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Chapter 40: It's All Over, Ganyu is Furious.
"This is the mark of the Arlong Pirates."
Nami lowered her voice, trying hard to suppress her emotions as she said, "My current identity is actually a member of Arlong's crew, so if I go back now, I won't be suspected."
Nami said slowly.
Ganyu's gaze lingered on the tattoo for a moment, then said with a hint of sadness, "You want to... return to the Fish-Man pirate headquarters, wait for Luffy and Zoro to arrive, and then work with us from the inside to deal with them?"
"Mhm."
Nami pulled down her short sleeve, patted the large bundle on her back, and smiled playfully. "I've brought back a huge haul this time. When they see this Beri, they'll definitely throw a banquet to celebrate. At the banquet, I'll definitely find a chance to drug a bunch of them."
"And then you can make your move and wipe out all the Fish-Men!"
What she was carrying on her back was all the wealth the Straw Hat Pirates had accumulated so far.
There was a total of 10 million Berries, half stolen from Buggy and the other half from Kuro's Black Cat Pirates.
While on the ship, she and her companions had discussed making a big deal out of those 10 million Berries.
"Wow! That's a really viable plan!" Usopp exclaimed, looking at Nami, then at Ganyu.
With an "insider" like Nami, combined with strong fighters like Ganyu, Luffy, and Zoro, defeating the Arlong Pirates seemed possible.
"Your sleeping potion..." Ganyu hesitated, but couldn't help but confirm, "Will it really work on Fish-Men?"
Just the day before, Nami had tried to drug her, but it had no effect at all.
"Of course it works!"
Nami's cheeks flushed as she recalled what happened the day before, her expression becoming a bit strange.
"I've used this stuff on Fish-Men before! It worked perfectly! You... your constitution is even weirder than those Fish-Men! You're simply... you're not even human!"
To deal with Ganyu, she had specifically increased the dosage, enough to knock out three strong men.
However, it had no effect on Ganyu.
From that moment, she realized that this seemingly delicate little sister might have a physique even stronger than Arlong's.
Nami, who had never left the East Blue, couldn't imagine that there were monsters in the world even stronger than Fish-Men.
I wasn't human to begin with...
Ganyu muttered to herself, but didn't pursue the topic.
She pointed towards the woods. "Let's go, Nami. You lead the way."
"Hehe, follow me. I'm very familiar with this place, I guarantee we won't run into any Fish-Men!"
Nami patted her chest and led the group into the forest, heading straight in one direction.
About ten minutes later.
The trees in their vision grew sparser, and the outline of buildings gradually appeared ahead.
When they walked out of the woods and saw a dilapidated street, their eyes widened.
"This..." Usopp, Johnny, and Yosaku were all stunned.
The street was covered in shocking craters, as if it had been trampled by some giant creature.
The buildings on both sides also looked as if they had been attacked by wild animals, with many walls caved in and cracked, and some even had their roofs torn off.
There was not a single person on the street.
Nami looked around and said heavily, "This is Gosa Village. It was attacked by Arlong a few weeks ago. The townspeople didn't pay the tribute as required, so Arlong personally led his men to kill most of the people who resisted and plundered all their property."
"Tribute?"
"Every person, adult or child, has to pay a ransom to Arlong and his gang every month to buy the right to live."
Usopp's eyes were filled with fear as he pointed at the surrounding ruins and asked, "The people in this town... were they all killed because they didn't pay the tribute?"
"Yes, most of them were killed."
Nami clenched her fists so tightly her nails almost dug into her flesh. "To those Fish-Men, the lives of us 'inferior' humans are completely worthless!"
A silence fell over the group, the air thick with heavy sorrow and indignation.
They could clearly feel that Nami's hatred for the Fish-Men was bone-deep.
Only by completely eradicating these Fish-Men could the hatred in her heart be eased.
Ganyu gently took Nami's clenched fist, stroking the back of her hand with her palm. "Don't worry, I promise... I won't let a single Fish-Man who doesn't cherish the lives of others get away."
Her voice was as calm as ever, but beneath that calmness, everyone sensed a chilling, bone-piercing killing intent.
That's right, this was the first time Ganyu had felt the urge to kill.
When I watched this anime, I felt sympathy for Nami's plight and indignation at the evil deeds of Arlong and his gang.
But now that I've witnessed it all firsthand, I realize that they are not human at all, and everything they do is devoid of humanity.
Compared to Arlong, what Buggy and Kuro did wasn't even that bad.
One attacked a village, but didn't indiscriminately slaughter the island's inhabitants.
The other, after seizing Kaya's property, only wanted to kill Kaya and didn't even intend for the pirates to destroy the village, as it was where he would live in the future.
Their actions were equally outrageous, but neither was as cruel and ruthless as Arlong.
He saw all humans on the island as worthless, slaughtering entire towns at will. The innocent lives he had taken probably numbered in the hundreds, if not thousands.
Therefore, he became the first person in Ganyu's life that she wanted to kill with her own hands.
With his keen senses, Usopp noticed the cold, indifferent expression on Ganyu's face, so different from her usual expression.
His heart skipped a beat.
It's over.
Ganyu is definitely angry!
With Luffy and Zoro gone, no one can stop her. Those Fish-Men are finished, and so is this island!
...
"We're doomed!"
"Krieg is here with his men!"
"They're definitely going to storm our restaurant! Mr. Zeff, what should we do!"
Inside the Baratie, the commotion from the Krieg Pirates outside sent everyone into a panic.
Zeff was the owner of this restaurant, but most people present didn't know his other identity.
Nicknamed "Red-Leg" Zeff, he had once led the Cook Pirates into the Grand Line, returning unharmed after a year, earning a fearsome reputation on the Grand Line.
If it were back in the day, he wouldn't have given a second thought to a pirate like Krieg.
But now, with only one leg, and having to run his restaurant and employ so many staff, he no longer had the confidence to confront Krieg.
Thinking of this, Zeff's gaze swept over Sanji, who was smoking silently beside him, then turned to the only two remaining customers in the hall—Luffy and Zoro.
He asked in a calm tone, "If we hand this kid over to you now, can you help us solve this problem?"
"Huh?"
Hearing this, Sanji froze, almost dropping the cigarette from his mouth. His eyes widened, and he was about to jump up and object.
Luffy stepped forward first, a bright smile blooming on his face.
"Old man, are you serious?"
Zeff ignored Sanji's objection, winked at Luffy, and said, "I'll think of a reasonable excuse to fire him. When he has nowhere else to go, he'll naturally have to join your ship."
"Oh! Then it's settled, old man!" Luffy's face instantly lit up with a brilliant smile as he readily agreed.
"Zoro, time to stretch our legs."
"Yeah." Zoro immediately stood up and followed him, drawing his sword as he slowly walked towards the door.
"Hey! I didn't agree to this!"
Veins popped on Sanji's forehead in anger. He first pointed at Zeff and cursed him as an "old geezer," but his feet seemed to have a mind of their own, and he ended up just following behind Luffy and Zoro.
The chefs and staff left in the hall looked at each other, blankly watching the three figures recede into the distance.
They watched him for a long time, then turned to Zeff and asked with concern:
"Boss, that's an entire pirate crew out there... Are you sure it's okay to just rely on those three to deal with them?"
"Don't worry, those three are enough. You haven't been to the Grand Line, so you don't know how many monsters there are who can take on a hundred men."
Zeff's voice was still calm, but a satisfied smile flashed in his eyes. "Those three kids are exactly that kind of monster."