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Arlong Park Arc: Part III
Here, we learn a little more about Arlong's world and see Nami try to hold it together when facing pressure both from Arlong and her former nakama. Also we talk about concepts such as greed, darkest before the dawn, see Usopp come to the heart of the matter-- and see Zoro and Sanji's first interaction as nakama... sort of.
When last we left, Zoro was sitting in Arlong’s chair and wondering what to do.
As we begin 73, we start off the chapter with Hachi fishing with a pig roasting beside him. He trumpets for Mohmoo, calling him to mealtime—a sound which Zoro overhears, and then this:
Nothing significant is happening here, but it is further introducing Hachi as a character. For the purposes of this particular arc, Hachi serves to offset the violent, deceitful sides we’ve seen to Fishmen thus far. Not that we’re absolving Hachi from his participation, but it’s worth to note his affable, laid back nature. We’ve already seen his affability with Nezumi and his joke was bad but harmless in intent. Here we see more of his nurturing side as the caretaker of Mohmoo. He knows Mohmoo’s schedule, or how soon it should take him to get there anyway—and he also knows the sea monster’s favorite food. Hachi is a guy that cares about people/creatures.
He’s even pretty affable with humans and super trusting. Zoro appears and though Hachi is startled, he right away tells him his name and invites him to use his nickname—even before asking why Zoro’s there to begin with. Granted Hachi has nothing to fear from humans at this point but he certainly doesn’t seem to hate him either. Also I have to laugh at Zoro just rolling with it. It’s actually pretty smooth. And worth noting that Zoro doesn’t really hate Fishmen either. I mean yeah, he either knocked them all cold or killed them, but that was necessity if anything.
Can I just say that for some reason even Zoro’s resting face is fine as hell? I don’t know how Oda does it. I love the little eyebrow raise in the bottom right though.
Fanning myself aside, in characterization terms, from Zoro’s side, I think he’s partly asking where Arlong is because it’s the natural flow of the conversation. He’s not really an actor as such But he’s sensible and knows when to play the game. Isn’t quite bad at playing it either, though it doesn’t help that Hachi is not the sharpest tool in the box. I also wonder if Zoro was thinking along the lines of kicking Arlong’s ass = Nami has no choice but to come with them—even so I wouldn’t call it a solid plan even if he is thinking it, just mulling over an idea. And, hey, it can’t hurt to know. As he’s mulling it over might as well save Usopp.
Note, too, that it’s Usopp’s (and Johnny’s) doing that he got captured, but his first thought? Go save Usopp.
Hachi meanwhile again shows how trusting he is and what a big mouth he has, saying things that Zoro shouldn’t know—but he figures Zoro is a friend so what is the harm and he should know things. Also—Hachi is not really that good at making connections. He’s kind of a ditz in that way. But it’s an interesting characterization point that when first meeting a strange human, he assumes they are an ally rather than an enemy.
We cut to Mohmoo coming out at the wrong place on the sea and looming over Sanji’s ship where Sanji, Luffy and Yosaku are having a meal.
I love their reactions to this. Luffy is just amazed at the size of the sea cow… but it just shows how into the world and the moment and just seeing things he is. Since at the very least, the guardian of Dawn Island isn’t that much smaller than Mohmoo is. But still. Giant sea cow. Amazing.
Sanji is just trying to figure out what the hell it is. XD Not much meta to say here, I just like his expression like: This is the weirdest/biggest fucking thing I’ve seen.
Also Yosaku is terrified, but pretty knowledgeable about the East Blue and what belongs in it and what doesn’t. As he states that this is a Grand Line creature. Everyone has their weaknesses and strengths, including Johnny and Yosaku. :p
I really like this shot of Luffy, too. He’s pretty pissed about Mohmoo wanting their food. This much is evident the very next page as Luffy gum gum no pistols the shit out of it. Of course this shows that Luffy is hardly heroic and even selfish insofar as food as concerned. He’s not going to share it with a beastie. But also looking deeper, growing up he was either hunting the food or having to fight off brothers and bandits to eat. I’m sure it got easier as he grew up but I’m also sure he’s had wild animals after his food before. Also I’m sure that he hasn’t yet gotten used to a life where there is food in reserve so that he doesn’t have to be concerned with it. But the main point of it all for him of course is as he says in the very next panel:
“Don’t you dare touch my food!”
I love Luffy’s solution that if hitting it once doesn’t work, hit it again. Which is mostly his solution to everything.
But the highlight, of course, is Sanji who once again follows his conviction. He clobbers them for doing it, because of course he just came off the whole Gin thing, but look at what he says in the bottom right. He’s thinking Mohmoo can’t find food on his own, so of course he’s aggressive. (Also Luffy’s frown at this whole ‘giving away his food’ business, but letting Sanji do what he likes. And Yosaku not too happy with Sanji’s caring nature after being kicked in the head. And how caring is that really?)
But of course Mohmoo isn’t injured and what’s more has someone that feeds him his favorite food. He is a well taken care of beastie. He has no reason to go after their food. He certainly doesn’t have any reason to eat the food and eat Sanji as well. It’s sort of speaking to another little sub-theme threaded throughout this arc, greed.
Granted there is something to be said for animal instinct, but Mohmoo is presented at somewhat sentient…or at least seeing just how much he can get away with.
He doesn’t get away with it, however, because as soon as Sanji realizes he’s about to get eaten, he kicks the shit out of Mohmoo, too.
He just looks so grumpy about it, too. XD And Luffy’s sweatdrop like “What’s with you?” ahaha
But really, Mohmoo may have been hungry but he certainly wasn’t starving and malnourished. Also Sanji was providing him with food and freely given. The consequences of biting the hand that feeds you. XD
Yosaku is hilarious. XD He’s saying “oni ka!!!” which, given all the translations I think would probably be “oni ka?!!” or You monster! XD Getting mad on Mohmoo’s behalf since Sanji acted all compassionate about giving him food and then violently kicked it in the face. Of course he doesn’t know Sanji’s food policy.
Mohmoo is pretty enraged at this and attacks again. Luffy’s about to hit it but Sanji (whether to look cool or prove himself or just because he wants to) says he’ll do it and in an admittedly awesome move, collier shots the shit out of the poor beastie, sending it crashing into the sea.
| Insert musical sting|
This because when Sanji looks badass, you damn well better show it.
Also again the manifestation, this time. For a little bit now I’ve been puzzling what the manifestation really is… and then a friend suggested that it’s used to draw attention to a specific moment and show that it’s important. I like that idea as well, since it isn’t always “will” manifested and certainly isn’t the case here. Rather I think it’s to emphasize this is Sanji at full strength—which is also why Luffy and Yosaku are impressed.
I mean, yeah, they’ve seen him kick a sub to the side—but he couldn’t fight against Pearl and was trashed so much it hampered his fight against Gin. But here he’s reasonably mended and able to cut loose and trash the thing with a single precise kick.
And then right back to what they were doing. XD And Sanji being completely blasé, as if he sees and kicks the ass of giant cow sea monsters daily… but also I think it’s pretty honest. I mean he’s got no one to show off, too. Not really. At least not to the extent that he has to be cocky about it after so there’s really the sense of it was a nice shot of adrenaline and nothing more.
The bottom panel is interesting to me, because, it’s sort of strange coming at it from a Western perspective. Why are they telling him to give them tea? Of course there’s an answer to this from a Japanese culture perspective, which I’m going to briefly talk about and tie it back in to this.
Fromhere (which is about sake but can be applied to tea as well): “Serve sake in each guest's cup, but not your own. … It's the guests' duty to ensure that the host's cup is full.”
From here here: “It is considered uncultured to pour your own drink or to allow a friend to do the same. Instead, always pour drinks for others and allow them to pour your drink.”
And finally: here we learn: “between two men, a person of lower status pours for a higher-status person.”
