Chapter 19

"Genzo-san!!" One villager of the Cocoyasi village shouted, "A marine ship is docked at the shore!!!"

Upon the shout, Genzo and many others quickly ran to the said shore. Indeed, there was one huge marine ship situated, and...

"16th branch...!" Genzo, reading the number written on the ship, grimaced, "Could they have come to investigate...? What about that other ship from 77th branch before?"

From the ship exited the familiar face, Marine Captain Nezumi. Genzo clearly recalled years ago when Yanric blatantly punched the man on the face and knocked him out. Nezumi was so terrified of Yanric, such that not even a bounty was placed on him... but now, Yanric was dead.

"Chichichichi... long time no see, Cocoyasi. As you already are aware of, I am Captain Nezumi of the Marine 16th Branch." Nezumi made a dark smile, "Bring me the current mayor."

Genzo adjusted his cap and took steps forward. As Nezumi flinched from Genzo's scary visage—filled with patchworks all over—Genzo spoke, "That will be me. What is it that you want, captain?"

"Guide me to the house that belongs to the girl named Nami!"

"...Nami?"

Genzo immediately turned around, concealing his frown from the sight of Nezumi and his subordinate marines. Without any word, he then began walking—as slowly as he could—which the marines followed.

"Has Nami done something wrong...?"

The villagers whispered in concern,

"It'll be alright... probably. Nami is technically one of the Arlong pirates, one whom not even the marines can dare to touch."

Genzo, still walking, thought, '...What business do marines have with Nami?'

__________

"...Still the same, huh," Remarked Rowan as he looked around his wooden house from the outside, "at least those fish left this one intact."

Opening the door, he walked in and took in a deep breath—before coughing from the dust that has been piling up for the past two years.

"Cough, cough, wow—cough, amazing." Opening all windows and doors, Rowan took out a broom and swung it around, trying to expel as much dust as he could. Next, he dropped the broom, grabbed a dusty bucket, and quickly ran to the shore nearby, washing it and filling it up with the sea water. Returning back, he soaked a dusty towel and began cleaning the pictures of his mother, and father also—one that he placed 2 years ago.

"My bad, you two," Rowan mumbled, "This trip around wasn't an easy one. I left this place for quite a long time, didn't I." Looking to the side, Rowan gazed at the dusty black coat hanging around, before grabbing that one, bringing it to the outside, and shaking the dust off.

"There, much better."

This black coat was the one his mother used to wear in the past. Being the only thing of significance that his parents left him, Rowan felt a particular attachment to it; he would wash it, iron it, and do whatever he knew of to keep it in the utmost condition.

But for now, Rowan felt tired. Placing the coat down on a nearby grass, Rowan lied next to it and closed his eyes—with the golden sunset by the side. Easing his mind, Rowan focused on the chirping sounds of birds, the rustles of other animals, and the way the wind breezed on the grass.

And like that, he stayed still. There was no thought but rest only. His breathing was light and slow, and his face was peaceful. With the operation of newly awakened Observation Haki, Rowan, to some extent, felt as if he has become one with nature.

'...Many things happened.'

Said Rowan in his mind, to no one in particular,

'I came across the guy whose skin was as tough as a fish-man. He also had a devil fruit—he was the first devil user that I faced, actually. And I almost died there... I still don't understand how I managed to win that. A miracle, really.'

'Then, I had to fight against the five thousands. Cannonballs and bullets flew everywhere, and that also... now that I reflect upon it, my victory does seem quite miraculous. And also...'

Rowan, as someone who's died once before, believed that his parents couldn't hear him. However, nature surely does, he thought.

And so, it seemed that this peaceful atmosphere was going to remain for some more, until,

"ROWAN!!!"

One villager with a thick mustache came in running, with urgency written all over his face.

Rowan opened his eyes as the villager came to a stop in front of him.

"...What is it, Sam?"

Sam, that was the name of this man. He was usually drunk on almost all occasions, but currently, he seemed sober.

