"Who... who exactly are you?!"
After Eden effortlessly knocked out Alvida, the five-million-berry bounty pirate, the remaining pirates stood trembling, their legs turning to jelly, so petrified that they couldn't even summon the strength to flee.
Among them, a sharper pirate mustered the courage to question Eden. They couldn't believe someone capable of defeating Alvida was an unknown nobody.
"Me?" Eden pondered briefly, "I'm Eden, just a passing mage..."
Just then, a news coo descended with a gentle flutter, dropping a newspaper that revealed Eden's true identity to everyone present.
"Ah…"
"He...he's…"
"He's the guy who single-handedly defeated the Fish-Man Pirates and took down Arlong, the pirate worth twenty million berries!"
"The 'Terrifying Rookie' Eden, who received an unprecedented first-time bounty of thirty million berries!"
The pirates stared in disbelief at the bounty poster slipping from the newspaper. None of them had expected that a routine robbery on a cruise would pit them against a pirate with a thirty-million-berry bounty. What rotten luck!
"Enough talk," Eden interrupted their murmurs. "Are you going to jump off yourselves, or do I have to help you?"
After a moment's hesitation, the pirates swiftly chose the sea over certain death, diving off the ship one after another, betting their lives on the ocean's mercy rather than facing Eden.
On the other side,
"I'm the captain of this ship," a voice trembled from among the crowd. "Thank you for saving us in our moment of need. If there's anything you need, just name it—we'll do our utmost to fulfill your requests."
"Cut the crap! If you don't want to die, hand over all your valuables now! We're pirates, not heroes," Nami retorted sharply, completely ignoring the captain's gratitude.
The passengers finally grasped the situation: They had escaped wolves only to fall prey to tigers.
"Hand over your money! Quickly!" Nami showed no sympathy towards these wealthy passengers, knowing very well their backgrounds. To her, fleecing these pompous nobles and merchants didn't prick her conscience one bit. However, she spared the regular crew and common passengers, even secretly compensating them somewhat.
Watching this unfold, Eden smiled inwardly, amused by Nami's tough exterior and hidden kindness.
After fleecing the nobles, Nami counted the spoils—about ten million berries worth. She wasn't satisfied and targeted the richest-looking individual, a fat merchant, demanding he reveal more of his wealth.
"Why me?!" the merchant squeaked, his face pale.
"Because you're filthy rich! My intelligence never fails," Nami sneered. "You're a famous merchant in East Blue, with at least ten million berries. If you're even one berry short, I'll end you."
The surrounding passengers gasped in shock at this revelation, envy and greed glinting in their eyes.
"I…I spent it all on merchandise," the merchant stammered desperately. "I spent nearly eight million berries on a talking, flying cat from a bounty hunter. This cat could fetch at least a hundred million if sold to high nobles or Celestial Dragons as a pet."
"A talking cat?! Could it be…" Eden murmured, a thoughtful expression crossing his face.
"Where is this cat?" Nami demanded.
"It's in my cabin, under the bed, inside a cage," the merchant confessed meekly.
"Go fetch it," Nami commanded the sailors she'd spared earlier. Grateful for her mercy, they quickly obeyed, returning with a cage covered in black cloth.
When they removed the cloth, a small blue cat appeared, eyes vacant and hopeless—until it spotted Eden. Instantly, tears filled its eyes.
"Eden! Save me! They tricked me with salted fish! They drugged it and captured me to sell as a pet! This is too cruel!" it wailed.
"Useless as always, Happy," Eden sighed.
Indeed, the captured creature was none other than Eden's comrade, the so-called most annoying cat in history—Happy.
Among Fairy Tail's cats, Carla could foresee dangers, Panther Lily had formidable strength, and then there was Happy: foolish enough to be captured with drugged salted fish.