Nami was silent for a moment. Then she asked, "Is everything you said true?"
Camie nodded desperately. Tears finally fell. "It's true! Several times, Hatchan worked himself sick helping others! He always says he's repaying the crimes he committed in the East Blue."
Nami looked at Camie's sincere and anxious eyes. She recalled that when Hatchan was in the Arlong Pirates, he didn't seem to harbor the same pure malice toward humans as the other fish-men. He had mostly just followed along mindlessly.
She hesitated.
Finally, Nami turned to Luffy and gently shook her head. Then she said to Camie, "We can agree to help you save your friends. But in return, you need to tell us a safe way to reach Fish-Man Island. And once we get there, you need to provide us with some necessary help. How about that?"
She was planning ahead for the crew's next voyage.
According to Luffy's plan, the next stop was the Sabaody Archipelago, then Fish-Man Island, then the New World.
She had heard that relations between Fish-Man Island and humans weren't great. With Camie as a bridge, at least they wouldn't have to worry too much about that.
After all, their destination was deep under the sea, ten thousand meters down. That would be when Luffy and the other Devil Fruit users would be at their most vulnerable.
Camie, as if grasping a lifeline, eagerly agreed.
"No problem! Absolutely no problem! Thank you! Thank you so much!"
Luffy looked at Nami, wanting to say something.
But Nami stepped forward and gently rested her forehead against his chest. Her voice was somewhat low and husky, but carried a sense of relief. "Arlong is dead."
Nami was kind.
She deeply understood that spreading hatred would only bring more hatred and pain.
If Hatchan had truly repented as Camie said, and had been doing good deeds to atone, she was willing to give him a chance. It would also help Luffy and the others reach Fish-Man Island more smoothly.
She didn't want her own past shadows to hinder her crewmates' path forward.
...
Things progressed surprisingly smoothly.
Based on the clues Camie provided, they quickly found the hideout of the Flying Fish Riders the organization that had kidnapped Pappag and Hatchan.
There was hardly any real fight. Faced with the absolute strength of the Straw Hat crew, the Flying Fish Riders swiftly crumbled.
Sure enough, the Hatchan that Camie spoke of was the same Hatchan from the Arlong Pirates in the East Blue.
When he was rescued and saw Nami, he was so scared that all six of his arms went limp. His face turned pale. He stammered out a confession for everything he had done in the East Blue especially the crimes committed against Nami and Cocoyasi Village.
Nami did not utter the word "forgiveness." She just looked at him silently.
Her understanding was more about helping Luffy and the others get the assistance they needed to reach Fish-Man Island.
But her kindness would not allow her to seek revenge on someone who had truly repented and was taking action to atone.
As for Duval, the captain of the Flying Fish Riders, he managed to make everyone including Luffy burst out laughing.
All because his face looked almost exactly like Sanji's wanted poster!
"Because of this face, do you know how much I've suffered?!"
Duval tearfully and snotty-nosedly complained. Because of that damn wanted poster, he had inexplicably become a wanted criminal. He had no idea how much trouble it had caused him. He couldn't even find a proper job, so he had no choice but to form the Flying Fish Riders.
"Puhahahaha!"
Zoro was the first to crack up. He laughed so hard he rocked back and forth. "Pervert cook, is that your long-lost brother?"
Brook laughed so hard his skeleton rattled, thumping the deck. "Yohohohoho! This is just too funny!"
Even Vivi and Robin couldn't help but turn away, their shoulders shaking.
Nami also covered her mouth with a light laugh, lightening the previously heavy atmosphere.
A moment later, a lively takoyaki party began on the deck of the Thousand Sunny.
"Not bad. This is really nice."
"Goes super well with Franky's cola!"
"Yohoho, let's have a song."
"I'm so glad everyone likes it."
Hatchan still had the bump on his head that Luffy had just given him.
In front of Luffy, Hatchan didn't dare to resist at all. It was only after Nami said something that Luffy stopped.
Hatchan, instead, scratched his head with one hand and grinned foolishly, while his remaining five hands worked like phantoms, quickly flipping the golden takoyaki on the iron griddle with skillful movements.
Beside him, Camie happily helped.
Camie was no longer wearing the long dress that hid her identity. Her long, beautiful pink tail fin shimmered with charming shine under the sunlight.
Sanji had completely fallen into his fantasies of mermaids. He danced around Camie and Hatchan, showering them with all kinds of compliments, until an impatient Zoro kicked him aside.
"Pervert cook, get out of the way!"
"You want to die, you lost bastard?"
With Camie's pleading and Hatchan's sincere remorse, Nami chose not to dwell on the past.
She hated Arlong. She hated the Arlong Pirates for the suffering they had brought to Cocoyasi Village. But she didn't hate all fish-men because of it.
Seeing Hatchan truly repent and take action to make amends, her calm and kind heart chose to let go.
Of course, a necessary physical education lesson was still unavoidable.
Luffy seemed to understand her heart and helped her with it.
"Are you really okay?"
Luffy came and sat down beside Nami, who was sitting alone by the mikan orchard.
"This kind of thing is a bit harder to accept than I imagined,"
Nami's voice was somewhat floating. She gently rested her head on his solid shoulder, feeling that reassuring warmth.
"But... because I have all of you."
She looked up at Luffy's concerned eyes, then glanced around at her crewmates laughing and playing on the deck. A gentle smile appeared on her face.
She remembered that day again.
Luffy had placed his precious straw hat on her head, then, with an unstoppable force, completely destroyed the Arlong Park that had held her captive for so many years, along with the ambitions of Arlong and his crew.
"If something's wrong, you have to tell me." Luffy said seriously.
Nami smiled. A flicker of slyness appeared in her eyes.
She secretly glanced around. Everyone seemed immersed in the deliciousness of the takoyaki and the joy of the party. No one was paying attention to them.
"I actually do have something."
She took a deep breath and suddenly leaned close to Luffy.
"What is it?"
Luffy thought she was going to whisper something. The moment he turned his head, Nami's soft lips pressed against him, swallowing the words he was about to say.
There was a hint of takoyaki sauce and Nami's own faintly sweet scent.
Luffy was stunned.
Then, he felt something small, warm, and springy transferred into his mouth.
A whole takoyaki?
He instinctively swallowed, and the takoyaki went down.
There had been many ambiguous moments before. But ambiguous had remained ambiguous never acted upon. This time, Nami was a bit impulsive, but unusually brave.
Nami moved back a little. Her cheeks were red, like the sky at sunset. She stuck out her little tongue. Her eyes were wet and showed that she was shy. In a soft, sticky voice, she asked:
"Was the takoyaki good?"
Luffy looked at the beautiful face so close to him, felt the warm touch on his lips and the fragrance in his mouth. He cleared his throat and answered honestly:
"It was good."
It was the sweet kind.
***
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