One-Punch Man in the One Piece World

19. Bet

Nami carried a bulging bundle on her back, her heart pounding as if it were about to explode.

She tried to walk as quietly as possible, like a cat tiptoeing.

The moonlight was so bright that it frightened her; if someone woke up at that moment, they would see her immediately.

The package contained all the treasures Nami had accumulated over this period of time.

She had already planned to sneak back to Cocoyasi Village while everyone was asleep. She would make further plans after buying the village from Alon.

Hidden in the rocky area ahead is a boat concealed by branches and vines. It's the same boat Zoro used when he landed on the island, and it's also the key to Nami's decision to leave.

Without a ship, it was impossible to cross the vast ocean; they could only continue following the White Pearl.

The boat was stocked with clean water, dry rations, and basic navigation tools, along with a hand-drawn route map. Once aboard, she could sail through the bay and leave without a trace.

"Where are we going?"

The sudden sound made Nami freeze.

The voice was so familiar; its deep tone sent chills down her spine.

She slowly turned around and saw Norton standing three meters away in the moonlight.

"Hi..." Nami, feeling guilty, gave an awkward laugh.

Norton glanced at the package on Nami's back, and that look made Nami's face turn even paler. She subconsciously put the package behind her, just like she had done in the treasure cabin before.

They've been discovered again...

"Where do you plan to take my money?" Norton asked casually.

"You already found out?" Nami was extremely embarrassed.

Norton nodded calmly.

"You noticed it last time in the cabin, didn't you?" Nami's face was pale as she stared straight into Norton's eyes. Being caught red-handed actually gave her a bit of courage to face Norton directly.

"That's right."

"Then why don't you call me out on it?"

"Because it's unnecessary," Norton said calmly.

"Is it unnecessary?" Nami was taken aback.

At that moment, Sanosuke appeared behind Norton.

"My lord, we need..." Sanosuke first gave Nami a cold look, then wiped his throat.

Nami's hair stood on end.

She had witnessed Sasuke's cold-bloodedness firsthand. A ninja making such a gesture meant nothing more than to kill someone!

But Norton shook his head and said softly, "Don't say such things again, Sanosuke. Nami will always be our navigator."

Sanosuke paused, then bowed his head deeply: "Yes, I understand."

Although it's unclear why Norton didn't punish Nami for stealing the treasure, since Norton has already spoken, it's not up to him to influence the decision.

As a ninja, Sanosuke knew this well. He could not disobey his master's wishes.

Hearing Norton's words, Nami secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"What do you mean by 'not necessary'?" After a moment of silence, Nami looked into Norton's eyes.

"You stole this money to buy your hometown from some pirate, didn't you?" Norton asked instead of answering.

"How did you know? Did you investigate me?" Nami was taken aback.

She never told Norton any of this, so how did Norton know?

"There's no need to investigate, because I know everything that happened to you," Norton smiled.

"What do you mean!" Nami became alert.

Norton said in a low voice, "My identity is very special, it's my secret, I won't tell anyone. You just need to know that I know you better than you think."

"The reason I turned a blind eye to your theft is because I knew you needed money, and not for yourself, but to buy your village from a fishman named 'Arlong'."

"But I'm telling you, even if you hand over the 100 million Berries you've painstakingly collected, Aaron won't keep his promise."

"Impossible! Arlong will keep his promise! That guy may be a jerk, but he loves money the most! And Arlong promised me himself!" Nami became agitated, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

The reason she works so hard and spares no effort to accumulate Berries is to save Cocoyasi Village from Aaron through her own efforts.

But now Norton is telling her that all her efforts over the past decade have been in vain!

Norton looked into Nami's eyes, his voice growing colder, "Don't be naive! Nami! Who do you think Arlong is? A pirate who rules over a dozen villages and towns with violence!"

"And Arlong is an extremist fish-man!"

"The hatred between fish-men and humans has accumulated over hundreds of years. How could an extreme racist like Arlong let a human village go just for money? To him, humans are an inferior race, slaves, toys. Would you keep your word with a toy?"

Norton's words were deafening, and Nami couldn't help but start to doubt herself. As if all her strength had been drained, she collapsed to the ground.

