Looking at Jimbei, Nami fell silent.
She could tell he was serious—if she wanted, he was ready to die at any moment!
But precisely because of that, she couldn't bring herself to say such words.
"You really dare to say that," Sanji said through gritted teeth, glaring at Jimbei. "Then... then atone with your death! Even if it won't fully vent our anger, at least it might help Miss Nami feel a little better!"
"You..."
"Stop, Sanji."
Seeing Nami interrupt him, Sanji was momentarily stunned before replying, "But Miss Nami, when I think about what those bastards did to you..."
"That's not the same thing."
Nami cut Sanji off again, saying, "After hearing the story he told earlier, I know this man harbors no ill intent at all."
Although he does bear some responsibility, ultimately, the fault shouldn't lie with him.
"I am willing to accept any punishment," Jimbei bowed his head once more. "If it can make you feel better, I can also die..."
"Stop it!"
"Stop..."
"Huh?"
Jimbei was taken aback as Nami stopped him.
"I hate Arlong, not the Fish-Man race," Nami shook her head. "So I won't take my anger out on you because of that."
After speaking, Nami sighed, then added as if relieved, "Anyway... I'm really glad you weren't the mastermind behind Arlong's crew."
"You're Luffy and Meiser's friend. If you really were the mastermind, I wouldn't know what to do."
Jimbei fell silent. So this girl had been considering others' feelings all along?
Just how kind-hearted is she?
At this thought, Jimbei's body began to tremble slightly.
Nami didn't pay attention to Jimbei's reaction. Instead, she turned to look at the Thousand Sunny nearby and said softly, "Arlong's crew did put me through immense suffering, but in that tragic fate, I also met many companions I can trust with my life."
After a pause, she continued, "I won't resent you just because you're a Fish-man, so don't apologize for my life so casually."
"I'm very happy now."
Seeing the girl smile at him, Jimbei's eyes widened in shock.
At that moment, he actually saw the shadows of Queen Otohime and Fisher Tiger in this kind-hearted girl!
"This..."
At this moment, the usually stoic old brother completely broke down, tears streaming down his face.
"What incredible magnanimity..."
Then, the old brother bowed his head deeply, weeping and sobbing as he said, "Thank you..."
At this moment, Jimbei felt genuine gratitude toward Nami from the bottom of his heart.
"So that's how painful it is..."
Seeing Jimbei unable to stop his tears, Nami completely let go of her resentment.
"Nami..."
Hachi also began to sob, tears streaming uncontrollably, his body trembling as a result.
Meiser sighed at the sight, but this time he didn't say anything, instead focusing more carefully on treating Hachi.
Then, Meiser turned to glance at Jimbei and Nami, his entire body relaxing.
If things had really come to that point, he...
Forget it, no need to think about it. After all, it didn't come to that, right?
Just as Meiser was about to look away, before he could move, he noticed Nami giving him a warm smile.
Seeing this, Meiser was momentarily stunned, then smiled back.
That Nami... sometimes she really can warm people's hearts.
At that moment, Franky suddenly began wailing loudly.
"Wah!"
"I understand how difficult Jimbei's situation was."
"You're a real man, Jimbei!"
"Whether it's Fisher Tiger or Queen Otohime, I love you all the most!"
"Wah!"
Seeing Franky and Jimbei crying their hearts out, Merry also started wiping away tears.
At this moment, she felt the same as Franky.
Just then, Luffy, who had been sitting on the ground, flopped over with a thud.
This scene left everyone present momentarily stunned.
"Hey, Luffy?!" Merry immediately showed a worried expression, saying, "What's wrong? Were you ambushed?"
"Ambushed?"
Chopper was taken aback, then excitedly exclaimed, "Doctor!"
"Doctor!"
"Ah... I am the doctor!"
Realizing this, Chopper immediately ran toward Luffy, but halfway there, he noticed something was off because... he could hear snoring coming from Luffy.
Everyone:
So he fell asleep?
