"ARLONG! I'VE COME FOR YOU!"
Every fishman that was present turned to regard the newcomer, not even slightly concerned that he had punched open the iron gates with his bare hands.
Luffy glanced around the park, watching every fishman carefully.
"What's this, the villagers are rebelling?" One of the fishman noticed the weapons the villagers were carrying.
Everyone tightened their grip on their weapons, not taking a step back despite all the fishmen glaring at them. They knew what they came here for and they already decided they would see it through, whether they live or die.
Luffy took a step into the park, crossing his arms underneath his Marine cloak.
"Which one of you is Arlong?" Luffy asked with an impassive face.
"That would be me, what do you want?" Arlong raised his hand from his throne, watching the boy.
"I'm Captain Monkey D. Luffy, a Marine."
"Marine? What does a Marine Captain like yourself want with me? Are you looking to do business with me?" Arlong smirked.
"In fact, I do, there's a matter of business I wanted to settle with you."
Luffy let his arms fall to his side as he started walking towards him, ignoring the stares of every fishmen. The villagers held their breaths as Luffy got closer and closer to Arlong.
"Hey, hey," two fishmen stepped in front of Luffy, both of them towering over him. "Just because you're a Marine Captain doesn't mean you can walk like you own the place."
"Yeah, there are formalities to go through, you know?" One of the fishman smirked, reaching out to stop him.
Luffy didn't stop, his eyes focused only on Arlong.
"Oi! Did you hear me you damn Marine?" The fishman grabbed Luffy's right arm.
Luffy narrowed his eyes, pulling his arm out of the fishman's grasp and backhanding him into the wall, smashing him through it.
"You!" The other fishman reached for his sword.
Luffy turned and clenched his right fist, punching the fishman in his guts, sending him flying towards the sea out of the Park.
All the fishmen and villagers were staring at the spectacle with wide eyes, not believing that a human had just sent two fishmen flying as though it was nothing.
Luffy straightened, letting his Marine cloak settling before walking towards Arlong again.
Arlong glared at him, "What's that business you wanted, Marine?"
Luffy stood still in front of Arlong, his face deceptively calm. "You made Nami cry," Luffy stated simply.
"Shahahaha!" Arlong laughed, smacking his knee at the boy's simple-mindedness.
Arlong stood from his throne, easily towering over the Marine, cracking his knuckles slowly.
"So?" Arlong asked simply, glaring down at the Marine.
"I'm going to make you pay," Luffy stated simply, loud enough for everyone to hear.
The whole park erupted into laughter with Arlong laughing the loudest. "You think just because you can beat two of my crew members, you can beat me?"
Arlong clenched his fist, "You're just a human!" He punched towards the Marine.
"Tekai"
Luffy held up his left arm and blocked the attack without flinching. He furrowed his brows and dropped low, his face already contorted with rage. With a yell, he punched towards Arlong's abdomen, sending him flying towards the wall on the other end of the Park, smashing Arlong and throwing up a cloud of dust.
"ARLONG!" the pirates shouted after their captain.
The dust cleared to reveal a very much alive and pissed off Arlong sitting among the debris.
"You brat…" Arlong spat as he stood up from the remains of the wall.
"Don't you dare make my navigator cry," Luffy glared.
"You bastard!"
"Kill that Marine!"
The fishmen drew their weapons and charged at Luffy.
"Don't touch my Captain!" Zoro rushed to Luffy's side, unsheathing his single remaining sword and cutting down the fishmen with ease.
"Small fries should just get out of our way!" Sanji jumped out, kicking the fishmen into the water with absolute precision.
"You're all in my sights," Usopp pulled back his slingshot and released a torrent of his specially crafted exploding bullets at the fishmen, sending them flying back.
"Tch, save some fun for us will you, Luffy?" Sanji grinned, tapping his foot on the ground.
"These are just small fries, barely even a warm up," Zoro flicked his sword at the fishmen.
"To become the greatest warrior of the sea, I have to conquer fishmen too..." Usopp gripped his slingshot tightly, eyeing the fishmen despite the fact his legs were still shaking.
"Arlong is mine, you can have the rest," Luffy's glare never left Arlong.
The villagers stared at the Marines in awe, "Who… Who are they?"
"They're fighting the fishmen like it's nothing…"
"They're not like the Marines that came before…"
Johnny and Yosaku grinned at the spectacle, already witnessing their strength first hand before.
"This is what true upholders of Justice look like," Johnny said proudly.
"Burn their backs into your minds people, if they cannot beat Arlong, then East Blue has no more hope." Yosaku grinned.
"Why are they going so far?" Gen clenched his fists.
Yosaku turned to Gen, "Nami is our friend, and Arlong made her cry."
Johnny's grin widened, "Isn't that already a good enough reason to go all out?"
Usopp stepped forward with shaking legs, "We are the Marines! All of you are... Are under arrest! Sur... Surrender quietly!"
The fishmen laughed at Usopp.
"Hey, hey, is he for real?"
"They really think they can beat us?"
"Look at the long nose! He's shaking in fear!"
"Silly humans!"
Usopp gritted his teeth, willing his shaking to stop. Luffy rested his hand on Usopp's shoulder reassuringly, "that was brave of you Usopp."
Usopp smiled sheepishly as Luffy turned back to the fishmen, "This is Captain Monkey D. Luffy of the Straw Hat Marines! Surrender or we will KICK YOUR ASS!" he punched his fist together to emphasize his point.
The laughing stopped when the fishmen realized they were serious.
"Nyu, don't get so full of yourselves!" An octopus fishman waved his six arms at them angrily. "All of you won't even last a minute!"
He closed his hand around his elongated mouth and blew a high pitched trumpet sound. "Come out Mohmoo! Teach these humans a lesson!"
