Six days after leaving Baratie.
Ray and the others were about to reach Cocoyashi Village.
The crew was gathered around the dining table, enjoying the lunch Sanji had prepared.
Meat, fish, and big bones—Luffy was stuffing his face, grease smeared all over.
The others were long used to Luffy's eating habits.
Sanji, lost in his usual lovesick daze, muttered to himself.
"I wonder what Nami-san's hometown is like? It must smell amazing."
Usopp shot him a disgusted look.
"What kind of connection is there between those two sentences?"
Nami, however, smiled faintly—her mood seemed much better today.
She turned to Ray.
"Will you let me be the one to finish off Arlong?"
"Sure." Ray answered without hesitation.
Zoro, sitting beside Ray, took a big swig of sake, his lips curling in anticipation.
"I heard fish-men are pretty strong. Wonder if any of them are swordsmen."
Ray thought for a moment before replying, "If you fight any swordsmen here, you're only allowed to use one sword."
Zoro scoffed at that. "Tch, now you've killed my interest."
Johnny and Yosaku chimed in, "Big bro, you only have one sword left anyway."
...
Just as everyone was enjoying their meal, Chochou suddenly started barking at something outside.
With a quick scan, Ray immediately understood the situation.
A massive sea beast had blocked the Going Merry's path.
The crew stepped out of the galley and saw a gigantic sea cow—its head alone was as big as the ship.
The sea cow roared at the crew, its jagged teeth bared, unleashing a wave of foul breath straight at them.
The horrifying sight sent Usopp, Nami, Johnny, and Yosaku into a panic, clinging to each other while fighting back nausea.
Sanji, seeing the four of them huddled together, instantly erupted in rage, veins nearly popping on his forehead.
"Bastards! Who said you could hug Nami-san?!"
With that, he kicked each of the three men away.
After dealing with them, Sanji lit a cigarette and eyed the sea cow.
"What's this guy's deal?"
Ray already knew. "Looking for food."
"Oh, got it." Sanji exhaled a ring of smoke and headed toward the kitchen.
The cook's professionalism was indeed top-notch, but the moment the sea cow Moo opened its mouth, attempting to swallow Sanji along with its meal—
Sanji abandoned all notions of professionalism and kicked Moo flying.
For this, Zoro mocked him relentlessly.
Before reaching Cocoyasi Village, in just two and a half hours, the two had already brawled five times.
The rowdy atmosphere gradually eased Nami's tension, helping her relax.
...
Cocoyasi Village was located on a large island in the East Blue.
It was just one of many villages on the island.
Eight years ago, the New Fish-Man Pirates, led by the fish-man Arlong, arrived on this island.
With their physical prowess far surpassing that of humans, they quickly established dominance.
In their eyes, humans were nothing more than livestock to be exploited.
Those who couldn't pay the protection fee were killed without hesitation.
Among them was Nami's adoptive mother, Bellemere.
At this moment, the fish-man pirate Arlong was deep in conversation with Nezumi, a Marine captain from a nearby East Blue branch.
Arlong feigned gratitude toward Nezumi with a seemingly amiable tone.
"This month's payment—please take it."
Nezumi weighed the Belly in his hand and responded with a pleased grin.
"Gigigi, Arlong, you're always so reliable."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, as Nezumi was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something and turned back to Arlong.
"Recently, a new pirate crew has risen in the East Blue. You must've heard of them, right?"
Arlong scoffed dismissively.
"A human pirate crew? Why should I care?"
Due to the conflict between fish-men and humans, Arlong and his crew despised keeping up with human affairs.
They usually forced themselves to skim the newspapers only once every two or three months.
If not for their need to understand humans in order to exact revenge, they might never have bothered reading human news at all.
Seeing Arlong's arrogance, Nezumi initially didn't want to warn him.
But then he reconsidered—as long as Arlong thrived, his own pockets would stay lined.
He really couldn't afford to let this guy get reckless.
"Arlong, remember this—if you ever encounter the Straw Hat Crew, it's best not to provoke them."
The moment Arlong heard this, he burst into laughter along with Hachi and the other crew members.
"Any human pirate crew is nothing but trash in the eyes of us fish-men."
"What if this crew defeated Buggy?"
Silence fell over the room.
"What do you mean? That Buggy? Defeated?"
The news made Arlong sit up straight instantly.
Nezumi sneered inwardly.
'Human pirate crews are all trash? Then why are you so shaken just by the mention of Buggy?'
However, as a mere branch captain, he didn't know the full details of how the Straw Hat Crew had defeated Buggy.
He only recalled what the newspapers had written:
"The Straw Hat Crew employed strategy, with all members working together to defeat the East Blue's overlord, Buggy."
Hearing this, Arlong, Hachi, and the other fish-men felt their tension ease slightly.
Arlong pondered.
'If we lured Buggy out to sea and ambushed him underwater, we could probably defeat him too.'
With that thought, his confident smirk returned.
"If this pirate crew doesn't provoke us, then we'll leave them be. But if they come looking for trouble, we'll make them experience the terror of fish-men."
"Sha~hahahaha"
Upon seeing this, Captain Nezumi didn't say much more.
He turned around and began to leave with his underlings.
On the way back, Captain Nezumi revealed a sly smile.
"The Straw Hat Pirates must be strong, but the Fishman Pirates aren't weak either. If they fight, perhaps I can reap the benefits. Gigigigi~"
.....
"Wow, we're here, we're here!" Luffy sat on his exclusive figurehead, stretching lazily.
"Nami, is that your hometown?"
Nami took a deep breath and looked at the village ahead of the dock.
"Yes, that's my hometown, Cocoyasi Village."
Luffy grinned, jumped onto the deck, and rhythmically patted his belly with both hands.
"Landing, going ashore, Nami, treat us to a meal!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Luffy was met with angry blows from Zoro and Sanji.
"If you don't know how to speak, just keep your mouth shut."
With that, Sanji stuffed a meaty bone into Luffy's mouth.
Nami's gaze drifted, as if recalling something.
After a while, she smiled.
"Anyway, it's not far from my home. Let's all go for a meal together."
Then, she looked at Ray, fidgeting with her hands in front of her chest, her face slightly red as she asked.
"Is that okay?"
Seeing this, Ray got goosebumps all over, his expression stiff.
A moment later, Nami burst into laughter.
"Ray, you're so pure. Hahahaha."
Immediately, Nami felt a wave of pitch-black energy pressing toward her.
Every pore on Nami's body stood on end.
She stuck out her tongue and said, "I was wrong!"
Seeing Nami in good spirits and showing no signs of stress, everyone relaxed.
Under Nami's lead.
The Straw Hat Crew, now consisting of 5 men, 1 woman, 1 dog, plus two extras.
Walked together toward the house behind the village where Nami lived.
At that moment, a fish head suddenly emerged from the water about a hundred meters behind the Going Merry.
It was a purple-skinned fishman.
He watched the group ahead and muttered to himself.
"Nami has returned with a pirate crew. Something's not right. I must report this to Arlong-san."