XX-level Hokage

"Hello, my name is Mashiro, and I'm Nami's companion, for the time being," Mashiro said softly.

Upon hearing this, Nojiko paused for a moment, then pulled Mashiro into a house.

"Um, did Nami steal your money?" Nojiko asked hesitantly. "It's not exactly stealing, you could say she got an advance on her wages," Mashiro said calmly.

Upon hearing the truth, Nojiko looked as if she had known it all along, and said with a somewhat complicated expression, "I knew it. How could that kid have any companions?"

"Can you tell me? Nami has never mentioned what happened to her," Mashiro said softly, activating her genjutsu.

Looking into Mashiro's gentle eyes, Nojiko inexplicably lowered her guard. This story begins a long time ago...

Just then, footsteps approached. Thinking it was the Arlong Pirates, Nami went outside. "The Marines? Why is Ken here too?" Nami was puzzled when she saw it was the Marines.

"So you're the female thief named Nami, right? According to our investigation, you stole a lot of treasure from pirates and hid it in this orange grove, didn't you? Since the other party is a pirate, I won't blame you. However, a thief is a thief, so all the valuables you stole will now be kept by our government. Alright, hand over all the stolen goods. Confiscated!" A marine who looked like a rat said with a wicked grin.

Upon hearing this, Nami glanced at Ken, her eyes filled with terror and despair. Ken, too, was drenched in sweat.

Nami was only afraid for a moment, then she laughed and her expression became calm. She said, "This is really unexpected. You are really enthusiastic about your work. Because you don't have the courage to fight against the pirates, you come to thieves to boost your performance. You are really amazing. Let me give you a piece of advice. I am a member of Arlong's crew. If you dare to touch me, Arlong will not stand idly by."

Hearing Nami's words, the marine chuckled and said, "Little girl, do you think you can negotiate with me on equal terms like this? Find the item for me!"

At his command, the other marines rushed out instantly.

Chapter Nine: The Weeping Orange Tree (Part 2)

Seeing the marines swarming towards her house, Nami quickly drew her weapon. "Stop!"

Nami swung her long staff, knocking down the two leading marines. With Nami's attack, the charging marines halted.

"Is this what the Navy should be doing right now? Arlong and his gang not only killed people, but also destroyed the entire town. You should know that, right? They still control this island and trample on human lives everywhere. And you ignore this huge problem and plunder the property from a petty thief. Is this the government's will?" Nami said forcefully.

"Hmph, enough with the high-sounding platitudes, continue the search." Ignoring Nami's words, the rat-like Marine continued. Hearing this, the Marines resumed their search, heading towards Nami's house.

"The people of the entire island have been waiting for your navy to rescue them for so many years, and you still dare to ignore them and come here to me," Nami said angrily.

Just then, a naval officer who was conducting the search approached and said to Captain Rat, "Captain, we think this orange grove is suspicious."

"Let's dig it up and see." Colonel Rat said with a sinister grin. "Yes, sir." The sailor walked towards the orange grove.

Seeing this, Nami hurriedly chased after him, tackled him to the ground, and shouted, "Don't touch Bellemere's oranges with your dirty hands!" Then she got up and repelled all the other approaching marines.

"I won't give you my money, that money is... that money is..." Nami was extremely nervous and anxious at this moment.

"This child's money is meant to save Cocoyasi Village! Even so, do you still have the right to seize this money? Navy!" Yang Jian finally couldn't hold back any longer and shouted angrily.

He was coerced by these people and forced to join them in taking Nami's money, but thinking of Nami's persistence and the efforts she made to get this money, the coercion could no longer suppress Ken's conscience.

"What? A mere village police officer dares to lecture a colonel?" Colonel Rat looked at Ah Jian and said coldly.

"Ken, how did you know?" Nami looked at Ken and asked softly. In her memory, she hadn't told anyone except her sister about this.

“We already knew, Nami,” Ken said calmly, pulling his hat down to cover his eyes. Nami was instantly stunned.

“At that time, we couldn’t believe your actions. Don’t forget, we were watching you. Of course, we wouldn’t believe you were an accomplice to those people, so we went to question Nokigo. From then on, the whole village knew that you had joined A-Long’s gang to save the village. But we pretended not to know, because we were afraid that if you wanted to escape A-Long, our expectations would become obstacles for you,” A-Jian said, his voice trembling.

"How could this be..." Nami's voice lowered.

"What are you talking about? Are you saying the whole village is a thief, and that's why we should arrest you?" Colonel Rat said in a very irritating way.

