DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING, EXCEPT RAGNAR AND ALL VIKINGS AND OCs IN THIS STORY! ONE PIECE BELONGS TO EICHIRO ODA, VIZ MANGA, TOEI ANIMATION AND FUNIMATION ENTERTAINMENT/CRUNCHYROLL LLC
Chapter 37: Luffy Rises! Results of the Broken Promise!
Nami only remained silent, both with horror and confusion. What gave these Marines any right to confiscate the money she'd been collecting to free Cocoyashi Village? Was this some sort of joke? Was he actually serious when he was demanding that she give over the money needed for her village?! The captain only chuckled again, "Sorry, perhaps you didn't hear me before. Let me speak plainly: the government here by confiscates everything you've stolen. It is required that you comply immediately. Do you understand?"
"Well, isn't that something?" Nami asked with a grin, "I can tell you're passionate about your duties. You won't bring a brutal gang of pirates to justice, but you will shake down a lowly sneakthief, how noble." She didn't even flinch at his chuckle, "I'm only gonna say this once: I'm one of the leaders of the Arlong Pirates. If you mess with me, then Arlong won't stand idly by."
"You stupid girl, who do you think you're speaking with? Do you honestly think you can intimidate me?" Nezumi asked, then turned to his men, "Search the entire estate!" In an instant, much to Nami's horror, the Marines were searching her family home.
"Don't you dare move!" She yelled, assembling her bo-staff as she began knocking out two Marines left and right, "I said STOP!" She only glared at Nezumi with her weapon ready, "Do you really think this is what the Marines should be doing right now!?" She asked, "The Arlong Pirates are murderers! They destroyed entire cities, and you just sit back and do nothing! He's ruling over this island with an iron fist and crushing people's dreams! You'd turn a blind eye to Arlong's crimes to steal from a thief!? Is that what you stand for!?"
"Big talk from a lowly vigilante," Nezumi only sneered, "Continue the search, men!"
"Every person on this island has been waiting for the Marines to come and save them for eight years!" Nami yelled, "How dare you pass them by show up here searching for money!?"
"Captain, this tangerine orchard seems a bit suspicious!" one seaman reported.
"Dig it up, then," Nezumi ordered, "The whole thing if necessary!" Hearing this, Nami ran towards the closest Marine with a spade and pinned him to the ground.
"Keep your filthy hands away from my mom's tangerine orchard!" She growled, then knocked out the other men who were already digging, "I won't let you take my money! That's money's for…it's for…!"
"THAT POOR GIRL'S MONEY IS MEANT TO SAVE COCOYASHI VILLAGE!" Genzo roared, "WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO TAKE OUR SALVATION AWAY FROM HER!? DAMN YOU!"
"My, my! A village magistrate talking down to a Marine captain?" Nezumi asked, "How bold."
"Genzo…! How did you know…?" Nami asked, shocked as she knocked out the next Marine. How could he have known about the deal she made to save her village after all this time?
"I've always known, Nami," he replied, recalling what she told the entire village on that fateful day she revealed her tattoo to the whole town, "I couldn't believe what you did that day, so I talked to Nojiko about it later. Since that day, everyone in the village has known that you stayed with Arlong's crew so you could save the village, but we all agreed that we'd never tell you that we knew. If you ever thought the villagers were placing their hopes on you, then we feared you might never leave his gang for fear of letting us down."
"That can't be…!" Nami was truly touched by the very thought. Ingrid's words were now coming back to haunt her. She truly hadn't considered what Genzo and the others were thinking. And she had no idea that the entire village was counting on her this whole time! Nami couldn't help but feel ashamed of herself.
"Now hold on just one minute. What are you trying to explain?" Nezumi asked, "Are you telling me this entire village is harboring thieves now? That we should arrest every one of them? Is that what you're telling me?"
"What he's saying is that every last one of us is fighting to survive!" A voice called out from behind Nezumi, and Nojiko stood there at the entrance to the orchard, miffed that the Marines would dare show up now, "We have to rely on ourselves because we can't rely on support from you government people! So, if you're not gonna help our village, then get the hell outta here! And be quick about it, or Arlong will sink your ship too!"
