dmims Chapter 34 turns out to be a nobody.
Chapter 34 turns out to be a nobody.
"Hahaha—"
"Isn't this Nami back?" A fish-man with a long, sharp, jagged nose and wearing a floral shirt was sitting on the sun. He laughed triumphantly when he saw Nami return.
It was Ah Long.
The fishmen around him looked at Nami and laughed maliciously as well.
"Nami~ How did the process of stealing the nautical chart go?"
"Nami~ I heard someone died in your village yesterday, and you didn't even react! Hahaha..."
"Nami-chan is naturally good at betraying her comrades~"
Nami looked around at the mocking smiles on everyone's faces, her fists clenching unconsciously before relaxing.
"Clang—" She threw the box down among the merfolk and said to Arlong expressionlessly:
"Arlong—I've fulfilled my promise to you and brought you 100 million Berries!"
"Gah—" The laughter stopped abruptly.
The fishmen looked on in astonishment and turned to look at Arlong.
Ah Long's smug smile slowly faded, and his expression turned cold.
At his nod, a merman stepped forward, opened the chest, stared blankly at the gold and silver treasures inside, then turned to Arlong and stammered:
"Ah... Boss Ah Long, yes... it really is one hundred million Berries."
Upon hearing the confirmation, Nami finally couldn't help but show a look of anticipation and relief for the future.
"How was it, Ah Long? I've fulfilled my promise. Now it's your turn to keep yours!"
"From today onwards, Cocoaxi Village will be free from your jurisdiction, and I will regain my freedom!"
After saying that, she turned to leave this nightmare that had haunted her for eight years.
"Wait a minute..."
Arlong stood up, and his imposing aura intimidated the surrounding fishmen, who showed expressions of fear.
Seeing this, Nami turned her head and looked at him with a serious expression:
"What... are you going back on your word?"
"Don't forget, you said you'd never break a promise regarding money, even if it meant your death!"
Ah Long walked unhurriedly to the box and suddenly kicked the fishman next to him who was inspecting it.
"Boom!" The merman screamed and crashed into a nearby building, his fate unknown.
"When did I say I was going to break the contract?" Ah Long's face once again displayed that detestable smug smile.
"You said it's one hundred million, so I have to 'confirm' it myself, don't I?"
Then, he bent down and, in front of Nami, slowly took out a gold coin from the box and casually tossed it into the distant lake.
The gold coin traced an arc before disappearing into the water with a "plop" and vanishing from sight.
Ah Long then looked at Nami with a playful expression and shrugged:
"Yay ya yeah..."
"The numbers aren't right, my important draftsman. There are only 99,999,000 Berries here, still a little short~"
As the gold coin disappeared into the lake, Nami's pupils suddenly contracted!
Boundless rage instantly overwhelmed her reason; veins bulged on her forehead. She rushed forward recklessly, grabbing Ah Long's collar tightly.
"You bastard—! How dare you break your promise!!"
Arlong's eyes suddenly turned cold, his gaze fixed on Nami with an oppressive intensity: "When did I break my promise—"
"Don't be so arrogant, artist." He slapped Nami across the face, sending her sprawling to the ground, then a cruel smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
"I meant bringing 100 million Berries to my doorstep in one go. You fell short of that, what a pity~"
"However, I'll accept the money." He ordered his men to put the box away, then walked up to Nami and looked down at her.
"Remember to bring 'one hundred million' next time~ Oh~ my important navigator."
"Don't try anything funny, after all, you're my important and talented illustrator~"
"Hahaha—"
Hearing Arlong's grating laughter, Nami felt all the strength drain from her body.
The image of the adoptive mother Bellemere's tragic death, her years of cheating and stealing to save money, the villagers' gruesome deaths under oppression, and the child who lost his father...
All the painful memories flooded back like a tide, and the grievances and despair completely broke down her defenses.
Tears welled up uncontrollably.
She was too naive...
How dare they try to be honest with cold-blooded fishmen... It turns out that the so-called hope was a carefully crafted deception from the very beginning.
It turns out that this endless nightmare of despair... will never end.
"Bastard! Bastard, bastard, bastard—" She used all her strength to pound the ground with her hands until her hands were torn and bleeding, but she still did not stop.
Until all strength was exhausted...
She curled up on the ground, uttering a barely audible, tearful plea:
"Someone please help me..."
"Anyone will do... please... help me."
"boom--"
Just then, a deafening explosion rang out above her head!
Nami looked up blankly, and the sight that met her eyes was unbelievable—
She saw Kuroro's calm and expressionless face, and Arlong's disheveled figure as he was sent flying backwards after being knocked away!
"!!!"
"What are you doing here?!" Nami snapped back to reality and shouted anxiously, "Quick, let's go! Get out of this village!"
"I'm here to do trade~" Kuroro's lips curled up slightly.
"Are you out of your mind?! What kind of trade are you doing?! They're fish-men!"
"That's exactly what I wanted—fishmen!"
Nami gradually came to her senses, a look of disbelief on her face:
"You're pirates!"
"No." Kuroro shook his head. "We are thieves."
"But they're all pretty much the same," he waved his hand dismissively.
"Trade is the transportation of goods from their place of origin to other places."
"And thieves... are the same. Except... they just transport things from their place of origin to their own pockets."
Kuroro's lips curled into a smile that was neither a smile nor a frown:
"You stole my money, so I'll help you solve your current problem."
"In exchange, how about you become the navigator on my ship?"
As the two were talking, a dense swarm of merfolk surrounded them.
Seeing this, Nami anxiously said:
"Stop joking! You can still run!"
She pointed ahead and said urgently:
Do you know who they are?
"Fish-men! Fish-men with terrifying bite force, bodies ten times stronger than ordinary humans, capable of catching bullets with their bare hands!"
She then pointed to the three at the head of the group, "These three are the strongest of the strong!"
"Kroobi, the Soft-Boned Fishman, 40th Dan in Fishman Karate. One hit from him would be fatal for an ordinary person! Bounty: 900 million Berries."
"Chirp! A kissing fish that can shoot high-pressure water jets from its mouth to attack enemies! Bounty: 550 million Berries!"
"And him—" Nami pointed to the tallest of the three.
"Hachi, a six-armed octopus-like fish-man, a terrifying swordsman who can wield six swords simultaneously! Bounty... 1000 million Berries!"
"You'll really die if you face them!"
Before Nami could finish speaking, a muscular figure behind Kuroro charged forward with his signature loud laugh.
"Hahahaha—"
"Super Destructive Fist—"
"boom--"
The terrifying force of the punch swept across everything in front of them, the strong wind howled through the surrounding trees and eaves, and when the smoke cleared, a terrifying trench tens of meters long was plowed into the ground.
All that remained was Nami's bewildered expression, and everything she had just described—the fish-men, the powerful figures—had vanished without a trace.
Uvogin picked at his ear.
"Where are the strong?"
"Oh, so you're just a nobody~"
...........