A large wave rose from the sea and sped towards the Park with terrifying speed. The wave rushed past the open water gates and into the pool, exploding outwards to reveal a sea monster with a cow's head, bellowing at the humans.
"A monster!" Usopp exclaimed, legs shaking again.
"Huh, a monster brought from the Grand Line," Sanji glanced at the monster with disinterest.
"It's a cow," Zoro said simply.
"Crush them, Mohmoo!" The fishmen shouted.
"I'll take him," Luffy cracked his knuckles as the Sea Cow lunged towards them.
Luffy jumped in to the air, grabbing the Sea Cow by one of his cow horns with one hand and lifting him out of the water and into the air.
"HE LIFTED THE SEA COW!" The villagers had their eyes popping out of their heads.
Luffy furrowed his brows, twisting mid-air to hold the airborne Sea Cow over his shoulder, "I didn't come here to fight you weaklings!"
He tossed the Sea Cow straight into the throng of fishmen, smashing through their ranks like bowling pins. The Sea cow smashed through the walls of the Park, through the trees and ended up back into the sea on the other side, carrying any fishmen unfortunate enough to be in his way with him.
Luffy landed back on land with fire in his eyes, "I came here to beat YOU!" Luffy pointed his finger at the frowning Arlong.
"Filthy Marine, I'll kill you," Arlong gritted his teeth with seething rage.
"Relax Arlong, we'll handle these guys," a fishman stepped out from the debris left by Mohmoo.
Three fishmen stood in front of the Straw Hats, the officers and strongest members of Arlong's crew.
The first one had blue skin and thick lips, smirking at the Marines as though he was laughing at a secret joke. The second was the octopus fishman, his hair was styled into five spikes standing up in the air and his six arms had suckers along each of them. The last one had greyish skin wearing the dark blue gi of a martial artist with a black belt tied across his waist, his most notable feature was the fins that extended from the top of his arms all the way to his elbows.
"Chew, Hachi, Kuroobi," Arlong called out to them, sitting back down on his throne. The three turned to see Arlong giving them a thumbs down while smirking. "Kill them all."
"You got it boss," Kuroobi grinned wickedly, stretching his neck left and right.
"Just sit tight, Arlong, or else you'll just destroy the whole island," Chew smirked with his thick lips.
"Nyu, I'll end this fast!" Hachi drew out six swords from behind his back with his six arms.
"Johnny! Yosaku! Lend me your swords!" Zoro shouted without taking his eyes off Hachi.
"You got it brother Zoro!" both of them unsheathed their blades and threw it towards Zoro, both blades stabbing the ground to his left and right.
"You, octopus, you're opponent is me," Zoro grinned, tying his bandana on his head.
"Nyu! So you're Roronoa Zoro! I'll show you the superiority of my six swords style to your three swords!" Hachi lowered himself into a stance.
"Shut it octopus," Zoro drew out the two swords in the ground. "Let your swords do the talking."
"Nyuuu! Take this! Shikai Zero: Takohachi Black!" Hachi spit out a blast of black ink at Zoro.
Zoro nimbly sidestepped the ink, "Tch, fight me with your sword, not your spit you damn octopus!"
With the two swords in his hands stretched by his sides, he charged towards Hachi.
"Don't underestimate me! I'll show you the power of my six swords! Takoashi Kiken!"
Hachi charged at Zoro, swinging his swords in wild arcs at him.
Zoro narrowed his eyes as he deflected two swords away with his left hand before ducking under another right slash. Hachi frowned as he spun around and slash all three swords on his left hand at him.
Zoro gritted his teeth as he raised both swords in his hands to block the slash coming from his left before jumping up and delivering a spinning kick to Hachi's head.
Hachi had saw it coming and stepped back from the kick, not noticing the blade in Zoro's mouth that came from below, slashing him across the chest.
"Tell me how your six swords is superior to mine now?" Zoro landed on the ground with a smirk.
Hachi growled as he inspected the cut with his hand, frowning, "You won't get away with this! Takotsubo no Kamae!"
Hachi held all six swords pointed in front of him in a circle, charging at Zoro with the tips of his sword pointed at him.
Zoro raised both of his swords to block the charge but Hachi had wanted him to do just that.
"Taikai!" Hachi flung all of his six swords apart, opening Zoro's arms wide.
"You!" Zoro gasped before Hachi slammed into him with his whole body, sending him sprawling on to the floor.
"Brother Zoro!" Johnny and Yosaku cried.
"Not good… He's still not fully healed after that duel with Mihawk…" Sanji cursed under his breath.
Zoro spat out the blood in his mouth as Hachi hopped left and right, his swords held by his sides. "Can't you see? It's logical for six swords to win against three! You don't stand a chance!"
"Logical? There's nothing logical when it comes to a fight," Zoro spat, facing Hachi again.
"Surpass me, Roronoa!"
"If I want to defeat that guy, I'll have to throw away logical thinking," Zoro ripped off the bandages that were tied around his chest, revealing the cuts he received from Mihawk that had just reopened. Everyone around gasped at the size of the wound, even Hachi seemed unnerved that Zoro could still fight with that.
"That idiot..." Sanji face-palmed.
"These wounds would disable any normal man... In order to become the strongest, I cannot be normal!" Zoro gripped his swords, charging towards Hachi again.
"Nyu, I'll admit you are strong, but you're still not strong enough to defeat me!" Hachi settled into his stance again.
"Takotsubo no Kamae!"
"You think I'll fall of the same trick twice?!" Zoro leaped into the air and slashed his right sword downwards at Hachi.
"Don't look down on me!" Hacchi slashed towards Zoro while he was still in the air, deflecting his sword away and sending him spinning upwards.
