Arlong Park
A burly Sawshark Fish-Man sat in his chair menacingly. The Sun Pirates' symbol was on his left chest, while the symbol of the Arlong Pirates was tattooed on his left forearm.
He had been ruling over more than twenty villages near Cocoyasi Village for the past years, making him one of the pirates with the highest bounties in East Blue. He was considered a formidable force in this area, which wasn't surprising as he came from Grand Line.
The two Fish-Men who had been driven away by Giotto earlier were now kneeling in front of Arlong, trembling. They told Arlong about what happened, and of course with a few exaggerations.
As they delivered the message, Arlong's expression grew more and more unpleasant. "So, you're telling me that there's a human who not only defeated the three of you but also killed one of you? And this human has no respect for me and demands that I go see him?"
"That's right, Lord Arlong, we already mentioned your name to that human, and not only he didn't care but he also said..."
"Just spill it! What did that human say about me?" Arlong was getting increasingly annoyed with his subordinates' hesitation. He had been in the East Blue for so long, but this was the first time a human dared to defy him like this.
It seemed that these foolish and weak humans had forgotten the consequences of defying him.
"He said, 'Who cares about Arlong? I'll turn him into fish jerky and feed him to the villagers.'"
One had to admit that these Fish-Men were quite adept at fabricating stories. Giotto hadn't said much, but they came up with a lot.
And the idea of turning them into fish jerky...
It oddly made sense.
"Bastards!" Arlong crushed the table with a punch. His face grew even more unpleasant. "Get everyone ready, and bring that human to me today! I want to see which fool dares to cause trouble in my territory. While we're at it, we'll slaughter everyone in Mirielle. Show those weak creatures their place—they were born to be slaves!"
The people who had initially set out with Tiger to save the slaves had now become pure villains that enslaved hunabs.
Soon, Arlong gathered his subordinates, including Hatchan, Chew, and Kuroobi, and led a large group of Fish-Men towards Mirielle Village.
Giotto saw this as he quietly followed the Fish-Men to find out what they were up to.
Once he returned to Mirielle Village, someone immediately said, "Kind sir, you should leave as fast as possible. If those Fish-Men come here, they will kill you!"
"Sir, please listen to my mom and leave this place. Only by leaving can you survive."
The mother and son who were just saved by Giotto looked at him with sincerity and implored him to leave the village.
They had been oppressed by Arlong for years, so they knew that when the Fish-Men returned, this place would undoubtedly become a living hell. Other villages that had tried to stand up against Arlong in the past, and Arlong killed them all. Those Fish-Men were like demons!
They were born and raised here, and this place was their home. They wouldn't leave, and they couldn't leave. But they didn't want their savior to lose his life here!
"If I leave, what will you do?" Giotto crouched down, looking at the determined boy, and asked with a faint smile.
"I'm not afraid of them! Believe me! I'm not afraid of them, and I don't want to be bullied by them anymore. If they come, I will definitely give them a good beating!" The boy waved his fists and grinned.
You could see fear in his eyes, but you could also feel his tenacity.
The boy's courage and sensibility were touching...
"What are you talking about? We're all going to die anyway. I don't know what is this going to accomplish. If those two died, we wouldn't have to go through this. Instead, they're dragging us into this."
"Right, it's their fault. Why should we be forced to bear the consequences?"
Aria heard the voices as she went toward Giotto with Buggy. However, she didn't say anything.
That was just how human nature was; in times like these, most people would rather blame other rather than banding together.
Some who didn't say a word probably had similar thoughts, while some might want to save this mother and son but couldn't muster the courage. In any case, all of them were afraid because they knew that they would die the moment the Fish-Men came!
Giotto, however, didn't care about what those people thought. He looked at the boy who was only twelve or thirteen years old in front of him and said with a faint smile, "Do you want to beat up those Fish-Men? It seems like your punches are quite powerful."
"Of course, in a few more years, those Fish-Men wouldn't stand a chance against me!" The boy said confidently, which helped alleviate his fear.
Just then, a man riding a lion and wielding a whip came rushing in. He shouted, "Captain Buggy, Arlong is bringing his men here, and there's a huge monster that looks really fierce. We can't stop them on our own!"
This man was Mohji, a crew of Buggy Piratse crew, known as Mohji the Beast Tamer, though in reality...
He was quite weak.
Buggy Pirate was essentially a one-man army with Buggy as the one that led them.
As for the "huge monster" that Mohji mentioned, it was probably the sea beast that the Arlong Pirates kept as a pet. It looked quite menacing, but in reality...
It was nothing compared to the Sea Kings that could devour one of Red-Haired Shanks' arms. It was just said to be brought from the Grand Line...
"What are you panicking for? Just Arlong and a few Fish-Men make you so frightened? Make way for them, and let's see if he dares to come before me!" Buggy was being particularly arrogant at this moment. After all, he could defeat Arlong himself, and Giotto was with him. Even if Arlong brought a thousand or ten thousand men, all of them would just die!