"So, Captain, mind telling me where we're going?" Sanji asked when it started to seem like they were wandering.
"We're heading to a place called Cocoyasi Village. It's Nami's hometown," he replied. Sanji's face lit up at the mention of the orange-haired girl, but Luffy's voice turned serious and he found himself straightening.
"Her hometown was taken over by the Arlong Pirates 8 years ago," he continued. "They're an all fishman pirate crew whose strength is said to be unrivalled in East Blue."
Sanji pondered this for a moment. "Wasn't the same supposedly true of the Krieg Pirates?"
Luffy smiled grimly. "These guys would kick their collective asses any day of the week. But you're right not to believe everything you hear." Luffy paused. "Sanji, I told you they were an all fishman pirate crew, but there is one exception. Nami is involved with them."
Sanji's eyes widened and he was about to question this when Luffy continued, "Her motives are complicated. But let's think about it for a moment. The same pirates that she's supposedly involved with are holding her hometown hostage. Can you think of anything?"
No one ever accused Sanji of being slow on the uptake. "So the question is, what do they want from her? And whatever it is, why has it taken 8 years to resolve?" he said slowly.
Luffy nodded. "The only way to find out is to go there. The only problem being…" Sanji looked at him curiously as he trailed off, before looking up to the sky. "I have absolutely no idea how to navigate us there."
Sanji lit a cigarette slowly, and after blowing out the smoke, he spoke. "The fuck is wrong with you?" he asked with a blank face. Luffy turned to him.
"Well, I'm just lucky I have you right now," he said. He pulled out a map from his pocket. "The island is to the northwest of Baratie. Do you think you can figure it out?" Sanji nodded.
"I'm a chef of the sea. It's a must to have fundamental navigational skills," he said as he looked towards the setting sun. Luffy wasn't all that surprised. He knew Sanji had been born in North Blue, and had made his way to the East at some point. They had recruited him shortly before going to the Grand Line, where fundamental navigational skills would get you nowhere. So it was no surprise that he had never gotten a chance to show his knowledge in the area.
"I'm counting on you, then," he said. "And so is Nami, even if she doesn't know it yet."
"There it is! The Going Merry," Yosaku said, handing the binoculars to Usopp. Usopp looked through them and he saw the problem.
"It's surrounded by fishmen," he said with a hint of fear in his voice. Zoro had already explained about the fishmen after he had somewhat recovered on the way there, as well as his theories as to why Nami was involved with Arlong. The subject was still shrouded in mystery, but they were determined to ask Nami themselves.
"This is bad," Johnny said. "How are we going to dock the ship? The coast is being heavily guarded by those fishmen."
"It's fine," Zoro said. "I'll cut them. Let's go." The three other occupants of the ship immediately protested.
"Are you kidding!?" Usopp asked frantically. "Those are fishmen! You said it yourself, each of them is 10 times stronger than the average human!"
"He's right, aniki! You're wounds still haven't healed. What do you plan on doing?" Johnny asked.
"Like I said, I'll just cut them," Zoro repeated. He started to bring them closer to the coast. Usopp, Johnny, and Yosaku all took one look at each other before nodding. Suddenly, they produced 3 hammers seemingly out of nowhere, and each whacked Zoro upside the head.
Zoro's head sagged from the impact. He stood there for a moment with his head facing the deck and shadows covering his eyes. Rather than falling over, he turned towards them, and the frightening look on his face sent chills through their flesh and into their very blood. Suddenly remembering how he had been captured in his own timeline, he spoke.
"You guys sure are gutsy today," he said in a low, eerie voice.
"The hell is that?" Sanji asked nonchalantly, staring up at the strange sea king. "A cow?" He turned to Luffy, who seemed to have stars in his eyes. No really, his eyes had turned into what looked like stars. Sanji rubbed his own eyes before looking back and seeing Luffy's focused expression. He decided he was just a little tired. Luffy called out to the cow.
