Cocoyasi Village.
Nojiko wiped the sweat from her forehead with her wrist after finishing her work in the tangerine orchard.
The weather this year was excellent.
Small green tangerines had already begun to grow on the trees, signaling a bountiful harvest ahead.
"Nojiko, that little troublemaker is back."
A walked over with a stern face, looking as if someone owed him ten million berries.
"Nami is back?"
Nojiko was already used to A using a grumpy expression to show his concern for Nami. Overjoyed, she ran home.
Soon, she pushed open the door and immediately saw her thirteen-year-old sister.
"Nami!"
Nojiko's eyes reddened as she rushed forward and tightly hugged Nami.
Since the Arlong Pirates forced Nami to join their crew, Nami had rarely returned home.
"I'm fine."
Nami grinned carefreely.
Nojiko, however, sensed that Nami was troubled. She quickly let go and looked into her sister's eyes. "You have something on your mind?"
"No."
Nami denied it outright.
Nojiko eyed her suspiciously, then noticed a newspaper spread open on the table. She immediately guessed that Nami's worries were likely related to the news. She walked over and picked up the newspaper.
At a glance, Nojiko's eyes widened in shock.
[Shocking! The Fifth Emperor Expands Territory, Fish-Man Island Now Under His Control?]
The headline was utterly sensational, something Nojiko could hardly believe. She had never imagined someone could take an entire island away.
Nami suddenly darted over and snatched the newspaper from Nojiko's hands, pouting dismissively. "Fake news. No need to make a big deal out of it."
"Nami!"
Nojiko knew her sister too well.
If Nami hadn't been considering something, why would she have brought this newspaper home?
Nami lowered her head and stayed silent.
Nojiko's expression turned complicated. "You want to ask this Dr. Reddy to help us escape from the Arlong Pirates, don't you?"
The Arlong Pirates were vicious, and the people of Cocoyasi Village could only endure their exploitation in silent anger.
She knew Nami had joined the Arlong Pirates and worked tirelessly to scrape together money from every possible source, all to buy back Cocoyasi Village from Arlong.
But a hundred million berries was a hopelessly large sum, not just for Nami but for everyone in Cocoyasi Village.
"Pirates can't be trusted!"
Nami stubbornly insisted, but the emotions flickering in her eyes couldn't hide the truth from Nojiko.
"Nami!"
Nojiko gave her a reproachful look.
Nami knew she couldn't fool her sister and finally confessed dejectedly, "Fine, yes. I want to ask Dr. Reddy to save us from the Arlong Pirates."
She ran back to her room, grabbed a few more newspapers, and handed them to Nojiko.
Nojiko looked through them.
Every single one was about this Dr. Reddy.
One article, in particular, about the three laws Reddy had enacted in Loguetown, was circled in red with three huge exclamation marks beside it.
Clearly, Nami hadn't made this decision impulsively. She had been considering it for a while but didn't dare trust this new Emperor of the Sea.
It wasn't until the news about Fish-Man Island's ascension was published that Nami finally made up her mind.
But now that she was home, she was hesitating again.
"You're worried Dr. Reddy won't care about us?"
Nojiko pulled Nami to the table and sat her down, looking straight into her eyes to confirm her sister's true thoughts.
Nami nodded silently, her face full of dejection.
This was the Fifth Emperor of the Sea, someone even the Marines had failed to defeat. Why would he care about a tiny village in some remote corner?
Besides, Cocoyasi Village wasn't like Fish-Man Island. It was dirt poor.
"I'll go find him!"
Nojiko stood up.
Nami was stunned.
She had never expected her gentle older sister to be so decisive.
Nojiko said, "Your dream is to draw a map of the whole world. I don't have any dreams. If I anger him, the worst that can happen is I die."
"Nojiko..."
Nami bit her lip, tears welling in her eyes.
Nojiko smiled gently and patted Nami's head. "You still have to deal with the Arlong Pirates. I can't help you with that, but this is something I can do for you."
"No!"
Nami shook her head repeatedly.
Sailing was easy, but surviving on the sea was hard.
Even if Nojiko could scrape together enough money for a ship ticket to find Reddy, where was he now?
To save up money to buy back Cocoyasi Village, Nami had scoured every possible way to earn money, traveling far more than Nojiko, who had stayed in Cocoyasi Village all this time.
Nojiko wanted to argue, but she unexpectedly saw determination in Nami's eyes.
"I'm better suited to find him than you are."
Her sister's resolve dispelled the gloom in Nami's heart and gave her courage.
All these years, she hadn't just faced the Arlong Pirates.
Merchants!
Bounty hunters!
Even pirates!
If she could survive all that, why fear a mere Emperor of the Sea... right?
"Nami..."
Nojiko knew Nami was thinking of her, but she couldn't bear to let her little sister take such a risk.
After all, that man was an Emperor of the Sea. The Arlong Pirates were nothing compared to him.
Nami wiped her tears and grinned. "I'm smart. Even pirates have fallen for my tricks."
With that, she turned and ran out.
"Just hang in there. I'll definitely bring Dr. Reddy back!"
Nami's small face peeked back in from the doorway, brimming with confidence, before disappearing again.
Nojiko chased after her but only saw Nami's thin figure turn the corner and vanish.
Arlong Park.
The Arlong Pirates had gathered.
Every one of them wore a worried expression.
Only Hatchan was excitedly shouting, "Captain Arlong, Fish-Man Island is under Dr. Reddy's control now. Let's go too. Maybe Jinbe is also..."
"Shut up!"
Arlong snapped, his face dark with irritation.
Back then, Jinbe had accepted the World Government's offer to become a Warlord and secured his release from Impel Down.
But Arlong refused to be a dog for humans and took Hatchan and the others to the East Blue, forming the Arlong Pirates.
Now that Fish-Man Island had fallen under Reddy's control, he saw more than just that.
Many fish-men harbored hatred for humans. Even with King Neptune's authority, fish-men supremacists like Hody Jones and his group would never submit.
There was only one explanation.
Those like Hody and his crew were likely already dead.
Extending this line of thought, Arlong felt a chill. He was afraid Reddy would come after him.
After all, the East Blue was now his territory.
Arlong Pirates officer Kuroobi hesitated. "Should we leave the East Blue?"
Another officer, Chew, paused before objecting, "We've already bribed Captain Nezumi to keep things quiet. He might not even know we're in the East Blue."
The other officers nodded in agreement.
They had lived comfortably in the East Blue all these years.
If they went to other seas, life might not be so easy.
Seeing this, Arlong regained some confidence. "You're right. He might not care about us. For now, no one sets sail. We'll lay low."
"What about Nami?"
Kuroobi scratched his head.
Nami had joined the Arlong Pirates but enjoyed considerable freedom.
Right now, she wasn't in Arlong Park.
Arlong's expression darkened. "Find her and bring her back!"