Sailing: His comprehension is against the sky, and he comprehends the Eight Gates at the beginning.

"How did you do that?"

"A legendary Devil Fruit user?"

"To crush the Arlong Empire with a single kick, is this really not a dream?"

"Terrible, terrifying, absolutely terrifying!"

For a time, most of the fish-men were filled with fear and shock at Luffy.

...

The villagers didn't share the same panic as the fishermen, but they were just as shocked.

"That straw hat kid is really too strong!"

"One punch to defeat Arlong, one kick to shatter Arlong's empire—that straw-hat kid was telling the truth! He really did take care of it with just a flick of his finger!!!"

"Hey...hey! Everyone! Does this mean...we're...free from now on?!"

Suddenly someone mentioned it.

For a moment, all the villagers were stunned.

boom!

After a brief moment of stunned silence, the entire village erupted in cheers and celebration.

"Great, we're finally free."

"We no longer need to pay Ah Long and his gang money to keep our lives. We are finally free."

"Hurry, I need to tell the other people on the island this news as soon as possible, so that everyone can come and celebrate."

"Nami, you can finally live for yourself!"

Nojiko looked at Nami, who was squatting there, trembling slightly, and said happily.

Just as she was about to comfort Nami and share her joy, she suddenly saw Nami stand up abruptly and rush towards Luffy.

Looking at the completely shattered Arlong Empire before him, Luffy finally felt a little relieved.

Thinking that there was still one goal to be solved, Luffy decided to take Nami with him to find the rat colonel who stole Nami's money.

Just then, he suddenly sensed a force rushing toward him.

When he turned his head to look, he only saw a figure suddenly rush towards him and hug him tightly.

"Luffy... thank you! Thank you!"

"Thank you for saving me! For saving Nojiko! For saving this village!"

"Thank you so much!!!"

Nami hugged Luffy tightly, rested her head on his shoulder, and cried as she thanked him, her voice choked and hoarse.

Luffy smiled, and his anger dissipated considerably in an instant.

He gently stroked Nami's hair and said softly.

"Didn't I tell you? I will never let anything happen to my crew."

This is what Luffy told Nami when he first invited her to join him.

Hearing Luffy say those words again, Nami burst into tears, crying even harder.

Even though she took Luffy's ship and stole his treasure, Luffy still treated her as a crew member.

"Hey! Nami! Did you hear what I just said?"

"From now on, you must rely on me, your captain."

"Your captain is very strong!"

Luffy spoke earnestly to Nami, who was leaning on his shoulder.

Upon hearing this, Nami sniffed, temporarily stopping her crying, and then nodded heavily.

"Yeah! I understand."

As soon as Nami finished speaking, Luffy suddenly said in an extremely exaggeratedly disgusted tone.

"Hey! Nami, you didn't leave your snot all over my clothes, did you? That's so dirty!"

Upon hearing this, Nami angrily shoved Luffy away and cursed angrily, baring her teeth.

"You idiot, you super idiot! You hopelessly idiot..."

Nami kept scolding Luffy, angry that he was still concerned about such things at a time like this, truly hopeless.

But at that moment, she suddenly saw Luffy grin and say something.

"Hehe! Not sad anymore, right?!?"

"Let's go, Nami!"

"Let's go beat that guy who stole your money to a pulp!"

As Luffy spoke, he turned and walked towards the exit.

Nami stared blankly at Luffy's retreating figure, muttering to herself.

"Was that idiot saying that on purpose just now, to stop me from being sad any longer?"

"Is that idiot... really that smart?"

Nami was skeptical, but she quickly caught up with Luffy anyway.

When Luffy arrived at the entrance, he saw Nojiko, Gen, and some villagers still waiting there, and he spoke to them.

"You guys go back to the village first! I'll take Nami to get her money back, and then we'll give that rat colonel a good beating."

Just then, a voice came from behind Luffy.

"I'll go with you."

Without turning around, Luffy knew it was Uta.

The merfolk here are all grunts, and those few officers are not even in the same league as Uta.

