Chapter 4

Nami looked at a pair of figures floundering in the ocean, her lips curving into a smirk. Behind the Going Merry—seemingly devoid of crew besides her—the floating restaurant, Baratie, grew smaller in the distance.

"See you, Yosaku, Johnny. If we're linked by fate, tell the others we'll meet again."

Gasping for air while treading water, the two men stared at her with shock.

"What's going on, big sis?"

Nami shook her head in apparent disbelief.

"What do you mean 'what'? I'm a thief that steals from pirates. Naturally, this ship and crew are no exception!"

"Huh?!"

Leaning on the railing, her chin resting on her palm, she fluttered her eyelashes prettily.

"It was fun, being with Luffy and the others. But it was only for a short time. I never said I'd become a ship-mate. We only joined hands temporarily."

"W-wait a moment, big sis. We were asked to keep an eye on that ship. You're getting us into a lot of trouble here. And give back our treasure-…!"

Ignoring their protests, Nami unfurled the sail and turned the helm, charting course with the wind. Yosaku and Johnny swam furiously, but there was no way they could keep up with their speed. Soon, both they and Baratie disappeared behind the swells.

Leaning with her elbow on the railing, Nami looked out over the open ocean. Her expression grew sadder.

"They were good people. The next time we meet, I wonder if they'll count me as their friend?"

"Who knows? You did betray their trust, after all."

"I didn't have any choice! If I don't return to the Arlong-Pirates, Cocoyasi Village will-…"

Nami was in the middle of a sentence when her eyes widened, her head whipping to look behind her. There, leaning against the ship's cabin, was Jack.

Nami leapt backward, putting the railing between them.

"Jack! What are you doing here? Weren't you eating with Zoro and Usopp?"

Jack nodded, pushing off the wall and strolling toward her.

"Yeah, but I had to use the toilet. It seems like I got to see something interesting."

Her hands blurring, Nami produced a segmented wooden staff from somewhere, pointing it at his face.

"Don't come closer or I'll knock you out! For now, sit against the mast and let me tie you up! Things don't have to get messy."

His eyes flicking from the tip of the rod to her face, Jack reached for his pocket, taking out a roll of paper. He unfurled it slowly, showing her its contents.

"You were looking at this earlier, right? It's the bounty-poster Zoro's two friends had on them when we fished them out of the ocean."

Nami clenched her teeth, neither confirming nor denying.

"That's none of your business!"

Jack flipped the poster around, examining it curiously.

"The pirate fishman Arlong—he has a twenty-million-Berrie bounty. Are you trying to collect it, or is there something else going on?"

Nami growled, shoving the staff against Jack's forehead. She pinned him against the cabin.

"I don't know what you're talking about! I stole this ship and its cargo. That's all there is to it!"

Jack held her gaze. For a moment, neither of them said anything. Eventually, he sighed, nudging the tip of her staff with his finger.

"Don't shove that thing at me. I might lose an eye."

"That's not my problem!"

"You're really spirited, but I don't dislike it."

Smirking, Jack grabbed the end, yanking it out of her hands. There was a clacking and whirring noise as the weapon returned to its original, segmented shape. He tossed it back at Nami.

"Since I'm going with you, I'll find out sooner or later. You might as well tell me the truth."

Nami stared at him through narrowed eyes.

"Why do you even care?"

"Regardless of my reason, the rest of the crew are gonna chase after you. The captain seemed dead-set on having you as his navigator."

Nami chewed on her lip, her expression unreadable.

"…you're all so annoying. Why won't you guys just leave me alone?"

Jack shrugged.

"Despite what I said earlier, they trust you. As for why—you'll have to ask them yourself."

"When you talk like that, you almost seem like a good guy. I'm not buying it."

"I'm indeed handsome, but I never said I was a nice person-…"

"Don't start with that!"

Wrapping her hands around herself, Nami faced away from Jack, an air of gloom about her.

"You're butting in, but you don't understand anything. What can you guys even do? This isn't a kid's game!"

Jack grabbed Nami's arm, forcing her to look at him. He pointed at his collar, drawing attention to a long, jagged scar, running down to his hip.

"You think I don't know that?"

"Even so, this isn't something for other people to get involved in-… Wait, why aren't you wearing a shirt?"

"It was a little hot, so I took it off. Besides, this way you can appreciate my sculpted physique-…"

"Put it back on, you pervert!"

Exhaling frustratedly, Nami rubbed her hand, having smacked Jack over the head.

"Forget it. It's impossible to reason with someone like you. You'll all see soon enough…"

Returning to the helm, she adjusted their course. Jack didn't miss the faint tremble in her arms.

"…how useless your efforts are."

Jack stared at her silently before heading down to the main deck. There, he climbed up the mast, sitting cross-legged in the crow's nest.

For the rest of the journey, neither of them said anything.

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Standing behind Nami, Jack tilted his head, looking up at an exotically-styled, multi-story building.

"Wow. You wouldn't expect something this impressive from people who live under the sea. Certainly not a bunch of pirates."

Nami sighed, her shoulders sagging. She rubbed her forehead without looking at him.

"This isn't the time to be admiring architecture! Besides, you should've waited on the shore. When the other idiots showed up, you guys could leave immediately!"

Ignoring her, Jack walked to the front gate of Arlong-Park.

He looked like he was about to knock when a kid randomly came running, shoving a cutlass under their noses. Tears were running down his cheeks, his blade swaying unsteadily.

"Hey you p-pirates, stop right there! Since he killed my dad, so I'm going to k-kill Arlong! And if you don't g-get out of the way, I'll kill you too!"

Whirring around, Nami slapped him through the face, sending the kid and his sword flying.