"Damn it!" Zoro cursed as he was flung into the air.
"I won't give you a chance to recover! Rokutoryu Ogi: Rokuto no Waltz!"
Hachi spun all his six blades in the air, forming a windmill of blades directly underneath Zoro. "Fall on this and you'll be mincemeat!"
Everyone gaped as Zoro rolled on top of the spinning blades, slashing out with his swords and landing on the ground relatively unharmed.
"Nyuuuu! You cut my hands!" Hachi screamed, dropping his swords. "How is this possible? You're only using three swords!"
"The weight of my swords is heavier than yours," Zoro said simply.
Hachi picked up his swords with his bleeding hands, glaring at Zoro, "Impossible! Each of my swords are three hundred kilograms! There's no way your swords are heavier than mine!"
"You fool…" Zoro turned to face Hachi.
"You had the potential to catch up to him."
"You are much stronger than you think."
"It's not the literal weight of my swords you stupid octopus, it's the burden I carry with them." Zoro pointed his right sword at Hachi, infuriating him.
"I'LL NEVER LOSE AGAIN!"
Zoro closed his eyes, "Your blades may be heavier, but it will still crumple under the force of my will."
"Nyu! We'll see about that! Takotsubo no Kamae!" Hachi charged towards Zoro again, swinging his swords wildly.
"Oni Giri!"
Zoro used his signature three sword slash at the six swords in Hachi's hands. Hachi smirked as he tried to fling Zoro's swords away again, only to see all of his swords shatter into pieces.
"What?" Hachi stared at Zoro, dumbstruck.
"Do you get it now, you stupid octopus?" Zoro glared.
"Nyu! I still won't lose! Takoyaki Punch!"
"You never learn do you?" Zoro leaped back, dodging all of Hachi's punches.
"Tatsu Maki!" Zoro slashed the two swords in his hands, creating a miniature tornado that slashed at Hachi and flung him away from the Park.
"Hachi!" the two remaining pirate officers shouted after the octopus, watching helplessly as he flew out of sight.
Zoro sheathed his swords, walking back to his group.
"You dare turn your back on us?" Kuroobi raised his arm to strike at Zoro's back.
Sanji wasted no time in sprinting forward and delivering a kick towards the fishman's torso, sending him skidding backwards.
"He's all yours," Zoro grinned, not even slowing down his stride as he sat down near the others. Sanji tapped his foot impatiently as Kuroobi regained his balance, glaring at him.
"I'm a level forty Fishman Karate practitioner, you think your puny human strength can stand up against me?"
"A fish shouldn't be talking back to the cook," Sanji grinned. "Just shut up and let me fry you."
"It seems I'm being underestimated," Kuroobi settled into his karate stance. "I am enough to take care of all of you."
"Enough talking fish, I'll show you how a cook fights," Sanji stuck his hands in his pockets.
Kuroobi raised any eyebrow, "A cook? What kind of fighting style would that be? Are you going to throw food at me?"
"I won't waste food on a shitty fish like you," Sanji smirked.
"I'll wipe that smirk off your face," Kuroobi lifted up his palm.
"I'd like to see you try—"
"Hyakumaigawara Seiken!"
Kuroobi punched Sanji in his abdomen, sending him flying back, crashing through the wall.
"Sanji!" Usopp and Luffy shouted after him.
"That stupid cook, letting his guard down…" Zoro grimaced, staing at the hole Sanji had left on the wall.
"Hahaha! So it was all talk and no show, some cook he was!" Kuroobi laughed.
"Indeed, we should just finish up here," Chew nodded. "First, let's crush this little rebellion these villagers have stirred up."
"Exploding Star!" Usopp shot his explosive bullet which Chew barely had time to shield himself against with his hands.
"You damn long nosed freak…" Chew spat.
"Do… Don't hurt the villagers!" Usopp shouted at him.
"You're just a weak human, what can you do?" Chew mocked, advancing towards Usopp.
"I am not weak! I'm a great warrior of the seas!" Usopp pulled back his slingshot again.
"Flame Star!"
Chew's eyes widened as the ball exploded into a pillar of flame heading straight for him. He rolled to the side, barely avoiding the fire as it singed past his hair.
"You'll pay for that!" Chew shouted at Usopp.
"Exploding Star!" Usopp shouted again, but Kuroobi stepped in front of Chew, shielding the explosion with his fins.
"There's two of us you know," Kuroobi smirked, before sprinting towards him.
"Usopp!" Zoro cried, knowing he won't reach in time.
Luffy grinned as he felt a familiar presence already leaping towards Kuroobi.
"Collier Shoot!"
Sanji kicked towards Kuroobi's neck, smashing him into the building near Arlong.
"Don't forget we're not alone either," Sanji smirked, though there was blood running down his forehead.
"Tch, trying to act cool," Zoro grinned, sitting back down again.
"Tha… Thanks Sanji," Usopp finally got his legs to stop shaking.
"You insolent humans…" Kuroobi stepped out from the debris. "To think that you can survive a punch from me…"
"Heh, your punch was weak you shitty fish. I endured kicks from someone way stronger than you." Sanji stepped in front of Usopp.
"Tch, let's do this, Chew," Kuroobi gritted his teeth.
"Right with you," Chew grinned.
"Mizudeppo!" Chew spat a shot of water from his mouth, targeting Usopp.
"Lead Star!" Usopp shot back a lead ball at Chew. The two projectiles collided in between, deflecting each other off course.
"Hyakumaigawara Seiken!" Kuroobi punched towards Sanji again.
Sanji sidestepped the blow, twisting and raising his leg.
"Collier!"
Sanji kicked towards Kurrobi's neck, knocking him backwards.
"You…" Kuroobi started.
"Epaule!"
