"Ah… Arlong… boss… no way… this has to be a joke."
A handful of Fishmen rushed out at the noise just in time to see the final pieces of Arlong fall. They froze, choking on their breath, eyes wide with panic and disbelief.
Ron did not bother answering. His wand flicked once. Wind blades sliced out and dropped them on the spot.
He dusted off his clothes, glanced at Nami still staring blankly, then looked toward the burning buildings. Another calm swing.
Crack. Crack.
Unable to douse the fire, he simply carved the blazing sections free and hurled them into the inner pool with the gale's edge.
Nami still stared at the blood darkening the water.
From ten to fifteen. Belle-mere's last moment. The years forced to draw charts. The cruel bargain. The twist of that bargain. Scene after scene strobed through her mind like a lantern show, until, at last, every image dissolved into the red ripples of the pool.
Then feet pounded outside. The villagers of Cocoyasi, drawn by the flames and the noise, crowded up to the gates.
They stopped at the threshold. Breath hitched at the carnage. When they realized the bodies were all Fishmen, disbelief cracked into their faces.
"What… what happened here?"
Nami rose. She brushed away a lingering tear, turned toward them, and smiled the sunbright smile she had not worn since five years before, the smile from the days before Arlong.
"It is over."
"Everyone… the village… is free."
At the dock, on a small boat.
"Nearly three hundred million Berries. You gave it all back to the villagers. Generous," Ron said, chewing a blade of grass as he lay on deck.
"That was their money. Arlong stole it," Nami shot back. She clenched a fist and scowled. "Do not bring it up again."
After Arlong fell, they had found almost three hundred million in his hoard. Nami's eyes had gleamed, but she handed every last coin to the people of Cocoyasi.
Ron sat up. "If you tossed in your own hundred million too, your image in my heart would grow a size."
"What?" Nami glared. "What do you mean my image would grow a size? That hundred million was hard earned. Is a so called image worth one hundred thousand Berries?"
Ron gave her a look. "I helped you earn that hundred million."
"Without my navigation you would have gotten lost, hit a storm, wrecked, and fed the fish," Nami said, then paused. A sly, devilish smile curled her lips.
"Hire me as navigator. One million Berries a month."
"That is extortion."
"Partners should keep clean books," she countered. "And it is not extortion. That is the going rate for a top navigator."
"You are a trainee navigator. And you are fifteen."
"Genius is not measured by years," she said, tilting her chin. "And I will grow."
Ron felt that road getting dangerous and cleared his throat. "Fine. Your terms."
Snap.
"Deal," Nami sang. "One day you will thank your wise decision."
"Maybe." Ron stretched and headed aft. "Said goodbye? If so, we sail."
Nami nodded, all sunshine until he vanished toward the stern. Then mischief flashed in her eyes.
Silly captain.
He burned money like dry leaves anyway. Better she hold the purse strings. Yes. She would keep it safe. Very safe.
Ron, of course, knew she was price gouging. He also knew the story. Today's Nami aside, tomorrow's Nami would be one of the world's finest navigators. No point nickel and diming a girl who still was not of age.
Right then the system chimed in his ear.
[Achievement: Little Thief Cat. +1 point.]
A pleasant surprise. The condition was simple: have Nami join him. He would have agreed even without the point. With it, it was pure profit.
He dropped the point into Spirit. Total Spirit: 47. Only three to go before the next leap at 50.
A trip to the nearest Marine base to cash Arlong's bounty would put them close to three hundred million in total assets, enough for another money milestone. With cultivation, fifty Spirit would not be far.
By his reckoning, his current strength sat about one tier above Arlong, roughly comparable to a Grand Line branch rear admiral. In the Grand Line, rank tracked power better than in East Blue.
Branch rear admirals tended to fall below headquarters rear admirals, who in turn matched up with branch vice admirals, all beneath the elite vice admirals at headquarters.
Those Marines roughly paralleled pirates from the hundred million range up to the Seven Warlords. Some Warlords, like Moria, might not beat the elite vice admirals cleanly.
His path was set.
Reach fifty Spirit. Acquire a defensive line, ideally earth or ice. Then set course for the Grand Line.
With Nami guiding, Ron soon reached the closest Marine base and claimed Arlong's bounty. The news rippled across East Blue like a new tide.
Arlong had not been the loudest name, but at twenty million he held the highest posted bounty in East Blue. Now even Arlong was dead at Ron's hands.
Who in East Blue could still stand against him?
Among pirates and the underworld alike, a title settled over his name.
East Blue's strongest bounty hunter.
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