บท 64: I Never Said I Ate the Rumble-Rumble Fruit
In Cocoyashi Village,
The villagers gathered, and the village sheriff, Genzo, stood in the middle of the crowd.
"This is it! Everyone, pick up your weapons and fight!"
Genzo held a sword and shouted to the crowd.
All the villagers clenched their fists and raised their arms in excitement.
Each of them wielded weapons.
Swords, knives, sickles, and hoes.
"We swore years ago not to sacrifice our lives easily.
No matter how painful or humiliating the rule of those fish-men became, as long as Nami was doing well, we would endure it!"
"But that ends today!"
"Nami has already gathered 100 million Berries, but we know Arlong will never let us go.
We've lost hope of freeing the village, and Nami has lost hope as well.
We will not allow those despicable fish-men to continue playing with that child's kindness any longer!"
"She has already carried too much burden for us."
"She's in more pain than we are."
"She's been forced to work for the scum who killed her foster mother, just so the fish-men won't harm us!"
"Now, someone is willing to take Nami out to sea."
"They could offer Nami 100 million Berries at their first meeting, meaning they're good people!"
"Nami will have a better life with them, and she will finally be able to pursue her dreams."
"Now, it's time for us to make a stand against those fish-men!"
"Pick up your weapons and fight them!"
"Does anyone have a problem with that?" Genzo shouted in anger.
If not for the fact that Nami still had hope,
If not for the fact that Nami didn't want to leave them,
They would have picked up their weapons and fought the fish-men long ago.
The only reason they had endured the humiliating rule of the fish-men was because of that kind-hearted girl.
Nami had carried too much for them.
But now,
That child's hope was bound to be crushed by Arlong.
So they could no longer be a burden to her.
"No problem!"
"How could there be!"
The villagers shouted from the crowd.
"All the villagers are ready to fight!"
"We can't keep letting those bastard fish-men rule over us!"
"Charge!"
The villagers roared loudly, preparing for a life-or-death battle.
Even though they knew they had no chance of winning.
Not far away, on a rooftop,
Sanders's and his two companions stood quietly, watching the villagers from afar.
"Truly admirable people."
"It seems our little navigator is quite remarkable."
Listening to the villagers' shouts, Robin hugged a small box and smiled, her eyes filled with envy and memories.
She was envious because, after leaving Ohara, she had never met people who helped her like this.
The memories took her back to Ohara, where she had also encountered such elders.
"What a wonderful story."
"To witness something like this in a world full of sin and filth, I'm quite pleased," Fujitora(Issho) said with a smile, clearly in a good mood.
Suddenly, Fujitora(Issho) moved his eyebrow and asked a question.
"Our little navigator has arrived."
Just as he finished speaking,
Nami arrived where the villagers had gathered.
"What is everyone doing?"
At that moment, Nami had wiped away her tears, but her red eyes still showed that she had been crying earlier.
"Nami, we've known about your situation for a while."
"Huh?"
Nami's face changed slightly.
Finally, she remembered that during her conversation with Nojiko earlier, Genzo had been present.
At that time, she mentioned buying Cocoyashi Village, but Genzo hadn't seemed suspicious at all.
Both his and Nojiko's faces didn't look right.
"Nami, we've always pretended not to know.
We didn't want to become an obstacle when you decided to escape from Arlong."
"Now, you should know as well. Arlong will never let us go."
"Those greedy fish-men won't spare us."
"So, Nami, you should leave with those pirates who just arrived."
Genzo spoke with a pained expression on his face.
The other villagers looked at Nami with pity in their eyes.
"It's not true, everyone. It's not like that," Nami said, a little flustered.
"Arlong said the money was fake. Maybe it really is fake," Nami forced a smile.
"I've already saved 20 million Berries. I'll be able to save 100 million soon. Please wait a little longer, everyone. Just wait a little longer," Nami looked at the villagers holding their makeshift weapons.
She knew exactly what they were planning to do.
Her face was filled with panic.
The fish-men were far too strong.
If the villagers fought them, they would die!
She didn't want to see anyone else die!
"Nami!"
Genzo, like a father, hugged Nami.
"You know it's useless."
"You've carried the weight of our lives on your shoulders and fought until now."
"For you, joining Arlong's crew must have been worse than a thousand cuts."
"You've done your best, Nami." Genzo whispered softly into Nami's ear.