So this can mean:
1) Yosaku is considered a ‘guest’ or in any case outsider because A) it’s Sanji’s ship or B) Luffy and Sanji are nakama while Yosaku is not.
2) Yosaku is considered a friend, but they can’t pour their own cups, so they are demanding that he do.
3) Yosaku is somewhat lower status and so it is his duty to pour the tea.
You can make your own conclusion about this of course.
For me, I think it’s a mix of the first two (but somewhat metatexually hinting at the third, though I tend to stay away from guessing what Oda directly intended). But it’s actually really freaking hilarious because it seems like etiquette and yet they are demanding this of him. It’s like they have the basic concept of it but not really the details, and nor do they care. Which is why Yosaku is sweat dropping there.
Offhand I think this sort of applies to Sanji, too. Because he has the basic concept of a high class chef and lover of the ladies, but he’s missing some key details like being excessively violent to customers, saying shit all the time and being such a big ball of swirling dork around women that no one can take him seriously.
(Also as a side note, there is a tradition of women pouring tea for men, too. But in this case I don’t think it’s at all suggested that Yosaku is considered “the woman” in those terms. That’s a little too much.)
ANYhow we cut back to Hachi telling Zoro where Cocoyashi is and that Arlong should be somewhere around there.
And again XD with the borked politeness thing. Hachi is polite because he thinks Zoro is a guest, but Zoro is not a guest and Hachi should not be so polite to him. And I love Zoro’s sweatdrop and wave and just like what is up with that guy?
Aside from the ‘our longnose’ comment which I’ll get to in a second; just, look at this. Usopp takes priority. Zoro is going out to find him and protect him if need be because he knows Usopp can’t really protect himself all that well.
As for the longnose comment? Well… it shows that for Zoro, Usopp is one of the crew. And it’s sort of a ‘duh’ but at the same time, phrases like this that for all intents and purposes say “he belongs to us” or even just “he belongs” make me happy.
(also just to note I generally don’t go by direct words because three different translations can say three different things. But here all of them said “our longnose”. And while I know it can also be taken in terms of comparison i.e. ‘our longnose’ as compared to ‘that saw nose’, Usopp still falls into the category of belonging to them)
And then we cut to Arlong Park and Arlong has one of his biggest moments in the series in terms of his characterization.
I’ve shown suggestions that he cares, but here you can see he cares. It’s like a punch in the gut how much he cares about his brothers getting hurt.
(which is why he would kick Hody’s ass to the ground if he ever found out what went on)
Again this is the first time that we really see someone caring deeply for the people that follow them. We also see very deeply Arlong’s ties to them as more than crew but brothers. They are his family. He’s pissed at this but also raging and almost mourning them. Arlong is a seething bastard but he’s not devoid of caring and love for others. Just not humans.
(though it’s difficult to tell whether they are dead or just seriously injured. We never see any of them get up and the manga tends to have darker tones than the anime, I’m going to go with dead. This puts a much darker tone on Zoro, too. Though it’s hardly anything conclusive so you’re more than free to make your own decision.)
(okay well this guy is still alive but we have no evidence the others are /armfold/. )
Also look how gently Arlong is holding him. If you ever needed more proof, that’s it. He’s supporting him with one arm and the other hand is resting on his stomach, on his core. There is no tension there.
Also, Arlong is sweating at the mention of Zoro. You can almost hear the ‘oh shit’ in his head. Because Zoro is a really huge freaking deal. Even to Arlong though he’s pretty strong himself and known to be stronger than Krieg. Arlong just knows him by reputation of course. Knows that Zoro is a bounty hunter. And that’s all he knows, but it’s enough. And Zoro running loose? That’s even worse news.
Also, man, talk about letting the devil in the door! By being harsh and aggressive right off the bat without even knowing who Zoro was nor making a move to find out, Arlong really shot himself in the foot as far as forewarning is concerned.
And enter Chu carrying Usopp. I really love Chu. He’s got a sort of ‘cool tough guy’ vibe, all badass and such, but with a completely ridiculous theme of giant lips and circles of red on his cheeks. Not to mention the ‘Chu’<3 But somehow, despite the ridiculousness of it, it really works. In terms of the characterized Fishman go, I’d say he’s pretty much got the least and is maybe just above ‘henchman’ status. He believes in the superiority of Fishmen and all that… but here specifically he shows that he’s conscientious of Arlong’s desires. And that’s another aspect of family. Chu is not giving Usopp to Arlong because he’s afraid of Arlong or because he wants a promotion, but because he thinks Arlong would get a kick out of trashing Usopp himself. The caring is mutual is what I’m saying.
Still even though Arlong may be wary of Zoro he’s still freaking livid at all his people being mown down like this (killed or otherwise) and he really wants to kill something.
And Usopp. Poor Usopp. He’s frantically trying to find a way to get out of it and you can hardly blame him. He’s surrounded by huge strong Fishmen and holy shit if they want to they can break every bone in him to powder and then some.
First, Kuroobi. I feel like, if anyone Kuroobi can be almost ‘first mate’, though I’m not really convinced the Arlong Pirates that kind of hierarchical structure since they are more family. Still, he’s certainly got a cooler head than most of them and is the thinker and maybe tactician of the group, able to connect the dots. He certainly, too, strikes me as the most disciplined. And it’s not a bad theory that he has. Nami could have brought Zoro to take Arlong’s head.
Also another telling aspect of how healthy they are as a crew that they feel free to bounce ideas off each other, make suggestions to Arlong and agree that yeah it could be her.
Though if she has, Arlong is in trouble, because as we’ve said, he needs Nami. So getting rid of her would be problematic at best.
Also Usopp has latched onto an idea. He’s not bad at connecting the dots either and he knows that Zoro got himself captured foolishly and is pretty strong.
Nami’s day isn’t getting any better. Kuroobi does have a strong point here, so Nami has to make her objection even stronger. She has to yell, to tell them their jumping the gun and accusing them in a roundabout way of thinking she’s disloyal. Of course she isn’t, and of course she didn’t lure Zoro in… But it’s sort of actions=consequences. Betraying others makes it harder for the ones you’ve no intention to betray to believe your innocence.
Resting briefly on Usopp, despite the fact that he believed Nojiko’s story about Nami being a member of the Arlong Pirates (because he’s a rather reactive individual) seeing it for himself is still a little startling. Like he can’t believe it completely until it’s right in front of his nose.
Also Nami is fighting hard here, reminding him of her promise and asking why she would want to throw that all away now.
But Arlong believes her way too quickly. I don’t think he really does. At least not completely. It’s important, though, for the others to believe her. And doubly important for her to think he believes her. Because look at it this way, if he thought she would betray them and yet still kept her on as a cartographer? She would see that he did need her and would have leverage. Arlong cannot allow Nami to have an ounce of leverage over him.
But whether she’s betraying him or not, he’s not going to make this easy on her at all. Arlong enjoys breaking her mind. It gives him a measure of control and control is what he needs most right now. He has to show that he’s still in charge. That he can still screw with her mind and he can’t do anything about it. He can also torture Usopp physically and psychologically and there’s nothing Arlong enjoys more than seeing humans buckle like this.
(And though we’ll get to it, I want to say he likes it only when humans fight back, or when he knows they’d rather not submit. That’s probably why Koala pissed him off so damn much. Basically it’s because Arlong wants to break them and it doesn’t work if they are already broken)
Also worth mentioning, even though Usopp knows Nami works for Arlong, he asks her to help him. He’s terrified, of course, and she’s helped him before, but I think he’s willing to throw out just about anything to not get killed.
Nami, though, is caught in a trap. It’s going to be much much harder to help Usopp after what Zoro did and not seem sensitive to these guys.
We cut to Zoro at Cocoyashi who hears that he just missed Usopp who has been taken to Arlong Park.
And then to Luffy, Sanji and Yosaku who are speeding in the directon of Arlong Park via sea cow
And then as chapter 74 opens:
Arlong is justifying Zoro’s appearance to the others, taking it away from the subject of Nami’s betrayal. And it does make a lot of sense.
