Chapter 152: Oranges Are Great, I'm Going to Buy Some Oranges

Turning back, he was struck by the sight of the two young women sobbing uncontrollably, their lips tightly biting their silver teeth as they stared at Tang Shen with absolute determination.

"We're going too!"

"There's no need to go. He is already here."

Looking toward the distant outskirts of the town, a cold smirk suddenly appeared at the corner of Tang Shen's mouth.

The two women froze. Upon catching sight of the shapes in the distance, their complexions instantly drained of color, and the villagers present began to cry out in frantic terror.

"Arlong is here! Everyone, be careful!"

"Mister Roger! Run away quickly! You are no match for him!!"

"Nami! Nojiko! Come back quickly! Maybe if we offer some money..."

...

The villagers were terrified, their faces pale and slick with cold sweat.

In the distance.

The conspicuous insignia of the Arlong Pirates appeared, a dense horde of Fish-men charging aggressively toward Cocoyasi Village. They brandished a variety of weapons, and at the center of the crowd, surrounded like royalty, stood a towering figure wearing a cotton cap with an astonishingly long, jagged nose.

The captain of the Arlong Pirates, the pirate with the highest bounty in the East Blue at eighteen million Berries—Arlong!!

Seeing Arlong's arrival, Tang Shen felt the tension and fear in the two women beside him. Nami was trembling all over, as if she might collapse at any moment.

"Nami, long time no see. What kind of goodies did you bring back for me this time?"

Arlong stepped forward, a mocking sneer curling his lip. Behind him, hundreds of Fish-men completely surrounded the entire Cocoyasi Village.

"Arlong... I..."

Nami was momentarily choked for words. At this moment, she didn't have a single Berry on her, yet in the eyes of the Arlong Pirates, she was nothing more than Arlong's money-making tool.

"Don't tell me you didn't bring any money back. That truly wouldn't be good news."

Sneering as he looked at Nami, Arlong casually kicked a nearby orange tree. With a sharp snap, the fruit-laden tree toppled to the ground, its harvest scattering everywhere.

"If there's no money, forget about these oranges—not even the people of this entire village will find life very pleasant."

Crack!

Crushing the trunk of the orange tree beneath his foot, Arlong laughed wildly.

Nami and Nojiko clenched their fists so hard their knuckles turned white. Their beautiful eyes were filled with fury, humiliation, and terror. This was the most precious gift Bell-mère had left them, and now—!

"You'd better think carefully. If any of my men get hurt here today, what do you plan to use as compensation? These useless oranges?"

Arlong lifted his foot and moved to stomp on another orange tree, while the surrounding Fish-men burst into mocking laughter.

In their view, these humans were merely lower-life forms, toys meant to be tormented at will!

"Stop!"

"Don't!"

The two women cried out, tears streaming down their faces. Things had reached a point where the situation was completely out of control.

Arlong's eyes were blazing with bloodshot fury. Though he was brutally cruel to humans, he was fiercely protective of his own Fish-men. So many of his men had died here today, and all that remained to be done was to thoroughly torture these damned humans—especially Nami and her sister—making them die amidst endless heartbreak and agony!

That was the ultimate revenge!

"Such a fine orange. It would be a great waste to crush it."

Instead of the sound of snapping wood, an unfamiliar voice rang out. At the same time, Arlong felt as though his foot had struck an iron plate, unable to descend a fraction of an inch further.

"Huh?"

Startled and enraged, he turned his head sharply, only to see that Tang Shen had blocked his foot with a sword scabbard. Tang Shen was gently picking up the dropped orange with an affectionate expression, carefully wiping it clean.

"Who the hell are you?"

He had intended to torture Nami before dealing with this pest, but the fool had come seeking death on his own? Arlong glared at Tang Shen with a deeply malicious gaze.

"Nojiko, the oranges you grow really do taste fantastic. Perhaps in this entire world, only a girl as beautiful as you could grow such fragrant and sweet fruit."

Wearing a relaxed smile, Tang Shen popped a peeled segment of the orange into his mouth. It was sweet on the palate with not a trace of sourness—refreshing!

"Would you like to try some? Nami, these were grown personally by your sister. Surely you don't dislike them?"

Several freshly peeled orange segments were extended toward the two women. They stared in stunned disbelief at the fruit in their palms, then looked back at Tang Shen, who was leisurely enjoying the delicious treat.

For a moment, they were utterly speechless.

Arlong and the other Fish-men flushed a deep, furious red, the rage in their eyes burning so intensely it seemed they might shoot fire as they locked their gazes onto Tang Shen.

Are you kidding me?!

This bastard has offended us, and yet he has the leisure to stand here eating oranges?

If this isn't courting death, what is?!

The Fish-men roared inwardly, but since their boss was present, they had to defer to him!

"Roger..."

The two women's trembling hands accepted the oranges from Tang Shen and brought them to their lips, while their tears flowed uncontrollably.

[Ding~~~ Nami's affection for you +30!]

[Ding~~ Nojiko's affection for you +30!]

The system prompt rang out once again.

Tang Shen was utterly stunned. This affection rating was rising way too fast—even faster than Kuina's.

Wasn't it just eating a couple of slices of orange? Though he had to admit, Nojiko's oranges really were delicious! Very sweet! Full of juice! He'd better grab a couple more pounds soon!

"Hey! Brat, I'm asking you, who the hell are you?"

Glaring viciously at Tang Shen, Arlong felt he was reaching the absolute limit of his patience. It had been a long time since anyone had dared to provoke him like this. His eyes bloodshot, he was already calculating into how many pieces he should tear the fellow before him.

Neither the Fish-men nor the villagers dared to draw a breath.

Arlong was terrifying, but a furious Arlong... was even more terrifying!

At that moment, Tang Shen finished eating the last segment of the orange with evident lingering satisfaction. He raised his head to look at Arlong, a sunny, warm smile gracing his handsome face as he replied, "Me? Consider me a passing pirate hunter."

"Huh?"

Arlong froze in place. The other Fish-men also fell silent, once again sizing Tang Shen up with unfamiliar eyes.

Then, raucous laughter erupted as Arlong threw his head back and roared with wild mirth.

"A bounty hunter! I never expected a bounty hunter would still dare to come here! Well, I'm terribly sorry, but I am a pirate! Captain of the Arlong Pirates! The pirate with the highest bounty in the East Blue—Arlong, eighteen million Berries!!!"

Pointing proudly at himself, Arlong cast a deeply mocking gaze at Tang Shen.

Forget about a punk like this; back in the day, a bounty hunter who claimed to have taken down pirates worth tens of millions of Berries had passed through, thinking he could handle him. In the end, that guy's skin was now being used by Arlong as a lampshade.

What an absolute joke!

A bounty hunter actually tracked him down here!

"Turns out your head is worth a decent amount after all. Add that to the previous ones, and I can just about scrape by as a multi-millionaire." Tang Shen calculated earnestly. Alvida was only three million; adding this fellow brought it to twenty million Berries—not bad, not bad at all.

To think Tang Shen was actually doing math right now!

Arlong had no fear whatsoever of the impoverished East Blue; he was a pirate who had returned from the New World. That place was true terror itself, whereas the East Blue was a complete joke in his eyes. It was his personal paradise, and one day, he would make a comeback.

"Puny brat! Bounty hunting is no game. Since you like to play so much, go play in hell!"

Gleefully ferocious as he glared at Tang Shen, Arlong had had enough. He abruptly raised his massive right arm, his huge fist tearing through the air with a howling rush of wind as it smashed straight toward Tang Shen's head.