*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
"Open the door! Open up, Roman! Nami—"
*Bang!*
The door on the second floor was suddenly flung open. Nami stormed out, ready to explode in anger, but then she froze at the sight in front of her.
"Waaaah! Nami~~"
Luffy was bawling his eyes out, tears and snot running down his face, which startled Nami so much that her anger vanished instantly.
"Luffy, what are you doing?"
"Everyone else is gone!"
"?! What do you mean everyone else is gone?"
Roman stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him.
"Let's talk while we walk."
"It's like this… I ran into 'Roman' earlier, and he tried to sneak attack me. But I ended up beating him instead. Then, when I got back to the inn, there was no one left! The only one I found was Yaya, unconscious in the kitchen…"
!! The Red the Aloof made his move this fast?!
Roman closed his eyes and focused. Sure enough, the paper phones he had given the others were now scattered across different parts of the island. He already knew the Red the Aloof was strong, but to silently take out the entire Straw Hat Crew… Wait a minute! The entire crew…
"Roman! Bad news—!?"
Another Luffy suddenly burst into the room, only to see Roman, Nami, and… 'Luffy' standing there.
"Who are you?" *x2*
"Why are you copying me?!" *x2*
"Be careful, Roman! He's a fake!" *x2*
Both Luffys shouted at the same time in alarm. But Roman didn't react. Instead, he let out a sigh.
"When did you replace her?"
"Nami."
!?
Both Luffys were stunned in an instant!
"Wait… what?"
As Roman spoke, the 'Nami' beside him suddenly stiffened, her expression changing to one of defeat.
"Before you 'woke up'—when we were approaching the island. The 'Nami' you saw then was already me. Sorry, I didn't mean to hide it from you… I just… I just wanted to stay by Roman's side a little longer…"
"What? That means there were two Namis on the ship?!" *x2*
No wonder Roman had felt something was off about Nami today—she had been unusually anxious. So this was why…
"I don't blame you. If anything, I should blame myself for not noticing."
Roman had known that the Red the Aloof's ability to transform was extraordinary, but he hadn't expected it to be this perfect. Even personality, thoughts, and habits were identical to the original! It was like she *was* Nami. He hadn't sensed a single thing off about her. This ability… was terrifying.
"But don't worry. The real Nami is safe."
'Nami' gave Roman a reassuring smile.
"I… I just thought maybe I had the right to—… Sorry."
*Poof!*
Before Roman could react, the 'fake Nami,' filled with guilt, suddenly exploded into smoke and vanished without a trace. All that remained was a single leaf, drifting gently down into Roman's palm.
What the hell was that…
Roman flipped his hand, and the leaf disappeared. His thoughts were interrupted as the Luffy next to him suddenly launched toward the window.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Perched on the windowsill, the 'Luffy' turned back with a playful grin.
"I just had a feeling that if I stayed, Roman, you were gonna punch me."
"The one who wants to punch you is *me*!!"
The Luffy at the door had finally caught on that something was very wrong. Everyone in the inn was gone—except for Roman and the unconscious person in the kitchen. That meant the Luffy standing over there had to know what was going on.
But—
"Hehehe, I don't feel like fighting you guys."
With a backward leap, 'Luffy' vanished into the night.
"You're not getting away—"
"Wait!"
Roman stopped Luffy from chasing after them. "They're all fine. Don't get worked up. Let me figure things out first..."
"Luffy! Everyone got captured—?"
Pato, the tanuki, ran in anxiously and saw Luffy and Roman in the hall. His first reaction was:
"Be careful, he's... huh? Huh?! It's really you..."
"Pato, do you know what happened to my crew?"
Luffy's serious tone made the little tanuki lower his head in shame.
"It was 'the boss.'"
"'The boss' used my ability to turn into other people and then captured everyone."
Luffy turned to Roman, shocked.
Roman nodded. "His boss is probably the legendary pirate from Roger and Whitebeard's era—'Red the Aloof' Patrick Redfield. He can use—"
Roman glanced at Pato, who was standing by the door.
"This little guy's power to create perfect copies of real people. Even I got fooled!"
If it weren't for the 'paper phone' Roman had marked on everyone, he might not have even realized that Nami was a fake. No wonder Redfield was considered strong enough to rival an entire Four Emperors crew. If he were more ambitious, he could've turned the whole world upside down by now.
He could even replace entire nations and secretly control the world...
"That's the situation. But 'the boss' won't hurt Nami and the others... probably... tanuki-tanuki~~"
Seeing the tanuki hang his head in guilt, Luffy walked over, crouched down, and looked him in the eyes.
"Pandon, this isn't your fault."
"The one who took my crew was your 'boss.' He is him, and you are you. I'm going to get my friends back—will you help us?"
"!? You still trust me... No, I want to help!"
The little tanuki nodded firmly.
Roman closed his eyes for a moment, sensing the situation.
"Luffy, their lives aren't in danger, but—"
Everyone was still in 'battle' mode. Things weren't looking good.
