Chapter 37 - CH 37

It was some time later as the four of them sailed to where Nami was. Luffy was jumping around on the tiny boat, Yosaku was looking blue in the face at where they were going, Sanji was sitting and getting annoyed at Luffy running around, and Gin was thinking of what was going to happen next.

"Will you sit down Luffy?" Sanji said. Luffy sat down at the bow of the ship again before turn to them all.

"So how much longer till we get there again Yosaku?" Luffy asked. Yosaku looked up at him.

"Quite a while." he said before he pointed at them all. "But still, you guys aren't taking this seriously! You said that you knew where Nami was going, and why she betrayed you, correct?!"

"Yeah." Luffy said.

"Then you should also know that the place we're going to is ruled by Arlong!" he said.

"Yeah. Nami told me about him." Luffy said as his hat covered his eyes.

"What do you know about him?" Gin asked.

"That he's a fishman, a pirate, and worth twenty million berris." Yosaku said.

'20 million?' Gin thought. 'That's higher than Krieg's bounty.'

"So?" Luffy asked, causing Yosaku to fall over.

"Don't you realize how dangerous he is?!" Yosaku yelled before he stood up. "Alright. Looks like I'm gonna have to give you all a history lesson. First off, you plan to head to the Grand Line with only six crewmates?"

"I'll get more in the Grand Line." Luffy said.

"What does that have to do with this Fishman Arlong?" Gin asked.

"Simple. Deep in the Grand Line, there are three powers there. One of which is the Seven Warlords." Yosaku said.

"Seven Warlords?" Sanji asked. "Who are they?"

"They're pirates approved by the World Government." Yosaku said.

"Say what?" Gin said in surprise. "Since when does the World Government 'approve' of pirates?"

"They give them a portion of their treasure, and in return are left alone. Other pirates refer to them as 'Government Dogs'." Yosaku explained. "You've already met one of them. Hawk-Eye Mihawk."

"They sound strong." Luffy said. He had met each of them and knew from experience. Sanji just looked on with slight curiousity. Gin however was tensing up as sweat formed on his forehead.

'That Hawk-Eye decimated a 50 ship fleet like it was nothing.' he thought. 'And there are six more people as strong as him?! This is insanity!'

"Do these Warlords have anything to do with where we're going?" Sanji asked, snapping Gin out of his thoughts.

"Yeah. One of the Warlords is Jimbei, leader of the fishman pirates. In exchange for him being a Warlord, he released a monster into the East Blue. Arlong." Yosaku said. "Since coming here, he's taking over 20 villages and resides in a place called Arlong Park. He's insanely strong, easily stronger than even Don Krieg. He's devastating!"

"Why would Nami go there?" Sanji asked before a blush came to his face as he thought about her as a mermaid.

"Anyway, I'm hungry. Sanji, make me some food." Luffy said. Yosaku and Gin nodded at the thought of food as well, even though Yosaku thought that he was being naive.

"Right." Sanji said. "I'm on it."

()()()()

"There's the Merry!" Usopp said as he spotted her on the shore.

"Yeah, but what's it doing over there?" Johnny asked. He looked at a map to find that it was anchored between Cocoyashi and Gosa Village.

"Either way, we know she's here. So let's get ready to fight." Zoro said as he flicked his white sword from it's sheath a bit.

"Are you crazy?!" both Usopp and Johnny shouted.

"Luffy's orders were to bring Nami back." Zoro said as he placed one foot on the bow of the ship. "And that's what I'm going to do." He didn't get a chance to do anything though as Johnny and Usopp knocked him out with hammers.

"Pull up alongside the Merry." Usopp said as he stood up with confidence.

"You seem more eager now that we're avoiding Arlong Park." Johnny said.

"HEY! UNTIE ME, YOU BASTARDS!" Zoro yelled as he was tied to the cabin of the ship.

"Now now Zoro. You're still hurt." Usopp said as he patted Zoro's chest, shooting pain throughout Zoro's body. "See, you still need to rest." Usopp then stood up, declaring that this would be his grand adventure until he spotted three fishmen on the shore. "Full speed ahead!" Usopp yelled as they passed them all by.

"What are you doing?!" Zoro yelled.

"SHHHH!" Johnny and Usopp said.

"They're fishmen. We can't fight them." Usopp said.

"Hey, that's a ship." one of the fishmen said before two swam towards the boat. Seeing this, Usopp and Johnny jumped overboard, leaving Zoro screaming at them to untie him.

"What happened to you?" asked a fishman. "You exiled or something?"

"Those must be battle scars then." another said.

'I'm gonna kill them for this.' Zoro thought as Johnny and Usopp swam towards the shore. When they saw the village, they couldn't believe their eyes.

"It's like a ghost town here." Johnny said.

"All the houses have been turned upside-down." Usopp said before he saw Johnny take off. "Where are you going?"

"Looks like I found ya." said a figure behind Usopp. "You must be that exile's friend."

"GAAAAAH!" screamed Usopp before he took off running.

"Phew. Sorry Big Bro Usopp." Johnny said from a hiding place. "I'm gonna hold down the fort until our backup arrives." As Usopp ran, he kept a good distance away from the fishman, but was tripped by a little boy who wanted to kill him, thinking he was a fishman. He was stopped by a lavender haired woman with heavy tattoos on her chest and her right shoulder.

"You know what happens if you attack the fishmen." she said before she looked at Usopp. "This guy's a human anyway. Barely though."

"Barely?!" Usopp yelled before they heard the fishman approaching. "I'll deal with this guy." Usopp said as he stood up and aimed at him with his slingshot. "Special Attack!"

"Don't attack the fishmen!" Nojiko said as she knocked Usopp out from behind.

()()()()

"Where am I?" Usopp asked as he woke up from his 'nap'.

"About time you woke up." Nojiko said from a table in the room. Usopp looked to see her and the kid from before. After a brief introduction, Usopp learned that the woman's name was Nojiko and she and Nami are foster sisters, and that the house they were in was there's growing up. She then explained that their mother was long dead and only she lived there with Nami stopping in now and then and that she worked for Arlong.

"Wait. She's working for Arlong?" Usopp asked in disbelief. Usopp then asked about their ship, to which Nojiko pointed out the window to show it was their on the shore Nojiko explained that she joined up with Arlong and betrayed her own village. "I can't believe it. She even turned on her whole village?!"

"Exactly." Nojiko said.

"Tch. I can't believe it." Usopp said. "Did Luffy know about this?" he asked himself.

"Know about what?" Nojiko asked overhearing him. Usopp looked back at the ship out the window.

"When Nami took the ship, Luffy said she had her reasons. I bet Luffy didn't know that this was one of them. Even though she helped save my village and was smiling and laughing, she planned to stab us in the back this whole time!"

"Smiling and laughing? Her?" Nojiko asked. They went on about how he came here to get back the ship and her, but since she betrayed them, he came for the ship. His jaw then hit the floor as he started sweating. "What's wrong with you?"

"I left a friend on our ship when we got here. He's probably caught by the fishmen now."

()()()()

"I'm only going to ask one more time." Arlong said as he looked down at a tied up Zoro. "Why are you here?"

"I told you ya half-fish fucker. I'm looking for a girl."

"Watch your tongue." Alrong said with sinister grin on his face. "We fishmen are evolved humans who can breathe on both land and in the water. That makes us the Lords of Creation, and defying us is going against nature."

"I'm getting tired of hearing you spout that crap Arlong." Nami said as she walked out of the doorway behind him, stunning Zoro.

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