"Arlong will, eh?" Nezumi asked, "I wouldn't be too sure about that." That was all Nami needed to suspect that something was up. She didn't even notice that the Marines were digging up her mother's beloved orchard. "You still haven't found it yet?! We're supposed to be looking for a hundred million berries, not a grain of rice!" Nezumi shouted, but it was those exact words that Nami finally recalled seeing the ledger that Willy showed her back at Njordholm…instantly she recognized that Marine captain's face from the picture in the ledger. Nojiko and Genzo too finally made the connection as well, infuriated at what this all meant.
"It's him…!" Nami muttered as she could hear that damned cackling of the very man who murdered Belle-Mere on that soil eight years ago ringing in her head. Instantly, her shock gave way to fury, "Fess up! It was Arlong who sent you, wasn't it!?" Nami growled out. Even if Nezumi tried denying it, she knew in her heart that it was true.
"Of course not," Nezumi denied, "I wouldn't dare do a pirate's dirty work, unless they were one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. I'm just a public servant dealing with theft the way any public official would."
"YOU CORRUPT MARINE SCUMBAG!" Genzo bellowed, his face red with rage.
"BRANCH 16 IS NOTHING BUT A BUNCH OF PIRATE CRONIES!" Nojiko cried, equally furious and heartbroken that Arlong would dare to betray her younger sister. Yet by far, Nami was apoplectic, given the way she bit her lips. If she had tolerated his abuses in the past, she now hated the shark fish-man with immeasurable fury.
"Sir! I think we found something!" A Marine shouted. As he dug, he revealed a crudely built wooden casket hidden underground among the tangerine orchard trees. Nami, Genzo and Nojiko were all drained of color. It was all over now! Nezumi only uncovered the lid of the casket to reveal its contents, and his eyes only lit up at the sight: A whopping 93 million berries' worth of bills, gold and treasure – enough to call a small dragon's hoard.
"Incredible!" Nezumi exclaimed, "I must admit, I'm impressed you've gathered this much treasure!"
"But captain, there's no way we can use this as evidence," said one seaman, "Look, the money's all ragged and bloodied."
"No matter, sailor. Money is still money," Nezumi only coldly replied, his heart beating at the chance to seize these assets. He couldn't help but gloat internally, 'Thirty percent of this is all mine!' He didn't even bother noticing the angry woman approaching him with her bo-staff.
"Don't you dare touch that…!" Nami growled, fuming with ire, as she made her way closer and closer to protect her hoard. "Stop it! DON'T TOUCH THAT! STOP IIIITTTT!" She shrieked, but Captain Nezumi only reached for his holster and drew a flintlock pistol, aiming it right for Nami as she charged him headlong. She was determined to protect her people no matter the cost, even if it meant her death. She only found herself stopped as Genzo and Nojiko tried to restrain her when suddenly…BANG! The sound of gunfire thundered across the orchard once more…Nojiko was shot right in the back as she fell backwards. In that instant, as Nami's eyes widened in horror, her thoughts returned to that very day Arlong killed her mother in that same orchard. "No…! NOJIKO!" Nami screamed as she rushed towards her sister.
"Nami! We have to get her to Dr. Nako, right now!" Genzo told his surrogate daughter.
Back at Cocoyashi Village, Luffy saw the commotion as he thought about the new move he was to make based on Genzo's pinwheel, when all of a sudden he heard Genzo's voice.
"Dr. Nako! Quick!" Genzo cried as he and Nami rushed into town.
"What's the matter, Genzo?" the doctor asked, only to see him holding a wounded Nojiko in his arms.
"Nojiko's been shot!"
"By who!?"
"The Marines!"
"WHAT!? Why!?" Dr. Nako asked. Instantly, as soon as he heard that, Luffy knew that something was definitely wrong, and that Nami was involved.
"Nami! What happened!?" Luffy asked as he rushed towards his navigator's side.
"Arlong happened…" She replied, trying her best to contain her anger, but that was all Luffy needed to hear.
"Nami's right," Genzo explained, "Arlong's been bribing the Marines of Branch 16. He's been lying to Nami for the last eight years. He never intended honor their agreement at all!" All the villagers couldn't help but feel rage and shame, and by far, the angriest of all were Nami and Luffy. This changed everything. Arlong finally crossed the line. Now was the time to declare war!