And here he’s really leaning on that concept, pushing it further from Nami and acting cocky and putting up a façade of his own. Zoro is obviously hiding from him because Zoro is a weasel who cut them down while he was out and he’s really going to make Zoro pay.
Of course Usopp is still trying to find a way, any way out of this situation that he can. Man look at that though. His feet don’t even touch the ground.
And here Usopp is really finding out how little his lies work here. These Fishmen are smart, too smart not to see through him. Chu knows what he saw and knows it’s not anything else than what it was. Also, lies don’t work to someone who knows the power of words and manipulation that Arlong does. He turns Usopp’s words back on Usopp to freak him out and torment him, while Usopp desperately backpedals. Usopp’s also starting to realize that relying on others isn’t always going to cut it because Nami can’t say something and Zoro isn’t here to say something.
But the thing here is? Usopp is in this situation not because he did a bad thing, but because he stepped out of his comfort zone to save Genzo. Even though actions=consequences, it doesn’t always mean that good actions will = good consequences.
Nami is also being watched, so she has to be exceedingly careful how she reacts. Words just aren’t enough anymore. She has to do something big to prove that she’s part of the group and loyal. But note that she’s afraid of getting killed. We know that Arlong doesn’t want to kill her. If nothing else because he’ll lose his prime cartographer… But as long as he keeps that fear in her, she has to do all of the work to be loyal, to prove that she is, to sacrifice things to bend to his will. It’s pretty freaking insidious.
And this? This is Usopp’s own rage button. He really can’t stand betrayal. Especially now in this form. He’s still stinging very much over what Kuro did to Kaya and this is just like that. Luffy trusted Nami. He trusts her even now. And that she does this just pisses him off. Even moreso because he trusted and liked her as well but she was against them the entire time. Though there’s nothing he can do but to scream it at her, only Usopp and words… he means these. There’s nothing of a lie in them and no ulterior motive exactly but to vent his rage. He’s pretty powerless.
Nami just takes takes it, because of course she has to. She’s used to this from her own village. She will sacrifice all of herself and take all of the burden for the sake of others.
Fortunately for her, Usopp is as easily lead by words as he uses them, so he’s easily fooled himself-- Especially when he’s already expecting the worst of her. Usopp makes lying easy.
At any rate, Hachi appears, popping up out of the water. He asks why everyone is gathered here, welcomes Arlong back, and then notices the carnage and asks what happened here. And this interesting exchange:
Arlong is pissed…and granted, Hachi is a bit dim and bad at making connections, but he’s not afraid of Arlong’s anger. He just takes Arlong’s confidence in him and is mad himself at what happened to his brothers. However, I feel like I’ve established the functional relationship of the Fishmen well enough, so I’ll stop harping on it. The reason why I’m including it is because Arlong’s faith in Hachi’s abilities and the fact that we’ve seen what Krieg and Kuro do to their subordinates that screw up. The fact that Hachi screwed up, Arlong doesn’t comment on. Even the rest of the Fishmen show nothing more than ragey exasperation at Hachi’s inability to connect the dots. But, flaws and all, he’s still accepted within the group. Luffy would never have to ask Arlong ‘what do you think nakama are’
The Fishmen ask where Hachi was and he said he took a weird swordsman to Cocoyashi and then realizes it could have been Zoro… while the others call him a dumbass. XD because yeah, Hachi, yeah. You kinda are <3 He explains he only did so because he thought Zoro was a guest and that he said he wanted to meet Arlong.
Arlong says (with a pretty badass expression, ngl) that then there’s no need to rush and that Zoro will come to them, and Usopp wonders what the hell Zoro is up to and why he wants to see Arlong to begin with.
Nami is just intensely focused on how to figure out how to get out of this situation she’s in without having to sacrifice any more than she needs to, and certainly not sacrificing Usopp. I love the squint that she does when she figures out what she’s going to do and the ways her eyes are shadowed as she pulls out her staff pieces. She doesn’t want to do it this way and it’s going to hurt. But the first step to Usopp’s freedom? Get him away from Arlong.
It’s kind of interesting their expressions. Almost as if this is a new one for her. Yeah she punched the crap out of Zoro but Zoro sort of had it coming. Here she assaults a pretty harmless looking human without batting an eye. So they’re all a little “what’s that about?” I also wonder if Arlong is a little miffed about the person he was tormenting being swatted away.
Also interesting is Usopp’s words, because he’s not really that afraid of Nami. He’s seen her fight after all and they did fight side by side, so she’s about as strong as he is. He can beat her or at least have a fighting chance of getting away. Also again this is personal for him because they did fight side by side.
Nami calls him a nuisance and that it’s his own fault for going after Arlong. She says it’s her fault for letting them follow her, because they don’t know the rules of the island. But she won’t let them destroy the business she’s been working up for 8 years.
Here, Nami takes some lessons from Arlong again. Rather than letting them be concerned with her alleged betrayal, she is harsh and justifies her actions, putting the blame on herself and taking care of it herself. I don’t even think it’s a conscious gesture on her part, but something she picked up and uses for her own benefit.
With Usopp, again proving the point that he’s not really afraid of her. He’s not even sweating. True there’s a little bravado, but he’s mentioning his own weakness and basically saying he’s not that weak come on. Yes he’s fought together with her but the most he’s seen her do is maybe throw caltrops in the wrong direction and whack some people.
And Arlong approves. He really does. He likes seeing Nami become brutal, especially against humans. I think he gets a real kick out of it. More than that he’s still needling her a little because he’s got to know how much she hates pirates. I’m sure she’s aid, but saying that she is? Is probably pretty harsh. Though, tbh, he wouldn’t mind if Nami turned completely against humans and went to his side for keeps because, hey, easier on him. And this is a great first step.
I really like this, because of what Nami says and Usopp’s reaction. (Personally for once I like the Viz translation better where she says: “I’m not the Nami you once knew”) and yeaah Usopp is in no way thinking on those terms. XD he’s pretty much decided she’s not the Nami he once knew and he’s not the type to be waylaid by such things when there’s an intense situation he has to run out of. He’ll reflect on that kind of thing later. Right now there’s an opportunity and he’s going to take the hell out of it.
Usopp uses a Smoke Star
Buuut of course, even as he fought alongside Nami enough to know that she’s not strong? Nami knows he’s not strong either, knows his tricks and how his mind works. A smoke screen isn’t going to work here. She’s not fooled for an instant and can’t just let him escape. She has to prove herself or it will all be over and she has to make it big so there can be no doubt.
She clops Usopp in the face and then:
And damn. There is no hesitation there. Not a single twitch. Just this hard look of determination as she stabs her own hand to save Usopp’s life. She goes straight through, too. This right now is her conviction, though. To save Cocoyashi and not let anyone else die, especially people she’s close to, (and even people she may not even necessarily know in the case of Chabo) no matter how much she has to suffer. And she does, physically and mentally. Oh, so much mentally. She is not all that strong comparatively speaking but she acts like she is the strongest. And her will is strong.
(Also Usopp is legitimately terrified of death at this point. Well…more legitimately than usual)
To pull an image a few chapters ahead from Usopp’s memory, this particular image is really strong.
She rams the knife in deep but keeps her fingers curled, probably to protect him a little. Her hand is right at his core, giving him a little push to make it look like a real hit.
Usopp says how…could you…acting as if he’s been critically wounded and maybe believing on some level he is until his brain kicks in and realizes what just happened. I’m pretty sure he was speaking about her stabbing herself more than anything.
And Nami explains. It’s her business. She’s got literally nothing else to do than this. I love the image of Usopp looking at the blood on his hand, shaking and sweating—not because it’s his blood, but because it’s hers. She saved him by hurting herself so drastically and it impacts him deeply. Fortunately for Nami, though, he’s a good dramatic actor, well schooled at playing dead—and so playing dead he does. She even sort of prepares him for what she’s going to do. Go to your grave quietly. You’re dead so be quiet and let me help you get out of here.
