"..."
Faced with Arlong's hysterics, Nami closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
When she opened them again, every trace of hesitation, confusion, and inner conflict had vanished.
All that remained was an icy calm.
She turned around without looking at the silent companions behind her. Her footsteps were light, almost soundless, as she slowly walked over to Zoro.
Zoro looked up at her instinctively.
Without any pleasantries, she reached out and, with a click, drew one of the swords from his waist.
It was the plain iron sword he carried, even its scabbard faded by years of sea wind.
"Let me borrow this."
Nami's voice was flat, as though she were borrowing a pen.
Zoro paused for a moment, but he didn't stop her.
He simply looked at Nami, then at the fish-man standing beneath the glass tower in the distance. In the end, he said nothing.
Holding the sword, Nami walked toward Arlong one step at a time.
She didn't really need a sword anymore.
Her strength had long since reached the point where she didn't need a weapon to fight.
But this was exactly the kind of sword she needed.
An iron blade that could cut flesh, but one that wasn't especially sharp.
Why should she care what hardships Arlong had gone through?
Why should she care who had directed this whole performance?
Why should she care what kind of script the World Government's eldest princess had written in her little notebook?
Eight years ago, Cocoyasi Village had lived through a nightmare.
More than half of the childhood friends she'd chased butterflies with in the fields, collected seashells with on the beach, and peeked through windows with to watch the adults drink... were dead.
Her adoptive mother had nearly died.
The entire village had spent years under Arlong's rule, years that had pushed everyone to the brink.
That debt... sooner or later, she had to settle it.
In fact, at this very moment, she almost wanted to laugh.
Of course she knew Arlong had been ground down by the World Government until he'd lost all his spirit. Of course she knew he'd been forced back here. Of course she knew this was all part of the eldest princess's childish game.
But there was one thing she knew better than anyone.
It was true that Shirahoshi had forced Arlong back here.
But back then, when Arlong first came to Cocoyasi Village, no one had forced him.
He had come of his own free will.
He had willingly used those fish-man fangs to tear apart the roofs of ordinary people's homes.
He had willingly hung Bell-mere from that big tree at the entrance to the village.
Back then, there had been no orders from the World Government.
No script. No game of chess.
Back then, he had simply believed humans were insects.
He had simply believed he had the right.
So the only thing Nami wanted now... was for Arlong to die.
More than that, at this moment, her heart was full of gratitude toward the World Government.
Grateful for everything they had done.
Grateful that they had dragged this bastard back in front of her alive.
Grateful that they had given her this chance to take revenge with her own hands.
She could even feel the corners of her lips beginning to curl upward.
"Nami!"
When she was only a dozen steps away from Arlong, a figure suddenly darted out from the side, spreading both arms wide and firmly blocking her path.
It was Luffy.
His straw hat swayed behind his neck, and his eyes were wide open like a cat suddenly cornered in an alley.
"Don't go, Nami."
He stood there, his feet unconsciously sliding backward, but his arms stayed stretched out, shielding the way completely.
"You heard him, didn't you? Arlong didn't want to come."
"He was forced. That Shirahoshi or whatever made him come."
Luffy usually wasn't quick-witted, but when it mattered most, he always managed to express himself surprisingly clearly.
"If someone doesn't want to be a bad guy, then they're not really a bad guy," He spoke loudly because he was afraid Nami wouldn't listen.
"You're my crewmate, Nami. I can't let you kill someone who doesn't even want to do bad things anymore."
"...", Holding the iron sword, Nami slowly came to a stop.
She looked up at Luffy.
She looked at him for a long time.
Long enough that Luffy himself grew uneasy and let out a hesitant, "Huh?"
Then she smiled.
It was a faint smile, gone almost as soon as it appeared.
"Luffy," Her voice was just as calm, "Move."
"No."
Luffy stubbornly shook his head, stretching his arms even farther.
"I said move."
"I'm not moving."
"Not moving..."
