Chapter 68: Rebirth from the Ashes, the Best Banquet!
The towering sea of fire finally began to slowly die down.
Arlong Park, which once symbolized a reign of terror and had crouched over Cocoyasi Village like a giant beast for eight long years, had now completely vanished from the map.
In its place was a scorched black ruin.
As the wind blew, ashes danced throughout the sky.
It was as if this land was holding a long-overdue funeral, burying all the sins and nightmares.
The villagers stood outside the ruins, watching this incredible scene, not daring to make a sound for a long time.
That "monster" that had weighed on their hearts and made it hard for them to breathe... was just... gone?
Nami stood there blankly, looking at the scorched earth, as if she hadn't yet recovered from the massive shock.
Until a hand reached out and gently patted her head.
"Hee hee hee."
Luffy's familiar smiling face appeared before her eyes.
He didn't say any words of comfort.
He simply reached over and took back the Straw Hat he treated as a treasure from Nami's head, placing it back on his own.
"Luffy... thank you."
Nami sniffled, then suddenly turned around and threw herself into the arms of Nojiko, who was already covered in tears behind her.
"Sister... Sister!!"
"It's okay now... it's okay, Nami."
Nojiko held her sister tightly, looked up, and gave Luffy a brilliant smile: "Thank you all, Luffy."
Just then, a commotion broke out in the crowd.
"That... that person..."
The villagers' gazes turned toward Tatsuya, who was standing in the center of the ruins.
The youth in black was shaking the ashes off his sword; having just created that terrifying sea of flames, his body still radiated a heart-palpitating killing intent.
Everyone looked at him with eyes full of awe and even a bit of fear to approach.
After all, the demon-like methods he just used were truly too shocking.
Amidst this awkward silence...
"Big brother!"
A little girl suddenly broke free from her mother's hand and ran to Tatsuya on her short little legs.
She stood on her tiptoes, timidly holding up both hands, with a golden, plump tangerine cradled in her palms.
"Thank you, big brother! This is the most delicious tangerine!"
Tatsuya was slightly stunned.
He looked at the little girl who wasn't even as tall as his legs, then at the tangerine.
A moment later, his eyes crinkled as he reached out to take the tangerine.
"Wow, thanks. It looks very delicious."
This simple scene instantly shattered all barriers and fear.
"Ohhhhhhhh!!!"
"Heroes!! They are our heroes!!"
Cheers instantly rang through the clouds like a volcanic eruption.
Eight years of suppressed emotions were completely released at this moment.
The excited villagers swarmed forward, ignoring Tatsuya's protests, and lifted him up, tossing him high into the air!
"Hey! Wait! Don't throw me!!" Tatsuya showed a rare expression of panic.
"And these young men too!!"
Luffy, Sanji, Usopp, and even Zoro, who was still sleeping just a moment ago, were all lifted by the villagers and tossed toward the blue sky again and again amidst the cheers.
"Hurray!! Arlong has been defeated!! Hurray!!"
In mid-air...
Tatsuya, who was being tossed until he was dizzy, suddenly caught a glimpse of Zoro being tossed nearby.
That moss-head's face was currently as pale as paper, the bandages on his chest were still seeping blood, his eyes were rolled back, and he was foaming at the mouth.
Um... he looked like he wasn't far from death.
"..."
Tatsuya's eye twitched.
If that guy was thrown a few more times, he probably really would become a corpse.
"Body Flicker Technique."
The instant the villagers tossed Zoro up again, an afterimage flashed.
Tatsuya's figure instantly appeared in mid-air, catching Zoro who was about to go into a free fall.
Then he landed lightly beside Nami and Nojiko on the outskirts of the crowd.
"Phew..."
Tatsuya held the dead-pig-like Zoro with one hand and let out a sigh of relief as he watched the crowd still celebrating wildly over there.
"Um..."
At that moment, a voice as thin as a mosquito's buzz sounded beside him.
Tatsuya turned his head to see Nami standing there, still clutching Nojiko's sleeve.
She looked at Tatsuya with slightly red cheeks, seemingly wanting to say something, but awkwardly unable to speak.
The atmosphere between the two was momentarily filled with a subtle awkwardness.
Watching this, Nojiko covered her mouth with a smile, her eyes darting back and forth between the two.
"Um..."
In the end, it was Tatsuya who broke the silence.
Still maintaining his usual smiling expression, he pointed to Zoro in his hand and said nonchalantly:
"While I don't want to interrupt your sisterly bond, this guy's injuries seem a bit too serious."
"If we don't find a doctor soon, we might have to hold a funeral for him right here."
Nami froze for a moment, then saw Zoro with his eyes rolled back, and immediately cried out in alarm:
"Ah! Zoro!!"
She quickly snapped out of it and pointed toward the Village: "Quick! Follow me! The doctor is over there!"
...
Inside the Village clinic.
"What?!!"
The elderly doctor looked at Zoro lying on the hospital bed, covered in blood with wounds deep enough to see bone, and almost fainted from shock.
"This... after receiving injuries of this magnitude, he can still move? He can still fight?!"
