DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING, EXCEPT RAGNAR AND ALL VIKINGS IN THIS STORY! ONE PIECE BELONGS TO EICHIRO ODA, VIZ MANGA, TOEI ANIMATION AND FUNIMATION ENTERTAINMENT/CRUNCHYROLL LLC

Chapter 31: Untold Past! Female Warrior Belle-Mere!

A day after they sailed from the Baratie, most of the Straw Hats were able to be seemingly at ease as they sailed further and further northwest. So, they had plenty of time to spare. Yet for whatever reason, the atmosphere remained unnaturally tense as soon as the Baratie disappeared from sight of the horizon.

"All hands, in the galley!" Luffy suddenly called out, "It's time we discuss this next mission of ours!"

The nine of them, including Johnny, Yosaku and Ingrid, all made their way towards the galley. They sat at or near the table, while Ragnar governed the helm, listening in as he maintained course per Nami's instruction.

"Okay Luffy, we get that you wanna help these Vikings out," said Usopp, "But why take a detour from the Grand Line? Didn't you set out to become King of the Pirates in the first place?"

"You're absolutely right, Usopp," Luffy explained, "I was intending that we sail for the Grand Line after recruiting a cook initially. But there's far more to this mission than just helping out Ingrid's clan." Luffy only looked to Nami who nodded without even looking up. "That bastard Arlong also made Nami's life a living hell. Up to now, she asked me to keep it a secret, and I respected her wish. When we first dropped anchor at the Baratie, you all remember how Johnny and Yosaku here showed Lieutenant Fullbody the wanted posters in their possession, right?" At this, Zoro, Usopp and Ragnar all nodded in confirmation.

"Ja, we all remember that," said the quartermaster, "Nami looked at one of them and stormed off in here, slamming the door behind her. But you went to speak with her, didn't you?"

"You're right. I did," said Luffy, "That wanted poster she saw was Arlong's. Nami confided in me and revealed how bad this situation really was, she even asked for us to help her. I could try and explain, but I think it's best you all hear this coming from her." Luffy looked to Nami again, taking the seat next to her, "I know it's not my place to ask, but you sure you wanna do this, Nami? I understand if you…" Luffy didn't finish as Nami placed her hand on his shoulder.

"No…it's best they hear the truth from me," she told her captain, "I've been handling this burden on my own for far too long." She then rose and met her gaze with those of the crew, then rolled up her left sleeve, revealing the tattoo of Arlong's jolly roger. Everyone was absolutely shocked. All this time, Nami was part of Arlong's crew and never told them!?

"That tattoo…!" Ragnar muttered, then looked to Nami with a mix of both shock and anger, "Nami, explain yourself! What is the meaning of this?"

"I know what a lot of you are probably already assuming," Nami explained, the rage in her tone clearly evident, "And my answer is no. I didn't join willingly. I was pressed into Arlong's crew a long time ago. It all started with my mom…" In that instant, Nami could feel the tears forming as she recalled the day that cost her everything, all those years ago, still remembering that fateful afternoon…

It was a beautiful afternoon day in Cocoyashi Village, and ten-year-old Nami was drawing a map of the entirety of her home island, one of many in the Conomi Archipelago, and had finished marking out the village's location on the map she just drew.

"Finally! It's done!" She exclaimed, celebrating what she accomplished: a completely accurate map of the island with geographical features and neighboring lands. Now, she was determined to do more than just her home island. She just had to continue!

At the local bookstore, Nami knew exactly what she was aiming at, but the only problem was that it was on the top shelf of the bookcase before her.

"Now, if I can just reach that book, I'll be set," she muttered, looking around. Thankfully, nobody was there to notice. She climbed up the ladder and grabbed it: the book on navigation she was seeking. Yet, as she climbed down the ladder, she tried stuffing it in her dress, knowing full and well she was still growing. Still, what happened next was all but inevitable.

"Hey, is that you, Nami?" A familiar and elderly voice asked, and Nami froze dead in her tracks. It was the old woman who ran that shop. "You need any help there?"

