'Bellemere… I can finally avenge you myself.'
Pushing down the wave of emotion in her heart, Nami held her Staff in one hand.
She turned to Ray.
"Let Arlong go," she said, her voice firm. "Let me 'duel' him."
Ray nodded, retracting the light whip that held Arlong down.
Then he gave the fishman a little warning.
"If you want to live, if you want to save your crew... you have to beat Nami."
With that, Ray walked back to stand with Luffy and the others.
Sanji quietly asked him, "Hey, is that really the right thing to say to him? Even if he's beat up, he's still dangerous for Nami-san."
Zoro shot Sanji a look of pure disdain. "Are you really this stupid, cook? You think we're just gonna stand here for decoration?"
Sanji smacked his forehead.
Right.
He'd been so worried he'd forgotten the obvious.
With them here, there was no way Arlong could actually win.
That would be beyond embarrassing.
…
A few feet away, Arlong forced himself to his feet.
He knew his chances of getting out of this alive were slim to none, but he had to try.
"Damn it... I carry the hatred of all fishmen for you humans! I can't die here!"
He let out a furious roar, drawing on his deep-seated resentment to find a last bit of strength.
His eyes were bloodshot as he glared at Nami.
But Nami felt no fear—only the white-hot rage she'd held in for eight long years.
In the blink of an eye, she swung her staff and smashed it right into Arlong's face.
Since Arlong was still recovering and Nami had been training like crazy, the blow landed with incredible force.
Even with his tough fishman hide, his skull was ringing.
Seizing the moment, Nami started wailing on him, swinging her staff again and again.
WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!
The orange metal rod crashed into his head, his cheeks, his neck.
"This one's for the villagers you tormented!"
"This one's for the innocent people you killed!"
"This one's for Nojiko!"
"This one's for Genzo-san!"
"And this one is for ME!"
Every hit was heavy, filled with years of pent-up fury.
Arlong's head was spinning, blood pouring from his mouth.
And with every blow, it wasn't just Nami venting her anger—the villagers watching felt a huge sense of satisfaction too.
Nojiko and Genzo were clenching their fists, wishing they were the ones doing the beating.
Just when everyone was enjoying the show, the tables turned.
"One last hit—this is for Bellemere!"
As Nami swung her staff straight for Arlong's face—
His arm shot out, muscles bulging, and he caught the metal rod in a death grip.
He bared his sharp teeth and snarled at Nami with a twisted grin.
"Nami... you've really forgotten how terrifying I am."
A wave of worry shot through the crowd.
Luffy, Sanji, and Zoro all tensed up, ready to jump in. But Ray just stood there, perfectly calm, not worried at all.
He knew Arlong's real advantage was his tough fishman body and his ability to heal fast.
Nami was a much better fighter now, but she was still way out of her league in terms of raw strength and speed.
From the very beginning, Ray never thought she could win this with brute force.
'Our navigator,' he thought with a hidden smile, 'has a very high battle IQ.'
…
Hearing Arlong's threat, Nami seemed to remember the fear of being beaten by him in the past.
A look of panic flashed across her face.
She tightened her grip on her staff—an action that looked like fear but was actually something else entirely.
Arlong saw her "fear" and his grin got even wider.
His free hand shot out, aiming to grab her head.
Nami didn't even try to dodge.
Instead, as she twisted her right hand on the staff, a triumphant smile flashed across her face.
Arlong sensed something was wrong, but it was too late.
A 40-centimeter blade shot out of the tip of the staff at blinding speed, aimed right at his forehead.
'Crap!' Arlong could only react on instinct, tilting his head as far as he could.
Sshink!
Blood sprayed everywhere as the blade cleanly sliced off his right ear.
A cold sweat ran down Arlong's back.
If he'd been a split second slower, that blade would've gone straight through his skull.
"Nami, you damn bitch! You tricked me!"
While he was reeling in pain, Nami yanked her staff free and jumped back.
Her face was calm now, with no trace of the fear she'd shown just a second ago.
"A beast like you deserves to be fooled, you one-eared trash!" she taunted, and to really drive the point home, she flipped him the middle finger.
The villagers burst out laughing.
"Serves you right, Arlong!"
"Should've just died earlier! Would've saved you the embarrassment!"
The pain, the humiliation, and the rage all pushed Arlong over the edge.
Like a dying fire flaring up one last time, he lunged at Nami with a speed that was almost as fast as when he was uninjured.
Nami's expression hardened.
She swung her staff forward, using his own momentum to launch herself several meters back, rolling to absorb the impact.
Seeing this, the Monster Trio couldn't stay still any longer.
But just as they were about to step in, Ray stopped them.
"Hold on. Let's enjoy Nami's fight."
"But Nami-san is clearly in trouble!" Sanji protested.
Even Luffy was getting anxious. "Ray, if we don't do something, Nami's gonna get hurt!"
But Ray was firm, so Luffy and Zoro reluctantly stood down.
"Ray, if Nami-san gets a single scratch, I'll never forgive you," Sanji growled, though he didn't move.
Ray just smiled.
Because a few moments ago, he'd noticed something.
With every hit she landed, Nami had been releasing tiny, almost invisible "bubbles" around Arlong.
And now, Nami, Arlong, and those bubbles were all perfectly lined up.
…
Seeing that Ray and the others weren't moving, Arlong felt a surge of relief.
He didn't care if they would actually spare him if he won; right now, he was sure his next attack would be the end of Nami.
'Hmph, you'll regret this,' he thought. 'Even if I die, I'm taking her with me.'
He charged at Nami again.
The villagers and the Straw Hats all felt their hearts leap into their throats.
Even Ray, who looked calm on the outside, already had gold energy whips forming around his fingers, just in case.
…
Arlong launched himself forward, his jaws wide open, aiming to bite Nami's head off in one go.
But just as he was about to close in on her, something sparked behind him.
Nami smiled, her face radiating pure confidence.
'My weapon was never meant for close combat.'
…
Five days earlier, on the Going Merry...
Ray had just finished Nami's staff training for the day.
He called her and Usopp over to the deck.
"Nami, your biggest talent isn't hand-to-hand combat," he told her. "It's your incredible ability to sense tiny changes in the atmosphere."
"So," he continued, "I want Usopp to build you a weapon. A weapon that can change the weather."
Nami looked confused, so Ray explained.
"Your path to getting stronger is to become a mage who controls the weather. The combat training is just to make sure you can survive until then."
He went on to explain his whole vision to them until they both understood.
Following Ray's ideas, Usopp got to work modifying Nami's weapon.
…
Back to the present...
Danger was rushing right at her, but there wasn't a hint of tension on Nami's face.
In fact, her eyes were sparkling with anticipation.
'Feel the terror of nature's wrath, Arlong,' she thought.
Just as Arlong's jaws were about to snap shut on her head, Nami smiled and called out her technique.
"Clima-Tact: Thunderbolt Tempo!"
----------------------------
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