## One Piece Chapter 78: BELLEMERE - Chapter: 78 - Pages: 0-18 - Characters: Usopp, Nami, Arlong, Kuroobi, unidentified fish-man, Genzo, Nojiko, unidentified villagers, Bellemere, Nako, unidentified fish-men ### Summary Page 0: The title page displays "CHAPTER 78" and the title "BELLEMERE". The illustration shows Usopp sitting on a wooden stool outdoors, holding a paintbrush and a palette. He is painting a large black sign that reads "$100,000,000" with a portrait of a woman. Several other framed paintings of landscapes and portraits lean against a brick wall behind him. The ground is littered with art supplies, scattered papers, a spilled bottle of ink, a jar labeled "BERRY", and a large duck-like creature wearing a striped hat and a backpack. To the right, the arm and side of a woman, likely Nami, are visible as she stands near Usopp. Page 1: In Cocoyasi Village, Arlong stands tall among the houses, addressing the terrified villagers. He announces the new tax: "100,000 BELI FOR ONE HUMAN ADULT, AND 50,000 BELI FOR ONE HUMAN CHILD." His crew of fish-men surrounds him, armed and intimidating. Kuroobi, a ray fish-man, stands nearby with his arms crossed and asks, "HOW MANY HAVE WE COLLECTED SO FAR?" Arlong, grinning menacingly with his sharp teeth, replies, "CONSIDERING THAT WE CAME WITH NO NOTICE, WE'LL ONLY KILL THOSE WHO CAN'T PAY UP RIGHT NOW...!" Another fish-man reports the total: "ALMOST 25 MILLION..." Arlong's grin widens as he says, "EXCELLENT! THIS IS... TOO MUCH..." Page 2: The villagers of Cocoyasi converse in hushed, anxious tones. One woman worries, "HOW'RE WE SUPPOSED TO MAKE A LIVING, IF WE HAVE TO PAY THAT MUCH EVERY MONTH...!" A man beside her tries to find a silver lining: "JUST BEAR WITH IT FOR NOW... FORTUNATELY, NO ONE WILL BE KILLED THIS TIME." Genzo, the village sheriff with a pinwheel on his hat, watches the pirates grimly, thinking, "THEY'VE TOOK COMPLETE CONTROL OF OUR VILLAGE... I GUESS WE SHOULD CONSIDER OURSELVES FORTUNATE IF WE CAN SOLVE THIS CRISIS WITH MONEY ALONE..." Nearby, a villager asks young Nojiko, "WHAT DO WE DO, NOJIKO... DO YOU THINK BELLEMERE'S ALRIGHT?" Nojiko confidently replies, "DON'T WORRY. THEY WON'T BE ABLE TO SEE OUR HOUSE SINCE YOU CAN'T SEE IT HERE FROM THE VILLAGE." Genzo, however, is deeply concerned, calculating in his head: "WITH HER AND HER 2 KIDS, THEY'D HAVE TO PAY 200,000 BELI... THERE'S NO WAY SHE'D HAVE THAT MUCH MONEY SAVED UP..." He silently prays, "NOW PLEASE JUST GO BACK WITHOUT NOTICING BELLEMERE'S HOME!" In the village square, Arlong turns to his crew and says, "ALRIGHT," then commands, "LET'S PULL BACK FOR TODAY, BRETHREN!" Page 3: Just as Arlong is about to leave, he pauses, noticing something in the distance. "HMM?" he murmurs. One of his fish-men points towards the outskirts of the village, saying, "ARLONG! THERE SEEMS TO BE A HOUSE A LITTLE AWAY FROM THE VILLAGE! OVER THERE." Genzo's face contorts in horror as he realizes what they've spotted. "NO...!" he gasps. The villagers panic, murmuring, "THAT SMOKE MUST BE COMING FROM SOMEONE'S HOME." Young Nami and Nojiko look on in sheer terror, crying out, "BELLEMERE!" Arlong's sharp-toothed grin returns as he says, "WE ALMOST MISSED IT..." The scene cuts to Bellemere's house, where she is happily cooking at her stove, completely unaware of the impending danger. She hums a cheerful tune, "MM HMM HM," as steam rises from the pot. Page 4: In her kitchen, Bellemere tastes the food she's preparing, licking her finger with a satisfied expression. "MN! IT'S ALMOST TOO GOOD!" she declares. "AS EXPECTED OF MY SPECIAL ORANGE SAUCE!" She mentally reviews the rest of the meal: "LET'S SEE... THE DUCK STILL NEEDS 10 MORE MINUTES IN THE OVEN BEFORE I ADD THE VEGETABLES. THE STEW'S STILL BOILING SO ALL I NEED TO MAKE NOW IS THE OMURICE." She crouches down to look at her hidden stash of money, sighing, "OUR HOUSEHOLD FINANCES ARE GOING TO TAKE QUITE A HIT AFTER THIS. WELL, IF THAT'S THE WAY IT'S GONNA BE, I MIGHT AS WELL AS GIVE THEM A LITTLE ALCOHOL TOO." Meanwhile, Arlong and his crew are walking towards her house. Arlong asks his men, "BY THE WAY, HAVE YOU FOUND ANY SEA CHARTS?" A fish-man replies, "NOPE, NOT A SINGLE ONE. NOT THE MOST USEFUL VILLAGE, IS IT..." Page 5: Panic sweeps through Cocoyasi Village as the pirates head towards Bellemere's home. Villagers exclaim, "THIS IS BAD! THE PIRATES ARE HEADED TO BELLEMERE'S HOME! SO HOW COULD SHE EVER COME UP WITH ENOUGH MONEY!? WHAT DO WE DO!? EVEN WE BARELY MANAGED TO PAY THEM OFF," Genzo runs up to Doctor Nako, shouting, "DOC, WE'VE GOT TROUBLE!" Nako asks, "WHAT IS IT GENZO!? AND WHERE ARE THE CHILDREN...!?" Genzo explains, "THEY SHOULD BE HIDING IN THE FORESTS BUT THEY'RE NOT THERE! THEY MUST'VE TOOK THE BACK ROUTE TO THEIR HOME!" Nako realizes the danger and yells, "OH NO, WE'VE GOTTA STOP THEM!" Nami and Nojiko are shown sprinting desperately towards their house. Nami urges, "NOJIKO, HURRY UP!" and Nojiko replies, "I KNOW!" Back at the house, Bell...