With Sanji in the kitchen, dish after amazing dish started appearing on the tables.
And with two beautiful women, Nami and Nojiko helping out, Sanji's cooking speed hit a whole new level—his hands and knives were just a blur of motion.
An hour later, the party to welcome Nami home was in full swing.
Over a hundred people were eating, drinking, and celebrating.
Ray, Luffy, Nami, Sanji, Usopp, Johnny, Yosaku, Nojiko, and Genzo were all sitting at the main table.
After a quick toast, Ray started thinking.
He remembered back in Orange Town, when Nami first saw how strong he was.
That power was what gave her the hope to finally stand up to Arlong.
But back then, when she told him her story, she'd left out the part about Bellemere.
Ray knew that dealing with Arlong was the easy part.
The real mission here was to help Nami finally face her past so the Straw Hat crew could become a real family, with no secrets between them.
To do that, she had to confront the pain head-on.
He knew it was going to be cruel, but it had to be done.
He looked at Nami, a hint of conflict in his eyes.
"Nami," he asked, his voice soft but firm, "I want you to tell me everything about your past."
Nami flinched.
Her whole body trembled slightly.
'Did he figure it out?'
Honestly, she had thought about telling them everything during their journey.
But every time she tried, the words got stuck in her throat.
The memory of Bellemere was like a thorn in her heart; even thinking about it was agony.
'But how long can I keep running from this?' she thought.
Taking a deep breath, Nami looked at her crewmates, her gaze finally landing on her sister.
"Nojiko," she said, her voice shaky but determined, "can you tell them? They have a right to know."
Luffy and the others immediately stopped eating and leaned in, their full attention on Nojiko.
Nojiko smiled at her sister, a look of relief on her face.
"It seems like you really trust them. Okay, I'll tell them. It all started when..."
"Nami and I were orphans. Our foster mother, Bellemere, took us in. When we were little, Nami was such a troublemaker..."
As Nojiko told the story, Ray found himself lost in his own memories.
He was an orphan, too, but he'd never had a mother figure like Bellemere.
In a way, Nami was lucky.
But she was also incredibly unlucky, because the family she'd finally found was torn apart by pure evil.
Maybe it was because they were both orphans, or maybe it was because he'd always craved that kind of love as a kid, but whatever the reason, the thought of Arlong killing Bellemere filled Ray with a cold, intense hatred.
…
Nojiko's story continued, each word heavy with pain.
She told them how Bellemere had chosen to die to protect them.
She told them how Nami took on the entire burden herself, forcing herself to work for the man who murdered her mother, enduring humiliation and pain, all to steal enough money to buy back their village's freedom.
She told them how all the villagers knew what Nami was doing but pretended they didn't, just so they wouldn't add to her suffering.
By the time the story was over, Nami was trembling, tears streaming down her face.
Everyone at the table was furious. Sanji looked like he was about to storm off and kick Arlong's head in right then and there.
Luffy's breathing was heavy, and the meat in his mouth suddenly tasted like ash.
Even Chouchou had stopped chewing on his bone and was letting out a low growl.
Even though Ray already knew the story, hearing it again didn't make him any less angry.
He looked at Nami.
"Just wait a little longer," he said, his voice deadly calm. "I'm going to make Arlong kneel at your feet."
Hearing that, Nojiko and Genzo both looked up at him, worried.
"Thank you for wanting to help Nami," Nojiko said, "but Arlong... he's a monster."
Genzo took a long drag from his pipe.
"Don't underestimate them," he warned. "Eight years ago, the Marines came here. Twice. Both times, Arlong and his crew wiped them out completely. If they hadn't... Nami never would have had to go through all this."
By now, Nami had managed to pull herself together.
She wiped her tears and gave her two "family members" a watery smile.
"Don't worry," she said. "I know how strong Arlong is. He's so strong that I gave up all hope of fighting back a long time ago. But..."
She glanced over at Ray, her eyes filled with unshakable confidence.
"...compared to my friends here, he's nothing."
Nojiko could see it clearly.
Most of Nami's newfound courage was coming from this mysterious, handsome man with the half-mask.
Genzo still wasn't convinced. "Don't push yourself, Nami. If you want to leave with them, the whole village will fight to the death to hold Arlong off for you."
"That's right, Nami!" the other villagers chimed in. "You've already done too much for us!"
"You should go live your own life!"
"It's our turn to do something for you!"
Hearing their words, Nami's eyes welled up with tears again.
Ray felt a strange tightness in his chest.
For some reason, thinking about these kind people being oppressed by a monster like Arlong was making him feel suffocated, and uncontrollably angry.
He didn't know why, but he knew one thing for sure about himself right now.
'If I don't kill someone soon, I'm going to lose my mind.'
…
Speak of the devil.
A grating, nasty voice cut through the air.
"Sha~hahaha! Nami, I thought you'd just gotten kidnapped. I never expected this."
Arlong strolled up to Nami's house, flanked by his three top officers.
Seeing Nami having dinner with a bunch of strange pirates and the whole village, he instantly knew what was up.
She had betrayed him.
"What a foolish woman," Kuroobi sneered. "You know what happens to traitors."
"Death will be the easy way out," Chu leered. "You and your sister ready to be our new playthings~shuu?"
That was the last straw.
The villagers exploded with rage.
"You bastards! We'll fight you to the death!"
"No one's backing down! It's us or you today!"
The entire village surged forward, ready to charge.
But just as they were about to rush in, Ray's ice-cold voice cut through the chaos.
"Silence! Let Nami handle this."
A chilling, demonic energy flowed out from him, and the crowd's hot-headed anger instantly cooled down.
Ray turned to Nami, who had tensed up at the sight of Arlong, and gave her a small smile.
"Face them, Nami. Don't worry, we've got your back."
Hearing that, her nervousness started to fade, replaced by pure resolve.
She pulled out her collapsible staff, slung it over her shoulder, and bravely marched toward Arlong and his crew.
As she walked, Ray looked at Luffy.
"Captain, think Nami should be the one to kick this off?"
Luffy understood immediately and broke into his signature grin.
"No problem! This is Nami's fight!"
Luffy stepped up next to Nami and placed his straw hat on her head.
"Nami," he said, "declare war on them!"
In that moment, with her crew's voices in her ears and her captain's hat on her head, all her fear of Arlong just melted away.
Ray, Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, and Chouchou all moved to stand in front of her, forming a protective wall and glaring coldly at the fishmen.
Their unwavering support gave her all the strength she needed.
Underneath the straw hat, her eyes turned sharp as steel.
She raised her staff and pointed it directly at Arlong.
"Today," she declared, her voice ringing out clear and strong, "I'm settling things with you and your pirates once and for all. Arlong—prepare to die!"
----------------------------
Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator