It seemed all of the fighters were exhausted except for Luffy, even if they didn't show it: Johnny and Yosaku due to fighting fishmen when they were used to fighting normal humans for the most part; Sanji due to being tag teamed by Arlong's officers; and Zoro due to his injury from Mihawk, which had never properly been treated, Luffy remembered. Usopp soon arrived back at the scene, only to look around in confusion. Was the fight over...? He looked from the villagers to the bloodied, beaten form of Arlong, and then joined in on the celebrations himself. "Captain Usopp has returned from battle victorious!" he shouted, despite his own exhaustion. A few villagers clapped him on the back, going along with his antics in their sheer joy.
"Wait," one of the villagers said suddenly. "What about the Marines? The ones that tried to take Nami's money? What do we do about them?" Nami suddenly felt angered at the thought of those bastards waking up and trying to take her money again, but Luffy reassured her.
"Don't worry about it. They won't be waking up for a few days," he said. "I put them all into temporary comas."
Nami stared. "Comas?" she repeated.
"Yeah," Luffy said. "Maybe I went overboard on that one." He pouted. "But they were annoying."
Nami kept staring at him for a few seconds, and then let out a long, joy-filled laugh. The villagers all turned to her in surprise, taking in the melodic sound that they hadn't heard in so long. The collapse of that abhorred building didn't signify their new beginning. No, it was this. They decided to move their celebrations out of this damnable place and continue them in the village. Luffy grinned enthusiastically, remembering how long this celebration would last. He always loved a good banquet.
When they got back to the village, Luffy's head perked up. "There's a Marine ship on its way," he said, drawing everyone's attention.
"How do you know?" Genzo asked worriedly.
"I can tell," he responded cryptically.
"They probably noticed that those rats were unaccounted for," Zoro cut in, referring to the Marines who had been hired by Arlong, "and decided to investigate. The Marines didn't know what the idiot Marine captain was up to after all. He wasn't supposed to be gone this long." The villagers shot each other worried looks. The Marines weren't exactly their allies at this point. They decided to return to the village for now.
When they arrived back in Cocoyasi, the Marines were already there, standing over the unconscious forms of Captain Nezumi's squad and unsuccessfully trying to rouse them. The commander in charge addressed the approaching crowd. "Would any of you happen to know what occurred here?" he asked formally. The villagers hesitated, not really knowing themselves, before Nami stepped forward. "They were taken out by the fishmen," she lied. The commander looked at her and nodded. Nezumi had reported that he was coming here to investigate the situation, against the advice of his higher ups. It wasn't surprising that the Arlong Pirates had subdued them upon their arrival.
Commander Chodo gritted his teeth in frustration. Unlike Captain Nezumi, he was under direct orders not to confront the Arlong Pirates. The higher-ups were insistent on this after hearing that the Marine captain hadn't returned. Chodo was one of the few higher-ranking Marines that believed they should commit their resources to bring down the powerful fishman pirates, despite the adamant refusal of his superiors. Now he was under orders to retrieve Nezumi, if possible without engaging said pirates, which meant that he had to tell these villagers to their faces that he was leaving.
Luffy could sense the conflicted emotions radiating from this Marine. The man was clearly torn. He turned to observe Nami, whose gaze had softened, no doubt coming to the same conclusion. "It's OK," Nami finally spoke quietly. "Arlong Park has fallen." The Marine looked at her in shock.
"Fallen...?" he repeated dumbly. "Who..." he trailed off.
"The Arlong Pirates were taken down by another pirate crew," Nami said, conveniently leaving out the fact that said pirate crew was standing right in front of him.
Luffy stepped forward. "That would be us," he said. Zoro laughed and Nami looked at him in concern. The commander just stared at him.
"And who would you be?" he asked carefully.
"Monkey D. Luffy," he replied.
The commander's eyes widened slightly at the name, but then he looked down and placed his hand over his eyes in shame. They had been so indecisive. They had appeased Arlong so long, and the people of this island had finally been forced to rely on a grudge match between pirates for salvation.
Then he looked up. There was only one thing he could do at this point. If the Arlong Pirates had time to recover, it would start all over again. He was arresting them right here and now. His orders hadn't accounted for the fact that Arlong would be incapacitated, after all. He signaled to his squad and they split into two groups, one bringing Nezumi's squad back to the ship and the other heading in the direction of Arlong Park.
Once the Marines left, the celebration really began. Other villages had been informed of Arlong's defeat and Cocoyasi soon became one giant festival. Luffy ran through the streets in the direction of Sanji's aura. He stopped when he spotted him taking the last bite of a melon. "Ah, that hit the spot," Sanji said in satisfaction. "Cooking is great, but sometimes it's nice to just sit back and do the eating."
"Hey, Sanji!" Luffy yelled. "What was that melon you were eating just now?"
"Ah, that? That was ham melon. They basically take a melon and then cover it in smoked ham. It's really—"
"Where'd you get it!?" Luffy interrupted in desperation. Sanji sweatdropped.
"Someone was walking around with it, but I doubt you'll find them in this crowd..." Luffy dashed off into the crowd, eager to prove him wrong. This time I'm eating that ham melon for sure! he thought with determination. He reached out with his Observation Haki, trying to find the aura of someone who was walking around with ham melon. Goddammit. What the hell did that even feel like?
"He sure is enthusiastic," Sanji commented.