Sanji kicked his upraised leg downwards on Kuroobi's shoulder, smashing him into the ground.
As Kuroobi's body bounced up from the impact, Sanji got down on ONE hand and spun his leg towards Kuroobi's torso.
"Cotelette!"
Sanji spun on the same hand in the other direction, kicking his leg upwards just as Kuroobi stumbled backwards.
"Selle!"
Kuroobi made a blind grab for Sanji, who easily rolled away from his range. Standing up from the roll, Sanji twisted around and kicked towards Kuroobi's chest.
"Poitrine!"
Landing the foot he just used to kick as the pivot, Sanji immediately struck out his other leg towards Kuroobi's ankle.
"Gigot!"
Kuroobi groaned as he fell on his knee, hands grasping his chest as he coughed up blood.
"You damn, human… I'll make you—"
"And finally… Mutton Shot!" Sanji aimed a straight kick towards Kuroobi's face, kicking him through the building again. This time, Kuroobi stayed down.
"Kuroobi!" Chew turned in an attempt to help his fellow fishman.
"Where do you think you're looking at?" Usopp grinned.
Chew turned back in time just to see Usopp tossing a bottle at him. He caught the bottle out of reflex before the bottle shattered abruptly in his hands, spewing its contents all over him.
"Urgh... is this... Alcohol?" Chew spat out.
"And did you know, alcohol is flammable?" Usopp grinned, pulling back his slingshot.
Chew looked up just in time to see Usopp releasing his slingshot.
"Flame Star!"
Chew screamed as the fire ignited the alcohol he was soaked with, instantly setting him on fire.
"Ahhh! Water! I need water!" Chew screamed, heading for the sea.
"Go get some then!" Sanji jumped out from behind.
"Collier Shoot!"
Sanji kicked the back of Chew's neck, sending him crashing into the water in an explosion of spray.
"So much for being way stronger than us," Sanji smirked.
"You bastards..." Arlong finally stood from his throne. His eyes burning with rage.
"ARLONG!" a voice called out from the crowd of villagers.
Everyone turned to see a straw hat wearing Nami with a bandaged left shoulder standing in front of the villagers.
"Nami…" Arlong growled, smirking. "Have you come to watch these Marines die?"
"No, Arlong, I came to kill you." Nami gripped her staff.
"Shahahaha! In all the eight years you've been here, you tried every method you could think of!" Arlong laughed.
"Assassination, poison, surprise attacks… They were all futile! What makes it different this time?"
"I have my friends," Nami smirked at him confidently.
"Shahahaha! You call these Marines your friends? Weren't the Marines the ones who took your money away in the first place?" Arlong laughed again.
Nami gritted her teeth.
"Wait, a marine took Nami's money?" Luffy looked at his crew.
"Ah, right, you were still in the ship…" Usopp remarked.
"A Marine ship from the sixteenth branch came by just now and confiscated all of the money from Nami under Arlong's orders…" Sanji spat.
"Sixteenth branch…" Luffy gritted his teeth.
"I'll make sure to kill everyone you know, and make you draw maps for me for the rest of your life!" Arlong gloated.
"And I'll even let you watch as I slowly kill each of the people in your village! You'll regre—"
"SHUT UP!" Luffy punched Arlong's abdomen, sending him flying back into the wall again.
"Guys, protect the villagers. I'm beating this guy up." Luffy cracked his knuckles.
All three nodded as Usopp and Sanji hefted a bleeding Zoro out of the park, letting the village doctor bandage him up again.
"You filthy Marine…" Arlong flicked his shirt, brushing off the dust on it. "Was that supposed to do something to me?"
"You made Nami cry, I'll make sure you feel her pain." Luffy took off his cloak, tossing it back to Nami. "Help me take care of that, Nami. And watch me beat this guy." Luffy flashed her a grin.
"Beat me? I'll kill you, you stupid human!" Arlong lunged towards Luffy, aiming to punch his head.
"Tekai!" Luffy withstood the punch without flinching.
Arlong didn't hesitate as he bit down on Luffy's shoulder, drawing blood.
'He bit past my Tekai!'
Luffy grabbed him by the head, pulling Arlong off his shoulder and tossed him back, grimacing as the blood flowed from his shoulder.
'I forgot he came from the Grand Line, he's stronger than most people here…'
"Shahahaha! You're all talk Marine! I'll crush you soon enough!" Arlong charged forward again, his mouth open to bite Luffy.
Luffy dodged out of the way as Arlong bit into the pillar behind him, crushing it with his jaws.
'My Tekai's too weak to stand against his bite, should I use Haki?'
Luffy sidestepped again as Arlong lunged for him, breaking down another pillar.
'No… I already promised teacher I wouldn't…'
Flashback
Luffy picked up his straw hat that had been laying on his table, carefully placing it on his head. He turned and unhooked his Marine cloak from the clothes hanger just beside his table, deftly draping it over his shoulders.
He stepped towards the door, turning back to look at the room he had spent most of his days living in while training at Marineford.
A knock sounded on the door just as Luffy was about to leave. Opening the door, the three Admirals stood before him.
"Oh, hi guys! Thanks for everything you taught me this year!" Luffy grinned.
Aokiji and Kizaru couldn't help but smile back, though Akainu just grunted.
"Luffy, we'll see you off at the harbor," Aokiji placed his hand on Luffy's shoulder, gently pushing him along.
They walked in silence until they reached the door leading out to the harbor where Aokiji stopped Luffy with a firm grip on his shoulder. The tall admiral knelt on a knee to see Luffy eye to eye.
"Listen Luffy, you're strong, monstrously strong if I must say so. I have no doubts that if you train for another two years, you may reach, nay, maybe even surpass your grandfather's level."
