Bombs Away!

by Vgn Golley

Growing up on Gaimon's island, Willis D. Asher had wished nothing more than to leave and explore the world as a pirate, and his wish came true when the straw hats showed up and offered him to join their crew. Now watch as he becomes the new bodyguard and later Vice Captain for the Straw Hat Pirates! (Currently at the Clockwork Island One Piece Movie)

9. Nami's Story and Resolve!

Hey, guys! Welcome to the new chapter of Bomb's Away! I hope you guys will enjoy the chapter...oh, and I don't own anything except for my OCs, as the OCs Jack Sparrow and Jake belong entirely to 9655.

NOW LET'S GET ON WITH THE STORY!

{Bombs Away!-Season 1, Episode 9: Nami's Story and Resolve!}

~[Asher, Luffy, Nami, Jack, Zoro, Sanji, Jake, Gin, Yosaku, and Johnny]~

"You can't be serious!" A stunned Jack yelled with the rest of the Straw Hats and Yosaku looking on in shock and horror as Johnny nodded while sitting down on the floor with his legs crossed and had a grim look on his face.

"Yeah, it's horrible! That woman's a witch and a traitor all along! In order to obtain some hidden treasure in Cocoyashi Village for herself, she was kissing up to Arlong! And for that purpose, she killed without even thinking about it! She's a rotten-hearted low-life! We've been fooled all this time!"

"Bastard!" An enraged Luffy screamed while running over to grab Johnny by the front of his shirt as he glared at him venomously. "Say that one more time and I'll kill you!"

"Stop it, Luffy, this has nothing to do with Johnny!" Zoro yelled, trying to defend his friend as Johnny scoffed and glared at Luffy.

"You don't have to believe me, but I saw it with my own eyes! I saw what she did to Big Bro Usopp!"

"You're making up crap! There's no way that Nami would kill Usopp! We're friends!" Luffy shouted with an angry growl as Gin and Yosaku looked doubtful about what he said but said nothing as Zoro, Jack, and Jake looked neutral due to not believing that Nami wouldn't kill either but had no evidence to go against it as Sanji 100% believes that Nami is innocent due to him being a simp and a stoic Asher stepped forward.

"Yeah, besides, Nami knows of the consequences of what would happen if she did kill Usopp," Asher says with a dark tone as, before anyone could say anything, a familiar voice rang out.

"What was that about consequences, Asher?" Nami asked with a cold tone, causing everyone to whirl around, and were surprised to see her standing there while wearing a black glove to cover up her cut-up and bleeding hand as Luffy dropped Johnny. "Why did you all come here?"

"What are you talking about? You are our friend, so we came to get you." Luffy says with a confused tone as Nami scoffed and rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms.

"How annoying. Friends? Don't make me laugh. You're more like a pathetic group of cooperators, don't you think?" Nami asked with a dry tone as a pissed-off Johnny rushed over to stand beside the boys.

"Damn you! You killed him! I saw it with my own eyes! How dare you kill Big Bro Usopp?!"

"And your point is? You wanna try killing me to avenge him? Then go ahead." Nami says, surprising Johnny and the others as they stare at her confusedly. "I'll tell you one thing. Right now, thanks to your friend and pets' stupidity, Arlong wants to kill 'Roronoa Zoro and his posse'. You guys may have these monster-like powers, but you're no match for real monsters."

"We are strong, Nami. We can defeat Arlong and his Fishmen if we work together." Jack says as Nami lets out a loud, amused, mocking laugh.

"Oh, poor, naive, newbie. Do you really think that you and the others can handle Arlong?"

"I've faced much worse threats and I'm sure the others will be able to prevail too," Jack says as Nami scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Oh, please, I promise you that if you all stay on this island for too long, you guys will be killed for sure. Not that it matters to me, though."

"Then why warn us?" Gin asked with a harsh glare as he narrowed his eyes. "If you don't care about what happens to us, then why bother warning us of Arlong's Wrath? Why not have him and his Fishmen come and attack us right now?" Gin asked, causing Nami to flinch and sweat a bit awkwardly as, thankfully, a distraction came when a blushing and heart-eyed Sanji stepped forward.

"Her heartless face is so hot! Hi, Nami! It's me, Sanji! Let's run away together!"

"You stay out of this!" A glaring Zoro snapped as Sanji blinked and turned to scowl at him in annoyance. "You are new here, so you have no say on what we do with Nami, right now, so shut it! You'll just complicate things!"

"What did you say?! My love is always a hurricane!"

"Yeah, well, Nami already caught Asher's heart, so you might as well quit while you're ahead," Jack says teasingly with Asher and Nami struggling very hard to not blush since this is a serious situation.

"Are you freaking kidding me?! I will easily kick that virgin ticking bomb's ass and claim Nami's heart for myself!"

"Sanji, seriously, shut the fuck up!" An annoyed Asher snapped as, while he didn't know what a virgin was, he knew that it was an insult.

"How about both of you cram it?!" Zoro asked with a frown as he then turned to give Nami a serious glare. "Nami, where is Usopp?"

"At the bottom of the sea."

"Damn it, Nami! Tell the truth!" Zoro screamed while pulling out his sword, knowing that Nami couldn't have killed Usopp since she didn't have the heart to kill him and her supposed Fishman Brother wasn't around, which made things even more suspicious as he tried to run forward, only for Sanji to appear in front of him and threw a kick at him, forcing Zoro to jump back as he gripped his sword tightly.

"How sad. A Swordsman sticking a lady."

"Idiot! You don't even know what's going on so don't interfere!" Zoro snapped as Sanji snorted and grinned cockily.

"After an emotional loss, of course you're irritable."

"You'd better watch what you say.../Mind your own business, bastard!" Zoro and Sanji said in unison as a glaring Gin stepped forward to separate them.

"You two, cram it! We don't have time for this bullshit!"

"Yeah, we are all in this together! We don't have time to argue like children!" Jack added as Nami nodded in agreement while crossing her arms.

"That's right. If you're going to fight, do it off the island. You outsiders quit sticking your nose into this island's business. You still don't get it yet? The only reason I got close to you guys is for the money, nothing else. Now that you guys have nothing, you're no use to me. I'll return the ship, so why don't you go find a navigator and head to the Grand Line and go and find One Piece or whatever. Just get the hell out of here. You're a bother-Argh!" Nami says before grunting in surprise as a stoic Asher suddenly zipped forward and whacked at her arms to force her to drop her bo staff and grabbed her hands as the Bombman proceeded to slam her harshly against a nearby palm tree.

"Asher?!" A surprised Zoro, Jack, Yosaku, and Johnny asked while Sanji grew angry and was about to step forward, but was stopped by Gin and Luffy as they stared at the scene coldly.

"Ugh, what the hell are you doing?!" Nami asked before feeling her breath itch a bit as Asher reached into his belt to pull out one of his shurikens and aimed it at her neck with a fierce glare on his face.

"Tell that to my face."

"T-Tell what?" A confused and scared Nami asked as Asher narrowed his eyes angrily.

"Tell me to my face that you killed Usopp because I find that hard to believe."

"Why you-,"

"All of those times where you laughed and smiled with us, you couldn't have faked that," Asher stated matter-of-factly as Nami was able to swallow her fear enough to scowl at him in irritation and anger.

"How do you know?!"

"Because, while I may be a bit naive and stupid, I have a good read on people, so I know for a fact that you aren't a killer or a traitor. I want you to tell me to my face that you killed Usopp because if you did, I would have no choice but to kill you." Asher says with a cold tone as everyone looks surprised by what he said.

"W-What?! Asher, I-,"

"I take my role as the Straw Hats' Bodyguard VERY seriously. If one of our own betrays us or, dare I say, even kills one of our own, I will be forced to put them down like a dog, so tell me to my face that you killed Usopp. I dare you." Asher says with a scowl, hoping that Nami really didn't kill Usopp or else he will have to do his job as the orange-haired woman bit her lip nervously and slowly glanced up at Asher as she steeled her nerves.

"I-I...did...kill...U-Usopp..." Nami lied as Asher stared at her for a couple of seconds...and sighed in relief as he let go of her.

"Good, I'm happy that you didn't kill Usopp, Nami. I really cared about you, so I didn't want to kill you." Asher says while turning around and crossing his arms as Nami blinked in disbelief and anger.

"W-Wait, what?! But I did kill-,"

"You did stare at my face but you were staring at the top of my head, not looking into my eyes, which means that you are lying, so why don't you tell us the truth about what's going on here, Nami?" Asher asked with a serious tone while not looking at her as everyone turned to Nami with surprised and relieved looks on their faces as the busty woman's eyes shifted around nervously and went red face as she gritted her teeth in anger.

"GRRRRRRR, WHATEVER! I DON'T HAVE TO TELL YOU ALL ANYTHING! NONE OF YOU DESERVE JACKSHIT! JUST LEAVE THIS ISLAND AND LEAVE ME ALONE ALREADY!" Nami exclaimed with a wrathful glare on her face while turning around to run away as tears of sorrow leaked down from her eyes and everyone watched her go silently as Luffy had an emotionless look on his face.

~[Nojiko, the Marines, Arlong, and his Fishmen]~

"Hurry, hurry!"

"What's the big deal?!" An alarmed and annoyed Nojiko asked with a glare as we see her being dragged by the kid from the last chapter as they all made their way over to the shore of the island with the rest of the Villagers of the Cocoyashi Village standing around them.

"The Marines are here! The survivors of Gosa Village successfully got in touch with the government! The Marines are here to rescue us! You see!? We're going to be saved! We can finally escape this island!" The Kid yelled with happy tears on his face as he pointed over at the ocean and everyone spotted a Marine Ship heading towards them as, while the Kid looked hopeful and excited, Nojiko and the other Villagers had grim glares on their faces.

"...So this is the infamous Arlong Park, huh?" A Marine Captain asked his men with a scowl on his face as their Marine Boat headed straight towards Arlong Park. Standing on the Marine Ship is a 6-feet-tall, 32-year-old Man with black eyes, light purple hair that he wears in multiple ponytails, thin black eyebrows, a big pointy nose, a sharp chin with a long light purple goatee, Pale Skin, a tall slim yet muscular build, and his outfit consists of a Standard Marine Uniform with a Marine Coat and a green scarf. His name is Purinpurin, a Marine Commodore in the 77th Branch of the Marines.

"What is the world coming to when Pirate Scum can set up a base so blatantly like that?!" Purinpurin asked with a glare as he then turned to his men. "Listen up, men! Our duty today is to rescue survivors from Gosa Village, which has been destroyed by Arlong and his gang, but I think that our duty to justice does not allow us to pretend as if we didn't see this grounded pirate castle, does it?!"

"No, sir!"

"We shall eliminate Arlong and his gang! Prepare to attack!" Purinpurin ordered as everyone nodded and we then cue over to Arlong Park as we see said person having a meeting with his men about the Marine Ship floating outside of their base.

"Marines from the 77th fleet?" Arlong asked with a raised eyebrow and a stoic look on his face as Chew nodded.

"Yeah, that's what it says."

"What should we do, Arlong?" Gelora asked curiously as Arlong rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Well, since he is a Newcomer and hasn't attacked us yet, why doesn't someone go negotiate with the person in charge, and tell them not to make any unexpected moves? If they don't settle for 2 million Berries then, go ahead and erase them." Arlong says just as the Marine Ship fired a cannonball at Arlong Park as it headed straight towards the Captain of the Arlong Pirates, who merely remained seated and opened up his mouth as he was able to catch the cannonball with his teeth and shattered it into pieces with a venomous glare on his face. "...You know what? Never mind, go and kill them all. No survivors." Arlong ordered with a huff as Chew and the others nodded as they turned around to try and run away, but stopped as Chew raised his arm to halt them.

"Chu, hold up guys. We don't need that much force to take out some trash."

"Yeah, we will get them all by ourselves," Gelora says with a sly grin on her face as Hatchan nods with a big grin on his face as he cracks his knuckles.

"To pick a fight with us in the sea, they've got to be stupid humans," Kuroobi says with a scoff and rolls his eyes as the rest of the Fishmen grin sinisterly and chuckle as we cue back to the Marine Ship and we see everyone looking around confusedly as none of them heard any sort of explosions whatsoever.

"How strange. Sir, that bomb seems to be a dud." One of the Marines said to Purinpurin, who scowled as he raised his arm.

"Fire that cannonball one more time! This is to signal battle! Our enemies are Fishmen, so don't let your guard down-," Purinpurin says before getting cut off by Chew and Gelora jumping out of the oceans with menacing glares on their faces as the former reared back his head and spitting out five balls of water from out of his water as they all pierced through Five Marines' bodies, killing them as the Fishmen landed down on the boat, enraging the rest of the Marines as they were about to open fire at the Duo, but stopped as a stoic Pudding raised his arm. "Hold it right there!" A glaring Purinpurin ordered, stopping the Marines from attacking the Fishmen as he turned to give them a hardened look. "You two are from the Arlong Pirates, eh? I am Commodore Purinpurin from the Marine Branch #77. We're a pretty famous Marine Fleet." Purinpurin says with a cocky grin while raising his gun as he fired a bullet at Gelora. "If you're not looking to die, you should quietly-,"

"Purinpurin, your shooting skills could use some more practice," Gelora says with a mocking tone while reaching down to grab the bullet that was stuck in her boobs and flicking it away. "Practice makes perfect. Like this." Gelora says with an evil grin on her face as she extends her jellyfish-like hair tentacles and had them wrapped around the surprised Commodore of the Marines' body as Gelora proceeds to violently shock him hard enough that his skin is burned and his heart explodes as Purinpurin crashes down into the ground, dead.

"Holy crap!"

"Commodore!"

"How dare you attack our Commodore?!" Multiple Marines screamed panickedly just as their boat started shaking as they seemed shocked by this.

"Why is the boat shaking?!"

"We are under attack!"

"Could there be a Fishman under the ship?!" Multiple Marines asked in surprise and worry as Chew gave them a mocking apologetic look.

"Sorry to bother you guys, but we just removed the rudder from this ship, is that okay?" Chew asked as he and Gelora leaned back against the railings of the ship casually.

"Now, this is just hypothetical, guys, but to test your knowledge of the sea, we have to ask, what would happen if one person were to move a large reef directly into a strong current?" Gelora asked with an impish giggle as, unknown to the Marines, Hatchan could be seen moving a large reef down below the ocean.

"What?!"

"Moving a whole reef?!"

"But that's impossible!" Numerous Marines screamed in unison with surprised looks on their faces just as a whirlpool began generating in front of their boat as they panicked and tried to go over to the wheel of the ship to steer it away from the whirlpool, only to fail as Chew laughed amusedly.