"Don't worry, Roman."
Luffy adjusted his straw hat and turned toward the outskirts of town.
"I believe in our crew. They're not that easy to take down!"
——————
"Where is this...?"
Nami slowly woke up to the sound of waves crashing. Sitting up, she rubbed her temples, trying to remember.
She recalled studying the 'Poneglyph' coordinates in the ship's cabin when Robin walked in, offering to help. Then—
"No way, that's impossible!"
Was it some kind of illusion ability? Or was her memory altered...?
"Nami, what are you doing here?"
...?
"Hachi? Weren't you recovering on Fish-Man Island? How did you end up in the New World?"
Seeing the familiar six-armed octopus fish-man, Nami let out a sigh of relief.
"...Nami, are you feeling alright?"
The octopus fish-man, wearing a striped tank top, touched the 'Sun Pirates' tattoo on his forehead, looking confused.
"If you don't hurry back, Boss Arlong will get mad."
?! Whoosh—
Nami suddenly flipped over and stood up, trembling all over, biting her lip.
"You… are talking about… Arlong?!"
"Sigh… Other than our boss, who else in the East Blue dares to call themselves Arlong?"
Terrified, Hatchan kept backing away as he looked at the girl in front of him. Somehow, she felt different from how he remembered…
"I see."
Nami took a deep breath and looked up. The familiar surroundings, the towering building in front of her, and the shark pirate flag waving on the rooftop… Then—
Pfft!
"Hey, hey, hey!! Nami, what are you doing?!"
"It's nothing."
She raised her left hand, staring at the blood trickling from the wound she had just scratched onto her wrist with her own nails.
She licked it.
"Vision, pain, touch, smell, taste… all feel completely real. That means—"
This isn't an illusion!
"Hahaha, isn't this our 'navigator'? What happened to your wrist? Did you try to steal from pirates again and get chased down? Chu~~"
A fish-man with a large, protruding mouth—Chew—walked out of Arlong Park, smirking mockingly.
"Yeah, it's really terrible. So—"
Nami answered as she calmly raised her palm toward him.
Boom!!
The next second, a large figure was sent flying straight into Arlong Park, crashing into the swimming pool with a loud splash, sending water several meters into the air!
The fish-men, stunned, turned to look—only to see one of their officers, Chew, floating unconscious in the pool, eyes rolled back.
"Who did this?!"
A towering sawtooth shark fish-man leaped to his feet from the main seat.
"Who dares to harm my brethren?!"
"It was me."
A calm voice echoed from the entrance of Arlong Park.
At the same time, a slender figure stepped inside. Her wavy orange hair flowed behind her, a sign of the storm raging within her heart.
"Oh, it's Nami."
Arlong first seemed to realize, then his expression twisted into a snarl.
"Who do you think you are?! How dare you harm us noble fish-men?! Even if your entire village—ten, a hundred of your worthless human lives—were sacrificed, it still wouldn't be enough to make up for it!"
"…It's been a long time, Arlong."
"I don't know why you're alive again, and I don't know why I'm back in this place I hate so much, but today—"
"Shahahaha! And what do you think you're gonna do?"
Laughing wildly, Arlong picked up a book from his chair—
A book titled *The Ultimate Guide to Thieves*!
"Without this, what can you even do, woman?"
"…Looks like you know quite a lot, Arlong."
"Boss Arlong, no need to waste words with him—"
A Fishman Karate officer, Kuroobi, who had two large triangular bones on his elbows, charged straight at Nami. His raised palm, covered in water droplets, came crashing down toward her.
"Fishman Karate: Thousand Brick Fist!"
Boom!!
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, as expected of you. With that strike, our 'navigator'—?!"
Before a Fishman could finish his sentence, he realized things weren't going as expected.
"Tekkai: Steel!"
?! The massive Fishman's palm was firmly caught by five slender fingers. Nami looked up at Kuroobi, whose face was now filled with shock, anger, and fear. Even stronger opponents, when faced with someone even more powerful, could feel just as helpless as ordinary people.
Crack.
With a squeeze of her fingers, his palm twisted and deformed in her grasp, turning into a mangled mess of flesh! Before he could even scream, Nami's other hand swung across.
"Tekkai: Shatter!"
Thud—
A Fishman with twin buns on his head suddenly lost his, as it rolled to the side. Blood sprayed from his neck, but before a single drop could land on Nami, she had already moved past the headless corpse.
"Soru!"
"Arlong, I don't care how you 'came back to life'—the only place you belong is hell!"
Nami pointed a single finger at the nightmare from her past. "Last time, Roman helped me. This time, I'll handle it myself."
After fighting her way from the East Blue to the New World, even facing the Four Emperors, Nami had long abandoned any naive hesitation about 'getting her hands dirty.' In this world, you couldn't reach the top without killing. Did people think this was some kind of fairy tale?
"Shahahaha, looks like you've grown a lot, Nami."
