CHAPTER 11 - ARLONG PARK: THE WEIGHT OF A PROMISE
The journey from the Baratie to Cocoyasi Village, though undertaken in a small rowboat, felt less like travel and more like an urgent pilgrimage. Luffy's boundless determination, Sanji's chivalrous resolve, and Zoro's grim silence propelled them forward. Adam, however, felt a different kind of weight. He knew the pain that awaited them, the years of quiet suffering, the crushing burden that Nami had carried alone. "Cocoyasi. The village that time forgot, or rather, the village that a fish-man decided was his personal piggy bank. This is where Nami's story truly begins. And ends. As in, the end of her misery. Hopefully. Or I'm going to personally make Arlong regret every single scale on his smug, blue body."
"How much further, Adam?" Luffy asked, his voice firm, no longer betraying any hint of his earlier hurt. He was fully committed now. When Luffy committed, he committed with the force of a small asteroid.
"Not much, Captain," Adam replied, peering through a crude telescope he'd conjured with a dash of system magic (it was technically a "future optical device (unstable)," meaning it might spontaneously turn into a rubber chicken at any moment, but so far, so good). "I can see the shoreline. And what looks like... a very tacky fish-shaped building. Yup, that's Arlong Park. Clearly, Arlong has a flair for architectural monstrosities. Probably designed it himself. With crayons."
[SYSTEM MESSAGE: ARLONG][LIKE METER: 0%][HATE METER: 0%][ACQUIRABLE SKILLS: NONE]
"Zero percent. Not for long, fish-face. Not for long. By the time I'm done with you, your Hate meter is going to be so high, it's going to break the system. And then I'll probably get some really cool new skills. So, really, it's a win-win for me. Not so much for him."
As they drew closer, the idyllic facade of the village shattered. The houses, though colorful, showed signs of neglect. The villagers moved with a quiet resignation, their eyes holding a deep-seated fear. Adam's heart clenched. This wasn't just a place on a map. This was where lives had been systematically crushed for years.
They beached their boat, stepping onto the sand. Almost immediately, a man with a distinctive pinwheel tattoo on his head, and a young woman with short, orange hair approached them. Genzo and Nojiko. Nami's adoptive family.
"Who are you?" Genzo asked, his voice wary, his hand instinctively going to his weapon.
"Friends," Adam replied, stepping forward, his usual sarcasm softened by a genuine solemnity. "Friends of Nami's. We've come for her. And to, you know, have a chat with a certain fishy individual about his... business practices. I hear he's a bit of a tyrant. And frankly, his interior decorating skills leave a lot to be desired."
Genzo's eyes widened, then narrowed in suspicion. "You're pirates, aren't you?"
"Technically, yes," Adam conceded. "But we're the good kind of pirates. The kind that doesn't extort villages. We prefer to just hang out, eat meat, and occasionally annoy government officials. And rescue our friends from tyrannical fish-men. That last part is surprisingly fulfilling."
Nojiko, however, seemed to sense something different about them. She glanced at Adam, then at Luffy's determined face. "You... you know about Nami?"
"We know enough," Adam said softly. "More than enough, actually. I know about the tattoo. I know about the eight years. I know about Bell-mère. And it makes me want to punch a wall. Or a fish-man. Definitely a fish-man."
He noticed the deep sadness in Nojiko's eyes, the quiet despair. He felt the Connection System hum, a faint response to her profound sorrow.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE: NOJIKO][LIKE METER: 5%][HATE METER: 0%][ACQUIRABLE SKILLS: MANDARIN ORANGE FARMING (BASIC), EMOTIONAL RESILIENCE (THEORY)]
"Five percent like. And 'Mandarin Orange Farming (Basic)'? So I can probably grow a really good orange. Excellent. And 'Emotional Resilience (Theory)'? Useful for dealing with Luffy's antics. I'm basically becoming a self-help guru, one copied skill at a time."
Suddenly, the ground shook. A loud, booming voice echoed from Arlong Park. "WHO DARES DISTURB MY PEACE?!"