"Nice try. We told you before that we removed the rudder, so now this rudderless ship is heading straight down into the bottom of the sea." Chew says with a menacing laugh while he and Geloera jump out of the ship just as the Marine Ship enters the whirlpool as it got broken apart due to the strong current and was sent down below into the ocean floor with everyone slowly drowning to death and getting killed by the pressure of the ocean as they let out gurgled screams of anguish and pain.

"It can't be..." A stunned and horrified Kid says while dropping down to his knees as, while Nojiko and the Cocoyashi Villagers looked sympathetic and pitied the poor souls that were killed by the Arlong Pirates, they weren't surprised by this whatsoever.

"This is reality. We can't escape from Arlong's reign." Nojiko stated stoically with crossed arms as the Kid began crying loudly.

"I'm sorry to make you all work so hard," Arlong says to the others with a toothy grin as Gelora and the others are able to return back to Arlong Park after killing the Marines in cold blood.

"Nah, we know everything about the winds and the currents in this area. It was no sweat." Kuroobi stated with a huff as Hatchan nodded with a big smirk on his face.

"With our power and knowledge, we have no adversaries in the seas."

"And let's not forget about Nami's sea charts." Chew pointed out while holding up some of Nami's sea charts as Hatchan perked up excitedly.

"I checked those before I moved the reef. It even tells the flow of the currents and everything. It's quite handy."

"Indeed, they are excellent charts. They are highly detailed and accurate. If Nami draws maps for us when we eventually go over to conquer the Grandline, we will easily become true rulers of the whole world." Gelora stated matter-of-factly as Arlong nodded in agreement.

"I know. Nami is brilliant. Nami's definitely vital to have for the creation of the Arlong Empire. It's even why keep that pathetic Fishman Child because Nami loves him so much. It's just a shame."

"A shame?" A confused Hatchan asked with a raised eyebrow as Chew turned to him.

"We made a promise to leave Cocoyashi Village if Nami saves up 100 Million Berries."

"Not only that, but it will also buy her and that weakling's freedom from us," Gelora added as Hatchan gasped in shock with tears in his eyes.

"Is that for real?! Are we really going to let Nami and Akira leave? Just like that? What a big waste!"

"I have no choice. That's my deal with her from eight years ago. I keep my promises I made over money even if it means my death. That's me." Arlong says with an evil laugh as his sharp teeth glint across the sunlight.

{Bombs Away-Season 1 Theme Song!}

Wealth, fame, power

Gold Roger, the King of the Pirates,

Attained this and everything else the world had to offer,

And his dying words drove countless souls to the seas

At Loguetown, we see the King of Pirates himself, Captain Gold Roger, currently wearing shackles and kneeling down in a large stadium with two Marines standing beside him with a couple of swords in their arms as a huge crowd of people could be seen standing in front of them and were screaming at Roger to reveal where he had hidden all of the treasure and wealth that he had accumulated over the years as the King of Pirates heard this and, even though he was going to get executed soon, couldn't help but grin widely with excitement and glee.

"Oh, you all want my treasure?! You can have it! I left everything I gathered together in one place! Now you just have to find it~!" Captain Gold Roger exclaimed with a loud, joyful laugh.

These words lured men to the Grand Line

In pursuit of dreams greater than they've ever dared to imagine

This is the time known as 'The Great Pirate Era!'

Once the King of Pirates was executed, hundreds of Pirates immediately boarded their ships and set their sails as they all quickly sailed off into the dangerous ocean and began making their way to the Grand Line to find the Legendary One Piece as this officially issued, 'The Great Pirate Era!'.

Come aboard and bring along

All your hopes and dreams

Together, we will find everything

That we're looking for!

ONE PIECE!

Sharing an excited and determined grin, Luffy and Asher can be seen running up a hill as the Bombman then kneeled down and allowed the Rubberman to leap up to land on his back as Asher created a huge explosion underneath his legs, and it propelled them up into the air as the Boys cheered loudly and numerous visions of all of the current members of the Straw Pirates appeared in front of them as a glaring and malnourished Zoro can be seen tied up against a post in Shells Town, a panting and panicking Nami can be seen running away from Three of Buggy's Henchmen in Orange Town, and a purring Cottontail eating a couple of mushrooms on the Island of Rare Animals.

A smirking Usopp crossed his arms as he stood on top of a tall cliff in Syrup Village with Kaya standing beside him and wrapped her arms around him as the wind blew their hair away, a stoic Sanji walked through the Baratie while smoking a cigarette and carrying around a dish filled with food as he could be seen serving the food to Jack and a glaring Gin can be seen standing in the background as the Krieg Pirates' Flag can be seen waving behind him, Akira can be seen sitting on the chair and was being served food by a smiling Nojiko in Cocoyasi Village, and a giggling Apis flew through the air while being morphed into the form of a Dragon as she soared through Warship Island.

After the visions were done, the Future Pirate King and the Future Strongest Man In The World then perked up as they spotted the Going Merry sailing through the seas, and a laughing Luffy grabbed onto Asher's body as he then stretched his free arm to wrap over to latch onto the Straw Hat Pirates' Flag and they propelled themselves forwards with the Duo laughing joyfully as they crashed right into the Going Merry's Deck.

Compass left behind

It'll only slow us down

Your heart will be your guide

Raise the sails and take the helm

The Going Merry can be seen sailing through the treacherous ocean of the East Blue with numerous Sea Kings swimming past it as huge waves of water rang out, and the Straw Hat Pirates can be seen either staring at them in awe, cheering loudly, or panicking as they continued sailing through the ocean.

That legendary place

That the end of the map reveals

Is only legendary

'Till someone proves it real

Zooming into the Going Merry, we see Nami drawing maps inside of her room, a glaring Zoro and Gin sparring with each other on the main deck, Jack sailing the Going Merry, Usopp fixing up the damages done to the ship, a blushing and heart-eyed Sanji serving some food that he had cooked to a smiling and bashful Kaya, Akira washing the deck with the help of some mop and soap, a grinning Luffy residing on his usual seat (The Going Merry's Sheep Figurehead) to enjoy the beautiful day, and a smirking Asher could be seen riding around on the masthead with Apis riding around on his shoulders, and the Duo went starry-eyed at the sight of the amazing journey laid before them as Cottontail can be seen flying ahead of them.

Through it all, through all the troubled times

Through the heartache and through the pain

Know that I will be there to stand by you

Just like I know you'll stand by me

Narrowing his eyes furiously, Zoro gripped his three swords tightly and swung them around as he was able to slash away a group of charging Pirates, a glaring Gin twirled his tonfa around and spun around elegantly as he was able to whack away various Pirates, a calm and collected Sanji smoke his cigarette as a horde of Pirates surrounded him and aimed their swords at him as he swiftly got down in a handstand and twirled around as the blonde-haired simp was able to kick them all away, Jack opened up his mouth and fired a huge torrent of hot flame-like energy at a group of charging and menacing evil Pirates and sends them flying away with the help of a large fiery explosion as Cottontail flew by and hardened himself as he proceeds to trip every single one of the burned and flaming Pirates out of the Going Merry.

Crouching down, a grunting Akira then jumped up into the air and began slashing and punching every Pirates that he saw, a gleeful Kaya can be seen running around at high speeds to knock away every single Pirates that was in her sight before she began running around in a circle and created a huge gust of wind that blew them out of the Going Merry and splashed down into the ocean, a giggling Apis dodged and weaved to avoid all of the incoming swords slashes as she then jumped up into the air and ran her hands across a nearby flying Cottontail as she was able to absorb his DNA and morphed herself into a Winged Cotton Lemur as Apis hardened herself and twirled around as she fires multiple white spikes that pierced through the Pirates' bodies.

Standing back to back, a nervous yet determined Usopp fired various of his specially made explosive balls at all of the nearby Pirates as a scowling Nami used her staff to whack every Pirates she saw, and we see the Last Remaining Straw Hat Pirates standing near the end of the Going Merry and spotted the Enemy Pirates Ship floating beside them. Getting an idea, Asher then crouched down and jumped up high into the air as a smirking Luffy stretched up his arm and grabbed onto his leg as the Rubberman grunted and proceeded to swing the Bomberman down at the Pirates Ship with said person creating a huge explosion that blew apart the ship as the rest of the Straw Hat Pirate cheered loudly at what their Captain and Crewmate did.

So come aboard and bring along

All your hopes and dreams

Together, we will find everything

That we're looking for

Multiple vast images of all of the Incoming Arc Villains appeared as we see Iron Mace Alvida, Axe-Hand Morgan, Buggy the Star Clown, Kuro of a Hundred Plans, Eldoraggo, Foul-Play Krieg, Arlong the Saw, Garp the Fist, Smoker the White Hunter, Bear King, and Eric the Whirlwind as all of the Straw Hat Pirates Villains posed menacingly and scowled stoically.

There's always room for you

If you wanna be my friend

We are, we are, on the cruise

WE ARE!

After arriving near the Grand Line, Luffy can be seen sitting at his usual favorite seat in the Going Merry with Asher standing behind him as Nami wraps her arms around him and places her head on his shoulder as an annoyed Zoro stands near them on their right with Cottontail residing on top of his mossy head as Gin can be seen resting on the edge of the boat lazily, Usopp stood beside the Lovebirds on their left, and Sanji stands beside him as he smoked a cigarette and sighed heavily with Jack smiling widely and enjoying the sea breeze as Kaya stood behind them and smiled warmly while holding Apis and Akira in her arms as the logo of the story appeared in front of the readers.

{Bombs Away-Season 1 Theme Song Over!}

~[Asher, Cottontail, Luffy, Akira, Jack, Zoro, Sanji, Jake, Gin, Yosaku, Johnny, Usopp, and Akira]~

"Hey! Big Bro Zoro and Big Bro Asher, what the hell are you both thinking?!" Johnny asked with a glare as we cue back to the others and we see him, Yosaku, and Jack talking with Zoro and Asher, who were sitting next to Luffy with said person randomly deciding to drop down onto the ground to take a nap as Sanji, Gin, and Jake sat near them in the shade.

"Come on! Did you guys forget that the Arlong Pirates are trying to kill us?!"

"Yeah, shouldn't we go and focus on killing them?" Jack asked confusedly as Johnny gave him a flat look.

"Well, while we don't approve of that idea, what I don't get is that now we know that while Nami didn't kill Big Bro Usopp, we should go and focus on finding him and leaving this island once and for all."

"I sent the rat to go and find Usopp. I know that he will find him eventually and bring him to us, so there is no point in wondering around and looking aimlessly for Usopp like headless chickens." Zoro stated with a gruff tone as Asher nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, besides, we all agreed to look for Nami and bring her back with us as our Navigator. While we don't know what's going on, we refuse to leave her here. It's also why Luffy decided to take a nap randomly since he feels the same way." Asher pointed out as Yosaku scoffed and glared at the boys in irritation.

"Come on, Big Bro Zoro and Big Bro Asher, are you seriously thinking of getting Nami back? She stole from you guys and doesn't care about any of you at all."

"Don't say shit that you don't know. There is something about Nami that is prohibiting her from telling the truth and we're going to find out what. Besides, there's no one that Luffy wants more to be our Navigator than Nami." Asher says while also secretly wanting Nami to come back to them since he likes her, but didn't want to say that piece of information out loud as Zoro nods in agreement.

"Asher's right. What we want has nothing to do with this. We don't decide who our Navigator is. He does." Zoro says while gesturing over at a sleeping Luffy as Jack blinks in surprise and smiles warmly as he nods.

"I got to admit. You two are pretty loyal. I can respect that. In that case, I will wait here too." Jack says while going over to sit next to Asher and Zoro as Yosaku and Johnny, however, glance at each other with worried and disapproving looks on their faces as they shake their heads.

"Alright, we understand, Big Bro Zoro and Big Bro Asher. I'm sorry to have to cut our reunion so short, but our jobs as Guides ends here."

"I'm with him. I don't want to die in vain." Yosaku stated with a firm tone as Zoro nodded and turned to them.

"Okay, Take care." A calm Zoro says while not really bothered by the fact that his friends are leaving since they are not really a part of their crew, so they don't have to stay and fight with them against the Arlong Pirates.

"Well then, until we meet again, Big Bro Zoro/You guys take care too." Johnny and Yosaku said in unison while turning around to walk away as Zoro and the others waved at them goodbye as well.

"Hey, Bombman," Sanji says while getting Asher's attention as he smokes from his cigarette. "While I don't approve of you manhandling a lady earlier and threatening to kill her, I have to give you SOME respect. You were able to hear Nami crying as well."

"Thanks, I guess," Asher says with a shrug as the others stare at them in bewilderment.

"Was she really crying?" Zoro asked with a confused look as Asher and Sanji nodded.

"Yeah, she was crying in her heart. I wonder why?" Sanji asked curiously as Jack shrugged.

"Don't know, maybe guilt for lying to us?"

"Probably something more. Nami had a big weight on her shoulders. The few times that I saw her, she was way more relaxed and looked happy, but here? She was more guarded, cold, and tense, similar to how I was with my Old Captain, which means that maybe Nami is acting this way because she's scared of Arlong?" Gin theorized as Asher hummed thoughtfully, wondering if maybe what he said was true, but the Bombman couldn't help but feel like there was more to it than that.

"...So, how did you survive Nami stabbing you earlier?" Cottontail asked confusedly while riding around on Usopp's shoulder after finding him earlier and we see the duo running straight towards the path from where Asher and the others are as a camouflaged Akira chased after them.

"Back at Arlong Park, Nami made it look like she stabbed me by stabbing the back of her own hand," Usopp explained as he gritted his teeth in relief and order. "If she didn't do that for me, I would have definitely been killed by Arlong, but what should we do now? A manly man like me can't just turn tail after being saved." Usopp commented as Cottontail chirped.

"Well, I suggest that we find Zoro and Jake. Hopefully, Asher and the others had arrived on the island and met up with them by this point." Cottontail says while noticing the invisible Fishman chasing after them as he debates whether or not to tell Usopp before shrugging as he licks his arm.

"Yeah, good call, Cottontail," Usopp says before he and the others spot the faraway images of the others as he perks up. "Wait, look, it's them up ahead! It's Zoro and the others!"

"...So, you also don't believe that Nami didn't kill Usopp?" Jack asked curiously as Zoro nodded.

"Yeah, I mean, I gave her a chance to try and let me die earlier and she saved me. I doubt that she will kill Usopp either, but who knows? She maybe a small time crook but maybe with all of this, she finally snapped?"

"Wait, what did you say?! She's not a small time! Her breasts are big enough!" Sanji snapped, annoying Zoro and Asher as they turned to him.