"Oh! No, I'm just looking," Nami replied as she tried her best to hide the book behind her back in her dress, "I'll be going now!" Yet as she made her way towards the doors, she felt herself bump into something, or someone, causing the book to fall out of her dress. Nami only looked up and knew she was in trouble: the local sheriff Genzo was eying down at her with a disappointed glare. He was only thirty-six, but he was still the closest thing Nami had to a father, even as he smacked her on the head.

"Dammit, Nami! Not again!" He yelled. This was the fifth time this week that Nami managed to get her grubby little hands in trouble, and it was getting old real fast.

Genzo only held Nami up by her dress as they walked, in full view for all Cocoyashi Village to see. Yet the villagers, it seemed, were used to this sort of behavior. Nami pulled stunts like this on a regular basis all the time. So, they only just laughed it off, amused that their regular cat burglar was once more caught red-handed.

"Lemme go!" Nami pleaded, "Genzo, I'm not a cat!" She couldn't help but feel mad that she got caught…again, and by the village's local sheriff no less.

"You little urchin!" Genzo scolded, "How many times do I have to tell you that stealing is wrong?"

"How else am I gonna get what I need? I don't have any money!" Nami snapped back, sticking out her tongue and blowing a raspberry at the sheriff. Yet still, Genzo carried her like that all the way to her house.

The local tangerine orchard was like one of many in the Conomi Islands, all laden with trees groaning with fruit that was ready for harvesting. It was a small but modest little plot of land, away from the village, but it was the perfect and idyllic place to call home.

"Belle-Mere! You there?" Genzo shouted as he knocked on the door, "Belle-Mere! I caught Nami stealing again, so please open up!" The doors of the house opened, and out emerged a relatively slim young woman of about thirty, with long fuchsia hair tied in a ponytail, grey eyes, and a rather unique hairstyle similar to a Chelsea hawk. She wore a green checkered shirt with the word "MACE" on it, indigo trousers, and brown sandals. A cigarette was seen dangling out of her mouth.

"What is it this time, Genzo?" She asked with a sigh, only to spot Nami smiling happily and clutching the book she nabbed. "Nami, you're back home so soon? That was a quick trip, wasn't it?"

"I managed to get a ride," replied Nami, trying to play it down.

"Listen, you better get some control over this girl," said Genzo, still exasperated over Nami's kleptomania, "One of these days, she's gonna wind up in a jail cell." Yet Belle-Mere only sauntered outside and smiled at the sheriff.

"Thanks for the hot tip," she told him, playfully tapping his cheek, "Wasn't there a time when you wanted something so bad that you just wanted to take it, no matter what?"

"You're the reason Nami acts like this!" Genzo yelled.

"Oh, relax. I'm just kidding," she replied, stroking Genzo's chin, "I hope you were kind enough to pay for that book, right~?" By this point, Genzo was getting extremely flustered by the seduction act, he couldn't even find the words to respond, even as Belle-Mere got closer towards him. "Thanks, big guy~. I don't have the money right now, but I can pay you with my body, if you want~. How about it~?" Hearing that just made Genzo so flustered, his whole head and neck flushed bright red. Quickly he backed away from this seductress, not wanting to make a scene in front of a little kid.

"You can't say things like that!" He snapped, much to Nami and Belle-Mere's amusement.

"Look, he's as red as a beet!" Belle-Mere giggled along with her daughter, before getting down to Nami's level and clearing her throat. "Alright, laugh it up while you still can, Nami." As soon as Genzo left however, Belle-Mere did end up scolding Nami, giving her the spanking of a lifetime, "Pull a stunt like that one more time, and you won't be able to sit for a week!"

"I'm sorry, Mom!" Nami whined, gently rubbing her tooshie, "It's just…I really need that book badly."

"Then why didn't you just ask me if I could buy it for you?" Belle-Mere asked.

"Because I know we don't have the money," Nami answered, looking down at her feet as if ashamed of what she did.

"What are you talking about? Of course, I can," Belle-Mere told her daughter, "We still have plenty of money left over from last year's harvest."

"But I heard them in the village," Nami explained, "They said that the weather's been so good lately, that everyone's tangerines will sell, and that means that we can't raise our prices, or we may not be able to sell at all!"

"They don't know what they're talking about," Belle-Mere chuckled. At that precise moment, another little girl, about twelve, emerged. She had light blue hair and eyes, and tanned skin. She wore a red headband on her forehead, a navy-blue T-shirt, and a light blue denim overdress.

