Chapter 21 Straw Hat on Head! Luffy's Furious Battle with ArlongSeemingly sensing the delicious energy of the otherworldly fish-man's flesh, Samehada writhed excitedly, a sight that sent chills down A-Chou and the other's spine.
"What the hell is that monster?"
A-Chou screamed in terror.
Luffy waved away the shark swarm, then, carrying Samehada, charged towards the two on a giant wave: "Since you're in such a hurry to be reborn, I'll grant your wish. Your heads can be exchanged for some bounty."
These two are worth at least ten million combined; it wouldn't be bad for Nami to keep them as pocket money.
Seeing Luffy charging towards him, Croobi was overjoyed.
His fish-man karate in the water was at the forty-dan level; one punch could shatter a thousand tiles. He felt invincible in close combat!
"Thousand-Tile Punch!"
Croobi roared, throwing a punch at Luffy.
Luffy looked at him like he was an idiot. Even without Kisame's power, his own strength was enough to overwhelm this nobody with a bounty of only 900 Berries.
Luffy swung Samehada and smashed it down on his head.
With a deafening roar, a column of water shot skyward from the sea.
In Achoo's despairing eyes, Croobi's head was sliced off by Samehada's barbs and rolled away like a ball.
Achoo let out a shriek and turned to dive into the deep sea.
Luffy's hand seals flew: "Trying to run? Water Release: Great Shark Bullet Technique!"
A gigantic shark-shaped water bullet roared out, its massive jaws opening wide, instantly swallowing Achoo whole!
Meanwhile, in the jungle on the shore.
"You bunch of bastards, if you dare ambush me again, I'll chop you all up!"
Zoro cursed furiously, rubbing his wrist, which was red from being strangled.
"Hahaha, all's fair in love and war, that's called strategy, you know?"
Usopp waved his hand with a sly grin.
Sanji, cigarette dangling from his lips, calmly said, "Who told you to try and force your way into Arlong Park? If Nami gets hurt because of your recklessness, I'll hold you responsible!"
"What? What did you say, you perverted cook?"
"Want to fight, you green-haired moss?"
Sanji and Zoro's foreheads collided instantly, sparks flying.
"Big brother! Look! The Marines are coming ashore!"
Joseph suddenly shouted, pointing into the distance.
"Marines? Isn't this the Marines?"
Zoro turned his head and saw a warship with a huge "16" painted on it slowly approaching the shore.
That was the ship of the 16th Marine Division. Captain Rat, hands behind his back, scurried off like a sleazy mouse.
"Squeak squeak squeak… I'm Captain Rat. Tell that Officer, what's-his-name, Ken, to get over here."
Ken, his face grim, stepped out from the crowd: "That's me."
"Take me to Nami's house!"
"Nami?" Ken's heart skipped a beat. "What's wrong?"
Captain Rat grinned sinisterly: "Enough talk, just lead the way."
Usopp and the others who followed frowned at the scene.
"This guy's looks really eccentric, like a big rat."
"Just looking at that face makes me want to chop someone up."
"He said he's looking for Miss Nami, if we follow him we can find her, right?"
The group, each with their own ulterior motives, quickly arrived at the back mountain where Nami's house was located.
Nami was just about to go to the orange grove to dig up the 100 million Berries when she bumped into this group of uninvited guests.
"Yo, Miss Nami!"
Sanji's enthusiastic shout startled the rat colonel in front of him.
"Where did this troublemaker come from?" The rat colonel frowned, but thinking of the huge sum of money that was about to be his, he didn't bother to argue.
Nami, seeing the Marines mingling with Zoro and his crew, paled. "Zoro? Did Luffy call for reinforcements? That idiot, these people aren't even a match for Arlong!"
At this moment, the rat colonel finally revealed his true colors: "Squeak squeak squeak, so you're the thief named Nami, right? I heard you hid your stolen treasure in this orange grove?"
Nami was struck dumb, her face turning deathly pale.
Ah Jian, who was leading the way, clenched his fists, veins bulging.
"Although you stole it from pirates, we won't pursue it, but stolen goods must be confiscated!"
The rat colonel acted like a righteous scoundrel.
The Marine soldiers behind him also revealed greedy smiles.
Nami took a deep breath, forcing herself to remain calm: "Hmph, that's surprising. You're usually too cowardly to catch pirates, but you're quite enthusiastic about bullying thieves. Is this the Navy's justice?"
"Let me tell you, I'm Arlong's officer. If you dare touch me, Arlong won't let you get away with it!"
Captain Rat sneered, lowering his voice: "Squeak squeak squeak, trying to intimidate me with Arlong? Search me!"
"Arlong's officer?"
"How did Nami become a pirate?"
Usopp and the others, listening from behind, were completely confused.