"Hey, you! Get up right now!" Sanji walked over and kicked Luffy in the face, saying, "What are you doing sleeping at a time like this?!"
"Huh?"
Luffy, awakened by Sanji's kick, looked around confusedly, instinctively grabbing his hat and saying, "That was a really good sleep..."
"Honestly, I thought you were actually listening seriously for once," Sanji said with a displeased look. "Turns out you were just asleep."
He really had overestimated this idiot.
Meiser also chimed in, "I can't believe you managed to fall asleep."
"I was tired, so I fell asleep," Luffy said.
After speaking, he glanced at Jimbei, who was still wailing, and asked curiously, "Jimbei, why are you crying?"
Jimbei: !!!
Reminded by Luffy, Jimbei immediately held back his tears, then wiped his face and said, "What nonsense are you talking? How could I possibly cry?"
"But you—"
"You're so annoying. I already said I wasn't crying."
"That was just sand in my eyes."
"Is that so?"
Luffy tilted his head and thought for a moment, then shook his head and stopped worrying about it.
"Oh, right, Jimbei," Luffy said, putting his hat back on his head. "What happened after the coward's mom caught the bad guy?"
Sanji: ???
"That's what was said at the very beginning!" Sanji roared with a shark-like grimace. "Don't tell me you slept through the whole thing!"
"It seems so..."
Glancing at Luffy, who showed no awareness of his own actions, Meiser's mouth twitched. It seemed Luffy really wasn't the type to listen quietly to someone else's story.
"Since Nami has already forgiven you, I won't say anything more," Perona said, looking at Jimbei. "But remember this, blue fatty—if you ever dare to bully Nami in the future, I absolutely won't let you off!"
As she spoke, several Negative Spirits appeared around Perona, swirling around her with an intimidating presence.
"How could I possibly do such a thing?" Jimbei shook his head. "I'm nothing but grateful to all of you."
"Better be."
Perona nodded and said no more, retracting her Ghosts at the same time.
Watching their reactions, Nami felt a warm sensation in her heart. She then looked up at Shirahoshi, who was secretly wiping away tears, and said, "Your name is Shirahoshi, right?"
"Hey, Nami-chan!"
Camie immediately bounced over anxiously, grabbing Nami's arm. "She's the princess! Calling her by her name like that..."
What if the princess minded such things? Wouldn't that be...
"It's alright," Shirahoshi shook her head. "You can call me Shirahoshi."
She didn't mind others calling her by her name; in fact, she quite liked the feeling.
Hearing this, Camie was taken aback. Was that really okay?
Nami smiled and said, "Why are you crying again, Shirahoshi?"
"Because I thought of my mother, so the tears just..."
"Queen Otohime, right..."
Recalling the person Jimbei had just mentioned, a look of admiration appeared on Nami's face. "She truly was a great person."
"Yes!"
Hearing these words of praise, Shirahoshi's face immediately lit up with a happy smile.
Then, she said with a smile, "Your name is Nami-chan, right?"
"Princess Shirahoshi, 'Nami-chan' is a term of endearment..." Camie anxiously reminded her. "Her real name doesn't have the '-chan' suffix."
"So it's just Nami."
"Yes."
Nami nodded with a smile. "My name is Nami. You can call me by my name directly too."
"Mhm!"
Shirahoshi nodded vigorously, then, as if remembering something, she showed a gentle smile and said, "Even though we've just met, for some reason, I feel like we've been friends since we were little."
"It really feels so reassuring~"
Though she didn't know why, she truly felt this way.
"Is that so?"
A flicker of complexity passed through Nami's eyes before she smiled and said, "Maybe it's because our experiences are a bit similar."
"Perhaps."
"Similar experiences, huh..."
Glancing at the two of them laughing together—one large, one small—Meiser's eyes revealed a hint of complexity.
In a way, that really was the case.
"Nami, you don't happen to have Merfolk bloodline in you, do you?" Luffy said, looking at Nami.
Nami: ???
Hearing Luffy's words, several question marks immediately popped up in Nami's mind.
How could she possibly have Merfolk bloodline?