Nami took a deep breath.
She lowered her gaze, her eyelashes casting faint shadows across her cheeks.
"Luffy," She smiled again.
Even fainter than before, almost like a sigh.
"You heard what he said. Do you think that just because he says he was forced, that means he really was?"
"Eight years ago, when he came to our village, no one forced him."
"When he burned down my house, no one forced him."
"When he hung my mom from that tree, no one forced him."
"When he ripped open my friends' stomachs with his fangs, no one forced him."
"When he did all those things eight years ago, he wasn't sitting there with a pitiful look on his face telling me he didn't want to come."
"Back then, when the World Government beat him into the ground like a dead dog, he wasn't acting like this," Nami still remembered that day.
The day the Marines' justice descended and crushed Arlong.
It was also the first time she'd met Otohime, Shirahoshi's mother.
She still remembered how gentle she had been.
If not for her, the people of Cocoyasi Village might not have survived.
The World Government had allowed the East Blue and the Grand Line to fend for themselves.
But because of that neglect, Nami had also seen far more.
If Luffy succeeded, countless more Cocoyasi Villages would suffer the same tragedy.
From the very beginning, she had never wanted him to win.
She just couldn't let him die yet.
She was grateful to the World Government.
Grateful to Otohime and Ross for everything they had done for Cocoyasi Village.
"...", Luffy opened his mouth.
He wanted to say something, but the words caught in his throat.
He had never been good at arguing.
He could tell Nami was right.
But he could also tell that the fish-man standing before her genuinely didn't want to kill anyone anymore.
If a bad person could repent, they didn't need to be beaten to death.
That was what everyone had always taught him.
He believed both things were right.
But now that they stood before him at the same time, he didn't know which one to choose.
"But..."
He stammered stubbornly, "He's different now."
Luffy didn't know how to persuade her.
But he knew Arlong no longer wanted to do evil. As long as Nami gave up, today could end happily for everyone.
"So because he's different now, everything he did before just gets erased?", Nami smiled.
"Luffy, you're such a naive captain."
"Nami..."
Luffy wanted to say more.
"Heh!"
Just then, the fish-man who had been sitting beneath the glass tower suddenly laughed.
It was a short laugh, but there was something indescribable about it.
"Straw Hat kid, there's no need to stop her. I just want this to end."
Arlong slowly raised his head. His blood-red eyes moved from Luffy to Nami. His shoulders trembled as he laughed.
"But, Nami... you're a lot clearer-headed than this Straw Hat brat."
"When I hung your mother from that tree back then, I never expected to be forgiven."
Still laughing, he slowly pushed himself up with one hand on his knee.
"Kid," He crooked a finger at Luffy, his scarred face twisted into a mocking grin, "Why are you stopping her? Let her come."
"Let her kill me."
"The script already says I'm supposed to die at the hands of you people. If she wants to kill me, then let her."
"Don't stand there pretending to be some saint, putting on this act about how bad people have their reasons too."
"The kind of person I despise most in this life... is a naive brat like you who's never been through anything but loves forgiving people on someone else's behalf."
"..."
After saying that, Arlong sat back down.
He leaned against the back of the chair and closed his eyes.
As though he couldn't even be bothered to say another word.
"Tch!"
Holding the iron sword, Nami froze for a second.
Then she smiled.
She looked up at the Straw Hat boy still standing in front of her with both arms spread wide.
For the first time, pity appeared in her eyes.
'Even the person you're trying to save thinks you're just putting on a show.'
'Isn't that pitiful enough?'
"Luffy! Last chance. Move!"
"I said I won't," Luffy gritted his teeth. His arms trembled, but they never dropped.
"Nami!", He shouted, "We're crewmates, right? I can't just stand here and watch—"
"Oh," Nami cut him off, "Then... I'm sorry."
The next instant, without any warning, her free left fist slammed squarely into Luffy's stomach.
The speed of that punch... was far beyond what Luffy could react to.
