"Gold is actually a very soft metal, and unless you've mastered Armament Haki, it's not ideal for combat.
However, the most powerful aspect of the Paramecia Golden Fruit isn't turning your body into gold but controlling gold itself.
The upper limit of how much gold the Golden Fruit user can control is unknown, similar to how you could manipulate the gold inside the cabin of the Grandine right after eating the Paramecia-type Golden Fruit.
Besides the unknown limit on how much gold can be controlled, the user can stretch, deform, and fuse gold to form massive structures.
Although you can't create gold from nothing, and before awakening you can't turn objects into gold just by touching them, theoretically, anything made of gold will fall under your control.
What's more, you don't even need to touch the gold to control it; as long as it's within your range, you can manipulate it.
With that in mind, your imagination isn't limited by gold's softness.
Since you can sense and control gold remotely, you could melt soft gold and combine it with other elements to form a hard alloy.
That alloy would still be under your control.
If you use the alloy to create a massive, living structure and hide inside it, your opponent won't stand a chance unless they could break through the alloy's defence.
Additionally, you could turn gold into fine powder, which could enter your enemy's body through their nostrils or ears, allowing you to control them by manipulating the gold inside.
After Monet cured Olga's terminal illness two hundred years ago, Nami also sensed the potential of the Paramecia Golden Fruit.
Kahn, who had high hopes for her, began teaching her how to develop the abilities of the Golden Fruit, even giving her all the gold aboard the Grandine.
Not only that, but Kahn also took her to a bustling island, found the black market using special markings, and bought large quantities of iron ore and other elements. He then had Hancock help Nami in producing metals with a cauldron.
He taught her how Gild Tesoro used the Golden Fruit and watched as Nami created a small golden titan using a mix of gold and alloy. Seeing how defensive the alloy was, Kahn, who had a hidden scientific background, immediately imagined the destructive power if laser technology were added to the titan.
Unfortunately, the Grandine didn't have the necessary equipment, or Kahn would've acted right away.
However, with Nami's current strength, defeating a mere Arlong would be effortless.
There was no rush—Kahn planned to help her gradually improve after returning to the New World.
So, Kahn and his crew headed straight to Cocoyasi Village.
Three days later, the Grandigne arrived at Cocoyasi Village.
On the way, Kahn's group was attacked by Momoo, the sea cow that Arlong had brought from the Grand Line to East Blue. That night, Momoo became the crew's dinner.
Once in Cocoyasi Village, Kahn sent Monet and Sugar to help Nami confront Arlong while he and Hancock cleaned up the scattered fishermen to prevent any future issues.
Kahn intentionally stayed back.
After all, Arlong must have recognized Kahn and Hancock's identities.
Facing a Pirate Emperor from the New World and the Pirate Empress, Arlong would be petrified. After being schooled by Borsalino, he likely wouldn't even have the courage to fight back."
This approach didn't align with Kahn's plan to let Nami develop on her own.
So, Kahn specifically asked Monet, who wasn't on the Marine's radar and rarely appeared in public, to escort Nami.
Carina, eager to see how Nami would take her revenge, also volunteered to tag along.
With Monet's spatial abilities—which were even more impressive than her sister Hancock's lightning-based powers—both Nami and Carina felt completely safe.
Especially Carina, who didn't believe that anyone in East Blue, not even someone with a bounty of over 30 million berries, could stand up to a Pirate Emperor's forces. Even if the Pirate Emperor didn't act personally, sending a trusted subordinate would be more than enough to dominate East Blue or even any of the Four Seas.
And Nami's rapid transformation in just a few days made Carina believe that maybe Monet wouldn't even need to step in.
She was right.
Though Kahn and Hancock didn't follow them, they could still watch Nami's actions from afar thanks to their unique Observation Haki.
Unlike the Nami of eight years ago, who worked tirelessly and naively trusted Arlong's promise to release the village in exchange for 100 million berries, the current Nami was different. The pain of her mother's death, which had festered over the years, now filled her with a deep-seated hatred for Arlong.
So, when she reached Arlong Park, where Arlong was lounging under an umbrella, basking in the sun, Nami didn't waste time with words. She transformed her small fist into gold and sent Arlong flying with a single punch.
Immediately afterwards, Nami manipulated the alloy that Monet had provided and transformed it into a small golden titan, using it to crush Arlong.
Whether it was his large saw blade, Fish-Man Karate, or his attacks with water, none of his techniques could break through the titan's defence, let alone harm Nami, who was safely hidden inside.
In no time, Nami had beaten Arlong to the brink of death, his body broken and battered on the ground.
Just as Nami was about to release her golden titan form, Monet spoke up: "Nami, kill him."
Monet, who was usually gentle and kind, especially to her sister, was deadly serious at this moment.
"...Yes, Sister Monet," Nami replied, hesitating for a moment. The memory of Bell being shot flashed in her mind, but before any guilt could set in, Nami punched down with full force, smashing Arlong's head in.
With her revenge complete, Nami felt an overwhelming sense of relief and joy.
This feeling would be crucial for her future training in Haki.
While Nami was dealing with Arlong, Monet had already activated her spatial abilities to wipe out all the other Fish-Men in the area.
However, there was one Fish-Man who was treated differently: the octopus Hatchan, whom Kahn had specifically mentioned to Monet beforehand.
Kahn didn't order Monet to spare Hatchan's life, as he had no deep connection with Rayleigh, and Hatchan wasn't Shakky's saviour.
To avoid any complications, Kahn instructed Monet to have Sugar turn Hatchan into a doll and then burn the doll to ashes, giving Hatchan a quick and painless end.
People transformed into dolls feel no pain, whether they lose a limb or are burned to ashes.
And based on experimentation, once a person turned into a doll is burned to ashes, they truly die. As long as the ability user doesn't lose consciousness, those who knew the doll will have no memory of them.
So, even if Hatchan was reduced to ashes, Rayleigh and Shakky would never recall their memories of him.
In terms of erasing memories, Sugar's powers were absolute.
Even Kahn, who had travelled through time, had forgotten about Hatchan after his death.
Luckily, before coming to Cocoyasi Village, Kahn had written down his plan to eliminate Hatchan in his diary. If he ever needed to remember, all he had to do was read the journal, which was kept in the most obvious place, and everything would come back to him.
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