"Is that all you think about?!/You idiot! Zoro didn't mean it like that!" Zoro and Asher screamed in unison with the green-haired swordsman raising his sword, which was still inside of its scabbard as Asher raised his glowing pink energy-covered arm and a furious Sanji raised his leg as they attacked each other...just as Usopp and Cottontail appeared as they ran over to the trio and Zoro's scabbard, Asher's explosive punch, and Sanji's kick collided against the duo's faces, causing them to get knocked out and crashed down into the ground.

"Oh, wow! Usopp is alive!"

"But barely!"

"Shit, sorry guys! We didn't see you there!" Sanji, Zoro, and Asher screamed in unison as they ran over to check on an unconscious Usopp and Cottontail just as a groggy Luffy woke up and screamed in shock at the sight of his injured friends.

"USOPP! COTTONTAIL! DID NAMI DO THIS TO YOU?!" Luffy asked worriedly while going over to shake them as Gin shook his head.

"Actually, Captain, they did."

"Yeah, they knocked the fuck out of them," Jack says while pointing over at Asher, Zoro, and Sanji as they all have guilty and sheepish looks on their faces.

"L-Luffy, you're here now..." A groaning and relieved Usopp says while walking up from his unconscious state as Cottontail does the same.

"Yeah, a little while back."

"We're here too," Sanji says with a smirk while gesturing at him, Jack and Gin as Usopp and Cottontail instantly stood up from the ground to glare at him.

"I'll kill you someday!/You better keep your one eye open while you sleep or else I will gut you!"

"Hey, you're still fine even after that? Nice durability." Jack says with an amused grin as Gin nods in agreement.

"Impressive."

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Usopp snapped with white eyes and shark teeth as Zoro crossed his arms with a small hum.

"Huh, I guess Nami really didn't kill you, huh?"

"Damn him, Johnny was lying after all," Luffy says with an angry huff as Usopp calms down and shakes his head.

"Actually, there is some truth to it. It's more the opposite. Nami saved my life."

~[Nami and Nojiko]~

"Well, you made quite a mess," Nojiko said with a teasing and slightly irritated tone as she was coming back to her home when she heard loud banging noises and loud curses as, at first, she thought some Fishmen were trying to find Nami's stolen treasure, but calmed down upon entering her house and spotted Nami lying down on a table with her head covered up by her arms as the area around her was completely thrashed as if a small hurricane appeared inside of the house. "Geeze, Nami, just because you don't live here anymore, it doesn't mean that you can just thrash the place. What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just came by to rest." Nami said stoically while not looking up at her Older Adoptive Sister as Nojiko snorted amusedly and went over to sit down in front of her.

"If you made a mess every time you came to rest, I'd go nuts, and would you open that treasure map, if there was nothing wrong?" Nojiko says while gesturing at the open and bloodied treasure map from the last chapter as it was lying in front of Nami.

"There was just something that made me angry."

"Them, eh? Who are they?" Nojiko asked curiously as Nami raised her head in surprise and the busty woman chose to ignore the fact that her Little Adoptive Sister's eyes were red from her crying.

"You met them?!"

"Yeah, some guy who said something 'bout being a captain. He seemed like a liar though...Nami, I heard that when you were traveling with them, you were happy and had a great time. I haven't seen you happy for years now. Not since Mom died, so tell me, who are those guys? I promised you could talk to me about whatever you want, right?"

"...I was supposed to forget about those guys," Nami says with a quiet tone while glancing down at the table as she clenches her fists with small tears in her eyes. "I was supposed to have erased them from my heart," Nami says with her eyes wavering a bit as she had some small memories with her old Pirate Crew, which consisted of her winning a card game against a grumpy Usopp, screaming at Luffy angrily for accidentally punching a hole in their ship and causing a big flood to pour in, having little sparring sessions with Zoro while he holds back tremendously, lying on her bed and reading a book about Navigation with a sleeping and snoring Cottontail lying on her stomach, and finally, her and Asher having one of their usual nightly talks as she was laughing at joyfully something that he said. "I tried to erase them from my memories, but the more I remembered about them, the harder it was to forget. The truth is when I was with them, the only thing that I forgot about was the pain and sorrow that I buried...I thought that if I could, I would stay with these guys forever."

"I see," Nojiko says while placing her hand on her head as she notices that Nami fell asleep on her table. "Of course, she'd be upset. Somebody actually came for her. Friends huh? To her, that's the most difficult word of all."

~[Asher, Cottontail, Luffy, Nojiko, Akira, Jack, Zoro, Sanji, Jake, Gin, and Usopp]~

"...so that's how Nami pretended to kill me and let me escape," Usopp says, finishing explaining what happened to the others as a camouflaged Akira could be seen still spying on them. "It looks to me like there's a reason why she's in a Fishmen Pirate Group."

"Obviously," Sanji stated dryly as Gin hummed thoughtfully.

"But what could her motives be exactly?"

"Don't know, don't care. What I do care about is our next phase of action." Zoro stated with a glare as Cottontail nodded while lying on Asher's shoulder.

"Yeah, should we rush to Arlong Park and take every Fishman out? Or should we find out what's going on with Nami first?"

"While I agree with storming Arlong Park, I do agree with Usopp that we should get some information first," Jack stated seriously as Asher nodded.

"Indeed, there's no point in running into a battlefield blindly."

"Yes, doing so otherwise is stupid and reckless. If they tell us something about Nami's past, it could catch us off guard and we will be killed." Gin says wisely as Jake hissed in agreement.

"So, what should we do, oh fearless Captain?" Sanji asked Luffy stoically as, before the Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates could say anything, he walked backwards and collided against a camouflaged Akira as he whirled around to stare at the shimmering and slightly invisible Fishman Pre-Teen as the Captain of the Straw Hats narrowed his eyes.

"Who the hell are you? Don't try and hide. I felt something humanoid behind me." Luffy says with a tense glare as Akira stands there, nervously sweating as he gulps.

"Uh...I am an...invisible cow passing by?"

"...Oh that makes sense," Luffy says with an oblivious smile as Akira sighs in relief and everyone else, minus Usopp, rolls their eyes in annoyance as they are about to say something, but stop as a familiar female voice rang out.

"No matter what you guys do, Arlong's rule won't come to an end," Nojiko says with a harsh glare on her face as Asher and the others turn to her.

"Nojiko?" A surprised Usopp asked as Luffy turned to him.

"Who's that?"

"Nami's older sis."

"What? Nami has an Older Sister and a Fishman for a Little Brother?" A surprised Asher asked as Sanji stared at Nojiko with hearts in his eyes as he blushed.

"Oh of course that she is Nami's Older Sister! She is just as gorgeous as she is!" Sanji cooed as Nojiko rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Keep it in your pants, Pervert. Now, before we continue talking, I have to know, Akira? Why are you camouflaged behind the others? Show up already, so that we can all have a proper meeting with each other."

"Awww, man, how did you see me?" A pouting Akira asked while turning himself visible as no one, but Luffy and Usopp, were shocked by his presence.

"Whoa! The invisible cow turned into a Fish Boy!" An amazed Luffy cried out as the majority of the Straw Hats all facepalmed each other with a loud groan.

"Moron..." Gin chastised with a glare as Nojiko rolled her eyes amusedly and crossed her arms as she turned to face Akira.

"Once again, little boy, just because you are camouflaged, it doesn't make you invisible, Akira," Nojiko says with a teasing tone as everyone, sans Nojiko, Zoro, and Cottontail, were confused by him.

"Who is he? A Fishman?" Asher asked curiously as Nojiko turned to him.

"Yep, he is a Fishman. His name is Akira, Nami and I's Adoptive Little Brother."

"Wait, Nami's Brother is a Fishman?! That is so cool!" A starry-eyed Luffy yelled as Zoro snorted amusedly.

"Yeah, but get this, he can't swim."

"Oh my god, really?" An amused Jack asked with a laugh as Akira blushed in embarrassment.

"Shut up! It's not my fault that I can't swim because Arlong gave me a fear of the sea!" Akira yelled with a glare and a huff as he went over to stand beside Nojiko.

"Indeed, but don't worry, Akira, we will help you out with your fear of the sea one day."

"Anyway, we are getting off-track here. What do you mean by, 'It's useless for us to try'?" Zoro asked Nojiko, who crossed her arms underneath her large breasts as she glared at them coldly.

"Do us a favor and don't meddle with this village's business anymore. Leave poor Nami alone. I will give you all an explanation of the situation.

"Do you mean that you can explain why Nami joined the Arlong Pirates?" Gin asked with a stoic glare as Nojiko nodded.

"Not just her, but me too. I may had a hand in Nami joining the Arlong Pirates." A guilty Akira says while going over to step beside his Older Adoptive Sister, who reaches over to rub his head as she scowls at the Straw Hat pirates.

"Hopefully, when I tell you what's going on, it will make you all leave the island at once-,"

"I'll pass," Luffy stated bluntly, interrupting a startled Nojiko as he walked forward. "I don't care about her past."

"Where are you going, Captain?" A bewildered Jack asked as Luffy waved him off boredly.

"A walk."

"What do you mean, a walk?" A surprised Sanji asked as Usopp nodded in agreement.

"You're not going to listen to the story?"

"Yeah, I'll pass," Luffy says while walking away as Nojiko and Akira watch him go in confusion and shock.

"What's with him?"

"Don't mind him. That's just what he's like." Asher said reassuringly with a knowing look as Nojiko turned to eye him up and down.

"Good to know, so you're the famous Asher that I heard so much about? To be honest, I don't understand what Nami sees in you." Nojiko stated bluntly with an annoyed and blushing Asher glared at her as Zoro yawned and went over to sit down in front of a tree.

"Enough chitchat. We'll listen to the story. Although it probably won't change anything."

"I'll listen too," Asher says after calming down as Cottontail chirped in agreement.

"Agreed, I want to understand what's going on here," Jack says as Jake hissed.

"Me too, I want to know everything about Nami~," Sanji says with a perverted chuckle as Gin crosses his arms with a stoic look on his face.

"I want to listen too. I want to know why Nami would join the Fishmen." Gin says as Nojiko sighs heavily and crosses her arms.

"Well, we have to go back eight years to start the story. Back when we were still young." Nojiko says as Akira nods with a grim look on his face.

"She lived in this village. Nami, Nojiko, and I will never forget her. Her name was Bellemere."

~[Nezumi, the Marines, Genzo, and the Cocoyashi Villagers]~

"Look! A marine ship has arrived!"

"It's the Marine's 16th fleet!"

"Maybe they were sent by headquarters to see about the 77th fleet!" Numerous Cocoyashi Villagers yelled as we see them all forming around the shore just as a Marine Ship docked itself in front of them as a grinning Nezumi and the Marines deboarded it as they went over to stand in front of the crowd of Villagers.

"I'm Colonel Nezumi of the Marine's 16th fleet. Bring forth the Village Leader Genzo." Nezum says as Genzo steps forward while placing his hands behind his back.

"I'm Genzo, Colonel."

"You, huh? Escort me to Nami's house." Nezumi ordered as Genzo and the others gave him a surprised look.

"Nami? What business do you have with her?"

"All you have to do is escort me," Nezumi says with an ominous tone in his voice as Genzo and the others grow worried by this.

~[Arlong's Pirates and Luffy]~

"That's really strange. I've never really seen a ship fall down from the sky before." Hatchan commented with wide shocked eyes as we see him, Kuroobi, Chew, and Gelora standing around the wreckage of Sanji's ship.

"Yeah, me neither," Kuroobi says with crossed arms as Gelora nods with a small glare.

"Yeah, it seems that some unordinary humans have stepped foot on this island."

"But the question is who are they exactly and what is the purpose of them being here?" Chew asked with a scowl just as Luffy appeared as they turned to him in surprise and spotted the Captain of the Straw Hats walking towards them with said person noticing them as well as he was shocked by the sight of the Fishman, but decided not to talk to them as Luffy walked past them.

"Hey! Wait! Y-You!" Hatchan shouted, catching Luffy's attention as he turned to him in surprise.

"Huh? Were you calling me?"

"Yeah, you, who are you? What are you doing on this island?"

"What does it matter to you?" Luffy asked with a raised eyebrow as Hatchan blinked a couple of times in realization.

"W-Well, you've got a point there..."

"Well, either way, I'm Luffy. I'm just taking a walk." Luffy explained as Hatchan perked up and nodded.

"Taking a walk? Well, have a pleasant one."

"Thanks," Luffy says as he is about to turn around and walk away but is stopped by Kuroobi.

"Hey, smartass, where are you heading?"

"How should I know?" Luffy asked while walking off as Hatchan laughed amusedly and crossed his arms.

"Isn't he kind of amusing?"

"Just who is he?" Chew asked with a raised eyebrow as Geloera nodded in agreement while she and the others watched Luffy walk off.

"He wasn't intimidated by us at all. He's another mysterious character."

~[Asher, Cottontail, Nojiko, Akira, Jack, Zoro, Sanji, Jake, Gin, and Usopp]~

"Bellemere? Did that woman raise, you, Akira, and Nami?" Asher asked curiously as Akira nodded.

"Yes, that's right."

"Yep, now, where shall I begin? Bellemere's story." Nojiko says with a warm smile on her face as she glances up at the sky.

~[Nami]~

"Mmmm..." Nami moaned while waking up from her sleep as she raised her head and looked around curiously as she just realized that Nojiko wasn't around. "Nojiko isn't here. I must've dozed off or something, but where could she have gone?" Nami asked while looking around as she then spotted a basket filled with tangerines and smiled fondly as she went misty-eyed. "Just a bit more, Mom. Just a bit more and we'll get everything back. Cocoyashi Village, the orange farm, and my dream too. I've endured for 8 years..."

~{Flashback: 8 Years Ago in Cocoyashi Village}~

"It's done! It's done!" An excited 10-year-old Nami yelled excitedly while drawing a map of Cocoyashi Village in her home as she cheered loudly. A 10-year-old Nami is 4'5 feet tall with brown eyes, shorter orange hair, thin brown eyebrows, a small nose, rounded rosy cheeks, Slightly Tan Skin, a slim build, and her outfit consists of a long sleeveless pale yellow dress with green accents, and a pair of cream-colored sandals.

"Did you do it, Big Sis?" A familiar voice rang out as Nami turned her head and spotted her 4-year-old Adoptive Little Brother walking over to her. A 4-year-old Akira is 3'5 feet tall as he resembles a short slim blue/green humanoid aquatic creature with reddish-brown eyes that have oval-shaped pupils and yellow scleras, blue fin-like appendages that are assumed to be the hair as it was in a dreads-style, thin blue eyebrows, a small nose, a sharp chin, a small mouth with a row of sharp white teeth, a pair of gills located on both sides of his neck, a sharp chin, a blue dorsal fin located on his back, a pair of slim five-fingered/toed webbed hands/legs, a long blue/green tail that goes to a whip-thin-end with blue caudal fins on it, and his outfit consists of a short-sleeved long white shirt that reaches down to his feet with black shorts underneath and a pair of yellow sandals.