Everyone's eyes widened.
No one had expected Nami to attack without hesitation.
Even Arlong, who had been sitting with his eyes closed in the distance, stared in shock.
BANG!
The punch landed solidly.
A layer of Armament Haki coated Nami's slender knuckles.
Luffy's upper body folded over like a shrimp from the force. His youthful face twisted, and he spat out a mouthful of saliva.
But he didn't fall.
His feet remained planted firmly on the ground, and his arms stayed outstretched, still trying to block her.
Nami glanced at him.
Without a word, she threw another punch.
It landed squarely on his chin.
BANG!
This punch carried an even denser layer of Haki.
Luffy was launched straight into the air, flipping halfway before crashing into a glass pillar several meters away with a heavy thud.
The pillar shattered on impact, raining countless shards of glass to the ground.
Luffy lay motionless in the pile of broken glass.
His straw hat had fallen beside his head.
His eyes were still wide open, but unfocused.
He hadn't passed out.
But he couldn't get back up.
'It hurts!'
'It was just an ordinary punch, so why does it hurt as much as grandpa's and Shanks's punches?'
Rubber wasn't supposed to feel pain.
"..."
The entire Arlong Park fell silent.
"Haki?", Arlong stood up, his face filled with disbelief.
The words squeezed out of his throat.
"You... know Haki?"
He didn't even know Haki himself. How could Nami, a mere human girl, know it?
'It isn't fair!'
'Fish-men are supposed to be the strongest race.'
And the strength Nami had just displayed had definitely reached B-rank, enough to stand alongside Brother Tiger and Brother Jinbe.
'A human girl... why?'
Arlong might not have been especially strong, but he had enough experience to judge.
He could tell Nami wasn't naturally skilled at fighting.
She looked like someone who had been personally trained by an expert and force-fed resources until she'd become a B-rank powerhouse.
Arlong looked at the orange-haired girl standing before him, then lowered his gaze toward the Straw Hat kid lying in the pile of broken glass.
Suddenly, he felt that reality was even more absurd than he'd imagined.
"..."
The one even more shocked than Arlong was Zoro.
He had been standing with his arms crossed, watching the show unfold.
Watching Luffy block her.
Watching Nami argue with him.
Watching the usual bickering between the pair.
Until that punch landed.
Until the Haki spread from Nami's fist.
Zoro's pupils contracted, and his entire body froze.
'Haki?'
'Nami knows Haki?'
Instinctively, he turned to look at Sanji and Usopp behind him.
Sanji kept his cigarette in his mouth, leisurely blowing smoke into the sky without even raising an eyebrow.
Usopp had both hands in his pockets and merely shrugged, as if to say, 'Oh, so that's what it was. I figured.'
'These bastards!'
Zoro understood instantly.
He was the only one on the crew who hadn't known.
As for Luffy... he didn't even count. It was perfectly normal for him not to know.
"Hey!"
Grinding his teeth, he growled quietly toward Sanji, "When did you guys..."
"Don't ask."
Sanji didn't even lift his eyelids, "The answer won't help your swordsmanship."
"..."
Zoro fell silent for three seconds.
Then he quietly swallowed every question he had.
'Fair enough.'
Since he hadn't joined the World Government, it was only natural that he didn't know.
Still, he looked up at the orange-haired figure continuing toward Arlong.
At that moment, he suddenly realized something.
Mihawk and Kuina might be the ultimate goals he was chasing... but none of the people around him were ordinary either.
That stingy woman who ate beside him, stole his money, and grabbed him by the collar to yell at him had been stronger than him from the very beginning.
"..."
Nami didn't look back again.
She walked around the shattered glass pillar.
Walked past Luffy, who was still lying in the pile of broken glass.
Her eyes settled on Arlong once more.
She tightened her grip on the borrowed iron sword.
"Now..."
She slowly walked toward Arlong, that same coldness returning to her eyes.
"No one can stand in front of you anymore."