The Thief With A Heart Of Gold...

Chapter 17 - The Thief With A Heart Of Gold...

"That pulls at the heartstrings," Franky cried out, he couldn't remember every crying more as he did tonight and wringing out the soaked handkerchief, "Those cooks weren't ashamed to cry. You could feel the love there as they waved you off, Sanji!"

"Oh, shut up," Sanji said, trying to wipe away his own tears before the noticed.

"So they really did care about you all along!" Chopper said happily, also having a few stray tears on his cheeks.

"Yes, they just didn't know how to come out and say it to your face," Robin reminded him softly, smiling brightly as she looked up to the feeble glow of the moon as she stepped out onto the grassy fields and enjoyed the soft breeze, glad to be out of that memory for the moment. "It's funny…" she went on, almost to herself, "How the things we want to say the most are actually the things that are the most difficult to say."

"It's almost sad when you put it like that," Nami said softly, thinking it all over. There were so many things that she wanted to say to so many people but she was never able to say it. Especially when it came to… her mother…

She stared up at the sky and stared at the twinkling stars—wondering.

Sanji, however, just watched the smoke from the cigarette drift off with the wind, thinking about Zeff and the other cooks. He wondered how they were all doing right now. He hoped that they were all still alive and breathing—and didn't burn the ship down. He wanted to go back someday and really show off how strong he had become.

He smiled to himself. He could show off all the cooking skills he learned since coming here… and he was sure that even Zeff would be impressed when they see his Sky Walk.

All too soon the black sky was replaced with a sunny day. He sighed, wondering just when this 'monster' would show up so that they could kick its ass. They were all pilled in the familiar boat and Luffy was running around, looking at everything—though there wasn't anything but water for miles around.

Yosaku and past Sanji were near the front of the ship and resting there as Luffy jumped around.

"What's this?" Brook asked looking around.

"This was where we took off towards Nami-san's village," Sanji said, thinking it over.

"You sure took your sweet time getting there," Zoro told him irritably.

"Hey, you should just be happy we came at all to save your lousy ass!" Sanji snapped at him.

Finally, past Sanji yelled at Luffy to calm down. Still excited, he came over to sit at the very front of the boat and turned to Yosaku, "So… are we getting close to where Nami is? You know… the island?"

"So we get to see your island, Nami?" Chopper asked her.

Nami didn't answer right away as she looked down, feeling a little blue. While it would be wonderful to see her home again, she had mixed feelings about it all. She wasn't sure she was going to like to see herself here.

Suddenly, Yosaku slammed his hand down on his knee, and got their attention. Pointing an accusing finger at him he yelled out, "You're way to naïve and way too young! Don't you get it? Don't you realize every second that passes brings us closer to the infamous Arlong?!"

"Arlong?" Chopper repeated before he blinked in surprise, "Isn't that the Fishman that Jimbei talked about? The ones that you guys stopped?"

"Yeah," Sanji said, looking over to Nami. "Nami-swan?" he asked in a gentle voice.

"I'll be fine," she answered firmly. Those who weren't aware of the whole situation here always knew that there had been issues between Nami and the Fishmen—but they weren't entirely sure just what they were about. Robin, Chopper, Brook, and Franky were all looking at each other nervously, wondering just what kind of burden that Nami had been carrying around all this time.

The whole time they wondered, Yosaku spoke to Sanji and Luffy that, due to Nami's suspicious behavior being connected to their copy of Arlong's wanted poster, he and Johnny suspected that there had to be a connection between them.

Of course Luffy and Sanji didn't seem at all concerned as Luffy asked for food.

"The first of many times," Sanji laughed at the thought. He wished he could warn his past self to get used to that line because he was going to hear it very often. However Yosaku looked ready to fall over at how clueless they were and went on to yell about everything he knew about Arlong. But past Sanji was starting to swoon at the idea of mermaids and Luffy drew bad drawings of what he thought Fishmen looked like.

"I forgot just how awful an artist Luffy is," Robin sighed, but she looked deeply amused at the idea. Yosaku was getting frustrated and told them all about the Seven Warlords and mentioned Mihawk and Jimbei and just how dangerous they were.

"So that's what you meant," Nami said, looking at Sanji. "You mentioned that before…?"

"Yeah," Sanji agreed, "Like I said… we first heard about Jimbe just before we got to your island. Up till we actually met the guy, I always believed that he was the one pulling the strings behind that Arlong bastard."

"Thank goodness he wasn't," Nami sighed in relief. She had really grown to like Jimbei… and if he was Luffy's friend, she just couldn't bring herself to hate him. He was nothing like Arlong and that was a huge weight off her shoulders and she was looking forward to the day that he joined them.

"Arlong has taken control of twenty towns since coming to the East Blue," Yosaku said with fear in his voice. "His strength easily surpasses anyone you've encountered, including Don Krieg! He's devastating!"

"Wow," Chopper gulped nervously, "He sounds bad."

"Believe me," Nami said darkly, "He is bad."

But past Sanji couldn't understand why Nami would go after him by herself—which Yosaku responded that she was trying to get his bounty—with Sanji now fantasying about her being a mermaid.

"In your dreams," Nami told him in deep annoyance as the others laughed. Sanji just sighed dreamily, even now, he'd give anything to see that. Memory Sanji went to get food done as Luffy said they would worry about it when they got there.

"That's just his motto," Zoro said with a shrug, "adventure now, worry later…"

"All the trouble that caused us," Usopp sighed tiredly as his stomach roared with hunger. He put his hand on his belly and moaned out miserably. What he wouldn't give for some of that food…?

They continued watching as past Sanji made their food in no time at all and soon they were forced to watch them all eat.

"Aw man, this is torture!" Franky whined out. "I'd kill for some…" but then he blinked in realization and opened his stomach up to get a bottle of cola.

"WHAT?!" Usopp cried enviously as Franky drank it down, "Damn, I wish I was you!"

"Yep!" he grinned at him, "I'm SUUUUUPPPPPPPEEEEEERRRRRR!"

The women shared raised eyebrows as Chopper went all sparkly eyes at him. But as the three were sitting down to really enjoy their food, there was a rumble beneath them.

"What's that?" Robin asked curiously as they heard what sounded like a moo beneath the waves.

"Don't tell me," Nami said startled.

The sea rose up on the side of the boat, and through the giant wave were a pair of horns…

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" screamed Usopp, "IT'S A SEA MONSTER! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!"

"Would you relax?" Zoro asked in annoyance when the face appeared through the water and Usopp stopped screaming at once. Past Sanji looked overboard to see a giant sea cow rising up out of the sea. He had a big round nose with a gold nose ring, cow-esque face and horns, green spots throughout his body, with a great big seal-like body.

"IT'S THAT GIANT COW!" Chopper yelled recognizing the creature at once.

"Awwww," Robin cooed, "He's sorta cute…"

"I recognize that!" Brook cried out, pointing at it, "That's the same monster that we saw going to Fishman Island! Or maybe…? It could be? I'm not sure anymore, Yohohoho."

"It is," Nami confirmed, "It's Mohmoo!"

"Wait, you know that thing?" Franky asked her and she nodded.

"Yes," she answered, "I guess you can say he was the Arlong Pirate's mascot. He's really not that bad…"

"What does he want?" Usopp asked, calming down. He found it kinda hard to really be afraid of something that looked like an oversized cow.

"He's hungry," Chopper said, listening to the mooing sounds that it was making. "He smelled your food Sanji and he wanted some.

"Well, at least he has good taste," Sanji said smugly.

"Is it really a good thing to know that the only thing that'll eat your food is a giant sea monster?" Zoro asked him and Sanji looked ready to kill as he turned his eyes—that were practically burning holes in him.

"You wanna say that again?" he dared.

"Just the truth pal," he answered as Yosaku screamed in panic as Luffy and past Sanji looked at it in mild curiosity. But when he pointed out that he wanted their food, Luffy panicked and threw a punch at him, screaming out, "Bad Sea Cow! Stay away from our food!"