"Marines!! That dude Nezumi and the others!!" Sam exclaimed, "They've arrived out of nowhere!! And they're heading to Nami and Nojiko's house!!"

Rowan stayed in a lying position, silently listening to Sam's words. Then, he chuckled,

"...Of course. Vahaha... of course they would."

"Shouldn't you go and help them out?! T-they are the marines, but I have a bad feeling about this!!" Sam pulled on his hair out of frustration, "Ugh, if they find out that Nami is officially a part of the Arlong pirates—"

"They likely know already." Said Rowan, which invoked a feeling of shock in Sam.

"E-eh?!"

"Arlong values Nami more than you think. No harm will be inflicted on her or the others." Rowan closed his eyes back, "Go back. I'm not moving until tomorrow."

"What do you mean by that?!!"

"I meant exactly what I said." Rowan's tone lowered, expressing annoyance, "Get out and leave me alone."

Upon the black-haired teen's refusal, there was nothing that Sam could do but move out.

__________

"Nojiko! Nami! Nezumi and his marines are coming here, for a reason unknown!" One villager said in the midst of his huffs, "Huff... huff... Genzo-san is going as slowly as he can, but they will be here in minutes!"

Nami, briefly gazing at the sac of money—containing 80 million Beli—that she quickly hid under the bed before the villager barged in, replied coldly, "...And so what? I am a pirate. Isn't it natural for marines to come after me?"

"I mean—" The villager was about to say something, however, stopped in realization, "...oh, right. You don't know..."

Nami narrowed her eyes, "Don't know what?" However, she didn't have time to get an answer as Nojiko pushed her into the bedroom,

"Stay here and don't come out, Nami!" Nojiko stated firmly, "I'll deal with them, okay—ah!"

Nami, yanking Nojiko back, walked up to the door solemnly, "No. This is my business, Nojiko."

As the villager and Nojiko watched Nami with concern, Nami walked out and faced the marines who were now viewable by bare sight.

"Chichichichi..." Nezumi, with his hands held together behind his back, came to a stop upon seeing Nami. Nami saw that next to Nezumi was Genzo, who covered his eyes by lowering his hat.

"I am Captain Nezumi of the Marine 16th Branch." Nezumi forced an unnatural smile on his face, "An orange-coloured hair... you must be Nami, the criminal."

It wasn't a normal scene to look at, with the Marine Captain calling a 12-year-old girl a criminal.

"Well..." Nami crossed her arms, and put out a strong front, "I guess that's true considering that I am a pirate. But if you are aware of this much, then you probably know that I am an executive of the Arlong pirates." Nami stated coldly, "You should be aware that if something happens to me, Arlong won't sit still... and so, what do you want from me?"

"Hm? Chichichi, I have no idea what you're talking about. You're a pirate? The information I received mentioned no such thing."

Nezumi's eyes then headed to Nami's back, to the house,

"No need to worry. We're not here to hurt you. I've simply received reports on your thievery."

Under Nami's watch, Nezumi began to walk forward. Nami's body tensed up, ready to retaliate at any moment. Genzo, who was standing among the marines, looked at Nezumi and his surroundings with caution, thinking that he'll act should any hostility is detected.

"From what I've heard, you steal treasures from pirates. Since your victims were pirates, we have no intention of laying any strong charges against you, however..." Nezumi's smile widened, "a thief is a thief, and a crime is a crime. It's only natural that stolen goods of criminals return to the government, so that they can be returned to their rightful owners."

With this statement, Nami couldn't keep her poker face up any longer. Expressing panic, Nami gritted her teeth, "So what?!"

"I'm telling you to hand over all your stolen goods to us, this instant...!" Nezumi then ordered,

"Search her house!!"

The marines moved at the next moment, breaking the door open and rudely running into the house. Nojiko and the other villager jolted up in surprise as the marines swarmed in.

