"Hmm~ I slept so well..."
When he woke up, Luffy was in high spirits.
Zoro was also waking up with a yawn, but judging by his appearance, he likely had a good rest too. Although the injury from Hawkeye wouldn't heal quickly or completely, he was no longer bleeding.
Sanji, on the other hand, was dealing with a fracture, which meant his recovery would take even longer. However, they were all ready to set sail.
"Yo Xi, let's go find our navigator!" Su Yi declared.
"Hey, hey, hey! I haven't..." Sanji started to protest.
But when Su Yi lifted the hammer, he immediately fell silent.
Su Yi, wearing a mischievous expression, warned, "Don't make me drag you away. If I do, you won't even get a chance to say goodbye to everyone."
Terrifying. This man was terrifying.
Sanji froze in place.
In truth, he had already developed an interest in Su Yi's group. It seemed like going out to sea with these guys might not be such a bad choice after all. Still, he couldn't shake off the worry for Boss Zeff.
In his determination to save Sanji, Zeff had sacrificed all the food for himself. When he was starving, he even resorted to eating his own leg, which was how he lost it.
If you were born without nourishment, you would be rewarded by cutting off your fingers. But if you weren't born and raised, there would be no reward.
Zeff, having lost a leg, not only couldn't live the life of a pirate, but he also would never get the chance to find ALLBLUE. It was a regret that would haunt him for the rest of his life.
Sanji felt he owed Zeff too much, no matter what he did.
"Men should fight for their dreams, right? And maybe we'll be back in a few years," Su Yi said.
Sanji lit a cigarette, "How can becoming the Pirate King be so easy?"
"Hey hey," Luffy laughed, clearly happy that Sanji was coming on board.
"Wait, I'll clean up."
Seeing Su Yi raise the hammer again, Sanji broke into a sweat, "I'm just going to pack up, not run away! Please don't hit me again; my head still hurts!"
...
Arlong Paradise.
Nami, who had returned alone, surprised Arlong and the others.
"Yo, Nami! How was it out there? How many Baileys did you collect this time?" Arlong, sitting in his seat, asked casually.
"It's almost done—about 100 million Baileys."
Nami replied and walked straight to her room.
"Really? We're almost there, huh huh huh..." Arlong let out a maniacal laugh.
Unbeknownst to Nami, Arlong had already informed Colonel Mouse that she had buried nearly 100 million Baileys. At that moment, Colonel Mouse had led his men to dig up the treasure. He had also agreed to give Arlong 30 million Baileys afterward.
"I did say that as long as you give me 100 million Baileys, I can let you and Cocoyashi Village go. But the premise is that you actually have the 100 million Baileys. If your money is stolen by others before then, I can't do anything about it, hahaha..." Arlong laughed proudly.
...
Cocoyashi Village.
Colonel Mouse brought a group of Marine soldiers to Nami's house.
"Yo Xi! This is the home of the thief! Let me search! There's a huge sum of 100 million Baileys hidden here! Giegiegiegiegie~~~~~" Colonel Mouse, looking very much like a mouse, stood at Nami's doorstep, laughing mischievously.
The Marines followed him inside, rummaging through boxes.
"Hey! Who are you? The dignified Marine is breaking into a house and stealing? Is there any reason for this?!" Nojiko shouted angrily as she knocked out a few Marines with a frying pan. She then ran out to confront Colonel Mouse.
"Where were you Marines when Arlong devastated the village?! Now you're bullying us civilians! Are you Marines or pirates?"
"Jijijijijijiji..." Colonel Mouse grinned lewdly, "Your sister is a thief. Although she claims she steals from pirates, she's still a thief, so I'll take the money with a smile."
Nojiko was furious but felt helpless against a group of strong Marines.
"What are you doing?!"
Suddenly, Nami returned and saw the Marines breaking into her home and rummaging through her belongings. A bad premonition hit her, and she rushed to confront one of the Marines.
"You're the thief! I heard you have a huge sum of 100 million Baileys hidden in your home. It's better to hand over these ill-gotten gains to Marine, giegiegiegie..." Colonel Mouse laughed.
"How do you know it's 100 million Baileys?!" Nami's pupils dilated.
It was Arlong!
She should have realized it; a guy like Arlong would never let her go. As an excellent navigator, he would always want to keep her firmly in his grasp. Moreover, the town had handed over more than 20 million Baileys in a month. There was no way he would give up completely over just 100 million Baileys.
"Arlong! Arlong! Arlong! Arlong! Arlong!" Nami felt as if she were going insane.
She could only watch helplessly as Colonel Mouse and his men snatched away the treasure she had worked so hard to accumulate.
Eight years! Eight years of accumulation, all turned to nothing.
"Let's go! We're going to find Arlong. I'm not willing to give that guy seventy million Baileys," Colonel Mouse commanded, leading the Marines back to their ship, ready to set sail.
Whoosh—
Suddenly, a sharp wind cut through the air.
Boom! ! !
In the next moment, the Marine warship split in two from the middle!
Whoosh—
Whoosh—
Whoosh—
Whoosh—
Whoosh—
Countless wind blades rained down from the sky, slicing the Marine warship like a cake, shredding it into countless pieces.
As for the Marines onboard, it was uncertain how many were left whole.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! ! ! ! ! !
Like a tsunami, a turbulent wave erupted on the sea. The terrifying attack had turned the warship where Colonel Mouse was into ruins, leaving hardly a complete plank behind.
Meanwhile, a small sailboat slowly entered the port of Cocoyashi Village, its skull-and-crossbones pirate flag—with a straw hat—fluttering above it.