Chapter Eighteen: Dragon's Park, Nami Appears Once More

Character: Mengqi D. Shu Mingyuan
Rank: Junior Ninja
Chakra: (18,420/50,000)
Justice Points: 115
Acquired Ninjutsu: Lightning Style: Chidori, Lightning Style: Chidori Current, Clone Technique, Fire Style: Great Fireball, Fire Style: Phoenix Fire, Partial Expansion Jutsu
Acquired Taijutsu: Shadow Dance Leaf, Lion Barrage
Ninjutsu Value: 428
Taijutsu Value: 374

After exchanging for three Taijutsu techniques in succession, the Justice Points that Shu Mingyuan had painstakingly accumulated were finally exhausted. However, his Taijutsu value had soared to 374, making his body far stronger than before.

“Out here on the ocean, there’s no way to truly test my Taijutsu, but I suppose I can give Partial Expansion Jutsu a try,” Shu Mingyuan muttered to himself. With a silent incantation, he felt the chakra within him flow along a mysterious new path, converging in his right arm.

“Partial Expansion Jutsu: Arm!”

With a low shout, Shu Mingyuan’s right arm swelled rapidly, transforming within seconds into a colossal limb nearly ten meters long. The sheer force contained within this gigantic arm stunned even him. If Chidori was a sharp blade, then this was a mighty iron hammer, shattering whatever it struck.

“Hey, you big oaf, care to try your luck?” Shu Mingyuan grinned at the Sea King beside him. Though his arm had grown massive, it did not hinder his movements in the slightest.

The Sea King turned its head and found a gigantic fist hovering just a foot from its face. Terror shot through its soul, and its entire body began to tremble.

“If you behave, I won’t have to use this on you. Otherwise…”

With a light tap of his foot, Shu Mingyuan shot upward, soaring ten fathoms into the air before plummeting straight down, his now enormous right arm slamming towards the sea below.

“Do you remember that palm technique that descends from the heavens?”

“Super Push Palm!”

With a guttural cry, his hand—now over ten meters wide—spread open. Even before it made contact, a powerful pressure sent the sea within a thirty-meter radius surging downwards, lowering the water’s surface by ten meters.

Boom!

The giant hand, shimmering with pale blue chakra, crashed onto the ocean. It was as if dozens of cannonballs exploded simultaneously; the resulting waves rose tens of meters high. The surging water radiated outward from the point of impact, the first waves nearly toppling the enormous body of the Sea King.

Chakra flowed beneath Shu Mingyuan’s feet as he skated across the surface, propelled by the force of his own attack for dozens of meters before coming to a stop. Delight was plain on his face; the Partial Expansion Jutsu’s power was even greater than he’d imagined. Spending those Justice Points had been more than worth it!

There were still even stronger techniques to come, like the Super Expansion Jutsu and, beyond that, the Metamorphosis that could amplify his strength a hundredfold. The thought of these future abilities filled Shu Mingyuan with anticipation.

Stepping lightly onto the water’s surface, he returned to the Sea King’s back. It was frozen in terror, petrified by the display of overwhelming power, dreading the prospect of taking such a blow itself.

“Nearly twenty days… I wonder where they are now.”

After nearly twenty days adrift on the open ocean, Shu Mingyuan, guided by his log pose, finally directed the Sea King toward the nearest island.

…

Two hours later.

Cocoyashi Village.

Shu Mingyuan landed alone. The village had been ravaged for reasons unknown, as though it had suffered a fierce battle.

“Nami’s village? I wonder if Luffy and the others have already been here. Since I’m here, I might as well take a look at Arlong Park. If that guy’s still around, I’ll deal with him too.”

Following the road through the ruined town, he soon heard the sounds of fierce fighting. Ahead stood a park surrounded by stone walls, dominated by a towering pagoda-like building. Atop the roof was a shark-shaped sign, above which fluttered a pirate flag with a shark at its core.

“Looks like I arrived just in time. The battle’s not over yet, if Arlong Park is still standing.” Shu Mingyuan mused, striding toward the throng ahead.

A crowd of villagers had gathered around Arlong Park, weapons in hand. From within the park’s walls, the clash of battle rang out over and over.

“Three-Sword Style, Wolf Fang Strike!”

Within the park, Zoro’s familiar voice was heard, followed by a wail of pain. Deep wounds split across Hachi the octopus’s chest, blood pouring down to stain his body red. Zoro, however, looked nearly spent, swaying unsteadily on his feet.

Walking through the crowd, Shu Mingyuan spotted a slender young woman, her arm bound and stained with blood—her bandages long since soaked through. She had clearly suffered greatly during their separation.

“Young man, where are you going? That’s Arlong’s crew! You’ll be killed! Even the pirates can’t stand up to him!” Ajian seized Shu Mingyuan’s arm, worried. From the look of things, Luffy and his friends were being thoroughly beaten.

“Arlong?” Shu Mingyuan gave a dismissive laugh and walked straight toward Nami.

“Mingyuan, you’re here,” Nami forced a smile as she greeted him, though her beautiful eyes were still fixed on the battlefield, filled with worry.

“Yes, I’m sorry I’m late. How could I bear to see a girl who endured so much for her village since the age of ten suffer at the hands of pirates? Silly girl, now that I’m here, everything will be all right. Leave the rest to me.” Shu Mingyuan stroked Nami’s orange hair gently, his voice soft and reassuring.

“Mingyuan…” Nami covered her face as tears welled in her eyes.

“The terror of Arlong’s crew has sunk deep into your heart, suppressing your true hopes for so long. But we must learn to resist. When a person’s will grows strong, they become fearless. Nami, tell me—share your true feelings with me!”

Over these years, Arlong’s tyranny had seeped into every corner of Nami’s life. Her heart was so filled with fear that even memories of the past made her tremble. Yet, with Shu Mingyuan’s arrival, it was as if a skylight had opened in her world, letting sunlight shine again into her once-shadowed life.

“Nami, no one is born without fear. What matters is not losing the courage to face it. Come, show me—tell me what you truly feel!”

“My true feelings…” Nami murmured. “Ever since I can remember, Arlong killed my mother. For the sake of the village, I was forced to do filthy things under my mother’s murderer. Mingyuan, I’m just a regular person, but I want to live a decent life too.”

“For Bell-mère’s will, Mingyuan, I beg you—help me! Help me defeat them!”

Tears streamed down Nami’s face as she sobbed, her voice choked with emotion.

A faint smile touched Shu Mingyuan’s lips, but when he looked toward Arlong, his gaze was cold as frost.

“Don’t worry. For the pain you’ve suffered, I will make him pay back a hundredfold!”