"Luffy…call the others!" Nami only told her captain, the rage seething from her voice. Luffy only nodded as Nami ran as fast as she could towards the west. 'Ingrid was right! Damn you! ARLONG!' she thought, recalling those haunting words Arlong said to her when they first struck that bargain eight long years ago…
Meanwhile, Luffy walked back towards the jungle, and only reached for his transponder snail headset and pressed the button.
"Ragnar…it's time," he declared before hanging up. How dare that fish-man lie to Nami as he did now?! He couldn't help but feel the same rage she felt. Luffy only screamed at the heavens, letting out a burst of energy that knocked every bird and animal within range unconscious. Now, this was personal. He would see Arlong Park erased from the surface of the earth for Nami's sake.
Meanwhile, Arlong Park's silene was broken by a single sound resonating throughout the fortress.
"ARLONG!" Nami roared, as she opened the gates, marching right towards the saw shark fish-man, and glaring at him.
"Well, if it isn't our devoted cartographer," said Arlong with a grin, but then noticed her rage, "What seems to be bothering you, O skilled surveyor of ours? Why the sour face?"
"Those Marine maggots you keep on the payroll stole every last berry that I had!" Nami growled, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt, "What happened to all that crap about dying before you ever broke a promise when it came to money!? Bastard!?"
"Refresh my memory, did I break a promise?" Arlong asked, acting as if he had no idea what was going on.
"Don't play coy with me! I know that you tipped off the Marines about my…!" Nami never finished. Arlong grabbed her by the mouth to silence her.
"Just when did I break that promise?" He asked her again, glaring at her as he smiled, "Speak up, girl!"
'Damn you! Damn you! Damn you!' Nami thought as she let the tears of rage flow down her cheeks, all while Arlong cackled once again at the pathetic sight.
"Too bad all your stollen money got stollen, that certainly is unfortunate," Arlong told her, feigning lament as he smiled, "But a bargain is a bargain, Nami. If you can't deliver 100 million berries, then both you and your village stay under my control permanently. Well, you know the terms…"
"You swine!" Nami hissed. She couldn't help but further feel like a fool for trusting Arlong, when all along, his word was worthless.
"It's only 100 million berries! Start saving again, and you'll have it again in no time!" Arlong cackled, treating the deal like it was nothing as was his true nature, "Or are you gonna run out on me?" He suddenly asked, "Don't forget, if you do that, then I'll kill every man, woman, and child in that village. Understand?" Yet Nami could see Arlong for the monster he really was. His tyranny, his hatred, his reneging of his promises, it was more than she could stomach, and now at long last, she knew she had to break it off, and ran as fast as she could out of Arlong Park. Her thoughts were now on Genzo and the other villagers. "Aw, running away already, are you?" Arlong asked with a sinister tone, then cackled in triumph as she ran out of ear shot.
"Nami! Wait!" Hatchan called out, trying to stop Nami, but was only stopped by Kuroobi and Wapanda.
"No need for that," Wapanda chuckled menacingly, "Or are you turning traitor on us too? I wouldn't be surprised, considering that you did stand up for that fool Tiger." Mention of that only made Hatchan's blood boil. That lionfish knew how to push the right buttons.
"That's enough!" Arlong told his crew, refusing to let there be infighting amongst his ranks, "Trust me, Hachi, she's not going anywhere. There's no way Nami would just abandon the lives of all those villagers."
"Choo! Now that's what I call playing dirty," said Chew, who was only feeling the same as the rest of his crewmates.
"There's no way I'd let go of an asset like Nami that easily," Arlong revealed, "I may be cruel, but I'm not totally heartless. Once she's finished charting all the world's oceans for me, then she'll have her freedom!" At this, most of the fish-men laughed along with their captain, thinking how brilliant they were for making Nami fall for such a clever trick. However, Hatchan only realized that his own words were coming back to haunt him.
'Oh no…what have I done!?' He thought, 'Willy, if you really are here…please tell Boss Jinbei that I'm sorry.' All the octopus wanted to do now was to find some way to atone for his actions. Getting revenge for the enslavement of his people was what he intended, but this…Arlong had gone too far.