"Yep, I did, Little Bro," A happy Nami says while going over to pick up Akira and spun him around gleefully as he giggled. "Now, there is only one thing left to do," Nami says with a sly grin on her face as we fast forward in time and we see the duo residing inside the Cocoyashi Village Library as they stare up at a book about Navigation placed on the top shelf. "Okay, you know what to do, right?"

"Yep, but I have to ask, Big Sis, isn't stealing wrong?" Akira asked innocently as Nami chuckled and patted his head.

"Only if you get caught, Little Bro, and I never get caught."

"What about last time when you stole-,"

"I NEVER GET CAUGHT!" A glaring Nami snapped, scaring Akira as she then composed herself and looked around warily, making sure that there was no one around as the orange-haired girl went over to grab Akira and hoisted him up into the air as he grunted and reached up to grab the book as Nami beamed and placed him down into the ground. "Alright, you know what to do," Nami says to Akira, who nods as she beams and turns around as the 10-year-old girl is about to leave, but stops as the Librarian appears.

"Oh, hey, Nami, need any help there?"

"Nope, no help at all," Nami says with a nervous laugh while turning to face Akira as she deadpans a bit due to the fact that the Fishman Toddler had turned himself invisible per instructed, but it seems that he can't turn the book invisible alongside him and everyone could see a book floating around as the Librarian giggled amusedly, and before Nami could think of making a break for it with Akira, a stoic 38-year-old Genzo appeared behind them while looking practically the same but with no scars as he bends down to grab Nami and Akira by the back of their shirt and dress as he hoisted them up into the air with a stern glare on his face.

"DAMN IT, NAMI! NOT AGAIN!" Genzo screamed with an angry growl while turning around to drag a protesting Nami and Akira away as the Cocoyashi Villagers spotted this and couldn't help but laugh loudly.

"Let me go! I'm not some cat!/Please don't tell, Mom, I don't want to get in trouble!" Nami and Akira screamed in unison angrily/panickedly as Genzo narrowed his eyes at them.

"Nami, you are an idiot! How many times do I have to tell you not to steal things?! And now you roped Akira into your evil little crimes!"

"How else am I supposed to get what I need?! It's not my fault we are poor! And Akira likes helping me anyway!" Nami yelled as Genzo rolled his eyes and scoffed.

"Have you ever thought, oh I don't know, doing some chores around the Village to gain money like Nojiko does?!"

"That takes too long and Nojiko took all of the good jobs! Just stop being stingy and let me do what I want!" Nami shouted while blowing a raspberry as Akira began crying, not wanting his Mom to be mad at him as Genzo sighed heavily and we fast forward in time to Bellemere's House as we see an angry Genzo knocking on the door with his foot.

"Bellemere! Your stray cat has done it again! And not only that, but she also had your stray fish joining in on the stealing as well! Open up!" Genzo ordered just as the door was opened as an annoyed attractive woman opened the door with a glare on her face.

The Woman is a 6'1-feet-tall, 30-year-old Woman with green eyes, long fuchsia hair tied in a ponytail with a rather unique hairstyle similar to a mohawk known as a 'Chelsea Hawk', thin black eyebrows, a small nose, a sharp chin, F-Cup Breasts, Light Skin, a tall relatively slim hourglass build, a hearty-shaped thick ass, and her outfit consists of a short-sleeved high-collared green checkered shirt with the word 'MACE' on it, indigo trousers and a pair of brown sandals as she also had a cigarette in her mouth. Her name is Bellemere, a Former Marine and the Adoptive Mother of Nojiko, Nami, and Akira.

"What do you want now?"

"MOMMA! I DIDN'T MEAN TO HELP NAMI STEAL THAT BOOK! SHE MADE ME DO IT!"

"YOU FUCKING SNITCH!" Nami yelled while glaring at Akira and kicked him as an annoyed Bellemere swatted her on the head.

"LANGUAGE!" A glaring Bellemere shouted with white eyes and shark teeth before calming down as she turned to Genzo. "Anyway, what did she do this time?"

"She was caught stealing again for the fifth time this week! Nami is starting to get a reputation as a thief in town! You have to find a way to control her before she ends up in a jail cell while dragging her siblings down with her!" Genzo shouted while placing the Kids down as they ran over to hide behind their Mother, who grinned saucily as she placed her hand on Genzo's cheek.

"Thanks for the advice, but haven't you ever seen something that you wanted and had taken it? Surely even you've shoplifted before, Genzo?"

"YOU ARE THE REASON WHY SHE ACTS THIS WAY! BECAUSE YOU ARE TOO RELAXED ABOUT THIS! I-,"

"Relax, I'm just kidding~," Bellemere says with a sultry tone while rubbing her hand against his jaw as Genzo flinched at this with a light blush on his face. "I hope that you were kind of to pay for her, right~?"

"B-Bellemere..."

"Thank you so much. I don't have the money right now, but I will repay you next time...with...my...bo...dy~," Bellemere says with a seductive tone while kissing Genzo's cheek, causing him to blush from head to toe as the flustered man turned around to run away, causing the trio to start laughing as Bellemere then composed herself and coughed a bit as she then raised her fist and slammed it down into Nami's head.

"Ow! What was that for?!" A pouting Nami asked while rubbing her head as Bellemere glared down at her harshly.

"Try to steal again and drag your baby brother into this, and you will get 100 spankings!" Bellemere yelled strictly as Akira giggled a bit at Nami, who growled at him as she rubbed her head.

"Look, Mom, I'm sorry, but I really needed this book, no matter what."

"If you wanted it, why didn't you ask me?" Bellemere asked with a raised eyebrow as Akira nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, Momma would've bought it for you the next time we go into town."

"No, she wouldn't."

"Yes, I would. We still have some money from our last harvest." Bellemere pointed out as Nami frowned sadly.

"But the people from the village were saying that the weather has been really good recently, so all the orange farms should be producing well, so our oranges won't rise in price and won't sell at all," Nami says worriedly as bemused Bellemere reaches over to rub her head.

"You're thinking too much," Bellemere says just as a 12-year-old Nojiko walks out of the house with a smug grin on her face. A 12-year-old Nojiko is 5'1-feet-tall with light blue eyes, spikey shiny and luscious light blue hair that reaches past her shoulders with two large bangs that frame her head, thin pale blue eyebrows, a small nose, a sharp chin, Tan Skin, a tall slim build, and her outfit consists of a red head-bandana with yellow stripes on it, steal blue overalls with a short-sleeved dark blue shirt underneath, and a pair of cream-colored sandals.

"Way to go, Nami. Seriously, bringing Akira to try and help you steal something? You are just asking to be caught. If it was me, I would've stolen it perfectly without Akira's help-OW!" Nojiko says before she and Nami yelped in pain as a glaring Bellemere hits them both on the head.

"I said no stealing!"

"I was just kidding! Really I was!" A moaning Nojiko yelled while rubbing her head as Nami teared up.

"That hurt! Why doesn't Akira get hit?!"

"Because he is too innocent to steal. You two girls will corrupt him if you keep this up," Bellemere says with a huff as a beaming Akira goes over to hug her and a glaring Nami and Nojiko mumbled something about their baby brother being a goody-two-shoes Momma's boy. "But at least this is something to brag about," Bellemere says while reaching behind her to pull out the map that Nami had drawn earlier as she smiles at it. "Nami's maps are really amazing. After learning how to make sea maps, I see that you've also learned to do the land. This is a map of this island, right? No one would believe that such a small child made this." Bellemere says with a proud tone while rubbing Nami's head as she beams at the praise.

"I wanted to get the book so that I can study navigation right now."

"Navigation too?" An impressed Bellemere asked as Nojiko and Akira nodded.

"Yeah, it's Nami's dream,"

"She wants to sail around the whole world," Akira added as Nami nodded with an arrogant smirk on her face.

"They are right. I'm going to sail around the world using my navigation skills, and then, I'll make a world map of all the places I've seen."

"So, this first Island Map will mark the first step to your dream, right?" Bellemere asked as Nami nodded. "A World map, eh? Nami, I'm sure that your dream will come true someday!" Bellemere says with sincerity and strength in her words as she then turns to her kids. "What do you two want to do?"

"My dream is to one day own this tangerine farm and gain lots of money," Nojiko says with a smile as an excited Akira raises his arms.

"My dream is similar to what my Daddy and Uncle Jinbei dream of! To see a world where Fishmen and Humans can coexist peacefully!"

"Ah, well, I will definitely see both of your dreams coming true soon," Bellemere says with a grin while rubbing their heads as they giggle and we then fast forward in time as we see the small poor family inside of their house, eating some dinner as heavy rain rang out.

"Hey, Mom? Why haven't you been eating lately with us?" Nami asked curiously as Akira nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, Momma, it's no fun eating without you."

"I've been eating tangerines, though. I'm on a diet right now." Bellemere lied while fixing up a small dress as Nojiko huffed and placed her fork down as she crossed her arms.

"Then I don't want to eat either."

"What's all this drama? Kids have to eat well," Bellemere says as Nojiko turns to glare at her.

"You're just lying! It's because we don't have any money! That's why you aren't eating, right?" Nojiko asked with a frown, surprising Nami and Akira as Bellemere remained silent and merely continued fixing up the dress."You are starving yourself to near death, so that we won't go hungry, huh?!"

"Now you three you shouldn't underestimate the beautifying powers of these tangerines, especially you, Akira. I heard tangerines can help make fish scales grow stronger." Bellemere says with a sly grin as she rubs her skin. "Even though I'm 30, this radiant skin is all thanks to my tangerines."

"But your hands and teeth are yellow, and you have bad breath because you keep only eating tangerines," Akira says with an innocent tone as Nami and Nojiko giggle under their breaths.

"WILL YOU ALL JUST SHUT UP AND EAT YOUR DAMN FOOD ALREADY!" Bellemere snapped with white eyes and shark teeth as she then composed herself and turned to Nami as she held up a sleeveless pink dress with a sun design that was crudely made to resemble a lion and also had large words around it that spelled out, 'I AM A LION!'. "Alright, Nami, it's done. The Bellemere-brand haute couture."

"I.e., another one of Nojiko's hand-me-downs." An annoyed Nami says as Bellemere shrugs.

"Yeah yeah, but it suits you, Nami."

"But the lion was a sunflower before," Nami said with a pout as Nojiko scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Quit complaining. You have to get my hand-me-downs, or else you won't get any clothes and have to be buck naked like when you streaked across the whole island."

"Akira wanted me to teach him how to swim in the ocean. It's not my fault my clothes got washed away in the stupid ocean." Nami says with an embarrassed blush on her face as she remembers the disaster it was to try and teach Akira how to swim as she was not only unsuccessful in teaching him how to swim but both their clothes got lost when a wave current occurred and they were forced to come back home naked. "Anyway, it's not fair that I don't get any new clothes when you and Akira get new clothes all the time."

"Not true. Momma finds our clothes in the Thrift Shop. My pants came from Glen." Akira says with a pout as Nojiko nods in agreement with a glare on her face.

"Yeah, so just suck it up, Nami. Akira gets different clothes than mine because he is a boy and you get my old clothes because you are my baby sister."

"But I'm not really your real sister! We're not of the same blood! Heck, Akira is not even of the same species!"

"NAMI!" A furious Bellemere screamed while raising her arm as she delivered a mighty slap across Nami's face, sending her crashing down onto the ground as Nojiko looked shocked by what just happened while Akira was confused and scared as tears built up in his eyes.

"What's that rubbish about not having the same blood or even being of the same species?! That doesn't matter! As I see it, you, Nojiko, and Akira are all my kids! I don't ever want to hear that again!" Bellemere screamed with a hot glare as a sniffling Nami got up from the ground and cradled her stinging cheek as she glared up at her mother with tears running down her eyes.

"So what? You are not even our real mother, Bellemere! You are just some lady who is taking care of us! Wouldn't it be better if we weren't here? Then you could actually eat! Buy the clothes you like, and live carefree! If I was gonna be taken care of, then it should've been by a rich family!"

"...Really? Then do whatever you want." Bellemere says while turning around with an emotionless glare on her face as she crosses her arms. "If you really hate this house so much, go and get lost wherever you want.

"Stop it, you two!" A concerned Nojiko yelled while cradling a crying Akira in her arms as Nami glared up at her mother and turned around to run out of the house. "Nami!" Nojiko screamed while trying to stop Nami, but it was too late as she ran into the rain and disappeared into the forest as Akira continued crying into his Older Adoptive Sister's chest and said person grew serious as she turned to her mother.

"Mom, the four of us are a family," Nojiko says to Bellemere, who is staring down at her hand with a look of regret in her eyes.

"Y-Yeah, Nami even said so to me...plenty of times...she couldn't have lied about t-that." A sniffling Akira said while brushing away his tears as Nojiko nodded with a huff as Bellemere paused a bit and chuckled bitterly as she turned to her kids.

"Look who is being the adult around here. I blew up and you're the levelheaded one, Nojiko, and good job in looking out for your brother." Bellemere praised as Nojiko beamed.

"C-Can we get Nami back?" Akira asked hopefully, not wanting her to be kicked out of the house as Bellemere nodded.

"Of course. I'll wait for you three while making some delicious food, so that we can all make up." Bellemere says as Nojiko and Akira perk up and nod as they run out of the house to search for their sister and we fast forward in time as we see a sniffling and glaring Nami being dried off by Genzo in his office in Cocoyashi village as he laughed heartedly at what she told him.

"So, coming from the outskirts into the village is called leaving home, eh? How nice and simple." Genzo says with a grin as he then hands a cup of cocoa to a pouting Nami. "Here, before it cools down."

"Bellemere would be happier if we weren't around..." Nami says somberly as Genzo doesn't look convinced by that in the slightest.

"Why do you think so?"

"If you have three kids, you need more money, and because of me, the people of the village hate her. I'm even corrupting Akira."

"So you're old enough to be worrying about others, eh? That's good to hear." Genzo says with a warm smile as he then waves off her worries. "Rest assured. When she was your age, she was a nightmare."

"Really?" A surprised Nami asked as Genzo nodded.

"Yep. Hell, even from the villagers' point of view, she's still pretty much a naughty kid, but we loved her all the same because that's what you do in a small village like this. Even with all of your stealing, we still care about you, kiddo." Genzo says truthfully as Nami smiles at what he said lightly. "But even with all of that, we were all still astounded by the fact that Bellemere wanted to join the Marines."