"Hey, cowfish! We need to get to Arlong Park. Give us a ride!" he commanded. Sanji was really starting to wonder what kind of dipshit of a captain he had decided to follow, when suddenly the cow leaned forward, offering his head to Luffy, who patted him with a chuckle. Luffy then tied a rope around his horns, and the cow pulled them forward at a greater speed than they had been going, seemingly knowing which way to go.
I'm not gonna ask. I'm not gonna ask. I'm not gonna ask. I'm not gonna…shit, I'm gonna ask, aren't I?
"What the hell is happening!?" Sanji shouted at the top of his lungs, causing Luffy to burst out in hysterical laughter.
Usopp, Johnny, and Yosaku screamed in terror as they ran for their lives from a very vindictive Zoro, with Usopp in the lead. Several fishmen had stopped and taken notice, but were either too shocked to act or too slow to keep up. Eventually the fishmen that were chasing them lost sight of them, panting heavily and wondering who the hell they were. Whatever, they'd have to report this to Arlong.
Usopp and the bounty hunter duo eventually caught sight of a blue-haired woman, who yelled for them to stop. Panting heavily, they did. Zoro wouldn't kick their asses too hard…hopefully. The woman asked who they were and what on earth they thought they were doing, but was cut off when a fishman showed up and caught sight of them. Usopp screamed but got his slingshot out and stood in front of the bounty hunter duo. "Run, you guys! The brave and honorable Usopp will hold him off!" he said as his legs trembled.
"Stop!" the woman yelled. "You can't harm the fishmen, no matter what!"
That was when Zoro caught up to them. He grinned ferally at his three prey, and walked up to them slowly.
"Zo-Zo-Zoro wait!" Usopp stuttered. "Fishman!" Surprisingly, this caught Zoro's attention. He turned to the fishman and his gaze turned focused as he remembered why they were here.
"Stand back," he said, putting one hand on the hilt of his sword. "I'll cut him."
"I said, don't fight the fishmen!" the blue-haired woman yelled as she whacked Zoro over the head with a hammer. His head was tilted forward for a long while as he stood there, motionless. Eventually, he turned back toward all four of them, and Nojiko felt a chill creep down her spine at the sight of that insane look she was faced with. Usopp and the bounty hunter duo had frozen in place, wondering what they were in for.
"You're all being pretty gutsy today with your fuckin' hammers," he said in a low voice. "Do I look like a mole do you people? Huuh!?"
"Hey, you damn humans! Stop ignoring me and identify yourselves! This is Arlong Park, where fishmen reign supreme, so if you don't want to be taken to Arlong, I suggest you—"
"Beat it, you fish-faced fucker!" Zoro yelled as he spun around and backfisted the fishman in the jaw, sending him crashing into a house to their left.
There was silence as Nojiko wondered who the hell this guy was. Johnny and Yosaku started clapping slowly, before Zoro glared at them and they stopped. "If you're all done pulling hammers out of your asses, we can go find Nami now," he said in irritation.
"Nami?" Nojiko asked in confusion. "What business do you have with her?" Zoro looked at her.
"She's our navigator," he said simply. This only confused Nojiko more before she remembered that Nami had a tendency to infiltrate pirate crews and earn their trust before robbing them penniless.
"If that's the case, then I fear you all have been tricked. I suggest you give up on Nami being in your crew any longer," she replied. Zoro looked at her with a piercing gaze and, never one to shit around, got right to the point.
"Arlong Park falls today," he said before walking away, leaving Nojiko speechless. All she wanted to do was scream at the guy, ask him who the hell he thought he was, and hit him in the head with a hammer a few more times. Was he trying to make every sacrifice they had made for the last 10 years be in vain? She gritted her teeth. His three friends looked back at her for a moment before falling into step behind him silently. She cursed under her breath and followed after them.
