章 24: Trouble of Cocoyasi Village
"Nami, how far are we from your village?" Luffy asked with boredom. He was sitting on top of Merry as usual. Nami was standing next to him. Liam was lifting weights on the deck.
Usopp was upgrading his weapons. Sanji and Zoro were focused on smashing each other's heads.
"We should be arriving soon. It's not that far now." Nami replied as her heartbeat was racing. She clenched her fists with a worried expression. She wasn't just worried about her village at this moment.
She was also worried about her crew. Although Liam had proved that they are much stronger than she thinks, she still couldn't help but feel horrified. Because she had seen the power of a Fishman especially Arlong with twenty million berries.
"Hey look, I see an island up ahead," Luffy shouted with excitement as soon as he saw the island.
"Sanji, turn the rudder to forty-five degrees" Nami shouted.
"Huh! Nami, I thought we were going to your village. Why are we going around it." Luffy asked with surprise.
"My village is completely surrounded by Fishman pirates. Let's meet up with the villagers and then, make a proper plan to attack them." Nami was worried that they might get outnumbered.
But suddenly, Liam put his hand on her shoulder and spoke.
"After I started getting involved in the battles, I have been fighting groups of pirates. There might be a lot of fishmen but they aren't strong just like any other pirates we have faced before. Only those who are officers of Arlong can be counted strong."
"But they can't defeat our crew. So, relax!"
Hearing his words, Nami's heartbeat slowly calmed down.
"So, are you going straight? Let's go!" Luffy raised both of his hands with excitement.
"Not quite! Let's visit Nami's villagers. Before we attack them, Nami should at least ask if the villagers are ready to put their lives on her decision. This is the battle between two pirate crews after all." Liam shook his head and spoke.
"Awww!" Luffy heavily showed his disappointed face.
After a few minutes, they eventually reached the other side where they dropped the anchor and walked out of the ship.
Suddenly, a few people wearing bandages and holding weapons ran toward Luffy and his crew.
"Stop! Don't step on our land, pirates!" One of the men wearing a military dress with a pinwheel on his cap spoke. His hand was covered with bandages and there were a lot of bruises on his face as well.
"Genzo, what happened?"
Nami dashed out of the crew when she saw Genzo with bandages. At this moment, she got worried that they were involved in the battle against Arlong. But as soon as she reached near him, he suddenly pulled her into his embrace and tears fell down his cheeks.
"I-I-I- I'm sorry.... I couldn't protect it....."
"Nami!" Suddenly, another voice rang from the side. It was Nojiko. Just like Genzo, she also wrapped her arms around Nami and started crying.
"Sob! Sob! We couldn't protect it, Nami….. We couldn't stop them…."
"Genzo, Nojiko, what are you talking about? What happened? Why are you crying?" Nami started to panic, even more, when she found her sister crying like that.
"W.w.w we lost your treasures… Marines took all of it….. All that suffering you have gone through... We couldn't protect it." Another old man wearing a doctor's coat walked next to Nami and answered.
He wasn't crying like Genzo or Nojiko but his eyes were still red. Not just him, almost everyone's eyes were red. Although they didn't like Nami at first, they eventually find out what she was planning.
They didn't tell her so that she wouldn't feel more burdened. They let her continue as it was but yesterday, they couldn't protect the money that Nami put her life at the risk to steal.
She didn't steal it from ordinary people or innocent people. She stole it from the pirates. She put her life on the line every single time from a small age to gather enough money so that she could buy back her village.
Even though she knew Along might not agree, she still wanted to do it. On those dark days of her life, it was only hope she saw.
Straw Hats were shocked as well. Unlike those villagers, they understand the risks of stealing from pirates even more. At this moment, someone was blazing with anger.
Liam clenched his fist as his eyes turned red. While these people could simply imagine how much she had suffered, he saw her journey. He saw how much pain she was going through.
Even though he knew it wasn't something he could change. He still couldn't control his anger.
"Calm down!" Suddenly, Zoro pat his shoulder and spoke.
Hearing his words, Liam took a deep breath and turned around. His eyes were deadly serious as he looked at Luffy.
