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The roaring sound of the flood echoed through the eardrums as Zyhark and Bellemere, along with a few others, stepped out of the house and into the orange grove outside.
The once flat land was now submerged in water, with countless green leaves floating on the surface.
The neatly planted orange trees were a mess, some of them even uprooted by the shallow roots, left to the mercy of the flowing water.
It could be said that the orange grove was almost completely ruined!
In the corner, Aqua stood still in shock, staring at the destroyed orange grove, scratching her head in confusion.
Next to her, a drenched Nami and Nojiko were even more bewildered, not even noticing their hair wet by the water covering their sight.
The only thought in their blank minds was that they might have to pick up garbage in the village from now on...
Seeing Zyhark and Bellemere appear, the bewildered Aqua became even more panicked. Her blue eyes darted left and right, looking towards the distant woods, trying to lower her presence.
But little did she know, this only made her appear more conspicuous as if she were guilty.
"Stop pretending, Aqua, I know it was you. What exactly happened?" Zyhark's opening was a critical hit.
Aqua was startled and stuttered in explanation: "Watering each tree one by one was just too slow, so I thought it would be better to just do it all at once."
Thinking of the high compensation she needed to pay for destroying the orange grove, the penniless Aqua instantly couldn't hold back her tears, "I didn't expect the orange trees to be so fragile, all of them fell down, all of them!"
In short, it was the tale of a lazy yet show-off goddess, losing face in front of her little believers.
"This whole orange grove, the compensation is probably hefty, you're done for, Aqua, prepare to spend your life here planting oranges."
Zyhark decided to scare Aqua.
He originally intended to compensate Bellemere's family with enough money in a way that wouldn't hurt their pride.
Even without such thoughts, it was no big deal if an orange grove was lost, no harm done.
The main thing was to teach Aqua, who occasionally causes trouble, a lesson.
Although intuition told him, she would probably forget everything in a few days and everything would be as usual...
"Lord Zyhark, please save me, you must save me!"
Aqua, without hesitation, threw away the dignity of a goddess, her eyes tearful and pitifully clinging to Zyhark's trouser leg.
"You're my companion, isn't this what I should do?" Zyhark said with a smile, patting Aqua on the shoulder.
"Wuwuwu, Zyhark-sama!"
The simple-minded Aqua didn't notice Zyhark's abnormality and was moved to tears.
She clung to Zyhark exaggeratedly like a plaster, expressing her gratitude.
Naturally, she smeared Zyhark with snot and tears.
This foolish goddess...
Zyhark held his forehead in silence, speechless.
How exactly is her body constructed? She could turn any liquid she touches into pure water, yet she couldn't purify things like snot?
After much persuasion, Zyhark finally managed to get Aqua off him and turned to Bellemere, who was still in a daze.
"I'm very sorry, Bellemere-san, for causing such a loss to your orange grove."
"We will take responsibility for whatever compensation is needed."
Bellemere, looking at the flooded orange grove with a headache, honestly didn't expect a simple business deal to turn into the current situation.
In the end, after comprehensive statistics by the guard Aiken, Zyhark had to pay a total of eighty thousand Belly in compensation to Bellemere.
To express his "apology," Zyhark voluntarily rounded up the eighty thousand Belly to a hundred thousand.
The increased amount wasn't significant, and the reason was somewhat reasonable, but it made the perceptive Bellemere sense something was wrong.
"Zyhark-san, you must have known that Aqua-san would destroy the orange grove, right? The purpose was to compensate with money?"
Inside the wooden house, Bellemere, biting a cigarette, blew a ring of smoke and stared intently at Zyhark sitting opposite her.
Genzo, having received an urgent call, hurried back to the village.
And King, who was always poor at socializing, returned early to the Endless Dream to play video games alone.
As for Aqua, Nami, and Nojiko, they were collecting oranges in the orange grove with a basket, trying to minimize the loss as much as possible.
