Year 1513 of the Sea Circle Calendar.
The influence of the Arlong Pirates continued to grow. To ransom their captured crew and accelerate their plundering, the pirates occupied more and more villages and towns. A month ago, a Marine captain named Brin-Brin was ambushed by them, resulting in the destruction of his entire fleet and his own death, further instilling fear of the Arlong Pirates among the populace.
The East Blue News repeatedly published stories about the Arlong Pirates, and the commoners of the Navia Kingdom were both disgusted and terrified of these ruthless pirates, fearing an attack due to their proximity.
This fear was not unfounded; they remembered the attack on White Pine Town last year, unsure if these fish-men would go on another rampage.
In this tense atmosphere, a merchant ship from the Faraise Kingdom arrived in Kalmar City, bringing explosive news that rippled through the city like a bombshell.
Cocoyasi Village, located within the Faraise Kingdom, along with Hoshia Town on the same island, jointly petitioned Morgan Stolt William, the governor of the neighboring Navia Kingdom, requesting annexation to gain the kingdom's protection against the oppression of the Arlong Pirates.
They sent the news and request via passing merchant ships to Kalmar City, causing an uproar among the citizens when the news spread.
Due to the influence of the East Blue News and other newspapers run by William, most Navia Kingdom citizens were aware that the Arlong Pirates hailed from the Grand Line and had connections with one of the current Seven Warlords of the Sea. Although Governor William and his Morgan Pirates had successfully protected the kingdom and its waters over the years, people still doubted whether William and his forces could match the exaggerated might of the Arlong Pirates as described in the papers.
The commoners knew that White Pine Town had been attacked by fish-men pirates, and even the bank was destroyed. However, they were unaware that half of the Arlong Pirates had been captured by William and that Arlong had been extorted for over ten billion Beli.
The newspapers painted the Arlong Pirates as barbaric, cruel, and powerful. Coupled with distrust of unfamiliar races and the sensationalism of the news, it was understandable that the majority of Navia Kingdom's citizens feared and dreaded the Arlong Pirates.
It was said that after receiving the news, the governor began discussing solutions with the high-ranking officials, but no resolution had been reached yet. Many in the city secretly hoped William would reject Cocoyasi Village and Hoshia Town's request, avoiding unnecessary conflict with the Arlong Pirates and potential friction with the Faraise Kingdom.
The citizens had just enjoyed two years of peace and were reluctant to see it shattered by war.
With various emotions, they cast worried glances towards the direction of the noble district, where a meeting was being held at the governor's mansion. The topic was indeed the situation regarding Cocoyasi Village and Hoshia Town, but contrary to the public's imagination, the meeting's tone was set right from the start.
How to maximize the benefits from the whole affair.
Annexing Cocoyasi Village and Hoshia Town was a certainty, as this had been part of William's plan from the beginning.
Although the villages and waters under the Arlong Pirates' control had opened trade routes, they still severely limited communication with the outside world. Moreover, trade with the Arlong Pirates was essentially monopolized by William's Four Seas Trading Company.
Under such circumstances, it was clear that the merchant ship arriving in Kalmar City, and helping convey the message from Cocoyasi Village and Hoshia Town, was arranged by William. It belonged to a subsidiary of the Four Seas Trading Company, so how could he possibly refuse this request?
As for why the residents of Cocoyasi Village and Hoshia Town jointly petitioned, William had a hand in that too.
After his first direct confrontation with Arlong, William paid close attention to his endurance and gathered information on him.
Naturally, William quickly learned about Nami and the promise of one hundred million Beli, which was obviously a scam to any outsider.
Even though William immediately realized the promise was a scam upon learning about it, Zangy's reports from Cocoyasi Village revealed that not only Nami but also the villagers had pinned their hopes on this promise.
Moreover, Zangy discovered that every time Nami returned to the village, she was covered in bruises, indicating that she was risking her life stealing pirate treasures to quickly gather the one hundred million Beli and ransom her village from Arlong.
Given this situation, the benevolent William decided to help Nami and the villagers of Cocoyasi Village.
Knowing Nami was skilled in navigation and knowledgeable about sea charts, William arranged for her to "coincidentally" acquire a treasure map from a group of pirates during one of her thefts, leading her to a treasure worth nearly one hundred million Beli.
William estimated that when Nami and the villagers of Cocoyasi Village received this news, they were extremely relieved, and Zangy's intelligence confirmed his guess.
However, soon after, Nami and the villagers learned the harsh reality: if the Arlong Pirates could force Cocoyasi Village's residents to pay for their lives every month, they could certainly seize Nami's one hundred million Beli savings.
Facing Arlong, they couldn't even protect their lives, let alone such a large sum of money.
Because Arlong needed Nami's navigation skills, he initially didn't want to be too harsh, hoping to leave both sides a way out. So he contacted Captain Nezumi of the Marines, whom he knew through William's connections, hoping Nezumi would forcibly collect the money and split it sixty-forty afterward.
Captain Nezumi agreed, but during the search for stolen money in Cocoyasi Village, he deliberately revealed the truth to the villagers and Nami.
At that moment, the villagers, who had been clinging to a lie, living frugally, and fearing they wouldn't be able to pay the life-buying money next month, were utterly devastated.
Arlong's cruelty lay in giving Cocoyasi Village and Nami a glimmer of hope for freedom, only to personally crush that hope in the end.
In the end, the villagers of Cocoyasi Village realized their endurance was laughably futile. They never had a choice, just like the other villages under Arlong's rule. Only two paths lay before them: die now or continue living as slaves, working tirelessly to gather life-buying money until they could no longer earn, and then die.
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