Seeing the Navy actually going to dig up the orange trees, Nami panicked completely, pulling out her nunchucks and charging forward: "This is the village's life-saving money! You can't touch it!"
"Captain! This land is suspicious, dig!"
"Stop! Don't touch Bellemere's orange trees with your filthy hands!"
Nami, like a raging lioness, knocked down a Navy officer with one blow of her nunchucks, tears streaming down her face.
"That's the money I used to buy back the village! Even so, you still want to steal it?!"
A-Jian couldn't hold back any longer and roared, "That's money this child earned with her life! You beasts!"
Nami froze upon hearing A-Jian's roar, the stick slipping from her hand.
"Mr. A-Jian...you knew?"
A-Jian looked at her with heartache: "Silly child, everyone already knew."
Nami's defenses crumbled instantly. She had always thought she was fighting alone, but it turned out everyone had been silently supporting her. Tears streamed down her face like a broken string of pearls.
"We dug it up! What a huge box!"
Colonel Rat rubbed his hands excitedly, grinning from ear to ear as he looked at the box of Berries stained with blood and tears.
"Hey! Take your filthy hands off Miss Nami's money!"
Sanji spat out his cigarette butt and walked up with a grim expression.
"My sword is itching for a fight."
Zoro slowly drew his Wado Ichimonji, the tip pointing directly at Colonel Rat.
Colonel Rat scoffed, "Where did this brat come from, daring to meddle in the Navy's business? Want to be wanted?"
"The Navy we know isn't scum like you!"
"That's right, if Luffy sees this, he'll beat you to a pulp!"
Joseph and Johnny also drew their swords.
Usopp, hiding in a corner, shouted with his slingshot, "Go, Zoro! Kill this giant rat!"
Nami looked at the group of people standing in front of her, a warm feeling welling up inside her.
Watching this scene, A-Jian smiled with satisfaction: "Looks like you've made a group of truly good friends."
Colonel Mouse waved his hand impatiently: "A bunch of unruly civilians! Execute them on the spot if they dare to resist!"
"Usopp's ultimate move—Gunpowder Star!"
Usopp struck first, a fireball slamming directly into Colonel Mouse's face, causing him to scream in pain.
"Kill them!"
Zoro tied his bandana around his forehead, his eyes sharpening, a bloodthirsty smile playing on his lips: "The show's about to begin."
Sanji instantly transformed into a black blur, his right leg sweeping out with a fierce gust of wind.
"How dare you upset the beautiful Nami! You bunch of bastards are unforgivable!"
With several muffled thuds, the powerful kick, like a whirlwind sweeping away fallen leaves, sent the front-line Marines flying.
In the blink of an eye, the once-mighty naval force was routed by these two main forces, cries of agony filling the air.
Captain Rat, watching his routed men, his two sleazy mustache trembled violently, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"Damn it, that bastard Arlong's intelligence was wrong! Why didn't he mention there were such monstrous combatants here!"
Nami, keenly aware of the name, instantly turned deathly pale, her voice trembling: "You're Arlong's lackey?!"
Caught red-handed, Captain Rat, enraged and humiliated, his beady eyes flashing with ferocity, roared hysterically.
"What are you standing there for! Raise your guns! Turn these two reckless fools into sieves!"
The naval soldiers in the back ranks, unaffected by the initial onslaught, frantically raised their long-barreled muskets, the dark muzzles trembling as they aimed at Zoro, Nami, and the others.
Zoro frowned, his hand on his sword hilt, a flash of disgust in his eyes. "Hey, you bunch of scum in uniforms, you dare call yourselves Marines?"
When they attacked earlier, considering their opponents' identities, the Straw Hat crew had held back somewhat, not going all out.
Captain Rat scoffed, spitting as he cursed, "What's the point of talking about chivalry when dealing with vicious criminals like you?"
Zoro looked at this group of stubborn fools, his temples throbbing.
As the vice-captain, he often had a better grasp of the bigger picture than that idiot captain in crucial moments.
If he really went on a killing spree and slaughtered these Marines here, Luffy would likely get into serious trouble within the Marine system.
After all, they were nominally colleagues; wiping out an entire branch—who knew if it would deal a devastating blow to Luffy's "Marine Captain" status?
"Fire! Give them a good beating!"
Captain Rat's shrill voice pierced the air.
Just as the marines' fingers were about to pull the trigger,
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
A sudden and rapid burst of gunfire erupted from their flanks and rear.
A cloud of blood instantly exploded among Colonel Rat's trusted ranks. The unsuspecting marines fell one after another into pools of blood, like wheat being cut down.
In that instant, everyone turned in shock, their eyes fixed on the direction from which the gunfire had come.
Luffy stood there, his expression grim, carrying two bloodied fish-man heads as if they were trash—the Kissing Fish-Man, Achu and Croobi.