"Was it really that obvious..." Zyhark laughed dryly, indirectly admitting the fact.
After receiving an affirmative answer, Bellemere fell silent for a few seconds and sighed deeply.
"You don't have to care too much about my feelings. As long as Nami and Nojiko can live happily, I don't care about anything else."
"Aqua too, to prevent me from suspecting, even deliberately acted like she accidentally caused trouble."
Hearing this, Zyhark quickly clarified for Aqua: "You're mistaken about that. She was genuinely being herself, not pretending."
"Ah, is that so?" Bellemere was surprised.
Using powerful floods to irrigate the orange grove, not to mention ordinary people wouldn't even think of it, even Nami, who was still a child, knew the drawbacks far outweighed the benefits, right?
Thinking this, Bellemere put out the cigarette in her mouth forcefully into the ashtray in front of her, her expression gradually becoming serious as she looked at Zyhark, "From the moment you entered, your gaze occasionally fell on Nami."
"Zyhark-san, do you know Nami?"
Being able to do business in the seas plagued by pirates, definitely wasn't any overly sympathetic good person. She and Zyhark had never met before, so there was no reason for him to go to such lengths.
Combining the details captured during their interaction, Bellemere quickly figured out the reason.
"No wonder you're an excellent marine..."
Looking at her firm gaze, Zyhark couldn't help but sigh after a brief moment of astonishment.
In the original story, Bellemere was rough and impulsive, even admitting that she was less capable of handling troubles than her older daughter Nojiko.
But it seems she wasn't so careless after all.
At least, not when it came to things related to Nami and Nojiko.
"To be honest, Nami resembles a friend of mine. She also has bright orange hair, a very capable and violent navigator." Zyhark made up an excuse.
"A violent, capable navigator."
Bellemere, holding her chin with one hand, unconsciously imagined Nami throwing a tantrum and laughed lightly, "That does sound quite similar!"
"When I came here, I had already told Nami that if the business deal was successful, she would have new clothes to wear."
Since everything was out in the open, there was no need to hide anymore. Zyhark straightforwardly said, "So, let's just go with my initial expectation for the compensation for the orange grove, two hundred thousand Belly."
Seeing Bellemere about to speak, he preemptively added, "Besides new clothes, use the rest of the money to buy books or something for Nami and Nojiko. This isn't charity, but an investment. Who knows, my sea restaurant might need their help in the future!"
With the conversation reaching this point, Bellemere found no reason to refuse.
"I really have no choice then. I'll accept your kindness on behalf of Nami and Nojiko!"
The sunlight outside the house shone on Bellemere's face, which was bursting with a radiant smile.
As mentioned before, as long as Nami and Nojiko could live happily, what harm was there in letting go of her pride to accept Zyhark's kindness?
Zyhark, sitting on the sofa, also wore a smile on his face. Being able to witness and bring happiness to Bellemere's family as a participant was a joyous thing.
Especially knowing the sad separations they would face in the original story!
If he encountered the Arlong Pirates on the Grand Line in the future, he might as well take them down if he had the chance.
He thought so in his heart.
"Zyhark! Zyhark! Something terrible has happened!"
Just then, Aqua, who was supposed to be picking oranges in the grove, ran in from outside, panicking.
Her blue eyes were filled with immense anxiety.
"What's wrong, Aqua?" Zyhark frowned slightly and asked in a deep voice.
Although Aqua always appeared very flustered after causing trouble, she was never as serious and earnest as now.
"I just felt a cry for help from the bottom of the heart of a believer, not far from here!"
Aqua's cute face was full of worry, "A devout believer of the Goddess of Water is suffering. Zyhark, let's go and save them quickly!"
Hearing this, Zyhark's confusion deepened.
A cry for help from believers of the Church of Axis not far from here?
He hadn't noticed any abnormalities nearby.
"Aqua, are you sure this isn't just your imagination?"
