Luffy was the only exception.
At some point, he had struggled back to his feet from beside the distant pool.
He stood alone among the nearby ruins, his youthful face smeared with blood and mud.
The eyes that had always shone with pure innocence were now filled with rage. For the first time, he stared at his companion's back with such wariness and anger.
"Nami, leave. From this moment on, you're no longer my companion."
Luffy clenched his teeth and forced out the order to leave.
Hearing those shocking words, Nami, who was leisurely scraping the blood from her fingertips with the flat of her blade, merely looked up at him.
There wasn't the slightest hint of surprise on her face.
"Fine," Her reply was cold and indifferent.
Seeing the situation about to spiral out of control, Usopp, who had been watching from the sidelines, hurried over.
Putting on his usual peacemaker smile, he threw an arm around Luffy's shoulders and chuckled, "Luffy, Nami can't leave. Do you have any money in your pocket? Do you know how to navigate? Are you planning to let everyone drift around at sea for three days and three nights before we all starve to death?"
Luffy froze for a moment.
He opened his mouth to argue, only to realize he had no answer.
The harsh reality was right in front of him. He didn't have a single berry to his name, and he knew nothing about sailing.
Without Nami, they wouldn't even be able to sail properly.
The only thing he was good at was eating meat, while all the ship's food supplies had always been managed and planned by Nami.
Even so, Luffy stubbornly shook his head, "That still doesn't make it okay! What Nami did just now went way too far!"
He refused to let go of that point.
At that moment, Sanji, who had been silently smoking, finally moved.
He slowly took the cigarette from his lips and glanced sideways at Luffy, "Luffy, imagine that one day, Foosha Village is burned down by pirates. Makino, the owner of the village tavern, is hacked to death by one of them. Half the innocent children in the village are butchered and eaten. Even your most respected sworn brother, Ace, has his neck crushed under their boots."
"What would you do in a situation like that?"
Luffy's eyes became dark.
Without even a second of hesitation, a surge of fury rushed straight to his head, "I'd tear those pirates apart and kill every last one of them!"
He roared at the top of his lungs, veins bulging across his forehead.
Sanji let out a knowing laugh before putting the burning cigarette back between his lips.
"If you'd choose to slaughter them too, then how is your anger any different from the Nami who swung her blade just now?"
The mocking question hit Luffy like a hammer.
His mouth hung open.
He stood there as though struck by lightning, desperately searching for words to defend himself, but it felt as though his throat had been stuffed with a wad of dirty cotton. Not a sound came out.
Sanji had no intention of letting him off so easily. He calmly continued tearing apart Luffy's childish ideals, "What if, after committing those unforgivable crimes, the murderers simply knelt down and cried while saying they were sorry?"
"What if the pirates who killed Makino and those innocent children claimed they had no choice? What if they insisted they only killed because they were forced into it?"
"Faced with such cheap, hollow repentance, Luffy... could you still casually choose to forgive them?"
Luffy froze completely.
His mouth remained open, his eyes wide, but the determination that had once filled them was gone.
Only confusion and helplessness remained.
Arlong Park fell silent once more.
The only sounds were the salty sea wind howling through the ruins and the sticky drip of blood falling from scattered chunks of flesh in the cracks of the ground.
Luffy stood there in silence for a full five minutes.
During those long five minutes, he didn't move an inch. He didn't blink. Even his breathing became so faint it was almost imperceptible, like a weathered stone statue.
At last, he spoke with dry throat, "If those people were truly sorry from the bottom of their hearts... maybe I would forgive them."
He muttered the words quietly, as though they had drained every bit of strength from him.
Then he looked up at Nami, his voice complicated, "But Nami... I understand what you did now. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lost my temper and shouted at you."
He lowered his head, letting the broad brim of his straw hat hide every trace of emotion.
"Oh," Nami's response remained perfunctory.
She didn't even bother turning around. She simply tossed the cleaned iron sword toward Zoro.
Zoro caught the weapon midair and smoothly slid it back into its sheath.
"Zoro, I owe you a sword. I'll pay you back with one of the Great Grade swords," Expressionless, Nami walked past the dejected Luffy and past the mangled remains of Arlong.
Without looking back, she headed toward the Going Merry.
Deep down, she didn't care whether Luffy had truly forgiven her or had simply accepted it unwillingly.
Because in the Straw Hat Pirates, the one who truly held the initiative had never been Luffy.
Now, it was Luffy who couldn't do without them, not the other way around.
If one day everyone else on the ship decided they no longer wanted to keep acting and simply walked away, then this performance would come to an end.
Once the act could no longer continue, this so-called chosen one blessed by fate would lose all value in existing in this world.
Besides, Nami understood perfectly well.
When Luffy said he accepted it, there wasn't a trace of sincerity behind those words.
Sanji had merely cornered him, leaving him with no argument.
As long as his nature remained unchanged, the next time, or the time after that, they faced a similar situation, this naive captain would still jump out without hesitation.
He would still spread his arms in front of the enemy like some ridiculous saint, shouting for mercy.
He would still use those disgusting excuses to defend unforgivable murderers, insisting they were victims too because they had been forced into it.
He would never change.
The naivety and stupidity carved into his very bones could never be erased.
And that was exactly what disgusted Nami the most about him, his indiscriminate, cheap kindness.
Someone who could casually speak of forgiving those who slaughtered his own family and closest friends was the coldest person in the world.
No, maybe he didn't even deserve to be called a human.
Standing on the moral high ground, looking down on the suffering of victims, then opening his mouth to generously grant forgiveness on behalf of the dead, that kind of hypocrite filled Nami with nothing but disgust and contempt.