Behind him, Commodore Pudding of the 77th Branch led a formidable squad of elite Marines, pressing forward like an impenetrable wall.
The muzzles of the soldiers' muskets still emitted wisps of smoke, clearly indicating that the deadly volley had come from their hands.
"You…how could you still be alive? You should have been torn to pieces by the Arlong Pirates!"
Captain Rat stared in horror at Commodore Pudding, whose body was wrapped in bandages, as if he had seen a ghost.
He had clearly betrayed the 77th Branch's movements to Arlong; according to the script, they should all be inside the fish's belly by now.
Overwhelmed by fear, Colonel Rat instantly lost his mind. Pointing at his opponent, he roared, "You dare shoot your own comrade? Did Arlong bribe you to keep that 100 million Berries for himself?!"
Looking at this clown who had so blatantly exposed his own weakness, Luffy's eyes were filled with an almost unbearable disgust.
"Sometimes, you parasites cloaked in the mantle of justice are more repulsive than those brazen pirates on the high seas."
Luffy strode forward expressionlessly, step by step approaching Colonel Rat.
Only then did Colonel Rat realize that Luffy was carrying the severed heads of two Arlong Pirates officers. His legs instantly went weak.
"You...who are you?"
"Marine Headquarters Colonel, Monkey D. Luffy."
These words struck Colonel Rat's heart like a hammer blow, causing his pupils to contract sharply.
He suddenly remembered the document he'd casually tossed into the trash a few days ago; it did indeed mention that a high-ranking officer from headquarters would be making an inspection tour soon.
He'd thought it was just a perfunctory formality, but who would have thought this "big shot" would arrive in such a terrifying manner?
Colonel Rat instantly forced a fawning smile that looked more like a grimace, rubbing his hands as he approached.
"Oh, it's Commander Luffy! It's a misunderstanding. I just recovered stolen government property from a thief and was preparing to hand it over to the national treasury."
Luffy casually picked up a still-warm musket from the ground, the cold muzzle pressed directly against Colonel Rat's forehead.
"What a coincidence, the 'thief' you're talking about happens to be the best navigator on my ship."
Luffy's lips curled into a chilling smile. "Even more coincidentally, part of that 100 million Berries was my advance payment for her salary."
Upon hearing this, Colonel Rat's face drained of all color. He screamed, "You can't kill me! Even if I'm guilty, I deserve a court-martial! I'm a naval officer, you can't..."
"Bang!"
A deafening gunshot choked him back down his throat.
Luffy casually tossed aside the still-smoking musket, not even glancing at the corpse with a bullet wound between its eyebrows, and walked straight to Nami, who was standing nearby.
"Hey, that was pretty brutal!"
Zoro stared at the rat-like colonel with a bloody hole in his forehead, his lips twitching involuntarily. "With you doing this, are we Marines or bandits?"
Luffy rolled his eyes at him, annoyed. "This kind of thing is worse than trash. Keeping it around is just a waste of air. I'll hold the sky up if it falls."
Then he added meaningfully, "We have connections."
Luffy had already reached Nami.
He held two hideous fish-man heads in his hands, radiating a chilling aura of bloodlust, looking like a demon returned from hell.
However, Nami felt no fear looking at Luffy.
She slowly raised her head, her small face streaked with dirt and tears, looking like a wronged little kitten.
At this moment, Arlong's suffocating laughter still echoed in her mind, a nightmare that had haunted her for eight long years.
"Arlong...Arlong..."
Nami's dagger clattered to the ground. With all her remaining strength, she let out a long-suppressed cry: "Luffy...help me!"
Luffy didn't speak, but gently tossed the severed head aside and removed the straw hat he cherished most.
He gently yet resolutely placed the hat over Nami's head, obscuring her despairing eyes.
"Luffy?"
Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, and the others silently gathered around, standing behind Luffy.
Luffy suddenly threw his head back and roared at the sky with a roar powerful enough to shatter the clouds: "Of course!!!"
Then, he turned his head, a ferocious and wild smile spreading across his face: "Guys, warm-up's over, time for some serious action!"
Luffy looked at Nami, who was still sobbing, and softened his tone slightly: "Nami, can I borrow that 100 million Berries?"
Nami looked up blankly, clutching her large straw hat, her eyes brimming with tears, not understanding Luffy's meaning.
Zoro, however, already understood. He walked directly to the heavy box filled with 100 million Berries, hoisted it onto his shoulder with one hand, and his muscles bulged.
"Idiot, the captain obviously means to use this money to 'buy' back your Cocoyasi Village."
At this moment, a large number of villagers, attracted by the commotion, surged over from all directions.
They held kitchen knives, hoes, and even sharpened wooden sticks in their hands, and each of them had a burning flame of fearlessness in their eyes.