Meiser looked at Luffy with a speechless expression and said, "What kind of strange idea is that?"
Does a familiar feeling mean having the same bloodline?
That argument doesn't hold up.
"Is that so?" Luffy tilted his head and thought for a moment, then said, "But I remember Nami's swimming ability is pretty amazing."
As soon as he said this, everyone fell into an awkward silence.
Was that the only reason?
Nami, however, wore a thoughtful expression.
"Come to think of it, my swimming skills are indeed ridiculously strong," Nami muttered to herself.
Could it be that she really had—
No, no, she was being led astray by that idiot Luffy. She didn't have any Fish-Man race characteristics at all, so how could she possibly have Merfolk bloodline?
With that thought, Nami calmed down.
Just then, Jimbei, who had been sitting on the ground, stood up and cleared his throat. "It's time to deal with Hody and the others."
Hearing this, Hachi immediately spoke up. "Boss Jimbei, Decken has teamed up with Hody too."
"He's the one who injured me."
"That guy, huh..."
Listening to Hachi's words, Jimbei fell into deep thought.
If that were truly the case, he'd have a chance to capture that bastard Vander Decken!
"What do you plan to do?" Sanji asked.
"Ryugu Palace has special defenses, so Hody and his crew probably can't break in," Jimbei thought for a moment and said. "So we just need to capture Hody and the others."
With his strength, defeating Hody and his crew wouldn't be difficult.
"Special defenses at Ryugu Palace?" Merry asked curiously. "Is it the Double-Layer Bubble we encountered earlier?"
"Something like that," Jimbei nodded.
Because of that special bubble, even if someone tried to fly up using bubbles, they wouldn't be able to, so there was no need to worry about invasion.
"Then Zoro and the others should be safe too."
"Of course they're safe," Perona said. "Even though Zoro is a directionally challenged idiot, his strength is undeniable."
As someone who had spent two years with Zoro day and night, she knew very well how strong that man was.
If he wanted to, he could probably slice Ryugu Palace in half!
"I don't know about Zoro and the others' safety, but Ryugu Palace... might not be safe."
Hearing this, everyone immediately looked puzzled. Why would Meiser suddenly say something like that?
"What do you mean?"
"When Luffy and I took Shirahoshi out of the Hard Shell Tower, there were some humans lying at the entrance," Meiser recalled the situation at the time. "And those people weren't there when we first went to the Hard Shell Tower!"
"So..."
"So you think those people were thrown there by Vander Decken, who's working with Hody?" Hachi exclaimed in shock.
Thinking about it carefully, it wasn't impossible.
After all, when he went to find Hody last time, he saw a large number of humans and Vander Decken there!
"It's possible," Meiser stroked his chin. "The New Fish-Man Pirates capturing humans might also be for this purpose."
Using Vander Decken's ability to throw people into Ryugu Palace, then having those people find a way to open the connecting corridors—that way, they could storm into Ryugu Palace!
"Damn, so that's how it is," Jimbei said with a grim expression. "That was a miscalculation."
"Don't be so pessimistic," Perona replied. "With Zoro there, those guys shouldn't be able to cause much trouble."
Given Zoro's strength, cutting them down wouldn't be a problem at all.
Unfortunately, such words held no meaning for Jimbei.
After all, without seeing the situation inside firsthand, he was still deeply worried.
Thinking this, Jimbei was about to say something more.
But before he could speak, he noticed Meiser's expression suddenly change.
"What's wrong?"
"The situation has developed in a way we truly didn't expect," Meiser said, frowning.
"What do you mean?"
Jimbei looked at Meiser in confusion, not understanding why he would suddenly say such a thing.
"Before we came here, I sent out several Shadow Clones to gather information," Meiser explained. "Just now, I received the memories they sent back."
"According to the intelligence gathered by the Shadow Clones..."
"That guy named Hody has already led his men into Ryugu Palace."
Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions changed instantly.
"That is truly terrible news," Jimbei said, his face darkening.