Without a trace of hesitation, Nami stepped onto the steady deck of the Going Merry.
Just before entering the cabin, she paused and glanced back.
Luffy, still wearing his straw hat, remained standing beside Arlong's mangled corpse like a statue.
Nami withdrew her gaze without emotion.
This time, she didn't hesitate at all as she turned and disappeared into the cabin.
Behind her, the crisp scrape of a whetstone rang across the deck.
Sanji silently lit another cigarette, letting the drifting smoke blur everyone's expressions.
———
[The Cloud Palace]
Its luxury had long surpassed the limits of mortal imagination.
The floor was paved with white jade, the pillars forged from white platinum. Countless glowing pearls adorned the vaulted ceiling above the drifting immortal mist, illuminating the magnificent palace as brightly as day.
Soft golden-thread beast-fur carpets, as fluffy as clouds, covered the great hall, while a faint intoxicating fragrance lingered in the air.
In the center of the main hall, Rosse lounged lazily on his throne.
Several beautiful women surrounded him.
Around them, an incredibly lifelike holographic projection slowly faded away.
It showed the ruins of Arlong Park.
Even the pungent smell of blood had been perfectly recreated.
Like gods, they had just watched the entire bloody tale of revenge from the perfect vantage point.
After the projection disappeared completely, Rosse shifted slightly and naturally wrapped an arm around Makino's slender waist, pulling her closer.
Resting his chin lightly against the hollow of her neck, he idly played with her smooth dark green hair.
"Now that you've watched the whole thing, what do you think of your old friend from Foosha Village?"
His voice was low and teasing, his warm breath brushing against Makino's ear.
Makino leaned obediently against him, allowing his possessive embrace.
A trace of conflict still lingered in her eyes as she answered softly, "Luffy is still just a child. His thinking is too simple. Maybe he just didn't want to see his friends completely consumed by hatred. I don't think he considered anything more complicated than that."
"Being simple isn't an excuse for hypocrisy," Carina was the first to laugh.
She swirled a glass of crimson fruit wine, her eyes filled with unconcealed mockery, "This Straw Hat kid really opened my eyes. He's generous with other people's suffering while staying nice and clean himself. If someone killed you, then squeezed out a few tears and apologized afterward, he'd probably stand on your coffin shouting that you should forgive them."
Hearing the sharp sarcasm, Makino frowned.
She was about to defend Luffy when another gentle yet unwavering voice interrupted her.
"Makino, kindness without fangs is nothing but indulgence toward evil."
Bell-mere sat nearby, idly turning an unlit cigarette between her fingers.
The woman who had once faced death herself now looked utterly cold.
"Arlong murdered so many innocent people. If one casual apology could erase a blood debt, then what about all those villagers who died? Luffy's so-called tolerance is colder than Arlong's blade in the eyes of the victims."
Nojiko sat beside Bell-mere, her fists clenched tightly, her eyes slightly red, "Nami didn't do anything wrong. Every one of those ninety-nine cuts carried the blood and tears of Cocoyasi Village. If I'd been there, I would've wanted to take that sword from her and strike him myself. Luffy's an outsider who knows nothing. What gives him the right to lecture anyone about forgiveness?"
The words of the three women completely shattered the last bit of hope in Makino's heart.
Rosse felt the stiffness in the woman in his arms.
Chuckling softly, he tightened his embrace, pulling her even closer.
His hand slowly traced up her back, carrying a sense of pressure.
"You see? Everyone understands perfectly."
His lips brushed her ear as he spoke, his tone still gentle, yet every word cut deep.
"Let's imagine something. Suppose today the one whose skull Arlong crushed beneath his foot was you. Your blood splashed all over Luffy. Then Arlong dropped to his knees in front of him, crying that he had his reasons and that he regretted everything."
"And the Luffy you watched grow up looked at that pitiful murderer, sighed magnanimously, and said he was willing to forgive him..."
Rosse gently grasped Makino's chin and turned her face toward him, forcing her to meet his eyes, "Tell me, Makino. When you hear those words of forgiveness, do you think all the kindness and care you gave him over the past decade means more to him... or less than a murderer's cheap apology?"
The merciless question finally peeled away the part of Makino's heart she had been unwilling to face.
"Sigh!"
She let out a quiet sigh.
The warmth and compassion in her eyes gradually faded, replaced by sorrow and disappointment.
She finally realized that the boy who had grown up eating meat in her tavern with that bright smile... had a heart that simply didn't value other people's lives.
The child she had watched over with endless kindness had long since gone completely astray.
"You are right, Lord Rosse."
Makino closed her eyes and sighed almost inaudibly.
Perhaps from the moment destiny had chosen Luffy, she never should have held onto even the slightest hope.
The destiny he carried had nothing to do with ordinary people.
Freedom...
What was freedom?
Your freedom might very well be someone else's loss of freedom.
Makino turned around on her own.
She wrapped her arms around Rosse's broad, sturdy shoulders and pressed her full, soft body against him without reservation.
"Let's not talk about him anymore. I don't want to think about any of this."
Tilting her head back slightly, her warm lips slowly brushed along Rosse's jaw. A rare hint of seduction and abandon entered her voice.
"Help me forget all of it. Fill my mind completely... in your own way."
She didn't want to think anymore.
Right now, she just wanted to indulge herself.
After all, her body had already gotten used to it.
A satisfied smile curved Rosse's lips.
Lowering his head, he captured the inviting red lips with perfect precision.
The lights in the great hall seemed to dim slightly as the intimate atmosphere deepened.
The women nearby exchanged knowing smiles, silently choosing to encourage what followed.
Deep within the Cloud Palace, the intoxicating night had begun.