The Arlong Pirates laugh and cheer and Arlong himself calls it an excellent revenge. Nami boots Usopp into the water saying: Wasn’t it your dream to die in the sea? It’s a cruel line but of course it’s meant to be—and feels like something she learned from Arlong as well.
Her expression in the top right as she looks down into the water. She is tired. She is in pain. She still has Zoro on the loose to worry about. But at least, at least, Usopp is out of the way.
Kuroobi apologizes and says she is one of them—and while I think Kuroobi is generally a sincere guy, the suspicion of humans is entrenched deeply, considering that eyebrow raise. And we know he has something up his sleeve. (so to speak)
Still, even if he is sincere and Nami is suddenly accepted, that doesn’t matter. Because Nami?
Even despite everything. Even despite the fact that (she believes) the Cocoyashi villagers believe that she betrayed them and her mother. Despite the fact she betrayed Luffy and people she had grown to like. Despite the fact that she has had to be cruel and vicious even more than she’s comfortable with— she never loses sight of who she is or who she wants to be. They can say what they want, but she will never be one of them.
She will never think so little of herself. She may be in a tough situation, but she has unshakable confidence that she will get through it. That a hundred million beri later she will be free of this situation and go on to live her life however the hell she wants it and on her own terms. Arlong may control a lot, but he can never control her spirit or her heart. He can’t even touch it.
Also I bet it’s gotta sting just a little for her to be telling them consider me as more of an ally, considering the last person she said that to.
But Kuroobi isn't done. He says he’d always wondered why Nami, who had betrayed her mother and her village and is only interested in money would like to buy one crummy village.
Man this arc does not let up on her. Kuroobi has pretty much distrusted Nami from the start, I think. Maybe especially because her motives seemed so harsh from such a young age. Just interested in money. So of course he assumes she’s holding out on them, pointing at the treasure in the village. I don’t think it occurs to him what it might be. And while he’s being a douche about it, it’s more of a, don’t pretend that you aren’t hiding something from us, because I know better and I’ll show you.
As to why he just found this now? Well who can say, and it’s not really important. However, I can imagine, Nami drops off her stuff and while I don’t think she’d leave the Cocoyashi village map just anywhere, she pulls it out to remind herself where to dig. Then Zoro shows up and she’s distracted by that. After Nami goes into the village, Kuroobi goes up to her room and rifts around to see what she might be up to.
For Nami, what can she even say about it? How can she explain it? She can’t really without risking exposing herself in one way or another.
The Fishmen just crowd around overexcited at the prospect of treasure. I think that as much as they might like Nami’s presence in terms of what she brings to the table—they would not hesitate to dig up this treasure. Especially since treasure is sort of ‘finders keepers’
But Arlong lays down the law, looking a little annoyed as he does so. I think there’s a few reasons behind it. He has to let Nami keep up her façade, of course. Now that he knows that there is something buried in the Mikan Grove, he is interested in finding it as we know he is, so he has to pretend he doesn’t give a shit. And finally, Kuroobi suspecting her is one thing. Kuroobi is kind of a childhood friend and an officer. But these guys? In as much as they are all brothers, they have to respect Nami in some capacity and her property. They have to listen to what she says at some points, especially if she needs their help in one form of cartography or the other, and certainly in defense.
After Arlong’s words, Nami has no problem snatching it right out of Kuroobi’s hands. And sort of similar to Arlong speaking to Nezumi, she makes sure the promise is still good. She really doesn’t care what Kuroobi or anyone else thinks. She just cars what Alrong thinks. She’s asking because a lot of shit has gone down so far today and she wants to make sure that they are still okay. That the deal is still on.
Arlong assures her it is. Though as to the exact nature of the promise, well, that’s going to come back and bite her in the ass later. Still the ‘that’s the kind of man I am’ line is pretty interesting. He’s had to make some compromises, too, and more, probably, than he wants to. But he can and does hold himself to this standard—as we’ll explore when we get to that part.
Nami says something along the lines of “I knew you’d understand” while walking away, her own blood still dripping down the knife. I think mostly she’s just relieved that it’s over. She still has to take care of Zoro but at least it will be easier.
Kuroobi does not like her. But Arlong does, mostly because not only does he feel he’s warped who she is—she’s still playing right in his hand and as long as she keeps doing that she’s doing just fine.
We cut to Johnny who has seen her “killing Usopp” through the lattice in the wall and tearfully decides he must tell Zoro that Nami is a witch!
Then we cut to Mohmoo, who is pulling Sanji’s ship as they approach Arlong Park. He is either so dizzy from being clonked in the head or so intimidated at the thought of being the one to pull these guys into Arlong Park that he veers to the left, crashes into the shore and somehow or another sends the ship flying through the air while he sinks to the bottom. They’re hurtling for the treeline as Zoro is running toward Arlong Park (in the right direction even! Though I think because he can see the peak of the tower he can at least get a visual. No telling if he’d actually wind up there) He wonders if there’s a bomb that’s been dropped on the island due to the noise but decides there’s no time for that because he has to hurry up or Usopp will be killed and:
I am just amused that he was all set to cut that fucker in half, or at least counter it before he realized Luffy was on it. Also expressions. Sanji’s and Zoro’s specifically. Sanji like we’re going to crash right into him can we please stop this shitty boat and Zoro’s realization that Luffy and also no time to move.
Sure enough the boat slams right into them and they all go skidding for quite a distance.
I love Sanji asking after Yosaku. Just sort of sitting casually on the beam of his ruined boat—the last vestige of his life at the Baratie completely shot to shit and not even worried about it. Mostly he’s checking up on Yosaku who seems pretty beat up, having landed face first. But since Yosaku is a shitty guy and doesn’t seem to be dead, he just leaves him to his own devices. Also Luffy brushing himself off like it ain’t no thing. And Zoro. Poor Zoro. He is having a pretty rough day, too. XD
But even being smacked in the face by a boat doesn’t stop Zoro. As soon as he’s reminded of Usopp, he wipes the blood away and starts to charge in to save him. And is extremely concerned about him. The fact that Usopp abandoned him doesn’t even come up or play in Zoro’s mind because that shit doesn’t matter. But man, the look Zoro’s face when Johnny says that he has already been killed. It’s like a shock. He can’t believe he heard it. Of course there may be a mistake. Johnny didn’t say who had been killed, so maybe Zoro just misheard.
But looking beyond just initial reaction here, this is really where we see the full scope of his protective side. We’ve seen him sacrifice himself for Rika when he was first introduced. He Usopp’s hit on Syrup so the Nyaban Brothers wouldn’t turn their attacks to Usopp—but here it is full blown protective. Zoro’s body and own state of health doesn’t matter to him so much as Usopp surviving. He was just wounded by Mihawk and smacked in the face by a boat, but he wipes off the blood and keeps going. It’s partly a statement, too, how strong he considers himself. If he’s not strong enough to survive anything the world throws at him and doing anything he wants to do, he is not strong enough to be the world’s greatest swordsman.
Also this really sets up Zoro as being the protector of the crew. We’ll see plenty of examples of this throughout.
At any rate, Johnny says that Usop has been murdered by Nami and this shot:
Zoro is pissed. On a whole bunch of different levels, probably. That Nami could do a thing like that. That he knew Nami had betrayed them and yet called her out on it and tried to convince himself that she hadn’t. That he’d failed in saving Usopp because of her.
Luffy and Yosaku are just astonished, though Yosaku looks like he doesn’t want to believe it.
And Sanji is just like ‘shit.’ Because this is not how any of this is supposed to go. I’m sure he remembers who Usopp is enough to know that that kid didn’t deserve to die and that Nami may have done it is pretty rough to deal with, too. But he hears it even if he’s not happy.