Luffy's eyes sparkled, "Really?! I'll be as strong as gramps?!"
"Definitely, you are his grandson after all." Aokiji grinned despite himself.
"Just get to the point Kuzan," Kizaru whistled offhandedly.
"Luffy, you'll be deployed in East Blue for your first official mission. I want you, as your teacher, to avoid using your Haki as much as possible in your fights."
"Eh? Why?" Luffy tilted his head.
"You're already strong without your Haki, I don't know what you did while you were attached to Cipher Pol, but if you were to combine your strength with Haki, you might unintentionally kill someone." Aokiji's eyes were deathly serious.
Akainu snorted from the side puffing on his cigar, "Let him use it, they're all just pirates after all, the world won't miss a few of them dead. I'd say, Luffy, just use your Haki as you like. If you show the higher ups your power, promotions will roll in for you in no time."
Aokiji casted a side glance at Akainu, his eyes as cold as ice. Akainu shrugged, turning away, "He's your apprentice."
Aokiji turned back to Luffy, "Remember Luffy, don't use your Haki unless you have to, I don't want there to be any deaths on your hands, at least not this soon. You understand me?"
"I understand, just don't use my Haki unless my friends are in danger, right?" Luffy grinned.
All three Admirals grinned, "Just take it as an extra training coming from me."
"Die! You damn Marine!" Arlong lunged at Luffy again, mouth wide open.
Luffy side stepped the bite again, sending a fist right into Arlong's jaw, smashing his mouth together and shattering his teeth.
"He broke Arlong's teeth!" Yosaku exclaimed.
"Let's see him bite anything now!" Johnny punched his fist in victory.
Arlong spat out the ruined teeth as new ones grew out almost immediately.
"It grew back?!" Both Johnny and Yosaku eyes popped out.
"Of course, I'm a shark after all. My teeth will just keep growing back no matter how many times it breaks." Arlong smirked.
"This is the difference in our species! We are the ones that are superior to you humans in every way! You cannot hope to match us!" Arlong pulled out his teeth with one hand, letting a new set grow back before pulling it out with his other hand as well.
Arlong lunged towards Luffy with the teeth in his hands, snapping at Luffy.
"Soru!"
Luffy reappeared behind Arlong, his right index finger poised to strike.
"Shigan!"
Luffy stabbed forward with his finger at Arlong's back, only for Arlong to turn around and clamp down the teeth in his right hand on his wrist. Luffy yelled in pain as he twisted his body around in midair, kicking his foot at Arlong.
"Rankyaku!"
The compressed air sliced at Arlong, not strong enough to cut him completely, sending him flying away for the third time.
Luffy pried open the teeth that was still imbedded in his wrist and tossed it away. He furrowed his brows, watching as Arlong stood up again, his face contorted with rage. He lifted a hand and wiped at the clean cut across his chest, glaring at his blood.
"You will pay for that," Arlong sneered.
"You wish, Shigan Rankyaku!" Luffy stabbed his finger at Arlong, sending an air bullet piercing straight through his shoulder.
Arlong roared and charged at Luffy, eyes burning with murderous rage.
Luffy stabbed his finger again, but Arlong saw it coming this time and sidestepped the bullet, flinging himself towards Luffy and punching his left fist at his face.
"Tekai Utsugi!"
The moment Arlong's fist connected with Luffy, the force of the punch was returned back to him along his arm, sending him flying back and crashing into the ground.
"You damn Marine! I am a fishman! I should be way stronger than you! How are you tossing me around?!" Arlong pushed himself up again, his left arm bleeding profusely.
"You're not that strong, Arlong. There are people out there that are much stronger than you." Luffy narrowed his eyes at Arlong. "And there's no way I'll lose to scum like you who made my friend cry."
Arlong raised his right arm, water dripping down his palm, "Don't get so full of yourself, Marine. This fight isn't over!"
Arlong threw his arm at him, sending droplets of water speeding towards Luffy.
"Tekai!"
Luffy faced the barrage of water head on, the water blasting against his hardened skin. When the barrage stopped, Luffy pointed his finger at Arlong again.
"Shigan Rankyaku!"
Arlong flung himself into the sea, dodging the air bullet.
"Did Arlong try to run?" Usopp said hopefully.
"No... Luffy! Be careful! He's stronger inside the water!" Nami shouted at her Captain. He returned a grin to her and nodded, turning his head back to glare at the water.
"Shark on Darts!"
Arlong emerged suddenly from the water, his nose aimed straight at Luffy's chest. Luffy gritted his teeth as he flung himself to his right, allowing Arlong to sail past him and into the building behind him. The wall crumbled against Arlong's charge, spewing out a cloud of dust.
Arlong emerged from the hole he had created in the building, smirking down at Luffy, "Nice dodge, however I wo-"
"Soru!"
Luffy appeared right in front of Arlong, spinning towards Arlong, he kicked downwards at Arlong's head. Arlong barely had time to lift his arms to block the attack before he was sent crashing down through the floors of the building.
As the dust settled, Arlong stepped out from the debris, a wicked sword with saws for blades in his hands. His eyes had turned into thin slits, similar to a Sea King that had gone berserk.
"Kiribachi!" Nami gasped. "If he uses that sword… He's going to destroy everything!"
"I will kill you," Arlong said simply, glaring up at Luffy.
He leaped towards Luffy, slashing his sword wildly towards him, not caring that he was destroying his own base as he did so.
"Geppo!"
Luffy kicked the air under his feet, launching himself into the air to escape Arlong's wild swings. Arlong lunged towards Luffy with his outstretched hand, grabbing on to Luffy's ankle and throwing him back into the building before diving back in after him.
