Arlong leapt forward like a torpedo, charging toward Kaguya at high speed, his jagged nose glinting coldly under the sunlight.
"Watch out!"
Everyone on the scene cried out in shock.
"So despicable! Attacking by surprise!"
"Shameless!"
"Too naive," Arlong sneered viciously. "Die for me!"
But his grin didn't last long—it quickly froze. He realized that his supposedly invincible jagged nose had been caught.
Caught easily by a pale, delicate-looking hand.
Arlong's face turned pale.
"So this is your weapon?" Kaguya said with disdain, looking down at him. "How childish."
Then, to everyone's astonishment, she casually twisted his nose—bending it like a pretzel.
"Aaaaghhhh!!" Arlong howled in agony.
Before his scream even finished, Kaguya slammed her fist into his stomach. Arlong's eyes bulged, and his scream was abruptly cut off.
Everyone was stunned.
That dainty-looking fist had such destructive power! The deep dent in Arlong's chest said it all.
Now, Arlong looked like a dead fish—blood trickling from his mouth and nose, eyes rolling back.
"Arlong!"
The members of the Arlong Pirates were horrified, their eyes widening in disbelief.
They knew how strong Arlong was. He had a 20 million bounty, after all. But now, their powerful boss was utterly helpless against this silver-haired girl—not even able to fight back. It was like watching a baby get slapped.
Dragging the unconscious Arlong by his twisted nose, Kaguya turned to the rest and said, "What? Want to try your luck too?"
Under Kaguya's piercing gaze, the fish-men recoiled instinctively, stepping back in fear.
"Forming a pirate crew despite being this weak? Don't make me laugh," Kaguya said mockingly. "You should all just go home and raise pigs. With your level, you'd be cannon fodder in the Grand Line."
"Don't get cocky!"
With a shout, the finned-arm fish-man appeared behind Kaguya, swinging a powerful punch.
"Fish-Man Karate: One Hundred Tile True Punch!"
"Trash should know their place," Kaguya said coldly. "Fools who don't know their limits die in ugly ways. Since you're so eager to die, I'll oblige."
As soon as she spoke, Kaguya's eyes sharpened. She raised her arm and struck out like lightning.
"Empty Fist."
Boom!
A fierce blast of air exploded out, slamming directly into the fish-man's chest.
Pfft!
His eyes bulged, chest caved in, and he vomited blood.
Under the immense force, he was sent flying like he'd been hit by a train. He crashed hard into a massive boulder, shattering it to pieces.
As the dust settled, the fish-man's miserable state came into view.
His eyes were rolled back, blood trickled from his nose and mouth, and his chest had caved in. Who knew how many bones were broken—he had already lost consciousness.
"Kuroobi!" the fish-men shouted in alarm.
Kaguya glanced at him coldly and said with disdain, "Know your place."
The townspeople were stunned, their eyes wide with shock, deeply shaken.
The fish-men who once instilled fear and despair in them had now been utterly crushed by a silver-haired girl. They hadn't even put up a fight before being defeated.
Incredible.
As expected of someone from the World Government.
Nearby, Nami and Nojiko stared wide-eyed at Kaguya's back, their eyes sparkling with admiration.
To defeat those powerful fish-men effortlessly...
"So cool!"
Maybe in the eyes of these two little girls, Kaguya was just strong and awe-inspiring. But for someone like Bell-mère, who had experienced the horrors of war, it was something far more shocking.
She had seen strong people in the Grand Line—but never anyone this strong.
Back when she was still in the navy, she had often heard of Kaguya's name and admired her deeds. She even dreamed of becoming someone like her.
But reality was harsh. She eventually realized that effort alone wasn't enough to reach that level.
Then, after adopting two children—Nami and Nojiko—she gave up those ambitions and devoted herself to raising them.
She never imagined that this legendary figure would appear here.
And save her in her moment of crisis.
Her heart was filled with gratitude and emotion.
Boom!
With a dull thud, Arlong's limp body was tossed aside like a rag doll, slamming into a tree trunk and coughing up more blood.
"Arlong! Damn it!" Hatchan clenched his fists in anger.
"What, you want to try too, Hatchan?" Kaguya turned to him, watching with a half-smile.
A shiver ran down Hatchan's spine. He quickly shook his head. "N-No! Definitely not!"
Kaguya beckoned to him. "Come here."
"Huh?" Hatchan froze.
"I said come here. Now," Kaguya said, frowning. "What, want a beating instead?"
Hatchan hurried over, visibly nervous. As a child, he had once been taught a painful lesson by Kaguya—he had nearly been killed, so he had a bit of trauma.
"Let me ask you something. Weren't you guys in the Fish-Man District? What are you doing here?" Kaguya asked. "Did something happen to Fish-Man Island?"
That was what worried her.
In the original story, Arlong only came to the East Blue after something happened on Fish-Man Island.
If his crew was already here now, did that mean something had changed?
Hatchan paused, then said, "No, nothing happened."
"Nothing happened?" Kaguya blinked. "Then why did you leave Fish-Man Street and come all the way here?"
Hatchan scratched his head awkwardly, his face turning red. "We... we were kicked out."
Kicked out?
Kaguya blinked in surprise.
It turned out that ever since the merfolk and humans signed a peace agreement, and the World Government approved the relocation request of the fish-men, interactions between humans and fish-men had gradually increased. Especially under Kaguya's control, the pirates who once dared to plunder and burn on Fish-Man Island were all ruthlessly wiped out.