"HEY!!" Nojiko cried in panic, "You can't just enter other people's homes without permission!" But her words had no effect on the marines.

Seething in anger, Nami glared at Nezumi in contempt, "What's the meaning of this?! Don't you all have something more important to take care of?!!"

The glasswares shattered, mikan fruits were spilled out and stepped on top of, and the furnitures were knocked down—the marines were simply messing up the house like pirates do.

"The Arlong pirates are going around, killing people and destroying villagers on this island!!! You know that already, don't you?!!!" Nami screamed, "All the people on this island are slaves under their rule!!! Yet you ignore that crisis and instead decide to confiscate the stolen goods of one petty thief?!!! IS THAT HOW THE GOVERNMENT PRIORITIZES THINGS?!!!"

"Chichichi... criminals shouldn't speak so high-handedly, little girl." Completely unbothered by Nami's heartfelt cry, Nezumi's eyes then sparkled as he saw the marines exiting with a large sac.

"Is that...?"

"It's a lot of money, sir!"

Upon Nezumi's excited whisper, one marine saluted, "From what we've counted, this amounts up to 80 million approximately!"

Nezumi frowned, "...80 million? But—"

"HEY!!!" Nojiko and the villager, meanwhile, were thrashing, trying to get the restraining marines off of her.

"NO!!" Nami immediately reacted upon sighting the sac, grabbing a nearby wooden stick and slamming it on the sac-holding marine,

Bam!

"I'LL NEVER HAND OVER MY MONEY TO THE LIKES OF YOU!!!" Nami gritted her teeth as the affected marine fell down and held his swollen cheek in pain, "That money is—"

"That money is for the sake of every villager here in Cocoyasi village!!!"

Nami froze up as Genzo voiced up, causing Nezumi to turn and gaze at the sheriff,

"For years, a girl as young as her sailed out to the harsh sea, trying all that she can do to collect that money!!! Even if you're marines... do you think you have the right to take that money away?!!!"

"Hm..." However, Nezumi didn't seem to have heard what Genzo said, supposedly rubbing his chin in thought. Nami on the other hand,

"...Genzo-san...? How... did you know that...?"

mumbled as she stood still, replaying what Genzo just stated in her mind.

"I knew it all along, Nami." Genzo adjusted his hat once more, "Back then, we couldn't believe what you did... so we forced Nojiko to tell us the truth. Everyone in the village knew all along." Looking at Nami, Genzo said solemnly, "...But we feared that if Rowan and you knew that we knew, our hopes would pressure you into staying—if you ever wanted to run away from it all. Therefore, we pretended not to know."

"W... hat."

Nami felt a headache. Her world was spinning, and she couldn't help but sweat profusely from the current circumstance. Her body trembled, and she felt cold for some reason. Placing her arms around her body and hugging herself, she tried to calm herself down. And then,

"80... 80 million." Nezumi called to his marines, "Search again! There must be more—100 million in total!"

Nami, Genzo, Nojiko, and the other nearby villagers—they all found themselves caught off guard by Nezumi's words.

"W-what?!" Genzo said in confusion, "How could you possibly know how much there is?!!"

Nezumi, realizing that he slipped off, turned his head the other way, "...Hm? My guess, that's all."

'...100 million.'

Nami's mind immediately thought,

<Arlong won't keep the promise.>

'D-don't tell me...'

Nami shouted, "WAS THIS ARLONG'S IDEA?!!"

"I wouldn't go that far..." Nezumi smirked, "As workers of the World Government, we're only doing our natural duty of persecuting thieves, chichichi..."

"Why you corrupt bastards...!!!" Genzo huffed, unable to control his emotion. He glared at Nezumi with bloodshot eyes, about to jump out. However, before he could do so, he had to catch Nojiko who was brutally thrown his way, and as he fell to the ground with Nojiko, Nezumi turned away from Nami,

"They're hindering the search... take them away from here."

"""Yes, sir!"""

