Take Back What We Lost!

In the garden, Nami clenched the bulging cloth bag in her hand and pulled out the bags from the deep pit before her.

The gold coins she had saved over the years had grown damp underground. The mud-stained coins reflected the noon sunlight. Nami forced a smile, one just like the false smile Arlong had worn when he tricked her into drawing sea charts for the first time, promising her freedom.

After shaking off the dirt, she combined the coins and jewelry from both bags into a larger sack.

The jewelry Fang Yu had given her clinked against the gold coins she had just dug up from beneath the Orange Grove—a heavenly sound to any miser.

Nami gritted her teeth, carried the sack of money, and headed toward the place she both feared and had no choice but to visit.

As Nami appeared before the iron fence of Arlong Park, she took a deep breath and pushed open the gate.

The Fish-Man Guards’ jagged teeth gleamed coldly. She instinctively shielded the bundle, which was bigger than she was, but then Arlong’s distinctive hoarse laughter came from beside the pool.

"Oh? Isn’t this our little Cat Burglar?" Arlong sat up from his lounge chair, his sunglasses reflecting Nami’s pale face. "Why are you back in the village already? You’ve only been gone a few days. How much did you make?"

Nami slammed the cloth sack full of jewelry and Beli onto the stone table. The sound of metal collision startled the seagulls beneath the eaves into flight!

Her voice was calmer and more restrained than ever. "One hundred million Beli! As agreed, to buy Cocoyasi Village."

The sinister-looking fish-men suddenly fell silent as one.

Hachi’s six hands rubbed together uneasily, while Kuroobi paused in the middle of wiping his long blade.

Arlong slowly removed his sunglasses, revealing reptilian vertical pupils.

He grabbed the bag and poured out the treasure. The sapphire Fang Yu had given her rolled across the stone table in a dazzling gleam, while yellowed banknotes from the treasure chest scattered like fallen leaves.

"Interesting. Interesting." Arlong picked up a gold coin and bit it twice, then actually bit it cleanly in half!

Cold sweat seeped down Nami’s tense back. She did not dare urge Arlong to bring out the deed, and could only stare at him helplessly.

Arlong suddenly sprang up! The tabletop shattered beneath the fish-man’s immense strength, and the jewelry clattered into the pool.

He seized Nami by the throat and lifted her into the air as banknotes drifted down like snowflakes. "That look in your eyes, like you can afford to buy something, makes me sick!" His foul-smelling spit sprayed across Nami’s face. "I told you three years ago—it was three hundred million Beli, not one hundred million!"

Finally finding her courage through her suffocation, Nami glared at Arlong and forced out the words from her throat. "You! You never… never said that! Never… never!"

"Hahahaha!" Arlong laughed arrogantly. "Maybe I really didn’t say it, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that the price has gone up. Three hundred million Beli—not one Beli less!"

"As for this money of yours…"

"I’ll take it first. You still owe me two hundred million Beli!"

"When you’ve gathered enough, then I’ll give the island back to you!"

Nami’s eyes widened, filled with nothing but despair!

Two hundred million Beli more… How long would she have to steal for that?

"Let me tell you a secret." Arlong suddenly let go, sending her crashing into the pile of coins. The feel of the gold coins she had once loved so dearly was now ice-cold and piercing.

"Cocoyasi Village was never the real condition of the deal."

"Hehehe, even if you gathered three hundred million Beli, I still wouldn’t give the village to you."

"W-What?!"

Arlong grinned maliciously. "Nami! You’re so naive. How could I bear to let a genius navigator like you go? One hundred million Beli? Even one billion would be impossible!"

"When I no longer need you, then we can discuss the village."

"You… you…" Nami’s world was collapsing! She crawled toward the gold coins she had stolen with such difficulty, her fingers brushing over the money she had acquired by sacrificing her moral principles. A sharp pain stabbed through her heart!

Much of that money had been obtained by deceiving kind people!

Arlong’s laughter cut across her nerves like a dull blade. "No matter how hard you try, it’s useless. For the rest of your life, just like Cocoyasi Village, you’ll be a tool in my hands for making money!"

"No, that’s not true! It isn’t!" Nami still held back her emotions and forced a trademark smile at Arlong. "You promised me. One hundred million Beli for the village. You… you must have had too much to drink. You forgot, you forgot."

"How annoying!"

Arlong raised his hand and slapped Nami flying!

Smack!

Nami crashed heavily to the ground, her body scraping several wounds across the rough surface. A thread of blood slowly seeped from the corner of her mouth, slid down her chin, and dripped onto the dusty ground, spreading into a patch of dark red.

She braced herself with trembling hands and staggered to her feet. Strands of hair hung messily around her cheeks, and her eyes were filled with emptiness and despair.

At that moment, her heart finally collapsed completely, like a ruined house.

Years of grievance, fury, and unwillingness surged within her like raging tides.

She bit down on her molars, her cheeks puffing slightly from the force. Tilting her head back, she tried desperately to open her eyes wide and force the tears gathering in them back down.

She walked toward the gate step by step, each one unimaginably heavy, as though she were dragging a thousand-pound burden beneath her feet.

Behind her, Arlong’s grating laughter mingled with the sound of him casually kicking the gold coins around, lingering by Nami’s ears like a demon’s curse.

Every sound felt like it was ruthlessly trampling her dignity, crushing her last trace of hope to pieces.

Nami clenched her fists, her nails digging deeply into her palms and leaving crescent-shaped marks, yet she felt no pain at all.

Nami wandered onto the street in a daze. The sun was still shining brightly, but to her, it seemed utterly dim.

Her vision blurred, as if the entire world had lost its color.

Just then, she spotted Fang Yu squatting by the roadside.

Nami said nothing and did not stop walking. She continued shuffling forward mechanically, like a walking corpse.

But Fang Yu seemed to sense something. He raised his head, fixed his gaze on Nami, and said, "You ran into trouble, didn’t you?"

His voice was low and calm, yet it stirred the waters of Nami’s heart.

Nami remained silent and gave no response, simply continuing onward with confusion and helplessness in her eyes.

However, Fang Yu did not give up. He said again, "You took my money, so I really shouldn’t ask how you spent it. Judging by your expression, things didn’t go well. But now you’re one of my crew. Even if it’s only temporary, I have to take responsibility to the end."

He took a deep breath. "Come on. Take me there. I’ll personally help you take back everything you lost!"

Every word seemed to carry immense weight, crashing heavily into Nami’s already shattered heart.

Nami suddenly stopped. Her body trembled slightly as she slowly turned around to look at Fang Yu. Complex emotions flickered in her eyes—surprise, doubt, and, more than anything, a long-lost glimmer of hope.