Back at Njordholm, the Straw Hats were all brought up to speed about what happened with Nami and the Marines. What Arlong did just threw a wrench in their planning. The time for waiting was now officially over. Ragnar only met with Zoro, Usopp, Sanji, Ingrid, and Willie at the docks on the northern shore of the island.
"We cannot delay any longer!" Ragnar declared, "For Nami's sake, we have to attack!"
"Ragnar's right! Let's go meet up with Luffy ASAP!" Usopp declared, only to notice Sanji sitting down on a tree stump, smoking a cigarette with a smile on his face. "Hey, Sanji? What are you doing?"
"I'm appreciating happiness," said the chef, "Nami and Ingrid both had to live with way more suffering than normal people. Right now, I'm making a lot of good vibes so that I can send them her way."
"I bet that's not all you're thinking about, love cook," Usopp replied, knowing how the new cook was constantly fawning over Ingrid.
"I'm trying to fight for a beautiful young woman," said Sanji as he rose to his feet, "Is something wrong with that?"
"That's not right at all!" Usopp declared, "This isn't just about Ingrid and the Elgrings, it's also about Nami and the rest of the villagers!"
"Gentlemen! That's enough!" Ragnar interrupted, "Sanji is right to fight for a beautiful woman, but Usopp has a point. This is also for Nami's sake."
"Ragnar's spot on," said Zoro, standing up and facing south, "So, both of you quit bickering, and let's go."
"Ingrid and Willie will be leading the naval assault with the Elgrings," said Ragnar, "The rest of us will converge for Cocoyashi Village as fast as we can!"
"I'll ready the men and horses!" Ingrid declared, "We've found that fish-men do not fight well against cavalry."
"Tell Luffy that we'll be there, Ragnar," said Willy as he made his way towards his crew at the docks, "You can count on us."
"You don't speak for all the Sun Pirates, quartermaster," grumbled one of the Sun Pirates, a Sea otter mink from Zou, but Willy only pinched him by the ear.
"As long as we have a job to do here, I have as much authority as our captain," Willy answered, "Need I remind you wags what Boss Jinbei will do to us if the East Blue falls into Arlong's hands?" He then announced to the rest of his crew, "Sail southeast! First, we prepare our fire ship, then we sail for Arlong Park at once!"
Back further south, Nami rushed as fast as she could towards Cocoyashi. She was all too aware as to what Arlong and his cronies would do to the village if Genzo raised a fyrd. She would not let anyone else die on her watch like her mother did.
'Genzo! Please don't do anything stupid!' She thought, as tears ran down her cheeks, 'We have to live, or our struggles will all be for nothing! You can't throw your lives away!'
At Cocoyashi Village, the entire town rallied behind Genzo, who was by now livid at what happened.
"We've had enough! Take up arms! It's time to fight!" Genzo declared, with cheers from the villagers as they all rushed towards the weapons cache, arming themselves with axes, harpoons, even knives tied to staves as makeshift spears. Genzo himself then stood before the militia, wielding a sabre on his hip, "Eight long years ago, we promised we wouldn't live our lives in vain! No matter the pain and humiliation we endured under Arlong, we swore to fight the long fight so that Nami could meet their demands, but they lied! They never intended to keep their end of the bargain; instead, they stole our only chance at liberty! So now, it's time we make those filthy fish-men pay for the years they manipulated a kind young girl! Who's with me!?" And with those words, the entire village raised their weapons in shouts of anger and determination, when suddenly…
"Everybody WAIT!" A voice cried out, and they all saw Nami forcing a smile on her face as she walked towards them, "Calm down, it's not that much money. I can make it back in no time. I'll take care of it, don't worry. It'll be easy this time. I'm used to it. Just relax, everything will be okay. It's nothing compared to back then." However, Nami's attempts to dissuade the mob fell on deaf ears this time.
Genzo only knew what she was trying to do: trying to stop more people from dying needlessly for her sake. It was just like when Arlong took her all those years ago, shortly after Belle-Mere's death. He only approached his surrogate daughter, and embraced her with one arm.
"You've done enough. You must know that there's no point anymore," said Genzo, knowing that Nami's attempts were coming from a good place, "You struggled so hard carrying our lives on your back this whole time. I can only imagine that joining them must've been more painful than watching your poor mother get killed by those monsters…you've fought very well." He then let go and looked Nami right in the eyes, "Set yourself free from this island."
