In Cocoyasi Village, Nami knelt on the ground, her eyes empty and lifeless. Just moments before, she had watched eight years of accumulated treasure being forcibly seized by Marine Captain Nezumi. Even though Luffy and the others hadn't arrived at Cocoyasi Village as in the original timeline, the theft had still occurred, completely destroying her plan to save her hometown from Arlong and his crew.
She might have found the strength to endure this setback alone—to tell herself she was simply starting over. But what truly crushed Nami's spirit was Captain Nezumi's casual admission that Arlong had summoned him to plunder her wealth. This revelation meant her every move had likely been under surveillance all along, and the promise that "100 million berries would spare Cocoyasi Village" was nothing more than a cruel lie.
For this impossible goal, Nami had resorted to deception and betrayed Luffy, who had shown her nothing but sincere kindness.
"What have I done... I'm such a... fool."
Tears flowed uncontrollably down her cheeks. She couldn't stop them, just as she couldn't prevent the villagers who had decided to fight to their deaths. In the end, she remained powerless. Eight years ago, she couldn't save her adoptive mother. Now, she couldn't save the villagers—or even herself.
Her gaze fell to the Arlong tattoo on her arm. Pain filled her eyes as she drew a dagger, preparing to stab at the hated mark. But a warm, large hand stopped her movement.
Turning around, Nami saw Luffy's group—the very people she had betrayed—and Naruto, whom she had met once at the sea restaurant. Naruto gently took the dagger from her hand, tossed it aside, and carefully placed her into Luffy's arms.
"Take us to find Arlong."
Naruto's tone had lost its usual peaceful quality. Suppressing his anger, he wore an expression darker than any she had seen before. On his way to Cocoyasi Village, he had witnessed other settlements oppressed by Arlong's crew. After confirming the rumors, only one thought remained in his mind: clean up this mess for Fisher Tiger and Jinbe.
"Don't go! You can't fight against fishmen!" Nami pleaded, desperate to prevent more meaningless sacrifices. Of course, she had fled early and hadn't witnessed Naruto's true capabilities.
Suddenly, Naruto turned his head toward a specific direction. "Let's go. I can see where they are."
He walked toward the location where his Observation Haki detected a large concentration of fishmen. Luffy's group followed silently behind him. No matter how much Nami pleaded or screamed, she couldn't stop their advance.
Finally, she could only lower her head helplessly, letting fresh tears soak her clothes. "It's impossible... don't go..." Her voice gradually diminished to a whisper. "...Please help me."
After enduring repeated mental shocks, Nami finally abandoned her pretense and exposed her vulnerability. Luffy suddenly removed his straw hat and placed it gently on her head. Naruto glanced at the gesture but said nothing.
The group reached Arlong's base in tense silence. They had moved quickly—when they arrived, the villagers had just gathered at the gates of "Arlong Park."
"Move aside."
Naruto was in no mood for delays. With those words, he walked straight through the crowd of shocked and confused villagers toward the massive gate. Then the entrance exploded outward with tremendous force, along with several fishmen who had been standing behind it, all crashing into the wall.
The sudden intrusion immediately put the remaining fishmen on high alert, weapons drawn. Arlong, their leader, sat calmly in his chair, seemingly prepared for resistance. But when his gaze fell on the intruder at the front, his indifferent expression changed instantly.
"It's... it's you!"
Memories surfaced in Arlong's mind—from when Boss Tiger was still alive. This human had boarded their ship and even shared drinks with Tiger. At the time, Arlong had been deeply displeased with this human, unable to understand why Tiger would show him friendship. In Arlong's worldview, humans were the source of all fishmen persecution. He remained unconvinced—fishmen were naturally stronger than humans, so why should they allow human dominance?
Naruto's gaze fell on the sun tattoo adorning Arlong's chest. "You still have the audacity to wear that tattoo," he said coldly.
The words seemed to strike a nerve. Arlong rose from his chair, fixing Naruto with murderous eyes. "You dare appear before me, Naruto Uzumaki..."
Arlong remained unaware of Naruto's exploits in the New World. After being captured and released by the Marines, he had remained holed up in East Blue. Therefore, seeing Naruto appear with a group of seemingly powerless villagers struck him as nothing short of suicidal.
Naruto looked at him and shook his head gently. "Jinbe... having a companion like you must be truly difficult for him."
At the mention of the Knight of the Sea's name, Arlong's anger intensified. "Hah? That fool could never be my companion! Jinbe, that idiot—actually willing to bow his head and serve as a human's lapdog. But it doesn't matter. When my Arlong Empire is established, every human in this sea will become a fishman's slave!"