"The Marines? Bellemere was a Marine?" A shocked Nami asked as Genzo nodded.

"Yeah, she was. Trust me, we were just as shocked as you are when she told us the truth, but Bellemere told us that the reason why she joined the Marines was because she said that Pirates needed to pay for slaughtering innocent people. After saying that, Bellemere left the village and we all wished her our love and strength while she carried on, risking her life to protect people, but one day, while out on a mission, she was on the verge of dying due to a surprise attack from the Arlong Pirates. They are a crew of Fishmen who had come to the East Blue to conquer it and later the Grand Line, but the Marines were quick to go and stop them but with a great cost as 99% of them were wiped out by the Fishmen."

"Bellemere confided in me that she was even considering dying right there and then due to not having any family at the time, only for her to meet a couple of little girls walking around in the wreckage of the city with one of them carrying around a male baby Fishman. Bellemere was so amazed by the fact that an 8-year-old girl, a 6-year-old girl, and a 1-year-old baby Fishman were able to keep on fighting and surviving after a devastating attack like that she had mustered up the strength and courage to take both kids under her care and bring them to safety and to live again, not carrying that one of them was in the same race as her enemy since he was just an innocent little soul. Those children were you, Nojiko, and Akira." Genzo says, surprising Nami as she goes wide-eyed, not remembering that event at all as she must've blocked out those memories due to being traumatized and all of that.

"After that, she brought you both onto her ship and began sailing it to the nearest island during a heavy storm, which turned out to be Cocoyashi Village, funny enough as we went over to see what was going on and spotted our naughty child on the verge of death while holding two unconscious and sick children and she begged-No, ordered us to have our Village's Doctor save you kids before her. When we all first met Akira, we were, of course, terrified of him after hearing the rumors about the Fishmen and we even thought of throwing him back far out into the ocean. A horrible thought that we all had but we were naive. Thankfully, Bellemere knocked some sense into us and ordered us to heal him as well, which we were all extremely grateful for her to do."

"A few weeks later, after all of you were able to recover from your injuries and sickness, Bellemere made the sudden decision to adopt you kids and look after you all like a mother. We tried to change her mind since she was too immature at the time, but her mind was made up and she was an adult and a Marine at that, so we let her raise you three. Not long after that, Bellemere confided in me and told me that she thought of killing herself for a long time, but you, Nojiko, and Akira gave her a reason to live. You four have a stronger bond than a real parent and child would ever have." Genzo says with a serious tone as Nami looks stunned by the story before glancing down as she teared up.

"G-Genzo...I want my Mommy..." Nami says while trembling as Genzo smiles softly, happy that she is no longer angry at her Mother and is about to bring her back home when Nojiko and Akira appear out of nowhere as they enter the building.

"Nami, we thought we would find you here," Nojiko says as Akira runs over to hug his sister, who hugs him back with a warm smile on her face. "Come on, Mama's waiting for you with a delicious dinner prepared! It's most likely your favorite. Egg-rice with orange dressing."

"Really? Yay!" Nami cheered while grabbing Akira in her arms as the trio ran off.

"Hey! I want to hold Akira!"

"Nuh-huh! I grab him first!"

"But he's my baby brother!"

"He's also my baby brother too!"

"I'm not a baby!" A pouting and embarrassed Akira yelled as Nami and Nojiko stopped their bickering as they turned to hug him with big smiles on their faces.

"Yes, you are~," Nami and Nojiko said while kissing his cheeks as Akira whined and tried to whack them away as the girls giggled and the Villagers smiled at this warmly.

"Time sure flies," Genzo says with a smirk as he walks out of his building. "Those little ones who once struggled to survive have grown so much."

"Everyone enjoys watching them happily growing up." The Village Doctor asked with a grin as another Villager nodded.

"Yeah, if those four weren't happy, we couldn't forgive ourselves, could we?" The Villager asked as everyone nodded and Genzo was about to say something, but then-

"PIRATES! EVERYONE! PIRATES HAVE COME! PIRATES! EVERYONE HIDE!" A Man screamed panickedly while running past the Kids with a confused Nami placing Akira down on the ground as the rest of the Villagers grew worried, especially when they spotted the Arlong Pirates' Ship dock on the shore.

"The Arlong Pirates!"

"Arlong?"

"No way!"

"Why would Fishmen from the Grand Line come all the way here?!"

"So the rumor about Fishmen Pirates splitting up was true?!" Various Cocoyashi Villagers asked concernedly as a serious Genzo ran over to the Kids.

"Nami! Nojiko! Akira!"

"Genzo!" The Kids cried out as Genzo bent down to their eye level.

"It's dangerous here. Go and hide in the forest behind the village!"

"But-,"

"Hurry and go!" A glaring Genzo ordered as the trio flinched in surprise but nodded as they ran over to hide out in the forest behind the village just as Arlong and his crew appeared as they stalked over to them with sinister glares on their faces.

Standing before them is a 31-year-old Arlong as he resembles a large muscular light blue saw-shark humanoid aquatic creature with fierce light blue eyes, long black hair that reaches down to his shoulders with a widow's peak and a large light blue fin on his nape, thin black eyebrows, a long saw-shaped nose, a wide huge mouth with pink lips and a row of sharp white teeth, a pair of gills located on both sides of his neck, a long angular jaw, a couple of Tattoos of the Sun Pirates Crew and the Arlong Pirates Crew located on the left side of his chest and on his left forearm, a pair of large muscular five-fingered/toed webbed hands/legs, and his outfit consists of a a simple dark gray hat, a long light green scarf hanging from his shoulders, a long-sleeved dark green coat, Bermuda Shorts with a chain-like pattern on them paired with a green sash that was wrapped around his waist, and a pair of yellow sandals.

Another one of the Arlong Pirates is a 25-year-old Chew as he resembles a large muscular blue smelt-whiting humanoid aquatic creature with black eyes, shoulder-length dirty blonde hair, thin black eyebrows, a small upturned nose, pink rosy cheeks, very thick pink lips, a pair of gills located on both sides of his neck, a sharp chin, a Tattoo of the Arlong Pirates located on his right shoulder, a pair of large muscular five-fingered/toed webbed hands/legs, and his outfit consists of a long-sleeved high-collared light lavender shirt with a golden pearl necklace, a dark purple sash wrapped around his waist, long moss green pants, and a pair of purple sandals.

The third Fishmen of the Arlong Pirates is a 28-year-old Kuroobi as he resembles a large muscular pale gray ray humanoid aquatic creature with black eyes, straight long black hair that was tied up into a straight ponytail, thin black eyebrows, a small pointy nose, a pair of gills located on both sides of his neck, a sharp chin, a couple of Tattoos of the Sun Pirates and the Arlong Pirates located on the right and left side of his chest, a pair of large muscular five-fingered/toed webbed hands/legs, and his outfit is the same as his present self.

The fourth of the Fishmen of the Arlong Pirates is a 24-year-old Gelora as she resembles a large voluptuous muscular dark pink jellyfish humanoid aquatic creature with purple eyes, long curly pink hair that resembles jellyfish appendages that reach down to her back, thin light pink eyebrows, no nose, a pair of gills located on both sides of her neck, a sharp chin, G-Cup Breasts, a couple of Tattoos of the Sun Pirates and the Arlong Pirates located on the right and left side of her arms, a pair of large muscular yet slim five-fingered/toed webbed hands/legs, and her outfit consists of a long-sleeved dark pink kimono with a black belt as it reaches down to her feet, and a pair of dark purple sandals

The fifth of the Fishmen of the Arlong Pirates is a 28-year-old Hatchan as he resembles a large muscular pale pink octopus humanoid aquatic creature with an octopus-like face as he has black eyes, grey hair styled into five spikes, thin black eyebrows, a small nose, a pair of gills located on both sides of his neck, a sharp chin, a couple of Tattoos of the Sun Pirates and the Arlong Pirates located on his forehead and chest, six pair of large muscular yet slim five-fingered hands with suction cups on them, a pair of large muscular yet slim five-toed legs, and his outfit consists of a sleeveless yellow diamond-checkered stripped jumpsuit, a blue sash wrapped around his waist, and a pair of dark brown sandals.

"Greetings and salutations, my little inferior humans! From this moment on, this village-No, this whole island will be part of my domain!" Arlong exclaimed loudly into the heavens with his Fishmen Crew cheering loudly as the Villagers of Cocoyashi Village looked stunned and scared by the sight of him. "Now, listen carefully. On this day of every month, you will all have to 'purchase' your very lives from me! Each adult for 100,000 Berries! Each kid for 50,000 Berries! Those who can't pay will be killed!

"What should we do, guys?" A worried Nami asked Nojiko as they and Akira could be seen spying on the group in the forest. "We can't pay that much money," Nami says anxiously as Nojiko gives her siblings a reassuring look.

"Don't worry, maybe they won't find our house because it can't be seen from the village."

"Whoa, those are Fishmen. Just like me." A surprised Akira says while being scared and nervous about what his people are doing as, after the Fishmen were able to collect everyone's money, they proceeded to slam it down into the middle of the village just to taunt the villagers.

"How much is it, my brethren?" Arlong asked with a grin as Gelora chuckled darkly.

"About 25 million or so."

"Perfect."

"Hmph, from now on, each of us will have to pay 100,000 Berries every month for our own souls?" A Villager whispered to the others as Genzo gritted his teeth angrily.

"We can only endure. At least no one in the village will be killed. If we can solve this just with money, it's a fair bargain. Let's just hope that they leave as they are without noticing Bellemere's house." Genzo whispered as another Villager nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, including her kids, it'll be 250,000 Berries. She can't possibly have that much, and there's no telling how they would react at the sight of one of their own living with us."

"Alright, we are all set..." Arlong says, causing everyone to sigh in relief at the thought of them leaving. "...but before we go, can anyone tell us where our fellow Fishman is?" Arlong asked, shocking Genzo and the others as he grinned sinisterly. "We know that there is a Fishman living here. We have heard the rumours."

"Yeah, we have to get Akira back to us. I still feel guilty for losing him four years ago." Hachi says with a fake guilty and sad look as, originally, Akira's Uncle, Jinbei, had entrusted his nephew over to Hachi, but one day, little 1-year-old Akira escaped from his sight during a fight between the Arlong Pirates and the Marines as Hatchan was able to find out that Akira somehow ended up in Cocoyashi Village.

"Wait...they came to get...me?" A stunned and horrified Akira asked with tears in his eyes, not having much memory of the Arlong Pirates due to being too young to remember as Nami and Nojiko shared a worried look.

"Arlong, look! There's smoke from somewhere outside the village!" Gelora pointed out while pointing ahead at some smoke emitting from Bellemere's house as Chew nodded.

"That's smoke coming from a house," Chew says as Genzo and the Villagers flinch nervously.

"Mom!" Nami, Akira, and Nojiko screamed panickedly as they turned around to run away back to their house.

"Let's go and collect our money and our Fishman!" Arlong exclaimed as he and the others ran and walked off to Bellmere's House.

"Shit! This is bad!"

"The pirates are going to Bellemere's place!"

"What do we do?!" Numerous Villagers asked worriedly as one of them went over to Genzo.

"Genzo! The Kids aren't here! They left!"

"What?!" A shocked Genzo asked concernedly as he then gritted his teeth and ran off with the others after they collected their weapons, hoping that they would be able to show up in time at Bellemere's House before anyone got killed.

"...Ah, perfect, nothing is more delicious than my special tangerine sauce." A grinning Bellemere says while wearing an apron as she is working on some dinner in her kitchen. "The duck in the oven needs another 10 minutes, gotta add the vegetables as well, and the stew's about ready too. So it's just the egg rice left. This is going to hit the budget pretty hard, but it will be worth it." Bellemere says with a smile before sensing a knock on the door as she beams, happy to hear her kids come back as she is about to go over to them...but stops upon realizing something. Why would the Kids knock on the door of their house? Instantly growing serious, Bellemere dropped down into the floor and carefully poked her head out to glance through the window as she spotted a group of Fishmen standing around, but instead of looking worried, the Former Marine's instincts kicked in as she grins cockily. "It's open! Come in!"

"Don't mind if I do," Arlong says with an evil smirk while reaching over to open the door as he and the others looked around, but couldn't spot the owner of the house as they grew suspicious but Arlong yelped in surprise as Bellemere, who was standing beside the door and smoking a cigarette, raised her leg and kicked him across his face, knocking him down into the floor as the Former Marine leaped up to land on his chest and aimed her shotgun into his mouth as she smirked slyly.

"Too bad for you, I'm a Former Marine. Now what would a pirate all the way from the Grand Line want with Cocoyashi village?" Bellemere asked cooly as a glaring Arlong opened his mouth. "Eh, you know what? I don't give a shit." Bellemere says with a cold tone while pulling the trigger and firing a bullet into Arlong's head, hoping to kill him, only for him to not only eat the bullet but her shotgun as well as the rest of the Fishmen begin laughing loudly. "Oh, crapbaskets..."

"Useless! Foolish! Stupid! Empty! Worthless! All of you Humans are powerless against the Fishmen!" Arlong roared out furiously as Bellemere gulped nervously, and we cue back to the kids as we see Nami, Akira, and Nojiko running down towards the path leading to their home, and they were close enough to see it, but before they could head there, the Village's Doctor appeared and grabbed them as they screamed and protested.

"Stop!"

"Doctor!"

"You three can't go back home!" The Village's Doctor screamed as the Kids glared at him angrily.

"Get out of the way!"

"We have to rescue Mom!"

"Before the Fishmen kill her!" Nojiko, Nami, and Akira screamed in unison as the Village's Doctor glared at them coldly.

"Nojiko, Nami, Akira, listen to me. You all can't beat the Fishmen, and they won't stop until they get their money from Bellemere and kidnap you, Akira, so here is our plan. I hate to say this to you three since you are all so young, but there will be times in this life like right now when you have to learn the truth, no matter how harsh or unfair it sounds." The Village's Doctor says sternly just as a loud crack and a female scream rang out as the group turned their heads and spotted a hollering Bellemere lying down on the ground in pain as a furious Arlong stepped on her arm repeatedly until it was purple and bent awkwardly as it snapped.

"It's no use! These guys are real monsters! We're gonna get killed! Nojiko! Nami! Akira!" Bellemere thought to herself in agony and pain while tearing up as Arlong was about to squash her head in, but then-

"Bellemere!" Genzo screamed, alerting everyone of his presence as they all turned to him. "Don't waste your life on something trivial! There's no reason to fight when it can be resolved with money! Plus, you don't have to try and protect that little monster, Akira. We still have him locked up back in the cells below my office!" Genzo yelled while stepping over to Bellemere as he bent down and grabbed her as the man lifted her up from the ground.

