Chapter 52: What Was It Really For?
Not long ago, Nami had stolen over a million Berries from a pirate crew. She had slipped away quietly, returned to Cocoyasi Village in the dead of night, and hidden the treasure in her tangerine grove.
But the moment she stepped inside her home, she heard the shocking news.
The Arlong Pirates were gone—literally wiped off the face of the earth.
Nojiko had pulled her younger sister into a hug, telling her that she didn't have to push herself so hard anymore. The village was finally safe.
Nami couldn't believe it. She broke away from Nojiko, ran out of the house, and sprinted toward Arlong Park. If the Arlong Pirates were really gone, then what was the point of all the suffering she had endured for years? Was it all just for nothing?
However, when she reached the site, Arlong Park was nowhere to be found. All that remained was a barren wasteland.
Nojiko, who had chased after her, explained that a few people had come to the village. They had first killed one of the Arlong Pirates' officers, then summoned a massive, thousand-armed monster that completely leveled Arlong Park. The pirates and the building were crushed together. The remains were nothing but unrecognizable piles of meat—it was truly gruesome. They were torn apart to the point that they couldn't even be put back together for a burial.
Once she finally accepted that the Arlong Pirates were truly gone, Nami went home with Nojiko in a daze and cried her heart out. She eventually cried herself to sleep while Nojiko stayed by her side all night.
The next morning, Nami woke up feeling refreshed. She planned to apologize to the villagers for the years she spent working under Arlong. In their eyes, she was a traitor. Now that the nightmare was over, she wanted to properly seek their forgiveness.
To her shock, she discovered that the residents of Cocoyasi Village had known the truth about her joining Arlong all along. Her apology never even happened because the villagers were the ones apologizing to her, thanking her for the years of sacrifice she had made for the sake of the village. Nami was so moved she burst into tears on the spot.
Genzo, the village head, even teased her, saying she was like a child who refused to grow up, doing nothing but crying all day. That made Nami laugh through her tears, and she jokingly punched the old man a few times.
Finally, Cocoyasi Village had reached its happy ending.
The days that followed felt like a dream. Waking up on time, sleeping on time, no longer needing to keep her nerves on edge or worry about Arlong's oppression. Every day was free of anxiety, as beautiful as a fairy tale.
But for some reason, Nami felt a sense of unreality. After staying in the village for a few days, she became restless. Nojiko noticed and took the opportunity to have a heart-to-heart with her.
Nami realized that after all these years, she had grown accustomed to the sea and the thrill of adventure. A stable life was wonderful, but it wasn't for her. More importantly, even though Arlong was gone, her dream was far from finished. She didn't want to spend her entire life in one tiny place.
Finally, with Nojiko's blessing, Nami decided to set sail. This voyage had two goals. First, to find the saviors of Cocoyasi Village and thank them. Second, to achieve her dream: drawing a map of the entire world.
With these two goals in heart, Nami said her goodbyes to the villagers and her sister, hopped into her small boat, and left Cocoyasi Village behind.
And then, she got captured by pirates.
"Huh?" This sudden twist caught Yumesaki off guard. He looked at Nami with a bit of pity. "Wow, you really have some terrible luck."
Nami gave a weak laugh. "Actually, it's not quite like that. That pirate crew only caught me because I had just stolen over a million Berries from them. They were hunting me down specifically."
"My luck just ran out at sea when I ran into them."
Yumesaki sighed. "Damn, I felt sorry for you way too fast."
This girl really brought it on herself.
Just then, a gust of sea breeze blew past, and Nami suddenly sneezed. Yumesaki realized she had just been pulled out of the water; she was soaking wet and likely to catch a cold.
"Take her to get a bath and some dry clothes," Yumesaki said with a wave of his hand, letting Kanae lead Nami into the ship's cabin.
As for the pirates currently thrashing around in the water, Yumesaki thought it over. He turned to Minato.
"Just kill them all."
Even though they were far from any settlements, Yumesaki was fairly sure they wouldn't survive on their own. But considering how absurdly durable people in the One Piece world could be, what if someone survived until help arrived? What if they lived to prey on others? It would be the innocent who suffered. It was safer to finish the job.
Minato didn't object. To him, pirates were no different from the mountain bandits in his own world—people who blocked the roads to rob the common folk. If you met a 'principled' one, they only took your money. If you met a cruel one, they took your life too.
He didn't know these pirates, and he didn't care if they were the "principled" kind or not. They were pirates regardless. Killing them was the right call. Besides, as a Shinobi, he had taken countless lives; he felt no hesitation now.
Minato wove his hand signs and unleashed his chakra. "Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"
The sea instantly rose into a massive wave dozens of meters high, swallowing the pirates and the wreckage of their ship, dragging them all down into the dark depths of the ocean.
By the time Nami had finished her warm bath and stepped out in fresh clothes, there wasn't a trace of the pirates or their ship left on the horizon.
Nami was sharp, though. She didn't ask what happened. Instead, she changed the subject, asking who Yumesaki really was and why they had saved Cocoyasi Village.
From her perspective, Yumesaki's group had no ties to the village. There was no reason to save them. Moreover, they didn't look like Bounty Hunters. After all, what kind of Bounty Hunter turns pirates into mincemeat? Without heads to prove their identities, they couldn't turn them in to the Marines for a reward. It didn't fit the profile.
Nami was dying of curiosity. Why would this group do such a thing? Was it purely out of the goodness of their hearts? In this broken world, Nami found that hard to believe. But if they had an ulterior motive, it didn't show—they had left immediately after the fight without asking for a single thing.
Now that she had finally found them, she couldn't hold back anymore and let the question fly.
"If I had to put a reason on it... it was for you."
Yumesaki spoke.
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