With those words, Arlong drew his weapon—a massive serrated cleaver—while the surrounding fishmen closed in menacingly. All except one.
Hatchan, the octopus fishman, trembled as his pupils shook continuously. Looking at Naruto's figure, he turned pale and instinctively curled his arms inward, trying to minimize his presence.
"You damn fish in a pond! See if I don't beat the life out of you today, consider yourself lucky!"
Naruto had grown tired of wasting words on this brain-dead fool. In his eyes, from the moment he learned that Arlong had betrayed Jinbe's good intentions, the shark fishman was already dead.
"Hey, do male fish have caviar too?" Usopp suddenly asked with curious innocence.
"That's fish roe—males definitely don't have it... though for fishmen, I'm not sure," Sanji added while lighting a cigarette.
Neither bothered to lower their voices, and their casual conversation reached Arlong and his crew, intensifying their killing intent.
"Very good, you two. I'll break every bone in your—"
Before he could finish the threat, Naruto's figure flashed forward. Then, with a punch too fast for anyone to follow, Arlong's upper body exploded like fireworks, scattering in all directions and dissolving into a crimson mist. His uncontrolled lower half swayed briefly before toppling into the water.
Sudden silence blanketed the scene.
Nami, who had been drowning in anguish moments before, felt her emotions disconnect entirely. The mountain that had crushed her for so many years—removed so effortlessly?
Lowering his fist, Naruto addressed the remaining fishmen. "Drop your weapons and surrender on your knees, or you'll share his fate."
These misguided fools had been deceived by Arlong's rhetoric into committing atrocities together. But considering they were still Jinbe's people, if they were willing to accept punishment honestly, Naruto wasn't unwilling to spare their lives.
"What was that?" one fishman gasped.
"Everyone, don't panic! That must be some Devil Fruit power!" Chew, one of Arlong's officers—a kissing fishman—stepped forward to stabilize morale. Simultaneously, a high-pressure water stream shot from his mouth toward Naruto's head.
These creatures simply couldn't accept that such powerful fishmen could die so fragilely at the hands of "weak" humans. Unwilling to face reality, they clung to Chew's explanation.
But Naruto had no patience for further persuasion. After dodging the water attack with a casual head tilt, he cast a cold glance at the stubborn fishmen and delivered his final warning.
"In three seconds, I'll kill every fishman still standing."
His words were like water dropped into boiling oil, completely igniting the fishmen's fury. Except for a few clever ones who chose to lie flat on the ground alongside Hatchan, the remaining fishmen—including the surviving officers—all rushed toward Naruto.
Three seconds passed swiftly. So swiftly that the attackers barely managed to reach within a meter of their target.
Observing the fishmen surrounding him, Naruto showed no mercy. He formed a hand seal with one hand as chakra as vast as ocean currents surged rapidly through his body. This marked the first time Naruto had used ninjutsu beyond the Three Basic Techniques and Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu since arriving in this world.
In this realm, the chakra within his body couldn't be compared to that of a twelve-year-old. The originally limited C-rank jutsu Wind Cutter, infused with this massive amount of chakra, instantly transformed into an unstoppable blade that swept forward.
In a single instant, the wind blade cut through everything in its path.
Then, all the fishmen still standing froze in place. A few of the faster ones had their upper bodies thrown off by sheer inertia. Within moments, blood covered the ground of Arlong Park, and even Luffy's group behind Naruto stood shocked by the carnage.
After all, in their presence, Naruto had always been smiling. Even during his fight with Luffy, he had held back considerably. The brutal scene made some villagers lose control and vomit.
For the surviving fishmen, the sight proved even more traumatic.
Hatchan felt warm blood staining his skin and tremblingly raised his head to find Naruto standing directly in front of him.
"Hatchan... you actually chose to follow that fool as well. Does Uncle Rayleigh know about this?"
Seeming quite familiar with the octopus fishman, Naruto didn't attack him. Instead, he crouched down, regarding him with the disappointed expression of a teacher who had caught his student skipping class.
"Ahh—Naruto big brother, I-I-I-I..." Hatchan stammered for a long time without managing a complete sentence, then felt a sharp pain on his forehead.
"Ahhhhh!! It hurts!!"
Naruto had flicked him on the forehead with his knuckle, raising an enormous bump. The octopus fishman couldn't help but roll around on the ground in genuine agony—a cry so authentic that everyone present felt a chill run down their spines.
[Chapter Complete]
***
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