Nojiko, standing beside Genzo, seemed to notice Nami's confusion and quickly offered an apologetic explanation:
"That deal you made with Arlong... I actually told the villagers about it a long time ago."
"Everyone pretended not to know and kept their distance from you because we didn't want you to feel burdened by us."
Nami blinked in surprise. "Burdened?"
Genzo nodded solemnly. "We deliberately treated you coldly because if you couldn't gather the 100 million Berries in time, we wanted you to be able to leave without worrying about us."
"To escape from Arlong's control without any guilt holding you back."
The villagers all smiled and nodded in agreement, making it clear they had always shared this unspoken understanding.
"You all... everyone..."
Nami stood frozen, overwhelmed with emotion. Her eyes grew misty again, but this time, she bit her lip and held back her tears. Instead, she gave a radiant smile from the depths of her heart.
"Thank you... thank you, everyone."
Now that she knew the truth behind their treatment of her, every hardship she had endured felt worth it.
Genzo shook his head slightly, his serious face softening with a smile. "It's us who should be thanking you, Nami."
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he turned to the two people standing beside Nami and expressed his gratitude once more.
"And of course, the same goes for the both of you. Thank you so much for helping us!"
Nojiko hesitated for a moment before realizing her mistake—she had been so anxious earlier that she had only given the villagers a rough explanation of the situation.
She had completely forgotten to properly introduce Wil and Karina.
Nami noticed it too and quickly took the opportunity to introduce the two to the villagers, also sharing how the three of them had first met.
When Genzo heard that Wil had saved Nami before, he immediately thanked him again, his gaze toward Wil growing even more approving.
"It's a shame we couldn't do anything to help."
One of the villagers, still holding a metal pipe, sighed with regret.
At those words, Wil, who had remained silent for a while, suddenly looked thoughtful. Then, he spoke up:
"Actually, there is something you all can help with."
Genzo and the villagers blinked in confusion.
Wil explained, "You've probably noticed—there are still quite a few fish-men left alive."
"You don't want any survivors escaping and bringing revenge upon nearby villages, do you?"
The simple villagers exchanged hesitant glances, not quite grasping his meaning.
But Genzo understood immediately. His expression turned serious as he confirmed, "Wil, are you saying... we should take care of the remaining fish-men ourselves?"
Wil nodded slowly, his gaze meaningful. "I'm feeling a bit tired. So, would you mind handling it for me?"
The villagers now understood exactly what he meant. Their expressions varied—some were nervous, others excited or eager, and some even looked downright thrilled.
But not a single one hesitated.
"No problem! Leave it to us!"
"That's right! We've come this far already!"
"Don't worry, not a single fish-man will escape!"
"Yeah, we'll make sure of it!"
With determined voices, the villagers fanned out, wielding their makeshift weapons and carefully inspecting the area.
Whenever they found a fish-man still breathing, they wasted no time in beating them to death.
Of course, these fish-men had already been crippled by Wil—they had no strength left to fight back. All they could do was lie there and wait for their inevitable end.
Nami watched in shock, muttering to herself, "Why is everyone so... eager?"
Karina walked up beside her and whispered, "You still don't see it? They've been suppressing their hatred for a long time."
"Now that Wil has given them a chance for revenge, of course they won't hesitate."
Nami finally understood, sighing inwardly.
It made sense—under Arlong's rule, nearly everyone in the village had suffered at the hands of the fish-men.
They must have been harboring deep resentment all this time.
Wil had known this from the start, which was why he deliberately let the villagers finish the job. He wanted to see whether these people, after years of oppression, still had the courage to fight back.
And the result satisfied him.
Wil didn't bother watching as the villagers cheerfully delivered the final blows. Instead, he sank into thought.
From the moment he decided to come to Arlong Park, he had already made up his mind—he would not let a single fish-man walk away alive.
He didn't care whether Nami would choose to forgive them in the future.
All he knew was that when he first read this part of the manga, he was furious at the fish-men's actions.
Now that he had the chance to wipe them out himself, there was no way he would let them go.
"If I hadn't come to the One Piece world, these fish-men would still be alive.
"But I'm here now, and they're still alive?"
"Then what was the point of me coming here?!"
The more Wil thought about it, the more convinced he became. He nodded to himself, satisfied.
After several rounds of searching, the villagers confirmed that not a single fish-man had been left alive.
"Good, good. That's more like it."
"If they all came together to the East Blue, it's only right that they leave together too."
Wil nodded approvingly, pleased that the villagers had stepped up to finish the fight.
Then, activating his Observation Haki once more, he scanned the area to ensure no survivors remained.
His expression stiffened, and he slowly turned toward the southern gate leading to the ocean.
Karina, quick to notice his reaction, asked curiously.
Wil's gaze sharpened. "A ship is coming."
Just as he spoke, the bow of a large vessel emerged from the southern horizon, rising over the waves.
The villagers noticed it too, all turning toward the sea.
As the ship drew closer, several sharp-eyed villagers suddenly shouted:
"It's a Marine warship!"
"Huh? The Marines?! Why are they here?!"
Nami's eyes narrowed, her expression shifting to uncertainty.
She had once seen Marines secretly meeting with Arlong's crew.
Unfortunately, she hadn't been able to get a good look at their faces back then, so she couldn't tell whether these incoming Marines were friends or foes.
However, when she turned and saw that Wil remained calm, she relaxed a little.
Then, she turned to reassure the anxious villagers.
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