"Don't hold back! Destroy Arlong Pirates."
Saying so, he suddenly walked toward Nami and caught her hand. She was stunned when she got pulled away.
"Stop! Who are you?" Genzo shouted when he saw Liam taking away Nami. But, Liam didn't stop until he reached in front of Luffy.
"We will bring back her money. I will leave everything to you guys."
Although Liam was the one who spoke, everyone's eyes were on Nami, especially Luffy's.
Nami's tears fell down her cheek as she looked at Luffy and said "P-p-please help me!"
Now, she can't even rely on money. It's either destroying the Arlong Pirates or getting destroyed by them. There was no other choice.
Luffy put his hand on his hat and lifted it. He raised his hat and put it on her head.
"Of course, I will."
Luffy screamed. Zoro, Sanji, and Usopp stood there and when Luffy moved, they also moved together. On other hand, Liam took Nami toward the ship.
"Which is the direction to the 16th Branch of East Blue?" Liam asked as they landed on the deck.
Nami clenched her fists and spoke "Let's forget about the money. Let's help Luffy and the others."
Liam slowly cracked a smile and said "Believe in them! They are far stronger than you think."
Soon, his smile solidified as he continued "And, I am not going to let those bastards take all of your money."
Liam still remembered when the Marine Captain of the 16th Branch found out about the treasure after Nami had returned to the village. But this time, Nami had been traveling with them.
And, they also visited Green Island which might be a reason why they were late.
Nami clenched her fists as well. She was also angry. Not only do the marines take her treasures but also heavily beat her family. How could she not be angry?
"The 16th Marine Base is close. It is the only Marine Base near Cocoyasi Village." Nami went inside the cabin while Liam climbed the mast and unfolded the sails.
At this moment, the villagers were watching everything from below. Nojiko was the most surprised one. She looked at the group of four pirates who were walking toward Arlong Pirates and the ship that was sailing away.
She could piece things together and understand the entire situation but she didn't understand why Nami suddenly brought pirates to deal with pirates. She didn't know whether they were even good people or not.
But, since Nami trusted them, she could also trust them, right? She questioned herself.
"If Nami wants to fight against them, let's fight. She has done so much for us. We couldn't protect it but we can still fight by putting our lives on the line, right?" Genzo suddenly shouted.
"Yes!" Those people raised their weapons and shouted. Everyone started running toward Luffy and his crew.
At this moment, Luffy spoke "Zoro, Sanji!"
Both of them immediately understood his intention and stopped. Zoro took out his sword and Sanji lifted his legs. Both of them blocked the path which stopped those villagers.
"What are you doing? We know Nami wants you to fight against Arlong but there are only four of you." Genzo shouted.
"Sorry Mister but our captain said this is the battle between Pirates. So, please don't get involved." Zoro spoke.
His tone was quite strong as well. It made them frightened for a moment. But the doctor walked forward and said "I know you guys are together with Nami but this is our village. We want to help you fight against Arlong."
At this moment, Zoro turned his eyes at him and said "Can you even fight?"
Hearing his words, it felt like an insult. They were just about to angry when Sanji spoke.
"Don't mind his words! Nami-San doesn't want you guys to get hurt. And, don't worry about us. We are quite strong."
Bang!
At the same time, Luffy punched through the wall of Arlong Pirate. Sanji looked at them and said, "Anyway, please don't get involved in the battle between pirates."
"Who among you is Arlong?" Luffy asked. He was standing in front of Arlong but there were other fishmen as well.
"Hey, who are you, kid?"
"Are you one of the villagers?
"Don't even think of coming close to Captain Arlong." Those fishmen started walking in front of him.
"Lethal Fire Star!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Suddenly, Usopp shot three shurikens who were covered in fire. Those shurikens struck those fishmen and made them bleed while putting them on fire.
"Who the hell are you?" Arlong looked at Luffy with a serious gaze and spoke.
Crack!
Suddenly, Luffy raised his foot toward the sky. It pierced the building until it reached its limit. Luffy's eyes turned red as he shouted.
"Don't make my navigator cry!"
"Gomu-Gomu No- Battle Axe!"
Bang!
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