Arlong himself emerged, a hulking, blue-skinned fish-man with a long, saw-like nose and a permanent sneer. He was flanked by his officers: the fish-man karate expert Kuroobi, the blowing fish-man Chew, and the octopus-man Hatchan. And there, beside him, stood Nami, her face a mask of weary resignation, a new, permanent tattoo etched onto her arm. The familiar swirling symbol of Arlong's jolly roger.
Adam's blood ran cold. The sight of that tattoo, a symbol of her servitude, ignited a cold fury within him, overriding his usual flippancy. "That's it. That's the line. You don't get to brand people, fish-face. You don't get to own their dreams. You don't get to turn their hope into despair. Oh, you are going to pay. And it's not going to be with Beri."
[SYSTEM MESSAGE: ARLONG][LIKE METER: 0%][HATE METER: 5%][ACQUIRABLE SKILLS: FISH-MAN KARATE (BASIC BLOCK)]
"Five percent hate. Still so low. We need to fix that. 'Fish-Man Karate (Basic Block)'? So I can probably block a punch with my arm. Excellent. Very useful for when I inevitably piss off Zoro again."
Arlong spotted Nami with them. "Nami! What are you doing with these humans?! Get back here!"
Nami flinched, her eyes darting between her past and her present.
Adam stepped forward, a dangerous glint in his eye, his usual smirk replaced by a tight, humorless line. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the overgrown guppy himself. Arlong, I presume? You know, for someone who claims to be superior, your aesthetic choices are remarkably pedestrian. That tattoo? Seriously? It looks like a drunken tattoo artist got creative with a potato stamp."
Arlong's eyes, already narrowed, widened in disbelief. "What did you say, human?!"
"Oh, you heard me, fish-lips," Adam retorted, his voice dripping with condescension. "And don't even get me started on your architectural masterpiece, Arlong Park. It looks like a rejected prop from a particularly bad B-movie about aquatic villains. Did you hire a five-year-old to design it? Because if so, they deserve a stern talking-to about proper scale and color coordination."
[SYSTEM MESSAGE: ARLONG][LIKE METER: 0%][HATE METER: 20%][ACQUIRABLE SKILLS: SHARK ON DARTS (BASIC STANCE)]
"Twenty percent hate! There we go! And 'Shark on Darts (Basic Stance)'? So I can probably throw a dart like a shark. Excellent. Very useful for bar games. Or for, you know, throwing actual darts. My life is becoming increasingly ridiculous."
Kuroobi, Arlong's fish-man karate expert, stepped forward, his fists clenched. "You dare insult Captain Arlong?!"
"Oh, I don't dare," Adam corrected, a chillingly calm smile finally returning to his face. "I do. And I'm just getting started. You see, Mr. Kuroobi, I have a particular aversion to bullies. Especially bullies who think they're hot stuff just because they have gills and can breathe underwater. It's not a superpower, it's a physiological adaptation. Frankly, a bit unsanitary if you ask me."
Luffy, recognizing Adam's shift in tone, grinned. "Adam's mad! Shishishishi!"
Sanji glared at Arlong, a lit cigarette dangling from his lips. "You branded a lady? You're even lower than I thought, fish-man."
Zoro, ever the quiet threat, placed his hand on his sword hilt, his eyes fixed on Arlong.
Arlong roared, enraged by Adam's relentless mockery. "You will regret those words, human! I will tear you apart!"
"Promises, promises," Adam scoffed, waving a dismissive hand. "You know, for a guy who's supposed to be a big, bad pirate, you're remarkably sensitive to criticism. Maybe you should try a little introspection? Or perhaps a nice, long soak in a tub of humble pie. I hear it does wonders for the ego."
The confrontation was about to escalate. Nami watched, her eyes wide with a mixture of fear and a flicker of something else—a dawning hope. Adam met her gaze, his expression clear: "We're here, Nami. And we're not leaving until this fish-face is swimming with the fishes. Permanently."