"That's right, Marine Girl. Adults are 100,000 Berries. Kids are 50,000 Berries. If you pay for the family's worth, I'll let you live as a divine mercy on you." Arlong explained as Genzo leaned over to whisper into Bellemere's ear.

"How much money do you have? You need at least 100,000 Berries. How much do you have in all, even with everything?"

"I-I have enough to pay for me...but not enough for the kids too..." A groaning, injured, and heavily bloodied Bellemere whispered back as Genzo gritted his teeth in frustration and worry.

"Hey! There's food for four here!" Hatchan shouted while standing near the window of the house as Arlong grinned evilly.

"Oh? A four-person family, eh?"

"Actually, it's for me and my other two friends," Genzo says, surprising Arlong and the others as they turn to him. "It must've slipped my mind. We were invited over for dinner." Genzo says as he then glances down at Bellemere. "Come, Bellemere, I'm sure your food will be delicious. Pay them before our food gets cold. I heard you have more than 100,000 Berries saved up. Thank goodness you have enough. Now everyone in the village is spared. After you pay up the man, I will bring him and his Fishmen Crew over to my office so that they can take back that Akira. I know you care about him, but it's best for the village to turn him over." Genzo says with a fake stern tone as Bellemere flinches and lowers her head as she trembles.

"He's not telling a lie. The census shows that she's never been married nor had any kids. She's always been single." Kuroobi pointed out as Arlong narrowed his eyes in thought, and we cue back over to the kids as we see the Village Leader explaining their plan to the trio.

"Understand? There's no proof that you three and Bellemere are a family, so leave this island before they find out. Cross the sea and never return. There's no other way we can afford to save all four of you. Once you three are gone and Genzo brings them over to where they think Akira will be, a few of the Villagers who had stayed behind to trash the place will make the Fishmen believe that Akira had broken out of his cell and escaped and one of the Villagers will lie to the Fishmen and tell them that Akira swam in the opposite direction from where you are all going. This way, all of you will be safe. I know it's unreasonable for you three youngsters to venture out into the sea, especially if one of you is a Fishman. Something could go wrong, but even if there's the slightest chance-,"

"No..." Nami says with teary eyes as Nojiko holds a crying Akira and struggles very hard to not break down herself. "Why do we have to leave? I don't want to! They're the ones who invaded us and wanted to kidnap our baby brother and hurt our Mother and steal from the Village! I want to stay in this village! Is it because we're poor, that we can't be Mom's Kids? Why? Why does it have to be this way?" Nami asked while stomping her foot on the ground as she cried.

"Well, then, it looks like we will all be saved," Bellemere says with a tired grin while holding onto her bloodied broken arm as she comes out of her house with 150,000 Berries in her hands.

"Fine, we'll leave this island," Nojiko says as her siblings stare up at her in shock.

"But, Nojiko-,"

"We're leaving. That way Mom will be safe." Nojiko stated firmly as Akira teared up.

"B-But it's my fault that Momma and everyone else is in danger. I need to stay and help them." Akira says as we cue back to Bellemere, who was staring down at the ground with a guilty look on her face as the Fishmen collected her money and Genzo began leading them slowly to his office as they were about to leave, but then-

"Hold up! Who said that was my share?! Don't you find it suspicious that I gave you all 50,000 Berries more?!" Bellemere asked as Genzo and the Arlong Pirates turned to her confusedly. "That 150,000 is for my son and my two daughters! I'm short on mine!"

"Bellemere!" A shocked Genzo exclaimed as Bellemere grinned cockily.

"Sorry, Genzo. I can't deny that I don't have a family, even if it means sacrificing my life." Bellemere says, causing everyone to stare at her in surprise, worry, and horror as she cracks a bloody smile. "We may not be blood-related and not all of us are of the same species, but we're still a family. I wish I could be a mother by simply saying it. Those three are my freaking kids." Bellemere says with a shaky laugh as a stunned Nami, Nojiko, and Akira teared up and began crying as they all ran over to their Mother while ignoring the cries of the Village Doctor for them to come back.

"Mom!"

"it was a lie, Momma! I was lying!"

"Please don't die!" Nojiko, Nami, and Akira wailed in unison while running past the surprised Fishmen and made their way over to hug Bellemere, who dropped down to her knees as she allowed them to run into her arms.

"D-Don't cry, Kids...I-I wish that I could've provided for you three b-better...to buy you lots of more books and clothes...I'm sorry that I couldn't be more of a mother to you guys..." A crying Bellemere sobbed as the Kids shook their heads.

"That's not true!"

"We don't want anything!"

"Just don't die and stay with us!"

"You need to see the map! I'm gonna draw off the world!"

"You were going to let me own the farm when I grew older!"

"I wanted you to see me unite the Humans and the Fishmen together!" Nami, Nojiko, and Akira cried out together while sobbing into their mother's arms, stomach, and chest as Bellemere choked back a smile with a warm smile on her face.

"Yes, that's right, fulfill your dreams for me, kiddos. Live for me."

"Live on' eh?" Arlong asked with a sinister grin on his face as Bellemere turned to glare at him coldly while Nojiko, Nami, and Akira could only look on in extreme fear and horror. "These are your children, eh? Including Akira?"

"Yeah, that's right. You have to promise to leave these kids alone and don't kill them."

"No problem. I was always planning to bring back Akira in one piece, and as long as you die, I will keep my word and have the kids stay safe." Arlong says with an evil laugh just as a furious Genzo pulls out his guns and opens fire on the Fishman, only for Gelora to zoom in front of them and she was able to not only have all of the bullets get stuck into her body harmlessly but also stretched out her jellyfish-like hair tentacles over to touch Genzo's body and shocked him violently as he screamed in pain.

"DAD!" Nami, Nojiko, and Akira screamed in horror and shock just as all of the Cocoyashi Villagers appeared, and they ran over to them with their weapons armed and ready.

"Eh, they've become bloodthirsty." A bemused Arlong says as he then grows serious. "Anyway, don't kill them, guys. Just show them what we're made of." Arlong says before turning to glare at Bellemere as he stalked over to her. "You'll set a perfect example," Arlong says with an ominous tone as Bellemere grits her teeth and quickly pushes all of the Kids inside her house as she reaches over to grab the doorknob. "You'll die for your pathetic love," Arlong says while pulling out his gun and aiming it directly at Bellemere's chest as the rest of the villagers are getting beat up by the Fishmen, and before she closes the door, the busty woman gives her terrified and concerned kids a warm smile.

"Nojiko...Nami...Akira...love you." Bellemere says with a wink while blowing them a kiss as she closes the door just as a loud bang and a thud rang out as Nami, Nojiko, and Akira cried out in dismay, horror, and sadness.

"MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!"

"UNDER MY RULE, ANYONE WITHOUT MONEY DIES!" Arlong exclaimed while letting out a loud evil laugh as a horde of heavily injured and knocked-out Cocoyashi Villagers could be seen lying around him. "NOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME, YOU INFERIOR CREATURES!" Arlong asked with a savage grin on his face as Gelora went over to kick open the kids, causing Nojiko to hug Nami and Akira close to her fearfully as they all screamed, especially when Gelora stretched out her jellyfish-like hair tentacles over to wrap around Akira's body and forcefully pulled him out of the girls' grip.

"NO! GIVE HIM BACK! GIVE OUR BROTHER BACK!" Nojiko and Nami screamed angrily with hot tears in their eyes as they ran over to try and fight Gelora, only for her to wrap her other jellyfish-like hair tentacles around their bodies and raise them up into the air as the Fishwoman was about to send out a small shock to knock them out, but then-

"What's this?" Hatchan asked curiously while bending down to loot Bellemere's bloodied corpse and pulling out Nami's Map as said person grew angry at this. "A Map?"

"NO! THAT'S MY MAP! I DREW IT! IT'S IMPORTANT TO ME! GIVE IT BACK!"

"Wait, a child drew this?" Arlong asked with a suspicious yet intriguing glare as he reached over to snatch back Nami's Map from Hatchan's hands.

"GIVE IT BACK!"

"Oh, this is quite impressive." A smirking Arlong says as he turns to Gelora. "Knock the blue-haired one out, but bring the orange-haired one with us. She will be an invaluable asset to us."

"NO! LEAVE NAMI ALONE!" Akira shouted while trying to fight back against Gelora, only to fail as she sent out a small voltage through Nojiko's body, causing her to scream in pain with wide eyes before the pain became too much for her and got knocked out as Gelora carelessly tossed her into the ground and the Fishmen began walking away.

"DAD! HELP US!"

"NO! LEAVE THE KIDS ALONE!" A smoking and charred Genzo screamed while rushing over to attack the Fishmen as Kuroobi merely flashed-stepped over to him and pulled out his sword as he proceeded to slash him across his whole body rapidly, causing mountains of blood to spew out as Nami and Akira looked traumatized by what they have seen as the Duo then spotted a heavily injured and bloodied Genzo standing up from the ground with a look of fear and determination in his eyes.

"I'll...save...you...kids..."

"NO, PLEASE, IT'S OKAY! YOU DON'T NEED TO SAVE US! PLEASE! NO MORE KILLING!" Nami and Akira screamed in horror and sadness with a glaring Kuroobi rushing over to knock out Genzo as we then fast forward to the next day, and we see a heavily bandaged and now conscious Genzo being treated by the Village's Doctor in Cocoyashi Village Hospital as the other bandaged villagers could be seen either sitting or standing around them with looks of dejection and hopelessness in their eyes.

"All the village's ships have been sunk...our plan of letting the Kids go to sea was naive. The Marines won't even bother with us. This island will be taken over. Bellemere knew from her experience as a Marine, she knew instinctively what they would do. There was no way anyone could escape this fate." Genzo says with a grim tone as we then fast forward in time, and we see the whole village standing outside while carrying around weapons as they were still covered by their bandages. "We know where the Arlong Pirates are! Looks like they're gonna settle down on this island! It's time to decide! Whether we fight to our death or gamble our lives and wait for the day the government saves us! Knowing that we may die at any moment! One of these two! The only ones that can stand up to them are those people from the Marine Headquarters, but the Headquarters have their hands full with the Grand Line! Chances of them coming out here to save us are close to zero, but we can't just ignore Nami and Akira! We can't abandon them! We must fight!"

"I'm in! I can't abandon children and think of my own survival! Even if one of them is a Fishman!"

"Yeah, it's not Akira's fault that the Fishmen showed up!"

"We're all a family! Even if we trade blows with them, we're gonna save the kids!"

"Bellemere traded her life to save those girls!"

"Even if only one of us fought, we'd all still get blamed anyway!"

"Yeah! Let's go and fight!" Numerous Villagers exclaimed as Nojiko looked away somberly and perked up as she and others spotted a stoic-looking Nami walking over to them while carrying around a big wad of cash as they gasped in shock.

"Nami! You are okay!" A happy Nojiko exclaimed as she and the others rushed over to check on Nami, who had a vacant stare on her face as she put on an emotionless frown. "Nami? Are you okay?"

"...I'm joining."

"Huh?!" A surprised Nojiko asked as Nami raised her head with tears in her eyes as she put on a wobbling smile.

"I'm gonna join Arlong's crew. I'm gonna be a map drawer and draw maps for them." Nami says with a weak laugh as everyone stares at her in horror and shock.

"What are you talking about, Nami? Are you for real?" Gonzo asked worriedly while going over to bend down to Nami's level and reached over to place his hands on her shoulders. "Did they make you do this? That is what is happening, right?"

"No..."

"They threatened you to, right?!"

"No!"

"Tell the truth!"

"Let go of me!" Nami exclaimed while closing her eyes as she shook off Genzo, and it was only now that he and the others spotted a familiar blue tattoo belonging to Arlong's Crew on her left shoulder as they were left horrified by this.

"No!"

"T-That's an Arlong's Tattoo!"

"But why?!" A Villager, Genzo, and Nojoko asked with shrinking eyes and looks of betrayal on their faces as Nami held up her money with a teary smirk on her face.

"Look at this! They're gonna buy me whatever I want! I got all this money by helping restrain and muzzle Akira!"

"YOU MUZZLED OUR BABY BROTHER?!" A pissed-off Nojiko asked while tackling Nami to the ground as she raised her hands and began punching her Adoptive Little Sister over and over again. "IF YOU BECOME A PIRATE AND JOIN THEM, I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU! DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHO THEY ARE?! THEY ARE MONSTERS WHO KILLED MOM RIGHT IN FRONT OF US AND KIDNAPPED AKIRA TO ENSLAVE HIM LIKE A PET! IF YOU JOIN THEM, I WILL NEVER EVER FORGIVE YOU! YOU ARE NOT MY SISTER ANYMORE!"

"SO WHAT?! IF I'M GONNA GET KILLED LIVING A PROPER LIFE LIKE BELLEMERE, THEN I DON'T WANT TO DIE LIKE THAT!" Nami exclaimed, causing everyone to stare at her in shock, rage, sorrow, and anger as Nojiko paused a bit and gained tears in her eyes as she started sobbing and continued punching Nami's bruised up and bloodied face.

"I can't believe this...how could you? After everything we had ever done...all of the laughs and love we had...YOU ARE WILLING TO SIDE WITH THE BASTARDS THAT KILLED OUR MOTHER AND KIDNAPPED OUR BABY BROTHER FOR FUCKING MONEY?! I WILL KILL YOU! I WILL-,"

"That's enough, Nojiko," Genzo says with a stoic glare while having his back turned to the glares as Nojiko stops punching Nami and separates from her. "Nami...never EVER step foot in this village ever again!" Genzo ordered as Nami teared up and shakily got up from the floor as she turned around to run away, not knowing that Genzo was shedding tears due to the loss of his daughter-figure as Nojiko tried to stop Nami, but stopped as she spotted something kind of shimmering figure following after her sister and noticed that it left behind tear ducts.

"Nami...Akira..."

"Such a foolish thing to have done...how could she do that? Betray her family...and for what? Some money? Wasn't Bellemere like a mother to her? No...no, this can't be. Nami loved Bellemere and Akira. When Bellemere died, those tears and cries...it can't be fake, something is going on here." A suspicious Genzo thought to himself with a glare, unable to believe that Nami really did travel to the dark side as we then fast forward to nighttime, and we see a crying Nami and Akira sitting near Bellemere's grave with it having words that read, 'Here lies, Bellemere. A great friend. A great Marine. A great Mother' as Nojiko appeared and went over to them tentatively as she noticed that Akira had a black Tattoo of the Arlong Pirates located on his chest and felt her chest tighten as more tears appeared in her eyes.

