fish-Man officers chattered as they analyzed the situation, their tone quite displeased.
"That must be it! Brother Arlong shouldn't have stopped us back then; those Marines would definitely be dead!"
The Fish-Man executive Kuroobi also chimed in.
The Fish-Men below expressed the same sentiment, all agreeing that it was a pity to let those Marines escape.
"Alright, brothers, let your guard down."
Seeing this, Arlong waved his hand, deciding not to dwell on the Admiral issue.
Then, his gaze slowly shifted to the orange-haired girl in the corner of the Fish-Man dwelling, and he said meaningfully:
"Get ready, Miss Surveyor, she's bringing us back another ten million Berries..."
"Let's have a party to celebrate!"
The Fish-Men immediately got excited and shouted:
"Banquet!" "Banquet!"
Nami watched this lively scene, forced a smile, and clapped her hands.
"Since this banquet is for me, let me prepare some delicious wine for everyone!"
"What? Did I hear that right?" Arlong feigned surprise. "Miss Surveyor is actually going to pour wine for us personally today?"
"Woohoo!"
The Fish-Men cheered even louder.
Even by Fish-Man standards, Nami was an impeccably beautiful girl.
Having such a beautiful girl personally pour wine for them naturally made them very happy.
A bunch of... scum...
Nami looked at this group of Fish-Men calmly, feeling immense disgust in her heart. But for the sake of her plan, she forced a smile, picked up the wine jug mixed with sleeping potion, and poured wine for each Fish-Man.
Seeing them happily accept the wine bowls, Nami also smiled genuinely.
Just you wait, after a few more drinks, you'll be lying on the ground, unable to get up.
"Nami, why don't you pour me a glass too? I'm the captain who watched you grow up and took care of you..."
Arlong's voice came from above.
Hearing this, Nami quickly turned around, picked up the wine jug, and walked towards Arlong, preparing to pour him a glass of "special" wine.
But just then, a deafening roar suddenly came from outside the door!
BOOM.
As if hit by cannon fire, one of the walls of Arlong Park suddenly exploded.
Rubble flew like rain, and a thick cloud of dust rose, obscuring the view. Several figures could be vaguely seen emerging from the dust.
Leading the way, a figure in a straw hat stepped onto a raised rock and shouted at the top of his lungs:
"ARLONG! GET OUT HERE!"
.....
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