"Way to go, little sis!" She snickered, "If I'd stolen it, then there's no way I would've been caught!" That little remark, though, only caused Belle-Mere to spank both her daughters.

"That goes for you too, Nojiko," she reprimanded, "No more stealing: got it?"

"I was just joking, Mom! I promise!" Nojiko explained. Yet at that moment, Belle-Mere couldn't help herself but smile at her two little girls as she laughed and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, girls, but one thing's certain," she explained, "The maps you draw are so amazing, Nami!" Then she went and unfolded the map that Nami drew that day, "I've noticed you can draw land maps as well as sea charts now." Nojiko immediately went to take a look at her little sister's handiwork.

"That's a map of our island, isn't it?" She asked.

"Nobody would even believe that a little girl drew this all by herself," said Belle-Mere, patting Nami on the head.

"That's why I wanted that book," explained Nami, smiling with pride, "I got it so that I could start studying navigation."

"Navigation too?" Belle-Mere asked, curiously.

"Whoa! You're gonna be a navigator?" Nojiko chimed in.

"That's right! I'm gonna guide ships around all the oceans of the world," Nami declared, "It'll be great! And I'll be able to make maps of all the far-off places I'll go!"

"So, this island map is the first step towards realizing your dream, is it?" Belle-Mere asked, at which she only got a nod from her daughter, while holding the map up to the midday sun, "A world map, huh? Nami, your dream is bound to come true! I have no doubt."

That afternoon, however, as the family ate lunch together, a storm blew in from the coast, soaking the entire island. As Nami and Nojiko ate their fish, they couldn't help but notice that their mother was only eating tangerines while doing some needlework.

"Hey, mom? Why haven't you been eating lunch with us lately?" Nami asked.

"I've been eating tangerines," Belle-Mere replied, "I've just been on a diet is all."

"Then, I don't wanna eat either," Nojiko declared, setting her fork down.

"What's with all the drama?" Belle-Mere asked her oldest daughter, "You need to eat because you're a growing girl, Nojiko."

"Why do you keep lying to us!?" Nojiko asked angrily, "You're not eating because we don't have enough money to buy food, that's why! You're starving yourself so that we won't go hungry!"

"Tangerines replenish my skin with the power of liquid sunlight," Belle-Mere only responded, "And they are the only reason I am still a ravishing young beauty despite the fact that I am only in my extreme late twenties."

"But your hands are all yellow," Nami then pointed out.

"WOULD YOU JUST SHUT UP AND EAT YOUR FOOD ALREADY!?" Belle-Mere snapped. After this rare outburst, Belle-Mere got back to her needlework, snipping one of the threads loose with some sheers and presenting it with pride, "And, here you go, Nami! All done, a Belle-Mere one-of-a-kind original!" She exclaimed, holding up a pink dress with the face of a lion on it, but Nami wasn't happy.

"Oh great, another hand-me-down," she grumbled.

"Yeah, that's true, but it suits you," said Belle-Mere as she tried her best to make her youngest child happy.

"The lion used to be a sunflower!" Nami pointed out.

"Quit complaining!" Nojiko interjected, "You have to take my hand-me-downs or you won't get any new clothes!"

"But it's not fair, Nojiko!" Nami complained, "You get new clothes all the time, and mine are all used!"

"I get old clothes too, y'know!" Nojiko replied, "So, just suck it up, Nami, and take what ya get, understand?"

"We didn't come from the same parents, anyway!" Nami growled, "We're not real sisters, so who cares!?" Without intention, those words cut Belle-Mere deep, and in a fit of rage that one would expect from a mother, she slapped her daughter on the cheek, shocking Nojiko.

"Nami! That doesn't matter," Belle-Mere scolded, "Don't you dare say anything like that to me or your big sister again!"

"I…don't care…" Nami hissed, before glaring up at Belle-Mere, tears welling up on her eyes, "You're not even our real mom! You're just some lady who adopted us! You wish we'd never come here so you could buy clothes or food for yourself! You'd be better off without us, that way you can be selfish, and do whatever you want! I WISH SOMEONE RICH WOULD'VE ADOPTED US, INSTEAD OF A STINKY LOSER LIKE YOU!" And with that, Nami stormed out of the house, and into the pouring downpour. Belle-Mere was too shocked to even chase after her daughter for trying, because deep down, she knew that Nami was right.