The doctor pointed at Zoro with a trembling finger, looking at him as if he were a monster:
"Is this guy a corpse?! A normal person would have died a hundred times already!!"
"So noisy, you quack."
On the hospital bed, Zoro, who was wrapped up like a mummy, calmly lifted a bottle of liquor, took two large gulps, and yawned with an indifferent look:
"Don't make a fuss, I'll be fine after a nap."
"This is not something that can be fixed with a nap!! Put that liquor down right now!!" the doctor roared in frustration.
...
That night.
To celebrate their regained freedom, the entire Cocoyasi Village was brightly lit, as if it were a festival.
All the villagers brought out the fine wine and food they had stored for years to hold an unprecedentedly grand banquet in the Village square.
"Meat!! Meat!! That's mine!!"
In the center of the banquet, Luffy activated a terrifying mode called "Hurricane Inhalation."
His mouth opened like a black hole, and the food on the table was swept clean along with the plates.
The eating scene was not only shocking but even turned into an acrobatic performance for the banquet, drawing bursts of exclamations from the villagers.
"Honestly, is this guy's stomach a bottomless pit?"
On the other side, Sanji was like a fish in water in this Village filled with the scent of tangerines.
He rolled up his sleeves and showed off his skills in the temporary outdoor kitchen along with the Village women.
"Ah, beautiful ladies, please allow me to season this fish soup."
"How can such lovely ladies be allowed to do such rough work?"
Relying on his exquisite culinary skills and his honeyed tongue...
Sanji quickly became the idol of the Village women and girls, deeply loved by all.
"Ahem! Listen up, kids!"
On a high platform not far away, Usopp was stepping on a wine barrel, holding a chicken leg as a microphone, boasting loudly to a group of starry-eyed children below:
"At that time, Arlong rushed over with his bloody maw wide open, and everyone was terrified!
"Only this great man! The brave warrior of the sea, Usopp! I did not retreat but advanced, letting out a great shout..."
He described the battle in extravagant detail.
He boasted of himself as the main force who defeated Arlong single-handedly, completely bamboozling the simple children.
...
Outside the noise.
Tatsuya sat alone on the tiles of a corner rooftop, holding a glass of wine, quietly watching the lively celebration below filled with the atmosphere of daily life.
"It really is... lively."
He swirled his wine glass, his black eyes reflecting the distant bonfire.
Tap, tap.
Light footsteps sounded.
Nojiko climbed up with two glasses of wine, sat down next to Tatsuya, and handed over one glass of specially made Tangerine Wine.
"Aren't you going down to join them? Everyone wants to thank you."
Tatsuya took the glass and took a sip; the sweet and sour taste blossomed on his tongue.
"That kind of occasion isn't for me, too noisy," Tatsuya smiled. "Mmm, very good wine."
Looking at the youth, Nojiko couldn't help but laugh.
She looked at Tatsuya's profile, her gaze becoming gentle and sincere:
"Even though you seem very scary, and even killed that Marine Captain right in front of us..."
"But... thank you so much for saving Nami and saving this Village."
Tatsuya shrugged, looking at Luffy grabbing meat below, and said casually:
"Don't misunderstand, we just happened to be short of an excellent Navigator. If her skills weren't up to par, I wouldn't have gone to all this trouble."
"Hehehe..."
Nojiko's eyes narrowed into crescents as she laughed.
She turned her head and said softly:
"Even though Nami loves money as much as her life, has a fiery temper, is awkward, stubborn as a mule, and sometimes very unreasonable..."
"Hey, are you her real sister?" Tatsuya teased.
"But she is still very grateful to you." Nojiko turned her head and looked seriously at Tatsuya: "From now on... I'll leave her to... you guys."
"In the future, take good care of Nami, handsome red-eyed young man."
Tatsuya's hand holding the wine glass paused slightly, and the smile on his face stiffened for a moment.
"Huh?"
He turned his head, meeting Nojiko's gaze which held a mix of teasing and sincerity.
...
At the same time.
In the room of the clinic.
Nami sat in a chair, extending her left arm to the doctor.
"Do you really want to remove it? It might hurt a bit," the doctor asked, holding his tools.
"Yes."
Nami nodded, her gaze firm, without a hint of hesitation:
"That kind of thing... should have disappeared long ago."
As the tool operated, the black saw-toothed tattoo representing humiliation and nightmares was washed away bit by bit, revealing her original fair skin.
Even though it hurt, Nami was smiling.
Because this bit of pain was nothing compared to the heartache of the past eight years.
A moment later.
A new tattoo appeared on her left shoulder.
It was a design of a tangerine and a windmill.
The tangerine represented her foster mother Bell-mère, and the windmill represented Genzo, who treated her as his own daughter like a father.
"It's finished, Nami," the doctor said with a smile.
Nami stood up and walked to the window.
She raised her arm, looking at the tattoo that represented freedom and family under the bright moonlight.
The night breeze blew through her short orange hair.
Nami took a deep breath and gave the brightest, most free smile she had in eight years toward the full moon.
"Thank you... Tatsuya."
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