[personal profile] locuatico posting in [community profile] scans_daily
Time for more One Piece (I guess)


Volume 8: 6 out 186 (chapters 70 & 71)
For those who do not follow One Piece, Nami is the crew Navigator and was introduced at the end of the first volume. Her main trait is that she is a greedy thief that steals from pirates. despite this, we only start to get into her backstory around chapter 70.

In the middle of the Baratie Arc, she steals the Going Merry and runs away straight to Arlong Park (the place inhabited by Arlong, a fishman and the strongest pirate of all the East Blue. We also learn that she is part of his crew)

Some of the characters go after her, which is the lead to the Arlong Park arc.

Once there, Usopp gets separated and meets Nojiko, a mysterious woman and a kid that had tried to attack Arlong, but whom Nami Beat the crap of.

Nojiko takes Usopp and the kid to her house where they can hide and, once the kid leaves, we discover who Nojiko is






we then learn Zoro has been taken prisoner by Arlong and that he doesn't quite buy Nami's story that she has betrayed them.

Arlong and his crew go to one of the villages and here we are introduced to Genzo, de defacto leader of the village and another character with a personal connection to Nami.
We also discover that Arlong has the entire island hostage



but most important, we discover that Nami has taken the ocassion to free Zoro without Arlong's knowledge.



and so begins Volume 9. (24 pages out of 205)

Arlong attempts to kill Genzo, but he is saved by Usopp, who uses his slingshot to make Arlong target him instead. This backfires in that Arlong destroys half the village trying to catch him, but Usopp manages to run away, the fishman go after him and everyone in the village is safe.

Then Nami shows up with some flowers and everyone treats her coldly.


we soon learn what the flowers are for and we also get a hint of what are nami's intentions.


Let's cut ahead somewhat.

Luffy and Sanji finally arrive, they are confronted by Nami who tells them to leave and that she doesn't want to join the crew. She also seemed to have killed Usopp but in reality it was a trick so Arlong would not go after him .

Finally, Nojiko decides to confront the crew and explain what the hell is going on.


and so begins the story of Nami, Nojiko and their adoptive mother Bellemere with chapter 76: The First Step Towards a Dream.




Bellemere grows and sells tangerines for a living but, due to competition and lack of demand, it is not very lcurative, so it is barely enough for the three of them.

We also learn that Nami was into navigation since very young and that her dream is to draw a map of the entire world and we are shown she already drew a map of the entire island. The problem is that it requires her to study a lot and they cannot afford too many books.



Nami is upset that they are so poor and she and Bellemere have a fight that ends with Nami running away.
Bellemere then asks Nojiko to go after Nami.


Nami tells Genzo that she believes Bellemere would probably be happier if she did not have to take care of her and Nojiko because of how expensive it is to take care of the three of them. Genzo tells her it is actually the opposite and we learn Bellemere's backstory:

She always had a bad reputation through the village as a troublesome kid until, one day, she decided to leave the island and join the Marines (the official translation is Navy, but screw that) much to the surprise of everyone.

Then, one day she returned




The chapter ends with the arrival of Arlong and his pirates to the island and taking everyone prisoner.

And so we begin chapter 77: Bellemere.

Arlong's demands are simple: 100,000 Berries (Onne piece's currency) for every adult, 50,000 Berries for every child. Those that cannot pay are executed. No exceptions.

Everyone feels frustrated, but Genzo tells everyone to hold on for now. fortunately, there is enough to pay for everyone but barely.

At first, it seems Bellemere Nami and Nojiko will be safe because their house can't be seen from there... but then one of the fishmen spot smoke coming from the house... becuase Bellemere was making Dinner.

the fishmen go to Bellemere's house while Genzo and the doctor (who can be seen in the flashback) are looking for Nojiko and Nami, who were supposed to be hiding in the woods.

It turns out they ran to warn Bellemere aobut the pirates, but Arlong arrives first.



Despite her best efforts, Bellemere is no match for a fishman and she is almost killed when Genzo arrives.

Bellemere doesn't have enough money for the three of them, but Genzo and the village had already planned ahead.
There is no document that indicate Bellemere is their mother so Bellemere only needs to pay for her life while Nojiko and Nami will be taken outside the island for their protection. If they stay, they are going to be murdered. They were able to find Nojiko and Nami before the fishmen discovered them so it seems the plan is going to work.
However





Shortly after, Genzo and the others would discover that Arlong and his crew had destroyed all the means to leave the island, the plan to save Nojiko and Nami was doomed to fail. They also argue that Bellemere had realized this (probably because from her experience as a Marine) and that the only way to save Nojiko and Nami was by sacrificing herself.





Okay but the question now is: why is Nami working for Arlong, then?

simple: Arlong's plan is to conquer the entire east blue. However, to do that he needs maps of the entire East Blue that are as precise as possible because that combined with the fishmen natural abilities would allow them to control the sea... literally... as in (and i am not kidding here) being able to know where to place a boulder to create a Maelstrom.

Arlong discovers Nami navigations skills and decides to take Nami with him.
Genzo tries to fight and save her, but fails and the result are the scars he has in present day.

The village is ready to go attack Arlong to save Nami, but then she appears seemingly unharmed and explains what happened.

Arlong wants Nami to make maps of East Blue for him and he is willing to pay her for it. he will give her money, clothes and all the books she wants as long as she keeps on making maps for him.
And Nami accepted and joined his crew when she saw how much money it was. and even has the tatoo to prove it.
The village casts her out and mark her as a traitor.

However, This was a lie to protect everyone in the village.
And this story ends with Nami, in front of Bellemere's grave, telling Nojiko the truth



Date: 2017-05-15 03:19 am (UTC)
From: [personal profile] philippos42
I think I saw the anime of this arc, years ago. Nami is amazing.

Date: 2017-05-15 07:38 am (UTC)
empgonzo: (Default)
From: [personal profile] empgonzo
I think my favorite One Piece running gag is that each character's revealed back story being more tragic than the last.

Date: 2017-05-15 11:21 am (UTC)
janegray: (Default)
From: [personal profile] janegray
I stopped enjoying One Piece a very long time ago. But this arch here was fantastic. I remember loing it so, so much.

Date: 2017-05-17 06:13 pm (UTC)
mizerous: (Default)
From: [personal profile] mizerous
Man I remember watching the Arlong Arc so many years in the...4 Kids Era.

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