"You didn't have to do that!" Chopper yelled at him as the sea cow mooed in anger and pain. "You didn't have to do that did you Luffy?"

Past Sanji seemed to agree with him and told them off as he explained that all the cow wanted was food. He went to try to feed him, but as soon as Mohmoo opened his mouth, Sanji kicked it so hard that he was thrown backwards into the sea and Chopper screamed again.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING? DAMN JERK!" Yosaku bellowed at him furiously.

"I knew I liked Yosaku," Zoro said coolly.

"He was gonna eat me with the plate, what could I do?" past Sanji asked casually, one leg up on the side of the boat, clearly waiting for it to come back up.

"No wonder that thing was so scared when it saw you and Luffy," Usopp said with sweatdrop as he thought back to when he first saw the Sea Cow. He couldn't help but feel sorry for it.

"WHY ARE YOU ALL HURTING HIM?!" demanded Chopper.

"Didn't you hear me?" Sanji asked, "He was going to eat me too! What? You wanted me to just stand there and eaten?"

"Would've done us a favor," Zoro said, but his voice was drowned out when Mohmoo roared in fury, falling towards them, but Sanji ran up the mast and kicked him so hard in the neck that it hit the ocean—out cold. And to add insult to injury, Sanji and Luffy sat back down at the table to finish their food.

"You guys are insane," Yosaku whispered, staring at them with admiration and horror.

"Would've been a waste of good food," Sanji said causally. Soon enough, the boys finished their meal and tied a rope around Mohmoo's horns once he woke up tearfully.

"ONWARDS COW!" Luffy cried out, and terrified, Mohmoo set off.

"So you guys did have experience getting a giant monster to pull your ship?" Franky laughed as he remembered how Luffy wanted to find a monster to pull the Sunny.

"I suppose," Sanji shrugged, and soon they were almost flying across the water as Mohmoo pulled them. "But the landing was much to be desired."

"Landing?" repeated Brook in confusion. But they just flew along the water and Sanji said tiredly, "I'm sure you'll find out soon enough," he said. And he was right. Only fifteen minutes later they spotted land in the distance.

Nami stared at it, suddenly having violent flashbacks of this place that felt like someone was beating the inside of her head with a hammer. As she tried to master the surge of emotion inside her, Luffy jumped to the bow of the ship, and enjoyed the ride—yelling out that he could see Arlong Park from here to the other two.

"Hey, that really does look like Sabaody Park!" Franky yelled, shielding his eyes from the sun to look at it.

"Yes, and I guess you can say it's very similar to it," Nami said so quietly that they hardly heard her over the noise that Mohmoo was making. "This is Arlong Park…"

This building, several stories high and Arlong's Jolly Roger at the top, was conspicuously placed at the coast to show that they had no fear of the law and where the pool on the outside was linked to the outer seas, for Mohmoo to go in and out of, with a pair of steel gates that kept it closed. The building itself was modeled after the main building in Sabaody Park… but her eyes were focused only on the left window at the top floor… this place reflected the cruelty of Sabaody Archipelago's slave-trade.

"Nami?" Robin asked softly and Nami blinked in surprise. She hadn't realized that she was shaking. She shook her head hard before she forced a smile.

"It's alright…" she told her. "It's just… this place brings back a lot of bad memories."

She smiled again as she looked on. "It's part of a past that I prefer not to think about. But… it's all history. I'm fine. I mean, ever since we started jumping through Luffy's memories, I guess I always knew that we'd see this again."

"But ah… what exactly is this place?" Chopper asked quietly.

She didn't answer as she watched it. She had thought she'd never see this terrible building again… but—she looked down at her feet. She wasn't looking forward to the idea of seeing Arlong again… however, she reminded herself that she would get to see this place get destroyed a second time.

Feeling a little comforted by that she glanced back up as Luffy yelled excitedly from the front, and yelled at Mohmoo to pick up the pace.

"I feel sorry for it," Yosaku said with his hand on his chin. "Sanji's kick must've really taken its toll."

"I'll say," Usopp said as the cow cried.

"Oh well," present Sanji shrugged in bored way. "It got us here quickly didn't it? The sooner the better."

Mohmoo suddenly began to turn away from Arlong Park and headed more to the right of it.

"Not that way!" Luffy yelled as he pointed back to the building, "Your other left! To the building, stupid!"

"He's one to call someone else stupid," current Sanji sighed.

Mohmoo ignored him and kept going in the wrong direction as Luffy continued to laugh in excitement as they headed straight for the shoreline. Present Sanji suddenly froze. "Oh, no…" he said, "This is it…?"

"What is, Sanji-san?" Brook asked curiously as they almost reached the shore.

"Just brace yourselves," Sanji said, getting ready, "I think this is the first time I've ever been on a flying ship."

"Flying…?" Robin began, but when Mohmoo crashed into the shore—they found out. They hit it with such force that when the Sea Cow hit, it knocked itself out and launched the little boat right into the air so that it was sent soaring across the island.

"AWESOME!" Chopper cried out as they flew over the thick forests and landscapes, the wind whipping past them.

"Ohhhh! It's almost like we're flying!" Luffy exclaimed happily.

"WE ARE FLYING YOU MORON!" past Sanji yelled as he and Yosaku clung on.

"So that's what happened," Zoro said bitterly, a vein standing out on his forehead as he remembered what happened next.

"Too bad we won't be flying for much longer," Robin said, looking over the side of the boat to see the trees getting closer and closer. "I hope that you don't end up crashing and breaking bones."

"Why Robin?" whispered Usopp tearfully, "Why are you always doing this?"

"NO WE'RE FALLING!" Yosaku screamed. Luffy gave a scream of delight as they descended into the forest and started to slide across the ground like a skate would on ice. "Landing successful!" Luffy cried happily.

"Don't know why he'd think that," Franky said, looking around. But Luffy suddenly stopped laughing and was shouting out, "HEY ZORO!"

"Oh no," Zoro groaned, knowing just what was going to come. And there he was. His past self was standing there staring at them with a gapping mouth.

"ZORO GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Chopper screamed, but too late. The boat crashed into him like how the Rocketman once crashed into Franky back at Enies Lobby. The pain didn't last long however as they finally burst through the trees, over some wetlands and they finally crashed right into a high cliff, destroying the boat.

Everyone stared at that.

"Dude…" Franky whispered staring at Zoro, who was looking angry. "Did they just run you over?"

"I guess you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time," Robin stated

But Sanji was roaring with laugher, holding onto his stomach as he cramped up. "God! How could I forget that? I love that! That had to hurt!"

"I'm going to cut you up later," Zoro promised threateningly as the past selves now tried to get out of the wreckage.

"And what a waste of a perfectly good ship," Franky sighed sadly.

"But if you're going to make an entrance, I can't think of one to grab your attention more," Robin giggled. "Too bad that no one else saw it."

As the smoke and dust of the crash disappeared, Luffy's voice was calling out, "Awesome! We're here guys!"

After dusting off his hat, he was standing up and looking around eagerly as a muffled voice beneath the boards. "WHAT THE HELL…" past Zoro forced the boards off him, screaming out at them all, "WERE YOU DOING?!"

"I thought it was obvious," Brook laughed happily as they laughed at past Zoro's state.

"Now I know what happened," Zoro said shaking his head, that didn't make it any better. "But really… Luffy's the only person I know who can do something like that."

"What do you mean?" Luffy asked innocently as he stood up. Sanji was still sitting on a crate, also a mess, but didn't seem to have moved from his seat—Yosaku on the other hand was in the background, his legs up in the air as the rest of him was buried in the debris. "We're here to pick up Nami, duh," Luffy went on as if it was obvious. "How come you haven't found her yet?" He paused in thought as if he just remembered something, "Oh yeah, and what about Usopp and Johnny?"

"Funny that me and Johnny were like side notes," Usopp sighed in annoyance.