Though he didn't know exactly how strong Zoro was, fighting Fish-men in a place like Ryugu Palace was a severe disadvantage!
If the enemy breached the outer structure and let seawater flood into the palace's interior... Zoro and the others, being humans, would surely be captured by the Fish-men.
And at that point... King Neptune and the others, who were currently tied up by Zoro's group, would undoubtedly fall into Hody's hands.
The thought made Jimbei's head ache.
"Zoro and the others won't be at a disadvantage, will they?" Merry asked with concern.
"They shouldn't be," Perona said, shaking her head.
She still held firm to her belief.
Zoro was strong!
After thinking for a moment, Nami looked up at Meiser and asked, "What else did you find out?"
"The thugs from the Fish-Man District are forcing the residents of Fish-Man Island to trample on a portrait of Queen Otohime, as proof that they harbor hatred for humans."
"What?!"
Hearing Meiser's words, Jimbei flew into a rage.
"How dare those bastards?!"
Queen Otohime had fought for Fish-Man Island her entire life, never abandoning her dreams even until her death. And yet these scum... They truly deserve to die!
Upon hearing Meiser's words, Shirahoshi began to cry, covering her eyes.
"Mother..."
"Shirahoshi..."
Seeing Shirahoshi weeping bitterly, Nami was momentarily at a loss for how to comfort the sensitive young girl.
"This is Hody's plan," Hachi said with a pained expression. "Using this method to separate which Fish-men are friendly with humans, and then... killing them!"
"What?"
"That guy even intends to kill Fish-men?" Chopper exclaimed in shock. "I thought he hated humans. Why would he target Fish-men too..."
"Because he's different from Big Brother Arlong."
Hachi closed his eyes and said, "Hody is like someone who grew up feeding on the hatred and anger of Fish-Man Island. He's even more insane than Big Brother Arlong!"
"Although Big Brother Arlong hated humans, he would never harm his fellow Fish-Men."
"But Hody is different. He wants to kill even those of the Fish-Man race who are friendly with humans!"
Listening to Hachi's words, everyone finally understood what kind of person this Hody was.
"So this guy has gone mad to such an extent," Jimbei said with a furrowed brow.
He seemed perfectly normal in front of me, but now he's turned out like this...
Could it be that he's been pretending all along?
Thinking this, Jimbei fell into deep thought.
"That's right, he's exactly that crazy."
Hachi nodded, then, as if remembering something, continued, "This year is when the Reverie is held once every four years, right?"
As soon as he said this, Jimbei's expression immediately changed.
"Could it be... that Hody is targeting this timing to attack Ryugu Palace?" Jimbei said with a grim expression. "He wants to stop all this?"
Thinking carefully, King Neptune and the others have already collected quite a few signatures, haven't they?
As long as this proposal is brought up at the Reverie, the Fish-Man race can truly live under the sun.
But someone like Hody obviously doesn't want to see that happen, so...
"It's not just about stopping it," Hachi shook his head. "What he wants is to become the new king of Fish-Man Island!"
If Hody succeeds, he might use this opportunity to kill human kings.
By then, what awaits Fish-Man Island will definitely not be a bright future!
Upon hearing Hachi's words, the others were momentarily stunned.
If that's the case, then the meaning is completely different.
"A rebellion, huh," Meiser frowned.
They really had stumbled upon something serious this time.
Come to think of it... this wasn't the first time the Straw Hat Pirates had encountered something like this.
With that thought, Meiser fell into contemplation.
Just then, Meiser received several pieces of information from his Shadow Clones.
After carefully reviewing all these memories, Meiser said, "It seems the situation on this island is even more severe than we imagined."
"What else did you see?"
"The New Fish-Man Pirates have more members than we thought," Meiser glanced at the others. "Besides the existing Fish-Men, there are also many captured humans."
Although he couldn't see the exact number, the massive crowd had to be at least tens of thousands.
"I see, I understand now," Sanji said. "It seems the pirates who came to this island before were all captured by these guys to be used as combat power."