Despite seeing Nami take down Kuroobi in an instant, Arlong simply reached toward the central swimming pool of Arlong Park.
"Thanks to that 'lord,' I've also gained quite a bit of power—"
A towering column of water surged into Arlong's grasp, and in a split second, he hurled it toward Nami with immense force.
"Shark Spear!"
Whoosh—
The high-pressure water jet shot out like a bullet! Although Nami used 'Soru' to dodge at the last moment, a perfectly round hole now marked the wall behind her...
"This is Jinbe's technique! Why do you know it too?"
Nami turned to Arlong. If he had this level of power back then, the Straw Hat Crew might never have made it out of the East Blue.
"Shahahaha! You're facing me at my 'peak' now."
"Not just Fishman Karate—there's also this—"
Arlong grabbed his massive sword, 'Kiribachi,' and swung it through the air, sending a flying slash straight at Nami!
"Moonwalk!"
Nami leaped into the air, avoiding the attack. She glanced at the wall behind her, now cleanly sliced in half, and a cold sweat dripped down her face.
This doesn't make sense...
"Spacing out during a fight—"
Even though Arlong couldn't use Moonwalk, his powerful Fishman physique allowed him to leap high into the air, raising Kiribachi overhead before swinging it down at Nami with terrifying force! The sheer killing intent behind the strike made the orange-haired girl's expression change.
Sword aura?
———
"Roman, this isn't an illusion, right?"
"...Strictly speaking, it's not an illusion."
In front of them stood a burning military base, with the massive sign reading "Punk Hazard" clearly visible. Though this scene was created using Tanuki Padong's ability, as long as the ability remained active, it was identical to the real Punk Hazard.
The flames could burn, the poison gas was lethal—it was practically like a "Reality Marble" from that other world next door.
On the other side, however, was a lush orange grove, full of life. It was the complete opposite of Punk Hazard, which was like a forbidden zone of death. And this orange grove made Roman realize…
"Roman, you go that way, I'll take this side!"
Before Roman could react, Luffy had already charged into the flames of "Punk Hazard." He barely had time to shout—
"Be careful…"
Forget it. I should check out this side first. If nothing goes wrong, this should be where Nami is.
——————
"Shahaha! Is running away all you've learned these past few years?"
Facing a "peak" version of Arlong, Nami, without *The Thief's Secret*, was at a disadvantage. She could only use Moonwalk and Soru to dodge and weave around.
"Useless. I'll take back control of East Blue and rule your village again! But this time, I won't be so 'merciful.' I'll string up your sister and that meddling cop on the mast as a warning to everyone—"
"Shut up, Arlong!!"
"You're not going to hurt anyone—"
Big Sis, Genzo, Dr. Nako, Yosaku, Johnny… I will protect Cocoyasi Village!
Nami stopped running and charged straight at Arlong. The towering fish-man grinned, his plan falling into place. With a swing, his massive *Kiribachi* blade, wrapped in Haki, slashed down toward her!
*Clang!!!*
"What?! That's impossible…"
The massive *Kiribachi* came to an abrupt stop. The seawater coating the blade was blasted away, and cracks spread across the jagged metal. Then—
*Snap!*
*Clink-clank!* The shattered blade rained down in pieces. And the one who stopped it—
Was a tiny fist.
A fist gleaming with a metallic sheen!
"Just like Roman said… The only way to awaken Armament Haki is to throw a punch with everything I've got."
After two years of training, Nami had long reached the necessary physical and technical level. What she had lacked was the right mindset—the determination to throw her full-force punch!
Now, facing the nightmare of her past, she didn't just awaken the beginner-level "coating"—she jumped straight to the advanced "full coverage"!
"Get ready, Arlong."
The massive sawtooth shark-man broke into a cold sweat as he looked at the girl standing before him, both fists clad in Armament Haki.
"Wait, we can talk about this—"
*Bam! Bam! Bam!*
"Ahhhhhhh!!"
*Boom!*
A flurry of Haki-powered punches rained down, turning destruction into an art form. Stone shattered, metal crumbled—Arlong was sent flying like a ragdoll, crashing into *Arlong Park* and reducing it to rubble.
"Hah… At least the book's fine. If it got ruined, Roman would never let me hear the end of it."
Nami picked up *The Thief's Secret*. Just as she was about to turn and leave, a faint sound came from the wreckage of *Arlong Park*.
"I… heard about what you've been through… from 'others'…"
…?
"You… went to Sabaody Archipelago… You learned that Fish-Men… aren't some superior race…"
Arlong's weak voice came from beneath the rubble.
"And you… even stood against the Celestial Dragons… and a Marine Admiral… for a mermaid girl… I'm not *your* Arlong, but… if… if…"
If only the humans our captain met back then… had been like you guys…
With a soft *thud*, all that was left beneath the ruins was a single fallen leaf.
"Nami!"
A familiar voice came rushing over at high speed, making Nami spin around in surprise, nearly dropping the book in her hands.
"Stop right there!"
(End of Chapter)
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