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Chapter 31– Choking.

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There I stand, lifting up Nami by the throat with one hand and choking her with it, the rest of my body stiff, both because I am resisting her orders even though it hurts and because I am bracing my body to resist against the countless strikes she is landing on me with her bo staff. But then, she does something I didn't even think about. Her staff, that was before waving about constantly hitting me in the upper body, had suddenly switched tacks and went low... between my legs.

I watched in slow motion as it travelled towards its ultimate destination, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. My body was hurting from resisting her orders, and that was taking my all since she was hurting and wanted me to stop immediately, meaning this was the strongest I had ever felt her command, plus I had tensed my whole body to defend against her previous blows. I was capable of withstanding a lot when tensing my entire body, but I couldn't move at all when I did, and so I couldn't stop her attack.

"Ugh," I grunt a little as her staff impacts against my privates, though it is more from me expecting there to be a burst of pain than the actual pain I feel. There is a little, but not enough to make me stop. I guess this whole body tense defence thing I have going on includes those as well. Who knew? I didn't.

This tense defence of mine (a good name for it, I think) was, I suspect, a result of the training Garp gave me where he would constantly pelt me and hurt me, which I continued with George and then continued through the use of my own contraptions. Of course, I had gotten hit in the balls a few times, and those were the times Garp laughed the hardest. So no wonder I have some defence down there.

My eyes look down at where the staff is resting between my legs, and then I look back up and lock my gaze with Nami, who has also realised her attack was useless. And then I can feel it, the strain on me lessening as her limbs slowly start to wane, the staff dropping from her grip.

Her eyes start to tear up as she believes the inevitable is happening and she is going to die. She is beginning to give up, and I could probably follow through and kill her right now and be freed from my servitude. However, I have done what I needed to, and I don't want to kill her and I have to stop before she completely loses her will.

"Akh! Akh!" Nami started to choke, gasping for air, when I suddenly let go of her neck and allowed her to drop to the ground. She looks stunned, and I guess the oxygen being deprived of going to her brain has slowed it down a bit, but she should be fine in a second. At this point, I really hope she doesn't tell me to kill myself and mean it because, given what I just did, the command might be too strong, and I may have to go through with it. I will take the opportunity now to explain to her while she is still catching her breath.

"Don't worry. I didn't want to hurt you. I just wanted to prove a point." I say to her calmly, looking down at her as she tries to work her way to her feet while clutching at her throat. Her eyes shot up to look at me when she heard my words, and her eyes were full of anger, but thankfully I didn't see any hate in them. She definitely wanted to rip off my balls and stuff them down my throat, though.

"A-And you had to- Akh!- to choke me to prove a point! Are you sure you didn't actually want me to die!?" Nami starts to shout with a hoarse voice as she finally manages to get to her feet, and she immediately reaches down and picks up her bo staff before pointing one of the ends at me in a defensive stance. I feel bad watching her acting like this, knowing that what I had done had really hurt her, and I wouldn't say I liked the look of betrayal in her eyes, but it had to be done. For me, and especially for Nojiko.

"I did this because I want you to live," I say, which is in complete contradiction to my actions, which is why her eyes almost bulge out of her head, and she gnashes her teeth hard while gripping her weapon harder and jutting the end at me but stopping herself short, knowing it would be ineffective. I really do regret that I had to do such a thing, but it is the only way. I don't want Nojiko to be sad, and she would be inconsolable if something were to happen to Nami, and the way Nami was going, she wasn't going to survive. She needed a wake-up call.

"...You want me to live? Then why the fuck were you trying to crush my throat!" She asks, and though the wariness and anger are still there, it is diminished. I did have her in the palm of my hand after all, and if I wanted her dead, then she would be dead, but she isn't. Therefore, I want her alive, and she knows that, but she can't just accept it that easily, as she legitimately thought I was going to wring the life out of her.

"Because you were taking things too lightly! Because you are rushing! Because you are reckless! Because you are going to end up dying! And me and your sister don't want that!" I raise my voice at her, laying it out plain and simple. Maybe she was acting up for her sister, thinking it would make her worry less and that everything out there was easy for her. Perhaps she was just very arrogant and confident, having come up against many out there and always escaped with her life and, most likely, their riches time and time again. Either way, I needed to make sure she was adequately prepared.

