Chapter 20: Miracle
Cocoyasi Village.
Arlong Park — or what remains of it.
The once intimidating park, built in resemblance to Sabaody Archipelago's amusement park, had turned into ruins. The ground was riddled with gaping holes and brown-black stains from dried blood.
There were even corpses — both human and fish-men — scattered in all directions.
The scene looked like the aftermath of a tragic battle.
Amidst the center of this chaos, Luffy sat back in a recliner with his legs crossed. Behind him stood Zala and Kuina on either side like bodyguards.
In front of him knelt a battered Arlong. His once-sharp saw-like nose was broken. His eyes were sunken, his body mangled. He looked miserable. Still, his gaze held defiance and arrogance, though deep down, a bone-deep humiliation gnawed at him.
Nami, standing behind him and coercing him, suddenly slapped his head harshly, driving his face into the dirt.
Her eyes were full of murderous intent, though she kept her emotions under strict control.
Killing him would've been too merciful.
"You damn weakling fish! What are you pretending for? Answer the captain's questions, or I'll make you wish for death!"
Arlong's mouth was cracked. His sharp teeth had been turned to dust under Nami's strength.
"Naaamiii!! How dare you!!!"
Beside him, Captain Nezumi was in slightly better condition — just some bruises. Sanju, who stood behind him, had no grudge against him and he had been obedient from the start.
One slap, and he folded. Not to mention, that blonde woman had destroyed a Marine warship with a single kick — he didn't dare provoke her.
He even wanted to speak up and reveal everything, but the orange-haired girl didn't seem to be after answers. She was far more intent on torturing that damn Arlong than uncovering any real truth.
In reality, the moment Luffy saw Arlong, he already knew everything he needed to know. After all, the Mastermind ability wasn't a joke. As for why he waited until now to use it — it was simply because the ability was inconvenient.
Using Mastermind without a precise target would feed back a flood of useless information: Arlong's birth, childhood, family, experiences, potential futures, allies, enemies, weaknesses...
None of that mattered. Why would Luffy bother learning Arlong's life story?
Active targeting was far more precise, producing fewer irrelevant details.
Still, since Nami's negative emotions had reached a boiling point, Luffy said nothing. He let her vent.
He had even sent Yasha to find the villagers, hoping their appearance would soothe Nami's rage.
Slap!
Another blow sent Arlong's head deep into the ground. This time, his broken nose was severed entirely.
Sanju took a deep drag from her pipe and watched the cold, detached Nami with a flicker of unease.
"So cruel…"
Compared to the usual lively Nami, this new version sent shivers down her spine. It wasn't that she didn't understand Nami's blood feud with the shark-like man — but Nami seemed to be enjoying it.
Her lips twitched, trying to suppress a smile...
Scary.
Captain Nezumi, kneeling at Sanju's feet, trembled and looked up at her pleadingly.
"Please… I'll tell you everything…"
Sanju just shook her head.
Who cared about the truth? The captain was clearly indulging Nami.
After a long session of unhinged interrogation, the once-prideful Arlong had been broken.
Now, he didn't even dare look into Nami's eyes. The rest of the torture wasn't worth recording.
All that mattered was that Arlong was very obedient now.
If it weren't for Yasha bringing Nojiko and the other villagers, Nami likely wouldn't have stopped any time soon.
Zala, who had been silent the entire time, finally spoke in a low voice.
"Luffy, isn't Nami acting a little strange?"
Kuina blinked in confusion. Though Nami's actions were a little cruel, wasn't everything justified in the name of revenge?
Luffy looked at Zala in surprise.
"I didn't expect a crude girl like you to see through it."
Zala rolled her eyes.
"Please. I might be careless most of the time, but my instincts aren't for show."
Kuina looked puzzled.
"What are you two talking about?"
Luffy explained:
"The old Nami would've never thought about torturing Arlong. She wouldn't even think about revenge. All she hoped for was to use money to drive Arlong and his pirates away. Even when she told us her story, her only wish was to save the village — she never wanted to punish Arlong."
Zala muttered, "A weakling mindset…"
Luffy nodded, watching Nami finally calm down, hugging her sister Nojiko tightly as tears streamed down her face.