The package slipped from his shoulder, scattering its treasures all over the ground; the gold coins gleamed coldly in the moonlight.

"Impossible... Ah Long will keep his word..."

As she murmured, a tear rolled down Nami's cheek.

"Nami," Norton said softly, "you're a genius navigator. You can read ocean currents, predict the weather, and find the safest routes on the high seas, but your understanding of human nature is still too superficial."

He bent down slightly, reached out, and wiped away Nami's tears.

"No...no way..." Nami shook her head, but her voice had lost its confidence.

"Let's make a bet," Norton suddenly said.

Nami froze: "Bet...what?"

"I'll bet on whether Aaron will keep his promise." Norton stood up. "If he keeps his word and sells Cocoyasi Village to you, our debt will be settled."

"But what if Ah Long goes back on his word and takes the money but doesn't honor his debt..."

"So what?" Nami looked up.

Norton grinned. "You'll have to officially join my ranks, not in the current employer-employee relationship, but voluntarily become one of my navigators."

"Use your talents to help me conquer this sea!"

The sea breeze carries the distant sound of the tide and the calls of night birds in the forest.

As Nami looked at the treasure scattered on the ground, nearly ten years of struggle and perseverance in the darkness flashed through her mind like lightning.

"But... Cocoyasi Village isn't in the northeast direction," Nami suddenly said.

Norton chuckled. "Isn't that easy? My dear navigator, this time, the White Pearl's route is yours to decide!"

...

...

When Menggula woke up on the clean white hospital bed, he felt a stinging pain all over his body, as if all the bones in his body had been broken. His vision was as blurry as a murky fog.

Despite the stinging pain, he struggled to get out of bed. Even this simple action had exhausted him.

That terrifying fist shadow seems to be right before my eyes!

After taking several deep breaths, Menggula finally calmed down and looked around.

This is a closed ward, empty except for a table with a broken black chrysanthemum mask on it.

"Where am I?" Mongol murmured.

But as he pondered more deeply, a tearing pain suddenly shot through his head. Mongolla clutched his head in agony and trembled as he leaned against the bed.

"You're awake?"

A man's voice suddenly rang out.

Mongolia looked up and saw a human face suddenly reflected on the white wall.

"Dr. Vegapunk?" It took Mongol a while to recognize the other person's identity.

"It's me." The face nodded. "Feeling better? Your body suffered a catastrophic injury. If it weren't for the Devil Fruit successfully awakening at the critical moment, allowing the Mythical Zoan type's super-strong self-healing ability to repair its body, you would be dead by now."

"Doctor, where am I? What happened? I remember escorting Ari to the Kingdom of Sag to retrieve the cursed ship that was rumored to have been built by the daughter of the Duke of Sag..." Mongola recalled painfully.

"That's right. Later, someone attacked the palace, and the king of the Kingdom of Sag was brutally murdered. Even Ari Saint was not spared. In addition, the murderer killed hundreds of people, including the kingdom's guards and CP agents."

The face replied, "The World Government and the Five Elders take this incident very seriously, but unfortunately, there are no key witnesses. Therefore, they sent you to me, requesting that I use scientific technology to help you recall the killer's appearance."

"As for this place, it's 'Punk Hazard'."

Mongolia was stunned, never expecting to be transported to a new world. Punk Hazard was the island where Dr. Vegapunk's research institute was located.

The surrounding walls opened up, and dozens of tentacle-like, writhing tubes connected to Mongolla's brain. At the same time, the human face spoke again: "Recall the murderer's face with the help of the instrument, Mongolla."

"Yes." Mongolla nodded, closed his eyes, and endured the excruciating pain to recall.

In the darkness, fragments of past memories emerge one by one, and a silver-haired figure appears in the chaos, gradually drawing closer...

A sculpted, handsome face gradually came into focus!

As Norton's face appeared in Mongola's mind, Mongola's body began to tremble violently! An alarm sounded from the equipment in the room!

The faces on the wall looked on in astonishment at what they saw.

"Even recalling it causes his body to tremble instinctively; just how much psychological trauma did this man suffer from Mongolian influence?"

