Nami jogged away from Arlong Park along the side, but she hadn't gone far before she ran into a few people.
"Ken-san, Nojiko." Nami froze on the spot as she saw the figures in front of her.
"Nami."
Upon seeing Nami, Nojiko immediately rushed over, hugged her, and asked, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
Nami said softly, then looked up at Genzo and the others with a complex expression.
"Nami, the Marines have arrived," Genzo said, looking at Nami.
"I know."
Nami said with a dejected expression, "So, you're here to capture me and hand me over to the Marines?"
"How could we?"
Genzo quickly replied, "I mean, three Marine warships have arrived, and they can definitely defeat Arlong's Crew. You don't have to stay with Arlong's Pirates anymore; you can go home."
"Huh?"
Nami was slightly stunned and looked at Genzo in disbelief.
She still remembered that after Aunt Bellemere died, when she joined Arlong's Pirates, Genzo had told her to get out of the village and never come back.
But why now...
Genzo smiled and said, "We all know you joined Arlong's Pirates to protect the village and intended to use 100 million Belly to buy it back. But that's no longer necessary."
"Nojiko, it was you..." Nami looked towards Nojiko.
Nojiko nodded and said, "I told everyone."
"But I told you not to, didn't I?" Nami said, lowering her head.
"I just felt that the villagers had to know what you were doing," Nojiko said with a smile.
"None of us expected you to carry so much on your shoulders, Nami," Genzo sighed and said, "But it's good now. The Marines are here to pursue Arlong's Crew, and with three warships, they can definitely eliminate them."
"No, Arlong and the others have gone to conquer other villages; they aren't here," Nami shook her head.
Genzo frowned and asked, "Do you know which village they went to?"
"Bernat Sea Island," Nami replied.
Genzo nodded and said, "Once the Marines arrive here, I'll tell them Arlong's whereabouts and have them pursue him."
"Let me do it," Nami quickly said. "If they can't defeat Arlong, he'll definitely implicate everyone."
"Aren't you afraid of Arlong's wrath?"
Genzo looked at Nami and retorted, then patted her shoulder and said, "Don't say another word. Leave this to me; I'll go find the Marines."
Speaking of which, Genzo looked at Nami and said, "As for you, Nami, go home first. You have Arlong's Pirates' tattoo, and it will be troublesome if the Marines find out."
"Nami, come with me, let's go home," Nojiko said, taking Nami's hand.
"Okay, home."
Nami took a deep breath and walked towards home with Nojiko.
...
"Fire."
Following Commodore Brim Brim's order, three Marine warships lined up in front of Arlong Park, their cannons rotating and aiming at the massive tower.
Boom, boom, boom.
The cannons roared, and shells shot towards Arlong Park.
The shells shattered walls, smashed the ground, and pierced the tower.
"Cease fire! Tell Colonel Lester and Colonel Kars to cease fire too."
After three rounds of attack, Commodore Brim Brim waved his hand sharply.
The messenger relayed the signal to the other two ships with signal flags.
"Is there no one?"
Commodore Brim Brim frowned.
Last time, Fish-Men had ambushed him and attacked him even when he was still some distance from Arlong Park.
But this time, three warships had fired three rounds, and there was still no reaction.
"Let's go ashore first."
Commodore Brim Brim picked up a Den Den Mushi and dialed the Den Den Mushi of the other two warships separately, saying, "Colonel Lester, Colonel Kars, you will each lead fifty sailors ashore and directly attack Arlong Park."
Commodore Brim Brim put down the Den Den Mushi, had the warships approach the harbor, and then led his sailors ashore.
After meeting up with Colonel Lester and Colonel Kars, they charged towards Arlong Park.
"Have the Marines arrived? And three warships, looks like you've hit the jackpot."
Xia Qiu thought to himself underwater.
Three warships would still be a struggle against the full Arlong Pirates.
If he hadn't wiped out Arlong's Crew himself, even without Kuroobi, three Marine warships would have had a hard time winning.
Especially Moo Moo, it had immense destructive power against Marine warships.
Most importantly, Fish-Men could leave underwater at any time, while sailors were weak in underwater combat.
But now, with Arlong's Crew slaughtered by himself, there were at most Hachi and four Fish-Men left, basically unable to resist the Marines.
"Bang."
Facing the incoming warships, Moo Moo wanted to charge out but was knocked to the ground by a flick of Xia Qiu's tail.
"You behave yourself."
Xia Qiu looked at Moo Moo, who was trying to attack the warships. The latter shrunk its head, not daring to move.
With the Marines here, Arlong's Crew would be completely destroyed.
Even if Hachi was still alive, he wouldn't stay here.
Hachi would probably head to Fish-Man Island, just like in the original story, he chose to return after escaping from the warships.
As long as the Fish-Man soldiers left behind in Arlong Park were eliminated, it would mean freedom for these villagers and Nami.
This was five years earlier than in the original story, and they would suffer five years less hardship.
And in the process, Xia Qiu had obtained what he wanted and become even stronger.
It was about time.
He had been on this island for three and a half years, and it was time to leave and go elsewhere.
After the Marines left, in a few more days, after taming Moo Moo, he would also leave.
Xia Qiu thought, and suddenly detected several figures swimming over from a distance.
Were these Fish-Men?
Xia Qiu discovered their tracks and immediately rushed over.
Moo Moo raised its head, saw the direction Xia Qiu was heading, and curiously followed.
"Where is Moo Moo?"
Underwater, the leading Fish-Man soldier asked with a frown.
"Maybe it went out to hunt, let's search this way." another Fish-Man soldier said.
The four swam forward for a distance, and one of the Fish-Men suddenly shouted, "Over there, it's coming."
In the distance, a huge black shadow was rushing towards them.
"Be careful, if we show hostility, we might also be attacked by Moo Moo," another Fish-Man said softly.
The four stopped in their tracks. The black shadow grew closer and closer until it was right in front of them.
"It's not Moo Moo."
As the voice rang out, these individuals fled in panic.
But what greeted them was Xia Qiu's gaping maw.
Crunch, crunch...
All four Fish-Men were dealt with. Xia Qiu turned his head and looked at Moo Moo.
"It ate them, it's still terrifying."
Moo Moo shivered in fear, prostrate on the ground, not daring to move.
Xia Qiu flicked his tail, ignored it, and left the area to hunt.
...
"There are no Fish-Men, not a single one."
Commodore Brim Brim stood in front of the Arlong Park tower, with Colonel Lester, Colonel Kars, and several other Marine officers by his side.
"Could we have the wrong place? Or has Arlong already left?" Major Rat said from the side.
Colonel Lester shook his head. "It can't be anywhere else. It's built so luxuriously, how could they leave easily? Besides, the rescue messages we received were from this island."
"The pirate ship isn't here, they might have gone out," Colonel Kars said.
"This is problematic."
Commodore Brim Brim frowned. "They might have gone to raid other villages. Without any Fish-Men, how can we know where they went?"
"We know where Arlong went."
Just then, a voice rang out.
Commodore Brim Brim looked into the distance, where Genzo and a few villagers were slowly walking over.
The author's note about a reader wanting the protagonist to become human or a Fish-Man: I apologize, but I cannot fulfill that request. I will not write it that way. If you prefer that type of story, you can look for others, as there are quite a few. This is a pure beast-type story, and the protagonist will never become human.
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Translation by: randomtranslator.com
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