"Oh, Luffy? He's usually like that," Zoro said plainly. He had suffered through the excruciating pain of having his wound sewed up properly after leaving it alone for a while. That was not pleasant. At least he was looking less pale and livelier now, Sanji noted.
Sanji stood up and stretched. "Well, now that I'm full..." He ran off towards the crowd. "Time to flirt!" he yelled unashamedly.
Zoro leaned back and yawned. "Time to sleep," he said before dozing off.
In the middle of the crowd, Usopp stood on top of a tall stack of tables and yelled into a megaphone. "It is I, Captain Usopp, the proud warrior who triumphed over an officer of the Arlong Pirates! Let's all sing a song in honor of my bravery!" The drunken crowd cheered and applauded before submitting to the ludicrous request.
Usopp sure knows how to work a crowd...Sanji thought as he sat in the middle of several women who were asking if he really took out both of Arlong's best officers. He leaned his head back in bliss. He wouldn't mind staying here for a couple days himself...
Luffy walked up a hill in a mix between satisfaction at the ham melon he was currently chewing on and exasperation at the villagers that kept pulling him aside. He had already had a talk with 6 of them, each of them asking what his intentions toward Nami were. He had replied to each of them that she was his navigator and his close friend, and they had all accepted this after making the same request: take care of Nami. He had promised each one that he would.
As he reached the top of the hill he spotted Genzo in front of a grave. He walked up and stood beside him, reading the name on the grave. Bell-mère. Genzo glanced at him and nodded. He returned the gesture before speaking. "Nojiko told us about Nami's mother. She was a strong person," he said. Genzo looked back at the grave.
"She was," he agreed quietly. They were silent for a while before Genzo spoke again. "I know Nami is going with you on your journey." Luffy looked at him and nodded.
"After the lengths that you've gone for her, I feel like I can trust you," he continued. "But know this. If you ever rob Nami of her smile, I will hunt you down and kill you myself." He looked Luffy dead in the eyes as he said this, and Luffy stared back. He knew he would never take away Nami's happiness. She had been smiling right up until the end. The ship of the Straw Hat Pirates had been her home. So he didn't hesitate when he responded.
"It's Genzo, right? You have my word that I will take it upon myself to preserve Nami's smile every chance I get." Genzo kept staring at him for a few seconds, and then a grin broke out across his face.
"That's good to hear," he said, before handing Luffy a bottle of sake. They both drank contentedly and watched the sunset as Genzo laughed heartily at Luffy's stories about Nami during the time they had sailed together in East Blue. Luffy himself learned why Genzo always wore a pinwheel on his hat. That was an interesting tale.
"So, she told you her name was Nojiko?" Genzo asked in amusement.
"Yeah," Luffy answered. "I don't think she counted on me ever coming here."
Genzo continued to laugh uncontrollably. Luffy could tell the alcohol was getting to him. "You sure you should be drinking this much?" he asked, amused.
"Ah, don't worry about it! Today is an exception," he said jovially before taking another long swig of sake, emptying the bottle and tossing it into the growing pile. Luffy shrugged and continued drinking himself. An hour later, he chuckled and threw Genzo's reeking, unconscious body over his shoulder before walking back in the direction of the village.
The next morning, Luffy, Zoro, Usopp, and Sanji got the Going Merry ready for their departure. Johnny and Yosaku informed them that they would return to pirate hunting, and after saying their goodbyes, set out in the small boat that Luffy and Sanji had arrived in.
Sanji looked around at the coast worriedly. "Where is Nami-san? She is coming, isn't she?"
"Don't worry. She'll come. She probably just wants to make a grand exit," Zoro said with a smirk, remembering how she had left last time.
"I hope so. She's half the reason I'm here," Sanji stated with a straight face. Luffy turned to him.
"Oh, Sanji! I finally found that ham melon! It was delicious," he said with enthusiasm.
Nojiko was arguing with the villagers over Nami's decision to leave the 93 million Belly with them when they heard a voice shout in the distance. "Set sail!"
Nami came running towards the ship, weaving through the villagers as they tried to stop her, asking why she was leaving without saying goodbye. Genzo was indignant at her audacity. After all this, she was leaving without hearing their thanks?
"Hey, what's she doing?" Usopp asked. Luffy just laughed.
"You heard her. Set sail." As the ship started to pull away from the coast, Nami weaved through the last of the villagers, which were all screaming for her to stop. She jumped from the coast high into the air, grabbed hold of the railing of the Going Merry, and flipped herself over onto the deck. She looked back at the villagers and smirked before pulling the bottom of her shirt up. Dozens of wallets fell onto the deck, and the villagers suddenly brought their hands to their pockets with horrified expressions.
"You rotten thief!" they all shouted. Nami simply smiled and waved before holding something up in her right hand. It looked like a...belt? Genzo's eyes suddenly widened and he looked down in horror before his pants fell to the ground around his ankles.
"Nami!"
Luffy laughed uncontrollably. That was a nice touch. "Are we gonna be all right?" Usopp asked.
"Get back here you thieving cat!"
"Give us back our wallets!"
"Relinquish my belt at once!"
"Thank you for everything!"
"Stay safe!"
"Come back anytime!" The shouts grew distant as the Going Merry drew further from the coast, setting out once again.
A/N: Ah, the ham melon. It was so disappointing that Luffy never got to eat it. I just had to fix that. This concludes the last East Blue recruitment arc. Exciting right?