Because of this, the relationship between humans and fish-men had noticeably improved. While discrimination against fish-men still existed, things were far better than before.
As a result, someone like Arlong, who held deep hatred toward humans, found it increasingly difficult to live on Fish-Man Island.
Especially after Fisher Tiger was saved by Kaguya, his opinion of humans improved significantly. When he learned of the peace treaty between humans and fish-men, he was overjoyed. Upon returning to the island and discovering Arlong's plot to break ties with humanity, he naturally couldn't tolerate it.
Predictably, Arlong's crew was kicked out of Fish-Man Island by Tiger.
Arlong truly had it rough. In the original story, he was expelled by Jinbe. Now it was Tiger. Really, he had no one to blame but himself for being so unreasonable.
After learning this, Kaguya was finally at ease.
After defeating Arlong's crew, Kaguya contacted a nearby navy branch, requesting them to dispatch a warship to capture the pirates and transport them to Impel Down.
When Arlong and the others heard the name "Impel Down," their faces turned pale. Even Arlong himself revealed a look of terror.
They had all heard the horrifying rumors about Impel Down—a place filled with countless cruel punishments, practically a living hell. Prisoners there were tormented beyond belief; some couldn't bear the torture and chose to end their own lives.
As for escaping?
No chance. In all these years, only one man had escaped—Golden Lion. And he was someone who rivaled the Pirate King Roger. No matter how arrogant Arlong's crew was, they weren't foolish enough to think they were stronger than Golden Lion.
But if you commit a crime, you have to pay for it. In other words, if you play the game, you have to be ready to pay the price.
Surprisingly, however, Kaguya didn't hand over Hatchan. Instead, she kept him.
This was actually a calculated decision. First, Hatchan wasn't a bad person by nature—he had just been influenced by Arlong. Second, he once saved Silvers Rayleigh. While the old man might be past his prime, Kaguya still had things she wanted to ask him.
And Hatchan, at best, was a small fry. Throwing him into Impel Down served no purpose.
After rescuing the people of Orange Town from the cruelty of Arlong's crew, the grateful townspeople prepared a grand feast to thank Kaguya and her group.
Bell-mère, along with Nami and Nojiko, even personally made tangerine-filled dumplings for Kaguya. They were surprisingly delicious.
But Perona didn't seem to get along with the two little girls.
"Hmph, what's the big deal? They're just a bunch of nobodies," Perona scoffed.
"Yeah, just a bunch of nobodies," Nami said with a wink. "Didn't see someone do anything, though."
Perona lifted her chin. "This was such a minor issue, it didn't warrant me stepping in."
"Didn't warrant you stepping in?" Nami giggled behind her hand. "Are you sure you weren't just scared?"
"Scared? No way," Nojiko said, shaking her finger with mock seriousness. "She claimed to be super powerful, remember?"
"Ohhh!" Nami clapped her hands as if having a revelation. "Like when kids fight and all claim they're the strongest?"
"Exactly," Nojiko added with a mischievous grin. "Who would ever say, 'I'm super weak, please come beat me up', right?"
"Hey hey, you two little brats want to fight or something?!" Perona was so annoyed by the two girls' banter, she looked ready to explode.
"Fine by us! Who's afraid of you?!"
Kaguya watched the three girls bickering in the distance and smiled. "They get along so well. Maybe they'll become good friends someday."
"Yeah," Bell-mère said with a gentle smile.
Kaguya suddenly asked, "You're really not planning to return to the navy?"
Bell-mère shook her head. "I made that decision a long time ago. Right now, I just want to take care of these two girls."
Kaguya smiled. "That's good too. A peaceful life is more important than anything."
"Thank you, ma'am," Bell-mère said softly.
Kaguya blinked. "Hmm? What's that for?"
"If it weren't for you, who knows what would have happened... I'm not afraid of dying. I just worry that without me, what would happen to them..." Bell-mère bit her lip.
"Don't think about those troubling things," Kaguya said with a smile. "I'm your superior, after all. It's my duty to protect my subordinates, right?"
Bell-mère was momentarily stunned, then nodded lightly.
"Well, it's getting late," Kaguya said as she stood up. "Time for me to leave."
Bell-mère looked surprised. "So soon? We haven't even properly thanked you yet."
Nami and Nojiko ran over upon hearing this, clearly reluctant. "Big sister, you're leaving already?"
Kaguya smiled. "Yes, it's time to go."
"Can't you stay a few more days?" Nami asked sadly. "We even prepared lots of yummy food!"
"Yeah!" Nojiko chimed in eagerly. "And I still want to hear more stories about you fighting pirates!"
"Sorry," Kaguya said, gently patting Nami's head. "I still have things to do."
The two little girls looked visibly disappointed.
"But," Kaguya added with a meaningful smile, "I'm sure we'll meet again very soon."
Kaguya and Perona boarded the navy ship that had arrived and sailed away.
Lying back in a chair, Kaguya took a sip of hot tea as the tiny black speck that was Orange Town vanished on the horizon.
She had originally planned to leave some money for Bell-mère to help improve their living conditions. After all, they were clearly struggling. The worn clothes Nami and Nojiko wore were enough to show that.
But after thinking it over, she decided against it. She knew Bell-mère wouldn't accept it.
Bell-mère was a proud and strong woman, not someone who would easily accept handouts from others.
That kind of personality, though, was actually quite admirable.
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