Chapter Forty-Nine: Colonel Rat

After enduring more than a dozen soaring slashes from Roland, the once-glorious Dragon Paradise had been reduced to a field of shattered ruins. The tall building that had received Roland’s special attention was now nothing but a heap of debris, with countless fragments of stone and wood chaotically mixed together, leaving no trace of its former splendor.

Standing at the main entrance, Nami clenched her teeth in frustration.

“Damn you, Roland, to ruin this place so completely.”

Staring at the devastation, Nami found it impossible to even take a step forward. Even if the treasures could be located, it would first be necessary to clear away all this rubble before anything could be retrieved.

She harbored no greedy thoughts toward these riches. As a fellow victim of Arlong’s reign, she understood all too well how hard life was for those in the other subjugated villages. She was indeed fond of money, but not all wealth tempted her.

After instructing the villagers to handle the debris with care, Nami walked straight toward the largest mound of ruins at the center.

As someone who had once served as a cadre under Arlong, Nami had long suspected where he hid his money. For the man who had murdered her adoptive mother, there was no way she would continue to serve him unquestioningly; she had always harbored plans for the future.

“What’s this…”

As she crossed what had once been the pool area, a corpse suddenly caught her attention. The sharp, jagged nose was unmistakable—this was Arlong.

Seeing the once-arrogant and domineering Arlong now lying there stiff and cold, his eyes still filled with terror and rage, Nami felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction.

For more than ten years, not a day had passed without her wishing to kill Arlong.

Now he was dead, his corpse lying amidst the ruins before her. How could Nami not feel a surge of relief?

She kicked his large head fiercely, tears sliding once more down her cheeks.

“Bellemere, I’ve finally avenged you—”

Though she hadn’t killed Arlong with her own hands, his death meant Bellemere’s vengeance was fulfilled.

After venting her feelings for a while, Nami wiped away her tears and continued toward the main building. The dead were gone; the living still had to survive, and those treasures were their hope for the future.

Arriving at the center of the ruined tower, Nami made straight for the spot she had always suspected. As a cat burglar, she possessed an intuition for treasure that defied explanation.

After moving several pieces of rubble, she squeezed through a narrow gap.

This was the basement of Dragon Paradise, always guarded by fishmen—a place Nami had never been able to approach. But now, she pushed open the door and walked inside.

Descending the stairs, she was dazzled by the golden brilliance that greeted her eyes.

She had collected more than ninety million Berries to buy back Cocoyashi Village, lacking only a small amount to reach her goal. Yet such a vast fortune could be contained in a single, slightly larger chest.

Here, just the gold coins alone filled more than ten chests, and with all the cash and jewels, the value was beyond estimation.

Having found the treasure, Nami retraced her steps and asked the villagers to come and clear the debris in that area. As Roland had said, this amusement park was her pain; if not for the treasure, she would never have returned.

Clearing the ruins was just to recover what rightfully belonged to the villagers.

As for what came next, a single blaze would suffice to cleanse it all—those fishmen deserved no burial.

With the villagers’ efforts, a path to the basement was soon cleared. When they reached it, they too were left dumbfounded.

Such a fortune was beyond anything they had ever seen.

Yet no one harbored any evil intentions. Under the lead of the sheriff, Ajian, they diligently carried the treasure, piece by piece, out to the open space before the amusement park.

Seeing chest after chest of riches being brought out, even Zoro couldn’t help but draw a sharp breath.

All his hard work capturing wanted pirates had never earned him more than a few million Berries at a time—he had never seen so much money.

With such a fortune piled before him, Zoro suddenly felt grateful that he and not some other pirates had arrived here. Otherwise, with so much wealth at stake, he dared not imagine what those pirates might do.

“Someone’s coming?”

Zoro’s eyes suddenly narrowed as he looked out toward the sea.

Along the path leading to the ocean, among the trees, a group of people in navy uniforms had suddenly appeared.

At their head was a man with shadowed eyes, wearing a hat adorned with mouse ears and sporting whiskers that gave him a distinctly rodent-like appearance.

His shifty, sly look made him seem the very image of a rat.

But the uniform he wore was unmistakable—Zoro recognized it as that of a branch navy captain.

“Why would the navy come here?” Zoro frowned, a branch captain’s sudden appearance filling him with foreboding.

Looking at this mouse-like captain, Zoro was reminded of Captain Morgan from before, both men giving him the same sense of disgust.

Moreover, Zoro thought the navy’s timing was far too coincidental—arriving just after Arlong’s death and the villagers’ recovery of the treasure from Dragon Paradise.

Zoro stepped forward to inquire. Since he and Roland were planning to join the navy, he had no intention of clashing with these men.

“What brings you here?” Zoro blocked the group of navy soldiers and their captain, frowning as he spoke.

“We received a tip-off that a pirate crew was causing trouble here. We’ve come to eliminate them.”

Adjusting the brim of his hat, the mouse-like captain responded with righteous authority.

“A tip-off?” Zoro’s frown deepened. If he couldn’t tell by now whether these navy men were good or bad, then his two years roaming the seas had been for nothing.

If tip-offs were truly effective, then Nami would never have suffered as she had all these years.

These navy men were probably in league with Arlong, and it was likely this captain had been Arlong’s protector, allowing him to act with impunity and remain undiscovered by outsiders.

“Sorry, there’s no pirate crew here. Please leave,” Zoro replied.

He wasn’t lying. The Arlong Pirates were all dead, and the other pirates from Krieg’s crew were merely prisoners.

“I’m sorry, but as a navy captain, I cannot simply leave on your word after receiving a report,” the mouse captain replied, shaking his head.

His official words were righteous, but Zoro had already guessed the truth—there was no way he would let them pass.

With such a despicable navy officer, if he saw the pile of treasure, Zoro could well imagine what would happen next.

So Zoro had never intended to let this group through.

“Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro, I advise you not to be foolish. The navy is on official business here, not negotiating with you. I’m only sparing you because of your reputation as a pirate hunter, do you understand?”

The mouse captain’s face darkened, his displeasure obvious.

Did he not know why he was really here? When Arlong had been called away by his fishman underlings during their conversation, the captain had already suspected something was wrong at Dragon Paradise.

He had not intended to help Arlong—if he wished, he could easily cultivate a dozen pirate crews to replace him.

He had only come to confirm the situation.

If Arlong was alive, he would collect a protection fee and tidy up the mess. If Arlong was dead, he could use the excuse of confiscating pirate loot to take all of Arlong’s riches for himself.

Over the years, Arlong’s protection payments had not been small, and given his greedy nature, what the captain kept for himself was certainly much more.

Such a fortune could never be left to these troublesome villagers—it belonged to him.

“Sorry about this, Roland,” Zoro thought, recalling his intention to follow Roland’s lead.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to join the navy and learn from him, but with officers like these, he simply had no desire to be part of them.

Resolved that he would rather clash with the navy than let them pass, Zoro slowly drew his sword, Wado Ichimonji, ready for what was to come.