KRRR-SCRUNCH! Silas's battered ship nudged Cocoyasi Village's rickety dock, its patched timbers MOANING! like a Sea King with a bellyache. The East Blue's waves SLOSH-CRASHED! against the shore, a restless beast under a sky smeared with twilight's angry reds. The village hunched before them, a broken mosaic of crumbling shacks and wilted palms, its air thick with fear, like salt-soaked despair. Arlong's jagged, saw-toothed flag sneered from a distant tower, a tyrant's grin lording over the island's soul. The Straw Hats leapt onto the dock, boots THUMP-THUMP! ringing like war drums, their faces a kaleidoscope of shock, fury, and resolve as the village's misery hit like a cannon blast.
The dock wobbled, planks WHINING! like a spooked gull, as the crew stormed ashore, Silas's ship bobbing behind like a scrappy fighter catching its breath. Cocoyasi sprawled, its streets choked with dust and dread, houses sagging like defeated warriors. Shattered shutters dangled like broken teeth, and Arlong's scrawled tribute demands—Pay or Perish!—scarred every wall. Villagers peered from shadows, eyes wide as startled fish, scurrying back with GASPS! at the sight of swords, guns, and a certain straw hat. A kid tripped, basket CRASHING!, and bolted, his mother hissing, "Pirates! They're with him!"
Luffy tilted his straw hat, grin sharp as a cutlass but eyes squinting at the village's gloom. "This place looks like it forgot how to smile! Where's Nami? Let's go smash that Arlong jerk!" His voice BOOMED!, a sunburst cracking the silence, fists PUMP-PUMP! ready to rearrange a Fishman's face.
Zoro, bandages SQUEAK-CRACK! hugging his chest, leaned on his katana, pain etching his grimace. "Tch, this town's a graveyard without corpses. Fishmen did this?" His swords glinted, Mihawk's slash a throbbing goad, his blood itching for a brawl.
Sanji sparked his cigarette, FWOOM!, its glow a rebellious flare. "This dump's no place for Nami-lady's radiance! I'll kick those Fishmen to the moon for her!" His suit gleamed, but his voice quaked with a knight's rage, eyes scouring for his orange-haired muse.
Usopp, knees SHIVER-SHIVER-SHIVER!, gripped his slingshot, voice wobbling like jelly. "T-T-This place is a death trap! Those flags! We're chum for Fishman jaws!" His eyes bugged out, already picturing himself filleted.
Silas, crimson locks blazing like a dune fire, scanned the village with a gunslinger's glare. His tattoos throbbed, a vow igniting as he clocked the devastation. "Seen ports crushed like this—tyrants sucking 'em dry. Arlong's got hell to pay." His fingers brushed his flintlock, mind tallying defenses, heart roaring for the downtrodden.
Johnny and Yosaku, bandanas flapping like war pennants, stepped up, blades flashing. "Big brothers, this is Cocoyasi. Arlong's got these folks quaking," Johnny said, shades glinting with grit. Yosaku nodded, "We gotta show 'em we're not his goons!" Their voices carried a guide's fire, ready to bridge the fear.
The crew pushed into the village, boots CRUNCH-CRUNCH! on gravel, the air heavy as a storm's belly. Villagers shrank back, doors BANGING! shut, their whispers a frantic chant: "More pirates! They'll bleed us too!" A grizzled man with a scarred mug—Genzo, the village's battle-worn sheriff—blocked their path, hand on a chipped sword, eyes hard as barnacles. "Who're you lot? If you're Arlong's sharks, you'll get no berries from us!"
Johnny waved his hands, shades sparkling. "Hold it, big brother Genzo! We're not with that fish-faced thug! We're here for Nami!" Yosaku nodded, blade sheathed. "These are the Straw Hats—Nami's crew!" Their eager grins cracked the tension, villagers peeking out, hope flickering like a match in a squall.
Genzo's glare eased, but his voice stayed jagged. "Nami? She's Arlong's now. Sold us out for his coin." His words stabbed, laced with betrayal, and the crew froze, jaws dropping. A woman nearby, clutching a tattered shawl, murmured, "She was our sunrise… now she's his shadow."
Luffy's grin vanished, fists CLENCH-CLENCH! "Nami's our nakama! She'd never sell out!" His shout scattered gulls, SKREE!, shaking the air. Sanji's cigarette flared, eyes blazing like twin stars. "Nami-lady, a traitor?! You don't know her soul!" Zoro grunted, "There's more to this. Talk, old man." Usopp, SHIVER-SHIVER!, stammered, "M-Maybe she's brainwashed?!"