Back in Cocoyashi, Nojiko, Genzo and some of the other villagers are contemplating the Mohmoo made dent in the island, as well as a Marine ship that aren’t from any Marine Bases in the area (and are likely controlled by Nezumi) and wonder about it when Chabo comes running up.
Now, we know this is going to end badly, but let’s forget that for the moment.
Chabo is happy! Full of hope! He really looks like a changed kid. He endured his pain and anger and something great happened! They’re going to be rescued and going to a place where they can live without fear of Arlong. It’s pretty fantastic news! Also, the villagers must not have sent it too long ago, but likely before Chabo went to challenge Arlong to begin with. Had he succeeded in his plans and been killed, he’d never would have known about the ship or the plans that were made to ask for Navy help.
We switch to the Marine ship where the Commodore, a man called Purin Purin, is disgusted by the fact that a pirate can set up such a cozy base and openly flaunt it.
And this is where Purin screws up right off the bat and gets greedy. It’s greed because he cares about his Justice over the lives of the people they are there to help and save. It’s greed because he isn’t worrying about the effects of a pirate base being there (ie civilians could get hurt, merchants could lose their wares) but merely because it’s an affront to him. His Justice won’t let him stand for it.
As for why they are ONLY to rescue the civilians, where there could be numerous reasons for that. Maybe Nezumi had to let one slip by so as not to let people look too hard at the situation there. Maybe there’s a bigger conspiracy at hand. Maybe the Navy just doesn’t have enough intel to allow there to be an attack at the moment and realize the danger of fighting Fishmen in waters they know well. Maybe getting rid of Arlong Park is just not a priority because at least Arlong is controllable to some extent and helps keep down some of the more rabid pirate groups. Maybe Purin’s ship was the only one close enough but the Navy didn’t think Purin was strong enough to handle it.
Whatever the case—though Purin is one of the only Marines we’ve seen so far that can qualify as good…or at least not actively heinous… (the good ones being the ones who had been under Morgan’s thumb) ..he doesn’t exactly have good judgment.
Arlong is pretty practiced here. He knows what to do with Marines. Either buy them off or sink them so they can’t be a problem and sends a warning. Also it shows his relationship with money quite clearly. He likes it, yes, but is not afraid to drop a hefty chunk of change if he has to. Naturally that’s what the money is there for and it’s not as if he earned it, but still he holds money dear generally speaking.
At any rate, Arlong crunches the cannonball it apart with his teeth. Kuroobi asks if they should continue negotiations but Arlong tells them to just sink them. We can also see how much of a threat these Marine guys are not because, even as the other Fishmen are cheering for battle, Chu tells them not to bother because the three of them (Kuroobi, Hachi, and Chuu) would be able to take care of the Marines well enough.
Another sign that Purin is going into an ideological battle rather than a sensible one. I’m sure he means to trash them, but other than knowing they are Fishmen, he knows nothing about them or how they fight. Also sort of similar to Arlong, he wants to be acknowledged first and foremost as an enemy and signaling their intention to fight and to declare war. That’s way too grandiose a sentiment for what’s currently going on.
They light the cannon just as Chu pops up out of the water and spits water at one of the Marines which hits hard enough to cause blood to spray.
And again, Purin just wants to show off. Look at how flashily he’s dressed for one thing. His exaggerated coat. The bracelet. The hair. Everything about him screams I’m fabulous and here to be noticed. He’s seriously underestimating the enemy and, once again, is mostly acting for the sake of his own pride. What better way to show off than have Fishmen surrender without a fight being had just by sheer intimidation of your sea cred? It would certainly be a mark in his book. Chu is having none of that shit, though, and doesn’t even care to let him finish his sentence as he water guns Purin right in the face.
The Marines want to attack Chu but are shaken as Kuroobi detaches the rudder of the ship.
I love this because of the confidence—but also competence. It’s not just a case where they have to trick people in order to gain an advantage, they have a definite advantage because of skill, knowledge and the ability to breathe underwater. They are precise. They are efficient. And they take down with no injury to themselves, and only one shot being fired—though that shot wasn’t even in defense but Chu showing off just how much he didn’t give a damn. They are certainly a viable threat to the region.
Kuroobi puts a few holes in the ship. Hachi moves a reef into a strong tidal current which creates a maelstrom and the ship is sunk.
We’ll see more of this later, and stronger, but this theme of hopelessness pervades the arc, which is one of the reasons it’s so strong. It’s not that these people aren’t trying, it’s just that every avenue they try is shut down. Their hope is dangled in front of them and then cruelly taken away. In this case, at least, Arlong didn’t do it intentionally—but that won’t be so later on.
For Nojiko, I think in as much as she believes in Nami and what Nami is doing, she’s more cautiously optimistic than trusting Arlong to keep his word or to not skew it somehow. In a lot of ways, Nami really does see Arlong’s good side, he has to be more careful around her than he does the villagers of Cocoyashi and so perhaps they, and Nojiko especially, know him better. This is just a thought, however. There’s not a lot of evidence one way or the other.
Anyhow, we cut back to Arlong Park.
This just proving my point from earlier—but not only does Nami’s skill help them, they need it. Sure with what they have they can control the waters around the areas they know, but if they’re going to expand, they need Nami’s help. I like that Chu brings this up, too. It shows that he’s smart enough to realize that and that there is something wrong with Arlong’s plan. If they give Nami up then they can’t expand—or at least it won’t be as easy as they wish it. It also shows that, even if Fishmen strength and underwater capabilities are great, they need the direction and precision that Nami, a human, gives.
Arlong says that of course, he would die before he would break a promise about money.
And then there is a curious translation in which he just says I… or I would… So I think it’s hinting that he’s telling his brothers what he is going to do. It’s never proven one way or the other, and while I can see reasons he would hold back his plans from them, I feel it’s more likely he told them. While he needs his crew overall to have respect for Nami, these three are his inner circle and he probably trusts them the most out of anyone. They grew up with him after all. So I think that yes, he would tell them. Though feel free to translate it otherwise.
We then cut to Luffy and the others who have just learned from Johnny that Nami killed Usopp.
And here, Johnny has inadvertently hit one of Luffy’s rage triggers. It’s not so much that he said Usopp died (which I don’t think is something Luffy really believes—mostly because I don’t think he’d believe anything like that unless he saw it for himself and even then. . . ) but that he said it was Nami that did it. That is slander. That is the biggest crime one nakama could commit against another. Luffy will not stand for anyone he cares about being spoken of like that.
Also, and it’s somewhat difficult to tell, but I love that it’s Zoro trying to calm Luffy. But of course it would be Zoro. Yosaku sure as hell wouldn’t step in with Luffy shouting like that and Sanji has no idea what’s going on. I sort of love that, though. He’s the first nakama (and probably the only really so far) to drop in during the middle of a crises. That he stands back and doesn’t really get involved shows that he’s less reactionary, waiting for the situation to pan out before acting.
And then…Nami arrives.
The moment she comes on the scene, Luffy lets Johnny go. Even the anger has receded. (Though his fist is clenched, Like a part of him is still angry at what Johnny suggested) He’s completely focused on Nami, though he has to notice her change in expression. That doesn’t matter because until he knows something is different, he’s still going to pursue what he came here for. That is, to get her back. I also love Zoro mimicking Luffy’s pose. Though in his case, I think, he’s a little more guarded. Nami has secrets after all, and if Johnny is right, is capable of anything.
As for Nami, she’s completely closed off. Her ‘witch’ expression is back in place, but even more intense than it was against Chabo. She didn’t know Chabo after all, but Luffy she’s sailed with. Luffy has helped her and inspired her and she likes him a lot even at this point so she has to be as much of a hardass as she can to get him away from there. But she’s also covering her weakness, via theglove. He can not see her bleed. She doesn’t want that. In any way she can, she is protecting him and thus taking another burden on her shoulders.