Rather than wasting time with these small fry, Uta would much rather watch Luffy beat up that rat colonel.

More importantly, she also wanted to land two more punches to avenge Nami.

Luffy nodded in agreement.

A-Jian glanced at Zoro and his two companions, who were surrounded by dozens of fishmen behind Luffy, then looked at Luffy and asked with some concern.

"Are the three of them... okay?"

They witnessed Luffy's strength firsthand, but they didn't know the strength of his crew.

Facing around fifty mermen, he was still a little worried with only three of them.

The swordsman, in particular, was covered in bandages and looked like he was seriously injured.

Is this really okay?

Luffy smiled and said.

"Those three are practically hoping for more rivals right now!"

"This is enough for the three of them."

Spurred on by Luffy, the three of them grew increasingly ambitious and desired to have as many opponents as possible so that they could grow stronger and match Luffy's strength.

After Luffy finished speaking, he left with Nami and Uta.

A-Jian and Nojiko glanced at them, then looked back at Zoro and the others.

Since Luffy has said so, they'll stop worrying about it.

So he led the team back to Cocosia Village.

...

Within the crumbling Arlong Empire.

Zoro, Sanji, and Usopp stood in a row, surrounded by about fifty fishmen and three fishman executives.

At this moment, the fish-men were still immersed in the shock and fear of Luffy's instant defeat of Arlong and destruction of Arlong's empire.

At this moment, the Kissing Fishman cadre suddenly spoke up.

"The man in the straw hat is gone, we don't need to be afraid anymore."

"They only left three people. They really underestimated us merfolk."

"We fish-men are a great race, and humans are nothing but trash, no match for us at all."

"Fellow countrymen, these people killed Brother A Long. We must kill them and avenge Brother A Long."

Upon hearing this, all the fishmen immediately recalled Arlong's miserable state, and they were filled with rage.

There are only three people on the other side, while they have more than fifty fishmen and three officers. What's there to be afraid of?

While the fishmen were filled with righteous indignation and their morale was high, Zoro and his two companions seemed to have completely ignored it.

The three of them continued their conversation amongst themselves.

"Leave that octopus swordsman to me!"

Zoro, holding Wado Ichimonji, stared intently at the executive, Hachi the Octopus Swordsman.

"Leave that big guy to me!"

Sanji lit a cigarette and looked at the soft-boned fishman executive, Crooby.

"The one who's speaking now is my prey."

Usopp adjusted his glasses, his gaze fixed on Akio, the Kissing Fishman executive.

"What about the rest of the smaller fish?"

"Whoever grabs it keeps it!"

"agree!!!"

"Got it! (x3)"

Chapter 52 Alarms Naval Headquarters, the Most Despicable Rookie

Near the village of Cocosia, on a secluded coastline.

This place is in a remote location and is not easily discovered.

There is a warship currently docked here, marked with the number "16".

It was the ship of Captain Rat, a naval captain from the 16th Naval Division.

"Moshi moshi! This is Marine Headquarters..."

Inside the cabin, such a voice came from a Den Den Mushi.

Beside the Den Den Mushi, Colonel Rat looked terrified and spoke frantically into the Mushi in an almost screaming voice.

"Is this headquarters? I am Captain Rat from the 16th Naval Division, Navy sergeant 00733."

"I need to submit a request to headquarters..."

"You don't need to yell, I can hear you!"

A grumbling voice came from the other end of the Den Den Mushi.

Colonel Mouse, however, paid no attention and continued to speak loudly in a panicked voice.

"Listen up, there is a pirate named Luffy who wears a straw hat, and he and his crew are enemies of the government of our world."

"That Straw Hat Luffy...that Straw Hat Luffy..."

As Colonel Rat spoke, he recalled the unforgettable scene he had witnessed while hiding near the Arlong Empire.

He originally planned to give Arlong's share of the money he had taken from Nami after dividing it up.

But they happened to run into Luffy and his crew who had stormed into the Arlong Empire.

Then he witnessed Luffy defeat Arlong with a single punch and shatter Arlong's empire with a single kick.