"Nami! Stop! Nami!" Nojiko pleaded as her little sister bolted. The rain poured down all that afternoon, for hours, forcing Nojiko and Belle-Mere to remain inside for the rest of the afternoon. However, Belle-Mere was too enraptured in what life would have been like if she hadn't adopted Nami and Nojiko, only to hear her older daughter speak for her. "Mom, the three of us are a family, that's the truth!" She declared, "And you know Nami feels the same, no matter what she said." Upon seeing her daughter speak with wisdom beyond her years, Belle-Mere couldn't help but smile.

"Look who's being the mature one here," she said, smiling at her little girl, "I blew up, and you're the level-headed one. After the rain clears up, why don't you go ahead and find Nami? I'll make something special for dinner tonight, and we can all make up for it." Nojiko only smiled and nodded at the thought. There was nothing more special than a feast made by their mother.

As it stopped raining, the whole of Cocoyashi Village suddenly sprang back to life, as people went to the markets and bought and sold with the vendors for what they needed, bargaining for whatever the best offers were for meat, or trying to decide what produce was best today that was half-off. Truly, it was an idyllic life here.

Meanwhile, Nami managed to make her way to the local sheriff's department, and Genzo couldn't help but laugh as she explained the situation while he dried her off with a towel.

"So, you've run away from home and come to the village. Now, what's the plan?" He asked happily before handing her a mug of warm milk, while he sipped on some tea.

"My mom would be so much happier if she didn't have to take care of us," Nami told her father figure.

"And what makes you say that?" Genzo asked.

"Well, you need a lot of money to take care of two kids," Nami explained, "And because of me, the whole village hates her right now."

"Well, that's progress. At least you're considering others!" Genzo chuckled, "But don't worry! When your mother was your age, she was a complete nightmare terrorizing the entire village."

"Is that true?" Nami asked. She never heard Genzo talk about this side of her mother before. It was kind of fascinating to hear.

"Sure! Even now, the villagers look at her as some kind of a screw-up," Genzo replied, "So, you can imagine how surprised everybody was when she told us she was enlisting in the Marines."

"What?! You mean my mom was in the Marines?" Nami asked, totally surprised. She didn't expect that the woman who adopted and raised her was a soldier once.

"You better believe it," said Genzo, reminiscing the days when Belle-Mere was a proud musketeer in the Navy, fighting pirates all across the East Blue, while also establishing friendly relations with Vikings whose ships came into those waters. "She said that she couldn't stand by and do nothing while pirates killed innocent people. Then, she left the village. We all heard about how brave of a soldier she was, fending off pirate boarding parties single-handedly at times, and at others even fighting alongside Vikings with nothing but a cutlass or a boarding axe. But there came a day where one kingdom was attacked by a pirate alliance, the battle that followed left her entire battalion decimated. She was nearly on the verge of death, when she found a small little girl wandering the battlefield with a baby girl in her arms. That innocent baby was you, Nami, and seeing how precious you were, it gave your mother the right reasons to live again."

Nami widened her eyes in utter surprise. Her own mom was still alive because of her?! Now she truly felt bad for saying such awful things earlier. And it was apparent from Genzo's tale that the little girl holding her was Nojiko.

"After she found you and Nojiko, your mother sailed as fast as she could back here," Genzo continued, "I'll still never forget that stormy night when her boat pulled into the harbor, all while the sea raged around. As soon as she came ashore, I saw the two of you, both holding onto her for dear life. Your mother begged for help. Doctor Nako and I came rushing to the port when we saw the three of you. You and Nojiko were both burning up with raging fevers that night. I still can remember seeing how hard your mother cried, desperately begging Dr. Nako that you and your sister be saved. You can imagine how shocked we were the next morning when your mother told us she was planning to raise you and Nojiko both. We tried to get her to listen to reason, but she adamantly insisted on raising you both. The bond between the three of you runs deeper than any normal family."