Luffy coughed as he pushed him self up just as Arlong entered through the hole in the wall, his sword held by his side, advancing slowly towards Luffy. Luffy then noticed the stacks of papers and books scattered around the room, he picked a piece up that was on the floor, revealing a detailed drawing of an island.
"This room…" Luffy gasped.
"Shahahaha! This is the room where Nami had spent the last eight years in, drawing maps for me!" Arlong snickered. "It's easy for fishmen to navigate in the waters, but to translate all that information on a piece of paper is beyond us. That girl has a great talent, with her maps, we fishmen will rule the world!"
Arlong swung his sword to rest it on Luffy's neck who barely noticed it, still staring at the contents of the room.
"That girl's talents will be wasted if she were with you, only I know how to use her to her full potential! After I kill you, I'll lock her in here again, forever!"
Luffy slowly placed the paper down, "I can hear it."
Arlong raised an eyebrow, frowning, "Hear what? Your imminent death?"
"I can hear Nami's sadness and rage inside this room… She suffered so much here…" Luffy gripped the blade of Arlong's sword, his hand was black.
Arlong tried to pull his sword back, only to realize it didn't budge.
"How do you still have so much strength?!" Arlong demanded, pulling sword with both his hands while Luffy held it still with a single hand.
"This room… Cannot be allowed to exist." Luffy crushed the blade with his hand, standing up with rage boiling in his eyes.
"Soru!" Luffy leaped up through the roof, smashing a hole straight through to reveal the sky.
He glared down at the Park, his leg poised in a kicking motion.
"Rankyaku Arashi!"
Luffy's leg became a blur as he kicked towards the park repeatedly, sending blades after blades of compressed air down into the Park, cutting through the building in a storm of blades. Most of it had cut through the room that he was in earlier, sending furniture and papers scattering out of the building.
Everyone watched in confusion as Luffy continued to rain down destruction in that specific room, only Nami understood as she saw the maps that she had been forced to draw shred into pieces.
"Luffy… Thank you…" Nami cried.
"STOP IT YOU INSOLENT HUMAN!" Arlong shouted as he watched the destruction of the room helplessly.
"Geppo!"
Luffy kicked the air behind him, propelling him straight towards Arlong.
"Tekkai Sai!"
With his hardened body, Luffy crashed into Arlong, smashing him through the building and into the ground on the bottom most floor.
Luffy stood back up from the bloodied and unconscious form of Arlong, the building crashing down all around him. He grabbed Arlong by his nose, pulling him out of the building just as it collapsed completely behind him.
Everyone gaped at the Marine dragging the unconscious form of Arlong towards them, not believing what they were seeing.
"NAMI!" Luffy shouted towards her. "YOU'RE MY NAVIGATOR NOW, GOT IT?"
Nami wiped a tear away from her eye, "Of course, Captain."
"He did it! He beat Arlong!"
"Arlong Park has fallen!"
"We're finally free!"
The villagers cheered.
"That bastard did it," Sanji grinned.
"Heh, I expected no less from our Captain," Zoro smirked.
"He did it! We won!" Usopp punched the air in victory.
"Chichichichi! Alright, that's enough celebrating!" A voice called out from behind the villagers. Everyone turned to see a company of Marines with their rifles drawn pointing towards them with Nezumi at the front, leading them.
"What a lucky day it is for me, thanks to you guys for showing me such a splendid battle. I'd never have thought that these fishmen could be beaten by a bunch of no name marines." Nezumi snickered.
Nezumi stepped forward, "Now all thanks to you, all the riches of Arlong Park belong to me! Throw down your arms villagers! I, Captain Nezumi of the sixteenth branch shall take credit for this victory!"
Luffy stepped out from among the villagers, still dragging Arlong's body behind him. He dumped it unceremoniously to the side as he stopped in front of Nezumi, arms crossed.
"So you're the one who took Nami's money…" Luffy glared at him.
"What… What of it? You're just some no name Marine, no one's going to believe you over me, a Captain! You better step away if you know what's good for you!" Nezumi smirked, lifting his hand to direct the Marines to point their guns at Luffy.
"Here, Captain Luffy, your cloak." Nami carefully draped the Marine cloak over Luffy's shoulders, drawing shocked gasps from the marines. Luffy smiled back at her as thanks.
"Who… Who are you?" Nezumi stuttered.
"Captain Monkey D. Luffy of the Straw Hat Marines," Luffy pulled out the document from under his cloak, unfurling it to show Nezumi its contents. "I have the authority of Vice Admiral Garp behind my back, to point your guns at me is to point your guns at him!"
The marines immediately dropped their weapons and stiffened in salute, Nezumi fell on his hunches, mouth wide open in shock.
"Captain Nezumi of the sixteenth branch, with my authority, I charge you with the following crimes: willingly collaborating with pirates to harm innocent civilians, embezzlement, treason and insubordination. I hereby remove your status as a Marine Captain and you will stand trial for your crimes. Every marine at the sixteenth branch will also receive a severe re-inspection of their ranks for their collaboration in this criminal activity."
"You… You… Tch! Men! Get rid of him!" Nezumi shouted, all of the marines hesitated.
"But… Sir… He has Vice Admiral Garp's backing…" one of the marines tried to placate Nezumi.
"I don't care! He's not here now! If we just get rid of everyone now, no one will know what happened here!" Nezumi shouted, grabbing a gun from the floor. "Now don't move you stupid boy! Chichichi, I can just blame all your deaths on Arlong and still get to claim credit for defeating him!"
Luffy narrowed his eyes at him, taking a step forward.
"I SAID DON'T MOVE! Or I'll have everyone here killed! Especially the villagers!" Nezumi screamed, cocking the gun at Luffy.
"Didn't he tell you what it means to point your gun at him?" A gruff voice huffed from behind.
