69novels Chapter 32 Poems of Despair
Chapter 32 Poems of Despair
The azure sea laps against the small island, and orange trees line the coastline. This is Nami's hometown—Cocoyasi Village.
However, beneath the surface of peace and tranquility... lies despair and darkness.
The Arlong Pirates, led by their captain Arlong, are fish-men who, with their superhuman physiques, have taken over more than 20 villages, including this one, and violently exploit the villagers to extract huge protection fees from them every month.
They forced villagers to pay to save their lives: 10 yuan for adults and 5 yuan for children. If they couldn't pay, they would be killed.
And what's even darker is...
Here, the naval captain, Rat, collaborates with Fishman to share the spoils of the villagers' wealth, which Fishman has taken from them.
The naval captains of the branch offices in the four seas are probably only at the level of ensigns in the headquarters, but their power is real.
In other words, the officers, in collusion with them, completely controlled this sea area.
"Nami-chan—"
From afar, Nojiko, standing under the orange tree, spotted the pirate ship carrying Nami and also saw Chu on board, a worried expression on her face.
"Nami must have gone out to steal nautical charts for them again. I wonder how it went..."
As Nami disembarked and saw the people on the shore, before the two could even feel happy, Chu showed an embarrassed smile and grabbed Nojiko's hand, heading towards Arlong Park.
"What are you doing? Let her go—" Nami forcefully pried at Chiu's arm.
"Nami, it's okay." Nojiko turned around and comforted Nami, letting Chuo pull her along.
"Don't worry, I won't do anything to her~" A contemptuous smile appeared on her lips.
"I just asked her to be a witness, after all, she's an important navigator partner of ours... Nami, where's your sister?"
"Witness... what witness?" Nami forced a smile, trying to appear calm.
"Of course, it's the scene where protection money is being collected! I heard there's a newborn baby in your village~"
As he spoke, Chiu revealed a greedy smile.
Nami's pupils contracted sharply, as if she were recalling something, and her eyes gradually turned pale...
Newborns... Every newborn in Cocoa Village represents a huge sum of money to buy their lives!!
Here... new life does not mean happiness and fulfillment, but rather... a curse.
On the street, the fishmen of the Arlong Pirates were going door to door demanding protection money, while Nami stood by with a numb expression.
Each villager whose name was called would tremblingly offer up all of their hard-earned monthly income.
"Shimakawa, Nako..."
"Yamashita Yuta."
"Yota~"
The man whose name was called last walked heavily out of the crowd, and the villagers' faces instantly filled with tension and prayer.
The fish-men around him stared at him with malicious intent.
Yuta tremblingly offered up the Berry in his hand.
The fish-man held up the list of quantities in his hand right in front of him, then weighed it and put it in his pocket. He then looked at Yuta with a mocking expression.
"How come it's only 20?"
Yuta forced a fearful smile. "No...that's right. Two...two hundred thousand, that's exactly for two people."
"Two people?" The fishman's face slowly approached Yuta, revealing a malicious smile as he stared intently at him.
"How come I heard there were three?"
"Waaaaah..." With a cry, a fish-man carried a baby still in swaddling clothes out of Yuta's house.
The villagers wore expressions of anger that they dared not express.
Nami, standing to the side, looked completely pale and bewildered.
Upon witnessing this scene, Yuta was instantly blinded by rage and charged towards the fish-man.
"Let her go—"
However, the two mermen beside him pressed his body firmly to the ground, and dust choked him into his mouth.
"Let her go!! Let her go..."
Yuta's futile struggles seemed laughable to the fish-men, yet he used all his strength to struggle incessantly.
The leader of the fishmen revealed an even more mocking smile and whispered in Yuta's ear.
"Lying is wrong, you know~ You said there would be two, why are there three~"
The merman's eyes suddenly turned fierce. "You think you can hide this from us?!"
"She's just a child! She's still a child—" Yuta pleaded desperately.
"So what if it's a child?" the fishman said coldly. "Rules are rules."
Having said that, the fishman pointed the gun at the baby.
"No... wait..." Yuta raised his head with difficulty, his face showing an unprecedented determination.
"That 20... bought the lives of my wife and daughter. As for my life... you can take it..."
"Yo~" The merman raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"What a good father!"
"Then I'll grant your wish—"
He pointed the gun at Yuta beneath him, a sinister smile spreading across his face, and slowly pulled the trigger.
"boom--"
As the gunshot rang out, blood flowed from the wound and onto the ground.
A beautiful woman tried to break free from the crowd, but the villagers held her back. Her expression was extremely distressed, and her voice was hoarse as she screamed:
"The child's father—"
Seeing this, the villagers suppressed their anger.
What can they do? ... No matter how many rush in, they'll only be throwing their lives away.
They longed for a hero to descend from the heavens and save them, but such a scenario only existed in stories...
As Yuta's life drew to a close, he crawled slowly across the ground, leaving a trail of blood several meters long.
His face showed a look of longing, just wanting to be a little closer to his child...
Finally crawling to the end, Yuta gently cradled the baby in his arms, an expression of unprecedented contentment on his face, and slowly closed his eyes...
The cries of infants, the wailing of women, and the desperate faces of the villagers together formed a poem of despair.
Nami watched this scene, covered her mouth with her hand to stop herself from crying out, and instantly burst into tears.
She clenched her teeth until they bled, the blood trickling down her lip without her even realizing it.
How similar this scene was to her own experience back then! The same fate seemed to repeat itself endlessly in Cocoyasi Village…
When will this cycle of reincarnation end?
Her fists clenched, veins bulging on her forehead, and she was about to step forward and fight back.
Nojiko, who was standing nearby, held her tightly and shook her head at her with a serious expression.
"Don't be impulsive, Nami!"
"Think about those who are still alive!"
These words were like a bucket of cold water poured over Nami, waking her up.
Yes, if we resist now, not only will it implicate Nojiko, but the entire village could face annihilation...
She loosened her fists helplessly, like a puppet whose soul had been taken away, her eyes vacant as if she had lost her soul, her body slowly slumping to the ground like a puddle of mud.
If the world is like this, I hope tomorrow never comes.
"What should I do...?"
"Someone... please help me—"
Nami was like a walking corpse.
She didn't know how she got back to her lodgings, nor did she remember how she drifted off to sleep...
Just then, a large ship arrived on the coastline of Cocoa West Village.
A ship of unprecedented size.
..........