"They're saying we're all fighting for survival, isn't it because your government is completely unreliable? If you don't want to help, then hurry up and disappear from here. If you dawdle any longer, you'll be on Arlong's shipyard too." Nojiko's voice suddenly came over, and then her figure appeared behind Colonel Rat.

"By Mr. Arlong? That's hard to say." Colonel Rat glanced at Nojiko behind him and said nonchalantly. Upon hearing this, Nami suddenly froze, and a despairing guess began to emerge in her mind.

"Still haven't found it? This isn't a grain of sand, it's a hundred million Berries!" Captain Rat shouted to the other sailors who were searching.

"How...how do you know the amount?" Ah Jian clenched his fists and asked, hearing Colonel Rat's words. "One hundred million, I think it should be that much," Colonel Rat said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Nami, Nojiko, and Ken instantly realized what was happening. Nami's eyes filled with utter despair; her guess was correct. "Could it be... could it be Arlong who sent you?!" Nami roared in despair.

"Who knows? We were just dealing with the thief as government officials," Colonel Rat said calmly. "You're a bunch of corrupt scoundrels!" Ah Jian roared.

"The Navy is actually colluding with the pirates!" Nojiko couldn't help but shout angrily. "Arlong!" Nami was speechless with emotion at this moment.

"Found him, Colonel!" a navy officer suddenly shouted.

Upon hearing this, Colonel Mouse smiled and walked over, opening the box that had been dug out.

"Wow, this is amazing! That little girl managed to get so much! It looks like it's over a hundred million! But a lot of it is stained with blood and is tattered, but that's okay, money is money!" Colonel Rat exclaimed excitedly.

Holding the money in his hand, Colonel Mouse chuckled to himself, thinking, "Thirty percent of it is mine."

"Don't touch it...don't touch it...don't touch it," Nami whispered as she watched the money she had worked so hard for being held by Colonel Rat, and then walked step by step toward the group.

Don't touch it!

Nami roared and rushed over.

Just as she rushed forward, Colonel Rat drew his gun. Seeing this, Ken and Nojiko also rushed forward and pulled Nami back. But it was too late.

Colonel Rat pulled the trigger, and a bullet was fired, hitting Nojiko in the back. Nojiko's eyes narrowed instantly, and she collapsed to the ground.

This sudden turn of events left Nami and Ken wide-eyed in shock. "Nojiko!" Nami quickly knelt down and helped Nojiko up.

"In that case, I'll spare you this time. Let's go." With that, Colonel Mouse picked up the box and turned to leave.

This time, Nami didn't stop her; she grabbed Nojiko and ran quickly towards the village. In the village...

The villagers surrounded the three of them.

Nojiko lay on Nami's lap, and the village doctor was treating her. Ken, meanwhile, explained everything that had just happened to the villagers.

As for Nami, she kept her head down and didn't say a word, holding Nojiko tightly.

"...Arlong has been colluding with the Navy all along. He's been planning to deceive Nami for eight years and has no intention of keeping his promise." Arlong clenched his fists, suppressing his anger, and said.

"What did you say?!"

"How could this happen? Wouldn't that mean..."

"That bastard, how could he treat Xiaona like that?" "Xiaona..."

The villagers were all furious and berated Ah Long and the Navy.

Nami gently placed Nojiko on the ground. She trembled all over, her fists clenched, and her determined eyes seemed to hold a firm resolve. "Do you need help?" Just then, a clear and melodious voice rang out.

Nami turned her head and saw Mashiro standing not far away. "What are you doing here?" Nami asked.

"Perhaps it's fate. Anyway, do you need any help?" Mashiro continued to ask.

"I'll pay you back. This has nothing to do with you. Leave now." With that, Nami quickly ran off in one direction. Wow, she's really strong. Mashiro didn't chase after her, but quietly approached Nojiko.

He reached out his hand to her, and a green light began to flicker.

Arlong! Arlong! Arlong! Nami ran quickly towards the Arlong Pirates' hideout. Arlong's promise still echoed in her ears.

"Any agreement involving money, I'll never break it, even if it kills me. It doesn't matter how many years it takes, I'll keep my promise." Ah Long!!!

Chapter Ten: The Weeping Orange Tree (Part Two)

Upon arriving at Arlong's base, Nami walked straight toward Arlong. "Arlong!" Nami shouted angrily.

"What's wrong? Our talented surveyor is so furious." Arlong said with amusement, looking at Nami's gloomy expression.