But past Zoro's eyes suddenly widen as the mention of Usopp. "Usopp!" he exclaimed as he stood up. "Oh no! Come on! We gotta hurry!" He started to run off.

"Why? What's wrong?" Luffy asked after him.

"That dumbass was caught by Arlong," he explained quickly. "We gotta hurry before they kill him!"

"What?" Brook said in worry, "You were captured, Usopp-san?"

"Yeah," Usopp answered, remembering what happened now before he started to lie, "But you see… I actually snuck into Arlong Park and was planning to rescue Nami all by myself. Really, I could've escaped any time that I…"

"He's already dead," a familiar voice stated for them. Jumping at the voice, they looked up in time to see Johnny slowly coming towards them. He was looking tired and out of breath as tears fell from his eyes.

"What!?" Zoro exclaimed as he came towards them.

"Yeah, Usopp's right here!" Chopper added, pointing to their Usopp.

"We're… too late," Johnny continued numbly as he fell to his knees in front of them, "Big Bro Usopp is dead."

"What's he talking about?" Franky asked in confusion, looking up at Usopp. "Why's he lying about something like that? It's not funny."

"He's not actually lying," Usopp told him, "Because I guess it must've looked like she killed me."

"Who did?" Robin asked softly.

But Johnny answered that as he punched the ground bitterly and cried out, "Nami… murdered him!"

They all stared at him as Chopper and Brook screamed at the thought.

"I didn't really do it!" Nami yelled at them, "I had to make it look like I killed him!"

"What?" Franky asked, not getting it. He wasn't the only one…

"You can't be serious!" Yosaku cried out.

But it was Luffy who was looking furious, shouting out, "That's a lie!"

"Yeah, it's true!" Johnny exclaimed as he fell back to the ground and sat cross-legged. "She was a traitor all along! She's been winning Arlong's favor so she could have the treasure buried in Cocoyashi Village all for herself!" he slammed his hand on the ground, "That woman's just a cold-hearted killer! She won't stop till she gets what she wants! Nami had us fooled the entire…"

"Nami?" Robin asked softly, looking to her, "Why do I get the feeling that's not true at all?"

Her eyes were hidden behind her eyes as she answered, "Because it isn't. Parts of it are true… but believe me… I never wanted to get anyone else killed because of me."

"Anyone else?" Brook repeated to himself quietly.

But Luffy wouldn't hear any more of it. He charge again and screamed out that Johnny was a liar as he grabbed him by his collar and shook him so violently that he even let his hat fall off. "Say another word and you'll regret it!"

Startled, Nami looked up at him. How could he be standing up for her like this? Johnny was a friend to him as well, but to threaten to hurt him if he insulted her? Why would he…?

"Easy Luffy, this has nothing to do with Johnny," past Zoro said in a calm voice.

Johnny turned his head. "Go on believe whatever you want. But I know what I saw! NAMI KILLED BIG BRO USOPP!"

"Shut your mouth!" Luffy yelled as he shook Johnny again, refusing to believe anything he said. "Never in a million years would Nami kill Usopp! She wouldn't do that to her friends!"

"Well, he's right about that," Nami said, tears starting to come to her eyes, truly touched by his defense of her. As much as she loved money however… she'd never sell out a friend when they had done so much for her. It was her fault that he was there any way! Faking Usopp's death was the only way she could get them both out of that mess. Though the long-nosed liar did get on her nerves, she could never just stand back and let him get himself killed.

"But… but I SAW it!" Johnny stammered out as Luffy looked like he was ready to throw a punch. But then another familiar voice spoke up in a contemptuous way. "What was that about friends, Luffy?"

They looked up to see past Nami was standing on the road. Current Nami was staring at her as she looked at them all. She had changed into a green spotted shirt and was now sporting a different tattoo on her shoulder. Instead of the graceful one she now wore, it was of a saw-nosed shark turned to the left with the tail curving inward. Around the shark is a semi-oval with three curves emitting from it.

Seeing that disgusting mark on her skin made the present-day Nami shiver and she reached up to touch the new tattoo—trying to remind herself that this part of her is dead. That she doesn't need to worry about it anymore. But it was hard to do that as she watched herself with her staff in her hands, arms folded, and staring at them all as if they were strangers who were bugging her.

"Nami!" Luffy exclaimed in surprise as he dropped Johnny, calming down almost at once.

She didn't answer for a moment as her eyes narrowed coldly—and they all had their eyes widen in surprise. That cold look in her eyes was the exact same look that Ace had when he first met Luffy. "What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice bored, as if she couldn't care less for the answer.

"What are we doing here? You're our friend," Luffy said in surprise, "We came to get you." He picked up his hat, as she just jeered at him.

"What a pest," she said.

"Nami?" Chopper asked softly, never seeing her act like this before. She was completely different from before.

Nami didn't say anything for a moment. "He is a pest," she said softly, before she smiled, "But I'm glad for that."

"Nami-san, what is going on here?" Brook asked, not liking this.

"Nami?" Luffy questioned, also wondering as she spoke in the same cold voice.

"Friends, huh? Don't make me laugh. You're just pathetic enough to deserve each other," she said with a sneer that make her look quite unlike herself.

"Damn you! You killed him! I watched you do it!" Johnny yelled angrily, pointing a shaking finger at her, "And now… Big Bro Usopp is gone!"

"Yep that's right. So why don't you kill me get your revenge?" Nami said without batting an eye.

"Wait what?" Franky asked startled, "What's going on?"

"Yeah, if you just pretended to kill him why didn't you tell them that?" Chopper asked her as she shook her head.

"I had my reasons," she answered softly. She wanted to get them to hate her so that they'd leave her alone. That if they thought that she betrayed them that they would leave and not have to get hurt because of her.

"What!?" gasped Johnny, who seemed stunned that she answered him so causally.

"Word to the wise, fellas," she said sarcastically, "Because of your friend's stupidity," she looked to Zoro and rolled her eyes and explained, "Arlong is preparing to kill Zoro along with his entire crew. And I don't care about monstrously strong you guys think you are, you're no match for the real monsters," she played with the staff on her shoulder and that was when they all noticed the thick bandage around her hand, "I promise you, you stay on this island, you will die."

Robin however had gently put her hands on their Nami's shoulders in a comforting way, and Nami leaned into her friend's touch. She didn't say anything as she watched, wishing that she had asked them for help sooner… but she had been so sure that she could do it on her own, that she didn't want to ask anyone else for help.

"So you have a choice to make between life and death," past Nami finally finished as Zoro was now growling angrily at her.

"Did anyone else feel the temperature go down?" Usopp asked with a gulp, having not see or heard about this. It was no wonder that they all thought she killed him… everything she was saying was so cold and callous that he almost believed it and he knew better than anyone what happened.

Past Sanji on the other hand was looking lovestruck once again and cried out, "Her heartless face is so hot." He waved his arms excitedly as he swooned, "Hi Nami, it's me Sanji! Let's run away together!"

"And I still have that offer for you my dear," he said and she rolled her eyes at him before telling him to shut up.

"You can always hand it to Sanji to lighten the mood though," Usopp said to Chopper who sighed in agreement.

"Can it, Romeo! This isn't the time or place for that!" past Zoro yelled in annoyance at him.

"Excuse me!?" past Sanji challenged. "Love is like a hurricane! So back off!" But past Zoro was no longer listening as he turned his back to him and looked directly at Nami, something that ticked him off. "Hey! Look at me when I'm talking to you!"

"Awww, this must bring back memories for you both," Robin teased, "Your first fight."

"Yeah, the first of countless," Nami sighed tiredly as the memory Zoro demanded to know where Usopp was.

"With the fishes," she answered and some of the crew shivered at that.

"You're really scaring me here sis," Franky said as past Zoro seemed to lose his temper.

"Damn it!" he yelled as he pulled out his one sword, "Cut the crap!"

He looked ready to attack her, but Sanji stood in the way and Zoro had to dodge the kick aimed at his face. "How sad, a swordsman attacking a lady?" he asked him coldly.