"Hey," Nami says, catching Nojiko's attention as she and Akira don't even turn to her. "Didn't Mom always say, 'As long as you continue living, good things will come your way'? Lots of good things."

"After being captured by Arlong, Big Sis and I saw him sink five Marine Ships easily. The government probably won't help this island anymore." Akira says as Nami chokes back a sob.

"I realized that we had to act on our own, and I made a deal with Arlong. I'm going to buy Cocoyashi Village from him."

"Buy the village? How?" Nojiko asked as Nami sniffled and turned to face her with a look of fierce determination on her face.

"For 100 Million Berries. If I buy the town, we'll be free. No one has to die. As long as I join that crew and make maps for them."

"B-But 100 Million Berries?! Even if you and Akira worked your entire lives, you two would never have enough money to buy Cocoyashi Village!" An alarmed and worried Nojiko yelled as Nami narrowed her eyes angrily.

"I'll make it! No matter what! Everyone's having a hard enough time just paying the tribute! I have to do this alone because they won't let Akira leave the island, not after last time! And if I ask for the Villagers' help, they'll just get hurt!"

"...Won't it be hard? To be with the person who killed our Mom?"

"We'll be fine. We'll just smile whenever we see his ugly face." Akira says with a sniffle as Nami nods while hugging him.

"We've decided we'll never cry again! We've decided that we're gonna fight on our own!"

~{End of Flashback}~

~[Asher, Cottontail, Nojiko, Akira, Jack, Zoro, Sanji, Jake, Gin, Yosaku, Johnny, and Usopp]~

"For a 10-year-old girl and a four-year-old boy to decide to fight alone and struggle, do you understand how hard it must've been?" Nojiko asked with a cold glare as we see the gang reeling from the news of Nami's backstory with Cottontail and Jake whimpering/hissing sadly, a stunned Jack muttering that it all makes sense now, Zoro having an emotionless look on his face but a touch of pity in his eyes, Sanji stoically smoking from his cigarette, Gin having his back turned against the others to hide his tears and bitter frown, and Usopp placing his hands on his face as he looked away with a far away expression on his face as Asher just stood there with a neutral frown on his face.

"For a deal that would free the village..." Usopp says softly as an enraged Sanji stands up from the floor.

"WHOEVER MAKES NAMI SUFFER MUST SUFFER MY-ARGH!" Sanji roared out before screaming in pain as a glaring Nojiko went over to punch the Simp into the ground. "WHY DID YOU DO THAT, MY LADY?!"

"Because I'm telling you not to interfere. If you guys keep claiming that you're her partners, the Arlong Pirates are gonna doubt her loyalty, and all her hard work these past eight years will be all for naught. Don't make it any harder than it already is. She is fighting on her own. Knowing there are people who call her a 'friend' is the most painful thing for her." Nojiko says stoically while noticing how her Little Sister's Crush hasn't said anything at all since she began telling her story but did notice him clenching his fists and his shoulders shaking as she sighed heavily, knowing what this idiot would do as, unknown to them, Johnny and Yosaku could be seen spying on them from far away as they were both crying comically by Nami's backstory.

~[Nami, Nezumi, the Marines, Genzo, Luffy, Nojiko, and Akira]~

"Still a long way to go..." Nami says while still sitting on the table of her home as she takes off her black glove and stares down at her bandaged-up, bloodied hand with a look of tiredness and determination in her eyes. "It took me a while, but it's only 7 Million Berries to go. With my skills now, I can earn that much in just a single trip and have plenty more money saved up. Only one more trip and everything will be all over. Everyone in Cocoyashi Village, including Akira and I will be free from Arlong's reign, and then I can finally laugh from the bottom of my heart again."

"...What business do the Marines have with Nami?" Genzo asked coldly while escorting the Marines through Cocoyashi Village with everyone staring at them worriedly, except for Luffy as he was staring at Genzo's pinwheel hat in sheer awe and amazement.

"You should remain quiet and escort us," Nezumi says with a sly, sneaky grin while he and the others walk past Luffy as he had starry eyes.

"Why does he have a pinwheel on his head? That's SO cool."

"...Ah, one final stealing spree," Nami says while walking out of her house as she stretches a bit. "Shall I get on with it?" Nami asked herself with a grin on her face...but then frowned in confusion when she spotted Genzo and the Marines appearing on the scene as they walked over to her. "The Marines? And why is Genzo with them?"

"You there, are you the female thief Nami?" Nezumi asked, getting Nami's attention as she turned to him in surprise. "According to our investigations, you seem to have stashed the stolen pirate treasure in this very tangerine farm," Nezumi says, shocking and worrying not only Nami but also Genzo as they were trembling nervously. "Since you have stolen from Pirates, we have no intention of arresting you, but theft is still theft, therefore all of the pirate treasure that you have stolen will now become government property. Now then hand it all over because it's ours."

~{Mini Flashback: 8-years-ago}~

"What's with that look on your face, little girl?" A 31-year-old Arlong asked with an evil grin on his face as he sat on his throne at Arlong Park with a bruised and beat-up 10-year-old Nami lying beside him with her neck, arms, and legs chained to the floor as she was struggling very hard not to break down, but glared up at the Fishman venomously. "Do you really want your village back that badly? And for your precious 'little brother' to be safe? How about I make you a deal?"

"A deal?" Nami asked quietly yet hopefully as Arlong grinned savagely.

"Gather up 100 Million Berries for me and bring it here. Do so and not only will I let the village go, but I will also give you and that weakling Fishman your freedom."

"...But...why? One of the reasons why you came here was to look for Akira." Nami pointed out nervously as Arlong scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Oh, please, the only reason why I went back to fetch him is because Akira is the son of Fisher Tiger, my Former Captain. I don't care much about him, but I will try to raise him to be a proper Fishman. Hopefully, I can instill some hatred against humans in him." Arlong says with a glare as, unknown to them, a 28-year-old Hatchan can be seen spying on them worriedly. "But I can tell that Akira is too soft for that. It will be a waste of my time, but I will try. If it doesn't work, I will happily give him back to you to get him out of my life for good."

"...And are you sure that you will keep your end of the bargain?" Nami asked suspiciously as Arlong laughed loudly.

"If there's money involved, I would rather die than break a promise. I don't care how many years it takes. I'll keep my end of the deal." Arlong promised as Nami frowned harshly but nodded as she walked over to shake his hand.

~{Mini Flashback Over}~

"What's the matter? Didn't you hear me? It's decided that all the stolen pirate goods will be taken into our custody." Nezumi says with a glare as Nami flinches...before steeling her nerves as she puts on a cold glare and a devilish smirk as the busty orange-haired woman places her hands on her hips.

"My, my, you're very passionate about your duties, I see. You don't dare to stand up to pirates, so you pick on smaller game to raise your standings. How noble. Let me tell you something. I'm one of the leaders of the Arlong's Pirates. Touch me and my treasure and Arlong won't stay quiet about it."

"Is that your idea of threatening me, little girl? Find the treasure!" Nezumi ordered as his men nodded and walked forward.

"Wait! Stop!" Nami ordered with a harsh glare as the Marines ignored her and merely walked past her, pissing her off as she reached into her shirt and pulled out her Bo Staff as she twirled it around, and Nami proceeds to whack away all of the Marines close to her as she panted angrily and turned to scowl at Nezumi. "Is this what the Marines do now?! The Arlong Pirates are killing people and destroying villages left and right and you know it! Even now they're taking over this island, and wrecking lives! To ignore that and take care of one measly thief, is that what you should be doing now?! Is that what the Marines stand for?!"

"Heh, don't talk as if you're superior. Continue the search, men." Nezumi ordered as the remaining non-injured Marines walked over to begin their search.

"The people of this island have been waiting for the Marines' help for so long! How can you pass them by and come straight to me?!"

"Colonel, this orange orchard seems a little suspicious." A Marine says, interrupting Nami as Nezumi grinned evilly.

"Dig it up."

"NO!" Nami screamed furiously while running over to tackle the Marine with the shovel into the ground as she glared at him venomously. "KEEP YOUR FILTHY FUCKING HANDS OFF OF MY MOM'S TANGERINE ORCHARD! I WON'T LET YOU TAKE THE MONEY THAT I HAVE WORKED SO HARD TO GET!" Nami shouted while going over to whack multiple Marines at once with tears of frustration and sorrow in her eyes as Genzo, who had kept silent about the whole ordeal, was shaking with rage and regret as he clenched his fists. "THAT MONEY IS FOR...ITS FOR-,"

"THAT POOR GIRL'S MONEY IS MEANT TO SAVE COCOYASHI VILLAGE! WHAT GIVES YOU ALL THE RIGHT TO TAKE AWAY OUR SALVATION FROM HER?!" Genzo snapped with a wrathful glare on his face, shocking Nami as she turned to him.

"G-Genzo? How did you-,"

"Oh, please, Nami, I've practically helped Bellemere raise you since you were first brought into our village. Did you really think that I would just believe that you turned evil and spat on Bellemere's grave by joining the Arlong Pirates and letting them keep your Baby Brother for some stupid money?" Genzo asked while giving out a scoff as his eyes softened. "I just couldn't believe what you'd done, no matter what you said, I REFUSE to believe that the sweet little girl that I see as my own daughter would do something so heinous as that, so I questioned Nojiko and she told me the truth. From then on, everyone in the village knew that in order to save the island of Cocoyashi, you and Akira would join the Arlong Pirates."

"T-Then why didn't you all say anything to me?" Nami asked with teary eyes as Genzo went misty-eyed as well.

"The reason why we pretended to not know is because if you ever wanted to run away from Arlong, our hopes wouldn't pull you back into his gang. We wouldn't blame you if you did, by the way."

"What are you guys talking about?! Are you saying that the whole village is in on the theft and wants to be arrested?! Is that it?!" Nezumi asked with a glare as the duo glared back at him and were about to say something, but then-

"We're saying that we are fighting for our own lives because you Marines can't be relied upon!" A furious Nojiko yelled while walking onto the scene with Akira as the others turned to her in shock. "If you have no intentions of saving this village, then get the hell out of here!"

"And trust me, if you stick around here for any longer and even touch that treasure, Nami and I will be more than happy of making you all Arlong's target," Akira says with an angry yet smug look on his face as, instead of looking scared or nervous, Nezumi gains a sinister smirk on his face.

"Arlong's target, huh? I wouldn't be so sure..." Nezumi says with an ominous tone, causing Nami to eye him with wary suspicion as a feeling of dread and horror coursed through her body.

"No...please, god no..."

"You still haven't found it? It's not like we're searching for a grain of rice! It's 100 Million Berries!" Nezumi snapped at his Marine Workers, causing everyone to go wide-eyed in shock as an angry Genzo stepped forward.

"Hey, you bastard! How do you know the amount?!"

"Ah, I don't know. I just had a feeling it would be around that much." Nezumi says while crossing his arms mischievously as Genzo, Nojiko, Akira, and especially Nami couldn't believe the news.

"Don't tell me that Arlong sent you here?!" Nami asked as Nezumi looked away slyly.

"Who knows? As government officials, we're just doing what's necessary to persecute thieves."

"You corrupt bastards!"

"How could the Marines stoop so low as to be Pirates' Lapdogs?!"

"You guys are just as bad as the Arlong Pirates!" Gonzo, Nojiko, and Akira screamed furiously with Nami biting her lip as she had a look of utter rage and betrayal in her eyes as she was panting heavily.

"It's here, sir! I found it! This is amazing!" One of the Marines shouted, causing Nezumi to eagerly run over to bend down and inspect the giant basket filled with tons of money inside as Nojiko, Genzo, and Akira didn't bother trying to stop him since the money was useless now as Nami looked pale and stunned by what was going on.

"That little girl sure did gather a lot," Nezumi says with a greedy smirk as one of the Marines bends down to inspect it.

"But it's all stained with blood and in bad shape, though..."

"Who cares? Money's money and thirty percent of this is all mine." Nezumi says with an evil laugh, snapping Nami out of her stunned state as she begins stalking over to them with a menacing aura covering her whole body.

"Don't touch it...Don't touch it...Don't touch it...DON'T TOUCH IT! DON'T YOU DARE FUCKING TOUCH IT!" Nami screeched with tears leaking down her face as she ran over to try and stop the Marines from stealing her treasure with the others running over to try and stop her, only for Nezumi to pull out his gun and aim it at Nami as he pulled the trigger and sends a bullet flying over to them as, acting on instinct, Nojiko rushed over to push Nami out of the way, causing the bullet hit her shoulder, and a big stream of blood gushed out as she screamed in pain and crashed down into the ground as Nami, Akira, and Genzo looked shocked and horrified by this. "NOJIKO!"

~[Luffy, Nami, Akira, Nojiko, Genzo, the Cocoyashi Villagers]~

"Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..." Luffy snorted while sleeping on a palm tree in Cocoyashi Village as he moaned and his face grimaced a bit due to having a terrible and scary dream as the Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates then woke up screaming and sat up straight as Luffy panted heavily. "Man, what a horrible dream. Me not being hungry?" Luffy asked himself incredulously while shivering as he then calmed down and remembered what happened earlier as the Rubberman perked up and placed his hands behind his head as he crossed his legs. "A pinwheel, huh? That was so cool...oh! I just thought of a good move!" An excited Luffy says before hearing some commotion in the village as he turns his head and spots Genzo and Nami rushing a moaning and injured Nojiko over to the middle of the village.

"Doctor! Doctor!"

"What happened, Genzo?!" The worried Village Doctor asked while rushing over to tend to Nojiko's wound as Genzo gave him a serious glare.

"Nojiko's been shot."

"By who?"

"The Marines," Genzo says with a harsh tone as a concerned and still angry Nami checks on her injured sister with Akira rubbing her head as he whimpers anxiously. "Arlong was collaborating with the Marines," Genzo says, shocking the others as he nods. "He turned his back on Nami eight years ago and never intended to keep his promise."

"What?!"

"That means..."

"That bastard! He lied to our Nami!" Various Villagers screamed with Nami shaking in frustration, bitterness, self-loathing, and anger as a worried Akira turned to her.

"Nami, I am so sor-,"

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" A teary-eyed Nami snapped as she turned to glare at a shocked Akira. "IF YOU HAD NEVER COME HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE, THE ARLONG PIRATES WOULD'VE NEVER HAVE COME HERE, BELLEMERE WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN KILLED, AND I WOULDN'T HAVE WASTED EIGHT YEARS OF MY LIFE ON AN EMPTY PROMISE!"

"Nami..." A saddened and crying Akira says as Nami glares at him venomously.