"Arlong doesn't have time to waste on little brats like you! Stop acting like a hero and go home!"

Jack watched as she stuffed a wad of money in his pocket before shooing him off, her harsh words punctuated by a kick in the butt.

He huffed amusedly.

"Are you sure this is your hometown, Nami? You don't seem very popular around here-…"

"Enough already! What do you think will happen when you go in there? The Arlong-Pirates aren't a joke! Do you think they'll spare you, or that I'll save your life? Get serious-…!"

Nami was mid-yell when she saw Jack's arm moving, his knuckles rapping loudly against the big gate.

"Hello! Is anyone in there? Open up already! I'm going to get heatstroke from standing out in the sun!"

Struck speechless, she could only watch in a daze as the doors slowly opened, revealing the figure of a tall, muscled fishman.

"Oh, Nami and… wait, who the hell are you?"

Ignoring the seabream-looking guy, Jack strode toward the middle of the square, his head swiveling left and right.

It wasn't long before he attracted the attention of the figures in the center, relaxing in the shade of a sloped roof.

"What the… who dares barge in here so suddenly? Do you humans not care about your lives?"

Slowly standing up, a heavily-built saw-nosed fishman turned his bloody gaze toward Jack.

"And I was just in the middle of peacefully enjoying a fruit-cocktail. You really ruined my mood."

He briefly met Jack's gaze before looking over his shoulder, spotting Nami not far behind, standing there with a lifeless look.

"Oh, you're back, Nami? That was quite a long trip. How much did you rake in this time?"

Jolted from her reverie, Nami sighed long-sufferingly, brushing her bangs out of her face.

"Quite a lot. But the security is lax as always, Arlong."

"Heh. As if anyone would dare to raid my estate!"

Showing off a mouthful of serrated teeth, Arlong looked at the gathered fishmen.

"Brothers, our comrade has returned! This is an opportunity to celebrate! But before we prepare a feast…"

His eyes narrowing, he turned to Jack, his expression distinctly unfriendly.

"…tell us, Nami. Who the hell is this guy?"

Suppressing her discomfort, Nami turned her head toward Jack. His hands in his pockets, he stood there entirely unbothered.

She shook her head.

"Just some thick-headed person. He's part of the crew I scammed. It seems he still doesn't get that I'm not on his side."

Arlong burst into laughter, as did the surrounding fishmen. Despite the air of amusement between them, their gazes directed toward Jack were predatory.

Arlong drew closer until he loomed over Jack, a nearly nine-foot monstrosity of needle-like teeth, sandpaper skin and bulging muscle. Meeting Jack's eyes, the smile disappeared from his face.

"I don't like that look in your eye, human."

Suddenly turning his head, he gestured at his goons.

"What are you guys standing around for? Grab him!"

The words had barely left his mouth before his henchmen jumped on Jack, launching punches and kicks. Anticlimacticly, he went down without a fight, felled by the first blow to his gut.

Concealing her disappointment, Nami turned her head away, looking out over the ocean.

"He may be incompetent, he probably has a bounty. We should leave him alive and hand him over to the marines when they collect their bribe."

Arlong grinned condescendingly.

"Sure. He can't be worth much, but money is money."

Jack was completely tied up, slung over one of the goons' shoulders. Soon, he was carried into the main building, disappearing in the shadowed interior.

Nami gritted her teeth, but she didn't look back, not until he was gone.

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A few hours passed before Jack heard a commotion outside. A door opened somewhere, followed by heavy footsteps. Raising his head, he saw a fishman enter with a similarly roped-up figure slung over his shoulder.

Hurling the waterlogged, blood-stained Zoro like a sack of potatoes, the fishman grinned evilly at Jack.

"Your comrade, I take it? It seems like he got fooled by Nami, same as you. Heh, you humans are each more stupid than the last."

After unloading his prisoner, he went back the way he came. He closed the door and turned the lock, his footsteps soon fading into the distance.

Zoro waited until he was gone before groaning, sitting up with difficulty. His chest was bandaged, the white fabric soaked with blood.

"So this is where you ended up, Jack?"

Jack shrugged indifferently.

"Seems like it. But by the looks of it, you guys didn't have an easy time at that restaurant. What, did that Marlin-course fight back?"

Zoro's eyebrow twitched.

"For your information, a pirate admiral from the East Blue showed up, as well as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea! If it weren't for them, we'd have been here a long time ago."

"Tell a more convincing lie. If you guys fought a real Warlord, your corpses would be at the bottom of the ocean right now."

"Huh? You callin' me a damn liar? If I weren't tied up like this, I'd slice up that annoying face of yours!"

Jack smirked.

"It's a regrettable attitude to have, but I can well imagine the envy burning in the heart of a less handsome man-…"

"Get real! You're tied up here just like me! And you don't even have the excuse of being injured!"

"That's beside the point…"

The two of them quarreled for a while before going silent. Staring at the ceiling in tandem, each nursed their own thoughts.

Eventually, Zoro glanced at Jack.

"Well, how are we getting out of here? I don't know about you, but I don't like the idea of becoming fish-food."

Jack yawned, not looking the least bit worried.

"We wait for Nami to rescue us, of course."

Zoro's gaze lingered on him before shifting to the door.

"…wait for that devilish woman, huh? If it weren't for what just happened a while ago, I would've taken you all idiots, running after her like that."

"Right? She's way too soft. She actually thinks this Arlong will keep his promise and let her village go."

Jack smiled.

"You have a better chance of becoming the World's Greatest Swordsman than scum like him sticking to their word."

"…"

Zoro didn't say anything, only narrowing his eyes. His expression didn't look good.

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