One Piece (Netflix)

Episode 7 of One Piece starts with the crew off on the hunt for Nami and Arlong. Buggy’s head is up on deck and he continues to talk smack to each of them. That is, until Zoro drops him in a bucket. Thankfully they make it their destination, which happens to be Conomi Island. This is where Nami was trying to end up before, if you’ll remember, and here we see more of her backstory.

Nami grew up on this island, in Coco Village. Her guardian is not happy when she finds out the orphaned Nami, whom she took in as her own as a kid, has stolen a book. Nami bites back, pointing out that she hates being poor and wearing Nojiko’s discarded clothes. Nami is quick to point out that they’re not a family either, and she’s not even her real mum. However, her mum retorts that when she found Nami and Nojiko together after a big fight on the island, she knew she had to take care of them and quit being a Marine.

Despite coming together as a family, Nami hands back the book to the local officer but Arlong shows up with his Fishmen, demanding the villagers fall in line. They make an example for some of the villagers, and even tip over a few houses to show just how serious they are.

Nojiko and Nami hide out at their mum’s place, but unfortunately Arlong finds them and busts the door down. He demands a tribute payment from their mother of 100,000 Berrys per adult. Unfortunately, she’s found out to be harbouring two daughters and almost dies as a result. That is, until Nami jumps in to save her. She only has 100,000 Berrys to her name and sacrifices herself to save her two girls.

Back in the present, Nami plays cards with the other fishmen but they’re not happy when she cheats her way to victory, given the strict rules in this crew. Nami gets off lightly, not least because Arlong knows how valuable she is to their crew. She’s singlehandedly helped them map out every Marine base and pirate stronghold location. None of it is hers though but the pair have a clear deal, with Arlong intending to kill the humans and rise up as the king of the seas.

For now though, Nami is tasked with heading to one of the nearby villages and squeezing out their tribute payment, which they’re currently late repaying. And which one is it? Coco Village of course.

Garp arrives at the Baratie with the other Marines, intending to figure out what’s been going on. Zeff shows up and is quick to point out he’s retired from the pirating game. The only thing under his command is the restaurant they’re currently standing in.

Garp wants information on Luffy but Zeff plays dumb and pretends that he doesn’t know who he or his crew are. Instead, he entices him in with a thick, juicy steak and a hearty meal. At the same time, Luffy and the others arrive at Coco Village, unaware that Nami is already there. Watching from afar, they notice her show up and demand the tribute payments from the villagers.

Luffy approaches Nami after she takes the tributes from the villagers, who are still short, and try to talk her around. Nami pushes them away though, claiming she never wants to see them again and was never part of their crew. However, her face clearly shows that it pains her to say this.

When she shuffles away, Luffy and the others speak to Officer Genzo, the one who accepted the book from Nami in the past, who in turn encourage them out into the fields to talk to Nojiko. When they arrive at her house, Luffy admits that she’s part of their crew and they want to try and help turn Nami around. Despite having a gun pointed to their heads, it’s actually Sanji that convinces her to let her guard down, promising to cook her a good meal.

Nami returns to Arlong and tries to negotiate their deal, given Coco Village are down on their tribute payments. However, a ruckus outside distracts them. Captain Nezumi and his marine comrades show up, and it now becomes clear that there’s a bigger hierarchy going on here. Nezumi appears to be the real man in charge, and Arlong is just the middle-man.

Arlong is squeezed out of more money, but Arlong is quick to point out that he serves no man and he has ambitions. To avoid violence, Nezumi concedes and decides to stick with their current deal.

Nami gets involved after, where we learn that she has actually acquired 100 million Berrys, as per their agreement. Arlong is surprised and agrees to contemplate this when they meet at sunrise the next day. That will see their deal closed. When Nami leaves, Arlong speaks to Nezumi again and re-organizes their deal, especially with more money from Nami that he intends to backstab her with.

Luffy and the others learn the truth about Nami’s harrowing backstory, with Luffy determined to do right by his friend. While Zoro is convinced she made her own choice, Luffy still believes that she’s good deep down and can be saved from this fishy crook.

Back at the Baratie, the Vice Admiral and Zeff share a meal together. The pair end up having a stand off, as Zeff refuses to reveal where Luffy and the crew are. He does, however, point out that Monkey D. Luffy reminds him of Gold Rogers and that he’s special.

Speaking of contemplation, Koby speaks to Helmeppo about his wavering allegiance and points out the ties between Garp and Luffy. Helmeppo and Koby chat at the bar, and in doing so, the barman decides he’s happy to play ball and tell them what he knows. Giving up all the information, Koby and Helmeppo return to the Vice Admiral and reveal all. They decide to leave and set their destination for Conomi Island.

In the graveyard, Nami begins digging up all the money that she’s managed to steal. Nojiko shows up and notices her sister and is shocked by her actions. “You don’t understand,” Says Nami, as we see more of her past. It turns out she approached Arlong and decided to join their crew. She handed over a map of the area, promising to help him if he does. That condition of their deal was actually to buy back Coco Village to give them their freedom… for 100 million Berry.

Nami apologizes to her sister in the present for not revealing the truth but she did so to protect her and stop her from being killed. She let Nojiko hate her all this time but unfortunately, Nezumi shows up and notices the stolen money. This is all Arlong’s doing of course, and he’s about to double-cross her completely. Nami is shocked and beside herself with anger as she’s forced down and the money is taken away. All her hard work goes up in flames.

Nami is too late as Arlong rallies the troops and decides to burn down Coco Village. When Nami sees the flames in the distance, she’s shocked and begins stabbing her arm with her knife. Luffy stops her though and promises to help. He puts the straw hat on her and grits his teeth, ready to fight back against Arlong and his crew. The big fight is upon us, and it all comes down to this.

The penultimate episode of One Piece finally lets us see more of Nami’s backstory, including what led her to work for Arlong and what she’s planning this whole time. The way this was revealed is a nice touch and well edited too, especially as we’re kept in the dark surrounding the truth until the very end of the episode.

The switching perspectives to this and the Marines helps to keep up that feel of the cat and mouse game, which has so far remained captivating and well written throughout. The ending certainly hints that we’ve got a big fight on our hands though and who comes out on top is anyone’s guess!