With Arlong Park reduced to rubble, the battlefield fell silent except for the crackling of broken beams and the occasional groan from defeated fish-men. The villagers of Cocoyasi stood in stunned awe, struggling to grasp what had just transpired. Their nightmare was finally over, and it was all thanks to the Straw Hat Pirates.
Luffy stretched his arms and let out a long sigh. "Alright! First things first… We've got a lot to clean up."
Zoro raised an eyebrow. "What, you're suddenly interested in housekeeping?"
Luffy shook his head. "Nope. But before we move on, we need to take care of some unfinished business."
Luffy turned his gaze towards the direction of the village, his expression darkening slightly. "That rat-faced Marine officer… Nezumi, right? He let Arlong do whatever he wanted in exchange for bribes. If we leave him alone, he's just gonna try something like this again somewhere else."
The villagers, including Nami's adoptive sister Nojiko, clenched their fists in anger. "That coward never lifted a finger while we suffered," Nojiko spat. "But the moment Nami finally gathered enough money to buy our freedom, he stole it from her!"
Luffy grinned. "Yeah, that's not happening again. I'll give Gramps a call and let him know about this." He cracked his knuckles. "It's about time the Marines cleaned up their own mess."
Sanji raised an eyebrow. "Gramps? You mean you have connections in the Marines?"
"Something like that," Luffy said with a shrug. "Don't worry about it."
Nami, still overwhelmed with emotion, wiped her tears and forced herself to stand. "But what about the money Arlong stole? That treasure belongs to the villagers."
Luffy grinned and pointed at her. "That's why you're in charge of that part. I don't really care about treasure. You're the navigator, so you handle it."
Nami blinked, then smirked. "You're really leaving that to me? Fine, I'll make sure everything gets back to where it belongs."
The Straw Hat crew worked alongside the villagers to sort through the remains of Arlong Park. Nami took charge, directing them on where to look for the hidden vault where Arlong had stashed all the stolen riches. It wasn't long before they found it—a massive storage room filled with chests of gold, jewels, and countless stacks of berries.
Usopp whistled. "That's more treasure than I've ever seen in my life!"
Sanji smirked. "And it's all going back to its rightful owners."
Zoro cracked his neck. "You sure you don't want to take a little for ourselves?"
Nami shot him a glare. "Don't even think about it."
Luffy just laughed. "We'll get our own treasure someday. This isn't ours to take."
Once the treasure was secured, Luffy pulled out a small, seemingly ordinary Den Den Mushi from his pocket. The villagers and even some of his own crew members looked confused.
"What's that?" Usopp asked.
Luffy grinned. "A direct line to my grandpa."
Before anyone could question it further, Luffy spun the dial, and after a few moments, a gruff voice answered.
"This better be important, you little brat!"
Luffy smirked. "Hey, Gramps! I need you to deal with some corrupt Marine officers. There's a guy named Captain Nezumi who was working with Arlong. He let a fish-man crew terrorize an entire island just so he could get paid."
There was a brief silence before the voice on the other end growled, "I'LL KILL THAT RAT!"
The sheer force of the voice made even Zoro and Sanji flinch. The villagers looked confused while Nami's eyes widened in realization.
"Wait a minute…" she muttered. "Your grandpa is—"
"Nope!" Luffy interrupted, grinning. "Anyway, make sure he gets what he deserves. I'll leave the rest to you."
Before the voice could yell again, Luffy hung up.
With the villagers finally freed, the corrupt Marines about to get what they deserved, and the Straw Hats growing stronger, their time in Cocoyasi was coming to an end.
Luffy turned to his crew. "Get some rest. We've got more training to do before we head to the Grand Line. You guys need to learn Haki and Marine Six Styles minimum."
Zoro smirked. "I'm always ready to train."
Sanji lit a cigarette. "As long as we eat well, I don't mind."
Usopp gulped. "Wait, do I really have to—"
"Yep!" Luffy grinned. "If you wanna survive, you gotta be strong!"
As the Straw Hats and the villagers celebrated their victory, the crew prepared for the next stage of their journey. The seas ahead would be even more dangerous, but they weren't backing down now.
The legend of the Straw Hat Pirates was only just beginning.