"It seemed to me that the only thing you are scared of and think can kill you are Fishmen. Not the humans out there. Well, you are wrong, and I needed to make sure you understand that because you used me as you're reasoning for being safe out there. So I need to make sure you are going to live. Even if it may seem cruel, I needed you to know." I finish, getting the main point across. She was going too fast, and I needed her to slow down before she got herself killed.

"W-Well, why couldn't you just say that t me? Why did you have to do t-that!?" She lowers her bo staff, no longer pointing it at me but still holding on to it, probably because it makes her feel safer. It is also at this point that I find myself feeling very lucky that she hadn't had her gun holster or gun with her, having to leave it at home and hide it to keep any of the Fishmen from seeing it—or even the villagers because they might get some ideas, especially the stupid ones.

"Look at me, Nami. I have never really left this island. I have not been in countless fights or raids, and my strength and skill have been purely cultivated alone, through just training. But what about those out there that are constantly fighting, struggling and competing for what they desire? Surely, they have more strength and experience than me. However, I was able to hurt you and nearly kill you easily. So, what about them?" I finish, open-ended, wanting her to think about this for herself.

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"...I know. But what am I supposed to do? I need the money to free the island, and I didn't want Nojiko to worry. I know how dangerous it is, but I can't let that stop or slow me down. Everyone is counting on me." Hearing her say that, I sigh. She probably hasn't ever noticed, but whenever she talks about or mentions the plan to get one hundred million berries, I stay silent and don't say anything.

I know it is just a pipedream, I am the closest to Arlong more than anybody else on the island, and I know him, and he definitely won't let us go. But this is the last hope for everyone on the island, and it is better to let them keep it until I finally manage to kill him someday. Or until she brings the money and realises it for herself, at which point everybody loses hope. And then things go one of two ways, everybody loses hope and just becomes mindless drones under Arlong's rule, or they go crazy unwilling to live like that, and they all die trying to kill the fishmen.

Give me freedom or give me death, as it were. It is why I want Nami to really slow it down because, at the end of the day, what she is doing really will not have a positive outcome, and right now, it is just serving to keep the spirits alive. So if she dies while out there trying to gather the money, it would have really been for nothing. I need her to slow down so she stays alive and so that we can prolong the situation until we can kill Arlong. I do still have my weapon in the works, but that will take a while.

"It all ends if you die, Nami. So don't rush it, and be safe. Nobody is expecting anything of you. And Nojiko and I just want you to stay safe, so... just come home, okay." I say, knowing that this time I have truly reached the end, and I have nothing else to say. If she doesn't listen, even after I strangled her, then there is nothing else to be done. I walk back over to my weapons case, and making sure everything is packed away, I pick it up and go to hide it back in my spot.

"It's ten million berries to choke, you know." I hear behind me, and I turn to see Nami folding her bo staff away and putting it back into its holsters. She is avoiding looking at me, but I don't mind. I just smile because I know she understands why I did what I did, and she is trying to get things back to normal.

"Can I pay in instalments?" I say, playing along.

"Of course, though an extra ten percent will be added on top." She says, getting back to her money-grubbing ways. Honestly, I understand why she has an obsession with money, but I think this was always going to be a problem for her whether or not Arlong ever invaded.

"Then I will pay you back a berry a day until the day I die." Not a good deal by any means, but that's not what this is about.

"Okay, until the day you die. If you miss a day, the total payment doubles." Chuckling, I reach into my pocket and pull out a single berry coin, which I flip with my thumb right towards Nami, who immediately catches it and stores it in her own pocket. We started walking back towards the house in silence since my hiding spot was that way also, and I would split from Nami when I neared it, and then I would go home to Nojiko. Whose sister I just choked.

"Don't mention any of this to your sister, okay?" I say, really not wanting Nojiko to find out about it. She wouldn't care that I was doing it for Nami's own sake, and she would be filled with wrath. Our relationship would break down, and I would be lucky if she didn't try and scalp me with that spatula of hers. I look over at Nami, trying not to let her know how much this actually means to me.

"Now that, hmm. That will require a price of two million berries up front. Now, no instalment plans." I carry on walking, knowing that she isn't going to say anything. Also, does she actually expect me to give her a berry every single day? I think yes. Let's hope she doesn't find a way to increase the price because she could definitely drain me like this.

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"All right, it's time to go," Nami says, putting her backpack down on the wooden platform and turning around to look at both me and Nojiko, who had come to see her off. She had stayed around a while and helped around the tangerine farm and even helped me with some of my work since Arlong couldn't make her draw any maps since she had already done all of the surrounding islands.