Genzo grunted as Arlong lifted him off the ground by the scruff of the neck. "Possession of weapons is a clear sign of rebellious intent," Arlong said with a toothy grin. "I can't just let this slide, now, can I? I'll just have to kill you as an example of what happens to rebels."
"Stop this, Arlong! We won't stand by and let you do this!" a civilian shouted. Shouts of agreement broke out through the crowd of citizens from Cocoyasi Village. Genzo silenced them, however, saying that if they rebelled now, everything would have been in vain. They struggled to accept this, realizing that his intention was to martyr himself now. Arlong laughed at their indecisiveness before bringing Genzo up above his head and preparing to slam him head first into the concrete in order to end his life. Shouts echoed throughout the plaza, and Genzo closed his eyes.
"Certain Death! Exploding Star!!" A concussive force stopped Arlong mid swing, and Genzo slipped from his grip, relatively unharmed. Everyone looked in shock at the new arrival. The kid trembled as he stood on the roof of a small house, holding up a green slingshot. Suddenly, a green-haired, sword-wielding man walked into the plaza, flanked by two other men who also carried swords. The villagers' eyes widened. What was this? A goddamn revolutionary army? They were going to ruin everything!
"Gen-san!" a new voice yelled. They all turned to see Nojiko running over to Genzo with concern written all over her face. She had come with these strangers. Who were they, exactly?
"Sorry, Luffy, I know you probably wanted this one to yourself," Zoro spoke in a low voice as he walked into the middle of the plaza and stopped in front of Arlong. "But I'm ending this. Now." Arlong roared in anger at the sheer audacity.
"You dare attack me, you pathetic humans!? Even though your entire race is inferior, you dare to challenge me!?" Arlong stomped over to him angrily.
All Zoro thought of was the memory of Nami's desperation, an emotion that he never wanted to see on a single comrade's face ever again, as he raised his sword.
He never completed his swing. A large object shot down in front of him, impacting with the ground and leaving a large crater. He recognized said object immediately. In his anger, he hadn't sensed him before. "Luffy! What are you—?"
He never completed his sentence, either. Luffy grabbed him by his arm and jumped before beginning his Geppo, grabbing Johnny, Yosaku, and Usopp on the way, and flew right out of the village at speeds that would have made his spectators stare in shock if they weren't doing so already.
A few moments passed, as Arlong stood motionless in the center of the plaza. One of his henchmen finally gathered up the courage to speak with him. "Arlong-san, are you—"
"Find those humans," he said simply. "All of them. I want to rip their flesh open myself." He walked right out of the village, all thoughts of petty rebels and examples forgotten.
Nami was waiting impatiently in front of the water at Arlong Park when Kuroobi finally showed up. "It's about time," she said in an annoyed tone. "What's going on here? Where is Arlong?"
Kuroobi studied her for a moment, and then responded. "Arlong is on a hunt right now. A few humans managed to upset him, and he's determined to find them." Nami stiffened. Who had been stupid enough to challenge him after all this time…?
"Who was it?" she asked quietly.
"A kid with a straw hat, another with a long nose, and a green-haired man that we believe to be Pirate Hunter Zoro."
Nami felt her heart contract in fear. They were here? How? How could they have followed her? She had gotten out before anyone would be able to know where she was going. We will follow you. The words echoed in her mind and she felt like puking. Those idiots.
Kuroobi studied her reaction carefully. She hid it well, but she was clearly uncomfortable. He concluded that she knew these people. Had they just been more of her victims? Or was something else going on here? His eyes narrowed in thought. Suddenly there was a ripple in the water, and Arlong shot out of the sea and landed next to Nami. Kuroobi turned to him.
"Any luck?" he asked gently. Arlong shook his head, seething. Whoever these guys were, they had managed to get away quickly. Kuroobi came closer and started whispering in his ear, and his eyes narrowed.
"Nami," he said. She turned to him. "Just so you know, we're looking for three humans. One with a straw hat, one with a long nose, and one with green hair and three swords strapped to his hip. He watched as her posture showed obvious signs of stress.