Silas's eyes sharpened, tattoos pulsing like a desert storm. Betrayal? Or a deeper play? He leaned toward Genzo, voice low as a blade's edge. "What's Arlong's hold? This tribute—what's it cost them?" Genzo's shoulders slumped. "Arlong demands 100,000 berries a head, every month. Can't pay, you're fish food. Nami… she steals for him, they say."
The crew's fury ignited, a spark ready to blaze. Johnny and Yosaku balled their fists, "That ain't Nami's heart!" Luffy's hat shadowed his eyes, voice iron. "We're ending this. Nami's coming home."
The crew wove through the village, streets twisting like a broken spine, every corner scarred by Arlong's claws. Smashed boats littered the shore, CRACK-CRUNCH! underfoot, nets torn like abandoned dreams. Arlong's jagged flags flapped SMACK-SMACK!, vultures circling a dying town. Kids hid behind barrels, eyes hollow as empty shells, while elders whispered of "collection days" when Fishmen came to pillage.
Genzo guided them to a ramshackle clinic, where Dr. Nako, a weathered healer with a heart like a lighthouse, stitched a girl's arm, THREAD-ZIP! "Arlong's goons did this," Nako growled, "for 'talking back.' They break more than flesh." His eyes met the crew's, heavy with defiance. "Nami used to sneak us medicine… then she joined him."
Sanji's cigarette fell, SIZZLE! on the dirt. "Nami-lady, serving those beasts?! Never!" His voice cracked, a knight's heart fracturing. Zoro, propped against a wall, grunted, "Spit it out, doc. What's her game?" His bandages SQUEAK-CRACK!, pain a dull drum, but his eyes burned for truth.
Usopp, SHIVER-SHIVER-SHIVER!, puffed up, "M-Maybe she's a secret hero! Captain Usopp's seen such plots!" His boast fizzled as a villager scowled, mistaking him for a loudmouth. Luffy, fists tight, muttered, "Nami's not bad. I know it." Silas, eyeing the clinic's bare shelves, felt his tattoos flare. "This is a prison, not a town. What's Nami's role?" His voice was steady, but his flintlock hand twitched, itching for justice.
Nako sighed, "Nami was our spark. Raised by Bell-mère, a Marine with fire in her veins. She took Nami in, loved her like her own." Genzo's eyes softened, "Arlong came ten years back. Killed Bell-mère for standing tall. Demanded tribute—100,000 berries a soul. Nami, just a kid, struck a deal: steal for him to buy Cocoyasi's freedom. 100 million berries, her price for us."
The crew's jaws hit the floor, the truth a tidal surge. Luffy's grin flared, wild. "Nami's saving you all! She's the best!" Sanji's eyes glistened, "My Nami-lady, bearing that alone? I'll crush Arlong for her!" Zoro smirked, "That's some nerve. Let's slice her free." Usopp wailed, "100 MILLION?! We're broke!" Silas's tattoos roared, his mother's sacrifice echoing. She's giving everything, like Ma. We'll break this cage.
Silas strode through the village, crimson locks flashing like a blood-red comet, his sharpshooter's eye drinking in every detail. The shattered homes, the cowering faces—they mirrored towns he'd seen gutted by despots, their spirits crushed like sand under boots. His tattoos throbbed, a vow to protect surging like a desert gale. Arlong's flags, snapping WHAP-WHAP!, were a demon's brand, no different from the slavers he'd shot down in dusty ports. These folks aren't living—they're surviving.
His fingers grazed his flintlock, mind racing like a storm. Fishmen are strong, but bullets don't care. How many guards? Where's their stronghold? His mother's words—"Be the blade and gun"—rang clear, tying him to this fight. Nami's deal, her sacrifice for her people, struck deep. She's fighting for them, like Ma fought for me. His heart blazed, not just for Luffy's radiant dream but for these broken souls, their hope fading like a storm-ravaged sail.
He caught a boy's eye, the kid clutching a splintered toy boat, trembling. Silas crouched, voice soft as a breeze. "We're not here to hurt you, kid. We're here for Nami." The boy froze, then nodded, a spark of trust flickering. Silas stood, tattoos burning like a forge. I'll shoot this tyranny down. For him. For her.