"What if she had killed him you idiot?" current Zoro snapped at current Sanji. "What if she's an enemy and trying to kill you?"

"If that happens I accept it without any thought," he said firmly. "I rather die than strike a lady!"

"Wow, Sanji!" Chopper said in amazement as he looked up at him.

"Again, that chivalry of his will get him into trouble," Nami sighed, remembering Enies Lobby.

"That's dumb," Zoro said to him.

"It's how I was raise!" Sanji snapped back, "I was brought up to never harm a woman! Even if my life is on the line, I just can't bring myself to strike!"

"Idiot!" past Zoro growled at past Sanji, and they all looked up, "Can't you see what's happening here? You're starting to piss me off!"

"And it won't be for the last time," Zoro added darkly as memory Sanji laughed. "If someone stopped me that easily, I'd be mad too."

"I forgot you said that," Zoro growled at him.

"Just speaking the truth," he smirked back and suddenly the two were fighting, swords and kicks flying off.

"What?" past Zoro demanded hotly, "You… should watch your mouth!"

"I'll say whatever I want, bastard," Sanji growled right back, and it looked like they were going to have a fight very similar to the one happening behind all the other Straw Hats. They did their best to ignore the two idiots in the background as Yosaku was now trying to get them to stop their memory version from fighting. "Big Bro's! We're all in this together ok?" he yelled, "This is no time to fight!"

"At least someone's showing some common sense," Usopp answered coolly.

"Your pal's right," past Nami agreed darkly, "Now quit you're bickering and leave while you still can. You outsiders have no right to butt into this island's affairs. Don't you get it yet? The only reason I got close to you idiots was so that I could rob you of everything you had. But now that you're broke, it looks like your dream's dead. So go, take your ship! Go on, find a navigator dumb enough to join you and go to the Grand Line."

"Wait, you really didn't want to go with them?" Chopper asked her, still in Robin's comforting arms.

"Of course I did," she answered softly, "But I couldn't go with them… not at the time." Even as he looked confused, she knew that she'd do it all over again if she had to. Even if those words were causing her terrible pain, she found something else that she just didn't want to lose… something irreplaceable… the one thing she never really had before… Friends…

"Continue on your quest to find the One Piece or whatever," she went on before she pointed her staff at them all, "Just leave here! You're an eyesore!"

Johnny and Yosaku growled furiously at her, looking like they wanted to attack. Convinced that she had scared them away, past Nami sighed and her eyes were now being hidden by her bangs as she told them all goodbye. But there, her voice had changed, it was no longer cold or scolding…

It was sad.

Robin could detect the sadness in her words and looked to Luffy. He just looked at her with that same blank stare and she knew that he could hear it too. This was how he knew that she was lying… maybe not about wanting them to without her… but there was something that she wasn't saying that got his attention. "Nami…" he said softly. For a few more seconds he stood there before he closed his eyes and fell back onto the ground.

"Big Bro Luffy!" Johnny exclaimed in surprise.

"What just happened?" Brook asked in surprise, "Did he faint?"

"Sleepy," Luffy stated.

"Sleep!?" Johnny exclaimed in disbelief as Brook almost fell over at that.

"Right now, in the middle of the road?" Yosaku questioned him.

"Well, he's found stranger places to fall asleep in," Usopp added in a deadpan voice.

"Well, I'm pretty tired," Luffy answered coolly before he yawned. "I'm not gonna butt in their affairs, not interested. But I'm not leaving either. Night."

Yosaku's jaw fell open, unable to believe what he was hearing.

"Big Bro…?" Johnny stuttered and even memory Zoro face-palmed himself at those words.

"He doesn't make any sense sometimes," Franky said, scratching his head.

"Actually," Robin disagreed, "I thought it made a great deal of sense. When you're tired, you're naturally want to sleep."

"That's not what I mean!" he said loudly as memory Nami seemed to snap.

She lost all coldness in her expression and she was now shaking with rage and she finally screamed out, "WHATEVER! JUST GO AHEAD AND DIE!"

And without a backward glance she turned and went running away as fast as she could, as if afraid to stay near them any longer as the memory faded around them.

"Was that really you, Nami-san?" Brook asked her after a few minutes of silence.

"Yeah," Nami answered softly.

"Why were you so angry then?" Usopp asked quietly. "You know if you told us the truth, we would've helped you."

"I know," she answered, "I just…?" she trailed off, unsure of what it was she even wanted to say anymore. "More than anything, I guess I was just angry that Luffy didn't seem to believe me."

"If you didn't say goodbye, it would've been harder for him to believe," Robin answered her, and she looked up in surprise.

Robin smiled back gently, "If you didn't really care, you wouldn't have said that. I could hear the despair in your voice. That's how I knew you were hiding behind that façade. I guess that Luffy could also hear it and decided that he would stay a little longer and see for himself."

"You really could?" Usopp asked in surprise, "I couldn't really hear anything like that."

Robin shrugged back. "I can't say to know what's going on in the captain's mind, but I'm guessing that he wanted to stay until he was convinced that you truly didn't want to go, Nami."

Nami blinked before she smiled. "I'm glad that he did," she said softly before the yelling and slashing behind her finally got to her and she screamed at Zoro and Sanji to stop fighting. Looking bruised and had cuts, they looked up in annoyance of being interrupted in the middle of their fight.

"What?" they asked loudly.

"I thought you guys wanted to watch?" she asked them irritably.

"Well, he started it!" the both yelled childishly, glaring hard at the other.

"I don't care who started it," she yelled, "Just shut up! I can't hear myself think over here!"

But as soon as the memory came back there was shouting and they looked in time Luffy there, holding onto Usopp who was a mess. His face was smashed in from both sides as if he got stuck between two boulders and blood was dripping down from his mouth and crooked nose. "Usopp!" he screamed out, shaking him a little.

"EEEEEHHHHHHHH!" screamed out Chopper as he ran over to get a good look at him, "Nami what did you do to him?!"

"I can see why they thought you killed him," Franky whispered, sweatdropped.

"I didn't do that!" she yelled.

"Nope," Sanji said, finally out of 'battle mode' and laughing in an almost embarrassed way as they looked at the damage. "Actually, Moss Head and I…?"

"Did Nami do all this to you!?" Luffy shouted, his eyes wide as he continued to shake him.

Past Sanji answered by pointing to Zoro and explained, "Sorry, Zoro and I did that."

"No, you did," memory Zoro disagreed darkly.

"And why would you hurt your own friend?" Brook gulped, feeling pity for Usopp. He wouldn't want to be caught between these two.

"It's not our fault," Sanji said defensively, "Me and Zoro were fighting and he ran between us! He should've known better!"

"I remember…" Usopp said, rubbing his long nose and remembering just how much pain he'd been in. He could still swear he saw a glimpse of the afterlife for a moment. "YOU TWO WERE LUCKY THAT YOU DIDN'T KILL ME!"

"Yeah, that would've sucked after pretending to be killed by Nami," Robin agreed and Usopp felt cold at the thought. Why does Robin do that?

Memory Usopp was slowly coming too and had to focus hard on Luffy. "Luffy…? You're here now…"

"Yep, sure am," Luffy answered, sounding truly relieved that Usopp wasn't dead.

"I'm here too. Hi there," Sanji greeted and Usopp seemed to have instantly recovered as he stood up and began yelling, "One of these days I'll kill you!"

"I'd like to see you try," current Sanji challenged him.

"Just you wait!" Usopp snapped, "One of these days, I might surprise you!"

"Oh, you just made a full recovery," memory Sanji said, greatly impressed as he clapped him on the shoulder.

"Shut up!" he yelled, knocking his hand away and looking ready to go into a shouting match before past Zoro reminded them of something.

"Oh, and by the way. We kinda heard you were dead. Killed by Nami," he stated causally, as if they had been told that he went out to the store instead of getting killed. Usopp blinked, as if remembering that as well.

