Chapter 32: The Coin Pirates VS the Arlong Pirates
Hahaha…
The moment Nami stepped out of Arlong's territory, wild laughter echoed from within.
Her face was ice-cold. She didn't go home, but headed straight for the hidden boat.
Inside Arlong's compound:
"Boss Arlong, if we toy with Nami like this, won't we push her into a corner?" Hachi asked.
"Backed into a corner? So what? She's just a weak human. No matter how she jumps, she won't escape my palm," Arlong said, unconcerned. "Besides, Cocoyasi Village is her weak point. No matter how furious she is, in the end she'll have to bow her head."
"Since Nami so kindly delivered a hundred million to me, boys, we're throwing a banquet!"
"A banquet!"
Dozens of kilometers from Cocoyasi, three pirate ships lay at anchor.
Longma lounged on a deck chair reading the paper. Zoro leaned on the rail sipping booze. Akame and the other eleven girls were training. Everyone was busy with their own thing.
Suddenly a shout came from the lookout. With the girls training, Johnny and Yosaku had taken turns on watch.
"Captain Lister! Big Sis Nami is back!"
Everyone on deck paused, stopped training, and went to the rail.
They soon saw a solitary figure rowing a small boat toward them.
"Nami…"
The girls' faces filled with worry. They knew she'd left to redeem the village. Her return meant only one thing: the negotiations had failed.
Lister folded his newspaper and walked to the bow. He watched Nami draw near, face unreadable. He'd expected this outcome. But Nami had a knot in her heart; he'd let her try anyway. Sure enough—she returned, defeated and disillusioned.
Nami pulled alongside. Akame and the others rushed a rope ladder down. She climbed aboard, said nothing, and walked straight to Lister, throwing herself into his arms.
"Lister… help me," she cried.
"Of course. You're my woman," Lister said, holding her.
"All hands, hear the order. Target: Cocoyasi Village. We're going to raze Arlong's domain."
"Raze Arlong's domain!"
Every pirate roared in response.
The sails dropped. All three ships turned and headed for Cocoyasi. Faintly, it was as if a battle hymn were already sounding.
When they were twenty kilometers out, a bull-like sea beast suddenly surfaced, blocking their path.
More than a few pirates jumped.
"That's Mohmoo, Arlong Pirates' pet," Nami explained at once. "It patrols these waters for them. We can't let it run back to warn them."
"Zoro."
Lister called once.
Zoro understood. He drew two blades and sprang toward Mohmoo.
"Two-Sword Style: Hawk Wave."
A cold flash split the air.
Two long gashes opened across Mohmoo's body. Blood fountained. After a brief thrash, the sea cow rolled belly-up.
"Haul it aboard. Extra rations tonight," Lister said.
"Aye, Captain!"
Everyone laughed. United in purpose, they quickly hauled the carcass in. The sea cow was big; they stowed it on the Black Gold. As the flotilla cut toward Cocoyasi, the crew on the Black Gold set to work butchering and portioning it.
Back in Arlong's place, the fishmen were in the middle of their banquet, unaware their pet had been slaughtered and no warning would come. Only when three long pirate ships loomed off their shore did they realize uninvited guests had arrived.
"Pirate ships?"
"Why are there pirate ships here?"
"Where's Mohmoo? Why didn't it warn us?"
Seeing the three vessels, the fishmen were rattled.
Mohmoo had already been carved up and carried to the hold.
"Calm down," Arlong snapped. "What's there to panic about? Since when do the Arlong Pirates fear some random pirate crew in the East Blue?"
"So what if they have numbers? Our fishman bodies are ten times that of humans. One of us can handle a hundred," he snorted.
"Boss Arlong is right."
His words steadied them. The banquet was over either way. The fishmen grabbed their weapons and waited for the pirates to make the first move.
Lister, one arm around Nami, stepped to the prow and looked down at Arlong and his men.
"Nami? Boss Arlong, Nami's betrayed us!" a fishman shouted.
"Humans are vile. I let her walk away, and she brings pirates to attack us. Boss Arlong, next time we should never let her go," another snarled.
"I can see that without your commentary," Arlong said coldly, eyes on Nami. Rage simmered there. "Nami, is this your revenge?"
"That's right. Revenge," Nami shouted back, eyes blazing. "Arlong, today I'm going to drive every last fishman out!"
"With that pile of trash?" Arlong burst out laughing, not taking the Money Pirates seriously at all. If it were the Krieg Pirates, he might have felt a bit of pressure and given way. The Krieg Pirates were the hottest name in the East Blue, with overwhelming numbers. A mere dozen fishmen might have trouble against that. But the crew Nami brought was just some no-name band. Three ships and a hundred men meant nothing to him.
"In a moment you'll see who the real trash is," Lister said with a cold smile.
He didn't bother arguing. He just swept his hand down.
"Go."
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