"It's Nami!"
"Nami is back!"
"Our com-pan-ion."
The surrounding fish-men subordinates also greeted the woman walking in with boisterous laughter.
Their eyes were filled with teasing gazes.
They didn't consider Nami a companion at all, just a clown for entertainment.
"Welcome back, Nami."
Arlong picked up a bottle of wine from the table and took a gulp, "What, after being out for so long, did you bring me a gift?"
His eyes fell on the black briefcase Nami was carrying.
"No, this isn't a gift. This is our previous agreement."
Nami's eyes were calm as she held up the briefcase in her hand.
"Here is 100 million berries. I'm here to redeem my village."
As her words fell, the scene instantly quieted.
"Oh?!"
Arlong put down the wine bottle, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"Have you gathered all the money?"
Arlong's gaze slowly shifted from the briefcase to Nami's face.
"To have accomplished this without a sound, you truly are the only human I value, Nami."
"Or rather, only you, Nami, could fulfill our agreement. I've never doubted your abilities, shahaha!"
Suddenly, Arlong burst into laughter.
"This is 100 million berries. Such a large sum, I'll trouble you to bring it to me, Nami."
An inscrutable smile appeared on Arlong's face: "Only if you personally deliver it to my hands will our agreement be considered fulfilled."
He specifically emphasized "personally" and "deliver to my hands," seemingly hinting at something.
"Alright."
Nami seemed not to have caught on, nodding with a calm expression.
However, she had only taken two steps forward when she was blocked by two expressionless Marines.
"Chichichi, the 100 million berries allocated by my superiors on my warship suddenly disappeared. I suspect it was stolen, and I've been searching everywhere for it. Captain Nezumi slowly rose, turning his face with a smug and greedy smile:
"I never thought I'd be so lucky to catch the thief and the money red-handed!"
"Return the funds you stole from our Marines immediately, you thief!"
Captain Nezumi roared righteously, as if he were on the side of glorious justice.
Nami said nothing, her calm, unrippled eyes simply looked at Arlong, who was sitting there.
"Shahaha, I was wondering how you, Nami, managed to gather 100 million berries so quickly. So, you stole Captain Nezumi's funds!"
Arlong immediately feigned an expression of sudden realization, his exaggerated expression and tone practically screaming, "I'm just pretending."
This fish scum didn't even try to hide it. "Hurry up and return the money to Captain Nezumi! He and I are good friends. If you're obedient, I might even be able to protect you!"
"That's right!"
Captain Nezumi, who believed everything was under his control, that Nami had no escape, and that the 100 million berries would soon be his, also showed an ugly, smug smile:
"Out of consideration for my friendship with Brother Arlong, if you just obediently return the money to me, I can decide to hand you over to Brother Arlong for disposal!"
The two of them played off each other, performing an exceedingly exaggerated double act.
Their clumsy performance also drew waves of laughter from the surrounding fish-men.
"What kind of thing is stealing other people's money, Nami!"
"Exactly, exactly! Hurry up and return the money to them, then try to earn money again through your own efforts!"
"You're our companion! If Big Brother Arlong puts in a good word for you, you won't have to be caught by the Marines!"
They kept provoking Nami with these words.
The mockery in their eyes and their teasing for fun were completely undisguised, as they freely made fun of Nami.
However, Nami, their object of ridicule, did not show any expression of indignation or despair.
"Sure enough..."
Nami suddenly let out a long sigh, "I still can't have expectations for you guys."
After speaking, her eyes filled with relief and warmth.
If she hadn't met Link and the others, and had foolishly gathered 100 million berries and come here, encountering this situation, what kind of scene would she be facing now?!
Crying out to heaven and earth with no response, she would only be able to watch her collected 100 million berries be stolen in grief and despair, utterly helpless.
Perhaps, she would never escape Arlong's clutches in this lifetime.
Without strength, without the ability to resist, she would only be at the mercy of others.
"Fortunately, I'm not the same as before now."
Thinking of this, a smile suddenly appeared on Nami's face.
"Hm?!"
Seeing the unusually smiling face of Nami, Arlong was taken aback.
At the same time, a bad premonition arose in his heart.
Boom!
Before he could even think, the main gate of their Arlong Park suddenly exploded.
Amidst flying rubble and swirling smoke, some of their companions could vaguely be seen, spitting blood and being sent flying to the side.