Ch-44 "Smoker here. What do you need?"

"What's going on?!" Captain Nezumi's eyes widened, and he couldn't help but take a step back. However, he was accidentally tripped by a stone. Just when he was about to fall to the ground, a pair of hands held his shoulders.

"Are you okay, Captain Nezumi?"

Captain Nezumi regained his balance and looked at the man behind him.

"Who are you?"

"Oh, didn't Arlong tell you about my existence?" Li Fan looked at Captain Nezumi in surprise. "I was asked by Arlong to help you."

"I heard that there's a navy officer from the Navy Headquarters here. Arlong was worried that you wouldn't be able to handle her, so he asked me to assist you in dealing with her."

"After all, the navy from the Navy Headquarters is quite formidable."

As he spoke, Li Fan waved his hand, and the giant swords that had trapped the navy flew into the sky and floated behind Li Fan.

"Are these swords under your control?!" Captain Nezumi's eyes widened.

"That's right."

"Then why did you stop me just now?"

"Well, I thought that as a navy officer, it wouldn't be easy for you to take action against one of your own. So, I intervened." Li Fan shrugged. "After all, you and I both cooperate with Arlong. Perhaps I should worry less about your actions."

"You're right!" Captain Nezumi nodded. "Haha, Arlong is quite considerate. I've been working with him for many years, and he's finally doing some good things."

"By the way, what's your name? Thank you for coming to help me."

"My name is Li Fan. When you arrive in another world, please don't forget my name." Li Fan raised the corners of his mouth.

"Another world? What do you mean..."

*BOOM!*

Before Captain Nezumi could finish speaking, a long sword hanging in the air suddenly fell, pinning Captain Nezumi to the ground.

"Captain Nezumi!" The navy personnel's eyes widened, and they pointed their guns at Li Fan.

"I advise you to put down your guns, Navy," Li Fan raised his head. "I guarantee that the sword above your head will fall on you first before you can pull the trigger. Do you believe that?"

Hearing Li Fan's extremely threatening words and learning from Captain Nezumi's example, the marines began to tremble.

After following Captain Nezumi and cooperating with the pirates, they no longer had the unwavering will they once had to join the navy to save people and fight pirates.

When faced with the threat of death, fear and timidity were all that remained.

One navy officer dropped his gun, and the rest followed suit, as if a switch had been pressed.

"Well, this is how you should behave. Although you may face a military trial later, at least you'll have your lives," Li Fan nodded, walked up to Tashigi, and spoke into the den-den mushi in her hand:

"Do you agree, Smoker?"

It turned out that while Li Fan was talking to Captain Nezumi, Tashigi had already called Smoker.

The conversation between Li Fan and Captain Nezumi, including the part where Li Fan induced Captain Nezumi to admit his relationship with Arlong and the words Captain Nezumi himself said about their cooperative relationship, were clearly heard by Smoker.

"Tsk, are you a spy in the navy?" Smoker's unhappy voice emerged from the bug. "Li Fan, you can eliminate that treacherous colonel, but I hope you leave the other navy personnel to our Navy for handling."

"Afterward, I'll contact the nearby naval branch to take them into custody."

"No problem, then I'll leave this matter to you. But you should act swiftly. If the local villagers want to take matters into their own hands, I won't intervene," Li Fan said with a smile.

"As long as I'm not beaten to death, I'm fine with that. Tashigi, since you're on-site, you should also assist with this matter."

"Yes, Captain Smoker!" Dasqi replied.

"By the way, Smoker, please instruct the navy to retrieve the bounty on pirate Arlong for me. Twenty million beli, don't leave a single penny behind."

"Understood."

As soon as he finished speaking, the call was ended.

"It seems that Smoker is quite displeased," Li Fan shook his head. "Tashigi, for now, I'll leave these navy personnel to you."

"Understood, Li Fan." Tashigi nodded and then walked toward Nami, who was not far away. "I'm sorry, Miss Nami, this place has suffered so much due to the navy's mistakes."

"Don't blame yourself, Tashigi. It's not your fault," Nami waved her hand. "And I want to thank you for standing up to that Captain Nezumi on my behalf earlier."

"As a navy, it's my duty," Tashigi shook her head and looked at the shaken navy personnel nearby. "You all, please follow me for now. Take Captain Nezumi with you."

Hearing this, the navy personnel, aware of the gravity of their actions, reluctantly obeyed Tashigi's orders, took Captain Nezumi's body, and left Nami's yard.

"So, Nami, should we have a celebration?" Li Fan patted Nami on the shoulder. "To commemorate the liberation of Cocoyasi Village."

"Yes, it's definitely time for a celebration!" Genzo, the Sheriff of Cocoyasi Village, entered the yard. "Nami, I've already heard about the Arlong Pirates."

"Everyone is sharing this good news, and preparations for the celebration are in full swing."

"Nami, you've worked hard all these years."

"For all these years, I've been doing it for all of us."

After hearing Genzo's words, someone Nami greatly respected, tears welled up in her eyes.

"Really, Genzo, don't make Nami cry," Nojiko placed his hand on Nami's shoulder. "Today is a joyous day, let's all smile."

"You're right, look at me, I start blabbering when I get emotional." Genzo shook his head and then looked at Li Fan, who was standing beside Nami. "Is this gentleman the one who defeated Arlong?"

"Thank you so much. If you can, please join us for our celebration."

"Of course," Li Fan nodded and turned to Alice and the others. "Everyone, let's go together."

"Oh, yes!"

The group cheered and left the yard.

"Hey, I said, don't forget about me, I'm still hanging here." Zoro's voice echoed from the beam.

...