Nami couldn't help but feel ashamed of herself for having snapped at her mother earlier. She had a lot of apologizing to do now. If it hadn't been for Belle-Mere, she and Nojiko would probably have died long ago.

At that precise moment, Nojiko came in and saw her little sister with their surrogate father, knowing that she might find Nami here. She always cheered up every time she saw that silly pinwheel atop Genzo's peaked cap.

"Nami! I thought I'd find you here," she told her little sister, "C'mon, mom's waiting for us. She's making us a special dinner! I think she's making your favorite, omelets with tangerine sauce." Those words were all Nami needed to hear to cheer up.

"Sure! I love omelets!" She exclaimed, and the two little girls began happily running through the village streets and back towards their home.

As they ran, the villagers couldn't help but smile at the sight of those two and how happy they were in spite of their situation.

"Time sure flies," Genzo told Dr. Nako – the elderly medic with the scrubs over his T-shirt and striped Khaki pants, "It seems like only yesterday that they were fighting for their lives."

"I think it makes everyone in the village so happy to see those girls grow up so full of life," said the doctor, "Their family suffered for so long over the years, it's finally good to see that they're overcoming it." Yet, they never could imagine that this was the last time they would ever see such a happy occasion between those two sisters, as a sudden cry broke the blissful silence…

"PIRATES ARE COMING! EVERYBODY RUN!" A man shouted, running as fast as he could throughout the village. Every villager was suddenly shocked. Pirates?! Here?! In the Conomi Islands?! "QUICKLY! THE PIRATES ARE COMING! HIDE!" Nami and Nojiko stopped dead in their tracks as they heard the news.

Back in the village's seafront, everyone gathered saw her beach, all knowing exactly what that ship was based on the saw-nosed figurehead, and the jolly roger adorning the flag and one of her sails: it was the Shark Superb – flagship of the Arlong Pirates!

"It can't be…!"

"That's impossible!"

"Why would fish-men from the Grand Line come all the way here?!"

"The rumors about the split between the Sun Pirates must be true!"

Genzo and Doctor Nako rushed to both Nami and Nojiko, fearing what would happen if the Arlong Pirates spotted them both.

"Nami, Nojiko!" Genzo called out, as he knelt to their level, "It's too dangerous for you girls here. Go hide in the jungle."

"But…Genzo…what about you?" Nami asked.

"Never mind me! You two must go, now!" Genzo told them, and the two girls ran as fast as they could into the jungle, hiding among the underbrush, but still keeping an eye out for what was happening.

As the Shark Superb dropped anchor, Nami saw them for the first time – Arlong and his band of cronies, each one resembling different fish, or even the occasional cephalopod. Each one of them had a red brand of a sun on their bodies. All of them were armed with swords and harpoons. Arlong then stepped forward, easily recognizable from his sharklike appearance, especially that serrated long nose, along with the dorsal fin that emerged from the back of his neck, and a mouth full of teeth. He was only 31, with long shaggy black hair that reached down to his shoulders. His skin was light purple in terms of hue, and he had an incredibly powerful build for a fish-man of his age. Arlong wore a long, light green scarf hanging from his shoulders, a dark green coat that hung unbuttoned, and a pair of beige Bermuda shorts with a chain-like pattern on them paired with a green sash around his waist. A plain gray hat sat atop his head. On his left pectoral, Arlong bore a red brand in the image of a sun – a sign of his association with the infamous Sun Pirates.

"Greetings and salutations, you pathetic little humans! FROM THIS MOMENT ON, THIS ENTIRE ISLAND AND ITS INHABITANTS ARE A PART OF MY DOMAIN!" The shark fish-man declared, much to the cheering and celebration of his men, and to the horror of the villagers, but the worse was still to come as Arlong spoke again, "Listen closely. On the first day of every month, you will buy your lives from me! A hundred thousand berries for adults; fifty thousand for children! Those who cannot pay will die!"

Nami and Nojiko were both horrified, having heard every word Arlong said, and even now, his cackling sent shivers down their spines.

"What should we do, Nojiko?" Nami asked, "We don't have that much money!"

"Maybe the fish-men won't be able to spot our house," said Nojiko, "You can't see it from here, after all.

Within minutes, Arlong and his men managed to clean the entire village of every berry they could find. The captain himself was sitting on a wooden crate, while his ray-finned officer counted the bundles of bills in a burlap sack, until there were none left.

