Inside Arlong Park...
A fishman came running up totally out of breath to where Arlong was kicking back and eating some beef.
"Arlong-san, Nami's back!"
Hearing her name, Arlong cracked a wide, toothy grin.
"Sha~hahahaha! Our pretty little map-maker is back! Wonder how much cash she brought us this time."
The fishman underling quickly replied, "I-I don't know how much, but she didn't come to us first. She went to her village... and she brought some pirates with her."
Arlong's smile vanished. He propped his cheek up with his fist, frowning.
"Pirates?"
He sat up and started thinking.
Usually, Nami only came back when she had a stash of treasure she'd stolen from other pirates.
But bringing a whole crew with her? That was new.
He figured there were only two possibilities.
First, she hadn't betrayed him.
In that case, she probably failed to steal some treasure, got caught, and was now luring these pirates into his territory so he and his crew could take care of them for her.
A classic trap.
The second possibility was that she'd finally grown a backbone and was double-crossing him, bringing these guys here to try and fight for her freedom.
"Sha-ha-ha-ha! Either way, it looks like we'll have to pay Nami's little village a visit." Arlong's expression suddenly turned dark and nasty.
"I really hope you didn't betray us, Nami. Otherwise..." He grinned maliciously. "...every single person in this village is gonna die because of you. Sha-ha-ha-ha!"
With that, Arlong got up and headed for Cocoyasi Village, with his top officers—Hachi the octopus, Kuroobi the ray, and Chu the... kissing fish—and a bunch of his thugs following close behind.
…
On the path to Cocoyasi Village...
Nami was leading the crew toward her house when a man with a pinwheel on his police cap came out of his home and spotted them.
It was the village sheriff, Genzo.
He knew Nami always came back alone, so seeing her with a group of strangers immediately set off alarm bells. He rushed over to her side.
"Nami! You're back!"
Nami turned, a huge, happy smile on her face. "Genzo-san! It's been a while!"
Genzo eyed the unfamiliar faces warily and whispered in her ear, "Who are these people? Are you in trouble?"
Ray instantly recognized him.
This was Genzo, the guy who was basically her dad.
He was completely ignoring his own safety to make sure Nami was okay.
It was because of people like him, her sister Nojiko, and the rest of the villagers who had her back no matter what, that Nami had been able to endure eight years of hell under Arlong.
'These people are worth protecting,' Ray thought.
For a second, he got lost in his own memories.
He'd known people who cared about him like that once, a long time ago.
But the world was a chaotic place, and he hadn't been strong enough to protect them.
The feeling of helplessness from back then still haunted him sometimes.
He shook the thoughts away and focused on the here and now.
'I'm not letting that happen to you, Nami. This Arlong thing ends here and now.'
…
Nami was just happy to see Genzo.
"They're my friends!" she explained with a grin. "My comrades. They are—"
As she started the introductions, Ray frowned.
A critical mistake suddenly hit him.
'Crap. I'm an idiot. We just waltzed right into the village'.
He knew Arlong had spies everywhere.
They'd been seen.
If they weren't careful, these kind villagers could end up as hostages.
There were two ways to handle this.
One: Ray could use his Observation Haki to pinpoint Arlong and his crew—who were probably already on their way—and just wipe them out before they could do anything.
Two: He could gather all the villagers in one place, wait for Arlong to show up, and then execute him in front of everyone, for the whole village to see.
After thinking it over, he went with option two.
It was the best way to protect everyone and give Nami and the villagers the justice they'd been denied for years.
He turned to Nami. "Hey, Nami, let's invite everyone in the village over to your place for a meal."
Zoro, Sanji, and Nami all gave him a weird look.
Ray was a total loner who hated crowds.
Why would he suggest a giant party? But they figured he must have a good reason.
Luffy, on the other hand, got super excited. "A party?! Awesome! Hahaha, let's get wild!"
The words were barely out of his mouth before Ray decked him, knocking him out cold.
Zoro instinctively rubbed the back of his own head.
"Why'd you hit him?"
"Too loud," Ray replied flatly. "Couldn't help it."
…
Even though they didn't get why Ray wanted to throw a village-wide party at Nami's house, the crew trusted him completely. Nobody argued, or even dared to.
They just looked to Nami for the final call.
After a second, it clicked for her.
She smacked herself on the forehead.
She knew Arlong had spies!
What was she thinking, bringing a pirate crew right into the open like that? If a fight broke out, the villagers would be caught in the middle.
She looked at Ray, full of gratitude. "Ray... thank you."
"No problem."
Nami then asked Genzo to help gather all the villagers.
Genzo didn't question it.
If Nami needed something, the whole village was ready to help, especially for something as simple as sharing a meal.
…
The villagers knew how much Nami had sacrificed for them.
There was no way they were going to let her pay for a huge banquet by herself.
Soon, hundreds of villagers were heading toward Nami's house, all of them carrying baskets of food and ingredients.
A blue-haired woman in a tank top watering some orange trees was so surprised by the crowd that she dropped her watering can.
"Genzo-san, what in the world is going on?"
Her eyes scanned the crowd until she spotted a familiar orange-haired girl.
"Nami!"
It was Nojiko, Nami's sister.
She rushed forward and gave Nami a huge hug.
After their reunion, Nami started proudly introducing her crew to everyone.
"This idiot who's currently knocked out," she started, pointing at Luffy, "is my captain."
That one sentence stunned Nojiko and the villagers.
Even Ray glanced over at her.
By calling Luffy her captain, she was finally, openly, accepting who she was: a pirate.
'She's really come to terms with things', Ray thought.
Nami continued excitedly, a huge smile on her face.
"And this silver-haired, masked hunk is kind of my teacher now. If he took off that mask—hehehe—every woman here would probably lose their minds."
Nojiko gave her a look. "You're laying it on a little thick, Nami. You got a crush on him or something?"
Genzo's reaction was even stronger.
He just stared at Ray, sizing him up with a super protective glare.
The intense stare made Ray accidentally let a sliver of his killing intent leak out.
A sudden, bone-chilling cold washed over Genzo and Nojiko, making them shiver.
Ray immediately reined it in, but the damage was done.
"Ray!" Nami snapped, seeing their reaction.
Ray didn't argue; he knew he'd overreacted.
Nojiko, surprisingly, recovered quickly.
Instead of being scared, she looked intrigued.
'This man... so mysterious, and so thrilling!'
Nami, who didn't notice her sister's weird reaction, put her hands on her hips.
"Anyway, I'll introduce you to the rest of them later. For now, let's get dinner ready!"
Zoro, Usopp, Sanji, Johnny, Yosaku, and Chouco all just sighed.
┐(′ـ_ـ)┌ The favoritism was a little too obvious.
Amid all the noise and laughter, the party to welcome Nami home was about to begin.
Ray watched the scene, a small smile on his face.
"This is definitely going to be a party where all of you can laugh freely," he murmured to himself.
"And Arlong... he's going to be the main course."