Marine Training Camp
Zephyr also received the news about Chiga. He was surprised at first, but once his emotions settled, what remained was a strong sense of pride. Yes, he was proud of Chiga.
Recalling every moment spent with Chiga in the training camp, Zephyr couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle softly, muttering to himself,
"I didn't expect you to reach such a level. Keep it up. The future of the sea belongs to you, Chiga."
---
In the girls' dormitory, a roommate excitedly handed a newspaper to Ain, shouting,
"Ain, look! That Uchiha Chiga is in big trouble!"
Upon hearing this, Ain, who had seemed a bit downcast, suddenly widened her eyes. Her roommate's words were vague and made her think Chiga was in mortal danger.
She snatched the newspaper from her roommate's hand and, with trembling fingers, read the article word by word. Ain finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Chiga was fine.
Her roommate found Ain's reaction a little strange and insisted,
"That Chiga injured Rayleigh, you know? The Dark King Rayleigh! The Pirate King's right-hand man!"
Ain remained calm, merely nodding to acknowledge the information. Seeing this, her roommate lost interest and returned to her bed.
After she left, Ain gently sighed and quietly picked up the newspaper again. Her eyes lingered on Chiga's image in the photo. As she gazed at it, she unconsciously raised a hand to stroke the picture, whispering,
"Are we really from two different worlds? Can you slow down? It's so hard to catch up to you…"
---
On a warship
Gion also gently ran her fingers across Chiga's photo in the newspaper, then pressed the page to her chest, thinking,
"The battle must have been dangerous. I'm so sorry I couldn't be by your side…"
---
East Blue, Cocoyasi Village
A slightly taller Nami, clutching a newspaper in both hands, rushed home and shouted to Nojiko, who was tending the tangerine trees,
"Nojiko-neechan! There's news about Chiga-nii!"
Plop!
Hearing the name Chiga, Nojiko got so excited she accidentally clipped off an unripe tangerine.
Normally, she would've been heartbroken over that, but not this time. She had no time to worry about the poor little tangerine.
Wiping her hands on her apron, Nojiko eagerly took the newspaper from Nami and read it word by word.
Nami clasped her hands in front of her chest and said admiringly,
"Chiga-nii is so amazing! He beat the Dark King Rayleigh so badly he ran away, and the news even reached all the way here!"
Hearing that, and seeing Nami's expression, Nojiko covered her mouth and chuckled.
This Nami—when Chiga-nii was around, she always argued with him and acted like she didn't care. But ever since he left, she talked about him constantly. And now she was openly admiring him.
Nojiko gently stroked Nami's head. Nami squinted in delight at the touch, then said,
"Let's go tell Belle-mère! She doesn't know yet!"
Nojiko nodded and took Nami's hand, getting ready to head out.
Stepping outside, the two girls joyfully ran down the country road. Suddenly—
Bang!
"Ouch!"
Nami hit the ground, clutching her head with her eyes closed. When she opened them, she was cast in shadow.
"Huh? Why is it dark?"
Tears gathered in her eyes as she looked up—and froze in fear.
A massive humanoid creature, nearly three meters tall, loomed above her. Its face resembled a shark's. Behind it stood other creatures with similar features. The overwhelming fishy stench made Nami's stomach turn.
Nojiko, catching up, was equally frightened. But as the older sister, she forced herself forward and helped Nami up.
Standing shakily, Nami looked at the creature blocking their path and stammered,
"W-Who are you?"
The creature looked down at them with a cold gaze, sending chills through their bodies.
After a brief pause, it bared its jagged, serrated teeth and spoke in a chilling voice,
"Humans? I am a noble fish-man. You lowly humans—gather everyone in this village to welcome the mighty Arlong Pirates! Or I'll kill every last one of you!"
Nojiko's eyes widened. She grabbed the terrified Nami's hand and ran back toward the village.
Behind them, Arlong, captain of the Arlong Pirates, stood with his arms crossed, a wicked grin on his face. He raised a hand and called out,
"Minions! Let's show these lowly humans just how powerful we fish-men are!"
"Ohhh!!"
A group of fish-men charged after the two girls, heading straight for the village.
---
"Belle-mère! Something bad's happened! Monsters have come to the village! Waaah!"
Nojiko found Belle-mère at the village chief's house. Genzo, the village's security officer, was also there. As soon as she saw Belle-mère, Nojiko burst into tears.
She was only thirteen. There had been no adults around earlier, and as the older sister, she couldn't cry. If she cried, what would Nami do? But now, in Belle-mère's arms, she couldn't hold it in anymore.
Belle-mère hugged her tightly, gently patting her back. Then she turned to Nami.
"Nami, what happened? What kind of monsters is Nojiko talking about?"
Nami, still in shock, snapped out of it and said,
"They're huge… and they have fish faces! They said they're the Arlong Pirates!"
Fish faces? Arlong Pirates?
Belle-mère's heart sank. She knew the name. A pirate crew made up of fish-men.
She'd heard about fish-men before—they were born stronger than humans, with most having arm strength at least ten times greater. The worst part? They hated humans.
This was serious trouble.
Belle-mère's face darkened. After a moment, she turned to Nojiko.
"Nojiko, take Nami and find a place to hide. Don't come out until I say."
Nojiko nodded—then suddenly shook her head and grabbed Belle-mère's shirt.
"What about you? Why aren't you coming with us?"
Belle-mère forced a smile and spoke gently.
"I'll join you later. I need to warn the others first."
Nojiko didn't believe her. Her gut told her something terrible was going to happen.
When she refused to leave, Belle-mère's patience snapped.
"Listen to me! Take Nami and run! Don't let me down!"
It was the first time Belle-mère had shouted at her. Nojiko had always been obedient, never making her angry. But now she was clearly desperate.
Nojiko wiped her tears, then silently pulled the stunned Nami by the hand and ran home.
Behind them, Belle-mère watched their small backs disappear down the road. A warm smile bloomed on her face as she whispered,
"Nojiko, Nami… my dear daughters… you must survive."
_________________________
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