I had also been training and testing her as well, making sure she was ready before she left. And the crazy thing was, I didn't even force it upon her or anything. After what had happened, after what I did, I kept my distance and tried to just let her be so she could have some time with her sister before she left. But she came to me and asked for me to help her prepare and get ready for her journey. I obliged, and we stepped things up a notch. I had her doing the same training I did, just to a lesser degree. She did alright.

"Okay, you take care of yourself. Alright? Come back soon. Don't make me have to come out there and drag you back." I say, making a stern face in a mock tone though I was also being serious. It is great for me when Nami is away, and Nojiko and I can just play the day away, but after a while, Nojiko becomes down. She gets all sad and depressed, missing her sister and knowing she is out there all alone in constant danger with no one looking out for her.

Seeing her sad doesn't make me feel good, so I would try and find her if she took too long out there. Hell, I already have a plan in mind to convince Arlong. I would just have to say that she has taken too long and that something might have happened to her, and it would be better for me, an average human, to go get her than for a Fishman to and possibly get reported or put in the newspaper. Of course, I know this might restrict her freedom in the future if I do it and bring her back; Arlong not wanting to risk her again, which is why I will only do this if it has actually been months without any contact.

"Don't worry. I will be back!" Nami says, a mischievous grin on her face as she takes me by surprise and suddenly lunges forward to wrap me in a hug. I pause, uncertain of what to do since I haven't been in such a situation before with her. I mean, we had a good relationship, and then I choked her within an inch of death, and suddenly our relationship got better? I look towards Nojiko for guidance, who just smiles and shrugs her shoulders. I decide just to hug her back, pulling her close to me and wrapping her up in my big arms.

"After all, I still need to collect from you! I'm not going to let you get behind on your debt!" My arms freeze, and my hug becomes cold, and I feel like a statue. This action that I thought was a friendly and close actually had sinister undertones. She wasn't just hugging me to say bye. She was using it as an opportunity to warn me about not skipping out on my bill and that she was taking it seriously.

It was just a joke, and even that day, I remember thinking to myself that she may have taken it seriously. Just to play along, I had actually been giving her a berry every day, but she had never once asked me for it, so I just thought it would be something we would do until she went, and then we would forget about it. Clearly, that was hoping for too much when it comes to a moneygrubber like Nami. It seems like I need to procure a Nami jar so I can pay her whenever she returns.

"And what debt is this?" I hear Nojiko chime in from the side as Nami retracts herself from me, and though the tone feels cheery, I can tell that there are layers to it, scary layers. Again, Nojiko is a sweet angel most of the time, but she can turn into the devil when anything she cares about is messed with, and that includes myself and Nami.

And right now, this situation includes the both of us and me repaying a debt, and I don't know who she is going to take the side of. No, scratch that. I am paying off Nami for choking her out—obviously, her side. Thankfully, I had thought about this immediately after the fact and asked Nami not to say anything to Nojiko about me choking her out.

"Detoro choked me, and choking costs ten million berries." I look at her like she is the devil, and all she does is stick her tongue out at me. This girl is a demon, and now that I think about it, she was asking for two million upfront, not to tell Nojiko, but I just thought she was joking. I should have known. Nami never jokes when it comes to money.

"During training, and I went a little bit too far. So I agreed to pay, and I am paying a berry a day until the amount has been paid in full." I say, hopefully saving the situation. I look at Nami, pleading her to just go with it and not say anything else. I see her put two fingers up where Nojiko can't see, and I immediately understand. She wants two berries a day from now on, I quickly move my eyes up and down in agreement, and her smile gets bigger.

"Jeez, Nami. Whatever, just be safe, okay?" Nojiko says, hugging her sister and turning the evil smile on Nami's face into an innocent and sincere one. They separate, and after a few last goodbyes, she gets in her boat with her supplies, and we watch as she sails off into the distance. I quickly check around to make sure no one is around or watching before reaching out and holding Nojiko's hand to comfort her.

Nami wouldn't get badly hurt in any of her journeys to come. The most she would come back with would be some bruises and scrapes but never anything serious. She did come home one time very angry and hurt, and she made me train her even harder. I found out the reason later. Apparently, she had run into a pirate with a devil fruit who beat her, and she only managed to escape because another thief was trying to steal from him.

Who knew she would encounter a devil fruit user before me? Also, what kind of name is Mad Treasure?