Cocoyasi Village, the hometown of Nami from the Straw Hat Pirates. Windmills and oranges were the symbol of the village, and it sat on a small island not far from Loguetown.
Whenever Amon thought of Nami, he inevitably thought of that legendary 36E...
But right now, Nami should only be seven or eight years old, a mischievous little brat of a girl.
He had returned to the pirate world of ten years ago, so there was no chance he would be seeing any "thirty-six E" here.
Of course, little Nami was probably still adorable in her own way. The only question was whether Cocoyasi Village had already been occupied by Arlong's group...
With those thoughts in mind, Amon followed the sea chart's directions and sailed straight toward his destination.
His ship had been upgraded, and its speed was far faster than before.
After only half a day of sailing, Amon spotted an island ahead.
Looking at the mark on the sea chart, it had to be Cocoyasi Village. He could already see the giant windmill on the island, its blades turning slowly in the distance.
He anchored the ship and stepped onto the island.
Walking leisurely across the land of Cocoyasi Village, Amon could not help but take a deep breath of the fresh, damp air.
"This really is a good place."
Entering the village and spotting houses up ahead, Amon climbed to a higher point and looked around.
What greeted his eyes was a small village that felt like a paradise untouched by the world.
All around it were vast stretches of orange trees. This was absolutely the kind of place Luffy would love.
Cocoyasi Village had appeared in the original story, but that was just animation.
Now that he was standing here in person, he finally understood what beauty this village truly held.
Green slopes stretched everywhere, dotted with blooming flowers. Farmhouses and wooden cottages lay scattered across the emerald earth like toys set down by angels. Great swaths of orange groves and grassland rolled down gentle hills until they wove into the scattered homes. The golden yellow of oranges and the vivid green of the grass interlocked, yellow and green crossing and blending, so perfect it looked like a Western landscape oil painting.
On hills like green carpets, small wooden houses were crowned with flowers, and occasionally a wisp of cooking smoke rose into the air. The whole scene felt like a wonderland out of Alice's dream, so beautiful it almost stole the breath from his lungs.
Farther up the mountains, misty clouds drifted. Closer in, green grass and wooden houses stood in quiet warmth, lush vegetation flourishing before and behind each home.
And best of all, on every rooftop, there was a windmill turning slowly. Unhurried, tranquil, almost ethereal.
A breathtaking human paradise.
"This really is a great place. Rich land, good people. No wonder Arlong's gang would risk being shot dead by the Marines just to occupy it."
After taking in the scenery, Amon smiled.
When he watched the anime before, he never truly understood why Arlong's group would choose this place so stubbornly.
Now he did.
They might have simply fallen in love with this beauty too.
Splash splash splash...
Just as Amon was admiring Cocoyasi Village, the previously clear sky darkened in an instant, and rain began to fall.
"This damn weather…"
Looking at how it had gone from sunshine to rain without warning, Amon could only complain helplessly.
With a few quick movements, he returned to the ship. He planned to wait until the rain stopped before heading deeper into the village. He had no interest in getting drenched like a soaked chicken.
Wuu wuu wuu...
While Amon enjoyed his food on board, a small blonde girl suddenly appeared at the port, sitting on a stone by the dock as she sobbed.
"Wuu wuu... Bell-mère is seriously the worst. She's not even our real mother. But if it weren't for the two of us, Bell-mère would definitely be able to eat her fill, buy the clothes she likes, buy cosmetics, and live more freely for herself!"
"But she just had to stick her nose into it... wuu wuu wuu..."
"It's all this stupid weather's fault. The orange harvest is worse this year. The oranges are low quality, nobody wants to buy them..."
"Why isn't Bell-mère coming out to look for me... wuu wuu wuu, I'm so hungry. I should've eaten a few more bites before I ran out..."
"Bell-mère won't really be so angry that she doesn't want me anymore, right... wuu wuu wuu... maybe that's fine too. One less mouth means the four of them can finally eat until they're full..."
Boom!
"Waaahhh... Bell-mère, Nojiko, I'm scared!"
As the little girl wiped her tears, a sudden thunderclap tore through the sky, frightening her so badly she broke into loud sobs again.
She cried as she kept turning her head, looking back to see if anyone was chasing after her.
Her heart was a tangled mess. She wanted Bell-mère and Nojiko to come out, but she also did not want them to come out to pick her up.
If they did not come, then maybe they could finally eat properly.
But in the end, she was still only a seven or eight-year-old child. One thunderclap was enough to make her shiver all over.
"Forget it. I'll go to Genzo's house first."
She sniffled, stood up from the stone, and decided to go to the village policeman Genzo's home to shelter from the rain.
On the ship, Amon listened to the little girl talking to herself, then looked at her again.
His eyes lit up instantly.
Holy crap, isn't that Nami?
He did not expect child Nami to be this adorable!
Seeing Nami and hearing her words, Amon immediately understood why she was crying.
In the original story, it seemed the weather had affected the harvest, lowering the quality of Bell-mère's oranges and causing a huge amount of fruit to go unsold.
With no income, Bell-mère often went hungry just to make sure Nami and Nojiko could eat.
She only had two sets of clothes as well, and Nami could not stand watching her live like that.
So Nami blurted out, straight to Bell-mère's face, that they were not her biological children, and if they did not exist, Bell-mère would live much better and would not have to starve.
But she said it too bluntly. Bell-mère got angry on the spot and slapped her.
That was why Nami had run out in a tantrum.
And that was why Amon was now seeing this scene.
Nami looked mischievous, but deep down she was unbelievably kind.
"Hey, isn't that Nami? Who bullied you? Why are you out there getting rained on?"
Once Amon confirmed it was Nami, his mind immediately started turning.
He had been wondering how to sell these Jars.
If he could get Nami to help as living advertisement, the effect would probably be excellent.
So he called out loudly to her without hesitation.
"Hm?"
Hearing someone call her, Nami turned around.
She saw a person standing on a luxurious ship, calling to her.
"Mister, are you calling me?"
Nami stopped crying, wiping her tears as she looked at Amon curiously.