Chapter Forty-One: The Enormous Sea Cow and Little Octopus

Three days later, in the waters near Cocoyashi Village.

Inside the helm, the pirates’ navigators gazed at Nami with deep admiration. From Shells Town to here, it had taken only three days—a speed that, until now, they could scarcely imagine. Ordinarily, this journey would take at least half a month, if not longer. In the face of extreme weather or unforeseen trouble, it could easily stretch to twenty days, or even a full month.

Over these three days, Nami’s expert navigation had uncovered dozens of ocean currents on the charts. Whenever a sea breeze began to blow, the young woman could immediately determine its direction and make precise decisions. Riding the currents and catching the wind, their speed increased dramatically.

But this relentless pace meant little rest for the pirates, who stood ready at all times to obey Nami’s every command without the slightest error. On the deck, peering through her spyglass at a distant dark speck—an island—Nami finally let herself breathe. In her eagerness to return home, she had pored over charts and kept constant watch on the weather, hardly faring better than the pirates in terms of rest.

“Can this really be the end of it all?” Nami turned to look at Roland. She feared this was nothing but a dream, that Roland was just a figment of her desperate imagination.

For more than ten years, she had lived in the depths of misery. Though she held the title of officer in Arlong’s crew, her status was far beneath even the lowest-ranked fishman. She was caught between her village and Arlong’s pirates, forced out to sea from time to time to “earn” money. No matter how strong she pretended to be, she was still just an eighteen-year-old girl.

“Of course,” Roland replied with a gentle smile. “Since I’ve promised you, not a single one of those wretches will survive the day.”

If he had intended to wipe out Arlong’s crew for Nami’s sake before, then after the Gosar Town massacre, Roland’s resolve was now absolute. This time, he intended to leave none alive—not just the ringleaders, but every last one of them.

“I hope everyone’s safe…” Nami gazed at the distant dot—her home, Cocoyashi Village. With Roland’s promise reaffirmed, she no longer feared for Arlong and his men. Now, her only worry was for the villagers and everyone in the town. Mr. Genzo, Nojiko… For three days, every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was the scene from the newspaper—the tragedy at Gosar Town. No matter how she tried, she couldn’t forget it. She was terrified that Arlong would inflict the same horror on Cocoyashi.

“Ro…” Nami began to speak to Roland, but the pirate ship suddenly jolted violently, as if it had collided with something.

“What’s happening?” Roland steadied Nami, turning a sharp gaze toward the pirates at the helm.

“R-Roland, sir, it… it seems we’ve hit something?” stammered one of the pirates—the same one who, three days ago, had wet himself in terror at Roland’s presence. Since that incident, he had barely managed to stammer a word in Roland’s presence.

“Hit something again?” Roland raised an eyebrow. He remembered the last time he’d heard those words, he’d run into Koby. What would it be this time?

After instructing Zoro to protect Nami and the others, Roland followed the pirates toward the source of the collision. He had barely taken a few steps when another strange jolt rocked the ship, even more violently. The sudden lurch sent several unprepared pirates tumbling over the rails and into the sea. Soon, a crimson stain spread, dyeing the water red.

“Is something attacking the ship… and feeding?” Roland watched the blood-stained waves, stroking his chin thoughtfully. He spared no thought for the dead pirates—they were all doomed from the start.

“W-what do we do, Roland?” one of the pirates asked, his face ashen. These men, ruthless killers on land, were little different from ordinary folk in the face of the unknown.

A long, echoing bellow resounded, followed by a great splash as a massive beast emerged from the sea. Even Krieg’s flagship, with its triple decks, seemed puny compared to this new leviathan. At the sight of the creature, some pirates collapsed in terror, while those who fared slightly better merely fumbled their weapons with trembling hands.

“This creature…” It was just a giant sea beast—nothing to fear, thought Roland, in contrast with his petrified crew. Yet, something about it seemed familiar: the green and white stripes, the pair of enormous horns, and the nose-ring. Wasn’t this the giant sea cow Arlong’s crew had brought from the Grand Line?

“Bellow!” The sea cow, half its body out of the water, fixed its gaze on the pirate ship. Seeing Roland’s nonchalance, it roared furiously.

As its roar filled the air, a stench replaced all other scents aboard. “We’re close to Cocoyashi, but why is the sea cow here? Shouldn’t it be feeding at this hour?” Roland pondered, stroking his chin. In the original story, the sea cow had been lured away by Sanji’s cooking. But now, with nothing but the pirates’ barely edible meals—nothing compared to the Golden Lion’s chefs, let alone Sanji—why had it appeared?

He soon had his answer: atop the sea cow’s head appeared an octopus fishman—one of Arlong’s officers, Hatchan. Perched above, Hatchan looked down at Nami on the deck, his face twisted in rage. “Nami! Mohmoo just told me he saw you aboard Krieg’s ship—I thought he’d made a mistake, but here you are!”

“H-Hatchan?” Nami’s expression changed at once. If Hatchan was here, did that mean the villagers were already…

“Nami, if you come back with me now, and let Mohmoo deal with these people, I won’t tell Arlong about this,” Hatchan said, leaping onto the deck and trying to persuade her. Compared to the other officers, he was considered more merciful—but only by comparison.

“Zoro, this is the six-sword swordsman I mentioned—your opponent has arrived,” Roland called out, a note of teasing in his voice as he glanced at Zoro. In the original story, Zoro had defeated Hatchan even when gravely injured. Now, fully recovered, how long would it take?

“Nami, get behind me.” Over the past three days, Roland had told Zoro and the others about Nami’s plight, and they had all been righteously indignant. Now, with a fishman demanding Nami’s return, Zoro had no intention of letting him anywhere near her. Besides, he had long been eager to test himself against this six-bladed swordsman.

“Nami, what do you mean by this?” Hatchan glanced at Zoro, then turned back to Nami, his tone growing cold.

“I’ll never go back with you. All these years, I never thought of you as my companions.” With her new friends beside her, Nami saw no reason to continue her charade—the disgust on her face was plain.

“Is that so?” Hatchan’s voice chilled further. “Then you can join these pirates—and those disobedient villagers of Cocoyashi—on your journey to the afterlife. Mohmoo, smash this ship!”