"Stupid Johnny," Luffy growled, getting up, "He was sprouting nonsense that entire time!"

"Well," past Usopp stated, his anger gone and looking thoughtful, "In a way… it is the truth." Blinking in surprise they looked at him. "But I'm alive…" he went on frowning, "cause you see, she actually saved my life." They looked completely lost as he explained everything. The Fishmen had captured him and were going to kill him—but he made things worse when he asked Nami for help, which made the Fishmen suspicious of her. He then used a Smoke Star to try to escape but Nami intercepted him and announced that she would kill him herself. However, instead, she stabbed her own hand to make it look like she killed him before she kicked him into the ocean so that he could swim away. When they told him that Johnny said that he saw the whole thing, Usopp supposed that Johnny must've been watching from a safe distance and was tricked like the Fishmen.

"You did that?" Brook asked Nami, rubbing his own hand. Not just anyone would do something like that.

"There wasn't any other way I could think of," Nami answered before glaring at Usopp, "But it is your fault you know. You just had to get yourself caught!"

"Well, it's not like I planned it like that!" he shouted back.

"So that's it," past Usopp said, finishing up telling them, "That's how Nami pretended to kill me and make sure I could escape from Arlong Park." He looked up at them and finished, "Looks to me like she's got some sorta hidden motive for hanging out with a bunch of renegade Fishmen."

"Believe me, if I had a choice…" Nami said softly, but she shook her head, not bothering to finish as she listened to them now talk about what they were supposed to do now.

"Fine," past Zoro said, his arms still folded, "What next? Are we gonna destroy Arlong Park?"

"Sounds like a plan to me," Franky answered coolly.

But memory Usopp was waving his hands around in front of them, trying to get their attention before they did something they'd regret. "Whoa! Hang on just a second!" he said loudly, "Don't you think we better find out what's going on with Nami first?!"

"That would be the best option," Robin answered, still patting Nami consolingly on the shoulder.

"It wouldn't have mattered at the time," she answered her softly just as another voice spoke up, "It's no use either way!"

Blinking in surprise she looked to see another face—one that she had longed to see for a long time.

A young woman was there with short, light purple hair and an even tan skin. Her right arm and chest were heavily tattooed very similar to Nami's—but she was giving them all a dark and stern look.

"Who is…?" Franky began, but the woman went on speaking before he could finish his sentence.

"No matter what you guys do; Arlong's rule won't come to an end," she informed them.

"Nojiko!" Usopp exclaimed in surprise.

"Who's she?" Luffy questioned him.

"Nami's big sister," Usopp stated.

"Your sister!?" Chopper said in surprise.

"Yep," Nami said proudly, smiling widely. "My big sister! It's good to see her again…"

Past Sanji was already smitten as he swooned, "What? Nami's sister? No wonder she's so hot!"

"Of course you would be thinking that," Usopp said to him irritably.

"Well it's true!" current Sanji sighed lovingly as he looked at her. "Jealous yet, Nami sweet?"

"No," Nami answered, rolling her eyes, "Something tells me you aren't her type."

"What do you mean that it's no use?" past version of Zoro questioned her.

"Just trust me. Don't get yourselves involved here," Nojiko said bluntly, and for those who haven't met her could tell that she was just as stubborn and strong-willed as her little sister. "And leave poor Nami alone. I'll explain the situation."

"Situation?" both Brook and memory Sanji repeated in confusion.

Past Usopp was now giving her his complete attention. "Do you mean that you can tell us why she joined up with Arlong's group?" he asked.

"Yeah," Nojiko admitted, folding her arms. "And if that doesn't get you to leave, I don't know what will."

"I guess nothing will," Nami laughed a little.

"Well, Luffy made it clear that he wasn't leaving yet," Zoro reminded her as the past versions were looking at her with new interest. Except for one…

"I'll pass," Luffy said as he walked past Nojiko and Usopp called for him to wait, but Luffy barely paid attention "I don't care about her past."

Nami's eyes widen. Here, he would've learned everything about her past handed to her on a plate, but he just walked away like he couldn't care less. Even as past Sanji called out to know where he was going, he just kept going.

"For a walk," he answered coolly.

"A walk?!" Usopp yelled after him, "Do you mean you're not gonna listen to this?!"

"Nope," he answered back and they all quickly followed after him, even though some of them were dying to know just what Nojiko was going to say. They all kept close after him—walking for a long time before anyone spoke again.

"So he didn't really care to know?" Nami asked him, she had no idea that her sister talked to them.

"Nope," Zoro answered her as they walked along with him, looking at the island.

"Neither did Moss Head," Sanji informed her, "He fell asleep before he heard anything."

"I don't think he cares about what our pasts are," Robin answered. "Anything about our pasts is just extra information."

Nami smiled a little, but now feeling worse than ever for seeing these memories without permission. And as she wiped the tears from her eyes, she spotted several figures in front of them.

"Fishmen!" Chopper exclaimed, pointing a hoof at them in surprise.

"Yeah," Nami said softly, feeling grim at that. Those faces were burned right into her memory and seeing them again didn't help.

"Oh!" Brook said, recognizing one of them, "It's that octopus gentleman!"

He was right. Hachi was indeed there, but he was with two others—a ray and smelt-whiting Fishmen. They looked up at him as he approached them in the middle of the road—each one with a smug smile.

"I don't know what it is about these jerks," Franky said, his eyes narrowing, "But they're ticking me off."

"You aren't the only one," Zoro said darkly as Luffy looked a little surprise at them.

"Oh, wow," he said mildly impressed before he quickly got over it and continued walking towards them. "They must be Fishmen." But without ever stopping, he calmly walked right by them and headed on his way as if they weren't even there.

It wasn't until he passed them all and was a good distance away did Hachi finally yell after him. "Hey, you there! Wait!"

Luffy didn't respond immediately but walked a few more paces before he looked back at him, "You mean me?" he called curiously.

"Who else?" Nami asked, but she was enjoying seeing the startled looks on the Fishmen's face. She was sure that this was a first for them… a human who wasn't afraid of them.

"Who are you?!" Hachi yelled at him, "And what are you doing on his island?!"

"Why? What does it matter to you?" he asked back and Hachi looked stumped by the question.

"Get out of that one," Usopp smirked.

"He doesn't seem like the same one we met before," Franky said in surprise.

"Yeah, the difference is almost night and day," Nami agreed.

"Well…" Hachi said, struggling to find words—it looked like a lot of hard work—before he finished, "it's just that we… don't get many visitors."

"I wonder why?" Sanji said sarcastically rolling his eyes.

"Oh," Luffy said, "Well, my name's Luffy. I'm just passing through."

"What?" Hachi repeated, sounding as if he never heard of such a thing before, "Passing through?" As Luffy turned and continued on, each of Hachi's arms pulled out six handkerchiefs and waved. "Well have a nice time!"

"Hey smartass!" the ray Fishman yelled out, "Where're you going?"

"Heck if I know?" he answered back calmly.

"Boy, he's not afraid at all," Usopp said with admiration as he watched on.

"Of course not," Zoro said coolly, his one eye narrowed in dislike as he looked to the three there. "They aren't worth fearing. Just a bunch of thugs…"

They were about to continue following after Luffy when Hachi laughed and folded his many arms, sounding more like the Hachi they said goodbye to on Fishman Island. "He seems like he'd be a fun guy to have around."

"Yeah sure," the smelt-whiting with the long slips, "But who the hell is he?"

The ray glared after him, "He walked right by us and wasn't even intimidated. Never seen that before."

Again, they went after Luffy, all of them silently thinking the same thing. Already, it was like he was taking charge of this island… by showing them that he wasn't afraid, he showed them that he wasn't afraid to stand up to them if he had to.

No one said much as they followed after Luffy for some time until they ended up on the edge of the village. But suddenly they saw a group of Marines closely following a man covered in scars and a spinning pinwheel on his hat. Nami gave a soft intact of breath as she watched the man come towards them.