"The navy you sent stole all my money! Didn't you promise that you would keep your promise about money until you died? Why?!" Nami shouted angrily, twisting Arlong's collar.

"When did I break my promise?" Arlong said calmly to the agitated Nami.

"Stop playing dumb, you're colluding with the Navy..." Before Nami could finish speaking, Arlong reached out and grabbed her by the neck. "When did I break my promise? Tell me," Arlong said in a threatening tone.

Nami looked at Arlong, tears streaming down her face. "Hahahahaha..." Arlong suddenly burst into laughter.

Then, the other members of the Arlong Pirates burst into laughter.

"Oh, I see. The money got stolen. That's really bad luck. But an agreement is an agreement. I can't give you back the village unless you have 100 million Berries ready in front of me," Aaron said with a smile.

"You beast!" Nami struggled, letting out a hoarse voice.

Upon hearing this, Aaron burst into laughter again, saying, "Hahahaha, it's just 100 million Berries, you can just deposit it again. Or do you want to escape from here?"

If you dare to run away, I will kill everyone in Cocoyasi Village.

Nami froze as Ah Long's threatening words fell. Ah Jian's words rang in her ears.

"Nami, we've been pretending not to know because we were afraid that if you wanted to escape from Arlong, our hope would be to be your stepping stone."

Nami abruptly broke free from Arlong's grasp and ran towards the village. Arlong paid no attention, knowing Nami's personality perfectly well.

"Shouldn't we go after her?" Hachi, one of the Arlong Pirates' executives, asked.

"Chase her? Why? How could that woman possibly escape? She's not the kind of woman who would just stand by and watch the villagers die." Arlong said indifferently. "But you're really cruel." Kissing Fishman Chu, a member of the Arlong Pirates, said.

“Cruel? I don’t want such an excellent surveyor as Nami to escape unnoticed. However, I’m not a devil. Once she has surveyed all the oceans in the world, I will give her her freedom,” Arlong said.

"Hahahaha..." Upon hearing Arlong's words, all the members of the Arlong Pirates burst into laughter.

"That's decades from now; it might take a hundred years to measure it all," he said with a laugh. Nami was running anxiously towards the village.

She knew what the villagers might do, but it was impossible for them to succeed.

"Ah Jian, everyone, don't act rashly. If we die, it's all over," Nami prayed incessantly. Meanwhile, in the village, Ah Jian was organizing the villagers.

"Eight years ago, we swore not to sacrifice our lives easily. No matter how painful or humiliating their rule was, as long as Nami was doing well, we could continue living like this. However, this is the answer they gave us. Now that the breakthrough to liberate the village has been blocked, we have no hope."

Moreover, we absolutely cannot forgive those fish-people who toyed with that child's kind heart. Any objections?! "Ah Jian urged. "How could there be?"

"We were ready a long time ago."

"Those murlocs must pay the price."

The villagers all responded.

"From the towns of the North Sea to the towns of the East Sea, I originally thought that the common people of this world would live well, but I didn't expect that they are still suffering from oppression and pain." Looking at the villagers who had been mobilized not far away, Mashiro said with some emotion.

"Judging from your appearance, you must be a young lady from some noble family. In this world, people at the center and the periphery of the ruling power will naturally be protected by the World Government and the Navy."

But in remote villages like ours, the light of justice never falls. "Nojiko, who had recovered from her injuries, said with a very complicated expression."

“You should know that if those people are really as you describe them, these villagers are just going to their deaths,” Mashiro said calmly. Hearing this, Nojiko was taken aback.

"Although I'm not exactly a good person, I don't mind playing the savior for a bit." With that, Mashiro walked lightly forward. When Nami rushed into the village, the scene she had anticipated didn't appear, and Nami couldn't help but breathe a slight sigh of relief.

But when they reached the center of the village, they saw all the villagers lying on the ground, their fates unknown. Instantly, Nami's pupils contracted sharply, and her legs gave way, causing her to collapse to the ground.

"Don't worry, they're fine. I just stopped them from going to their deaths." A clear and familiar voice came from behind. Nami turned her head, looked at Mashiro, and then saw Nojiko next to Mashiro. She breathed a sigh of relief and struggled to her feet.

"Since you're here, then..." he muttered to himself, glancing at the villagers on the ground. The illusion dissipated, and Ken and the others stood up in confusion.

"Where are we?" Before they could even ask themselves, Nami appeared before them.