"Just leave the village now, Nami!" Genzo looked at her.
"Please, Nami, go."
Nojiko smiled at her, her eyes soft and kind.
The other villagers also smiled at Nami, their eyes filled with determination.
"Don't do this, everyone."
Nami took two steps back, holding a dagger in front of the villagers, trying to stop them from fighting Arlong and his crew.
"I don't want to see anyone get hurt anymore. You'll all die!"
Nami cried as she pleaded with them, her voice filled with despair.
"We know."
Genzo looked at Nami with a calm expression.
In Nami's shocked gaze, he walked up and gently grabbed the dagger.
"Nami, we've made up our minds!"
The village doctor spoke up.
"Move aside, Nami!"
Genzo shouted at Nami, then turned to face the villagers.
He drew his sword and pointed it towards the sky.
"Let's go, everyone!"
"Even if we can't win, we'll make those fish-men see our resolve!"
The villagers raised their weapons high and shouted in unison.
Under Genzo's leadership, they marched past Nami and charged toward Arlong's base.
Nami stood frozen in place, her face soaked with tears.
She dropped the dagger, her heart sinking in despair.
In her ears, she could still hear Arlong's sinister laughter.
"Hahahahaha~"
Nami's expression turned furious, and her heart filled with hatred for Arlong.
She tightly grabbed her left shoulder where the Arlong Pirates' tattoo was.
Her fingers left five red marks on her skin.
"Arlong!" Nami shouted in hatred, grabbing the dagger from the ground and aiming it at the tattoo.
She didn't want to have anything to do with Arlong anymore!
Just as she was about to stab the tattoo,
a gentle hand grabbed her wrist.
"Need some help, Navigator?"
A warm voice sounded beside her.
At the same time, another voice, a female one, said,
"That's really cruel, Captain. Our navigator has been crying."
Nami turned her head and saw Sanders's and his crew smiling at her.
The pirates who wanted to recruit her as their navigator were standing right behind her.
"Why... why did you give me that money?" Nami asked, her voice filled with bitterness.
She knew it wasn't their fault, but the thought of the villagers dying at the hands of Arlong's crew made her angry at Sanders's group.
"Do you want to save them, Nami?"
"We're pretty strong too." Sanders smiled, understanding her anger completely.
After all, he knew he had acted a bit harshly in this situation.
But to help his navigator see the harsh realities of the world and grow stronger, he had to do it.
"You don't understand!"
"You don't know how strong Arlong is!"
"He destroyed five Marines warships with ease!" Nami shouted, her eyes filled with fear.
The fish-men were too strong.
The Marines was no match for them.
How could humans ever defeat monsters like them?
"Hey, we're pretty strong pirates too!"
Sanders squatted down, looked at Nami with a smile, and said,
"I've got a bounty of 93 million Berries!"
Nami was stunned as she looked at the wanted poster, then glanced at Nico Robin. Robin's bounty photo had already been updated after it was raised, so Nami could easily recognize her. A flicker of something called "hope" ignited in her heart.
93 million Berries—there was no bounty this high in the entire East Blue. And that was just one person. The woman had called this man in front of her "captain," so he must be even stronger.
"Help me!"
"Please, help me! I don't need any salary. I just want to defeat Arlong!" Nami pleaded with Sanders, her eyes full of desperation.
"I won't help you."
Sanders' words made Nami's heart sink.
"But you can protect the villagers yourself."
Sanders pulled out the Goro Goro no Mi (Rumble-Rumble Fruit) and offered it to her, smiling calmly.
"It's a Devil Fruit. You've probably heard of it. Eat this, and you'll gain the power to protect your village."
"Revenge is something you must carry out on your own."
Nami looked at the Devil Fruit. Without hesitation, she took it and ate it.
She had heard of the legendary Devil Fruits—each one worth 100 million Berries, each one granting incredible powers. If she ate it, she could gain the strength to protect the villagers.
And Nami, being smart, quickly figured something out: By consuming this precious fruit, she would owe these people. With this Devil Fruit, and the 100 million Berries, they had already invested at least 200 million Berries in her. If she were to die, they would lose all of it.
She bit into the Devil Fruit hard. The unspeakable, disgusting taste filled her mouth, making her want to retch. But she thought of the villagers, of Genzo, of Nojiko... She forced herself to swallow it down.