"Genzo!" she whispered. Back home, Genzo acted as a father figure to both her and her sister, especially after their mother's death. But her smile soon faded when she saw who was behind him.

"That guy looks like a rat," Brook said, tilting his head a little as he looked at him.

"Not a bad guess if you ask me," Sanji said, remembering that coward as Luffy stopped walking and watched them walk past him.

"I don't get it," Chopper said, as the Marines barely glanced at Luffy. "If they're Marines, why don't they try to arrest Luffy?"

"Because they don't know him yet," Usopp explained, "It wasn't until after Arlong was defeated did Luffy get his first bounty."

"Oh! Then does that mean they're here to deal with Arlong?" he asked innocently.

"Are you kidding?" Nami said angrily. "They didn't bother coming for eight years! And when they finally do…?!"

She couldn't finish, still so angry at the injustice of what those stupid Marines did. Acting on a tip from Arlong, they stole all the treasure she'd been hoarding to buy back her home… and not only that, but he destroyed her mother's tangerine grove and shot Nojiko. After all that she just couldn't stand the Marines…

She blinked before she sighed. Well, that wasn't entirely true… despite her general dislike toward them, she does have one exception. She just can't help but feel uncharacteristically safe around a female Marine—like she always felt safe whenever her mother was around. She supposed that's why she tries hard to avoid them… she can't help but let her guard down and that's not something she should risk.

Luffy watched after them for a while when he said to himself, "That pinwheel is so cool!"

Nami laughed, momentary forgetting her anger. "Of course he would say that!"

Soon, Luffy was leaning his back up against a tree and staring up at the sky with a thoughtful expression as Nami stared after Genzo and the Marines, already knowing just what was going to happen.

"What did they do to you to cause such anger, Nami-san?" Brook asked her concerned.

Her hands shaking a little in anger she explained that their stupid captain forced Genzo to take them up to her house and accused her of harboring illegal money and began destroying everything. When she tried to stop them when they found the money, she found out about how Genzo and the rest of Cocoyashi knew that she joined the Arlong Pirates so that she could save the village… that she made a deal to buy back the village at 100,000 beri. Genzo and the others couldn't believe that she abandoned them to join Arlong's crew and they pressed Nojiko to tell them the truth later and since then they had been supporting her in secret. The reason they never let her know that they were aware of this because they were afraid that she'd never leave if she thought they were placing their hopes on her. But when she tried to stop the Marines from taking the money, they shot Nojiko in the arm when she tried to protect her.

"DAMN THOSE BASTARDS TO HELL!" Sanji screamed out, furious that those Marines would hurt a woman like that.

Franky however was bawling once again and when they looked to him he yelled for them to just look away as Chopper sniffled—truly touched at what he heard. But Nami spent her time near Robin, glad for the one comforting arm around her shoulders.

"A pinwheel, huh?" whispered Luffy's voice and brought them back to the matter at hand. When they looked, he blinked before he suddenly smiled to himself. "I just thought of a new move."

"Oh, I remember that," Zoro said suddenly, suddenly getting what he was saying.

"What?" Robin asked, but he shook his head, silently letting her know that she'll see later. But all too soon there was a commotion not too far away and soon there was a gathering of people with the man called Genzo calling out for a doctor.

"Is that…?" Chopper said softly and Nami nodded angrily. Dashing over, he checked out Nojiko himself as the rest of them stayed farther back, not sure they want to see this.

"Genzo, what is it?" a man with a white coat and sunglasses yelled as he came running over and she stared at him as well.

"Nojiko's been shot," Genzo explained as he and Nami gently lowered a body to the ground and Sanji was now so angry that steam was coming out of his nose and fire was licking his lower legs. "HOW DARE THOSE SHITTY BASTARDS DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS?!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, now wishing that he beat those Marines up harder for this.

When Genzo explained, the villagers were all horrified.

"The marines!?" the doctor repeated in disbelief. As Luffy spotted Nami and got up to head towards her. Her face was hidden by her hair and she was shaking hard with her teeth grounded together. As they got nearer, her sister's head was laying in her lap and she was holding her very gently.

"Nojiko?" the doctor asked as he checked her.

"I… I'm alright," Nojiko whispered back through gritted teeth.

"Chopper?" Robin asked as he looked at her shoulder.

"It's hard to tell since I can't touch her," he said, suddenly grateful when the doctor pulled back her shirt a little so that they both can see the bullet hole. He sighed in relief, "It's alright… it's not as bad as it could've been—it doesn't look like it hit an artery. But she's bleeding a lot! If they can just stop that then she should be up on her feet in no time."

"While I know that, it's still good to hear," Nami said smiling, her heart beating loud at the thought of something truly terrible happening to her sister and her best friend.

"Arlong has been working with those damn marines," Genzo told them all and the doctor looked up at him in outrage. "He's been lying to Nami for the last eight years!" he explained, "He never intended to honor their agreement at all!"

"That Bastard!" a villager yelled out furiously; and soon there were shouts that were filled with anger and shock.

"Oh, no," a woman whispered, horrified at the thought, "That means…"

"That scoundrel, he lied to our Nami!" someone else shouted. But Nami just carefully moved Nojiko's head from her lap as she got up, her fingers curling into tight fists.

"Nami…?" the doctor whispered as she stood there.

"I can't begin to tell you what was going through my head right there," current Nami said softly, "But out of everything else… I was angry. I never once thought that Arlong would go back on his word… I mean," she added, and she was surprised at how calm her own voice was, "I think… a part of me always thought that something like this would happen… but I tried not to think about it."

Robin smiled gently and tighten her arm as Nami gave them all a smile. "I don't know why I ever believed him, but it all worked out in the end," she said. "That's all that matters."

"Nami, you're so cute when you're brave," Sanji sighed, almost falling over as he stared at her love struck.

"Hey Nami," Luffy greeted happily, waving as he came up behind her, "What's up? Need help with anything?"

Instead of answering she turned and glared at him so fiercely that the smile was wiped off his face. Her eyes weren't the cold ones she had seen before—they were full of rage that seemed to burn a hole in whatever she stared at.

"Why are you still here?" she screamed at him as she grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulled up to her face and continued to yell into his fearful face, "STAY OUT OF MY BUSINESS! JUST GET AWAY FROM OUR ISLAND!"

Tears were beginning to burn and she then threw him down to the ground as she went running off before she lost all control.

"Nami?" Usopp said worriedly.

"I just knew that if I stayed any longer I wouldn't be able to hold a straight face," she explained, remembering how she went to confront Arlong about this. "I wanted you all to leave… I didn't know… how to ask for help."

Shyly, Chopper hugged her leg and she smiled down at him as Luffy picked himself up from the ground and went towards a nearby tree and leaned up against it much like before. He was looking deeply annoyed as he muttered darkly, "What's her problem?" and here he sounded like a little boy would when faced with a girl on the playground who didn't want to play with him.

"Where did you go?" Brook asked her softly.

"I went back to Arlong and accused him of sending those corrupted Marines," she said darkly, "But he denied ever doing anything, he said that he never broke our deal and told me that if I wanted my village back I had to start over again from scratch."

"That soulless…!" Brook yelled furiously, unable to think of anything horrible enough to call him, just outraged that someone would do something like this.

"He's the worst villain yet!" Franky also yelled out.

"Don't worry, he's in prison now," she said firmly, "We don't need to worry about him anymore."

Luffy continued to lean against the tree as the other three crewmates arrived together—all of them were close together so that they could see what was going on, but out of the way so that they couldn't be seen.

Here, what looked like the entire village was out holding weapons—mostly things like clubs and homemade spears that were knives tied to staffs. There wasn't even a gun among them as they all gathered around, with Genzo cheering them on to take up arms.

"What's going on?" Chopper asked, though he already had a good idea to what was happening.

