With Sanji booting Hachi into the sea, the whole Arlong mess was finally, officially over.
Amid Luffy's loud cheers, Banquet 2.0 officially kicked off.
The Straw Hats had landed on the island around 4 p.m., and now it was getting dark.
The villagers lit huge bonfires, and thanks to the hard work of Sanji and a bunch of the village housewives, the tables were once again loaded with all kinds of amazing food.
As for Nami and Nojiko, they were with Genzo.
The three of them stood together at the top of the mountain, in front of Bellemere's grave.
They talked and talked, telling their amazing mother in heaven everything that had happened over the last eight years.
Sometimes they laughed, sometimes they cried, but with every word, the sorrow they'd carried for so long started to fade, replaced by excitement for the future.
Half an hour later, they poured the last cup of wine over the grave.
Genzo looked at the two sisters, so relieved to see them finally stepping out of the shadows of their past.
Then, he took the pinwheel he'd worn on his head for eighteen years and placed it in front of Bellemere's grave.
That pinwheel was what he'd always used to make Nami smile when she was a baby.
'With these friends by your side,' Genzo thought, 'the pinwheel can finally retire.'
Seeing this, Nami gave him a knowing smile.
"Genzo-san, thank you."
Genzo just grinned happily.
"Nami," he said, his voice full of emotion, "from now on, you are free!"
"Yes!"
…
Back at the party...
Usopp was standing on a table, singing out the "Usopp Support Song."
Luffy, Johnny, and Yosaku had chopsticks stuck up their noses and were doing a wild, ridiculous dance.
Zoro was, unsurprisingly, in a drinking contest with the village men.
And Sanji was surrounded by a group of adoring women, completely lost in his own personal heaven.
Ray, without taking his mask off, ate a little bit and then grabbed a pot of wine.
He and Chouchou went to stand at the pier.
Staring out at the sea, Ray knew someone was coming.
How did he know? Because there was a tied-up Marine spy at his feet.
The guy had tried to sneak away while everyone was partying, but his sketchy behavior caught Ray's eye.
Ray nabbed him, and before he even had to ask any questions, the spy spilled everything.
He had seen what Ray did to Arlong and knew that resisting would only lead to a world of pain.
Plus, his boss was probably in deep trouble anyway, so no one would even care if he talked.
He told Ray that he'd already sent one message back to base, but he was supposed to send another one detailing just how terrifyingly strong the Straw Hats were.
Before he could, Ray caught him.
…
Sitting at the pier, Ray drank his wine, occasionally glancing at the horizon.
Close to midnight, a Marine warship finally appeared.
Ray snorted.
It had to be that mouse, Captain Nezumi.
'Trying to swoop in and steal the prize without doing any of the work?'
Ray looked down at Chouchou and gave a simple order.
"Sink that warship."
Chouchou barked, then ran towards the end of the pier, transforming into his giant Dog Demon form and launching himself into the air.
....
Over on the warship, Captain Nezumi was gleefully imagining how he'd capture two pirate crews at once and get a huge promotion.
Suddenly, a massive demon beast appeared in the sky above them.
The terrifying demonic energy it gave off made the cowardly Marines on board tremble with fear.
Nezumi's reaction was even worse.
He'd schemed his way to his current position; he had zero actual combat skill.
Seeing the giant flying dog, his legs gave out, and all he could do was scream at his men to shoot it.
But the outcome was already decided.
One minute later, the warship was at the bottom of the sea.
Chouchou flew back and landed next to Ray.
Ray casually cut the ropes on the spy at his feet, grabbed him by his shirt, and just flung him into the sea dozens of meters away.
"No one," Ray said to himself, "is allowed to ruin this banquet."
This party was a celebration of freedom for Nami and the entire village.
He wasn't about to let some crooked Marines spoil it.
As for the Marines finding out they were the ones who sank the ship? Ray couldn't care less.
What pirate crew hasn't sunk a warship or two?
…
The party finally ended as the sun started to rise.
The Straw Hat Pirates gradually woke up, resting for a bit at Nami's house.
But the atmosphere was a little awkward.
Nojiko was staring intently at Ray, demanding over and over that he take off his mask.
This was making Sanji intensely jealous, while everyone else was secretly enjoying Ray's obvious discomfort.
Even Nami thought it was pretty funny.
Ray couldn't sit still any longer and got up to leave.
Everyone burst into laughter.
That was the last straw.
Ray's eyes narrowed.
In the end, everyone except Nami and Nojiko ended up on the ground with big lumps on their heads.
That included Chouchou, who had just wandered back in with a bone.
When Ray gets mad, even passing dogs aren't safe.
Seeing the carnage, Nami felt a little guilty and finally told Nojiko to stop teasing him.
She knew Ray wouldn't hurt Nojiko, but she was worried about what might happen to her later.
The possibility of "accidental injuries" during staff training suddenly seemed very, very high.
…
Two hours later...
The Straw Hats were loading all the food the villagers had given them onto the Going Merry.
There was enough to last them for over a month, as long as Luffy could control himself.
After they finished, Sanji started getting anxious.
"Why isn't Nami-san here yet? Is getting a new tattoo really taking this long? You don't think... she's not coming, is she?"
Luffy was nervous too, but he knew if Nami wanted to stay, he'd have to accept it.
Ray just leaned calmly against the mast.
Two hours earlier, he'd given Nami an idea: create a special farewell scene for the villagers.
In the eyes of the Marines, Nami needed to look like an outcast, someone who hated the village.
That way, the Marines couldn't use the villagers' support for her as an excuse to cause them trouble later.
Sure enough, a moment later, they saw an orange-haired girl running towards them.
As Nami got close to the ship, she started shouting for them to set sail.
The villagers saw her coming and were about to give her a happy farewell, but then Nami weaved through the crowd and leaped onto the already departing Merry.
"Hey, hey, hey! I can finally get out of this shabby village!" she shouted, putting on a wicked smile and looking down at the villagers.
"At least you guys have some sense, knowing to offer up food as protection money. But this isn't enough! Your money is all mine now, too! Hahahaha!"
With that, she pulled up her sleeve, and a huge cascade of wallets came clattering down from her clothes.
The villagers, witnessing this scene, immediately flew into a "rage," cursing Nami for being a shameless thief—though every single one of them had a huge smile on their face.
In the end, amid a chorus of back-and-forth "curses" and laughter, the Going Merry disappeared from sight.
…
This whole scene was watched from afar by Nezumi, who had spent all night struggling to climb ashore.
Because of the distance, he couldn't see their faces clearly, but he could hear the shouting.
"Tsk," he muttered.
"This Straw Hat crew is truly vicious. Stealing food and money from common folks. I know that Nami girl. She must have betrayed Arlong and found these guys as her new backers. Those poor villagers, raising such an ungrateful woman. Ah well, not my problem. I'd better get back and report this to HQ. What a huge loss... and where in the world did that demon beast come from?"
The Marine spy, who had washed ashore with him, had been agonizing over whether to tell the truth.
But if he did, he'd lose his job and probably go to jail.
Hearing his captain's muttering, he immediately came up with the perfect excuse.
'I was just getting ready to head back to base when I was attacked by a demon beast,' he thought.
'I don't know anything about anything else.'
…
Nezumi was in a foul mood.
All he wanted was to get back to his base.
As for the treasure in Arlong's hideout, he figured the Straw Hats had already looted it all.
There was nothing he could do about them now except report it to headquarters.
And just like that, Cocoyashi Village was finally, completely at peace.
They even got to keep the nearly 100 million Belly in treasure that Nami had "accidentally" left behind for them.