Bell-mère, the adoptive mother of Nami and Nojiko, was a kind, tough, and bold woman.
The reason everyone's expression changed the moment they heard that news was simple.
Bell-mère had once been a Marine.
Her temper was fierce. If Arlong's crew went up the mountain to collect "rent," then with her personality, a clash was guaranteed.
And when a conflict happened against an iron-fisted monster like Arlong, the ones who would get hurt would still be Bell-mère's family.
"Heh heh, old man. So that's why you're in such a hurry for me to leave."
Arlong lifted the corner of his mouth after hearing his subordinate's report.
"Turns out someone lives in the back mountain. I almost missed them."
"No, you can't go!"
Genzo, the village policeman, sprang up and tried to block them.
"Get lost, old man!"
Arlong barely put any strength into his right leg. One casual kick sent Genzo flying, and he crashed to the ground hard.
"We'll fight you!"
Seeing Genzo get kicked away, his life and death unknown, the other villagers glared with blazing fury, looking as if they wanted to tear Arlong's crew apart on the spot.
But they were ordinary villagers.
They were no match for the fish-men at all.
Fortunately, Arlong's crew intended to exploit them. They did not immediately go into attack mode.
They just smirked and headed for the back mountain.
"Genzo, are you alright?"
Only after Arlong left did the villagers rush over, asking anxiously.
Cough.
"I'm fine. Everyone, hurry and follow them!"
Genzo clenched his teeth and forced himself up, then staggered after Arlong's crew.
...
On the back mountain, Bell-mère was humming as she prepared dinner for her two daughters.
"Bell-mère, do we really not need to go look for Nami?"
Nojiko was worried. Nami had been gone for quite a while now.
"It's fine. Once dinner is ready, Nami should come back."
Bell-mère understood her child's temperament. She would storm off to vent, then return once she calmed down.
"Heh heh heh..."
Outside the window, Arlong's crew had already arrived. They stared at Bell-mère's small house and laughed with savage delight.
"Hm?"
Bell-mère, still cooking, suddenly felt something off beyond the window.
She immediately set down what she was holding, crouched, and whispered to Nojiko.
"Nojiko, something doesn't feel right outside. Hide inside and play quietly. Don't make a sound."
After instructing her, Bell-mère picked up her long gun and waited, eyes sharp, for whoever was coming.
Knock knock knock!
A moment later, the knocking started.
"The door isn't locked. Come in."
At Bell-mère's voice, Arlong pushed the door open with a cruel grin.
But the moment he entered, he found the room completely empty.
"Hm?"
Just as Arlong's crew stepped in, a black shadow burst out of nowhere.
The shadow lunged from the side, swinging the long gun like a club and smashing it down toward Arlong's head.
Bang!
Arlong was struck straight out of the doorway. The shadow followed him outside in the same motion.
It was Bell-mère, who had just been cooking for her daughters.
A cigarette hung from the corner of her mouth. Her expression was cocky and fearless.
"Hah. Pirates from the Grand Line, reduced to crawling into some tiny place like this."
"Too bad you didn't expect this."
"I'm a Marine."
"Heh heh heh..."
Arlong had been knocked down, yet his crew showed no panic at all.
That instantly stirred a terrible feeling in Bell-mère's heart.
She was about to follow up and drive the gun into Arlong, but the Arlong who had been "knocked out" suddenly opened his eyes.
His mouth stretched wide like a bloody beast, and he bit down on her gun.
Crunch!
"Heh heh heh. A filthy human like you thinks you can hurt me?"
"Die!"
With a vicious jerk, Arlong snapped her weapon. Then he sprang up and slammed Bell-mère down, stomping on her arm and pinning her in place.
Bell-mère's situation turned critical in an instant.
And what drove her into true despair was this.
Nojiko, who had been hiding inside, was dragged out by a fish-man.
"Heh heh heh, Arlong. There's another little one inside."
The fish-man sneered as he threw Nojiko to the ground.
"Stop! Let them go!"
The voice came from Genzo.
After being knocked down earlier, he had chased them the whole way, but he still arrived too late.
"You want money? We'll pay you. Just let them go!"
"Heh."
Arlong's smile was cold.
"Too late."
"This woman dared attack us. She has to pay the price."
"If we don't make an example, tomorrow everyone will start thinking about resisting."
As Arlong spoke, he stepped forward, clearly intending to kill Bell-mère.
The villagers wanted to save her, but they had already witnessed how terrifying Arlong's crew was. Charging in would change nothing.
They could only glare with hatred, helpless and shaking.
But just as Arlong prepared to strike...
A voice suddenly drifted over.
"Yo. This place is really lively, huh?"
"Hm?"
Arlong stopped mid-motion and turned toward the source of the voice.
A young man in his twenties walked in. Beside him stood a small girl with orange-colored hair.
It was Amon and Nami, who had rushed over.
"Bell-mère!"
The moment little Nami saw Bell-mère pinned under Arlong's foot, tears poured down her cheeks.
"Nami, run! Leave, now!"
Bell-mère's voice cracked with desperation when she saw Nami return at the worst possible moment.
She had already witnessed Arlong's cruelty and strength. She knew that if Nami stayed, she would die.
A moment ago, she had been relieved that Nami was not here, that at least one child might survive.
But at this critical point, Nami came back.
"Hahahaha!"
Arlong laughed in satisfaction.
"Didn't expect there'd still be a stray fish that slipped through the net."
"I almost lost one hundred and fifty thousand Beli."
In Arlong's eyes, Amon was nothing.
In a backwater like the East Blue, aside from the Marines, nobody could stand up to the Arlong Pirates.
"150,000 Beli?"
Amon repeated the number, the corner of his mouth lifting.
"My worth is that low?"
In the next heartbeat, he flashed forward.
Fast as lightning, he snatched the heavy blade from the fish-man's hands, then swung it in one clean, ruthless arc.
Slash!
Blood sprayed into the air.
At the same time, another fish-man who had raised a spear to attack suddenly watched in horror as his entire right arm dropped to the ground with a wet thud.
"…"
For several seconds, the fish-man simply froze, unable to process what had happened.
Then a shrill, agonized scream ripped out of his throat.
The sheer brutality of the scene made the villagers crouching on the ground tremble even harder.
As for Arlong's crew...
They were all stunned on the spot.
They had not expected this newcomer to be so terrifying.
His speed was so fast that even they could not see it clearly.