Betrayal

---

Nojiko couldn't believe the scene in front of her. She was curious about the man who had defeated the fish-man with a single finger. "Who are you?"

"I'm Elian, Nami's friend. And you?" Elian responded, thinking, 'Damn! A beauty, just like Nami. She's beautiful, and her figure is even more impressive than Nami's.'

"Nami's friend? But I've never seen you here before. I'm Nojiko, Nami's older sister."

"Oh, you're Nojiko. Nami told me a lot about you, and you're even more beautiful than she described."

Nojiko blushed at his compliment, surprised by how strong he was and curious about his background. She had never heard of him before, so he was probably not a pirate.

"Don't exaggerate. I'm more impressed by your strength. How did you kill that fish-man with just one finger?" Nojiko asked.

"I'm not exaggerating; you are really beautiful. As for how I defeated him, that's a secret," Elian replied, then added, "But if you're willing to join my crew, I'll tell you and even teach you."

"Crew?" Nojiko was confused but realized what he meant. "W-wait, don't tell me, you're a pirate?" Nojiko asked anxiously.

Her village couldn't handle a single pirate crew, and she couldn't imagine what would happen if another powerful pirate caused trouble.

Elian understood her reaction, knowing that Arlong had taken over the village and killed Bellemere when she was a child. It was understandable that she feared pirates.

"Don't worry, I'm not a pirate yet. I'm still gathering members for my crew. I'm not like Arlong— not all pirates are the same," he reassured her.

Nojiko breathed a sigh of relief. 'If he's really Nami's friend, then he's probably not lying.'

She looked around and said, "Let's move from here. Even if you're strong, you won't be able to handle dozens of fish-men at once."

Elian nodded and followed her as Nojiko led him to her tangerine farm.

——————

Meanwhile, Nami had just left Arlong Park after talking with Arlong. She had told him what Elian instructed her to say.

But Arlong didn't say anything suspicious. 'Is Arlong really going to break our deal? He didn't react when I mentioned the 100 million berries.'

Nami thought maybe Elian was mistaken since he didn't know much about her village or Arlong.

She headed to her house to check on the money she had saved over the years. When she reached her house, she started digging in the spot where she had hidden the money. But it was all still there.

After confirming that nothing was missing, she filled the hole back up and sighed in relief. Just as she was relaxing, she heard footsteps behind her. Turning around, she saw Genzo and several marines approaching.

"Genzo and the Navy?"

——————

"Why do you want to become a pirate, Elian?" Nojiko asked as they walked toward her house, eager to learn more about him.

"Of course, it's because I'll have the freedom to do anything as a pirate."

"I mean, with your strength, you could become a high-ranking Marine."

"Why? Do you associate the Marines with righteousness? Have you ever wondered why the Navy hasn't helped your village despite Arlong's tyranny?"

"W-well, t-that's because Arlong is too strong, maybe." Nojiko understood what Elian was implying but was reluctant to admit it since Bellemere had also been a Marine.

As they reached Nojiko's house, they saw Nami fighting against the Navy.

"Nami! Stop!" Nojiko ran toward Nami, guessing what might have caused the fight between them.

Nami ignored her and tried to confront Captain Nezumi, who pointed a gun at her. Nezumi pulled the trigger just as Nojiko pushed Nami out of the way, expecting to take the bullet herself.

Clank!!

But Just before Nezumi fired, Elian used "Soru" (Flash Step) to intercept the bullet and used "Tekkai" (Iron Body) to minimize the injuries he might get from the bullet.

"Ahhrgh!"

"What!? Does he have Devil Fruit powers?" Nezumi was shocked, as Devil Fruits were exotic fruits which grants strange and unreal powers to whoever eats it.

"Elian!!"

Nami and Nojiko checked Elian's body for injuries but found nothing.

"Don't worry, I'm fine, though it hurts," Elian said, though he was internally scared. 'Fuck! I might have been seriously injured if I was even a second late.'

Nezumi aimed his gun at Elian, planning to kill him before he could use his abilities again.

Elian noticed and quickly used Flash Step again, appearing next to Nezumi and knocking the gun from his hand. He then used Finger Gun to pierce Nezumi's heart.

"Y-you!! K-kill… him…" Nezumi murmured, ordering his subordinates to kill Elian.

The other marines hesitated, unsure about attacking someone strong enough to kill their captain.

Elian didn't wait and swiftly eliminated all the other marines except one. He felt no remorse for killing them; they could have reported Nezumi's actions but chose to stay silent and even helped him.

He left one alive to report his actions to the Navy, so he could get a bounty for a certain reason.

The last marine fled with his full speed; seeing that the mysterious man isn't coming to kill him .

Nami, Nojiko, and Genzo were shocked, unable to believe that one man had defeated several marines and a captain.

"You didn't have to make the Navy your enemy for us. Why did you do that?" Even though Nami was upset, she was grateful for his intervention.

"I'm going to be a pirate anyway, so it doesn't matter if the Navy comes after me," Elian replied while cleaning his finger with a dead marine's clothes.

He then rested on the ground, exhausted from using his skills continuously, especially the stamina-draining Flash Step.

[Congratulations on performing your first act of evil. 10x bonus for a first-time act.

You killed 10 ensigns!!

+10 coins x 10

You killed a Marine captain!!

+5 coins x 10 ]

'What? Why did I get so few coins compared to last time?' Elian wondered. Last time, he had received 62 coins for obtaining 6 million berries.

Another screen appeared in front of him.

[Coin distribution depends on your overall power. At the time, when you received 6.2 million berries, you were much weaker than you are now.

Overall power includes wealth, influence, and combat abilities.]

'Oh, what a bummer.'