As the instrument operated, Norton's portrait was simultaneously printed on the screen, and Vegapunk finally saw the man who instilled fear in Mongolra.

"He doesn't seem like a particularly dangerous person..." Vegapunk muttered, casually transferring the data to the cloud and sending a backup to Mary Geoise.

"Lie back down on the bed, Mongolla. Next, I'm going to modify your body. Only then can your body be restored to a level where you can fight."

"Don't be nervous. There have been successful examples before. Compared to modifying Mr. Zephyr's arm last time, I have much more experience this time..."

The Holy Land of Mary Geoise, Pangaea.

"Sir, Vegapunk has sent over the killer's portrait."

After the Navy reported, a freshly taken photograph was placed on the table in front of the five elderly men.

"I understand, you may leave now," said the long-haired old man.

"Yes." The navy officer withdrew, closing the door behind him. The Five Elders' gaze naturally fell on the portrait on the table.

"I never expected that the one who defeated Mongol La would be such a young man," said the bald old man among the Five Elders, who was wearing a white robe and holding an ancient sword.

"Fortunately, the news of Ari's death in the East Sea did not leak out, otherwise it would have been a serious blow to the prestige of the world's nobles." The old man leaning on his cane looked serious.

Although the situation was serious, fortunately the news did not leak out, and all those who knew about it were already dead.

The branch navy of the Kingdom of Sag and the surviving palace guards have all been dealt with.

"Is everything cleaned up?" the old man with the mustache asked in a low voice.

"It's already been handed over to the Knight of God to handle," the blond old man replied.

The Knights of God are always reliable; there's absolutely no need to worry about them handling this. This wasn't said aloud, but it was a consensus among the Five Elders.

After all, the Knights of God, like them, are loyal to that Lord. They are fundamentally different from ordinary Celestial Dragons.

"That's good. Now all we need to do is eliminate the culprit! Send the order to issue bounties for this man through all available channels!"

"On what charge?"

"The crime of regicide!"

...

...

Two days later, at dusk, the White Pearl sailed into the waters off Cocoyasi Village.

From the sea, the village was eerily quiet; there were no fishing boats on the dock, no farmers in the fields, and no children playing in the streets.

Only the towering tower of Alon Park stands in the setting sun, like a tombstone suppressing the entire village.

Nami stood at the bow of the ship, her hands gripping the railing tightly, her knuckles turning white from the force.

"Do you need me to come with you?" Norton walked up to her.

"No," Nami shook her head, "This is my own business."

She disembarked alone with her bundle on her back, and after entering the village, went straight to the small house next to the orange grove.

It was harvest season, and the familiar scent of oranges calmed Nami down. She wandered around the house, but Nojiko wasn't home; it was empty.

After resting for a while, Nami put down her bundle, picked up the shovel in the corner, and walked into the orange grove.

Half an hour later, a disheveled Nami emerged from the orange grove, carrying a heavy treasure chest, and headed towards Arlong Paradise via a hidden path.

Alon Park.

The gate was wide open, and the fish-men in the courtyard were either sitting or standing, looking at Nami with some surprise as she walked in.

"The thief is back!"

"Wow! Nami! Such a big treasure chest, could it be that you've saved up enough money?" Hachi exclaimed.

One hundred million Berries is no small sum; even for Aaron, it's a considerable fortune.

How could a 15-year-old girl accumulate so much money on her own in less than ten years?

On the high platform, Arlong sat with his legs crossed, toying with an apple in his hand. When he saw the heavy treasure chest Nami was carrying, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

"Oh my, oh my, our multi-talented surveyor is back!" Ah Long grinned, revealing his jagged teeth. "With that air of settling accounts, how much treasure did he bring back?"

Nami didn't say anything, but placed the heavy money box on the ground and opened the lid.

Bundles of pele gleamed golden in the sunlight.

In addition to cash, there were also jewelry, goldware, and antiques.

"One hundred million Berries," Nami said, her voice trembling slightly but trying to remain calm. "As promised, Cocoyasi Village... is free!"

After all these years, she was finally able to say those words to Ah Long!

But thinking of her bet with Norton, Nami, amidst her excitement, couldn't help but scrutinize Arlong's face.

Come on... Ah Long, what will you do?