"Nami, he's right, just do it!" Nojiko pleaded, "You're an exceptional young woman, and you have your whole life ahead of you."
"Everyone, just listen to me!" Nami begged, pulling out a dagger from her belt, "I won't let you go! Just stay right there! I'm not gonna let anyone else get killed by those monsters! You'll all die." Yet Genzo only grasped the blade of the dagger with his bare hands, a solemn expression on his face.
"We know that," he simply declared. Nami was just shocked. After all they struggled through, the entire village was going to send themselves to suicide! The army hadn't even been fully prepared yet!
"Nami, it's no use! We've made up our minds," said Dr. Nako, resting his spear against his shoulder.
"GET OUTTA THE WAY!" Genzo yelled, snapping her out of her funk, and then drew his sword, declaring, "Move out!"
"We may not win, but we will…give them Hell!" Dr. Nako yelled. With that, the entire village charged onwards. They knew they were going to know the taste of defeat once more, but what little choice did they have? After Arlong lied to their champion?
Nami only dropped to her knees, the dagger falling from her hands. The battle cries of the villagers were all but silenced out, fading to a distant silence. All she could hear now was Arlong's damned cackling once more as the tears streamed down her face. Years of grief and rage seethed within her, finally bubbling to the surface like a raging volcano, as she glared viciously at that damned tattoo on her left shoulder: the very symbol of all her people and her home suffered under for so long – the same evil that killed her mother. Never before had she felt so hopeless, so useless, powerless even! Arlong was a heartless oath-breaker and he'd lied to her all this time…but no more. Pale with rage, Nami grabbed the dagger in her right hand, and drove the blade deep into her shoulder with a hateful scream.
"ARLONG!" She roared out, stabbing the tattoo repeatedly, "ARLONG! ARLONG! ARLONG!" All Nami could do was curse the name of the fish-man who murdered her mother and oppressed her village. Yet as the blood trickled down her arm, she suddenly felt something stop her. She only looked up behind her, to find that same boy with the straw hat she met back in Orange Town, who promised to help her defeat Arlong and save her village. Unable to maintain her composure any longer, Nami only dropped the dagger and broke down in tears. She then only looked back at her captain and asked, "Luffy? Help me…"
Luffy could no longer bear seeing Nami suffer like that any further. He knew he had to make this right. The boy only took off his straw hat, and placed it atop her head.
"Of course, I will," he replied, walking back to where he came from, "I made a promise, after all, didn't I?" With a deep breath, he then yelled to the heavens, "HE'S GONNA PAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYY!"
"Luffy…" Nami muttered, remembering how Luffy saved her back in Orange Town from Buggy's goons, and warned them not to lay a finger on his precious hat. Now, he was trusting her with it! Before long, she saw the rest of her crew sitting on either the road, or the benches. Zoro, Ragnar, Usopp and Sanji. They were all here for her, just as they all promised! The time for preparing was over.
"Let's go," Luffy told the rest of the men, and they all began to march. Yet Ragnar only stopped and gave Nami a bundle: her spear and shield, as well as a sole bearded axe.
"In case you wish to join us," he explained, "You're always welcome to fight alongside us." Nami only smiled at the thought. She wasn't going to sit idly by and cry while her friends fought for her. Quickly she ran towards Dr. Nako's hospital, wrapped her shoulder up in gauze, then made her way outside, letting the axe and dagger hang from her belt, then picking up her spear and shield before running as fast as she could to join her comrades.
"Hey! Guys, wait up!" She called out, before making her way towards their side. She was a Straw Hat too, and there was no way she was going to miss this. Her mother would be avenged!
At Arlong Park's eastern gates, the makeshift fyrd looked on at a terrible sight: Johnny and Yosaku were sitting out front, bloodied and beaten, with their shields battered and swords crossed against the entrance.
"Hey! Are you guys alright?" One of the villagers asked.
"Did Arlong do this to you?" Dr. Nako asked.
"Move aside," Genzo told them, "We have business to take care of with the Fish-men."
"I'm afraid we can't do that," Johnny explained, "When we finally learned that Big Sis Nami was tricked, we realized the only thing to do was to defeat Arlong in battle."
