"Tch, what a pain." Ryoma muttered to himself.
The ice rope tied to two heads swayed at his fingertips. Arlong's face, frozen in venomous resentment, looked especially grotesque.
"Whatever. When the ship reaches the pier, it'll head straight. A little trouble for traveling money is bearable, nothing to be ashamed of."
While Ryoma was mapping out his next move, a familiar presence appeared in his senses.
A figure was cautiously poking its head and creeping along the path toward the port.
After a long while, convinced nothing was stirring near the port, Genzo finally plucked up the courage to approach.
He clutched his weapon tightly, scanning every step, yet the scene before him left him bewildered.
The rivers of blood and mountains of corpses he'd expected were nowhere to be found. Aside from scattered dark-red stains and a faint metallic tang still hanging in the air, the shore was empty—eerily quiet.
This isn't right!
The deafening roars and shrill screams had still been audible moments ago—how could everything be calm now?
An absurd thought surfaced: Could those vicious pirates have been dealt with already?
But that was way too fast!
Standing by the rail of Arlong's massive pirate ship, Ryoma spotted the dazed, looking-around Genzo on shore.
"Genzo-san, you're a bit late." Ryoma's relaxed voice suddenly rang through the silent harbor.
The unexpected sound startled the high-strung Genzo.
He jumped, followed the voice, and finally saw the familiar figure leaning lazily against the rail of the huge, menacing pirate ship, waving at him.
"Ryoma!"
Genzo blurted in shock.
"What's going on? Where are the pirates?"
Seeing Genzo's blank look, Ryoma smiled and lifted the swaying objects in his hand—two ice-sealed heads now clearly visible.
"You mean them? Taken care of—most are feeding the fish on the seabed."
He paused, then added with a teasing grin, "Looks like Cocoyasi Village's patrol officer didn't get a chance to chip in."
At the jab, Genzo's weather-beaten face flushed red, then melted into a wry, relieved smile.
He scratched his head sheepishly and said, "No need. With my skill, I'd just be throwing my life away."
He exhaled lengthily, his whole body relaxing.
On the way here, he'd already steeled himself for a fight to the death.
The moment he'd spotted the black pirate flag and the ship's jagged bow, he'd known exactly who these pirates were.
And the saw-like nose on one of the heads Ryoma held was unmistakable: the 20-million-Berries bounty, the infamous Arlong.
The notorious Arlong Pirates—fish-men famed for cruelty and racial supremacy—were no foe an ordinary man like him could face.
Yet the crew that had terrorized the entire East Blue had been wiped out single-handedly by Ryoma in mere moments.
Genzo stared at Ryoma's youthful face, waves of shock rolling within him, but mostly he felt grateful to be alive.
Ryoma stopped teasing. He leapt lightly from the rail, landed on the pier, and still dangled the two frozen heads by their ice rope.
"This ship and the leftover mess at the port are in your hands, Genzo-san."
Ryoma pointed toward the colossal Shark Superb. "You and the villagers decide what to do with it—consider it my parting gift."
Without waiting for an answer, his figure shimmered. Ice dust scattered and he vanished on the spot.
"Huh? Ryoma, you—"
Genzo stood alone in the empty port, staring at the giant pirate ship, mind blank.
It's over? A gift for the village? And he just disappeared?
Genzo pinched himself hard, the sharp pain told him this was no dream.
He glanced at the half-dried blood, then at the priceless ship, and finally sighed, a complicated smile spreading across his face.
Ryoma reappeared at the island's rear hill, a lookout that offered a view of the whole island.
He had no intention of sailing that massive shark ship—one man couldn't handle it, and it was too conspicuous.
He still needed to bid the villagers farewell and see about swapping for a smaller boat. He liked to finish what he started, and after months of their kindness he couldn't just vanish.
Soon, word of the harbor incident flew through Cocoyasi Village.
Earlier, the children's report of pirates landing had thrown the whole village into panic.
Doors were bolted and families cowered indoors, praying for their lives and their village. Many had already prepared for the worst.
When Genzo returned with the unbelievable news that the vicious Fish-man pirates had been annihilated by Ryoma, scarcely anyone dared believe it.
Only when the bolder villagers trooped to the port and saw the skull-flagged giant ship and the traces of battle did they break into deafening cheers.
The polite young man who had lived in the village for three months, greeting everyone and occasionally lending a hand, was actually a mighty powerhouse.
Joy and gratitude washed away every trace of fear.
Villagers set to work: some began repairing the smashed pier, others circled the huge pirate ship, heatedly discussing its future.
"This ship is huge, bigger than all our fishing boats combined."
"Take off that scary shark head, repaint the hull, and she'll make a fine ocean trader."
"Exactly. With it we can haul cargo to sell in distant ports."
Faces beamed with bright hopes for the future, the earlier despair feeling centuries away.
—
Wiping out Arlong's riffraff hadn't excited Ryoma much.
The only regret was smashing two officers with bounties worth over ten million Berries into pieces.
He was savoring the post-battle quiet when soft footsteps and a hesitant voice sounded behind him.
"Ryoma… are you leaving soon?"
Ryoma turned to see Nami and Nojiko standing there.
Both girls wore worry beyond their years. The village cheers had clearly reached them.
Ryoma looked at them, a gentle smile on his face. He stepped forward and rubbed the girls' heads, feeling the softness of their hair.
He neither denied nor explained, simply saying in a matter-of-fact yet faintly wistful tone, "Yes."
"A traveler doesn't stay in one port forever."