NOVEL NEXT Chapter 51: Lies
Cocoyasi Village.
Nami rowed a small boat towards the shore, carrying a box in her hand.
All the treasure stolen from Gawain's ship had been converted into cash by her, no more, no less, a full 120 million Belly.
All here, this is her only hope of redeeming the village.
"As long as I have these things, I will be able to redeem the village!"
"I…"
Gawain and others' faces flashed through Nami's mind. She paused slightly but took another step forward the next moment.
Walking through the village, there was no one around; even the street vendors had disappeared. It was the same place as she remembered.
The difference was that the eyes that were supposed to be everywhere and focused on her completely disappeared this time.
"Everyone..."
Of course, Nami understood that not only the sight had disappeared, but also those people.
She felt a sense of uneasiness in her heart for no reason.
Nami subconsciously quickened her pace and ran towards the Mikan Grove at the edge of the village.
Nojiko was already waiting here.
Looking at Nami, who had returned, Nojiko's expression suddenly turned cold: "What are you doing back here?!"
Nami was slightly stunned, then smiled and picked up the box in her hand: "Nojiko, I have collected enough money to redeem the village!"
Nojiko pursed her lips tightly: "You can't redeem it!"
"How could that be? I've been with Arlong for the past few years, and he has never broken his promise regarding money!"
Nami was full of confidence and had hope on her face, but the more she did so, the more pain Nojiko felt in her heart: "So... His agreement with you is to bring the money to him, right? But what if you can't bring the money to him?"
Nami's pupils shrank.
She remembered the treasure she had lost before.
It's not that she didn't doubt her own judgment. After all, how could Carina know where her hometown was and where she hid the treasure?
But if it wasn't Carina, then who could it be?
The answer is almost obvious.
Nojiko spoke for Nami: "From the beginning, he never thought of letting you redeem the village. All of this was just his game."
"Watching you go from hope to despair time and time again, and then giving you hope again, in order to satisfy his own... Perverted desires!"
"He knows every penny you hide!"
"It's hopeless, Nami."
"I have prepared a boat for you in the Mikan Grove. Take the money and go now."
"Why don't you live somewhere else? There won't be villagers like us who treat you badly, right?"
Nami shook her head stubbornly: "Where's everyone? Where's Genzo?"
Nojiko was indifferent and subconsciously lowered her head to avoid Nami's sight.
Nami immediately realized where her uneasiness came from and subconsciously asked: "They went to look for Arlong? They'll die!"
In desperation, Nami turned around hurriedly, but Nojiko held her shoulder down the next moment.
Bang!
A red slap mark fell on Nami's face.
Nojiko retracted her hand and said almost in a roar: "How long will you be so naive?"
"This is a decision everyone made together. Rather than being a burden to you forever, they would rather die at Arlong's hands. You—"
In the middle of her speech, Nojiko's voice suddenly stopped.
At this moment, tears welled up in Nami's eyes, and she murmured like she did when she was a child: "I can't leave anymore now."
After saying that, Nami broke free from Nojiko's restraints, turned around, and ran towards Arlong's territory while still tightly holding the suitcase that she regarded as hope.
She firmly believes it.
As long as the money can be brought to Arlong, no matter how bad that man is, he will keep his promise!
… … …
At the same time, in Arlong Park.
At the front door, Genzo held a rusty flintlock rifle in his hand and carefully checked whether it could fire normally.
This was the weapon that he had secretly hidden when Arlong first came to Cocoyasi Village. It had been in disrepair for many years, and many of its internal parts were rusted.
Behind him was a group of villagers holding farm tools and sticks.
The crowd walked towards Arlong Park in a menacing manner.
"Hateful!"
"What kind of life has Nami led all these years? That child carried all of our hopes, but in the end, it was all a lie. Arlong never thought about fulfilling his promise from the beginning to the end."
"I can endure all his mistreatment towards us, but I can't endure him trampling on Nami's hope like this!"
"Fortunately, all the misfortunes of that child will end today. Without us, she should be able to live a good life. After all, we are just a group of people who treat her badly."
"Damn Fish-Men!"
From time to time, suppressed angry voices were heard from the crowd.
Some people's hands were shaking because of their instinctive fear of the Fish Men, some were staggering and feeling uneasy, and some were even afraid of death and looked around warily.
But no one backed down.
Genzo walked in front of the crowd with his head lowered, listening to their discussions with mixed feelings.
"If Nami could hear these voices, she would be very happy. Unfortunately, she can't hear them and won't be able to hear them."
The woman who always made dirty jokes to him suddenly appeared in front of his eyes again.
If there were no Arlong pirates, he should still have a chance, right?
As Genzo thought about this, a blush appeared on his face, just like it did back then: "Bell-mère, you have a very good daughter."
A gust of wind blew.
The windmill above Genzo's head was humming.
The complicated emotions in his mind suddenly subsided, and he looked up into the distance.
They have arrived at Arlong Park.
"Arlong!"
The two Fish-Men at the gate with drooping eyelids raised their heads and saw the menacing scene before them.
A flash of surprise flashed across their eyes, and then all turned into sarcasm: "It seems that these humans still have some courage, but in the face of absolute power, what is the point of resistance?"
"Do you understand the consequences of doing this?"
"Everyone will die."
The Fish-Men named Shioyaki slowly stood up. With a height of over two and a half meters, he looked like a giant to the group of civilians.
Not to mention that the natural physique of the Fish-Men is several times or even dozens of times stronger than that of humans.
When the difference in innate endowments is reflected in reality, it gives off the natural sense of oppression of predators. With just a glance from Shioyaki, the legs of several people went limp.
But in the next moment, they were helped up by their companions.
They came here with no intention of going back alive.
What else is there to fear when you can even give up your life?
Genzo raised the gun in his hand with a cold face and shouted: "I want to see Arlong!"
As he said that, Genzo pulled the trigger.
When the flintlock spewed out a bullet, the anger that Genzo had accumulated over the years also shot towards the Fish-Men in the distance along with the bullet.
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