"Is that it, Kuroobi?" Arlong asked, "So, what's our haul?"

"Quite a score, captain," replied Kuroobi, "About twenty-five million, give or take."

"You all shall live!" Arlong told the villagers, cackling in triumph. Yet the villagers couldn't help but feel resentful of these monsters who bled their economy dry.

"It looks like we have to pay these fish-men a hundred thousand berries each month just to survive," one grumbled.

"We don't have any other choice," Genzo bemoaned, shaking his head in disapproval, "We should be at least grateful that nobody in the village has been killed yet." Still, the sheriff couldn't help but be concerned, 'If all they want is money, then that's an easy price to pay,' he thought, 'I just hope those bastards don't find Belle-Mere's house. With two children, she'd have to pay two-hundred thousand berries! There's no way she has that much saved!'

"It's time to leave!" Arlong declared, raising his hand, "Come, brothers!" And with that, the fish-men turned to depart back towards their ship. All the villagers were able to breathe a sigh of relief. Nami and Nojiko's family was safe, but then…their ears heard bitter words.

"Captain Arlong! There's smoke coming from outside the village!" One of the pirates shouted, pointing to a wisp of smoke emerging over the tree-line. "It looks like chimney smoke from someone's house!"

"Oh? It seems we almost missed that one," replied Arlong with a sinister toothy grin, then turned to the rest of his crew, "Alright! Let's go guys!" Then the fish-men began to make their way further inland…right for Belle-Mere's house! Everyone in the village was horrified. They knew full and well that Belle-Mere wasn't going to be able to pay the tribute! Either she, Nojiko or Nami would be killed!

Nami and Nojiko then ran through the underbrush of the jungle, as fast as their legs could carry them both.

"C'mon sis! We have to hurry!" Nami pleaded, "Mom's gonna be killed!" She knew that they had to make it home before the fish-men and pray that Arlong and his cronies didn't find them….

A/N: So, here we have it! The start of the Arlong Park Arc! I figured that since Luffy confided in Nami, it was best for her to reveal her backstory to the crew. And yes, I am having Nami and Nojiko refer to Belle-Mere as their mother, instead of having them call her by her first name like in the manga and anime.

So, I mentioned this term "pressed into one's crew" with both Coby and Nami. What does that phrase mean? Well, back in the Age of Sail, impressment was the process of recruiting men into naval service by force. It was especially common in England and the British Empire, starting in 1664 and lasting throughout the 18th and 19th centuries as a way to recruit men into the Royal Navy to crew warships like the HMS Victory. Although, the practice of impressment can be traced further back to Medieval England, during the reign of King Edward I, AKA Edward Longshanks for those of you who have seen Braveheart, Outlaw King, or have played Age of Empires II. In fact, the British impressment of American sailors in the early 1800s was one of the main causes that led to the War of 1812. Although, the Continental Navy also impressed sailors during the American Revolution. This practice, however, was abolished by the British in 1815.

I also mentioned that Belle-Mere was a musketeer in the Marines, but some of you may still be wondering: what exactly was a musketeer? Well, from the 16th through the 19th centuries, musketeers were regiments of infantrymen who were armed with the musket - initially a slow and inaccurate firearm that became increasingly powerful on the battlefield, and with the invention of the bayonet, the musketeers basically rendered both archers and spearmen as obsolete, which gave rise to the line infantry that were common on battlefields through the 18th and 19th centuries.

There were many famed types of Musketeers throughout history, such as the Japanese ashigaru who were armed with Tanegashima matchlocks during the Sengoku period, the Swedish Caroleans who were known for their bravery and courage during the Great Northern War, and the Musketeers of the Guard - the elite bodyguards of the Kings of France. If you've seen anything related to The Three Musketeers, these are the men I'm talking about.

Yet perhaps some of the most famed musketeers include the Regulars of the British Army - the famed Redcoats of the American Revolution and Napoleonic Wars, as well as the Janissary Corps - the slave soldiers of the Ottoman Empire. They were initially archers, but were refitted with muskets beginning in the 16th century.

Anyway, that concludes another chapter! I hope you guys enjoy, and stick around for the next one!