Before anyone could react, a hand reached out to grab on to Nezumi's gun, crushing it in his hands.
Nezumi turned to see the towering figure of a Marine Vice Admiral behind him.
"Vice… Vice Admiral… Garp…" Nezumi stuttered.
"GRAMPS!" Luffy exclaimed, rushing forward arms wide.
"Luffy! Bwahahaha! Come here you little rascal!" Garp laughed, giving his grandson a bear hug.
"GRAMPS?!" Everyone exclaimed, eyes popping out of their heads.
"Shishishi! What are you doing here? I thought you were still at Headquarters?" Luffy laughed as Garp tousled his hair.
"I went to pick up that Morgan fellow you arrested, although he did escape. Bwahahahaha!" Garp scratched his head in embarrassment. "On my way back, I received a call from HQ that you had requested for reinforcements here! Well, although you did cancelled that halfway, I still came here anyway! Wahahaha!"
Garp turned to glare down at Nezumi, now cowering on the ground. "So… You dare point your gun at my grandson, eh?"
"Eeeiiii! I'm… I'm sorry sir! I didn't know! Please forgive me!" Nezumi prostrated on the ground in front of Garp.
"Hmph, all of you!" The marines of sixteenth branch stiffened as Garp turned to address them. "Tie him up and bring him back to your base, I'll be the one in charge of your… 're-inspection'." Garp grinned wickedly at the last word.
The marines scurried to obey, carrying a crying Nezumi back to their ship.
"Shishishi! Thanks Grandpa! You're the best!" Luffy grinned at Garp.
"Bwahahaha! Try to catch up, Luffy!" Garp bellowed, tousling Luffy's hair again.
"Oh! Gramps! I want you to meet my crew! Hey guys! Come over here!" Luffy waved to his crew.
"Hey, he's calling us…" Sanji nudged Zoro.
"I know… Shouldn't we go?" Zoro grimaced.
"The Marine hero Garp… Is his grandfather?" Nami mouthed.
"I don't feel so good…" Usopp looked like he was about to vomit.
Nevertheless, the four stood in front of the grandson grandpa duo at attention and waited as Garp sized them up with a huge grin on his face.
"This is my first mate! Zoro! He's going to be the best swordsman in the world one day!" Luffy jumped in front of Zoro, grinning proudly.
"This one is Usopp! He's a great warrior of the seas and also my best sharpshooter!" Luffy clasped Usopp's shoulder firmly.
"This one is Sanji! He's the best cook in the world! He's going to find the All Blue and cook even better food!" Luffy clapped happily.
"And this one is Nami! She's going to… Er…" Luffy turned to Nami with a raised eyebrow. "You do have a dream right?" Luffy smiled sheepishly.
Nami stared at her Captain incredulously for a while, "It's been my dream to map out the world…"
Luffy grinned, "Nami's going to draw the best map of the world!"
"Wahahaha! You have a great crew Luffy!" Garp laughed, tears spilling out from his eyes. Garp turned towards the four of them after settling down, "Take care of my grandson for me, ya hear?"
All of them nodded dumbly. Nami raised her hand, "Er… Vice Admiral Garp, sir? Are you really Luffy's Grandfather?"
Garp snorted proudly, his hands on his hips, "Of course! Can't you see the family resemblance?!"
Nami looked away, whispering to herself, "I didn't even know you were married…"
Garp turned back to his grandson, withdrawing another piece of paper from his cloak, "Anyway, there's another reason why I came to find you, Luffy." He unfurled the paper and passed it to Luffy.
"First thing, you got promoted to Commodore, Luffy," Garp grinned uncontrollably. "Your current station has also changed, you're going to be re-assigned to the Grand Line, report to Captain Smoker in Loguetown for the full details since I can't be bothered to remember."
"Smokey!" Luffy clapped.
"Wahahaha! Anyway, Luffy," Garp bent down and picked up Arlong with a hand. "I'll take this guy back with me, then clean up the Marines at sixteenth branch. That Nezumi fellow will definitely stand trial for all this. So you can set off for Loguetown when you can."
"Thanks Grandpa!" Luffy gave Garp another hug.
"And before I forget," Garp wrapped his arm over Luffy, pulling him aside, whispering, "That's a rather cute girl in your crew ain't she? Does Hancock know about this?" Garp was grinning wickedly.
Luffy's face turned red as he pushed his grandfather away, "It's not like that! She's my friend!"
"Wahahaha! I'll help you tell her then!" Garp laughed, strutting away.
"Gramps!" Luffy yelled after the departing Vice Admiral.
Luffy sighed before turning back to join his crew, "Sorry about that, guys, gramps has always been like that."
"Luffy, your grandfather is the Marine Hero, Garp the Fist?" Nami gasped.
"Er… Yeah… He's the 'trainer' I kept telling you guys about…" Luffy smiled sheepishly.
Zoro grinned, "If you spent three years under that monster, I understand how you got so strong."
"Luffy, why didn't you tell us?" Usopp raised his eyebrow.
"Well… Gramps told me not to tell unless necessary… Sorry…" Luffy scratched his head.
"Well… Never mind then… So what now, Commodore Luffy?" Sanji grinned.
"Shishishi! We party of course! We worked so hard to prepare it for Nami after all!" Luffy shouted loud enough for everyone to hear.
That spurred the villagers back into cheering.
"Spread the good news to the whole island! Arlong Park has fallen! We are free!"
The party went into full swing right after everyone heard the news, there was food and drinks everywhere and music was blasting in every corner of the island. The villagers dance, sang, ate and drank to their hearts content, each of them having a smile plastered on their faces.
For them who had endured the shadow of Arlong Park for so long, they were determined to celebrate its fall as much as possible.