"That's putting it mildly," Meiser shook his head. "In reality, those people are just Hody's slaves."
"At least that's what the Fish-Men say."
The Fish-Men didn't even try to hide this matter, so his clones easily obtained this information.
"Slaves..."
Upon hearing Meiser's words, Nami immediately showed a look of disgust. "What a despicable bunch.
Using humans as slaves... how is that any different from those detestable Celestial Dragons?"
Jimbei's expression was also grim, as Hody's actions had indeed gone too far.
"By the way, Meiser, have you found the culprit behind the abduction of the Merfolk?" Luffy inquired.
Meiser looked at Luffy in surprise upon hearing this—this guy actually remembered that matter?
Then Meiser said, "No, I didn't find it. My Clone didn't locate the real culprit who kidnapped the Merfolk."
"However... I found the Pirate Ship of Caribou's crew, one of this generation's Supernovas."
This crew was among Meiser's main suspects.
Upon hearing Meiser's words, Camie's eyes immediately lit up.
"Did you find the kidnapped Merfolk on that ship?" Camie quickly asked.
"Not exactly."
Meiser shook his head and said, "I searched the ship but didn't find any trace of Merfolk on board."
"However... to prevent them from hiding the Merfolk elsewhere, I used my Sharingan to control the people on the ship, intending to extract some information from them."
"But unfortunately... they had no idea about the Merfolk kidnapping, and... they also didn't know where their captain, Caribou, was."
"Doesn't that mean they're not involved?" Chopper said.
"No, we can't say that."
Sanji shook his head and said, "At least Meiser didn't find their captain, so we can't rule out their suspicion."
After all, that guy named Caribou is one of this generation's Supernovas, so he has the ability to capture Merfolk alone.
"Even you couldn't find this guy?" Nami looked at Meiser in surprise.
She knew how strong Meiser's information-gathering abilities were, yet even he couldn't locate that guy?
"Yeah, I really didn't find him." Meiser nodded and said, "So I suspect that guy might be some kind of special Devil Fruit Ability User."
"Of course, it's also possible that he found a place to hide as soon as he entered Fish-Man Island."
"But as long as we haven't found this guy named Caribou, we can't rule out their suspicion, so..."
"So?"
Seeing Meiser's eyes begin to flicker, Chopper exclaimed, "Did you kill them all?"
"Do I look like some kind of weird serial killer?" Meiser rolled his eyes at Chopper.
Honestly, how could he think that way about him?
"Then what did you do?"
"I just destroyed their Pirate Ship. It'll take them a few days to repair it." Meiser said, "That way, they won't be able to leave Fish-Man Island for now, and we'll have time to deal with other matters."
As for the pirates on the ship?
Meiser didn't bother with them, leaving them to their own fate.
"You're really decisive, aren't you?" Sanji remarked with admiration.
To take action so directly... well done!
"If they're suspects, I naturally have to act." Meiser shrugged.
He couldn't just do nothing when he knew they were suspects—that wasn't his style. So he decisively destroyed their ship.
As for whether they'd come looking for trouble afterward...
Don't be ridiculous!
They're all pirates. He was already being merciful by not killing them outright.
If they really dared to cause trouble over this... he wouldn't mind sending them to their graves for real.
"This is indeed a better approach." Jimbei nodded and said, "After I deal with Hody's matter, I'll go find that guy named Caribou."
"If he really did this, I will request King Neptune to clear your names."
Since Meiser and Luffy were his friends... he didn't want them to be wrongfully accused either.
As for whether to ask the Straw Hat Pirates to join him in taking down the New Fish-Man Pirates?
Although they were friends, the Straw Hat Pirates had no obligation to help him. Moreover... he didn't want them dragged into such a strange incident, so Jimbei decided not to bring it up.
Just then, a strange, enormous Den Den Mushi emerged from the nearby forest, slowly shuffling toward Meiser and the others.
"What a huge Den Den Mushi!" Merry exclaimed in surprise. "What is that?"
"That's a Visual Den Den Mushi."
