Chapter Forty-Seven: The Collapse of Paradise

Within the Dragon Paradise, Roland gazed at the fishmen before him with a mocking sneer, finding their defiance utterly laughable. Brotherhood and loyalty—such sentiments might have moved him once, in the days before the massacre at Gosa Town. But after witnessing that tragedy, any shred of sympathy for these fishmen had been swept away. Brotherhood, is it? When you slaughtered innocents in Gosa Town, you should have foreseen this day.

“All right, the game is over, Arlong. It’s time for you and your lackeys to depart this world together.” Roland advanced, short sabre in hand, closing in on the trembling fishmen.

“Big Brother Arlong, you must escape!” one fishman cried, charging recklessly at Roland. But the gulf in strength was so vast, he could not delay the inevitable even for a moment. Roland’s blade flashed, and with a savage wound, the fishman collapsed, stiff and lifeless.

The remaining fishmen exchanged glances, then rushed at Roland together—these were the last of their kind. Throughout it all, Arlong stood frozen, watching as if carved from stone. The broken sword, Crooby shielding him from a fatal blow, those fishmen who died to cover his escape—Arlong remembered each sacrifice, but simply stared, detached from the carnage.

“Arlong, run—quickly!” The last fishman lunged at Roland, wrapping him in a desperate embrace, shouting at Arlong. Only when Roland kicked him aside, sending him rolling to Arlong’s feet, did his voice falter and fade into silence.

Arlong stared at the fallen comrade, suddenly recalling something. His eyes reddened, veins bulging across his face. “Human, you’ll pay for my kin—with your life!” Gripping his shattered blade, Arlong charged at Roland, bellowing in rage.

But fury did not make Arlong stronger—instead, it robbed him of reason. One by one, his brethren died before his eyes, and Arlong’s composure snapped. Now, bereft of sense, he was a bloodthirsty beast, gnashing and clawing, a terrifying sight to behold.

Roland, however, saw through the spectacle. Arlong’s wildness was nothing more than a final, futile struggle. The relentless death of his comrades had crushed him completely. For one who always believed fishmen were inherently superior to humans, such defeat was intolerable.

“You’re pitiful now, Arlong—utterly grotesque.” Roland shook his head and kicked Arlong aside, sending him crashing into a pillar within the Paradise. The pillar shattered with a thunderous boom, and Arlong, after breaking through it, was embedded deep in the wall.

But such a maddened beast could not be contained by mere stone. Struggling free from the rubble, Arlong resumed his attack. This time, Roland did not hold back. With a flicker, he appeared before Arlong and struck with his blade.

Arlong faced Roland’s attack without dodging, not even raising his broken sword in defense. He intended to take the blow head-on, to trade wound for wound, even life for life.

Arlong had absolute confidence in his sword’s sharpness. It might have lost to that human’s long blade earlier, but no mere human body could withstand its edge. Yet Arlong overestimated his speed and underestimated Roland’s. As they met head-on, both passed each other in a blur.

Roland stood at the heart of the bustling Paradise, calmly wiping the blood from his short sabre before sheathing it. Behind him, Arlong, overwhelmed by despair, fell to the ground—his body cleaved cleanly in two.

Roland felt no sorrow at Arlong’s demise—no tragic end for a hero, only the sense that killing him so swiftly was far too generous. Gazing at the corpses strewn across the floor, Roland felt not a shred of pity. The wicked deserve death at every hand.

With Arlong’s death, it was all over. The nefarious Dragon Pirate Crew had been wiped out. Cocoyasi Village would face oppression no more, and Nami could sail freely across the seas, charting her own destiny. The massacre at Gosa Town had finally been answered. Though he hadn’t arrived in time to prevent it, at least vengeance had been served.

Yet, for Roland, this was far from enough. As long as the world remained as it was, tragedies like Gosa Town would recur. True peace was impossible. His work had only begun.

Lifting his gaze, Roland looked at the towering structure before him—the final target of this journey. Once this building fell, painful memories would evaporate from Nami’s mind. After a last glance at the edifice, Roland turned and strode toward the gates of the Paradise. As he left, his sabre flashed, unleashing a dozen dark red flying slashes.

With his task complete, Roland never looked back, heading toward the village. Behind him, the Paradise collapsed with a cacophony of thunder. Every building was destroyed by the flying slashes, including the room that had imprisoned Nami, forcing her to draw nautical maps.

In distant Cocoyasi Village, the sound of the Paradise’s destruction drew every eye. As the building—symbol of so many painful memories—crumbled, Nami stood in a daze. For over a decade, she’d spent her days at sea earning money, or locked away in that tower, drawing maps she never desired. She’d done it all to protect Cocoyasi Village and its people, who had cared for her and her sister for years.

Now, at last, it was over. The collapse of that tower ended it all—painful memories, tragic past, everything was finished. But it was not yet time for joy.

Wiping tears from her eyes, Nami turned to face the fishmen threatening Nojiko, her gaze unwavering. “The collapse of Dragon Paradise—you know what that means, don’t you?”

She stepped forward, approaching the fishmen. With Arlong dead, those who sought to threaten her with Nojiko meant nothing. With Roland and Zoro present, or even the villagers themselves, these fishmen had no chance of escape. Nami feared nothing.

“Don’t come any closer! One more step and I’ll kill her!” The fishmen grew frantic as Nami approached. The fall of Dragon Paradise had shattered their last hope. From the moment Roland and Nami appeared, they knew death awaited them that day. Desperate, they seized Nami’s beloved sister Nojiko, intending to threaten her or aid Arlong against the man in the white suit. With a hostage, they figured the man linked to Nami would hesitate.

They never expected Nami to discover their scheme, or to be surrounded by villagers. And their hope—Arlong himself—had proved no match for the mysterious man, or else the Paradise would still stand.

Their situation was now utterly hopeless. Facing Nami, they dared not treat her as they used to, barking orders at will.

“Kill her?” Nami laughed, a bright, genuine laugh, knowing full well these fishmen wouldn’t dare. As a senior member of the Dragon Pirate Crew, she had spent years among them and knew their natures intimately. If it were other fishmen, she might have hesitated. But these cowards would never hurt Nojiko. They knew only a living Nojiko could threaten Nami; a dead one would only incite the humans’ wrath.

“I’ll give you a chance. Release Nojiko, and I’ll let you go,” Nami said, standing before them, her expression unchanged. “But if even a single hair on Nojiko’s head is harmed, you’ll suffer a fate worse than death.”

The fishmen glanced at each other, terror plain on their faces. At last, one nodded, and they slowly removed the steel blade from Nojiko’s throat.

“Go on—get out of here. I never want to see you again!” Nami let out a sigh of relief, embracing Nojiko as she shouted at the fishmen.

The fishmen, too, sighed with relief, fearing Nami might break her word. But it seemed she would not stoop to such dishonorable acts.

Yet, in the next instant, a dark red flying slash pierced their chests, leaving them dumbfounded.

What was happening?

Their confusion lasted only a moment—consciousness faded as their bodies slipped to the ground.

“She promised to let you go. I made no such promise.” That was the last thing they heard before death claimed them.