"That taste... I remember it well. I never want to eat a second one," Robin commented as she watched Nami grimace while eating the fruit.
Issho nodded in agreement beside her.
Sanders, on the other hand, smirked but remained silent. He had never eaten one himself, and now he was curious—was it really that bad?
After consuming the Devil Fruit, a transformation began within Nami's body.
"I wonder what kind of power it will grant?" Robin said, intrigued.
Sanders had only told her it was a Logia-type Devil Fruit, but he hadn't revealed the specifics.
Suddenly, electric sparks began to crackle around Nami's body. The sound of crackling electricity filled the air as lightning enveloped her.
Robin and Issho furrowed their brows. It seemed familiar...
Robin turned her gaze toward Sanders, who was smiling the whole time.
"Go ahead, Nami. Now that you've gained the power of lightning," Sanders said encouragingly, "go protect the villagers! Release your rage on Arlong and his fish-men!"
"Tell them you're the navigator of the Thunder God Pirates!"
"The power of lightning?!"
Robin's eyes widened in surprise. She was stunned—this was Sanders' power! How could it be? There weren't supposed to be two identical Devil Fruits in the world!
Issho also showed a hint of confusion on his face.
"Remember to be cautious of seawater. That's the Devil Fruit's weakness," Sanders said as he gently patted Nami's head.
Nami, still dazed by the strange sensation running through her body, began to feel a surge of power. It was as if she had become lightning itself, as if she could now control a vast, overwhelming force.
"The villagers are almost at Arlong's base. If you don't hurry, it'll be too late," Sanders reminded her softly.
Nami snapped out of her daze, her determination rekindled, and she dashed off.
She didn't know if this newfound power was enough to defeat Arlong, but she had to try, for the sake of the villagers, for Genzo and Nojiko. Without hesitation, she rushed toward the base.
However, Nami suddenly tripped and fell face-first into the dirt.
"Captain, are you sure this will work?" Robin covered her face, unable to watch.
"Haha, no big deal. She's just not used to the speed yet. She'll get the hang of it after a fight or two," Sanders laughed it off.
Nami scrambled to her feet, astonished by the speed she had just experienced. She looked down at her hands in disbelief.
So fast! Was this the power of a Devil Fruit? Maybe, just maybe, she could defeat Arlong with this.
She could feel the terrifying power coursing through her body, as if she had the ability to destroy everything in her path.
Standing up again, Nami bolted toward Arlong's base, her mind filled with one goal: she had to try! No matter what the cost, even if it meant sacrificing her own life!
Turning into a streak of lightning, Nami sped towards Arlong's base.
Watching Nami's departing figure, Robin turned around, her face full of doubt as she looked at Sanders.
"Captain, what exactly is that Devil Fruit? Why does it seem so similar to your ability..."
She had some suspicions in her heart. If Sanders hadn't said it was a Logia-type Devil Fruit, Robin might have thought it was a Paramecia-type that could control electricity. After all, Devil Fruits come in all shapes and forms, and a Paramecia-type with electric powers wasn't impossible.
"Oh, it's the Rumble-Rumble Fruit," Sanders said casually.
"The Rumble-Rumble Fruit?!" Robin's face was full of shock and confusion.
It was well known that no two Devil Fruits of the same kind could exist at the same time. A fruit would only reappear in the world after the previous user had died. And their captain had long been famous for being a Logia-type monster within the Marines, known for wielding the power of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. So how could there be another Rumble-Rumble Fruit?
Robin couldn't believe Sanders would lie to her, so Nami must have eaten the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. But how was this possible? Robin was utterly puzzled, her mind in a whirl. She prided herself on being a calm and rational person, but ever since joining the Thunder God Pirates, her worldview had been shaken time and time again.
Could it be that Sanders never actually ate the Rumble-Rumble Fruit?
But Robin quickly dismissed that thought. How could it be? The Marines wouldn't make such a mistake. So what was going on?
"But isn't that the fruit you ate, Captain?"
"When did I ever say I ate the Rumble-Rumble Fruit?" Sanders spread his hands nonchalantly and began walking towards Arlong's base.
Robin was left speechless, glancing at Fujitora(Issho).
"Let's go," Fujitora (Issho)chuckled lightly. "It seems our captain has many more secrets waiting for us to uncover."
With that, he followed Sanders.
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T/N:
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