Nami’s expression is completely controlled here, but I can imagine it takes a lot of effort. She can’t emote too much in either direction, just sound as disdainful as she can about this whole thing. I think that’s partly, yes, so the ruse can go over but partly for her own protection. She can’t afford to break down because she has to sever their ties and preferably before Usopp comes back.
As for Luffy, his expression is difficult to really interpret. This is such a huge departure from the Nami he usually knows. She didn’t even look like this when she was tricking him in order to get him caught and get at Buggy’s treasure. Or even when she found out he was a pirate, she yelled at him. He is used to the quick tempered Nami, the emotive Nami. Probably the only tme he’s seen her lock down a little is when she was trying to convince Buggy that she was one of them and even then it wasn’t much. So I think that he’s mostly just surprised at this new side to her.
Now this little set up is funny as it is interesting. XD Sanji is a complete dork, of course, but think of it this way. One of the biggest perks of sailing with Luffy is that he will also get to sail with Nami. For someone who loves ladies and has lived his life among tough burly men—ladies frequent yes, but only customers—and here is a lady that is free and gorgeous and uninhibited (since I imagine any women who came into the Baratie were somewhat restrained given the classy ambiance of the place) and he gets to sail with her and see her every day and cook for her every day and wah, mellorine mellorine~~ Seriously, though, look at his face. It’s so open and adorable and he’s blushing a little and is just so excited at this prospect~ So much so that
I think he sort of forgets the reason why there is tension to begin with. XD
And then the second panel.
Now first, you have to understand that Zoro has no idea that Sanji is even nakama. How could he know? I mean, yes, Luffy wanted a cook—but that doesn’t necessarily mean he was able to snag Sanji (and Zoro might not even know that Luffy wanted Sanji to begin with). As far as he knows, Sanji could be here for his own reasons—someone who tagged along like Johnny and Yosaku did. So I think basically he’s snapping that Sanji will make things more complicated for two reasons:
1) Sanji’s saying let’s sail together. Since Zoro doesn’t know Sanji is nakama, he could be asking Nami to sail together with him only instead of Luffy. Thus he’s presenting a third option for Nami and what is going on is difficult enough without Sanji butting in.
2) On a more psychological level, Zoro doesn’t deal well with abrupt shifts in mood. They had a serious tone going on—what with Usopp being dead and Zoro having to pull Luffy off of Johnny—and even Zoro knowing what he does about Nami’s situation with Arlong and unsure of where she fits. And here is Sanji being all happy and blushy for no dam good reason and totally disrupting the tone and Zoro gets snarly about it.
Sanji, of course, acts the way he always does at being bitched at by bitching right back. I don’t think he has any idea of why Zoro is snapping at him, but maybe because he’s looking down on Sanji’s genuine burst of emotion— Sanji is basically defending himself saying: So what if I was smiling and blushing. She’s a woman and it’s a man’s duty to gush over ladies!
Johnny is being pretty brutal here. And to be fair, given all he saw, it’s not unexpected that he jump to these conclusions. Nami stabbing Usopp was pretty convincing. But, for the most part he’s making huge assumptions. He assumes Nami is after the treasure in her village and would join the Arlong Pirates and even kill for it. Which, of course he has no idea why or when she joined—but if you really think about it, it doesn’t make sense. If she knows where the treasure is, what’s stopping her from digging it up? The answer would require even more assumptions based on nothing but guesswork and trying to guess the character of the village.
But it’s easier to believe the worst of her. I mean, granted, Johnny is coming from a place of anger and wanting to help—though that he saw her stabbing Usopp comes last. Basically, he’s making all these assumptions because he saw her stab him. So it’s a case of, if B is true, A must also be true—but here we know that is not the case because everyone has their circumstances, and Nami’s circumstances are exceedingly complex.
Also I like the small detail of Johnny yelling which draws Zoro and Sanji out of their fight.
Nami uses this to her advantage, using his assumptions and playing on them. She’s making herself seem just as terrible as Johnny thinks she is. And then she’s warning them. That they are not as strong as Arlong. That they’ll be beaten by him. She is working under the assumption that they, like her, would rather escape in the face of monstrous strength rather than fight it. Mind you, she hasn’t seen the opposite yet. The fight against Buggy was something they needed to do. Kuro’s not as intimidating as he is smart and they were all working together to free Syrup. Nami didn’t see Luffy go up against Krieg, and for all she knows, Krieg could have won or they could have escaped from him or he wasn’t a threat to begin with. I doubt he’s on her mind, but the point is, she doesn’t know what Luffy is willing to go up against. Plus even Krieg is not as strong as Arlong. Not even the Navy has people as strong as Arlong, not that she’s seen. She truly feels they are going to be crushed.
Also, just pointing out that I believe this is the first time it’s Roronoa Zoro and his companions. XD It’s not the first time Zoro is assumed to be the one in charge and it won’t be the last. But I’ll definitely be looking for when the switch over happens.
And this right here is Zoro’s core and his place on the crew. Though, we will see him later on clear the way for his captain, his primary goal within the crew is protection of the crew. He doesn’t care about how strong Arlong is. He doesn’t care about Nami’s motivations. Even if Luffy wants her to be crew, she’s saying right now she isn’t, and Usopp is more nakama than she is at the moment—So Usopp is his primary concern. But he’s asking her, letting her answer the question rather than assuming what Johnny said was true. He’s not one to jump to conclusions. But being honest himself in these matters, I think he expects Nami to be honest, too.
But Nami seriously overplays her hand, because there are some aspects of Zoro she just doesn’t get yet. She’s seen him be protective of Usopp in the Syrup Island fight, taking the hits so the Nyaban brothers wouldn’t attack him. She’s seen him be protective of Luffy. But there is one side she hasn’t seen.
And it’s partly because we haven’t seen it either, and it hasn’t occurred to him. But he’s going right after her. As we’ll see he’s drawn his sword and I think he has full intention of cutting her down. He all but asked if she killed Usopp, she all but agreed, and now he’s pissed and ready to kill. Or at least seriously wound. Zoro is not a hero. Nor is he forgiving when his nakama have suffered. I feel like if any of his nakama died, he would wreak vengeance on whomever it was who killed them. Note that this wouldn’t even be considered an honorable kill. Not only is Zoro much stronger than Nami, but he has a sword against her staff. She would have no chance against him. I honestly don’t think he cares about that, nor would he care in the aftermath.
On the other hand, other translations are along the lines of “cut the crap” or “enough of that, damnit” which seems to suggest he doesn’t believe she’s telling the truth. Though if that’s the case, I’m not sure why he’s moving to attack her other than to perhaps threaten the truth out of her—or he’s just acting out of anger. But those two scenarios seem odd to me. If you’ve got a better explanation I’d love to hear it… since it is evident he draws his sword.
Fortunately for Nami, Sanji does care—and he thinks fast enough and is close enough to stop Zoro in his tracks. That she is a woman certainly factors into it, but I think also that she’s unarmed and the imbalance is just too much for him to tolerate. (though the latter is just supposition so take it or leave it as you will). They are ready to fight in the bottom panel, but it’s not like the bickering they’ll get into later on. This would be a serious fight because they’ll each be fighting for their ideals. Sanji’s to protect a woman (and someone who is vastly weaker) and Zoro’s to not let Usopp’s death go unanswered. Also Zoro is frustrated and pissed at him because, again, he has no idea that Sanji is nakama and so Sanji has no right to have a say.
The line about shameful loss is curious, because we know how much Sanji was influenced by Zoro’s fight with Mihawk and Zoro’s pride after the fact. So what I think going on here is this:
Sanji realizes he has no idea what’s going on. He came in here completely clueless. He doesn’t know Nami really all that well at all. I think he understands Zoro being angry at Usopp’s supposed death—and if Nami did kill Usopp that’s something to consider. But I also think he can read between the lines a bit. For one thing, Luffy hasn’t reacted either way. He’s seen Luffy be pissed in defense of Zoro who was almost killed by Mihawk. Here, he’s not. For all we know, Luffy has just been staring at Nami the whole time. If Luffy was pissed he would have done something about it and I’m not entirely sure that Sanji would have stopped him.
