The journey to Cocoyasi Village was a tense, silent affair, the air thick with unspoken anticipation. Nami, now standing at the helm beside Isabella, directed them with a quiet, focused intensity, her earlier despair replaced by a grim determination.
She guided the Tidereaver not towards the main dock, where the hulking forms of Arlong Park were visible in the distance, but towards a secluded, overgrown cove near the base of a cliff.
"My home is just up that path," she whispered, pointing to a narrow trail almost hidden by foliage. "We can approach without being seen."
As the ship's hull scraped gently against the sandy bottom of the cove, a figure emerged from behind a thicket of mangroves.
It was a fishman, his skin a mottled, sickly green, with bulging, unblinking eyes set too far apart on a face that seemed to have been molded by a careless child. A wide, sinister grin split his features, revealing rows of needle-like teeth.
"Well, well, Nami," he croaked, his voice like stones grinding together. "Did you bring some new friends back from your little trip? The boss will be so pleased. More humans to pay tribute."
"How ugly." Ragnar took one look at the fishman and let out an involuntary sound of disgust.
Beside him, Robin, who often found a certain charm in the grotesque, simply nodded in solemn agreement.
"Indeed. This one transcends mere homeliness. It is a true feat of aesthetic failure."
The fishman's grin vanished, replaced by a mask of incandescent rage. "HOW DARE YOU!" he roared, his webbed hands clenching into fists. "You filthy humans dare to insult my noble, beautiful form! I'll tear you all limb from-"
He never finished the threat. Ragnar didn't even move from his casual stance. He merely raised a hand, index finger extended, and with a series of soft pfft pfft pfft sounds, three compressed bullets of water shot from his fingertip.
They moved faster than the eye could follow, each one striking the fishman square in the center of his forehead. The impact was precise and brutal.
The fishman's head snapped back, his eyes rolling up into his skull before he crumpled to the ground, a small, neat hole drilled through his cranium.
Nami stared, her breath catching in her throat. She had seen Fishman's strength firsthand; they were monsters who could tear apart ships with their bare hands.
To see one dispatched with such casual, effortless finality… it was a revelation. The ember of hope in her chest flared into a steady, burning flame. If he could kill one so easily, then perhaps… perhaps he really could defeat Arlong.
"Let's go," Ragnar said, his voice devoid of any emotion as he stepped over the corpse. "Leave him for the crabs."
Nami led them up the winding path, through a grove of trees that opened up into a sun-drenched clearing. The air was sweet with the scent of citrus.
Before them stood a simple, well-kept house, and surrounding it were row upon row of meticulously tended tangerine trees, their branches heavy with bright orange fruit. Kneeling among them, carefully inspecting a leaf, was a young woman.
Ragnar's gaze lingered on her. She had a slender, yet undeniably curvaceous figure, her wheat-colored skin glowing in the afternoon sun. Her hair was a cascade of dark blue, tied back in a practical but stylish ponytail.
As she turned, her face was revealed, strikingly beautiful, with kind eyes and full lips. A thought, unbidden and utterly blasphemous, crossed Ragnar's mind.
'Oda, you absolute madman. You call Boa Hancock the most beautiful woman in the world, but you hide a goddess in a tangerine grove in the East Blue.' He shook his head slightly, amending the thought. Maybe it's the fruit. All that vitamin C does is wonders.
Nojiko looked up at the sound of their approach. Her eyes widened slightly at the sight of the strangers, but they immediately sought out and found Nami.
She rose smoothly to her feet, dusting the soil from her hands, and hurried over, her eyes scanning her sister from head to toe. A visible wave of relief washed over her when she saw no obvious injuries.
"Nami! You're back. Are you alright?" she asked, her voice warm with concern.
"I'm fine, Nojiko. These are my new friends. They're going to help us." Nami nodded, a small, relieved smile playing on her lips.
Nojiko looked at the three strangers, her eyes lingering on Ragnar for a moment longer than necessary. Nami noticed, rolling her eyes internally.
'Typical,' she thought, blaming Ragnar's undeniable charm for her sister's momentary distraction.
Ragnar, Isabella, and Robin introduced themselves, their voices polite and respectful. Nojiko welcomed them warmly, leading them into the house.
Despite the humble surroundings, she offered them a cool drink of tangerine juice, a simple but thoughtful gesture that spoke volumes about her character.
Once they were seated, Nami took a deep breath and recounted everything that had happened. She told Nojiko about Ragnar's offer, about his promise to deal with Arlong and the Navy.
Nojiko listened, her expression growing increasingly worried as the story progressed.
"I see," she said softly when Nami finally fell silent. She sighed, her shoulders slumping slightly. "I had feared this for a long time, Nami. I knew Arlong would never keep his promise, not without a fight. But I was afraid to tell you. I didn't want you to give up on yourself."
Nami's eyes welled up with tears. She crossed the small distance between them, throwing her arms around her sister. Nojiko patted her back, murmuring soothing words into her hair.
After a few minutes, Nami pulled back, wiping her tears away. She looked at Ragnar, her expression serious.
"What you're planning to do... It's dangerous, Ragnar. Arlong is not just powerful, he has the Navy on his side. And the Navy... they're not to be underestimated."
Ragnar nodded, understanding her concerns. He looked at Robin, who seemed to sense his unspoken request. She stepped forward, her hand moving in a blur.
A sharp, thin blade, honed to a deadly edge, appeared in her hand. Without warning, she drove it directly into Ragnar's heart.
Nami and Nojiko gasped, their eyes widening in shock and fear. But before they could scream, before they could even register the horror of the act, water bubbled up from the point of impact, pushing the blade out with a soft plop sound.
The wound closed instantly, leaving behind nothing but a small, wet patch on Ragnar's shirt.
Ragnar looked at the two sisters, his expression calm. "As you can see, I am not so easily harmed. I am a Devil Fruit user. I ate the Water-Water Fruit. It is a Logia type, which means I can control and manipulate water. As long as no one has Armament Haki, they cannot hurt me."
"He's right. I've tried to stab him before. It's impossible without Armament Haki." Robin said as she sheathed her blade, stepping back with a satisfied nod.
Ragnar continued, his voice steady and reassuring. "And as for Armament Haki, I am learning. I have felt it, but I have not yet mastered its release. But do not worry. Even without it I can stomp Arlong to the ground and Arlong will regret ever setting foot in Cocoyasi Village."
Nami and Nojiko exchanged a glance, a silent conversation passing between them. They turned back to Ragnar, their expressions determined.
"We believe you, Ragnar," Nojiko said, her voice firm. "We will support you in any way we can. This is our home, after all. We will fight for it."
Ragnar smiled, a genuine, warm expression that lit up his face. "Thank you, Nojiko. And you too, Nami. Together, we will bring Arlong down. And then, we will chase your dream, Nami. We will draw your map of the world."