Although the residents of Windmill Village and Orange Town had all joined the Church of Axis, Zyhark didn't think their faith was strong enough to affect Aqua to this extent.
The most devout believer in these places was probably the simple-minded Luffy.
But what danger could Luffy possibly be in?
Could it be...
The slaves they had rescued from pirates before?
"It's impossible, this feeling is very strong, definitely not an illusion like Eris (Aqua's junior goddess) padding her chest!" Aqua was very confident in her feelings.
Just then, Genzo, who had left earlier due to an emergency, returned with an urgent message.
"Bellemere, and Zyhark, I've just received news that pirates have attacked Fuchsia Town on the other side of the mountain. Colonel Mose from the navy base is currently fighting them."
"Although it's unlikely, to prevent the pirates from fleeing towards Cocoyasi Village here, it's best to keep an eye on Nami and Nojiko and not go out for the time being!"
The navy base, Colonel Mose?
The familiar name made Zyhark's pupils constrict slightly.
He had just read about this naval base commander in the newspaper from the East Blue a few days ago. It was reported that he had successfully repelled Captain Kuro of the Black Cat Pirates, protecting the lives and property of the residents...
Wait!
Thinking of the Black Cat Pirates, who had conflicted with them yesterday and were currently active in this sea area, Zyhark's eyes sparkled with an indescribable light.
"Mr. Genzo, do you know if the pirates attacking Fuchsia Town are called the Black Cat Pirates?"
"I'm not sure, but it's said that the pirate captain is extremely ferocious, with five blades in each hand, more terrifying than a monster!" Aiken pondered.
"That's right! It's that bespectacled bastard, it must be them attacking the town where the Church of Axis believers are!" Aqua angrily stated.
Hearing they seemed to have a grudge against the pirates, Bellemere couldn't help but worry: "Aqua, you know the Black Cat Pirates?"
Having been a marine, she was relatively familiar with the infamous pirate crews in the East Blue.
Captain Kuro, known for his assassination techniques and schemes, was not a simple character!
"Sort of. On our way here, we just collected a meal fee of over two million from them." Zyhark hinted.
"Two, two million?!" Nami and Nojiko, who had been standing by the whole time, couldn't help but exclaim.
They had only heard of such amounts in books!
So opening a restaurant at sea could earn so much money...
The two clueless girls' eyes were filled with admiration.
Bellemere was stunned for a few seconds before commenting, "I see, no wonder you don't seem like ordinary merchants."
"We must hurry, Zyhark, let's go there and check it out!" Aqua urged anxiously.
Her dedication to her believers as a goddess was indeed very commendable.
Considering the influence of devout believers on Aqua's divine power and learning from Aiken that Fuschia Town was a populous town, where they could potentially attract more followers.
If lucky, they might even capture Captain Kuro and claim his high bounty.
After weighing the pros and cons, Zyhark finally decided to accept Aqua's request and head to Fuchsia Town!
Though Fuchsia Town and Cocoyasi Village were only separated by a mountain, the mountain paths were rugged and steep, with thorns everywhere and many wild beasts lurking. Even with villagers familiar with the route leading the way, it would take a significant amount of time.
Moreover, there were no villagers willing to actively head to a town being attacked by pirates!
Therefore, Zyhark decisively abandoned the uncertain mountain paths and set sail from the coast of Cocoyasi Village, navigating along the coastline of Conomi Islands, and landing at the port of Fuchsia Town.
About twenty minutes later, the Endless Dream arrived at the port of Fuchsia Town with the tide.
Coincidentally, the navy warship docked at the port just set sail, passing by the Endless Dream.
The marines on the warship shouted the name of their mission to subdue the Black Cat Pirates, and a naval commander wearing a justice cloak stood at the bow, arms crossed, with a long sword hanging behind him.
Even in just a fleeting few seconds, Zyhark recognized the man's identity.
Indeed, it was Colonel Mose, whom he had seen in the newspaper!
(End of Chapter)