Den first explained, then showed a puzzled expression. "Why is there a Visual Den Den Mushi here?"
Could it be that someone was using a Visual Den Den Mushi for a live broadcast, so it automatically sought out nearby people?
Thinking this, Den fell into contemplation.
"So this is the so-called Visual Den Den Mushi." Perona curiously examined the Visual Den Den Mushi on the screen. "It's my first time seeing one."
"The Summit War was broadcast through these things," Meiser said.
That was also how Uncle Rayleigh and the others could watch the live broadcast on Sabaody Archipelago.
"Then why did it come looking for us?"
"Not sure..."
Meiser shook his head. "Maybe someone wants us to see something."
After saying that, Meiser withdrew his hand and glanced at Hachi. "Alright, your injuries are basically fine now, but due to excessive blood loss, your body is still somewhat weak."
"So take good care of yourself and recover during this time."
Hachi, who had checked his own condition, looked up at Meiser and said, "I... I want to fight alongside Boss Jimbei."
Seeing the extremely serious look in Hachi's eyes, Meiser fell silent for a moment, then turned his head away. "If you're not afraid of dying, suit yourself."
If Hachi truly wanted to join the fight, he wouldn't forcibly stop him. After all... that was Hachi's will.
"Alright, then I—"
"Hachi, you should honestly rest and recover here," Jimbei interjected. "Leave the fighting to me."
Ultimately, Hachi's strength was still too weak, and he had just recovered... so he wasn't suited for this battle.
The matter of Fish-Man Island should be left to him.
"Boss Jimbei, I—"
"Are you going to disobey my words now?" Jimbei glared.
Hearing this, Hachi fell silent. He didn't say anything more, just closed his eyes and sighed quietly.
In the end, his strength was still too weak.
"Captain Hody, we've achieved a great victory this time!" a fish-man excitedly said to Hody. "Not only did we capture Neptune, but we also found so many signatures from those traitors!!"
"With these, you can fulfill your dream!"
Kill King Neptune, eliminate all Fish-men who befriend humans, and establish a Fish-man nation that utterly despises humanity!
This is the dream of their Captain Hody!
"Sha ha ha ha ha!"
Hearing his subordinates' flattery, Hody immediately grinned and laughed heartily.
Then, he said, "Speaking of which, we should thank those human pirates. Otherwise, we really wouldn't have been able to capture this Great Knight of the Sea so easily."
After saying this, Hody turned to glance at the captured Neptune, his eyes instantly filled with mockery.
"Neptune, you probably never imagined you'd be captured by humans," Hody sneered at Neptune. "Choosing to befriend humans, only to end up captured by them... What an irony!"
"Sha ha ha ha ha!"
Ignoring Hody's attitude, Neptune anxiously pleaded, "You can kill me, but could you spare my children and those innocent citizens?"
"They are all—"
"Neptune!"
Hody coldly cut him off, saying, "Aren't you being a bit too naive?"
"I said I would kill all Fish-men who befriend humans!"
"And that naturally includes them!"
Let him release those people?
Impossible!
His New Fish-Man Kingdom would not tolerate traitors who sympathize with humans!
Watching Hody's expression grow increasingly frenzied, Neptune fell silent, eventually closing his eyes slowly and saying nothing more. For now, he could only pray that Prince Fukaboshi and the others could defeat these villains alongside Jimbei.
"Hmph, how boring."
Hody snorted, then turned to his subordinates and asked, "How are the preparations for the live broadcast going?"
"It's been set up just now. We can start the broadcast anytime."
Hody nodded in satisfaction and continued, "Have those three humans been locked up?"
"Yes, they're already locked up," a subordinate replied obediently.
Hody pondered for a moment upon hearing this and then asked, "What about that swordsman's sword?"
That man is very strong. If he had his weapon, the cage might not be able to hold him.
"Don't worry," the subordinate grinned. "We took it away long ago."
"Good."
Hody crushed the table in front of him with a single grip and sneered, "Then let's put on a grand show!"
"Sha ha ha ha ha!"
"Woo!!!"
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