Chapter 71: Nami's Battle
Ian had indeed been a bit careless. Although he had successfully orchestrated the battle to be confined to land, he had completely overlooked Momoo, the giant sea cow.
But this wasn't entirely his fault. In his memory, Momoo, that silly, adorable giant monster, only ever appeared for comic relief, so Ian hadn't taken it seriously.
However, the moment he heard the word "Momoo" from Arlong's mouth, he suddenly realized that this giant monster might actually pose a threat to them.
People could come ashore, but ships couldn't. Although Tashigi's Marine battleship was docked at the pier, it was still in the sea. If Momoo really appeared, its sheer size alone could probably capsize the warship as if it were a toy.
Panicking, Ian forgot about Arlong and started running toward the warship at the pier, intending to take down Momoo the moment it appeared.
How could Arlong let Ian escape so easily? Sensing his intention, Arlong suddenly fired several consecutive shots of water at Ian.
Ian didn't want to get hurt, so he had to dodge as best he could, but Arlong kept relentlessly firing water bullets at him, firmly tying him down.
"Damn it!" Ian cursed in frustration, swinging his hand to send a sword slash toward Arlong's position. Arlong ducked into the water, and the slash skimmed across the surface over his head, cutting through the water and traveling forward before slamming into the edge of the pool, carving a gash into it.
Seizing this opportunity, Ian finally managed to break free and ran toward the warship. However, when he reached it, he found it still intact. The Marine soldiers on board were busy moving cannonballs along the side, firing at the pirates on shore to support Tashigi and the others.
Strange. Didn't Arlong say Momoo was about to appear? Why wasn't there any sign of it?
Not only was Ian puzzled, but even Arlong was confused. The battle on both sides had been raging for a while now. The sound of the Marines' cannons had long since echoed through the air. There was no way Hachi hadn't heard it.
"Damn it, what the hell is Hachi doing!?" Floating on the surface of the pool, Arlong stared at the Marine warship at the pier with a grim expression.
……………………
Going back a bit earlier, just as Ian and Tashigi were about to dock the warship, Arlong had ordered his officer, Chuu, to find Nami and send her away from Arlong Park under some pretext.
Nami had always loathed Arlong Park to the core. It was a place filled with painful memories for her. When she heard that Arlong was giving her time off, she didn't think twice and simply left.
She originally planned to return to Cocoyasi Village, so she took a small boat and set off from the other side of the coast. That was why she didn't see Ian's warship.
However, just as her boat had rowed out a short distance, she suddenly heard the rumble of cannon fire coming from the direction of Arlong Park!
Startled, Nami stood up in her small boat and looked into the distance. She saw smoke rising from where Arlong Park was located, and she immediately realized that someone was attacking it!
At this moment, Nami didn't know who the attackers were—it could be the Marines or other pirates. But regardless of who it was, the sound of the cannons was music to her ears.
If anyone hated Arlong the most, it was probably Nami. Arlong was the murderer of her mother, Bell-mère. Every time she recalled the scene of her mother's death, Nami's heart ached as if cut by a knife. She constantly dreamed of avenging her mother, but unfortunately, she lacked the strength. The ferocity and cruelty of the fish-men were not something a little girl like her could handle. In the end, to redeem her hometown of Cocoyasi Village, Nami had to swallow her pride and join the Arlong Pirates.
For years, Nami had dreamed of seeing the Arlong Pirates destroyed. So, when she saw someone suddenly attacking Arlong Park, she immediately rowed back.
But at that moment, Nami spotted a six-armed octopus fish-man on the shore, panting heavily as he ran.
Nami naturally knew who it was—one of the Arlong Pirates' officers: Hachi!
The Arlong Pirates' base was under attack, so why was Hachi running in the opposite direction? Nami's heart stirred, and she waved at him, shouting, "Hachi! What's going on!?"
"Oh, it's you, Nami!" Hachi heard the shout, turned to look, and was stunned for a moment upon seeing her. Then he flailed all six arms in panic, gesturing wildly as he said, "Nami, it's bad! The Marines have come! And there's a really strong pirate hunter with them!"
"Marines!? Pirate hunter!?" Nami felt a surge of joy but didn't show it. Instead, she feigned surprise and asked, "Why would the Marines and a pirate hunter show up together?"
"I don't know!" Hachi said frantically. "And that pirate hunter is terrifying! He can use some strange flames! Chuu and Kuroobi were taken down by him in no time!"
