Chapter 409: Butterfly Effect
It had to be said that at this point, Zoro really didn't have a good way to deal with Buggy.
Among the several major pirates in the East Blue, Buggy the Clown could be considered the most formidable. Not only was he one of the few Devil Fruit users, but he also had a deep background. If it weren't for the fact that he usually kept a low profile, busy with his treasure hunting, he could easily have become the pirate with the highest bounty in the East Blue.
The reason he was making such a big fuss chasing a small boat across the sea this time was because a female thief on that boat had stolen the Grand Line sea chart he had been treasuring!
After capturing Luffy and Zoro, Buggy locked them up. Although Zoro angrily claimed they didn't know the woman at all and had been set up, Buggy didn't believe a word of it. Who knew if this wasn't a trap to divert his attention? So Buggy made it clear to Luffy and Zoro: if that orange-haired woman didn't return the sea chart by tomorrow, the great Captain Buggy would tie them to heavy stones and throw them into the sea to feed the fish!
And so, Luffy and Zoro were locked in a heavy iron cage, with Buggy Pirates' men standing guard outside with guns, giving them no chance to escape.
However, after nightfall, a figure stealthily crept onto the Buggy Pirates' ship.
It was the woman who had thrown the empty box onto Luffy and Zoro's boat during the day. If Ian were here, he would recognize her at a glance—this woman was Nami!
Compared to when Ian first met her, Nami had grown up a lot. Although she still looked a bit immature, she was gradually transitioning from a young girl to a beautiful woman.
Although she had used Luffy and Zoro as a shield during the day to escape Buggy's pursuit, Nami had a kind heart and couldn't bear to see two innocent people killed because of her. So she returned under the cover of night.
Carrying a stick, she knocked out the Buggy Pirates' underlings guarding the two, searched them for the keys, opened the cage, and freed them.
"It's you!" Zoro said in a low, angry voice when he saw Nami. "You wicked woman, you actually dared to come back!?"
"Hmph!" Nami put her hands on her hips and said, "I came to save you. If you don't appreciate it, you can go back into the cage!"
"You've got some nerve!" Zoro said irritably. "If it weren't for you, would we have been caught by the Buggy Pirates?"
The two argued in hushed tones, while Luffy, carefree as ever, laughed and said, "Haha, looks like we won't be thrown to the fish after all! Thanks!"
Perhaps it was fate. Although things were different from the original history, Luffy and Zoro still ended up meeting Nami.
Not daring to stay on the ship any longer, the three quickly left Buggy's vessel.
However, the knocked-out guard was soon discovered by the Buggy Pirates. When Buggy found out that someone had sneaked in and freed the prisoners, he flew into a rage and immediately ordered a pursuit.
But the night provided good cover for the three, and it wasn't until dawn the next day that they finally escaped danger.
During their conversation, Luffy and Zoro learned Nami's name.
As for why Nami was here and had stolen Buggy's Grand Line sea chart, it actually involved someone else.
When Ian left the East Blue, he had defeated the Arlong Pirates and captured Arlong. Although Nami didn't go with him at the time, Ian didn't mind. He thought it was fine—if Nami never met Luffy, she could live peacefully in the East Blue. If she did meet him and wanted to go to sea, it wouldn't affect Ian.
However, it wasn't until Ian escaped from Mary Geoise with his people and met Jinbe the Sea Knight that he learned from Jinbe that the imprisoned Arlong had been secretly released by the Marines. The reason was that Arlong had once been a member of the Sun Pirates and had ties to Jinbe, a Warlord of the Sea.
At the time, Ian felt that if Arlong was released, Nami might be in trouble. Although Arlong needed her to draw sea charts and probably wouldn't kill her, he would definitely treat her with more caution than in the original story.
Unfortunately, by then Ian was already in the second half of the Grand Line and couldn't do anything about it.
Later, Ian returned to the East Blue once, but because he was overjoyed by Kuina's awakening and had other matters to attend to, he didn't think of this issue and neglected it.
There was no helping it—Nami wasn't Ian's companion, so he couldn't always keep her in mind.
But the saying about the butterfly effect exists for a reason. Indeed, after Arlong was secretly released, he arrogantly returned to Cocoyasi Village, making the villagers experience the nightmare all over again. Nami had once shouted for Ian to kill Arlong when he defeated him, and Arlong held a grudge. So when he returned to Cocoyasi Village, the first thing he did was beat Nami.
At that time, Nami's first thought was to seek Ian's help again, but she knew it was impossible—Ian had already left the East Blue.
After beating Nami, Arlong didn't go further. He just continued to have her draw sea charts for him and increased the price for buying back the village from the originally agreed one hundred million Berries to two hundred million.
This meant he could completely drain her value.
But no one expected that Arlong wouldn't stay rampant for long. An unexpected person appeared!
Kuina!
Yes, this was the butterfly effect caused by Ian. After joining the Marines in Loguetown, Kuina was highly valued by Smoker. Not long after, she was given permission to lead a team to sea to eliminate pirates. Having eaten the Ashura Fruit, Kuina was now quite powerful and had captured many pirates in the East Blue.
Not long ago, Kuina suddenly led Marines to Cocoyasi Village and, with the same overwhelming force Ian had shown, directly defeated the Arlong Pirates and captured Arlong again!
The reason Kuina appeared in Cocoyasi Village was that she had learned that when Ian was a swordsmanship instructor in Loguetown, he had gone to Cocoyasi Village under the guise of training and arrested the Arlong Pirates.
This was nothing special—just one of Ian's exploits in the East Blue. But during a casual chat with Tashigi, she heard Tashigi complain that the captured Arlong had later been ordered by higher-ups to be transferred to Branch 16, where he was released and became a pirate again, wasting the Loguetown Marines' efforts.
Kuina kept this in mind. In her view, Ian probably wouldn't want to see Arlong released, and as Ian's most cherished junior sister, she felt it was necessary to clean up this loose end for him.
So Arlong was captured again!
And to prevent Arlong from being secretly released again, Kuina cleverly added a charge of attacking a Loguetown Marine battleship.
This was, of course, a false accusation, but it meant that even if the World Government wanted to release Arlong again, they would have to consider the feelings of the Loguetown side.
This was something Ian couldn't do back then. He was only a nominal swordsmanship instructor, while Kuina was a full-fledged Marine Lieutenant. What Kuina could do, Ian couldn't.
Besides, releasing him once was one thing, but doing it repeatedly—the World Government couldn't afford to set a bad example. If Marine soldiers threw down their weapons in protest, what then?
With this charge, Arlong was immediately transferred to the Grand Line's G3 Branch for custody, and might even be sent directly to Impel Down. Arlong really wasn't coming back this time.
So, another deviation occurred. Nami didn't wait for Luffy and the others to appear and help her deal with Arlong.
However, having experienced Arlong being captured twice, Nami realized that her presence might not be good for Cocoyasi Village. With her talent for drawing sea charts, she would inevitably be targeted by other pirates.
Looking back, she regretted not accepting Ian's invitation to go to sea with him back then.
So Nami decided to leave Cocoyasi Village and venture out into the world. First, to avoid bringing trouble to the village, and second, to fulfill her dream of drawing a complete map of the world.
During this time, she had been lingering in the East Blue. Following her old habits, when she encountered the Buggy Pirates and saw Buggy's Grand Line sea chart, she couldn't resist stealing it.
But this also led her to meet Luffy and Zoro by chance, and it seemed likely that they would end up going to sea together...