Nami, Nojiko and Gen walked along the path back to the village, Garp had dropped off the money Nezumi had 'confiscated' at Nami's house beforehand, much to Nami's surprise.
"So you're going to follow your mother's footsteps huh?" Nojiko grinned.
"Yeah… I'm going to draw a map of the world while I'm at it and become a better Marine than mother ever did!" Nami thumped her chest.
"Hahaha! You two are without a doubt, Bellemere's daughters!" Gen laughed.
"Hey Sanji! Where did you get that melon from earlier?" Luffy asked, his mouth stuffed full of food.
"The Raw Ham Melon? I don't know, I just picked it up from somewhere," Sanji puffed on his cigarette. Zoro was chugging down mugs of beer beside him.
"I'll go find it!" Luffy dashed off into the crowd.
"You wouldn't think that guy just beat down the most dangerous pirate in East Blue just a few hours ago," Zoro sighed contentedly, setting down his beer.
"Heh, and he just had to drop the 'My-Grandpa-is-the Marine-Hero' bomb on us right after." Sanji stood, brushing the dirt from his pants. "Well, now that I'm done eating… It's time to flirt!" Sanji dashed off into the crowd as well.
"Tch, at least share a drink with me first, you shitty cook," Zoro continued chugging down his beer.
Gen stood in front of Bellemere's grave, pouring a bottle of wine over it.
"Bellemere, your daughters have grown into fine young women. Nami's going to follow your footsteps and become a Marine while chasing her dreams. She couldn't have wished for more."
Gen looked up at the stars, gripping on to the empty bottle. "If only you were here to see them now, you would be so proud…"
He glanced back at the grave, "We've had enough of tears and frowns, from now on, we're all gonna live our lives to the fullest and laugh and smile until our cheeks hurt!"
"Oh, hey Gen!" Luffy shouted, seeing Gen on top of the hill. "You know where I can find some Raw Ham Melons?"
Gen grinned, "They should be in the village in front of the doc's house."
"Okey dokey, thanks, Gen." Luffy turned to walk away.
"Commodore, wait." Gen turned to face Luffy. "This grave here, belongs to Nami's mother, she used to be a Marine like you but died at the hands of Arlong. Now Nami's going to follow her mother's footsteps under you…"
Luffy grinned, "Don't worry Gen, I protect all my crewmates. They're all precious to me."
"Thank you," Gen smiled back, turning back to face the grave.
The party continued late into the night and into the next morning.
"So you're leaving, huh?" Luffy stared at the two bounty hunters.
"Yeah, we're going back to bounty hunting," Johnny grinned.
"We already caused enough trouble for you guys, it's time we went back to what we do best!" Yosaku gave a thumbs up.
"Shishishi! Take care you guys!" Luffy returned the thumbs up.
"You guys take care too! We'll definitely see each other again!" Both Johnny and Yosaku cried.
"Is Nami not here yet?" Sanji groaned, leaning against the mast of the ship.
"Who knows, maybe she's having second thoughts with you around," Zoro smirked.
"Shut it, marimo." Sanji groaned. He remembered trying to make a pass at Nami only for Nojiko to slap him across the town.
All of them were on board the ship waiting for Nami, she had said she had some things to take care of before she leaves. Garp had already left with Arlong in chains the night before and headed straight for the sixteenth branch, no doubt drilling his judgement into each of the marines there right now. The whole village stood at the harbour as well, waiting to see Nami off.
"You'd think with how much she loves money, she would have taken the whole hundred million with her," Gen gritted his teeth.
"Nami's definitely changed, she didn't want a single berry of it." Nojiko smiled, watching the path that lead to their house.
"It doesn't feel right, we should be the ones repaying her for all that she's done for us, and she wouldn't even listen! And she's leaving us the money too! What does that make us?"
"She said she can just make more money, it's not like her Commodore's dirt poor anyway," Nojiko giggled.
"SET SAIL!" Nami shouted from the path.
"Nami-swaan!" Sanji waved from the ship with heart shaped eyes.
"Shishishi! You heard her! Set sail!" Luffy punched the air.
"Are you sure?" Usopp hesitated.
"It's her farewell, let her do it her way," Zoro grinned.
Everyone scurried around the ship, preparing it for departure.
"Nami!"
"Nami! Wait! You don't mean to leave without saying goodbye?"
"At least let us thank you first!"
"You Marines! Wait! We have to thank you as well!"
The villagers cried out as Nami sprinted towards them, head down.
"Nami!" Gen stepped out in front of the crowd, barring her way. "I can't allow you to leave this way!"
Nami dashed past him without looking, slithering through the crowd and reaching the jetty, making a running leap onto the deck of the ship.
"Nami!" The villagers cried out.
She smirked at them before lifting the hem of her shirt, the wallets hidden underneath fell onto the ground.
"What?! My wallet's gone!"
"So is mine!"
"Mine too!"
"She took it!"
The villagers panicked.
Nami waved her hand in farewell, "Take care everyone!"
"YOU ROTTEN LITTLE THIEF!" The villagers shouted in unison.
"You better come back and visit you hear!"
"Make us proud!"
"Stay safe!"
"She didn't change at all," Nojiko sighed.
Nami grinned at all the well wishes, "Take care everyone! I'll be going now!"
Nami spun around to see Luffy grinning at her, she smiled and saluted smartly like how her mother had showed her in the past. "Commodore Luffy, your navigator is reporting for duty!"
"Shishishi! Let's set a course for Loguetown! We're heading for the Grand Line! Let's go guys!" Luffy punched the air.
"YES, SIR!"
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And cut.so that is it for this chapter, hope you guys enjoyed,do comment about the fight scene and see you in the next chapter
chapter 10:Familiar Faces