Nezumi’s warship was not very large, so the amount of supplies it required was not all that great either.
And mikan groves were Cocoyasi’s main industry. Many households owned mikan groves, and Genzo had his own selfish motives. Whenever a large order like this came in, he would notify Belle-mère first so that her family could sell their mikans before anyone else.
But now, it seemed his good intentions had backfired.
“Do you two brats even know who’s out there risking their lives at sea to protect you? We take a few things from you, and you still want us to pay?!”
“If we weren’t out there fighting pirates, do you think you could peacefully build houses and grow mikans here? You should feel honored that we’re only taking these lousy mikans! Get out of my way!”
Nezumi was already in a foul mood after failing to get what he wanted. Ignoring Nami and Nojiko as they tried to stop him, he simply shoved the two aside and headed toward the warship in irritation.
“Lieutenant Commander, isn’t that going too far?”
Genzo helped Nami and Nojiko back to their feet, then grabbed Nezumi by the shoulder. But the only response he received was the soldiers beside Nezumi raising their guns.
One man alone could not carry out corruption like this. Quite a few of the Marine soldiers around Nezumi were in cahoots with him.
“You…..”
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Suddenly, several sharp sounds tore through the air from the surface of the water. Several water bullets struck the Marines’ guns with perfect accuracy. Though they were merely bullets formed from seawater, they snapped the guns apart on impact.
“The Marines of the Four Seas really are trash. Is bullying ordinary people in places like this all you’re capable of?”
Arlong sat on the back of a giant sea turtle, looking down at Nezumi and the others with a contemptuous expression.
“You have to pay when you buy things. Even children know that. I don’t know which Marines are out there fighting pirates, but it sure as hell isn’t trash like you.”
“F-Fish-Men?! You’re from the Fish-Man Pirates?!”
“The Fish-Man Pirates? Shahahaha! You’ve actually got a pretty good way with words.”
Hearing Nezumi say that, Arlong and the Fish-Men and Merfolk who had just emerged from the waters where they had been hiding all burst into loud laughter instead.
In the current Ryugu Kingdom, the Fish-Man Pirates had already become part of history, but their legacy had not disappeared.
On the contrary, just as the Giant Warrior Pirates held profound influence in Elbaf, the Fish-Man Pirates held an extraordinary position in the Ryugu Kingdom.
And the final member of the Fish-Man Pirates had been Luna, who joined as an apprentice. After her, once Nereus reached an agreement with the World Government, the Fish-Man Pirates never took in any new members again.
Having served with the Fish-Man Pirates was, on Fishman Island, practically proof that one was “one of our own through and through.”
“What are you trying to do?! We’re Marines!! Are you trying to make enemies of the Marines?!”
“You came onto our territory to steal things. You’re nothing more than a branch’s Lieutenant Commander, yet you dare let your soldiers rob residents of an affiliated nation. So tell me, Marine, who exactly is making an enemy of whom?!”
The moment those words fell, before even the giant sea turtle Arlong had been sitting on could react, Arlong had already appeared in front of Nezumi and lifted him off the ground by the throat with one hand.
At the same time Arlong moved, the others sprang into action as well. Kuroobi knocked down several soldiers beside Nezumi with a single strike.
Jack had already appeared aboard Nezumi’s warship and twisted the two cannons together like strands of dough.
“Drop your weapons. If any of you move again, the next things getting twisted apart will be your necks.”
That alone completely intimidated every Marine aboard the ship. The more worthless an army was, the more it could only bully the weak and fear the strong.
Nezumi’s subordinates were certainly not the type who could fight fearlessly to the death.
“Never thought there’d come a day when I could do what Big Brother and Otohime do and actually ‘not kill’ someone.”
The “Big Brother” Arlong referred to was Tiger, a title of respect unique to Arlong. After all, when Arlong was young, Tiger had spent some time as the boss of the Fish-Man District.
“W-What are you going to do?!”
“Huh? Didn’t I already tell you? You pay when you buy something, and then you get the hell out of my sight! You’re not welcome in these waters!”
Arlong then leaned closer to Nezumi and whispered, “You can have the Marines ignore this place if you want. But these days, it’s perfectly normal for a ship to sink at sea for unknown reasons.”
This was Arlong’s threat to Nezumi; when it comes to coercion and bribery, Arlong was far more skilled at it than Nezumi.
The Marines were stripped of every valuable thing they had on them and left Cocoyasi with their tails between their legs. Arlong knew Nezumi would not dare report the incident to higher-ups.
After all, if the matter became a big deal, Nezumi himself would be disciplined as well. And if he tried to play dirty, Arlong had plenty of ways to make Nezumi disappear.
As for spreading rumors and claiming they were pirates…
Arlong was not flying a pirate flag, and he also had official backing. He had no reason to fear something like that.
Forget Arlong, even in the original timeline, if Luffy had not personally wanted to become a pirate, Nezumi would have had no way to put a bounty on him.
Luffy had eliminated every troublesome pirate in East Blue and was the grandson of the hero Garp. If Luffy had gone down that path instead, Nezumi would have been imprisoned on the spot, while Luffy could naturally have become a rising star in the Marines.
At least for a long time afterward, his career would have gone extremely smoothly.
“All right, here’s the money for your mikans. Hurry up and take it back to the adults at home. Don’t lose it.”
Arlong nodded and handed the Berries directly to Nami.
“Thanks, Uncle Fish-Man.”
When money was involved, Nami was far bolder than Nojiko. She immediately took the Berries and began counting them.
At this moment, Arlong did not seem frightening to Nami in the slightest. Instead, he looked like a rare, genuinely good person.
“From now on, this place is under our protection! No matter what happens, if outsiders come here causing trouble, you can come find us!”
Arlong also began sending the others around to spread word of what had happened here. When Nami finished counting the money and was about to leave, Arlong called out to her.
“Wait.”
“What is it? You already gave me the money. You can’t ask for it back!”
“Shahaha! What a money-loving little girl. Even if there was extra, it’d still be yours. I’m giving you something else.”
As he spoke, Arlong handed Nami a book filled with notes and sticky notes.
“This is the textbook my Navigator used when learning navigation. It contains precautions and things to watch out for when sailing on the Grand Line—things you won’t find in East Blue.
“I saw before that you liked books about this sort of thing, so you can have it.”
“For free?”
“A gift is free, of course. I just love kids.”
Arlong’s words were not particularly sincere, and his actions carried an ulterior motive. At most, he liked showing off in front of children. He certainly was not one of the conciliatory types like Otohime.
[His Majesty said we need to influence the views of the next generation. Shyarly also said I need to be careful. This money-grubbing little girl should be my chance.]
Once she heard it was a rare book about navigation, Nami simply could not refuse. Even so, she carefully put away the Berries first before excitedly accepting the book Arlong held out to her.
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