But he can’t tell Zoro all this and he may not be fully conscious of all the reasons. He doesn’t know Zoro, he doesn’t know how to talk to Zoro. All he can do is deflect Zoro’s anger away from Nami and toward himself, by mocking and trying to pull him into a fight.
Also in as much as Yosaku tells them to stop bickering? Zoro is not bickering. He is pissed. Lethally pissed. If Sanji wants to get in the way, Zoro will go right through him if he has to. Again, Sanji is nothing in Zoro’s view. Just some asshole who talks about things he doesn’t understand. He’s also mocking Zoro’s defeat which was a huge deal to Zoro, too, because that was something pulled from deep inside himself. It’s something tied up in his pride, promise to Luffy and his dream and promise to Kuina. He cannot take Sanji mocking it lightly. You can see in that he actually raises the Wado, in warning for Sanji not to push his buttons any more.
Sanji just tells him to bring it on.
Nami continues to try and trick them off the island, by convincing them, though mostly Luffy, that she doesn’t care about them. But of course she can’t put her full conviction behind it. It’s in what she doesn’t say. If she was really all for the money, you think she’d keep the ship and sell it. Especially since she’s technically a member of the Arlong Pirates and, as such, has nothing to fear from them retaliation wise. Also, if she had killed Usopp, which she suggested that she did, she would have no qualms about killing them also.
Though I think she thinks she’s pretty convincing as it took less than this to turn the whole village against her. Of course, in that way, she’s spoiled. They convinced her that she was effective, but for people that know Nami? It isn’t enough. She has too many slip ups of caring.
I think this really gets her, too. It’s a shift in emotion, albeit a subtle one. But Luffy has been staring at her the whole time, I have no doubt. We’ve seen how laser focused he gets on a particular individual or problem. He knows something is up. He doesn’t know what it is, but all is not right in the state of Nami. But what can he do? If he asks her, she’s not going to tell the truth and he’s not going to make her tell the truth, because Luffy is about letting people do what they want. He’s not one to force the issue.
So the only thing he can do?
Go to sleep. Let things lie. See what develops.
He’s not going to fight Nami on what she wants to do. Again, he’s going to let her do what she wants. But neither is he leaving here before he’s satisfied and he lets her know that. He can’t be drawn into doing anything he doesn’t want to do and he isn’t so easily fooled. Also, he doesn’t care. He doesn’t care about Arlong or how strong they are. He doesn’t care about what’s going on in the island. All he cares about right now is Nami. As for Usopp, I think, not so much. He doesn’t believe Nami killed him and I don’t even think he believes Usopp is dead—so until he sees evidence one way or the other he’s not going to factor it in.
XD I love the reactions, too. Yosaku’s is typical—But Sanji XD he has no idea what the hell is going through Luffy’s head. And remember he’s worked with Luffy for about three days and known him for maybe five, fought alongside him, too. It doesn’t sound like a long time but Luffy you get to know pretty well in a short amount of time. This? He doesn’t get at all. He’s just like, what the hell are you doing? How the hell am I supposed to work with this? To his credit, Zoro also thinks Luffy is a big flaming bag of idiot or at least acting weird at an inappropriate time as if he doesn’t get what’s really going on here. He’s got no sense of tension or mood.
Nami absolutely snaps. First she’s had to deal with Zoro, saving him from himself, then she’s had to save Usopp from himself by stabbing herself, she’s had to tread a careful line with Arlong who seems determined to get under her skin that day, she’s had the map where all the money she’s earned is stored discovered, and Luffy is being obnoxious and not even taking her seriously and so she just explodes. She’s absolutely had it.
Johnny and Yosaku say that Luffy and the others are out of their minds to stay given all that has just happened:
Johnny and Yosaku depart(ish) and I just like this panel because it’s sort of like we see the final separation from Zoro’s old life to his new one. Of course they come back later on… but here, there’s two distinct groups. Johnny and Yosaku, Yosaku who believes Johnny and has no reason not to given all he’s experienced…and the pair of them ready to leave—quite sensibly, too, really. They know they don’t really have a frog’s hair of a chance in standing up to Arlong.
Zoro doesn’t care about any of that, naturally. But he’s content to stay where Luffy is. He doesn’t know what’s going on. I don’t know if he’s entirely convinced Nami didn’t do as she implied she did. But where Luffy is, Zoro is and that’s that.
And that is also where we leave off.
Themes:
Greed brings downfall: Greed here is sort of defined as having everything you want in the way you want it.
We see this most clearly (at least in this part) in Commodore Purin Purin. He wanted prestige. He wanted honor. He wanted to be acknowledged. But he wanted it on his own terms. He made a formal declaration of war against Arlong, and when that didn’t work, he made another declaration. In the end, it was this kind of wanting everything his own way that caused his downfall, and one other aspect which we’ll see.
Arlong, too, is greedy and, in fact, is the epitome of greed here. He wants his empire, and prestige, and to torment Nami, and to use Nami, and Nami’s money. Mostly he just wants to have his cake and everyone else’s cake and eat all of them while gloating about it. So far, everything has worked out for him, though mostly because Nami is playing right into his hands. Without her taking on the responsibility of everything, he’d have a much harder time.
Even Nami has a certain sort of greed, though it’s based on selflessness. She refuses to let anyone else shoulder the burden of pain. She won’t let her village do it, she won’t let her nakama do it, she takes on everything herself. But she wants too much. She wants nothing at all to be sacrificed. Nami wants to save the village. For the villagers not to rise up against Arlong for her sake and be killed. For her former nakama not to be killed. For them to not even suffer the consequences of their actions even though it is detrimental to her own fragile plans. Yes, she rescued Zoro but then she let him go despite the trouble it would get her into. Of course she couldn’t let Usopp be killed, but she couldn’t risk him escaping either because she had to cement her loyalty and so sacrificed her hand for him. But she can’t handle it all on her own and we already see her starting to crack from the pressure.
Knowledge is Strength: It’s not enough to just be strong, you have to know how to apply that strength. Knowledge leads to precision and that’s what helps chances of success.
Purin Purin clearly had no idea what he was getting into. He didn’t know the threat that the Fishmen posed, and didn’t even seem to know very much about them. This lack of knowledge completely destroyed him, his crew, and the hopes of Gosa.
Chuu, Kuroobi and Hachi clearly knew what they were doing and how to do it. They know these waters. The attack was concentrated and efficient and they sunk Purin Purin without a scratch on themselves. They had knowledge. Precision. Applied strength.
Arlong too uses knowledge of Nami and how she thinks and what she’s afraid of to manipulate her… but it’s knowledge of Nami and how she thinks and who she is that makes Luffy refuse to leave.
Everyone has their Circumstances:
So jumping to conclusions is not always the greatest thing to do. It colors your perception of a person. Both Usopp and Johnny jumped to conclusions about Nami—though the evidence was clearly strong for a case against her—I still feel like there were holes in her actions that they overlooked because they had jumped to conclusions. (Not that it’s against them, really, because the circumstances were extreme and extreme emotion –especially based on fear—leads to these kinds of assumptions).
They don’t know Nami’s deep complex history. Just like the reader (at this point) doesn’t know Arlong’s deep and complex history. Nothing is ever simple. People have reasons for doing what they do. That doesn’t make what they’re doing excusable (in Arlong’s case) but it’s never just simply because they are simply good or bad.
Acting is Power: We see lots of acting going on throughout this part. Mostly it’s in the form of Arlong manipulating Nami. But we also see Nami manipulating Arlong in stabbing Usopp, and Usopp being clever enough to figure out what she’s doing, the implications of it, and to play dead. Nami even fools Zoro into buying into what she’s selling (at least in part it seems though ymmv on that one) and definitely as Johnny and Yosaku fooled.