"The only reason they put up with him was because of Nami," Zoro answered, having stayed quiet the whole time as he watched the mob all gather in the square. But they weren't confident… he could see the sorrow in each of their eyes was similar to the mayor when he went running off to fight Buggy when he knew he didn't stand a chance of victory. But like him, these people were still willing to fight.

"Eight long years ago," Genzo told the townspeople, "We promised we wouldn't live our lives in vain! No matter the pain and humiliation we had to endure under Arlong, we swore we would fight the long fight so that Nami could meet their demands! BUT THEY LIED!" he shouted out, getting them all riled up, "They never intended to keep their end of the deal! Instead they stole our only chance at freedom! So now…" his eyes were bloodshot as he finally called out, "We should make those filthy Fishmen pay for the years they manipulated a kind young girl! Am I right?!"

"YEAH!" Chopper cried out with them, forgetting that he wasn't part of the mob.

"Yeah! Let's do this!" someone yelled out.

"We've always been ready to fight those monsters!" someone else yelled.

"Time to show those lousy, stinkin' Fishmen what we're made of!" more shouts came and they were all ready to go.

The past versions of the four Straw Hats were all watching calmly. They looked like they wanted to join in, but something seemed to be holding them back. But what that was became clear when they heard someone shouting for them to stop.

Looking up the road, they spotted Nami coming towards them with a big forced smile, but the present-day Straw Hats knew her well enough to see that she was fighting back tears as she came towards them, "Calm down! It's not that much money! I can make it back in no time! I'll take care of it! Don't worry!"

"You didn't really think that it would work did you?" Robin asked her softly. "He betrayed you once…?"

"I didn't know what else to do," she answered calmly, hating seeing this version of herself.

No one else said anything, though in truth, they had no idea to what they could say to her. But each one was feeling rage surge inside them at the thought of what Arlong had done. Each of them wanted to go to Arlong Park and turn that destroy that entire building before breaking Arlong's face until they're wasn't anything left.

"It'll be easy this time, I'm used to it! I'll be fine," past Nami said, still in that fake confident voice that fooled no one. "Just relax, it'll be okay. Hey, it's nothing compared to back then…" she came in front of them, "Come on everyone… I'm perfectly fine."

The Straw Hats each felt as if their insides were shriveling up at how hard she was trying. It was clear that she was still in denial—just trying to stop the people she loved so much from getting themselves killed.

But Genzo wasn't fooled as he walked to her and embraced her tightly. She stood there frozen as tears fell from his eyes. "You've done enough," he said softly but firmly. "You have to know that there's no point now. You've struggled so hard, carrying our lives on your back this whole time. I can only imagine that joining them must've been more painful than getting stabbed in the heart. You fought very well…"

Some of the Straw Hats felt tears forming in their eyes at those words. They couldn't imagine having the guts to work for someone who took someone they loved from them for all these years… alone. Usopp sniffled, feeling shame once again at the memory of how he was so close to wimping out and lying about fighting that stupid Fishman. He was proud that he stood up to fight and took him out… if it was for Nami, he knew he could've done it.

"It must've been so hard for you, Nami-san," Brook told her quietly.

"Genzo…" past Nami whispered in a broken voice as she also started to cry.

Genzo pulled away, his hand firmly on her shoulder before he said, "Set yourself free from this village."

Memory Nami looked horrified at those words and she cried out, unable to believe what he was saying, "Genzo!"

"Nami, do it!" Nojiko encouraged, now wearing a heavy bandage around her shoulder and arm.

"What? Nojiko!" Nami yelled as she looked around for some support, but it was clear from the rest of their faces that the entire town agreed.

Current Nami felt her heart being torn as she watched all the support that the town was giving her. They knew that they would've died if they went on their own, but the only thing they wanted from her was for her to be free. Like back then, she didn't know what she could say to that.

Nojiko gave her a brave look, no fear in her face as she said, "You're an exceptional young woman, and you have a dream."

"Everyone—listen!" past Nami yelled desperately, still trying to stop them. "I won't let you go!" and to some surprise, she pulled out a knife and pointed it at them with shaking hands. "Just stay right there! I'm not going to let anyone else get hurt by these monsters!" Her eyes were pleading as she told them, "You'll all die."

"But they can't sit back and not do anything anymore," Zoro informed her softly. "They let you fight on your own long enough. There's no more point of sitting back and not doing anything when they know that they have no intention of letting them or you go."

"Is it wrong to want them safe?" she asked angrily.

"No," he answered, "But you have to know when fighting's useless. If it were the other way around and it was Nojiko who had been forced to work for them all this time and they betrayed her, would you sit back and do nothing?"

She blinked hard, never thinking about that.

"Nami-san," Brook added gently, "There's only so much you can take before you have to stand up and do what you think is right. Everyone here is prepared to risk their lives. They can't take it anymore."

"We know that," Genzo told her as he grabbed hold of the knife and gripped it so hard that he was starting to bleed.

She looked startled at that as the doctor also spoke up in a grim way, "Nami, it's no use, we've made up our minds."

Still crying, she shook her head, not wanting to do it but Genzo wasn't taking no for an answer. "Get out of the way!" he finally yelled and she backed off, startled as he pulled out his sword and yelled to the people behind him, "MOVE OUT!"

"We may not win, but we will give 'em hell!" the doctor added, and without anyone showing any fear they charged off, past Nami, and heading towards Arlong Park. Memory Nami just stood there, not moving as they ran past her before the knife fell from her limp hand and she fell to her knees.

The current Nami remembered very well what she was thinking. Everything that she had done… all those years of suffering to keep anyone else from getting killed was all for nothing. Here, she had nothing left… she had finally given up and let her emotions out for the first time in years. She wasn't a strong woman here anymore… but a lost child whose village preferred to die than to let her suffer anymore.

Her past self was shaking as she glared at the mark on her arm and dug her nails into it so hard that it looked like she might've ripped her own skin off. Tears fell as she stared at it and her eyes widen as she finally snapped.

She hated that disgusting mark with so much loathing and detest and she couldn't stand to look at it anymore. And the tears of pure, uncovered feelings were smearing her face and falling fast as she grabbed the knife again and to some of the Straw Hat's horror, she began to stab her arm.

"NAMI STOP!" screamed out Chopper terrified.

But she couldn't hear him—and even if she could—there was no way that she would stop. With each stab with the knife she screamed out the venomous name of the pirate who robbed her of her family and her dreams… the one who had given her so much hopelessness and hatred. She kept going and probably would've gone on until she either bled to death, or simply severed her entire arm.

Nami watched herself the whole time with an empty expression; knowing that, at this point, she no longer cared what happened to her. She couldn't even remember feeling the pain of the knife because her insides were what were hurting her more than anything. Here, she had given up on everything… she couldn't see even the tiniest glimmer of hope… at least until…

Luffy had come over and grabbed hold of past Nami's wrist and stopped her from another stab. She didn't move for a second before she slowly turned to see who it was. Luffy's face was blank, his eyes hidden by the shadow of his hat… but also letting her know that he wasn't going to let her hurt herself like this anymore.

"Luffy…" she whispered softly as her hand went limp a second time and she seemed to lose all strength as she let the blood-soaked knife fall onto the road.

"I can't tell you how good it was to see him," Nami told them all quietly. "Even if I didn't think there was anything that he could do…"

"Did you honestly think that we could just stand back and not do anything after finding out everything?" Sanji told her firmly. "If we were allowed, we would've gone there and killed their asses before this happened!" He sighed, "But Luffy made us wait."

"Wait?" Chopper said in surprise.

"Because Nami didn't want him to help," Zoro answered, "Hard to say what he would've done at this point… he probably would've gone and dealt with Arlong even if you had said no, but I think he wanted to know that you wanted him to."

Nami nodded, "I know that… at least, now I do. I just… didn't know how to ask for help."

"What do you want?" past Nami demanded in a choked up voice, "You don't know anything about this. You don't know what has been happening on this island for the past eight years."

"Nope, I don't," Luffy answered honestly.