"YOU ARE NOT MY BROTHER! YOU NEVER WERE! NOW, GET THE HELL OUT OF MY LIFE!" Nami screamed loudly while turning around to run away as Akira began sobbing in guilt and remorse as he turned around to run away into the forest with Genzo and Nojiko trying to stop them both from leaving as a silent Luffy studied the scene and turned around to the direction from where Akira had ran off to as he decided to stand up from the floor and followed after him.

~[Nami and the Arlong Pirates]~

"ARLONG!" Nami exclaimed furiously while running into Arlong Park and captured everyone's attention as they turned to her.

"Oh? What's wrong, skilled surveyor of ours? Why the sour face?" Arlong asked with a knowing and taunting tone as a fuming Nami marched over to him.

"Those Marines that you sent took all of my money. Didn't you say you would die before you broke a promise involving money? Right?!"

"Refresh my memory, but when did I exactly break our promise?" Arlong asked with a sly grin as an enraged Nami reached over to grab him by the front of his shirt with a pissed-off expression on her face.

"DON'T YOU DARE PLAY DUMB WITH ME! YOU TEAMED UP WITH THE MARINES TO-ARGH!" Nami roared out before gasping in pain as Arlong reached over to grab her by her neck and tightened his grip on her with a menacing grin on his face.

"When...did...I...break...our...promise? Tell me." Arlong ordered before letting out a loud evil laugh as the rest of the Fishmen, minus a sympathetic Hatchan, began laughing as well as tears of frustration and anger rained down from Nami's eyes.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"

"Anyway, all of your money was taken away? That's unfortunate. However, a promise is a promise. Unless you bring 100 Million Berries before my eyes, I can't release that village or Akira."

"You scum!" Nami crocked out with a venomous glare on her face as Arlong barked out another laugh.

"It's only 100 Million Berries! You can just gather it up again and gain another 100 Million Berries in no time! Or are you gonna escape?!" Arlong asked as Nami continued glaring at him silently. "However, you know if you run away, I will kill everyone in that village, including your precious little baby brother!" Arlong shouted with Nami going wide-eyed in shock and horror as she whimpered with shaky eyes as the orange-haired woman then composed herself and slapped away his hand as she then turned around to run away. "Running away finally?"

"It's okay if we don't chase after her?" Gelora asked stoically as Arlong laughed amusedly.

"Chase after her? Why? There's no way she'd escape. She can't forfeit the lives of the villagers nor her precious little brother,"

"But what a devious trick that was," Chew says with an impressed tone in his voice as Arlong nods.

"Thanks, there is no way that I'd let an asset like Nami go away that easily, but still, I'm not a demon. Once she draws up maps of the whole world then, I'll set her free."

"And how many decades will that take? She can die a hundred times before finishing it!" Kuroobi says with a laugh as the other Fishmen begin laughing as well.

~[Asher, Jack, Zoro, Sanji, Jake, Gin, and Usopp]~

"Alright, we have been giving enough exposition and crying for one chapter, so let's go and actually do some shit," Cottontail says as everyone else nodded in agreement.

"Indeed, let's meet up with Luffy as soon as we can," Jack says as Usopp nods before noticing that Sanji is lowering his head silently as he tilts his head curiously.

"Hey, Sanji. What are you doing?"

"I'm cherishing this happiness."

"What the hell are you talking about?" A bewildered Gin asked as Sanji reached into his coat to pull out a cigarette and lit it up with a lighter as he began smoking it.

"Nami has suffered a lot. Much more than anybody, and I'm going to take away all that suffering. Is there anything better than that?"

"Your motives are obvious, Love Cook," Zoro says with a dry tone as an annoyed Sanji turns to him.

"That is what a real gentleman does for a beautiful and suffering lady. What's wrong with fighting for somebody beautiful?"

"That's not right at all. We're doing this for everyone else in the village too." A glaring Jack says as a silent Asher finally turns to them with a serious glare on his face.

"Can it, everyone. This is not the time for talking, not anymore. Now, is a time for action." Asher says with a vengeful aura covering his body as he causes various small explosions all over his body. "Let's hurry up, already. I'm itching to blow a certain someone up."

~[Everyone]~

"This is as far as it goes! Get your weapons! We're gonna fight!" An extremely angry Genzo exclaimed while having a town meeting with everyone in the village, including a bandaged-up Nojiko as she gripped her own Bo Staff tightly. "Eight years ago, we said we'd never throw our lives away! No matter how bad their abuse against us became, as long as Nami was fine, We were going to continue our fight of endurance, but this is how they answered back?! Now that there's no way for this village to be free, we have no goal to survive for! Furthermore, we will not forgive them for preying on Nami's kindness and touting and abusing poor Akira! He may be a Fishman too, but Akira is just as part of our family as any of us and we will fight to the death for both of them! Are there any objections?!"

"No way!"

"Let's go!"

"We're already prepared to fight!"

"We're not gonna take it anymore!"

"Yeah!" All of the Villagers screamed as they were about to charge forward, but then-

"Wait, everybody!" Nami shouted while rushing onto the scene as everyone turned to her and spotted the orange-haired woman putting on a fake look of reassurance and determination as she smiled brightly. "Just wait! Just wait a little longer! I'm going to try again! I'll get the money again! It'll be easier this time! I have lots of experience! It's okay! You don't have to worry! This is nothing compared to back then! Everybody, I'm fine! I'm fine so-,"

"That's enough!" Genzo screamed sternly, startling Nami as he then went over to hug her with tears in his eyes. "You have done more than enough for us, Nami. We know what futility is like. You fought well, for our sake. It must have been more painful for you to join that crew, more painful than it is to cut yourself. You fought well."

"...Dad..." Nami says with teary eyes as Genzo separates from her and kisses her on the forehead as he smiles down at her warmly.

"Now, leave this village," Genzo ordered as Nojiko nodded.

"Do it, Nami. You've got brains, and you've got a dream, and you have real friends now to support you. Not to mention a man who you love. Go and be free and live your life. That is what Mom would've wanted for you."

"...Big Sis..." Nami says with shaky knees and misty eyes as she then shakes her head and reaches behind her to pull out a dagger as the orange-haired woman points her weapon at them. "I won't let you! Stop it, everyone! I don't want to see anyone get hurt anymore by these monsters! You're gonna die!"

"We know that," Genzo stated stoically as another Villager nodded.

"It's useless, Nami. We've already decided in our hearts."

"Out of the way, Nami!" Genzo exclaimed with a scowl as he then turned to the others and reached into his belt to pull out his sword. "Let's go, everybody! Even if we can't win, we'll show them our pride!" Genzo shouted as everyone cheered and began running forward while rushing past a shell-shocked Nami as she dropped down to her knees and stared up at the ground with a traumatized look on her face as Arlong's laughter rang out in her eyes as well as Bellemere's death as Nami then steeled her nerves and glared down at her Arlong Tattoo with a look of utter rage and fury as she gripped her dagger tightly and held it up into the air as Nami then-

STAB!

"ARLONG!"

STAB!

"ARLONG!"

STAB!

"ARLONG!"

STAB!

"ARLONG!"

STAB!

"ARLONG!"

STAB!

"ARLONG!"

STAB!

"ARLONG!"

STAB!

"ARLONG!"

STAB!

"ARLONG!"

STAB!

"ARLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG!" Nami roared with sorrow, frustration, bitterness, and sadness as she was about to stab herself again, only for a familiar hand to reach over and stop her as the orange-haired woman turned her head and spotted an emotionless-looking Asher and Luffy standing behind her as Cottontail laid on his master's shoulder silently with a look of somberness in his eyes. "Asher...Luffy...what are you two still doing here?"

"We want to help you," Asher says as Nami scoffed and rolled her eyes as tears leaked down from her eyes.

"You don't know anything about this...you don't know what's been happening for the past eight years on this island."

"Yeah. I don't." Luffy stated bluntly while Asher remained silent as Nami stood up from the ground and whirled around to glare at them as she trembled.

"This is none of your business! I told you to get off this island, didn't I?!"

"Yeah."

"THEN LEAVE! GO AWAY! GO AWAY! GO AWAY! GO AWAY! GO AWAY! GO AWAY! LEAVE AND NEVER COME BACK! LEAVE! LEAVE! LEAVE!" Nami ordered while choking back a sob as she ran over to weakly punch Asher's chest before collapsing into his arms due to the emotional weight of what just happened as she cried before raising her head as, for the first time in eight years, Nami gave someone a look of utter helpless and pleading. "...Asher...Luffy...please...help me..." Nami says while sobbing as Asher leans down to kiss her forehead and allows Cottontail to go over and wrap around her shoulders to comfort her while also licking away her tears as Luffy then reaches up to grab his hat and places it on her head as Nami was stunned by this.

"Of course, we will," Asher says with a look of anger and determination in his eyes as Luffy nods before turning around as the Rubberman takes a couple of steps forward and crouches down as the Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates takes a deep breath and screams.

"HE'S GONNA FUCKING PAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!" Luffy exclaimed into the heavens loudly and furiously as he then turned to his men, who were standing near them as Zoro was sitting on a bench and gripped Kuina's Sword tightly with Gin sitting beside him and was casually spinning around one of his metal tonfas with a dark glare on his face as Jack stood beside them with his arms crossed and a hissing Jake wrapped around his shoulders as Sanji stood by and was smoking a cigarette coolly as Usopp sat beside him with his arms and legs crossed as he lowered his head seriously. "Let's go."

"Right!" Asher, Cottontail, Zoro, Usopp, Jack, Jake, Sanji, and Gin exclaimed in unison as they were about to leave, but then-

"Wait!" Nami yelled while separating from Asher as she wiped away her tears and gave the others a serious glare. "I'm going! I don't care if I am weaker than you guys, Arlong not only killed my Mother but he also broke our promise of me saving Cocoyashi Village and saving my baby brother! I need to make him pay and kill Arlong once and for all!" Nami shouted with a rageful glare as the boys nodded, not seeing any reason for them to deny her request since she's one of their own, as the Straw Hats then turned around to walk away, heading straight towards Arlong Park to make Arlong pay for what he has done and then kill him for good as they made their way out of Cocoyashi Village.

~[The Straw Hat Pirates, Johnny Yosaku, the Coyosashi Villagers, and the Arlong Pirates]~

"Hey! Are you guys okay? Were you beaten up by Arlong?" Genzo asked worriedly as we see him and the rest of the Cocoyashi Villagers arriving at Arlong Park, but were forced to stop due to seeing a heavily bloodied and injured Yosaku and Johnny standing in front of them with their swords held out as they were blocking the front entrance of Arlong Park.

"After finding out the truth about Big Sis Nami, there was only one thing left to do to redeem ourselves after accusing her like that and that was beating up Arlong," Johnny explained as Yosaku nodded.

"With that in mind, we came here, but we lost easily."

"No offense, but we ain't moving for you guys. You have no chance of winning." Johnny stated matter-of-factly as Genzo gritted his teeth angrily.

"What was that?!"

"Be patient. We're waiting for 'Those guys' to come." Yosaku says as Genzo and the others raise an eyebrow confusedly.

"Those guys? What the hell are you two talking about?"

"Don't worry, we bet our lives on it that 'Those guys' will come," Yosaku says just as he and Johnny spotted something in the distance as they beamed.

"There they are!" Johnny yelled while pointing ahead as Genzo, Nojiko, and the rest of the Villagers turned their heads as they were shocked by the sight of the Straw Hats making their way toward Arlong Park stoically with Zoro hoisting Kuina's Sword over his shoulder, Jack cracking his neck and ready to transform with Jake hissing threateningly, Luffy cracking his knuckles with a look of determination on his face, a glaring Asher being covered by his explosive pink aura, a scowling Nami gripping her bo staff tightly as Cottontail stood on her shoulders and bared his fangs with his fur standing on end, Sanji walking forward with his hands in his pockets and a lit cigarette in his mouth, Gin casually spinning around his metal tonfas with his eyes being covered by shadows and a deadly aura covering his body, and a solemn Usopp walking around while holding his slingshot and checking his ammo.

"Nami?" A stunned Nojiko asked as Genzo's jaw dropped in shock.

"Why would she and the others come here to fight?"

"If those guys can't stand up to them, then there is really no hope, not only for this island but for the whole East Blue," Johnny says with his arms crossed as Yosaku nods.

"Remember the faces of those ten people who have come to change the future," Yosaku says with a wide grin as the Straw Hats walk up to the crowd of Cocoyashi Village, who step aside to allow them to walk forward as they reach the front gates.

"What are the orders, Captain?" Asher asked with a frown as Luffy turned to him.

"Make an entrance. A big one." Luffy ordered as Sanji reached up to grab his cigarette and handed it over to Asher.

"Here, Bombman, you are going to need this."

"Thanks," Asher says while reaching over to grab the cigarette as he covered it in his bright glowing pink aura.

"My brothers and sisters!" A glaring Arlong screamed while sitting on his throne as he was having a meeting with his Fishmen Crew as they all stood in front of him. "We all know the truth of this world. Fishmen are the rightful rulers of the seas, and the Humans know it too! They fear our power, so they bound us with chains! They loathe our presence, so they ban us from their cities, but we broke those chains, huh?! Built our own cities! Now the time has come to restore the natural order of this world!" Arlong shouted as every Fishmen, except for Hatchan, cheered loudly. "For centuries, humans have used us, kept us down, and our so-called 'leaders', they allowed it! Banners of unity and peace they so lovingly wave are, in truth, flags of surrender, willing defeat! I don't know about you, but I ain't surrendering!"

"Kill them all!" Gelora shouted as everyone cheered again.

"We are the embodiment of Fishmen superiority, and with the map of all of the East Blue, we will build up the Arlong Empire until we have enough men and weapons to finally take over the Grand Line and reclaim our birthright! Our righteous rage will burn through Cocoyashi Village and as we move through to the ends of the East Blue, and eventually the Grand Line and beyond, we will teach each and every human their rightful place...BENEATH US!"

"YEAH!"

"BENEATH US!"

"YEAH!"

"BENEATH US!"

"YEAH!"

"BENEATH US!"

"YEAH!"

"BENEATH US!"

"YEAH!"

"BENEATH US!"

"BENEATH US!"

"YEAH!" The Arlong Pirates exclaimed into the heavens as Arlong grinned evilly and was about to say something, but then everyone stopped chanting as a huge explosion rang out near them and everyone turned their heads as the Arlong Pirates were shocked by the sight of their front entrance being completely destroyed and a huge crater formed around it with steam emitting from the blown up debris as the Fishmen spotted the Straw Hat Pirates entering Arlong Park as Luffy cracked his knuckles with a harsh glare on his face.

"Now, which one of you is Arlong?"

---

And done. I hope that you guys enjoyed the chapter, and I can't wait to write the next one.

Anyway, as always, I will catch you all later.