But acting only works so long as someone is willing to buy into the narrative. Here it is exemplified in Luffy who refuses to play along. Since Luffy is more concerned with judging people more by what they do than by what people say about them—and even to an extent what they say about themselves.
Always darkest before the dawn: Hopelessness and failure sort of pervades this part, especially in Nami. She believes that one day she’ll be able to buy her village back and hopes for a brighter future, but has no hope in anyone coming to help or rescue. She doesn’t believe anyone is capable of doing so. We also see it in Chabo and Nojiko who flat out tells him there is no hope to be had. There is also hopelessness in the idea that Usopp has been killed. And the evidence is strong all around that there is no way out of it. They are trapped. They will hurt. Usopp is dead.
But we see here that Luffy doesn’t buy into that feeling of hopelessness. He doesn’t assume there is no hope and that things are set in stone. He is probably the one person, besides the Arlong Pirates, who doesn’t feel completely hopeless.
Characters:
Sanji: We’re really starting to see different aspects of Sanji evolve here as he enters into an entirely new life. We do see his caring nature, though we also see he has a limit. While he may sacrifice himself to save what’s important to Zeff, he’s not about to let a sea cow eat him. He’s protective of those he sees as weaker, and at this point, women—but, even though he has a temper and can be pretty hot-headed, and at some points acts rashly, he finds a way to regain his footing—especially in a tense situation. He also gets people, even if he can’t always communicate well—though there is a limit to him understanding XD especially him understanding Luffy.
Zoro: His main concern throughout this part and before is nakama, in this case, Usopp who he recognizes as vulnerable. We’ll see it more as the series progresses, but right now he is all about finding Usopp and defending him. People outside of nakama don’t count as much to him, as evidenced in him almost attacking Nami. He can be surprisingly ruthless and brutal unless stopped in his tracks—and he really can’t deal with sudden shifting mood. Remember, a Zoro in motion stays in motion unless disrupted—as he was in this case by Sanji and later by Luffy. But at the same time, as ruthless as he is, he doesn’t attack or even move to attack Hachi, despite him being in the enemy camp. Zoro doesn’t fight if there is no reason to (unless it is challenging a swordsman but that’s something different)
Usopp: Is still struggling to find his footing in this kind of situation. And really, he’s pretty hopeless against Arlong, especially this close. He asks for help and lies and is desperate to get out of it—but even as dangerous as things are, it doesn’t stop him from being pissed at and yelling at Nami when he thinks that she’s betrayed them. He will stand up for Luffy here, even to his detriment, because that’s the sort of thing he can’t forgive. We already see how much Luffy means to him, even though it’s only been a relatively short time that they’ve traveled together. That’s because what is most important to Usopp, even more than his own life, is ideal and sentiment. He may not be able to protect Luffy’s person, but wants to protect Luffy’s heart and his feelings. Similarly with the Merry, what Usopp is trying to protect is the ideal of it. What it means to him. What it means to Kaya perhaps. Though the Merry can sort of embody his selfishness and his own ego, standing up for Luffy and his perceived betrayal represents Usopp’s selflessness and concern for the emotional well-being of others. Right now, at this moment, it’s fairly ineffective—but it’s as if he’s finally found something to hold on to.
Nami: Is just having a stupidly bad day. Nothing can go right for her and the tension is winding and winding as she desperately tries to take control back. Control is a huge thing for her and is absolutely vital in every aspect of her survival and the survival of her village and her friends. She’s chiefly angry of course because she cares so much about everyone and it all seems to be unraveling, all her hard work and hopes and dreams and people’s lives are on the line because they are monumentally stupid. She must have all the control herself because she doesn’t trust anyone else with it, not because she thinks they will mess up, but because she’s fairly sure they’ll die.
Luffy: Worries about things as they come. For the most part he just looks forward to the exciting things that are going to happen rather than fearing the worst. When it comes to people, especially those he cares about, he is observant, not fooled by them acting out of character—rather lets them decides for themselves how they want to act… but doesn’t let that dictate how he acts. No matter what Nami says she wants, it’s not what Luffy wants at the moment so he doesn’t follow her lead. Also, of course, he doesn’t care about what’s going on in the island or anything else involving it. The only thing that concerns him is Nami and her well-being. He’s no hero either.
Nojiko: In as much as she believes in Nami and Nami’s hope, I don’t think she really holds out much hope for herself or Cocoyashi. There’s just too much to stand against. Though of course she isn’t going to just turn over, as we’ll see. But there’s a difference between believing you’re going to survive and fighting even though you know you won’t.
Arlong: Is a sadistic bastard to humans but cares for his brothers a great deal and openly is distraught at them beaten/killed. Despite I think overall knowing his somewhat precarious position in terms of his seat in the East Blue, he is also confident that, at least within the waters that they know, he’s got it made. He would much rather broker deals with money—which speaks to the sensible side of his nature. Playing to greed is easier than a fight. It also makes the person accepting the payment less apt to betray him because of the greed aspect and because if anyone found out about the money exchanged, there might be trouble for the Marines involved. However, when brokering a deal with money doesn’t work? He doesn’t hesitate to sink the shit out of anyone who encroaches on his territory or is considered a threat.
Hachi: Is good natured and affable, not seeming to dislike humans all that much or even distrust them. Still is nevertheless okay with taking them on as enemies, in order to get revenge for his brothers or because Arlong told him to.
Chu: Likes to taunt humans but not to the extent Arlong does. Though he does know what Arlong wants and understands the bigger picture—especially in regards to needing Nami in order to get what they want.
Kuroobi: Distrusts humans and especially Nami. Isn’t really all that fooled and will never accept her as a true member, I don’t think. He will always be convinced she has an angle.
Relationships
Usopp<->Nami: Right now, pretty rocky. Especially since he counted her as a friend and, well, things happened. But the important aspect here is that he knows how to follow her lead. In an instant, once things change and she ‘stabs him’, he realizes what she’s doing and runs with it, immediately playing dead. It’s a testament to how they’ll work together a bit later on and how similar their thought processes are now. Nami and Usopp are the most normal and least insane of their crew.
Zoro<->Sanji: This is a dynamic which we’ll see grow and shift and evolve, but right now, it’s not even a precursor to how they’ll bicker later. Zoro is treating Sanji like an outsider and Sanji is trying to treat Zoro like an insider, though he’s not really sure how to yet. They’re coming at each other from two different points of reference but as the arc progresses we’ll see their relationship start to click into place.
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In the anime Zoro says "いい加減にしろ! (ee kagen ni shiro!)" which is kinda like "cut it out already!" when he charges toward Nami (I don't know if he said the same thing in the Japanese volume since the anime tends to change the characters' lines sometimes but anyway) so I'm guessing he acted that way because he didn't believe her. Besides Zoro has already figured Nami doesn't have it in herself to murder somebody so I'm quite sure his action was out of disbelief. Also I don't think he tried to attack or kill her for real; Zoro was pretty damn frustrated at that moment and he's shit with emotions so I think the only immediate way for him to vent his frustration was to charge toward her without premeditating his next action - a blunt and straightforward way to tackle such situation - as is expected of Zoro (not that I'm blaming him for it though).
And about Sanji mocking Zoro's duel with Mihawk.. I kinda agree with your theory but I think it's also possible that Sanji brought up that duel because, well, it was such a great deal even for him - enough to change his life. But Sanji doesn't yet know Zoro all that well; like you said he doesn't know how to talk to him yet and the only thing he knows about the swordsman is this freaking crazy duel and he was super impressed by it but doesn't want to admit it or show it since he's a guy full of competitive streak and pride XD So maybe the only way he could relate to Zoro at that moment was to goad him with his loss? Whatever Oda intended it's interesting to think both ways!
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And I agree with what you said about Sanji, too. In fact I was thinking about it but forgot to write it down. D'oh! Everything is so nuanced though and there are layers and yes, it's interesting to think both ways or even to mix both ways!
Thanks for the lovely comment and Happy Halloween!