Nami's heart raced with excitement upon hearing this. She knew Chuu and Kuroobi—they were officers of the Arlong Pirates, not weak at all. But from Hachi's tone, both of them had been defeated by that pirate hunter. Could it be that this pirate hunter was the one who had recently emerged as the strongest pirate hunter in the East Blue, Ian?
The news of Krieg's death had already spread throughout the East Blue, and Nami had heard about it. The Arlong Pirates had been discussing it a while back. When Nami heard it, she thought that such a pirate hunter would surely not let the Arlong Pirates off the hook, right?
From the day she heard that news, Nami had been looking forward to this pirate hunter's arrival, hoping to see him capture the Arlong Pirates. But even she hadn't expected Ian to come so soon—and with the Marines!
At that moment, Nami's emotions were overwhelming. She hoped Ian would defeat the Arlong Pirates and free her and Cocoyasi Village from Arlong's clutches.
However, Nami was a strong-willed girl. She couldn't just wait for someone to save her like a helpless princess. Sensing this was a golden opportunity, she wanted to do her part to help. Her eyes darted around, and she suddenly sneered at Hachi, saying, "Chuu and Kuroobi were both taken down, so why are you still here? You're not planning to run away, are you?"
Since Nami was still a member of the Arlong Pirates, Hachi had no suspicion of her. He immediately retorted loudly, "No! I was feeding Momoo earlier. When I heard something was wrong, I ran back, but I saw the Marine ship docked at the pier, so I came back to call Momoo! With it, we can sink the Marine warship! I'm not running away!"
"Is that so? Then I misjudged you!" Nami grinned. "I'm a member of the crew too, but I can't help much in a fight. I'll go with you to call Momoo!"
Hachi didn't think much of it and nodded. "Alright, let's go together!"
So Nami rowed her small boat over, jumped ashore, and ran alongside Hachi.
They soon arrived at a nearby coast not far from Arlong Park. This was Hachi's usual spot for feeding Momoo. Once there, Hachi pinched his trumpet-shaped lips and made a strange sound to summon Momoo.
He was completely focused on summoning Momoo, not noticing that Nami, standing behind him, had picked up a large rock with both hands and was slowly creeping closer.
Beneath the sea surface, a massive shadow appeared. Momoo, the giant sea cow, heard Hachi's familiar feeding call and surfaced, its enormous, mountain-like body breaking through the water. But it was puzzled—Hachi had just fed it not long ago, so why was he calling it again?
When it surfaced and saw Hachi, it witnessed Nami smashing the rock hard onto the back of Hachi's head.
And so, Hachi, on whom Arlong had placed so much hope, was knocked unconscious by Nami's sneak attack. A large bump swelled on his head as he collapsed to the ground.
Seeing its feeder knocked down, Momoo grew angry and roared at Nami.
Nami was a bit wary of this giant monster and instinctively stepped back two paces. But then she suddenly remembered something. She grabbed her shoulder bag, opened it, and rummaged around, pulling out some snacks. She had originally brought them to eat on her way back to Cocoyasi Village, but now she didn't care and tossed them straight at Momoo.
Momoo was stunned for a moment but then opened its mouth and caught the food Nami threw!
Unfortunately, the portion was too small. After eating, Momoo stared at Nami with its big, round eyes, looking at her pleadingly, hoping she would throw more.
"..." Nami was at a loss for words. So this giant, fearsome monster was just a glutton—whoever fed it, it would cozy up to. And here she was, scared out of her wits just moments ago...
Nami took out all the snacks from her bag and tossed them to Momoo bit by bit. When she was done, she spread her hands at Momoo, signaling that the food was gone.
Momoo was surprisingly well-behaved. Though a bit dissatisfied, it had gotten an extra meal, so it wagged its tail at Nami as a farewell and then dove back underwater.
"Phew!" After dealing with Momoo, Nami couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. This was all she could do to help.
She glanced at Hachi, who was lying unconscious on the ground, and stuck out her tongue. "Sorry! Even though you treated me like a comrade, I never once thought of you all as comrades!"
Turning around, Nami looked toward Arlong Park, wondering how things were going there. She was actually quite worried. Even though the Marines and that famous pirate hunter were there, Nami knew how formidable Arlong was. She was concerned about whether they could defeat him. She decided to sneak a look first.