"Yes. Although Nami gained power, her mind hasn't caught up. She doesn't even realize how strong she's become. After facing Arlong again, she was shocked to find that the so-called almighty Arlong — the supreme fish-man who mocked humans as weak — was actually weaker than an ant."
Kuina's eyes widened.
"So that's why she did this…"
Luffy nodded again.
"Yes. Nami must be thinking, You were so weak. Such a pathetic creature destroyed my life, killed my mother, coerced my relatives… The old Nami would have been satisfied if Arlong just died. But the current Nami sees him as less than an insect. Even killing him didn't feel satisfying. Maybe torturing him was the only way she could feel even a sliver of relief."
Zala snorted.
"In the end, her mind can't keep up with her strength. Pathetic…"
Kuina glared at her.
"Zala, shut up! Nami was a normal person just two weeks ago. Why are you being so harsh?!"
Zala didn't respond. She simply walked up to the battered Arlong, dragged him back toward Luffy, and tossed him at his feet like trash.
She stared at him coldly.
"Start talking. I'm not as merciful as Nami. If you don't, I'll cut off your head and feed it to the dogs."
Arlong trembled under her piercing gaze. It felt as though her presence alone could crush him into bloody foam.
Luffy looked at her with interest.
Haoshoku…
Under Zala's coercion, Arlong began to speak — finally revealing part of the truth.
According to him, they had caught a wandering human in nearby waters. The man seemed to be a pirate, but that wasn't important. What mattered was that the pirate was carrying a batch of treasure — tens of millions in value.
After catching and toying with him, they killed him and took his treasure. To celebrate, Arlong even threw a lavish banquet.
Who would have thought — in the middle of the celebration, a massive cannon shell suddenly bombarded the park. The explosion was devastating. Half of the fish-men were killed instantly; the rest were gravely injured.
Then a certain pirate group attacked, and a bloody battle began.
Strangely, just as the fight escalated and Arlong was ready to go all out, the attackers suddenly withdrew. They had seemingly accomplished their objective. Furious, Arlong wanted to pursue them but ultimately didn't dare — choosing to swallow the humiliation instead.
That's when Captain Nezumi arrived.
According to Nezumi, some of his confidants informed him that Vice Admiral Garp was expected to pass through the region. He was told to initiate standard defense protocols.
So, he came to warn Arlong to lay low. But when he arrived, he found the Arlong Pirates already defeated.
Although Nezumi didn't say anything suspicious, he secretly planned to take advantage of the situation and gain merit.
Later, his confidants told him that Vice Admiral Garp had likely discovered something. Nezumi panicked.
Fearing repercussions, he acted decisively — leading to the current war.
Then Nami and Sanju invaded the battlefield like two legendary dragons. They destroyed everything and captured him and Arlong.
Zala took a deep breath, her eyelids twitching at the sheer absurdity of the entire event.
She wasn't the only one. Even Nami — who was still hugging Nojiko nearby — and the other girls looked at Luffy in shock.
Yasha muttered, "Such bad luck… Is this what they mean by catastrophe falling from the sky?"
Luffy chuckled.
In truth, the story was far more layered than Arlong or Nezumi knew.
The pirates who attacked Arlong were the Buggy Pirates. The man captured by Arlong's crew had been a traitor — someone who had stolen from Buggy.
Of course, Buggy wouldn't start a war with Arlong just over that. But the item that was stolen was too important.
The treasure was merely a by-product. The real prize — something Arlong's crew dismissed and casually tossed into their treasury — was their undoing.
Once Buggy retrieved it, he left without hesitation.
Luffy muttered under his breath:
"Interesting…"
Buggy — that treasure-bringing clown — turned out to be more valuable than expected. But it made sense. His origins were never ordinary.
Such a character was far more entertaining to leave inside the script than to pull out early.
Luffy had always wondered if Buggy's luck could actually counter his own. Only now did he understand — the current Buggy wasn't complete yet.
Not worth plundering.
The early-stage Buggy wasn't interesting.
But once his luck reached its peak, once it was pushed to the very limit...
A miracle was bound to be born.
And Luffy was greedy for it.
"Buggy… oh Buggy… You already have the capital to rise. I'm very, very much looking forward to your future…"