"Yeah, Kuroobi told me," she said, more weakly than she would have liked.
"Is there something you'd like to tell us Nami?" he asked. Nami turned to him again and scoffed.
"They're just pirates that I stole from. I'm upset that they managed to follow me here," Nami replied.
"Yes, that is pretty surprising," Kuroobi said. "Of course, an easy explanation for that is that you led them here." Nami glared at him.
"You think that after all this time I'd try something? When I'm so close?" she asked.
Kuroobi's eyes narrowed dangerously, but Arlong just laughed. "You're right. Sorry I doubted you. Nevertheless, I'll have to find these pieces of trash and put them out of their misery soon." He turned and walked away, and Kuroobi looked at Nami one more time before following.
Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, Johnny, and Yosaku were currently hiding out in a ghost town where all the houses were either destroyed or flipped over onto their sides.
"That was terrifying," Johnny said after a while. "I thought we were gonna die." Yosaku nodded his agreement. Usopp was surprisingly silent. Sanji was smoking a cigarette, deep in thought. Once they had arrived, Luffy had told him to stay put and then shot off running through the sky as if it was the most natural thing in the world. He had come back with everyone accounted for...except for Nami. Sanji turned to Luffy.
"So what's our next move, Captain?" he asked. He knew this was a delicate situation. They couldn't act rashly, but he wanted to know what they bastards were doing to Nami to make her stay with their crew.
Luffy thought about the question carefully. Should he explain everything now?
"Luffy, can I talk to you privately for a minute?" Luffy turned to Zoro and sighed before nodding. He knew this was coming. He told everyone to stay put and they walked out of earshot. Zoro made sure no one else was in the area before speaking. "What the fuck are you doing?" he growled.
Luffy raised an eyebrow at him, but Zoro continued, undeterred. "Don't give me that look," he said. "I had him. He was right there in front of me. I could have ended this. You stopped me. Explain, now." Luffy met his eyes evenly, not showing any signs of regret. Zoro knew this wasn't a simple matter of, 'Arlong's mine, take care of the squid guy.' Luffy wouldn't prolong Nami's suffering for a stupid reason like that. But there had to be a reason.
"What do you think would happen if you took down Arlong right now?" Luffy asked. Zoro gave him a confused look.
"What could possibly go wrong if we took him down?" he asked in curiosity.
"Simple. We'd be going against Nami's wishes. Her plan right now is to fulfill her promise with Arlong and buy back her village from him. But you already know that," Luffy said. Zoro grew frustrated.
"Yeah, a promise that he's going to break! You know this as well as I do, Luffy. He bullshitted his way out of their arrangement! Are you going to make Nami go through that again?"
"Do I have a choice? Nami is convinced that he'll uphold his end of the deal."
"All the more reason why we should take out Arlong now," Zoro concluded, calming down. He couldn't see where Luffy was going with this.
"And then what?" Luffy asked, scanning the area to make sure no one was listening again. "Will Nami be satisfied with that? Right now, she doesn't want us to get involved," he said. Zoro blinked, starting to understand what he was getting at. "The only reason Nami asked for our help last time was that the villagers were rushing to their deaths. She was desperate. Right now, she has a plan. It doesn't matter how strong we are. It doesn't matter if we can beat Arlong. It doesn't matter if we know what will happen. If we take him out now, in Nami's mind, we'll just be endangering the lives of her loved ones for the sake of our own vengeance. She'll never forgive us for that."
Zoro was silent for a long while. He knew Luffy was right. He hadn't been thinking ahead.
"It hurts to watch," he said finally.
"I know it does," Luffy replied. "But we have to endure it. If we falter, who can they rely on?" Luffy asked, paraphrasing the words that Zoro had told him so long ago. He turned and walked away. Zoro was lost in contemplation for a moment before he followed behind him.