"So, we decided to come back here and fight him," Yosaku added, "But then we lost, but only by a hair."
"I'm sorry, but we can't let you through these gates," said Johnny, "You have no chance of victory!"
"What's that now?!" Genzo asked.
"Be patient, it won't be long now," Yosaku explained, "You see, we're waiting for the arrival of certain men."
"What certain men?!" Genzo asked again. Who was going to help them now that the Marines of branch 16 showed their true colors?
"Don't worry, they'll be here soon, I bet my life on it," said Yosaku as he and Johnny kept their eyes on the horizon facing the east. Then, that was when the two bounty hunters saw them approach at a slow walk, and they heard the shrill call of a horn. "There!" He and Johnny both exclaimed. The villagers turned to see all six of the Straw Hat Pirates, including Nami, slowly walking towards Arlong Park.
"Those are Nami's friends!?" Nojiko asked, even shocked to see her own sister among their ranks.
"But why would Nami ask these people to defend our village?" Genzo asked, confused. What was going on in his surrogate daughter's head?
"If those men can't handle Arlong and his gang, then there really is no hope," said Yosaku, "Not only for this archipelago, but for the whole East Blue."
"Those men with Big Sis Nami are the Straw Hat Pirates, the men who defeated Don Krieg!" Johnny declared, "Burn their faces into your minds, because they're here to change your destinies." Everyone was just floored when they heard that. These were the pirates who defeated Don Krieg?! How was that even possible!? Yet the villagers only recognized Zoro and Usopp – the former as the famed pirate hunter, and the latter as the brave archer who stuck it to Arlong.
"Stand aside!" Luffy told them as the Straw Hats approached the gates. Already, they could hear Arlong's cackling from behind the walls.
Inside the walls of Arlong Park, Arlong couldn't help but feel totally victorious against Johnny and Yosaku, as did his entire crew. Were those two men really the best that the East Blue had to offer?
"Hey, do you think those two buffoons who showed up earlier were part of Zoro's crew?" Arlong asked Kuroobi.
"Are you kidding me? They seemed too weak for that," Kuroobi replied, "They weren't even worth killing."
"That's for sure!" Arlong cackled, but his moment of triumph was cut short, when the gates to Arlong Park were suddenly being pounded, then shattered into pieces, as if they'd been torn apart by a cannonball or a battering ram! Arlong was in total shock. What was going on!? Yet as the dust settled, he saw Luffy standing right at the entryway, with two impressions of his fists in the stone. "What the fuck!?" He only asked.
Luffy only then rose to meet the fish-men's gaze and declared, "Now, which one of you is Arlong?!" The Straw Hats were making it clear what their intentions were: the Siege of Arlong Park had begun!
A/N: And so it begins! The great siege of Arlong Park! And it looks like Hatchan is finally having some second thoughts for once, but will it be enough to convince him to see reason? Also, Luffy almost went totally Super Saiyan for a bit. I was actually inspired by the scene in DBZ where Gohan goes Super Saiyan 2 after the death of Android 16 at Cell's hands. My reason for that was because in the Funimation dub of DBZ Kai, Gohan was voiced by Colleen Clinkenbeard - the same voice actress who provides the voice for Luffy in the dub for One Piece.
Also, I mentioned a fyrd as describing Genzo's militia. What is a fyrd? Well, in Anglo-Saxon England, there were two armies: the first army was the Hearthweru or Hearth Guards, who were the elite professional retinue of the King or earls or thegns. These comprised of the warrior elites, armed wit the best weapons and armor they could afford. The remaining army was the fyrd - the lower classes consisting of the ceorls - or middle class. These were men who were armed with spears and shields as their best weapons. The Viking equivalent of this was the leiðangr, which was a tier below the Hirð, the professional elites. However the leiðangr did have an advantage over the fyrd, as they were usually the ones on the attack.
I also must say, I had a fun time writing the scene in where Nami stabs her arm. I felt that I had to include that scene into the chapter, because it was just so powerful when I saw it in the anime - props to Luci Christian for a phenomenal performance in that scene, by the way.
Anyway, we have the greatest battle of the entire East Blue Saga coming up! So, stay tuned!