The marines simultaneously raised up their firearms at the villagers, ready to shoot at any moment. And in such a threat, there was nothing that the unarmed villagers could do... but retreat.

"Nami! Where are you going?!"

Meanwhile, Nami was found running to where the Arlong Park lied. The villagers called her out, but she, currently engulfed by hatred for the saw-nosed fish-man, didn't respond.

<...Then how about this?>

'Arlong, Arlong, ARLONG...!!!'

<100 million Beli. If you get it, we'll allow you to buy this village from us. But in return, you have to join our crew and serve as our cartographer!>

<And so, what do you think of our deal, Nami?>

"ARLONG!!!!!"

Nami roared as she walked into the Arlong Park, where Arlong was found, lying on his lounge chair, chuckling as he sighted Nami.

"Shahaha... what's wrong, my talented and tiny cartographer? Your face seems rather flushed."

"The marines you've got working for you... JUST CAME TO STEAL MY MONEY!!!"

Nami grabbed on Arlong's collar, having forgotten fear due to her rage, and shouted directly to the fish-man's face,

"WHAT'S THE MEANING OF THIS?!!! DIDN'T YOU PROMISE?!!! DIDN'T YOU SAY YOU'D RATHER DIE THAN BREAK A PROMISE INVOLVING MONEY?!!!"

"What?" Arlong raised his eyebrow, with the smile erased from his visage, "When did I even break it? When did you bring the money to us?"

"DON'T PLAY DUMB WITH ME!!! YOU ORDERED THOSE MARINES TO STEAL MY—"

Nami couldn't finish her words, with Arlong having grabbed her by the face. Arlong growled,

"When exactly did I ever break our promise? Please tell me, Nami..."

Then, the corners of Arlong's mouth wiggled, before he exploded in a loud laughter,

"SHAHAHAHA!!!"

And it was no different for the other fish-men, laughing at Nami's miserable state in a mix of mockery and amusement.

From this, Nami realized... that Arlong will never keep his promise. Even if she were to collect the 100 million for the second time, the same thing will happen, and... she will forever be bound to these pirates as a slave.

'Curse you...'

In the end, there was nothing she could do but glare at Arlong with hate-filled tears,

'Curse you... CURSE YOU ARLONG!!!!!'

__________

Late into the night, a bright full moon sat above the night sky. As an owl freely in the dark, on the coast of the Cocoyasi village, the marines of the 16th Branch were carrying two sacs of money to their ship.

"125 million... chichichichi... amazing...!" Nezumi, looking at two sacs and licking his lips, ordered to his subordinates, "We've finished our business here! Get the money in, and we're moving out!"

"...Moving out?"

Then, a voice muttered from the dark, causing Nezumi and his marines to turn to the direction where it came from.

"With my hard-earned money?"

There was one black-haired teen, sitting on a rock and gazing down at them with his legs crossed. Though his eyes are charcoal black in colour, in Nezumi's perspective, they seemed to be glowing crimson red.

Then, the teen exclaimed, "Nah... no way you're doing that."

"...Who are you?" Nezumi asked coldly. In correspondence, the marines raised their guns up, "Are you somehow related to that Nami girl?"

Not bothering to answer Nezumi's question, the teen, Rowan, asked instead,

"What time is it?"

Nezumi frowned in annoyance, but read his watch by squinting his eyes and replied as he looked back up, "...Exactly 12 am. What about it?"

"Good." Rowan stood up from the rock and cracked his neck casually, "I've kept my side of the promise."

Then, he vanished from the eyes of all marines,

Swoosh!

before Nezumi had the blood splatter all over his face. Stiffening up and slowly turning his head to the side, Nezumi found Rowan standing in front of one marine with his knife directly driven into the latter's skull.

"A-ah? Y-You are...!!!"

And upon taking a closer look, Nezumi cried in realization,

"Y-Y-YANRIC—"

BOOM!

A fist smashed Nezumi's face, crushing the mouse-like man's nose instantly.