She was shaking as her hands gripped handfuls of dirt as she cried softly. "This has nothing to do with you!" she said louder, "I told you to leave this place!"

"Yep, you sure did," Luffy said, without any doubt.

"SO LEAVE!" Nami yelled as she threw a handful of dirt behind her. And with every word she threw more dirt, now desperate to get him to leave. "I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE! GET OUT OF HERE! GET OUT OF HERE NOW! GO! GO AWAY! GO! GO! GO!" But she finally ran out of steam and openly cried out, sobbing and no longer trying to hold herself back as she let out all the feelings she kept inside for those eight miserable years.

Luffy didn't react at all as he watched… just standing there as she finally said the words that he had been waiting to say. At the end of her rope, she whispered, "Luffy…?" she looked back, tears in her eyes, "help me…" she finally begged.

For a moment, Luffy didn't do anything. But then he silently took off his straw hat and placed it on her head, and for a moment the tears stopped flowing as he turned and walked a few steps away. "Of course," he answered, "That's what friends do."

He suddenly stopped and took a deep breath before he screamed out at the top of his lungs. "HE'S GONNA PPPPPPAAAAAAAYYYYYYY!"

His words echoed around them and they could all feel the determination in that tone. He was going to kick Arlong's ass even if it killed him.

"Luffy…" past Nami said, her hand to her face as the tears continued to fall again—only this time they were tears of happiness when she noticed the other three waiting for orders—all of them ready to fight.

"Let's go," Luffy ordered.

They all looked up.

"Right!" they said, and they left Nami there… not speaking a word to what they were going to do, but she didn't need it as she sobbed openly, her hand still on the straw hat.

Current Nami was also crying a little as she watched this and rubbed her eyes, even laughing a little. "I thought it was all over," she confessed, "I thought I lost everything and then you guys showed up. I never thought that…?"

She didn't finish, but they were all smiling at her, fully understanding as they joined the march towards Arlong Park. The four were all side by side as they walked along—no one speaking a word as they marched along the road. They were ready to fight for each other merely for the sake of defending a single friend.

The current Straw Hats watched them, the three who were with Luffy here felt their pride rise as they watched themselves match.

"Man," Franky whispered as they walked on for about ten minutes and they could just make out the building in the distance, "I wish that was me in there!"

"Me too!" Chopper declared, hating that they didn't get a chance to meet until after they got to the Grand Line.

"You're gonna love the show though," Sanji smirked as they got nearer to the gate. Thankfully, the villagers hadn't even made it past that point… Johnny and Yosaku were there—both looking severely beat up.

"What happened to them?" Robin asked, surprised to see them, and also realizing that this was the first time they'd seen them for awhile.

"They heard the whole thing about what Nami had to go through and wanted to help too, but they were no match for them," Zoro answered.

"I'm just glad they made it away alive," Nami answered. "I don't know why Arlong spared them… maybe he thought they weren't worth it."

"Either way, it's good to know that they were here, they stopped those people from getting killed," Usopp said as they all turned to see them coming towards them. The villagers seemed stunned that they were here to help as well as confused.

Looking now, they had reason… a small band of mismatched pirates coming out of nowhere to help them fight off their oppressors, seemingly without any reason? Robin smiled, knowing that it would be about time that these pirates got their dues for all the suffering they had caused.

When they neared them, Luffy told them all to step aside, and they parted almost at once without a word. Zoro smirked wider as they walked passed them all, as they stared in disbelief… it was worth it just to see the looks on their faces.

Johnny and Yosaku moved aside respectfully as they got to the door.

"Take them out Big Bro's!" Yosaku cheered on.

"Show them no mercy!" Johnny added, holding up a fist and grinning.

Luffy didn't even smile, as he cracked his knuckles and held up his own fist. "Oh, don't worry… I intend to."

Before they knew it, he pulled his fist back and punched the door enough times to make it seem as if a bomb went off as the front gate was smashed apart and exploded.

"Take him out Luffy!" current Usopp cheered on as Chopper was jumping up and down in excitement.

"THAT WAS ONE SUUUUPPPPPPEEEEEERRRRRR ENTRANCE!" Franky yelled, striking a pose, now eager to see this fight.

Through the rubble, they could see Fishmen of all shapes and types staring at them. It was almost a startling surprise to see them, thinking back to the battle on Fishman Island and the massive army they were up against. Though there were up nearly as much as back then, it was still just as important here.

Nami stared ahead and spotted him right away… he was the only one sitting down in the lawn chair, and looking just as she remembered. Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Arlong…" she whispered. She had grown so much stronger in just two years and a part of her wondered if she was now strong enough to have taken him on herself.

"So that's Arlong," Brook said, glaring angrily at him. Arlong was large and muscular… he was a light blue saw-shark Fishman and his nose proved that for its saw-like shape. His black hair sprouted from the back of his neck and reached down past his shoulders but they could also make out a shark's fin on his back, and the gills on both the sides of his neck. Sporting the tattoo of the Sun Pirates on the left side of his chest, and the identical mark that he had given Nami was on his arm.

His eyes were wide in shock as he looked at him. "What the…?"

"Bet they didn't see that coming," Franky laughed.

"Please," Zoro said, "They haven't seen anything yet."

"Now… which one of you is Arlong?" Luffy asked threateningly, holding up his fist and glaring at each one of them, daring them to speak.

The Fishmen all glared at him, all of them outraged that they had come here on their turf. Once the shock was over, Arlong leaned back in the chair, not believing that he was worth the trouble. "Arlong?" he repeated darkly, "Well, that just so happens that I'm Arlong."

Luffy walked to them, his head held up high and without a fear in the world as he marched in. Though they towered over them, they weren't any stronger than the Fishmen they fought before. However Arlong seemed to be different… he was calm and relaxed, but there was something dangerous in him that seemed to earn the respect of the rest of the crew. Not sure why he thought he deserved it…

"Good," Luffy said as he gave him an empty look, "I'm Luffy."

"Luffy?" Arlong repeated, obviously not recognizing the name, and clearly wondering just what he was doing here, "What are you supposed to be?"

"A pirate," Luffy answered bluntly.

Hachi, who was right next to Arlong looked surprised before he pointed wildly at him. "Nyuuu? Hey! That guy! Wait a sec, I remember him! He's the guy who likes to go on walks!"

"Really?" Sanji asked sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "What an idiot."

"Hold it right there," one of the Fishmen said as he and another attempted to cut Luffy off. "Where do you think you're going?"

"You wanna talk to the boss?" the other asked, "Well, you gotta talk to us first. Get it?"

They smirked evilly as they put their hands on his shoulders, but Luffy banged their heads together and knocked them out as he told them to all move it. The other Fishmen looked startled at that as he walked right up to Arlong.

"You're gonna love this part, Nami," Usopp promised, remember this and was eager to see it a second time.

"So what does a pirate want with me?" Arlong asked causally, though there was a hint of irritation in his tone.

Luffy stopped in front of Arlong. He glared at him for just a moment longer before he seized his wrist and threw it back; and by the time he swung it back, he suckerpunched Arlong so hard that he was launched from his chair and hit the ground, rolling over several times before was smashed through the wall.

Nami smiled, they had no idea how long she had waited to see that.

"THAT'S HOW YOU DO IT!" Chopper yelled joyfully with Brook as Robin smiled proudly.

Sanji nodded firmly. "I'm only sorry Luffy didn't hit him harder here."

"Be patient," Zoro reminded him as Arlong pushed himself from the rubble, everyone was staring—slack jaw—at Luffy.

"Who the hell are you?" Arlong demanded furiously.

Luffy's face was filled with nothing but fury, his face making look like some kind of monster as steam actually came out of his nose. "THAT'S FOR MAKING OUR NAVIGATOR CRY!" he yelled at him.

Those words made Nami feel warm inside. Luffy cannot forgive Arlong, not for all the suffering he had caused the villagers or for countless nameless people… but merely for making her cry...