Luffy and his group continued forward along the course of the original story, meeting Nami, Zoro, and Usopp in turn and traveling together all the way to the seafaring restaurant Baratie.
Just now at Baratie, while Luffy was fighting Don Krieg's pirate crew, Nami took advantage of the others' inattention and quietly sailed off alone with all the treasure.
Her heart was filled with urgency.
There was only one thought left in her mind: use this Beli to buy back her homeland, Cocoyasi Village, and finally bring an end to those long years of endurance and suffering!
When Nami was ten, the Arlong Pirates invaded her village. Her adoptive mother, Belle-mère, was killed by Arlong after using her only 100,000 Beli to pay tribute for Nami and Nojiko in order to protect them.
Arlong took a liking to Nami's talent for chart-making and forced her to join his pirate crew.
Helpless, Nami made an agreement with him: if she could gather 100 million Beli, she would be allowed to buy back the village.
From then on, she drew sea charts for Arlong while stealing pirates' treasure and saving up money.
And now, she had finally scraped together the full 100 million Beli. But the moment the familiar outline of the village came into view, the joy in her heart suddenly froze.
The village, which used to feel oppressive and gloomy but still carried the warmth of everyday life, was now eerily silent.
Not even the faintest trace of human voices could be heard.
"What's going on? Where did everyone go?"
She muttered under her breath, her fingers clenching so hard they turned white, her gaze drawn uncontrollably toward the prison that loomed on the eastern shore—Arlong Park, the place that had borne the village's suffering for years.
Cold sweat slid down from her temples, and her back was already soaked.
Forcing down the unease surging in her heart, she tremblingly raised a hand and pushed open the heavy gates of Arlong Park.
"Nami, you've really suffered all these years."
"I'm sorry. We misunderstood you all this time."
"Come in, quick. It's all right now. Arlong's been defeated!"
Familiar voices rang out one after another.
The villagers crowded forward, their eyes full of guilt and genuine warmth, their eager words driving away the oppressive gloom hanging over the park.
The blood-soaked hellscape Nami had imagined had never happened.
"Everyone... what exactly happened?"
Full of confusion, she was led by the crowd toward the center of the park.
Then her eyes suddenly fixed on Arlong's former throne—
There lay a boy about her own age, sleeping soundly, dressed in a white suit with black trousers, a white baseball cap on his head, hugging a long staff wrapped in bandages.
The brim of the cap was pulled down low, completely hiding his face and making it impossible to see what he looked like.
Beside the throne, Arlong and all his men had been bound tightly in thick chains, unable to move.
The once-overbearing Arlong was already in a deep unconsciousness.
Every one of his sharp fangs had been smashed out, and dark red blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. His former ferocity and ruthlessness had vanished completely, leaving only a pitiful, bedraggled wreck.
"Impossible... How could a human defeat a fish-man...?"
Nami's pupils shrank abruptly.
Her whole body trembled as she instinctively stepped back two paces, both hands clamped over her mouth as she stared at the scene before her in utter disbelief.
The fear carved into her bones by Arlong's years of oppression had long since become instinct.
In her understanding, fish-men were physically far superior to humans—something humans simply could not stand against.
But the reality before her utterly shattered that deeply rooted belief, and her legs began trembling uncontrollably.
"What? Do you subscribe to that fish-man supremacy nonsense too?"
A cool voice suddenly rang out.
The boy on the throne slowly opened his eyes and spoke in a serious tone.
"That guy just kept yammering on earlier, spouting one idiotic line after another about fish-men being stronger than humans! If you ask why I was able to defeat him..."
He paused, and a touch of easy swagger entered his voice.
"Well then, I suppose I'll say something arrogant too—if fish-men can crush humans through physical strength alone, then all I can say is that he had terrible luck, because he happened to run into me—someone whose bodily strength is enough to rival the strongest creature on land, sea, and air!"
Once he finished, the boy seemed to realize he had been a little too blunt.
He scratched his head, looking somewhat embarrassed.
"Yeah... saying that out loud really is kind of embarrassing! Sorry, i didn't scare you, did I, Nami-san?"
His smile was open and unguarded.
Even though the white baseball cap was pulled low and hid most of his face, the cheerful curve of his mouth somehow made Nami catch a glimpse of Luffy in him—equally pure and direct, without the slightest trace of falsehood.
"This... this really... really isn't a dream?"
Nami's shoulders shook uncontrollably.
Her eyes were already brimming with tears, and when she spoke, her voice caught in her throat, full of confusion and disbelief.
