'What tremendous strength.'
Nojiko's pupils constricted as she tried to wrench her shovel free to strike again.
But the tool in her hands felt as if it were clamped tight by an iron vise—it wouldn't budge at all.
The man before her spoke again, making her vision swim in disbelief."Who are you? And why are you in my house?"
"This is my house!" Nojiko's face flushed red, but no matter how she strained, she couldn't pull the shovel free.
"Stop moving. Don't you know I've got a gun?"
Ren tilted his head slightly, pressing the black muzzle of a silver Desert Eagle against the dark-skinned beauty's forehead. "You've always been this brave, miss?"
'!'
Feeling the cold metal against her skin, Nojiko froze instantly.
She had never seen that type of flintlock pistol before, but instinct told her one thing—this was dangerous.
It was real.
'So this is his plan? Too strange... I'll watch and see.'
Zoro remained silent, completely taken aback by how quickly the situation had gone off-script.
As expected, Ren was the weirdest one here.
"What do you want, you strange outsider?"
Suppressing the urge to comment on his unnervingly strange eyes, Nojiko steadied herself and spoke clearly despite her surprise."This is Arlong's territory. Before you do anything reckless, think about the consequences.Besides, I'm just a poor farmer who lives off growing oranges. I don't have any savings."
She released her grip on the shovel and raised both hands to show she meant no harm.
"Oh, Arlong—the Fish-Man with a 20-million-Beli bounty. Of course I know him. After all," Ren chuckled lightly, lowering the gun barrel and motioning for the astonished Nojiko to sit, "I'm from Cocoyasi Village too, Miss Nojiko."
"You're from Cocoyasi Village?"
"Of course. Genuine article. Otherwise, how would I know your name?"
"...Your eyes are hard to forget. Wait—I feel like I've seen you before."
Nojiko studied his face carefully. Those uncanny eyes drew her attention, but the young man's features also stirred an old memory.
Her eyes suddenly widened. She remembered someone who had vanished years ago.
"You're Keya! The fisherman's son—Keya! Didn't you escape years back?"
"Oh, it's rare you remember. Our relationship wasn't exactly close, like most villagers. But talking about that now is pointless. Let's focus on the present."
Ren kept the gun casually aimed as he sat across from her.
"Let's talk about Nami stealing a bag of jewels worth five million Beli from me. I assume she mentioned some poor fool from Cuckoo Island?"
He sighed in mock pain. "Out of kindness, I helped her take out the pursuers. And what did she do? She slit open the secret pouch in my clothes and stole the jewels inside."
He shook his head dramatically. "Is there no law? No justice? Does her conscience not ache at all?"
The three rapid questions made Nojiko's eyes narrow as realization dawned.
So the "idiot pirate" Nami had mentioned—the one who tried to take advantage of her but ended up getting tricked—was this man with the gun at her door!?
No wonder he found her so quickly and so directly.
But... there was one problem.
"You've joined Arlong's crew?" Nojiko asked suddenly.
"You're smart—but wrong."
Ren smiled faintly, his eyes glinting cold. "I wouldn't work for a Fish-Man. But my reason for coming back is related to Arlong."
"What do you mean?"
"To make a dish. It's called 'Stargazy Pie.'"
"...?"
Nojiko was completely lost.
What the hell was that supposed to mean? And what did it have to do with the Fish-Men?If he wasn't working for Arlong, how did he dare come to Cocoyasi Village?
This was Arlong's domain!
Did he seriously think that he and that green-haired swordsman could take down Arlong's crew?
Nojiko's mind was full of questions, but the man clearly wasn't planning to explain.
"All right, let's discuss compensation."
Ren holstered the silver Desert Eagle with a calm air—he still thought of himself as polite.
"Nami stole jewels worth five million Beli. I need restitution. I'm not asking for much—just a hundredfold return."
A hundredfold... five hundred million Beli!?
Not asking for much? That was five times the ransom Arlong demanded for the entire village!
Nojiko's eyelid twitched violently. She had been thinking of paying him off to avoid trouble—but that thought died instantly.
She could only threaten now.
"Nami is my sister, but I don't have your jewels. You can search this whole house if you want.And Keya, I don't know what happened to you after you left, but those Fish-Men are very sensitive to outsiders.
Nami's a member of Arlong's crew. If anything happens, you might not leave this island alive."
Her warning carried no shame in borrowing Arlong's name for protection.
Pride only mattered when you could afford to live.
And just staying alive was already hard enough.
"You know I'm from this village, so you also know Nami's 'officer' title is just a prison sentence in disguise. Arlong only keeps her for her talent—using her to serve the Fish-Men.
Most villagers put their hopes on her. I used to as well.
But here I am—back again."
Ren smiled faintly and spread his hands. "So you should know threats won't work on me. Especially since I'm already wanted by those Fish-Men.
As for your claim that the jewels aren't here... well, I'd rather not argue."
He pulled out the silver pistol again, grinning. "If you insist on talking reason, then allow me to introduce—"
He tapped the gun barrel lightly. "Her name's Reason. You can talk to her."
"..."
Nojiko bit her lip hard, her hands clenching into fists before she slowly relaxed them again.
Her beautiful eyes burned with anger and helplessness."This is robbery! How could I possibly give you five hundred million Beli? You even said earlier you wouldn't take a single thread from me!"
"She stole from me. When you do wrong, you pay for it."
Ren's tone stayed calm. "And I keep my word—so, everything except the needle and thread. Any problem with that?"
"!"
What kind of thug logic was that!?
"Even if I sold the entire orange grove, I'd barely get a couple million Beli! How am I supposed to pay you five hundred million!?"
Nojiko slumped into the chair and crossed one leg over the other, her expression shifting from defiance to resignation.
If he wanted to take, let him take—she wasn't going to beg.
Her posture screamed: You want money? I've got none. You want my life? Take it.
She knew Nami had her limits. Her sister only stole from pirates and scum.
And if this man truly meant to rob her blind—then she'd face it head-on.
(End of Chapter)