Marine Training Camp.
Zephyr had also received news about Kaito. At first, he was just as shocked, but once his emotions settled, all that remained was a deep sense of pride.
Yes—he was proud of Kaito.
Recalling all the little moments he had spent with Kaito at the training camp, Zephyr couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle softly. He muttered to himself:
"To think you've come this far already… Keep going. The seas of the future belong to you, Kaito."
...
In the girls' dormitory, one of the roommates excitedly shoved a newspaper into Ain's hands, exclaiming,
"Ain! Look! That Uchiha Kaito made headlines again!"
At those words, Ain, who had looked low-spirited for days, suddenly widened her eyes. Her roommate's words were ambiguous enough to make her think Kaito was in danger.
She snatched the newspaper out of her roommate's hands, her fingers trembling slightly. Word by word, she read the contents with anxiety gnawing at her chest. Only after finishing did she finally relax, letting out a long breath.
Thank goodness… Kaito's okay!
Her roommate, confused by Ain's reaction, tried to press the issue.
"That Kaito actually wounded Rayleigh! That's right, the Dark King Rayleigh! The Pirate King's right-hand man!"
Ain remained indifferent, only giving a slight nod to show she heard. Seeing this, her roommate lost interest and returned to her bed to rest.
After she left, Ain let out a soft sigh, carefully picking up the newspaper again. Her eyes lingered on the photo of Kaito printed on the page. As she stared, her hand unconsciously reached out and gently caressed the image.
"We really are from two different worlds, huh? Could you slow down a little...? Catching up to you is just... so hard..."
...
On a Marine warship—
Gion also gently caressed Kaito's photo in the newspaper, then pressed that side of the page tightly against her chest. In her heart, she thought:
"Fighting like that must be so dangerous... I'm sorry... I wasn't there with you..."
...
East Blue, Cocoyasi Village.
A slightly taller Nami clutched a newspaper in her hands, rushing home in a hurry. She shouted at Nojiko, who was tending to the orange trees:
"Nojiko! Big news! It's about Kaito!"
Snip! Hearing the name "Kaito," Nojiko got so flustered that she accidentally cut off an unripe orange.
Normally, as someone who loved oranges, she would have been heartbroken. But this time, she didn't have the mind to care about that poor little fruit.
She quickly wiped her hands on her apron and rushed over to take the newspaper from Nami, reading each word seriously.
Nami clasped her hands together in front of her chest and said admiringly,
"Kaito is amazing! He beat that so-called Dark King Rayleigh and sent him running! The news even made it all the way here!"
Hearing Nami's words and seeing the admiration in her expression, Nojiko couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh.
This Nami... when Kaito was around, she always acted like she didn't care about him, constantly butting heads with him and looking down on him.
But the moment Kaito left, she wouldn't stop talking about him—and now, she wasn't even hiding her admiration.
Gently, Nojiko reached out and stroked Nami's little head. Nami squinted her eyes and enjoyed the affection for a moment, then said:
"Let's go tell Bell-mère! She doesn't know yet!"
Nojiko nodded and took Nami's small hand, ready to head out and find Bell-mère.
...
Outside the house, the two girls joyfully ran along the village paths when suddenly—
Bang!
"Ow!!"
Nami clutched her forehead and sat on the ground with her eyes shut. But when she opened them again, she realized she was surrounded by shadow.
"Huh? Why is it so dark all of a sudden?"
With teary eyes, she looked up to see what was in front of her—and immediately froze in terror.
Standing before her was a nearly three-meter-tall humanoid with a shark-like face. The thing towered over her like a wall. Behind it stood others with similarly grotesque fish-like faces. A foul stench of fish filled the air, making Nami nauseous.
Nojiko, who had caught up, was also startled by the sight. But as the older sister, she forced herself to be brave, stepping in front of Nami and helping her up.
Nami stood up, staring at the creature still blocking their path, and asked with a trembling voice:
"W-Who are you?"
The creature lowered its head and glared at the two girls coldly, making them shiver uncontrollably.
After a tense moment, it suddenly grinned, revealing rows of sharp, saw-like teeth. In a chilling voice, it spoke:
"Who am I? I'm no mere human. I'm a noble fishman. You filthy humans—go gather everyone in the village to welcome the great Arlong Pirates! Otherwise... I'll kill every last one of you."
At Arlong's words, Nojiko's eyes went wide in horror. She grabbed the now-terrified Nami and bolted back toward the village.
Captain of the Arlong Pirates, Arlong, crossed his arms and grinned wickedly as the two little girls ran off. He waved his hand and ordered:
"Boys, we're going in! Time to educate these lowly humans and show them the true power of fishmen!"
"Yeah!!!"
A group of fishmen followed behind Nojiko and Nami, marching straight into the village.
...
"Bell-mère! Something's wrong! A bunch of monsters just entered the village! Waaaah!"
Nojiko found Bell-mère at the village elder's house, along with the local officer, Kensuke. The moment she saw Bell-mère, Nojiko burst into tears.
After all, she was only thirteen. Earlier, without any adults around, she had to hold back for Nami's sake. If she cried, who would protect Nami? But now that Bell-mère was here, she couldn't hold it in any longer.
Bell-mère hugged Nojiko tightly and gently patted her back. Then she turned to Nami and asked:
"Nami, what exactly happened? What monsters was Nojiko talking about?"
Nami, who had been standing stiffly nearby, finally came to her senses. With a trembling voice, she said:
"They were huge... and had fish faces. Oh! And they said they were the Arlong Pirates!"
Fish faces? The Arlong Pirates?
Bell-mère's expression darkened. She immediately realized who they were—a pirate crew made up entirely of fishmen.
She had some knowledge about fishmen. They were born with strength far beyond that of humans—supposedly ten times stronger on average. What made them especially dangerous was that many of them harbored a deep hatred for humans.
This was bad…
Bell-mère's face grew grimmer by the second. After a moment of silence, she turned to Nojiko.
"Nojiko, take Nami and find a place to hide. Do not come out, no matter what."
Nojiko nodded blankly, then suddenly realized something. She shook her head furiously and clutched Bell-mère's clothes tightly.
"What about you, Bell-mère? Why aren't you coming with us?"
Bell-mère tried to put on a relaxed front and replied in the gentlest tone possible:
"I'll come find you in a little while. I need to warn the other villagers first."
But Nojiko clearly didn't believe her. Her instincts told her something terrible was about to happen.
Seeing Nojiko refuse to leave, Bell-mère got anxious. She shouted:
"Do as I say! Take Nami and go! Don't let me down!"
It was the first time Bell-mère had yelled at her like that. Nojiko had always been obedient and sensible—never the type to make trouble. So this outburst showed just how desperate Bell-mère really was.
Nojiko understood that Bell-mère was only trying to protect them, and that staying would only get in her way.
Wiping her tears away, she silently grabbed Nami—who was still frozen—and ran home with all her strength.
Behind them, Bell-mère watched their backs as they disappeared down the path. A gentle smile spread across her face as she whispered:
"Nojiko… Nami… my beloved daughters… you must survive..."
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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