Had the nightmare that had haunted her day and night all these years really ended at last?
Or was this only some fleeting illusion, with suffering ready to crash back down in the next instant?
"I'm sorry, Nami-san. As cruel as this is, I have to tell you."
The boy's voice dropped.
"Arlong never had any intention of honoring the agreement. Even if you had gathered the money, he still wouldn't have let the village go. The whole thing was nothing but a lie."
"That's right, Nami. We all heard it while this young man was fighting Arlong."
"Did you really think a vicious pirate, a murdering bastard like him, would actually keep such an agreement? If you want to confirm it yourself, we can wake him up anytime."
The boy kicked Arlong and woke him.
In the end, after hearing from Arlong the very same answer the boy and the villagers had given her, Nami completely broke down.
She threw a punch at Arlong's face, then another, and another—each blow carrying years of accumulated resentment and pain.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"
At that moment, Nami herself could no longer describe what she was feeling.
Was she supposed to be happy and relieved?
Or drowning in anger, pain, and despair?
"You don't have to endure it anymore. And you don't have to carry all the burden by yourself anymore. It's all over now, Nami."
A gentle hand rested softly atop her head, warm palm rubbing lightly through her hair.
It was her older sister, Nojiko.
All the grievance and restraint she had bottled up for so many years collapsed in an instant. Nami could no longer hold back her tears.
Burning drops poured from her eyes, and the sobs she had suppressed for so long tore out of her chest, echoing through all of Arlong Park as she vented every last bit of pain, despair, and unwillingness she had carried in the past.
...
On the small boat by the shore, Zoro slowly opened his eyes.
The wound across his chest from his duel with Mihawk still throbbed faintly.
He had planned to head straight to Arlong Park, but Usopp and Johnny had stubbornly tied him up on the boat, while the two of them went ashore first to investigate.
And with no fish-men stopping by midway like in the original story, he had simply fallen fast asleep.
Once his mind fully cleared, he realized the surroundings were unnaturally quiet.
Sweeping his gaze over the empty shoreline, he frowned slightly.
"Those two went ashore ages ago and still haven't come back. Don't tell me something happened?"
He raised a hand to loosen the slack rope around him.
Just as he pushed himself up using the side of the boat, a familiar shout came from behind him.
"Hey, Zoro! Why are you here by yourself? Where's Usopp?"
Zoro turned at the sound of the voice.
Luffy had come over in a small boat with the newly joined cook Sanji and Yosaku.
Leaning over the gunwale, he peered over with a puzzled look in his eyes.
"They tied me up here and went into the village themselves. Haven't heard a thing since. Something probably happened."
Freshly untied by Yosaku, Zoro rolled his wrists and spoke in a grave tone.
"This is bad—they definitely ran into trouble. Come on, let's go save them!"
Before Luffy had even finished speaking, he had already dragged Zoro, Sanji, and Yosaku along as they hurried toward Arlong Park.
On the way, they ran into villagers chatting cheerfully with one another.
Sanji was thoroughly baffled—this didn't look anything like people being oppressed by pirates!
He had just opened his mouth to ask when Luffy, unable to hold back his urge to beat Arlong and kicked open the gates of Arlong Park with all his might.
Under the eaves, Usopp and Johnny were tied up like silkworm cocoons and hanging there, apples stuffed into their mouths, unable to move.
A figure immediately appeared inside the gate.
He's wearing a mask, covered in pink scales, and with sharp horns growing from his head.
He looked so bizarre!
At the sight of the man massive body and the terrifying aura he gave off, Sanji, Zoro, and Yosaku all felt their pupils contract, their faces full of shock as they inwardly wondered what kind of monster he was.
Only Luffy paid no attention to him.
He strode forward and shouted loudly, "Hey, you're Arlong, right? Where's Nami? I still need her to be my crewmate!"
The towering monster slowly turned his head.
His cold, severe gaze swept across the four of them, and he spoke in a deep voice.
"Oh? So you're their captain?"
"That's right! My name is Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm the man who's going to become King of the Pirates!"
The instant those words fell, the giant figure suddenly released an overwhelming pressure.
Usopp, Johnny, and Yosaku were unable to withstand it and passed out on the spot.
Zoro and Sanji gritted their teeth and barely held on, their expressions grim as they resisted with difficulty.
The monster stepped forward slowly, holding a bandage-wrapped staff in one hand, and spoke, word by word.
"You said... what kind of king are you going to become?"