One Piece: Heroic Spirits Straw Hat Pirates!

Arlong Park.

"These are this month's dues. Thank you for coming all the way here, Colonel Nezumi."

Captain Arlong of the Arlong Pirates handed a stack of Beli to the sleazy-looking Navy officer.

"Haha, it's no trouble at all. A pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Arlong."

Colonel Nezumi's face lit up with a grin the moment his fingers touched the money.

But after a moment, a thought seemed to cross his mind, and he looked up toward Arlong.

"Arlong, you said you'd tell me when the time came to find an excuse to seize the treasure Nami's been hiding, right?"

"That's right. Is there a problem, Colonel Nezumi?"

"No, not really. It's just… Nami's name came up recently, and it's left me a bit puzzled. A new pirate crew has risen in the East Blue, and I've just received their brand-new bounty posters."

"Oh? Don't tell me Nami's part of that crew and already has a bounty on her head? Hahaha."

"Yes. And she's got a bounty of 25 million Beli."

The moment those words left Nezumi's mouth, Arlong's laughter paused briefly—then resumed, even louder and more arrogant.

Not just Arlong, but the entire Arlong Pirates burst out laughing.

"HAHAHAHA! Twenty-five million Beli! That's more than Arlong-aniki's bounty!"

"Did the Navy mess up or something? There's no way Nami deserves such a high bounty."

"I bet it's not even our Nami. Must be some other woman with the same name, haha!"

"Exactly! That makes more sense. Our Nami's so weak—there's no way she'd be worth 25 million!"

"I'd believe she snuck into a crew and got herself a bounty, sure—but that high? No way!"

Nezumi glanced awkwardly at the laughing fishmen around him. He thought about it but ultimately chose not to show them Nami's wanted poster.

Still, Arlong's curiosity had been piqued.

"25 million Beli, huh? That's a real super rookie. So she's the captain, right? Let me take a look at her face."

"Actually… she's not the captain."

Nezumi laughed awkwardly and pulled out Nami's bounty poster, placing it in front of Arlong.

"Whoa. Not even the captain and already worth 25 million? These rookies must be working hard."

Arlong took the poster and looked at the portrait.

"Well, Arlong? Is it our Nami?"

Kuroobi, one of Arlong's officers with a 9 million Beli bounty, walked over.

"Heh. Looks nothing like her."

Arlong casually unfolded the wanted poster. What met Kuroobi's eyes was an abstract, impressionist rendering of Nami—wildly inaccurate compared to the real deal.

"Definitely not her."

Kuroobi didn't say much else. He simply handed the poster back to Nezumi.

"Heh, good. That's a relief."

Nezumi beamed. As long as he didn't have to go after the dangerous Nami warned about by Navy HQ, he was satisfied.

"Mr. Arlong, if there's nothing else, I'll be taking my leave."

He moved to stand.

"Wait! You said Nami isn't the captain—so how much is the captain's bounty?"

Croobi asked. Unlike Arlong, he didn't completely underestimate humans. He wanted to be cautious of any potential threats.

"This pirate crew is a brand-new one, Kuroobi-san."

"They only have four members right now."

"Besides Nami, there's a swordsman with a 20 million Beli bounty."

"And their captain, Straw Hat Luffy, has a bounty of 30 million Beli."

As he spoke, Nezumi laid down the wanted posters for Zoro and Luffy.

"Hmph. That's all?"

Kuroobi gave them a glance and turned to walk away.

Sure, Luffy and Nami's bounties were higher than Arlong's, but that was only because the Arlong Pirates had been quietly hiding out in the East Blue.

If they went all out, not just Arlong, but every one of his officers would surely earn a higher bounty.

"With your crew's strength, it's only natural to look down on guys like Luffy. But there is one among them you should be wary of."

Nezumi chuckled nervously as he handed over one last bounty poster.

Arlong glanced at it—and his calm expression immediately turned to shock.

"800 million Beli!? What kind of joke is this!? There's no way someone like that would be in the East Blue!"

"Wait… and he's not even the captain?!"

"Colonel Nezumi, are you trying to make a fool of me!?"

Arlong scowled and glared menacingly at the officer.

"You've got it wrong, Arlong! That man's a special case. He joined Straw Hat Luffy's crew with an existing bounty on his head."

"That's also why Luffy and Zoro's bounties are unusually high."

Nezumi hurried to explain.

"Who'd believe an 800 million Beli pirate would join a rookie crew!?"

Another officer, Chew, walked over with a frown, glaring at Nezumi.

He felt like the colonel was toying with them.

"Did he come back from the New World, Colonel Nezumi?"

Arlong raised a hand to stop Chew and asked instead.

"H-He did! And I won't lie to you—he even killed a Tenryuubito (Celestial Dragon)!"

Nezumi wiped sweat from his forehead as he answered.

"He killed a Celestial Dragon!?"

Arlong's eyes went wide as he leapt from his seat.

"Y-Yes! This guy is especially dangerous. Arlong, if you ever run into him, be very careful."

"I've got other business—so I'll be going now!"

Feeling suffocated by the tension hanging over Arlong Park, Nezumi quickly retreated with his men.

Arlong watched Nezumi's retreating figure, then glanced back down at Genrou's wanted poster, frowning even harder.

"He killed a Celestial Dragon… yet returned to the weakest sea… and joined a rookie pirate crew?"

"Could he be like me, seeking a peaceful life?"

Arlong shook his head. He couldn't make sense of it.

With a sigh, he tossed the wanted poster aside and lay back down in his chair.

After all, a pirate with an 800 million Beli bounty had nothing to do with him. There was no reason to worry.

…

Meanwhile, in Cocoyashi Village, Nojiko was also staring at Nami's wanted poster in deep thought.

"This… can't really be our Nami, right? Just a coincidence in name?"

Nojiko muttered.

…

Village, Port.

"There's no mistake! Those guys are pirates—big-time pirates with bounties in the tens of millions!"

"Straw Hat Luffy—30 million Beli! Pirate Hunter Zoro—20 million! And that guy… a monstrous 800 million!"

"Wait… where's the 25 million bounty on the Little Thief Cat Nami? I don't see her among them."

"Could that woman traveling with them be her? But the poster looks nothing like her!"

"Idiot! Who cares about that right now? These dangerous pirates are in our village—they're a serious threat!"

"W-What should we do then?"

"Let's go find Captain Usopp! He'll know what to do!"

Hidden in the bushes, three trembling children clutched wanted posters as they watched Luffy and his crew slowly approach the village.

With no Usopp to protect them, the kids quickly fled into the village.

Unbeknownst to them, their awful attempt at hiding—and their entire conversation—had been completely picked up by Genrou, Zoro, and the others.

"W-What did those brats just say? I have a 25 million Beli bounty!?"

Nami turned in disbelief toward Genrou.

"Huh!? I've already got a 30 million bounty!?"

Luffy gasped.

"Tch. 20 million? And it's 5 million less than Nami's?"

Zoro clicked his tongue and shot an annoyed glance at Nami.

"You jerk! It's not like I wanted a higher bounty! If I had my way, I wouldn't be worth even a single Beli!"

"Genrou, let's go catch those kids—I've got some serious questions for them!"

Nami grabbed Genrou's hand with urgency.

"What's the big deal, Nami?"

"After what you did to that treasure hunter boss, a 25 million Beli bounty is totally reasonable."

"Alright, alright—let's go."

Seeing Nami on the verge of tears, Genrou sighed and shook his head, then led the way.

Together with Luffy and Zoro, they chased after Usopp's trio of little followers.

…

(End of Chapter)

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